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    Not wanting to commit to anything straight away, he agreed to meet at the Video Action premises where Gerard revealed that he wanted to work shorter hours to spend more time with his family. The offer was that he would work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Jeremy would work in the shop from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. answering the telephone, diverting sales calls, taking messages, speaking to customers and then to secure the premises when he left for the day. This seemed to be a beneficial arrangement for both parties as Jeremy would have someone to talk to most days, have time for editing in the evening and be free to continue his weekend filming, with the added bonus of a retainer. This opportunity, we thought, was too good to refuse.
    For the first year or so, Jeremy and Gerard got on reasonably well together and it was during the quieter moments in the shop that they would play games of Scrabble. This was instigated by Gerard, and it became apparent that he was an exceptionally talented player who got his kicks from beating Jeremy at every game. No one really likes to lose, especially so heavily, but as many times as Jeremy was being beaten he was also learning from the better player, until in the end his persistence paid off and he was able to triumph over Gerard a few times. There was a degree of competitiveness between the two men and so Jeremy suggested a game of snooker one evening, not telling Gerard that he was a talented pool player and was able to transfer his skill to the green baize. After many frustrating frames for Gerard it was his turn to be on thereceiving end of continually losing but whereas Jeremy had got better at Scrabble, much to Gerard’s annoyance, the same could not be said of Gerard’s ability to improve at snooker. For Jeremy these games were all a bit of harmless fun but it had become apparent that Gerard hated to lose.
    Around May 2001 Gerard announced that he was thinking about creating a website for Video Action and wanted to set up a desktop computer at the premises so that a website designer could work at the shop. Not being sure how his new venture would pan out, he was reluctant to buy a brand new computer and asked Jeremy if he knew of anyone who might have a second-hand one to sell. By coincidence, at the time we had been discussing the advantages of purchasing a laptop. We thought it would be a better tool for our business as it was portable between home, Video Action and meetings with customers. With this in mind, Jeremy offered our desktop computer, which was only about fourteen months old and which Gerard readily purchased from us for £450 on 24 June 2001.
    Despite the fact that Jeremy had been working alongside Gerard for some time, I had never met him. We had spoken on various occasions and although he was always pleasant enough on the phone, his charm seemed insincere and I never felt entirely comfortable making conversation with him.
    However, an opportunity soon arose when I was finally able to meet the legendary Lloyd Gerard. One morning Jeremy was running late and left hurriedly for work but soon realised he had forgotten his laptop. It meant he would not be able to get on with his administration or accounts work that day, and, as I worked flexible hours, I decided, as a surprise, to take the laptop to him at the shop, which would also give me a chance to see where he worked.
    Entering through the double doors of the shop, I walked to the front counter, at which point both Jeremy and Gerard looked up at me. Jeremy smiled broadly as I held up his laptop. Rushing towards me, looking abit flustered, he ushered me towards Gerard who was sitting at his desk at the back of the shop. His hair was short and black, his face so tanned that it emphasised his sapphire blue eyes. As I offered my hand to shake his while holding his captivating gaze, I fleetingly thought that it would be polite if he stood up. However, I realised with astonishment that he actually was standing up and, at 5 ft 4