Can You Help Me Out?

My website has been in existence for about twelve years and has consumed countless hours in editing photographs, designing the pages and writing the text. It is a labour of love from which I have never sought a penny in revenue, to the bewilderment of my friends it must be said. I don’t even take a fee from the hundreds of people who have asked to use my photographs for non-commercial purposes on websites, in presentations, in dissertations and so on. Everything I do relating to churches I have done and will continue to do on a “not for profit” basis. I am honoured by the number of visits I receive and humbled by your generous feedback.

Do not be fooled by that “.co.uk” web address. This site is the work of one individual - myself.

If you visit this site and are inspired by it, or even have just been looking up information about a single church then you are one of literally millions that have done so since its inception. I know from your own feedback and from the statistics I receive that many of you spend many hours browsing the pages and return again and again.

Maintaining this website is not, however, free for me! I have annual costs – which are becoming exorbitant - for web hosting and domain registration and have over the years bought various pieces of software to make more possible. The sheer size of the computer files I am now handling has necessitated the purchase of a new, much more powerful PC and expensive large monitor. Needless to say, costs are only going in one direction! I have happily absorbed these costs for years, arguing that it is, after all,  my hobby. Things now, I am afraid, are coming to a head.

Unfortunately my website – inevitably – is constructed on old and long-unsupported software which was written for old versions of Windows. That and the size of the files it is now handling means that it can malfunction spectacularly, costing me untold worry and many hours in complex recovery work. To cap it all, I have recently faced a hefty bill from an IT professional to rescue me from an inexplicable glitch with Windows. Conversion to a more robust new system will involve him developing tools to enable the transition. I am also painfully aware that mobile phones are now the preferred route to the internet for many people and my set-up makes it impossible for me to optimise my site to take account of this.

Rather reluctantly, then, I have decided that it is fair to at least invite small one-off donations to help me out with my costs and, if there is sufficient response, to fund a transition to a new platform. This is purely voluntary. There is no entry fee to this site. If you feel you can contribute even £1 or $1 (I am a cheap date!) then please contribute via PayPal using my email address brumman47@hotmail.com. My thanks to those who choose to do this. My love to you all: contributors and non contributors alike. You honour me by reading my work.

Lionel

brumman47@hotmail.com