Bob of Small End (52 page)

“
By
first-thing Wednesday, yes, if we don’t run out of dowels for the
trains. I’ll drive to Big End tonight and buy some more if we’re
short and I’ll ask Craig to work overtime with me on Tuesday, if
needed.”

“
Good, I
told Lori to tell the Bournemouth shops I’d deliver on Wednesday.
We won’t be so rushed in the future.”

By six o’clock
Bob had delivered to fourteen shops. He was tired but happy to have
seen and talked to so many interested owners. Three of them told
Bob that they had talked to friends who had already received the
toys and Bob learned that two of these had sold toys the same day
they were put in the window. Bob looked forward to telling Ken
that.

He had been
looking out for B & Bs during his last hour and drove back to
one he had noted that was near the village pub. The owner had room
for him and told him what she usually served for breakfast. Bob
asked if she gave a discount if he only had cereal and tea. “I’m
not used to eating a full breakfast,” he explained. “I’ll take two
pounds off your bill then,” she said. “Will that be all right?”

“
Yes
thank you,” and told himself he should always ask for a discount in
future.

He returned
from Southampton Tuesday lunchtime, stopping at Twinner to see
Leo.

“
Hello
Leo. How are you today?”

“
Hello
Bob. I’m well and glad to see you. I’ll be needing more toys
soon.”

“
Oh I
wish I’d known. I’ve just delivered the last set I had.”

“
No
problem, I’ll be all right for a few more days. I’ll call when I’m
ready for more.”

“
Good.
Like to have lunch with me Leo?”

“
Well,
thanks’ Bob, but not today. My wife’s in Southampton, shopping, so
I have to stay here. Maybe another day.”

“
All
right. ‘Bye Leo.”

“‘
Bye
Bob.”

‘
That’s
two owners I have to take to lunch, Jenny and Leo,’ he told himself
as he drove off. ‘And I should also take Rose. All three have
helped me and it would be nice to thank them this way. I wonder if
I can arrange a ‘thank-you’ lunch for all of them together, with
Ken, too. A chance for him to know them better.’

He had lunch
at home then went to the workshop. Ken brought him up-to-date.
“We’ll have a hundred of each ready for you by the time we finish
today. We had enough dowels. Lori had ordered more wood; it’ll be
here first thing tomorrow.”

“
How can
I help?”

“
Box the
trains and load the van when done.”

The phone rang
twice that afternoon and Lori took notes on the computer as she
talked on the phone. When Bob saw her doing that he was quite
impressed and said so at the end of the day.

“
That’s
why I like to work in a place like this. I enjoy the variety and
the chance to work on the computer. Here, look at this,” and she
pointed to a form on the screen that listed the shops that had
phoned to request sets. There were seven of them.

“
I can
print this list for you anytime you need it.”

“
Are any
of them urgent? I mean, do any of them want the sets this
week?”

“
No.
They all say they will need them within two weeks. I think all of
them know they have to give a few days notice before you can
deliver.”

“
Good.
Well, this is excellent Lori. Has Ken seen all this?”

“
Yes, we
set it up together.”

“
I see.
Do you have lists of the toys we’ve made?”

“
Yes,”
and she pressed some keys and that list appeared, “and the ones
you’ve taken, though I don’t know where you’ve taken
them.”

“
Ah yes.
I’ll give you the receipts. Please keep them in case there’s any
mix-up.”

“
Yes I
will. I’ll open a file for each of our retailers and I’ll also put
the details on a spreadsheet. That’ll give us a total for any one
of them any time we want it.”

“
That
would help me plan deliveries and know what are the best locations
for us too. Thanks Lori.”

“
You’re
welcome.”

Ken and Bob
stayed after the others had left and caught up on what had been
happening. Bob was first and told Ken about the retailers who’d
sold toys the day they put them in the window.

“
That’s
a very good sign,” said Ken.

“
Isn’t
it,” replied Bob. “Oh, I’ll be collecting Sally’s Vauxhall at the
weekend and I’ll park the van here after then.”

“
That’s
okay, we’ll store toys in it. That way we’ll only have to take them
to your shed when the van’s full.”

“
You
have the keys for the shed and the van?”

“
Yes.”

“
We’ll
soon need a second van Ken, and another driver. We’re already
getting orders for more sets from the retailers I’ve already
supplied.”

“
I know,
Lori told me.”

“
Have
any cheques for April sales come?”

“
We had
the first this morning, £52,50. A Southampton shop sold two
villages, a farm and a train set.”

“
It’s a
good start, isn’t it Ken?”

“
Yes it
is but I was pretty sure we’d be all right weeks ago, when I first
started. I knew we could speed production. All we had to do is sell
what we produced and you’re doing that.”

“
Yes. Oh
Ken, I want to take Rose, Jenny and Leo to lunch to thank them for
all the help they’ve given us. You should come too.”

“
I’d
like that. When?”

“
I’ll
find out and let you know.”

“
Any
week day and most weekends are good for me.”

"Okay. Another
thing, I’ve a few ideas about what new toys we might make. The
magazines are in the van and I’ll get them.” He returned with the
magazines and the list he’d made.

“
Here
are some suggestions Ken. Take a look and let me know what you
think.”

“
You
could make all of the ones on the list if you had to?”

“
Oh yes.
None of them are very hard. But it’s whether you and the shop could
make them easily and quickly. I don’t think we should charge any
more than we do now for any new toys.”

“
Well
that depends on whether I can design a suitable production line.
It’s too early to start making different kinds of toys though. We
should fill our stock rooms before we diversify.”

“
Yes, I
know, but can I tell those who ask me about it that we’ll be making
different toys in the future?”

“
Yes,
for sure, but don’t say when.”

As Bob drove
the van into his driveway he noticed a large trailer parked in the
station’s parking lot. The edge of the rectangular stone patch had
been disturbed and he could see that a trench had been dug around
it. ‘That must be for the footings,’ he guessed. He walked over to
inspect the site and a man emerged from the trailer. “Can I help
you?” he asked.

“
Hello.
My name’s Bob Barns. I live in that house,” and Bob pointed to it.
“I’m interested in what you are doing. I guess this trench is for
the foundation.”

“
That’s
right. We’ll be pouring the concrete tomorrow.”

“
Then
you’ll have to wait until it’s dry, I guess. I’ve just done the
same when building a shed.”

“
Yep.
They’ll brick next Monday.”

“
How
long will the whole job take?”

“
To
finish the entire building?”

“
Yes.”

“
Probably four weeks. Depends on the weather until we get the
roof on then I’ll know for sure when we’ll finish. We have our own
electricians and plumbers.”

“
So if
everything goes to plan it’ll be finished before the end of
June?”

“
Well
that’s what we’re planning. I’m one of the managers. Name’s Sam
Loring.”

“
Pleased
to meet you. You don’t mind me looking around from time to
time?”

“
No.
Just tell anyone I said you could. But be careful, I don’t want any
accidents.”

“
Okay.
Thanks.”

‘
By the
end of June, that’s what Jane hoped,’ Bob thought, as he walked
back to his house. ‘I’ll give her a call after supper and tell her
the site manager has the same date in mind.’

“
Yes, I
know, Bob. I talked to Mr. Loring this morning. We’ll probably have
the opening ceremony in July. The committee will meet next week to
decide on a date. If we open in July they’ll probably want a Fall
Show. But I don’t think we should, there isn’t enough time to
rehearse and build the scenery. I’m going to argue against
it.”

“
And
it’s time you had a rest Jane.”

“
You’re
right. If they do want one I’m going to tell them that they must
find someone else to run it.”

“
Good
for you.”

Delivering to
Bournemouth went quicker than Bob expected. The retailers who had
called because they needed to renew their stock greeted him then
simply showed him where to place the new sets. They gave him a
receipt and simply waved goodbye when he left. Most of them were
too busy to chat. He noticed that the shops he delivered to were
mostly the bigger ones or were on the town’s main street. He didn’t
visit Tina but thought about her as he drove through the town’s
centre.

He
finished his deliveries by noon and stopped for lunch at a
road-side pub. As he was eating he wondered where he should go on
his next run, he’d visited all the retailers who had given him
cards. Then he remembered the membership list he’d collected at
the
Gift and Toy
conference.
There must have been two hundred members listed there. He’d visit
all he hadn’t already been to.

On the way
home he stopped at the bank and deposited Ken’s and his cheques. He
didn’t see Mr. Longman but the teller in the business counter
immediately recognised him.

Once home he
searched for the membership list and found it under a book on the
side table next to his seat in the lounge. He sat down and was
marking the ones he’d not visited when he noticed they were listed
alphabetically. That reminded him that Lori had also listed the
retailers he’d seen alphabetically. So instead of continuing to
mark his list he decided to ask Lori to print a separate one for
him.

At the
workshop he walked over to Ken who was working on one of the band
saws and waved to everyone on the way. “The place is humming Ken.
It looks great!”

“
Huh, we
don’t just sit around when you’re away Bob. How was your
morning?”

“
Fine.
I’ve seen all the retailers I have cards for but there’s another
hundred or so on the association’s membership list. Can Lori type a
list for me so she has a copy on the computer?”

“
Of
course. As soon as she’s finished cutting the barns. I’ll tell her
to see you. You’ll be in the office, I suppose.”

“
Yes,
checking and up-dating the maps.”

“
What
area does the association cover?”

“
Our
half of Hampshire, all of Dorset and the southern part of
Wiltshire, approximately. That’s what I was told.”

“
That’s
quite big. Can you manage all that?”

“
I think
so. I’ll do as many as I can in the next few days and let you know
what happens. Just make sure there are enough toys for
me!”

“
Don’t
worry about that. We’re making seven hundred a week. You’ll be okay
unless a tool breaks. Oh, the new wood was delivered this morning.
It cost £489.”

Five
minutes later Lori walked into the office. Bob gave her the
membership list. “Can you make a list of the shops I haven’t yet
visited Lori? This is the membership list of the
Toy and Gift
association.”

“
Of
course.”

“
Then
can you make a master spreadsheet with columns so we can add the
date I last visited each retailer?”

“
All
right.”

“
Thanks
Lori.”

Bob entered
the shop and continued the work Lori was doing, making farm sets
with Jose. Twenty minutes later Lori gave him the list of retailers
he should visit and he returned to the office to check the map. He
decided to go north the next day, into Wiltshire. He pushed red
pins in the places he planned to visit, thought about the route and
numbered the shops in the order he should visit them on the
list.

As he was
loading the van Ken came out and gave him a hand.

“
I’ll
see thirty new retailers the rest of this week Ken. I’ll do as many
as I can tomorrow, come back and fill the van tomorrow night and do
the rest on Friday.”

“
Do you
think most will try them?”

“
I think
so. Once I tell them what other’s are doing they’re quite
keen.”

“
Good.
Oh, two more cheques came this morning. Another £212.”

“
Where
do you keep them Ken?”

“
I take
them home with me. It’s time we bought a safe.”