

## Bob of Small End

## David Hockey

## Published by David Hockey at Smashwords

## Copyright 2015 David Hockey

## Also by David Hockey:

## Developing a Universal Religion:

## Why one is Needed and

## How it might be Developed

## Sam's Dream

## Smashwords Edition, License Notes

## Thank you for downloading this eBook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form.

## Contents

Chapter 1 Claire

Chapter 2 Jenny

Chapter 3 Portugal

Chapter 4 What to do?

Chapter 5 Maria

Chapter 6 Driving lessons

Chapter 7 Ken

Chapter 8 Forming the partnership

Chapter 9 Jigging up

Chapter 10 Signing papers

Chapter 11 The Milking Parlour

Chapter 12 Holiday planning

Chapter 13 Sally

Chapter 14 Craig

Chapter 15 The Conference

Chapter 16 Boxes and dreams

Chapter 17 Spring cleaning

Chapter 18 Lori

Chapter 19 Jose and Luke

Chapter 20 Sally

Chapter 21 Production

Chapter 22 The barbecue

Chapter 23 Where next?

Chapter 24 On the road

Chapter 25 Maria and money

Chapter 26 The mortgage

Chapter 27 Wholesalers

Chapter 28 The factory

Chapter 29 The production line

Chapter 30 The BBC

Chapter 31 The Opening

Chapter 32 The engagement party

Chapter 33 We-Have-It

Chapter 34 Money

Chapter 35 Maria and Sally

Chapter 36 Money and a mystery

Chapter 37 The men

Chapter 38 Goodners

Chapter 39 Up for sale

Chapter 40 Lori and Craig

Chapter 41 Mortgages

Chapter 42 Selling

Chapter 43 Sally

Chapter 44 Retired again

Chapter 45 Moving in

Chapter 46 Towards Christmas

A note from the author

**Chapter 1 Claire**

Bob picked up the three bulging plastic bags, locked the door of his house, crossed the short path to his small front gate and headed down the road. Turning right at the crossroads by the Crown Inn he hurried along to the Gift Shop. The whole journey had not been more than five hundred yards but he was wishing he'd worn his overcoat; the wind was freezing and strong gusts blew into his face. Jack Tyne was carrying the last display rack into the shop and he held the door open.

"'Ow do Bob. Manky weather ain't it!"

"Hi Jack. Oh yes, it certainly is."

"Good job it ain't rainin' as well."

"I think it'll snow next, not rain. I didn't realise it was this cold." He put the bags on the counter. "These are the trains I promised Rose. There's twenty sets, so she'll have enough to last the rest of the winter. Do you know how many are coming to Saturday's matinee?"

"Jane said more'n a 'undred tickets been sold. Some 'ud be locals, tho'."

"Well, let's hope they buy a few of these. You eating at the Crown tonight?"

"Aye."

"Okay, see you there. 'Bye Jack."

"Tarra Bob."

It didn't feel quite as cold going with the wind but he knew he'd feel it when he walked home after supper. Good thing he didn't have far to go. He opened the door to the pub and crossed to the bar.

"Usual please Len. How's Mildred?"

"Her cold's nearly gone but she's staying in the kitchen tonight. Doesn't want to sneeze over the customers."

Bob looked at the menu. He didn't want the pot pie, he had enough of that at home although Mildred's pies tasted better than the ones he bought at the supermarket. "I'll have the roast, Len. Lots of horseradish."

"Sure, I know, and no brussels, right?"

"Yes. Put on more roast parsnip and spuds. And extra Yorkshire pudding, if you have enough."

Bob's favourite table near the fire was vacant and he sat there, swallowed a mouthful of beer and looked around. Paper chains hung between the wall lamps and short boughs of fir had been draped around the shades. He couldn't see the mistletoe but he knew it would soon be hanging from the lamp on the ceiling next to the entrance door. He turned towards the fire. He loved this spot; it was warm and the chairs were comfortable, a good place to be on a cold winter's night. Half-way through his beer Nancy brought him his meal and he started eating; no point in waiting for the others, they might not be here for another half-hour.

Saturday suppers at the Crown had become routine for Bob soon after Betty had died three years ago. Shortly after she died the station had been closed and he was given a pension and released. He still missed Betty. The children, Sam and Regina, missed her too, of course, but they had married and had children to look after which must have helped them. It would be another, rather lonely Christmas for him. Sure, he'd visit both the kids but he only stayed for one night. Their Christmases were always very busy because they also celebrated with their in-laws and partied with friends. He saw more of them and his grandchildren when they visited during their summer holidays, Sam's family especially, for they often camped in the New Forest.

He'd have to buy Christmas presents for the youngsters soon. Betty used to do that and he always found it difficult to chose things the children would like. They certainly didn't want any more of his trains, they already had several and were too old for that kind of toy anyway. He'd look around Tyne's on Monday and if Rose didn't have anything he'd check the shops in Big End.

"Hi Bob. Caught you dreaming have I?"

"Oh. Hi Joe. No. I was just thinking about Christmas presents, wondering what to buy the grandchildren. Where's Jane?"

"She's still at the Centre. She told me at lunchtime she had to help the stage crew modify a couple of the sets. One of the helpers is sick. She'll be here soon, I expect."

"Okay. I guess you haven't had your supper then. The roast beef's pretty good."

"I've already eaten Bob. Finished yesterday's Shepherd's pie before coming. Jane'll probably be hungry when she arrives though. Well, what have you been doing this week?"

"Mostly making trains. Rose thinks she'll sell more than usual this Christmas, but I'll not make any more until spring. I've found a nice piece of wood and I'm looking forward to carving another bird."

Tourists liked his birds and trains. That was how Bob filled his time, making toy trains and carving wooden birds. He and Rose Tyne earned a little money each year as they were sold. Most people in Small End had one or more of his creations.

"What about you Joe, what have you been doing?"

"The spuds and brussels have all gone. There's only broccoli in the fields now. I'll have them picked and shipped next week then plough if it doesn't rain. Then the greenhouses have to be cleared, fertilised and rototilled. I'll get everything done before Christmas if the weather lets me."

"Then put your feet up for a while."

"Yes. Jane wants to go to the south of Portugal again. Trouble is, it's a bit like being in England 'cos there's lots of Brits there and they have pubs, fish and chip shops and tourist attractions, just like we have here. I'd rather go somewhere different for a change, but we need the warmth, that's why we go to Portugal. It's much warmer than England. You've not been there, have you?"

"No. The furthest I've been is Wales and Lincolnshire. Betty and I went to Wales for our honeymoon, remember? And I used to go to Lincolnshire with my Mum when she went to see her sister. She lives near Boston."

"Yes, I remember. You usually brought me a stick of rock from Skegness. Ah, here's Rose. Hi Rose. Where's Jack? Isn't he coming."

"He's at the bar buying drinks, behind that group of women. They're from one of the tours I think, there's a bus outside."

"How's the Centre looking? Got all the decorations up?" asked Bob.

"No, not yet. I popped in to see Jane this afternoon. Jack or I'll have to be there to arrange the sets for Monday's dress rehearsal, someone's sick. Oh Joe, we're ready for the Christmas tree. Can we get it tomorrow, in the afternoon?"

"Sure, that'll be fine."

Jack put his beer on the table, gave Rose her cider and sat down.

"Hello Jack" said Joe. "What's new with you?"

"Nowt. Still lookin' fer cottages and ain't found any. I've news about Bonnie tho'. She's rented a room. Lady from Reading's taken t'big 'en, maybe fer rest of December. She came here wiv her parents when a teenager and says how nice t'village was then. She's thinkin' t'buy a cottage. Wish I 'ad one fer her! She's comin' 'ere fer supper."

Small End had only one Bed and Breakfast, Bonnie's B&B. All three bedrooms were usually occupied between spring and fall but winter guests were rare. Visitors liked to explore the countryside around the village. The rolling slopes, cattle and sheep in the fields, inviting woods and bushy hedgerows made this part of England very attractive. The walkers followed the many footpaths and strolled along the Tusset River's towpath. Children from the city loved the wildlife, the birds, rabbits, cows and horses. Older folk came because it was quiet, reminding them of the England they used to know when they were young. Small End was just fifteen miles from the coast so people could go there anytime they wanted to watch the waves or let their kids swim and play on the beach.

"How did you learn about Bonnie's guest?" asked Rose.

"I's at Bonnie's when she came. Her name's Claire. She's bin lookin' arter her Mum since her Dad died an' her Mum died three months ago. That's all I know. There she is." Jack stood up, waved his hand and she walked over to them.

"Hi Claire. This is my wife, Rose, and that's Bob and Joe," he said, pointing. "'Ere, 'ave my seat. Wot' d'you want t'drink?"

"Hello everyone. A gin and tonic, please, Jack."

"Welcome to Small End, Claire," said Rose, "though Jack told us you've already been here."

"Yes, many years ago with my Mum and Dad, when I was a teenager. We spent two weeks in a hotel in Big End and I always liked coming here. The people here were so friendly and we often walked along the river. I liked it so much that I'm thinking about buying a cottage here and I'll be staying at Bonnie's for a while to see if this place still suits me."

"What about your meals Claire? Bonnie only gives breakfasts."

"Well she said that's what she has to do in the summer because she's too busy to do more, with people coming and going and having to clean the rooms and wash all the sheets. But she said if I tell her ahead of time when I'd like to eat in she'd make supper for me. She sometimes visits her sister for a couple of days and I'd have to eat elsewhere then, but otherwise I could eat with her. She's a very nice person."

"Well that's good. Of course you can always eat here or you can go to Big End if you want a change. Do you have a car?" asked Rose.

"Yes."

Claire told them a little about herself: that she lived in Reading and worked in a bank; about her Dad, then her husband dying and that she had moved back to her parent's home to look after her Mum. Now that she had gone Claire thought it was time to start a new life. Small End came to mind and she was exploring the idea of moving here. "So that's my life history. Now I'd like to eat something. I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm famished."

"Me too," said Jack. Bob told them what was on the menu. Claire and Rose chose the fish and chips and Jack the potpie. Bob went to the bar and ordered, returning with a round of drinks for everybody.

The place became very crowded. When any of the villagers entered, Rose, who was facing the door, told Claire a little about each one and the others added other facts they thought might interest her.

"Ah, that's enough!" Claire eventually said. "It's interesting to hear all this but I can't remember all the names and details. Let's leave it until I come here to live."

"Yes of course. We should have guessed it'd be too much at once. Sorry." Rose turned to Joe. "About the Christmas tree Joe. How about 2 o'clock?"

"Okay."

"I'll give you a hand," Bob added. "Do you want to come Claire?"

"Come to what?"

"To collect the Christmas tree for the Community Centre. We cut one from Joe's farm. We've done that each year since we began giving shows at Christmas."

"I'd love to," Claire replied.

"Then I'll come for you about 1:45."

Nancy arrived with the food and as they ate they told Claire about the shows held at Christmas, in the Spring and the Fall. "And now bus tours often include them," said Rose.

"Are they something special? Why do people want to come to see a village show?" asked Claire.

"The local papers invariably give them excellent reviews," said Rose. "Plus we have a pub which offers suppers and a few shops to visit. People like that kind of thing when they're on a bus tour."

"I see. I don't remember them from when I was here before."

"No, we've only been doing the shows for a few years."

Jane arrived as Joe was picking up the plates to take back to the bar. "Hi Jane," said Joe. "This is Claire. Claire, this is my wife, Jane. Claire's staying at Bonnie's for a while. Now, what do you want love?"

"Ah, nothing Joe. Too tired to eat or drink. Been rehearsing and several actors didn't know all their lines, and the matinee's next Saturday! Well it's often that way; they always do a good job in the end."

"How many times do you run it?" asked Claire.

"Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening, beginning after next Saturday's matinee. The last one's the Friday before Christmas. I'll be exhausted by then. In fact I'm so tired now I'm going home. Do you want to come Joe?"

"Yes I'm ready."

"We're off too," Jack added. "Want to walk with us Claire?"

"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow Bob. At 1:45?"

"Yes I'll be there."

They all left the Crown after waving goodbye to Len. Everyone except Bob turned right at the door; he turned left, rounded the corner and hurried up the hill, shivering and thinking he'd not be so stupid next time. It was winter after all.

The six o'clock news woke Bob Sunday morning and after listening to that he reviewed what he should do that day. Just the usual weekend things. In the morning he'd tidy and dust the house and wash the sheets and clothes. There was nothing to do in the garden, for his cabbages and broccoli were already hanging from the rafters in the corner of his workshop, enough to last him a couple of months. And in the afternoon he'd help with the tree. Now what should he wear? A sweater and an old jacket might be best, plus his old overcoat. No point dirtying his good one. He'd look all right in that when he called for Claire. She seemed a nice woman. It would be pleasant if she came to live here, someone new, someone near his own age.

After a breakfast of toast, marmalade and two mugs of tea he collected the sheets and put them in the washing machine. He did a little dusting then hung the damp sheets on the washing line. Even though it was cold they should still dry by bedtime. He loaded the machine with his dirty clothes and ran it again.

It was close to ten o'clock by now and time for coffee. Two mugs, no sugar and just two digestive biscuits, that's all he usually allowed himself. He hated the idea of putting on more weight. He carried the cafeteria and milk bottle to his easy chair in the lounge, filled a mug, sipped, munched and read another chapter of the novel he'd borrowed from the library. This was one of the good times of each day, one he enjoyed very much, particularly when he used to shared them with Betty.

He warmed a can of mushroom soup for lunch. That and salted crackers were all he felt like eating. At 1:40 he put on his coat and walked to Bonnie's. Claire was sitting in the lounge when he arrived telling Bonnie all about last night. Bonnie knew everybody Claire mentioned and was happy to add extra details.

As they walked to Joe's farm Bob told Claire that Joe had inherited the farm from his father and was a market gardener selling most of his produce to the shops in Big End. "Howard, he's Joe's son, planted fifty small Christmas trees at the back of the farm when he was fifteen and added another fifty each spring for five years. Howard thought they'd give him a nice little income when they matured but that never happened; he became an accountant and now lives in Bournemouth. Neither Joe nor Howard trimmed the trees so they're a bit misshapen. We pick the best we can find each year for the Centre."

Joe was in the yard hitching a wagon to his tractor when they arrived. Rose and Jack were watching him. "Now, who's turn is it to cut the tree this year?" asked Joe.

"It's my turn," said Bob, "but I'll not use your chainsaw Joe. It's too finicky. Jack had a hard time starting it last year. Do you have a Sweed saw?"

"Of course. I'll get it."

They sat on edges of the wagon and Joe's tractor pulled them to the small wood formed by Howard's Christmas trees. After searching for a while they chose a tree about twenty feet high with only one slightly misshapen side. Bob chopped a few branches from the bottom then he, with Jack pulling on the opposite end of the saw, felled it. The tree was loaded onto the wagon and Jack and Bob held it in place as Joe drove them to the Community Centre.

Jane was standing at the door when they arrived and told Joe that the wood to mount the tree was under the stage, and where they'd find the rope, nails and hammers. The men collected what they needed and began work. While they were doing this Jane and Rose took Claire into the hall where a young lady was singing accompanied by a pianist. "The show Claire," said Jane, "has two one-act comedies (I'm in one of them); some songs by Teresa; a dance by the elementary school children; and a skit written and acted by several village teenagers. We also sell coffee, tea, soft drinks, biscuits, cup cakes and slices of apple pie—cooked by the village women. Money from all this is used to improve the village."

"What kind of improvements?"

"We buy plants which we put in the plots in the park; we trim the edges, buy stone and place it along the Tusset path; we buy benches and shrubs, usually for the park; things like that," said Rose.

"Much of the money we've made goes into a special savings account to pay for a new Community Centre," Jane added. "This place isn't big enough to hold all the activities people are asking for. They want rooms for clubs and classes and to play games in. And a cafeteria. So we're going to demolish the old railway station and build a bigger centre there. The municipal authorities have approved our plans and we hope to start in the spring."

Claire was intrigued by what she was hearing. "Is there anything I can do to help while I'm here?" she asked Jane who appeared to be one of the organisers.

"Well most things for the show have already been done or are being looked after, though we could use another usher. Would you like to be one?"

"Yes, gladly."

It took an hour for the men to erect, trim and cover the tree with Christmas lights. Bob stood on the road when the tree was decorated and thought it still looked bare. 'A few bright balls and stars might help,' he thought. 'I'll make some tomorrow, the bird can wait.' By 4:30 all the work was finished and Joe drove the tractor back to the farm. Jack, Rose and Jane stayed to help in the Centre but Claire said she must go back to Bonnie's and make a phone call.

"I'll walk there with you if you like," said Bob.

"All right. Where do you live?"

"Up the hill at the crossroads towards the railway station. I'm in the house that's just before it."

"I see."

"Would you like to go to the Crown for a drink?"

"No not now, thanks."

"Okay. What are your plans for next week?"

"Explore the village, revisit some of the places we used to go to and talk to a couple of real estate agents in Big End to see if they know of any cottages for sale. Would you like to come when I go there? You'd know what roads to take and that'll stop me from getting lost. I'll explore Small End tomorrow and go to Big End on Tuesday. That's the day you could help."

"I'd be glad to."

"Well I'll see you at nine o'clock Tuesday then."

"Okay. Oh, I'd like to do some shopping in Big End when we're there. I usually buy a few packaged meals and my coffee from the supermarket. Our village store doesn't carry it. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. I'll probably do some shopping there as well."

Bob left Claire at Bonnie's and felt extra happy for some reason as he walked home.

Over Monday morning's breakfast porridge Bob remembered he had a suitable cedar post that was about the right size to make balls for the Christmas tree. After washing the dishes he checked the wood in the workshop. Yes, there it was, a long cedar post he had bought several years ago when he was going to make a stand for a bird feeder. The wood was soft, with few knots and long enough to make twenty or more balls. He cut a four-inch length, mounted it on his lathe and picked up a chisel. 'Yes, perfect,' he thought. It shaped quickly although it was a bit rough where an occasional knot emerged but sanding would soon remedy that.

By coffee time Bob had made a dozen balls and there was still enough wood to make several more. After coffee and another chapter of his novel he returned and made another ten. He lunched on bread, cheese, pickled onions, washed down with tea. In the afternoon he cut two dozen stars from a plank then sanded them and the balls. Afterwards he drilled a hole close to one of the points on each star, threaded a six-inch length of string through the hole and tied the ends of the string together. Screw-eyes were twisted into each of the balls to hold their strings. Finding his paint he decided to paint half the balls red and the other half orange and the stars silver and gold. He hung all the decorations on a rope stretched across the shop and began painting. It took him an hour to finish their first coat. He put the wet brushes in a jar half-filled with turpentine; it wasn't sensible to clean them for he'd be using them again tomorrow.

It was now 4:30. He washed his hands, put on his overcoat and walked down to the Gift Shop to see what Rose had done with the trains. Two sets had been placed in the window. She had chosen different colours for the engines and carriages and put a few of her plastic animals next to them. Bob was please and entered the shop. "They look very nice Rose. I didn't think you'd use two sets."

"I think they make perfect presents. Putting two there might inspire some to buy more than one."

"Let's hope so. The animals add interest too. Do you have any small people or houses to put there?"

"I've a few old ones in the stock room that might be the right size. I'll look for them later. What are you doing for Christmas Bob?"

"Just the usual, visiting the kids. Oh, do you have anything that Jane and Bess might like? They're eight and nine, and something for Roy, he's eight."

"How about dolls for the girls?"

"No not dolls, they've already got lots and I never see them playing with them. Roy might like a construction set, do you have any?"

"Just these model airplanes. There's balsa wood and paper in the kit and a tube of cement. And a rubber band and a propeller. They say that the plane will fly two or three hundred yards if it's made properly."

"I'll take one of those for Roy. Maybe Big End will have something to suit the girls."

There was still enough light to walk home through the developing sub-division that lay behind the row of shops gradually filling the field that lay behind his garden. The road into the site led to a T-junction. Several houses lay along each of the new roads, some occupied and several others almost finished. None were bungalows so there was nothing that might tempt Claire.

Bob fried two sausages and baked a potato in the oven for supper; that and some raw broccoli was enough for him. As usual he ate in the kitchen on the small table, listening to the six o'clock news, just as he, Betty and the kids used to do years ago.

After supper he read two more chapters then watched a murder mystery on the television followed by the news. He usually went to bed around 9:30, earlier if he felt tired, later if there was any reason to stay up.

That Monday had been a very normal day for Bob, one he rather liked. A routine, where most of the things he did were activities he enjoyed. Portugal didn't interest him, he was happy enough at home and didn't need a holiday. But, occasionally, as he was falling asleep, he wondered if he should be doing something more. He couldn't think what it could be. Just before falling asleep he turned his thoughts to Claire. 'I haven't been shopping with a woman for years. I wonder what that will be like?'

On the drive to Big End Bob and Claire discussed their plans for the day. Their first stop was to have a coffee. Parking was no trouble this early on a Tuesday morning.

After coffee they walked to the closest of the town's real-estate agents where Claire told the agent what she was looking for. As Bob had guessed, she was looking for an older cottage, one with a bit of character. She wanted a garden, a garage and two bedrooms and it had to be in Small End. The agent said he didn't have anything in the village; he only had three-bedroom houses that were being constructed in the new subdivision. Claire asked him to call her if something turned up and gave him Bonnie's telephone number.

Since it was now eleven thirty they decided to have an early lunch and see the other agent afterwards.

"Where do you eat when in Big End Bob?"

"At the Fox Inn." It was on the main street not far from where they were so they walked there. A drink each, a curry for Bob and a chicken salad for Claire, then they drove to the other agency. This agent too, knew of no cottages in Big End and was given Bonnie's number.

"Okay, now we can shop Bob. You have some groceries to buy?"

"Yes but I've also got to buy Christmas presents for my two granddaughters. They're eight and nine. I don't want to give them dolls, they're growing out of them I think. Do you have any ideas what they might like?"

"How about a kitchen set? I had one when I was about their age and loved it. One with a small oven that works, some small utensils, packages of food, recipes and instructions. You might be able to find one that's big enough for them to share and one present would do for both. What do you think?"

"That sounds ideal. Let's try the shopping centre, there's a good size toy shop there. They also have a supermarket where I can buy my groceries and you could probably buy the things you need too."

The toy shop had exactly what they were looking for. He bought the large kitchen set and an extra set of food packages, choosing one that had different recipes.

"I'm sure they'll both love this," Bob said. "It might even turn them into gourmet cooks!"

Then they went to Tesco's, the local supermarket. Bob bought two ready-made curries, two roast beefs and two chicken pies. He often bought the same things each week but tried different makes whenever he saw them glad to have a little variety. He also bought a bottle of whisky and one of rum, mostly for his friends to drink at Christmas. This year he bought a bottle of gin in case Claire visited. He'd buy the tonic in the village grocery. Claire bought fruit, chocolate, a bottle of sherry and a flower arrangement to give Bonnie.

They chatted about the day as they drove home and arranged to meet on Thursday afternoon when Bob would show her the new subdivision and the railway station where he used to be the Station Master. Claire agreed to help him fasten the balls and stars on the tree and they'd do that after their walk.

He hummed happily as he gave the ornaments a second coat of paint Wednesday morning. He started carving a bird after lunch, thinking as he moved his knife, that Christmas this year looked like it'd be a happy one. 'Maybe that's because I've made the tree decorations. I should do more things like that. It might be fun to work with the stage crew. I'll ask Jane.'

The ornaments were dry by supper time but he left them hanging on the rope, tidied the workshop bench and swept the floor. Now everything was ready for tomorrow. 'I wonder if Claire would like a gin and tonic tomorrow? I'd better buy the tonic tomorrow morning. And I must fill the ice trays with water, they're bound to be empty.'

Thursday morning differed greatly from Bob's normal Thursdays. He dusted everything in the living room, kitchen and bathroom and vacuumed the carpets. Then he moved upstairs and cleaned the bedrooms, not that Claire was likely to visit them. Then he walked to the village grocery shop to buy the tonic water and collect his weekly loaf of bread, a block of cheddar, more tea bags and a few slices of ham. He had a late coffee break and tried to read his book but kept thinking about the afternoon, popping up as thoughts occurred to him, first to put water in the ice trays, then to check the glasses to see if they were clean and again to put his shaving things in the bathroom drawer. It was as though he was preparing for an inspection.

He had his usual meal for lunch; bread, cheese and pickled onions, realising at the end that he shouldn't have eaten the onions, his breath would smell. So he cleaned his teeth then carefully washed the cups and rechecked the glasses. If Claire wanted a gin and tonic the glasses were now nice and shiny. He looked at an ice tray, the water had frozen. Everything was fine. If she had a drink he would have a whisky, not something he normally did in the afternoon but it was nearly Christmas and today might be a bit special.

He put on his best overcoat and arrived at Bonnie's promptly at 2:00. Claire was ready, dressed in a long, beige overcoat, for the wind was chilly and damp. They turned right, walking along the road going out of the village towards Big End as they left Bonnie's instead of turning left, which would have taken them to the Crown and the village centre. A newly paved road ran at right angles up the slight slope behind Bonnie's place. There were two houses on the left and three on the right and the road continued for fifty yards before coming to the T-junction. Four more houses had been built along the right-hand branch that ended in a circle near to the railway station's parking lot.

They opened the door to the model home that stood by the subdivision's entrance and walked in. The agent was glad to see them for not many people visited during the week although the weekends were usually busy. He showed them around the house and told Claire about some of the optional extras. He pointed to the site plan and explained that the lot sizes differed and that this affected their price. Then he gave her some house designs. She thanked him then they said goodbye.

"I don't want one of those houses," Claire said, as they walked up the slope to the T junction. "I should have told him I wanted a bungalow when we walked in. Too bad they're are not building any. What do you think about all these houses being built in your backyard Bob?"

"I don't like it. I'd prefer Small End to stay as it was."

"But Britain's population is growing and people have to live somewhere."

"Yes I know, but I wish they'd live somewhere else, not here."

"Well I can understand that."

They turned right at the T-junction and walked along the road to the far side of the circle where Bob pointed eastwards. "There's the railway station Claire. My Dad, and then I, used to be its station master."

He led her up the steep incline which bordered the back of the station's parking lot. Walking across the parking lot Bob told her a little of his history; that he was hired as a labourer by the railway when he left school at 15 and had to do all the cleaning and baggage moving in this station; that he was promoted to labourer and ticket clerk after three years. Four years later, when his Dad retired, he was made stationmaster, when he hired another lad to do the hard work. But he soon had to do both jobs as the company was reducing costs and fewer trains stopped at their station. He lived with his Mum and Dad in the house and pointed to it on the south side of the parking lot. Then he married Betty and they rented a small flat in the village. After his parents had died he inherited their house and they moved into it. "Betty died three years ago and I live there by myself now."

The station was in a bad shape but Bob expected that; no maintenance had been done since the company had closed it.

"We'll build the new Community Centre in this spot, hopefully next year Claire. Most of the work will be done by volunteers. Joe's tractor will push the building down and volunteers will collect and clean as many of the bricks that can be reused. We'll hire people to build the outside walls, hopefully using many of the old bricks to save costs. I'll probably help build the inside walls and maybe learn how to gyprock them. We'll have an architect and he will oversee everything. We'll have to hire professionals to do the electricity, plumbing and heating of course. That, the walls and the roof will be our biggest expense."

"If I came to live here I could help too."

"Yes I'm sure you could. Talk to Jane about that. She's on the organising committee."

"I will, if I do come."

"Come and see my house Claire, we'll go through that gap in the hedge over there. That's how Dad and I went to and fro. It goes into our back garden."

They pushed through the slightly overgrown gap and Bob took Claire to his workshop. He unlocked the door and showed her the inside. "I spend most of my time here."

"You've got quite a lot of equipment Bob."

"I suppose so. Half of it I got from my Dad. He liked making things with wood as well. Those balls and stars are for the Christmas tree. Come and see the house now." They skirted the vegetable garden and entered the kitchen door.

"It's a small house, two rooms and a bathroom downstairs and three bedrooms. Just big enough for Betty and me to raise two children. Come and see the lounge. See, here it is, it's nice enough but very small."

"It's a warm and comfortable room Bob."

"Thanks. Would you like to see upstairs?"

"No I don't think so."

"Okay. Would you like a drink?"

"No it's a bit too early for that. And we have some work to do—the Christmas decorations."

"Yes that's right. We'll go and collect the ornaments then."

A group of children were singing and dancing on the stage when they entered the hall. They found Jane in the wings and Bob told her that he had some coloured balls and stars to put on the tree. "Could I borrow a stepladder?"

"It's under the stage Bob, but it's not long enough to reach the top of the tree. Be careful."

He was careful and used a stick to hang the ornaments that Claire handed to him when he wanted to put some near the top of the tree.

"All it needs now are some floodlights Bob," said Jane, when she came out to see what he'd done. "When I looked at the tree last night I could see it needed something more than Christmas lights to make it stand out. The balls and stars do just that. Thanks. There are three floods that Joe used to use in our yard under the stage. Can you install them?"

"All right."

He found the floodlights and some lengths of outdoor cable. He and Claire positioned the lights, fastened them to wooden pegs driven into the ground and connected the wiring, wrapping the connections where the cable plugs and sockets joined in plastic bags to protect them from the rain.

"I'll check the light's position tonight Jane. When it gets dark."

"I'm going back to Bonnie's now Bob," said Claire.

"I'll come with you. Are you eating at the Crown on Saturday?"

"You bet, about six o'clock?"

"Yes. Okay, see you then."

After his potpie supper he returned to the Centre and changed the positions of the two floods that were closest to the road. His ornaments glistened under the lights, making Joe's fir look like a real Christmas tree. Once Bob had returned home he poured himself a whisky and sat in his arm chair. It had been a fine day.

Bob often went to the library in Big End on Fridays. Patrons were allowed to keep books for three weeks but he liked to go each week, even if he didn't have any books to return, because he liked to read some of the magazines, particularly his favourite, The Wood Crafters' Journal. He usually caught the 9:45 bus, had a coffee, and then went to the library when it opened at 10. He'd return any books he had finished, look over the shelves or ask if any of the ones he had ordered had arrived, find a nice chair and read until about 11:45. Then he'd have his lunch and a beer at the Fox, chat with the landlord or the acquaintances he had developed over the years, do his shopping and catch the 2:30 bus home.

He was waiting for the bus at the bus stop next to the Crown when Claire drove by. She stopped, asked him where he was going and when he said "Big End" she told him to get in. "I'm going to see if the agents have found anything. Then I'm going to drive to Warmly, go along the coastal road to Twinner, have lunch there, then drive along the back-roads to Bonnie's. But first I must get some petrol at the garage. Would you like to come? You could tell me about the places we pass."

"Oh yes, I like to go with you," Bob said, and climbed in the car. Claire drove to the garage and he introduced her to Tim Sawyer, the owner, who was filling the tank. Then they followed the road past the Crown, Tyne's Gift Shop and Bonnie's B&B to Big End, discussing her route as they went.

"The coast road's a lovely drive Claire. There are lots of good places to see the sea. You must remember how nice it is."

"Yes I do. We often stopped at Smugglers' Cove and had a picnic lunch. I'd go for a swim with Toby, our dog, if the water was warm enough."

As they entered Big End Bob told Claire that he had a book to return to the library.

"I'll drop you there," she replied. "I'll see the agents then do a bit of shopping. I'll probably be finished about 11:30 and pick you up at the library. Is that okay?"

"Oh yes, that's fine."

This was turning out to be another nice day Bob thought, as he walked into the library. It must have been four years since he had been along the coast road. He remembered the bus trip to Twinner he and Betty had taken one afternoon; it was the last outing they had had together.

At 11:30 he was standing outside the library door. By 11:40 he was a bit anxious and quite worried by noon, thinking something has happened to Claire. Then she drove up.

"Sorry I'm late. The second agent had a cottage to show me. It was just what I wanted, with a garage and a big garden. But it was fifteen miles from Small End, so I told him that I'd have to think about it. I'd much rather live in the village but might change my mind if nothing else turns up. I told him I'm not in any hurry to buy but asked him to let me know if anyone else shows an interest in buying the place."

"That sounds sensible. I think that's what I would do. Now, would you like to have lunch here or eat later, after we've been along the coast?"

"Oh later. Most restaurants keep serving until 2, don't they?"

"I expect so," he replied, not really knowing very much about restaurants.

"All right, let's eat later."

He directed her to the road that went to Warmly. Once there, they turned left and drove along the coast road, going slowly and enjoying the views and each other's company. He told her about the last time he had travelled this way. Claire told him more about the holidays she had taken with her parents.

"So long ago it seems. I still miss them. I expect you still miss Betty."

"Yes I do," and they were silent for a while.

They parked the car at the top of the track leading down to Smuggler's Cove. The trail to the sandy beach was quite steep in places but they managed it without slipping. They had the beach all to themselves and walked to the far end and back, picking up stones and skimming them across the top of the water. The sun shone and there was no wind. It was a lovely day. He almost held out his hand to help Claire climb the steep parts of the path but couldn't sum up courage enough. She managed very well and he didn't mind not holding her hand; it was wonderful to be with her anyway.

Claire drove the last few miles to Twinner and they found a small restaurant that backed onto the sea. They were the only ones present and were given a table that overlooked the sea where they could watch the waves breaking over the rocks. Both started with a soup, a tasty cream of mushroom that had been made by the chef who turned out to be the owner. It was followed by a salad, for Claire, and a sandwich for Bob. Both had coffee and Bob paid for the lunch.

It was a short and quiet drive home, as Claire drove through the tiny village of Easing, across the Tusset bridge and into Small End.

"I'll be an usher at the matinee," Claire told Bob, as he opened the door. "What are you doing for the show?"

"Nothing but I'll buy a ticket and you can show me to my seat," and they laughed. "See you tomorrow."

Three coaches were parked along the road when Bob arrived at the Community Centre on Saturday afternoon. Bus companies in Bournemouth and Southampton had been running day trips for many years, following the coastal roads and visiting one or two villages for lunch and time to shop or explore. Supper plus a concert or play was included with some of these. Tours were popular and Small End's Christmas, Spring and Fall performances had been added after several favourable reviews in the local papers a few years ago.

Claire was busy when Bob walked into the theatre so he waited until she was free and able to show him to his seat. He enjoyed the two short plays more than the rest of the program. Jane turned into an outstanding, eccentric housewife in the second play, a comedy. The teenagers' skit was funny in a very different way. They dressed as witches, ghosts, pirates, goblins and a Father Christmas and gambolled about the stage, fighting each other over treasures, singing and playing guitars. The elementary school children were the quietest performers of the night; they sang several carols and the audience was invited to accompany them on the last two.

"Did you like the show Claire?" asked Bob, as they walked towards the village crossroads with the last of the audience.

"Yes. It is amazing what a small village like Small End can do. Jane was wonderful, wasn't she?"

"Yes she was. She likes to act and often does in these shows. I don't know how she finds the time since she's very active in the organising committee and in helping to run things. Do you act?"

"No. Never tried to. Do you?"

"No. I just carve wood. You can see the trains I made in Rose's window."

"That's Tyne's Gift Shop?"

"Yes. You'll pass it on your way to Bonnie's."

"I'll take a look. 'Bye Bob, I'll see you at the Crown tonight?"

"Yes. 'Bye Claire," and Bob turned right at the Crown as Claire continued towards Bonnie's B&B.

As usual Bob was the first to arrive at the pub that evening. He added a sixth chair to the table then sat down, facing the door. Claire arrived at six and he stood up, waved her over then bought her a gin and tonic. Joe, Jack and Rose arrived next and Jane five minutes later.

"I thought the matinee went well. How about you Claire. Did you enjoy it?" asked Jane.

"Yes. Very much. I though that you were very good Jane. Excellent, in fact."

"Thank you. I enjoy acting."

"You could be a professional if you wanted," Bob added.

"I was telling Bob how remarkable it is for a small village like Small End to do such things," said Claire.

"We have lot's of volunteers."

"You probably do more than six of them Jane," said Rose.

"Yes she does," said Joe. "She's out many afternoons and three or four evenings each week when they're preparing for a show."

"But that's what I enjoy doing," said Jane. "Let's order; this will likely be the last meal I'll eat out before Christmas!"

They ordered, drank, ate and Bob and Claire told the others what they had been doing on Friday. Joe noticed Bob's frequent looks at Claire and told Jane as they walked home afterwards that something was going on, or at least starting.

"Don't be daft," she said. "Claire is just being nice to him."

"Oh. I don't know about that," said Joe. "Bob seems overly interested in her. You wait and see."

Even though it looked as if it might rain later that Sunday morning, Bob had his sheets and clothes hanging on the line before his coffee break. Sitting down with his cafeteria and biscuits he returned to his earlier thoughts about the day. Should he ask Claire if she would like to go for a walk with him this afternoon? He felt strange asking himself these kinds of things, something he hadn't done since he was a teenager. Should he or shouldn't he? 'Well I will ask her. The worst thing that could happen would be that she would refuse. No,' he realised, 'that wasn't the worst thing. She might think I'm a bit of a pest. I don't want that.' He kept debating the subject but couldn't decide what to do. He tried to stop thinking about the afternoon and just enjoy drinking his coffee but couldn't.

During his lunch of soup and crackers he finally decided to leave things to chance. He'd walk past Bonnie's place and if he saw Claire or Bonnie he would stop and talk, then see what happened. So he put on his rain jacket and his warm tweed cap and set off.

He was disappointed as soon as Bonnie's came into view. Claire's car was not there so that answered the question; they wouldn't be walking together that afternoon.

Bonnie was tidying the perennial beds beside the path that led to her front door and Bob asked her if Claire would be back soon.

"Hello Bob. No, she won't. She had a phone call last night and told me at breakfast that she would be going to Reading for a couple of days."

"Oh okay," said Bob and turned away. She probably had many friends in Reading having lived there all her life. She might be taking some Christmas presents to them. Or even going to a party. Well he'd take the walk he was going to suggest, follow the river path then return along the woods and fields' footpaths.

He stopped at the village graveyard on his way home to check his parent's grave. He never put flowers there; his Dad wouldn't have minded but his mother always said, "give me flowers when I'm living, not when I'm dead. I don't want them then." There was nothing to do at the grave so he just stood there remembering again how nice it used to be when he was living with them. Betty didn't have a grave; she had discussed her death with him and the children and told them that she wanted to be cremated and her ashes shaken into the Tusset. Her wishes were followed, with Bob sliding out to the dip in the big branch that hung over the river where he and Joe often sat when fishing when they were children. Bob let the ashes drop into the flowing waters as everyone watched. He later buried the urn at the back of the garden, beside Betty's rhubarb patch.

Monday morning he checked his collection of wooden branches and took one that would make a suitable stand for his next bird. By fastening it to the split-log base at an angle of about thirty degrees one of it's branches would be almost horizontal. That would be an ideal place to mount the bird.

He cut a small birch log lengthways to make the base, sanded the saw cut, drilled a hole near one end of the log and pushed the branch into the hole. Placing it on the bench he reconsidered his design. 'Yes,' he thought, 'that looks perfect.'

Now what kind of bird should he carve? A robin, they were always popular, especially at Christmas or in the Spring. He chose a log of the right shade of brown from his collection and cut off a four inch length. He studied it for several minutes, making sketches to decide which way its head should turn, eventually deciding that it should point slightly to the right and a little upwards as though it was listening to another bird's call. 'That should look nice and if it turns out okay I'll give it to Claire for Christmas.'

Bob began carving the robin after lunch. Mid-afternoon he had a tea break then he returned and worked until five. 'That's enough for today,' he decided. 'I don't want to make a mistake.' He put the carving and his knives on the bench, swept the floor and locked the workshop door. 'Now what shall I have for supper?' he asked himself, as he skirted his vegetable patch.

He completed the rough and the fine carving Tuesday morning finally finishing the bird an hour after lunch. He'd make and fit the legs tomorrow. Legs were always difficult, they had to look realistic and be bent at the correct angles to suit the bird and the branch the bird would stand on. He had an early tea and wondered what he should do with the rest of the afternoon. Perhaps Claire has returned from Reading. 'I could go around to Bonnie's and check. But no, I can't keep bothering Bonnie like that. I'll walk to the Community Centre and see if Jane's heard anything.'

"No," Jane said. "I've not heard anything. I'll ask Bonnie when I see her tomorrow afternoon. Maybe she'll know. Bob, now you're here, do you have time to reposition the stage spotlights? Our two main helpers, Jim and Ken Smith, have colds and I told them to stay away until they're better. We need more light stage-right, near the back. That's where the teenagers have their jazz band. I couldn't see them very well at the matinee."

He found the stepladder and climbed it nearly falling off as he did so because one of its legs was standing on a dark book that he hadn't noticed earlier. He moved several lights until Jane was satisfied. Then he helped her move some of the sets. He was glad he had come.

"How about tomorrow? Do you need any help then? I could come in the afternoon if you like."

"Yes please, and every afternoon this week if you can."

"Okay, I'd be glad to."

He walked home feeling extra happy. It was nice to help at the Centre, he should have volunteered to do that long ago. And, being there, he'd know as soon as Claire returned and wouldn't have to keep asking people about her.

Wednesday largely followed Tuesday's pattern. He made several legs for the robin in the morning then selected two. He drilled holes in the bird, cut and adjusted the legs until it's claws grasped the branch in a realistic fashion then glued everything into place. He decided to slightly colour the robin's breast. Normally he just darkened his bird's eyes but robins needed a bit of red. That done, he had lunch.

He walked to the Centre immediately after washing his dishes. Only Jane was there and she asked him check each row and pick up any rubbish. Half way through Bob asked her if she had heard from Claire.

"No I haven't. If she's not here would you mind being an usher? There are four buses coming each night and we'll be very busy."

"Of course I'll be glad to help," though he hoped that Claire would be back by then.

Claire hadn't returned by the time Bob arrived at the Centre Thursday afternoon. He began worrying. Why isn't she here? She told Bonnie that she would only be away for a couple of nights. What's going on? Is she ill? She might have a cold but that wouldn't stop her from returning would it?

He had an early supper and returned to the Centre. Claire still hadn't arrived so he was very busy until the performance began. 'Well,' he told himself, 'since she said she would be an usher she must return sometime tomorrow.' He tried to stop thinking about her but it was hard.

Bonnie walked into the Centre on Friday afternoon with a message to Jane from Claire. Bob was nearby and overheard her say that Claire had called to tell her that she couldn't return until late Saturday evening. He drew nearer and listened to the rest.

"She said she was very sorry that she couldn't be there early enough on Saturday to help and that she would explain what had happened when she came. She wanted to know if you're going to the Crown after the performance and, if so, what time would everyone be there. She'll phone me Saturday afternoon to find out what was happening."

Bob was relieved; Claire was all right. But he couldn't help wondering what had happened. It wouldn't be just because she wanted to party with her friends. Was it a problem with her furniture? She'd stored enough to set up a two-bedroom bungalow with a company in Reading. Had there been a fire or a break-in? Or could it have been a problem with her mother's will? Claire might have been talking to the lawyers. That could be it.

"Tell Claire that we'll be at the Crown around 9:30, Bonnie, and that we'll probably stay for an hour. We hope she can join us. Did she sound all right?"

"She seemed to be all right. Happy in fact."

Bob was glad to hear that. 'It'd be good news, not bad, then. I wonder what it'll be.'

Bob ushered and helped on the drinks' table Friday and Saturday evenings. Unfortunately, during the intermission on Saturday evening, someone spilled a cup of tea all over the table and onto his trousers. The tablecloth was soon covered over but he had to go home to change. He helped tidy the hall after the show had finished then went to the Crown with Jane and Rose. Jack and Joe were already there, about to start a third pint. Bob bought drinks for them and he had just sat down when Rose told him that she had sold five trains on Friday and seven that afternoon.

"Twelve! That's excellent," said Bob. He quickly calculated how much money this would bring. He got ten pounds and fifty pence for each one because Rose priced them at fifteen pounds and took thirty percent. Twelve times ten fifty was one hundred and twenty six pounds, that, and the ninety four fifty owed for previous sales this month made two hundred and twenty pounds, fifty pence. Not bad! Bob didn't need the money, his pension covered all his normal expenses. He put what he made into a savings account and planned to give the money to his grandchildren one day.

It was almost ten o'clock when Claire arrived. She strode confidently in, smiling and holding the hand of a smartly dressed man, and walked to their table.

"Hello everybody. I'd like to introduce my husband, Charles."

Claire named everybody, everybody smiled and the men stood up and shook his hand, then Claire sent him to the bar to buy a bottle of champagne. As soon as he had left she sat down then told them what had happened. Charles was the manager of the bank where she used to work. After he had overcome a nasty divorce they had become lovers. "That was about eight years ago. We didn't marry because I was looking after my mother. After she died I wanted to marry Charles but he refused. He said he was afraid that if they married it might end in another divorce and he couldn't face that. So, last month, I told him that our romance was finished. That's when I decided to leave Reading and live somewhere else. But last Saturday evening Charles phoned me and proposed. So that's what we did, four days ago, in a registry office."

Charles returned with an opened bottle and some flutes on a tray. "Please, drink to our happiness," he said, as he filled and handed out glasses.

Everyone lifted their glass, smiled and drank, including Bob, although he was stunned. 'Why didn't I foresee something like this happening? I should never have begun thinking that Claire would be interested in me. I've behaved like an idiot. It was a stupid idea I had. Did I make a fool of myself? No, I don't think so.' He'd only made a fool of himself to himself.

He stood up and said he would like to buy another bottle to celebrate this grand happening, offered his seat to Charles and went to the bar, glad to get away for a moment to let his thoughts readjust. Joe watched him as he went and told himself that it might be a good idea to visit Bob tomorrow; he might need a bit of cheering.

As Bob got ready to go to bed that night he felt empty; Claire had somehow added spice to his life. She had given him more to think about than making toys or carving wood. It would be hard to return to doing just that in future. But what else was there? He'd have to make the best of it. 'Things, I suppose, could have been worse. I might have tried to kiss her when we were on the beach. I'm so glad I didn't. It's a good job that Christmas will soon be here; seeing the family again will help to knock sense into my head.'

Bob was sitting on his stool in the workshop Sunday afternoon, staring at a block of wood, intermittently thinking of Claire and wondering how the wood could be shaped into another bird when Joe arrived.

"Hello Joe. It's not often you visit. Is everything okay?"

"Sure, I came to give you your Christmas present. You can open it now if you like. It's a book as you can tell. But you'll have to open it if you want to know what it's about because I'm not going to tell you. I also want to talk to you about something."

"Well I'll not open it until the twenty fifth. Thank you. I'll give you and Jane yours later this week. What did you want to talk about?"

"Well I don't know how to put this but Jane and I both think that you should have a holiday. You haven't had one since Betty died. All you have done is make occasional visits to your children and we worry. Everybody should take a holiday once in a while. So we'd like you to come to Portugal with us in February. We could go together. The holiday costs just over two thousand pounds for a couple. It'll probably cost twelve or thirteen hundred for someone travelling alone and maybe a bit more for things like drinks and extra meals. What do you think? Would you come? Of course, once we were there we wouldn't always be together. There would be many other people in the group and you'll find them all very friendly. Please think about this and come."

"Wow. I don't know what to say Joe. Thanks for asking me. I'll think about it but I've never thought about taking a holiday. A holiday in Portugal? What happens in that kind of a holiday?

"I've brought the brochure we got from the travel agent. Here, you take it. Look it over and I'll come around tomorrow afternoon to find out what you think about it. If you'd like to come with us I'll drive you to Big End and we go to the travel agency. I've got to go to town tomorrow anyway, I have to talk to the supermarket produce manager about next year."

Joe left shortly after that and Bob picked up the brochure. It described several holidays and the one that Joe and Jane were taking was circled. He stopped work, locked the shop and went in for an early supper, thinking all the while about what Joe had said.

He first thoughts were about how he felt about taking a holiday. Did he want to take one? That was the most important question. He'd never thought about taking one. His life used to be fine just as it was but his thoughts were a bit mixed-up now. Claire made him think about things he'd not considered for a long time. Then he thought about the cost. Twelve or thirteen hundred pounds was a lot of money. However he could actually earn three or more times that in a year if he made and sold more toys although he'd have to ask other retailers to sell his productions. That was something else to think about. 'The big question is, do I want to take a holiday now and then? Maybe I should. It would be nice to go with Joe and Jane. And to go to Europe! Well that would be very interesting.'

It was two o'clock Monday afternoon when Joe arrived. Bob was dressed in a jacket and was waiting for him in his front room.

"Yes, I've decided Joe. I'd like to go with you."

"Oh that's great. In that case get your cheque book, you'll have to give them a deposit."

They discussed the holiday as Joe drove to Big End. The agent had told Joe and Jane a bit more about the group than what was in the brochure. She had taken the trip herself the previous year and could describe the hotel, the restaurants and the included trips.

"I'll drop you at the agency and go to the supermarket. I'll be there for about half-an-hour so wait at the agency until I come back," said Joe.

Bob was lucky to get a place on the tour for he was told that several people had said they were interested but hadn't decided yet if they would go. "There are three places left. Do you want to book now?"

"Yes I do."

"Then I need a deposit of three hundred pounds. Do you have a passport?"

"No I don't."

"Then you'd better get one quickly. Have your photos taken and printed this afternoon. Get the application form from the Post Office, fill it in and post it as soon as you can, today, if you can."

Bob wrote the cheque then hurried down the street to the photographer's shop. He paid extra to have them the next day and the assistant told Bob they'd be ready at nine o'clock. He then went to the Post Office, got the form and completed most of it whilst waiting for Joe in the travel agency. However he had to include his birth certificate and that was at home. There was so much to think about all of a sudden.

On the way back to the village Joe asked him about his clothes. "Do you have a bathing costume and sunglasses?" Bob pencilled a shopping list as they talked. When the kids asked what he wanted for a Christmas present he'd have lots of suggestions for them!

"Oh," Joe said as he dropped Bob at his gate, "You're invited to the volunteer's party at the Community Centre on Wednesday afternoon. It's at 4 p.m. and lasts about two hours. They're having the party on the Wednesday because everyone's busy on the twenty-fourth. Will you come?"

"Eh, yes, I'll be there."

"And Jane asked if you'd like to help the stage crew next year. They really need more helpers."

"I'll be happy to do that."

As usual Bob stayed a night with both his children over Christmas. Sam's daughters, Jane and Bess, loved the kitchen set. They made three cakes and some jam tarts as soon as they had time on Christmas morning. Bob ate one of the cakes and two of the jam tarts and the girls ate the rest.

"You didn't save any for your Mum or Dad!" said Bob.

"Well we didn't know if they'd taste okay, Grandpa. There were good, weren't they?"

"Yes, very good."

"Then we'll make some more for them."

They cooked five more cakes and two dozen jam tarts and ate them for tea. Lilly said they were all very good and that they could help her next time she made cakes.

Regina's son, Roy, wasn't interested in his aeroplane until his Dad began constructing it then he helped glue the paper on the wings. However the plane wasn't finished before Bob returned home so he didn't know how well it worked.

Whilst visiting his children he looked at his grandchildren's' toys. The only wooden toys they had were ones he had made. He was told that they played with them but he wondered how often. The train sets were toys designed for children aged five or six and they must be boring for eight and nine year olds. There was only so much you could do with an engine and three carriages, even if you had two of them.

Regina and Sam were very surprised when he told them he was going to Portugal in February.

"I thought you didn't need holidays," said Sam. "What changed your mind?"

"Oh, Joe asked me to join him and Jane on their trip and I said I would. It'll make a nice change." He didn't say anything about Claire, or how she had changed his outlook on life. There wasn't much to say about her, anyway.

"Well I think it's a good idea," said Sam. "You should take a holiday each year like we do. There's lots and lots of different places to visit."

He thought about Sam's suggestion on the bus going home. It would be nice to look forward to an annual holiday, and look back on it, afterwards, though how could he pay for them? It was not sensible to spend his savings on vacations. The grandchildren might need them or he might need them when he was old and needed looking after. He'd have to make more money and sell more toys. He could ask a shop in Big End to sell them for him. Rose sold all she could already. What would she think if he were to do that? Would she mind? He'd have to ask her. That'd be the easiest way to make more money. Of course, he'd probably get tired of making train sets. Maybe he should make something else, something that would appeal to eight- or nine-year olds. He'd have to think about that.

Since he had nearly an hour to wait in Big End before the next bus to Small End left he looked in two toy shops, hoping they might suggest things he could make. All the toys of the kind he could build were made of plastic. He thought about making them in wood but quickly forgot that idea; it would take too long and they wouldn't be as nice as the plastic ones. Also he'd have to charge more for his and no one would buy them. So he'd have to make trains.

Jane and Joe invited him to have dinner with them between Christmas and the New Year and, in return, he invited them, Rose and Jack for an afternoon of drinks and snacks. It wasn't until January first, when he was about to make a New Year's resolution 'to make more trains,' that he remembered he should first ask Rose if she would mind him selling them in Big End.

Saturday night at the pub he asked her, first telling her why he wanted to do this.

"It is a very good idea Bob. I don't mind at all. All the trains we sell are bought by our villagers or by tourists that come to the village. I'm sure they'll still buy from us even if you also sold in Big End. I think I know someone who might sell them for you. I'll phone her on Monday and ask, though I think she's on holiday right now."

"Oh, thanks, Rose."

"I'll tell you what she says as soon as I hear."

"What else do you think I could make Rose? I'll soon get tired making trains and carriages."

"What about your birds Bob? You can sell them too."

"But they take too long to make. I can make two train sets in the time it takes to carve a bird."

"Well young children are often interested in farm or zoo animals. Could you make some of these?"

"I could probably make them but I suspect each one would take a long time and I'd have to charge too much. I don't think they'd sell if they were expensive. I'll look at some of my old wood working magazines, there's bound to be something there."

**Chapter 2 Jenny**

Monday morning Bob woke with an interesting idea; he could make a farm or a zoo to hold the plastic animals that many shops sold. The farm could have a house, a barn, a pigpen or a chicken coup. The zoo could have enclosures of different sizes, an entrance with a ticket booth and a shop where snacks could be sold. He could also make wooden tractors or trees and fences that both sets could use. Surely these toys would appeal to eight or nine year olds.

After breakfast he sketched how the toy pieces might look and made notes about how big they should be, how each might be made economically and thought about how they should be sold. Would it be better to sell them one at a time or sell several in a box? And, if they were sold in sets, how many pieces should he put in each one? He eventually decided they should be sold as complete farms or zoos and he would decide how many pieces should be in each set later. He'd make a farm set first and model it on Joe's farm but he wouldn't provide a plan of the farm, the children could build their own. He would make hedge rows in several lengths so they could lay out their fields in different shapes, with a few wire rail fences. He could also make a variety of barns and sheds and sell them as extras, that is, if the farm set sold. There were a lot of things he could make easily and quickly to house the animals that shops were selling.

He began by making a simple house. He considered making a more complex one, a larger one with a covered entry porch, wings and a conservatory. a bit like Joe's, but a farm house really didn't need to be that complex. However, it gave him another idea; he could make a village set; that could have several different kinds of houses, some shops, a church and a pub. So many other ideas quickly came to mind and he jotted them down so he wouldn't forget. He would make a farm set first to see how that sold, then a zoo set next to determine which sold best. No, a zoo might be too much like a farm; it would be better to make a village set next.

Bob's coffee breaks shortened and he lost interest in reading books. When he went to Big End on Tuesday morning he didn't go to the library. Looking in toy shop windows interested him more than searching for a new novel or reading the next edition of his woodworking magazine. He spent his time constructing pieces for the farm, watching the clock as he did so and thinking about what he could do to make each piece more quickly.

By Thursday he had made a twenty piece farm set. He sanded and painted the pieces at the end of each day then left them to dry overnight. He assembled what he had made then quickly realised he needed many more hedges because the fields should be larger. Hedges were difficult to construct yet a farm needed many of them. It might be easier to make villages and have just a few of them. He'd talk to Rose tomorrow and ask her what she thought.

He put the set in a cardboard box Friday morning and took it to Rose's Gift Shop and showed it to her.

"I like the idea Bob. Put some of the pieces on the counter and let me see how they look with animals next to them."

Rose put several cows in one field and two horses in another. She then put the man by the pigpen and the woman next to the back door of the house.

"They look good but they don't quite fit Bob."

"No, my pieces are too small or your animals are too big. I'll have to make the farms bigger. Right now the cows could almost walk over the hedge."

"Yes, but I'll put it in the window and see if it sells. How much do you think we should charge for it?"

"Well it took three days to make but next time it should only take about one. Do you think that thirty pounds would be okay?"

"That's a bit high. Plastic farm sets sell for about twenty pounds but you are making them of wood and many people like wooden things better than plastic. Why don't we try selling them for twenty two fifty and see what happens. We can change that price or add more pieces later if it doesn't sell. Bye-the-way, I can order you some cardboard boxes. They come flat, in lots of a hundred and cost ten pounds."

"All right. I'll have a hundred. Let me pay you now; here's the money."

"Thanks. Jack can make a label for them; want him to?"

"Ah, yes, please. Ask him to sketch a few and I'll look at them tomorrow at the Crown. Will you be there?"

"Yes. Jack's looking at an old cottage right now but I'm sure he'll have time to make a few sample labels before then."

"Will you lend me a cow and a man Rose? They'd help me get the size right."

"Sure, here, take these."

At supper on Saturday, after Bob had explained what he was planning to do, Jack showed everyone the three labels he had sketched.

"I'se called your company Small End Wooden Toys. 'Wot d'you think o' that?" said Jack.

"It's a good name," said Bob. "Then the toys could be called The Small End Train Set and The Small End Farm Set. I do like the idea of using this village in the name. The Small End Wooden Toys company. Yes, good, that'll be fine."

They discussed the label designs finally settling on one after Rose and Jane had suggested the colours to use.

"What would it cost to make them Jack?" asked Bob.

"First dozen ud be free Bob. Yer can pay for t'next batch."

Monday morning Bob used the cow and the man to set the size of each piece and began to make twelve farm sets. He used a production-line process, shaping a block of wood long enough to make twelve houses before cutting it and making a long length of hedge that could be cut into several lengths. It took about a quarter of the time to construct each piece that way. He solved the problem of making a decent shaped cedar-bush hedge by cutting quarter-inch strips off an eight-foot plank, using his router to shape its sides and a special bit in his hand drill to shape the tops of the bushes. His paints would give it the final touch but it wasn't bad the way it looked already. He solved his fence construction problem by gluing short posts onto small bases and supplying a length of cotton thread wrapped on a piece of cardboard. Children could make their own fences and the cotton would make the fence wires.

Each day passed quickly. Thursday afternoon Bob went to the Community Centre. Jim and Ken Smith had returned and they began making the set for the elementary school children's Spring production. The scene called for a wood on one side of the stage, having a gap between the trees and bushes big enough to crawl through. Half a house, with a window and door that had to open and close, stood on the other side of the stage. A backdrop showing trees and grass covered the centre. Ken had made sketches of the wooden structures that would hold the canvas covers and the crew began by making the house. It took two hours to construct the wooden framework and to staple on the canvas. Jim and Ken said they'd paint it on Friday. Bob didn't offer to help them, he wanted to get back to work on the farms.

Rose told Bob his boxes had arrived when they met Saturday evening in the Crown and he collected them and the labels on Sunday morning. He looked forward to finding out if his farms would sell.

Altogether it had taken him one and a half weeks to make, glue and paint the twelve farms. He didn't include the wire fence posts he had made because he thought children would find it difficult to knot the thin cotton thread around each post. 'One and a half weeks isn't too long,' he thought, after supper on Thursday night. 'If Rose sold each one for twenty two fifty I'd make a hundred and eighty nine pounds. I could make enough money to pay for a second holiday in about two months, that is, if the next trip didn't cost more than the Portuguese one.' Further thoughts came to him; he could make the sets faster if he drank his coffee in the shop whilst working. He might make an extra set each month that way. Or he could work in the evenings but, no, that would be too much, he didn't want making toys to take over every minute of his life. It actually did feel like he was working now. It wasn't a hobby anymore but he didn't mind. He, once or twice, thought about hiring a helper. That would make things easier. He'd have to think about that when he was on holiday. In just two weeks from now he'd be in Portugal!

The boxes were just big enough to hold his new, larger, farm set. He pasted the label on the top of each box and fastened it shut with sellotape. Now to see if Rose could sell them.

He took six of the boxes to Tyne's early Friday morning. His first set was still in the corner of the window so he knew that hadn't sold. Rose was glad to see him.

"I think the other set didn't sell because it's too small for the animals I put in the fields and next to the barn. Are these bigger Bob?"

"Take a look Rose."

She opened one of the boxes and put the house, the barn and a piece of the hedge on her counter top and stood a couple of cows next to them.

"Just right. The hedges are just the right size and a man or cow can walk into the barn without hitting their heads."

She picked up a woman and stood her near the door to the house. "No problem with the house either. Good."

"Yes, the animals and people look as if they belong to the set now. Give me the first farm set; I might make some smaller animals to suit it later. Now, how many farms do you want?"

"How many have you got in the bag?"

"There's six altogether."

"Then I'll take all of them. I'll put one in the window though I don't expect any will sell before Easter. There aren't many tourists now. Oh yes. I called Jenny Wood earlier this week and asked her if she'd like to sell your toys. She's interested and would like to see what you have. Do you know her shop? It's called Home and Holiday."

"Oh yes I do. It's two doors from the Fox. I've been looking in it's window to see if they sold wooden toys. She's got a good spot in town, my toys might sell there. Thanks Rose. I'll talk to her tomorrow."

"Well, good luck, Bob."

Saturday morning was cold and windy and he dressed warmly. He put the boxes in a large plastic bag and walked to the bus stop. He was shivering a bit when Jack drove up.

"Hi Bob. Guess what; Rose 'as sold a farm set yesterday. An ol' girl bought it fer her grandson's birthday. An' she bought twenty or there-a-bats animals as well. Rose's real pleased."

"Oh that's great. I didn't expect her to sell any this time of the year. That's very good news. Thanks for letting me know. Are you going to Big End? I'm taking some sets to Jenny Wood's place."

"Naw, sorry. Goin' to t'cottage, t'one I jus' bought. Some walls t'tear out. Good luc' wiv Jenny, Bob."

The bus eventually arrived and he hurried into its warmth and away from the cold wind. As the bus made its way to Big End he thought what he would tell Jenny. He dismounted near the Fox, walked to Jenny's shop, entered and asked the woman behind the counter if she was Jenny.

"No. Jenny's shopping. She's looking for a new coat. It's been so cold these last few days. But she'll be back in about half an hour, I guess. Can I help?"

Bob told her that he made wooden toys and wanted to know if Home and Holiday would sell them.

"Sorry. I can't make that kind of decision. You'll have to see Jenny. Do you want to wait here? There's a chair in the corner."

"No. I think I'll have a coffee and visit the library for a while. Please tell her my name, it's Bob Barns. Rose Tyne in Small End told her about me earlier this week. I'll come back later."

"Okay. My name's Susan. Perhaps we will be seeing a lot of each other in the future."

Bob walked to the coffee shop and bought the largest mug of coffee available. He sat by the window and looked at the newspaper someone had left behind. It was eighteen degrees in southern Portugal! To think that he would be there in nine days. He dreamed of walking along the beach in his shorts. Maybe even swimming in the ocean. Then he suddenly thought of Claire. 'I'll probably never see her again. She'll probably living in Reading now. I hope she's happy.'

At ten he walked to the library, collected two of his favourite magazines and sat down. It felt a little strange, for he hadn't been there for over a month. He skimmed through the first. It surprised him to find that nothing interested him except for one small advertisement he noticed near the back. It included three photographs of gnomes. The blurb told him that they were painted and could stay in the garden all through the winter. 'I wonder how many he's sold by advertising in this magazine,' Bob wondered. 'Maybe I could sell the farms by advertising them in the right kind of magazine. If I did that I wouldn't have to pay any commission and maybe I could get the purchaser to pay the postage.' He pulled out his note book and made a note of the idea. Then he thought again, 'Do I really want to do that? What if I get a great many orders, I don't want to spend every day making toys. It would be much easier to go back to doing what I used to do, just making a few and forget about having a holiday each year. Maybe I'm doing the wrong thing after all. Well, that's something else I'd better think about when I'm in Portugal.'

About ten thirty he walked back to Home and Holiday. Jenny was there, behind the counter.

"Hello Bob. Rose told me all about you and how she had been selling your trains the past three years. Can I look at one? Do you have any here?"

"No sorry. I've started making farm sets and I've some in the bag. I'd like to show you those." Bob took a box out of the bag, opened it and placed the house, barn, pigpen and some hedges on the counter.

"I see that you've got the same kind of animals Rose has. Can you put some of them next to these pieces."

Jenny removed a few animals from her shelf and put them in the field and next to the barn.

"They look quite nice. Does Rose put animals in the farm?"

"Yes. In fact I gave her some of the sets yesterday and she sold one of them and some animals the same day. The farm sells a few animals if they're displayed together."

"I like that. So I'll take some sets on consignment. Rose told me what she sold them for and I'd take thirty percent. Is that okay?"

"Yes. Do you ever sell at a lower commission?"

"Sometimes, but only on items that sell quickly and easily. I wouldn't lower the rate for you until I found out how many I sold. Let's discuss that later. How many do you have in the bag?"

"Six."

"I'll take all of them. And if they sell as quickly as they did for Rose I'll soon be wanting more."

"I can make more but I need time to make them. I'll give you my phone number."

"Thanks, and I'll give you a receipt for the sets."

Well that was easy Bob thought, as he walked out of the shop. He had wondered what Jenny would be like and how she might receive him. He wasn't expecting to be turned away because Rose had said Jenny was interested. 'I should talk to more shop keepers but not until I have something to show them.' With his hands empty and the cold wind still whistling, he went to the Fox. He'd have a drink and one of their curries. That would be two meals out in the same day, lunch and dinner. Well, he could afford it if his toys kept selling.

On the bus home he realised he should have some business cards to give retailers. That would be much better than asking them to write down his phone number. He'd ask Jack if he could make them, if not he'd order some the next time he was in Big End.

The next week Bob didn't feel like building more sets; he wanted to wait until he found out if Jenny sold any. Instead he drew diagrams of what he'd put in a village set and in a zoo set. After a little while he decided that a zoo set would be too similar to the farm set and put the sketches in an envelope in case he needed them later. He tidied his workshop and assembled fifty boxes, separating the tops and bottoms of twenty five of the boxes Rose had bought for him; the boxes would hold the houses, barns, pigpens and other parts of the farm or village sets he'd probably be making in the future. Then he cut and fitted four shelves on the wall beside the door and placed the boxes there. There was room enough for another fifty boxes if he ever built more than a dozen sets at a time.

Jane phoned him on Tuesday to invite him to supper on Thursday night, saying it was time they discussed the travel arrangements. Bob's bottle of wine was quickly finished with the steaks and Joe opened another. They talked as they ate and continued afterwards as they drank coffee. Joe told Bob that, as they had to meet the group at Gatwick Airport at 9:30, they would leave about 7 to have plenty of time in case there were traffic jams.

"If we get there too early we can have a coffee. Did you get your passport?"

"Yes, it arrived three days ago. Just in time! I was becoming a bit worried about it."

"How about a suitcase, do you want to borrow one?" Jane asked.

"Oh. I hadn't thought about that. Er, yes please, I think I do. I've only a small one. We've never needed a big one."

"Well we have one you can borrow. It's medium-sized, hopefully it'll be big enough. You should also bring a small carry-on bag. The flight takes about three hours so you might like to have something to read on the way."

"Okay. I've a couple of books I got at Christmas."

"Keep your sunglasses in the bag, we might need them when we arrive. Are you going to take a bathing costume?"

"Yes."

"Well the water might be a bit too cold but it's better to have it, in case. How about travellers cheques, do you have any?"

"I'll get some tomorrow. Do you think a hundred pounds worth will be enough?"

"It mostly depends on if you are going to buy presents. We don't buy any so we take a hundred pounds; it's for buying drinks or snacks and we sometimes buy a meal in a restaurant. We don't want to eat all our meals with the group."

"Well in that case I think fifty pounds would be enough for me."

"Oh, buy a neck pouch at the travel agency to hold your passport. You can keep some of your money in that too, if you want."

"All right, I will."

**Chapter 3 Portugal**

It was still dark when Bob climbed into the station wagon Monday morning. He had packed his suitcase Sunday and tied a strip of red cloth to the handle so he could easily recognise his bag when they arrived in Faro. He put the novels Sam had given him at Christmas in his take-on bag together with a few sweets. Jane suggested that he suck them during take-off and landing because they might help him equalise the air pressure change and stop his ears from hurting. "I use sweets but Joe doesn't," she said. "He just swallows and that works well enough for him." Bob said he'd try Joe's way first to see what happens. It was an exciting thought, to be flying through and above the clouds. "I hope I have window seat," he told her.

Joe parked the station wagon in the long term parking lot at Gatwick and they took a shuttle to their terminal and joined a small crowd whose suitcase labels indicated that they would be on the same trip. Jane and Joe chatted with a couple of them until their guide arrived. She welcomed everybody, said her name was Charlotte and counted how many were present. She then told them they couldn't check-in yet because there were four more people to come. Ten minutes later they turned up and apologised to everyone. "Our bus was caught in a traffic jam. We'll catch an earlier one next time."

Charlotte told the group to take their baggage to the counter and check-in. Bob stood immediately behind Joe and Jane and watched what they did. When he gave his ticket and passport to the agent she asked him if he wanted a window seat. "Yes please," he replied. She then gave him his boarding pass and stuck the ticket for his checked-in bag on the back.

Charlotte was flying with them and when everybody was ready she took them to the boarding lounge. Forty-five minutes later Bob was staring at Gatwick from the air. He recognised the main road they had driven along that morning then clouds blocked his view, replaced a short while later by bright sunlight. It was amazing to look at the white fluffy shapes, occasionally catching glimpses of land far below him. Shortly afterwards he saw the Channel, then Europe, lying beneath their feet.

Disembarking at Faro, going through Immigration and Customs and collecting baggage was easy and quick, so quick that he had to review what happened when he was on the coach to be sure that he remembered the details for any future visit. Ninety minutes later they arrived at their hotel in Lagos. He was happy to learn that it was close to the centre of town. He would get up early each day and take a walk; he wanted to see as much as he could and make the most of his first time aboard.

The two week holiday was a mixture of free- and coach-days, when they visited other parts of Portugal. Their meals, when they were in Lagos, were eaten in the hotel. Bob got a bit tired of that and several times went with Joe and Jane, or with anther couple, to eat in the local restaurants. First he ate fish and chips then he tried barbecued sardines, having been told by a man who went there every year that he should try them because they were wonderful. Bob liked them immediately but he also tried several other seafood dishes. Fish, cooked by any means, quickly became his favourite food and he decided to cook it more often when he was home.

Walking in the early morning became a habit and he quickly memorised the streets in the centre of the town. On his third day he noticed an attractive-looking bar and took Joe and Jane there that evening. They liked its ambience and often dropped in after their evening meal. One night they sat next to a group of three women who were celebrating an anniversary. Two of them occasionally spoke English so Jane asked them what they were celebrating.

"Maria has been divorced for three years and both Isabel and I are divorcees so we know how it feels to be free of an unhappy marriage."

This surprised Jane and she said that she and Joe had been married for thirty three years and were still very happy. Bob added he also was very happy during his marriage but his wife died three years ago.

"Would you like to pull your table next to ours?" asked Jane. "We have longed to talk to some Portuguese people. Joe, buy us a round of drinks."

It turned out that Maria and Isabel were travel agents and enjoyed practising their English. Most of their time was spent booking people on tours and, occasionally, guiding them. They worked together in the same agency; Liliana worked in the shop next to the agency where she sold dresses. They chatted about Lagos and Portugal and then about England. All three had visited London and Maria had guided several tours there and in the Lake District. A few minutes before leaving that night Bob asked Maria for her agency's business card.

"I very much like Lagos, its streets, buildings, restaurants and people, and I'm thinking that I'd like to come again next year, for a longer time. If I decide to do that what would it cost to rent an apartment for a month?"

"It depends where that apartment is and its size. The agency doesn't rent apartments but I have a friend who does. I'll get some ideas from her. Would you like her to show you some?"

Bob looked at her and smiled, "I'd rather you did that. Can you?"

Maria looked at him and his smile and thought, 'Well, why not? Time I got used to being with a man again. A walk with him can't do any harm.'

She smiled back and said, "Okay. I can take an hour or two off, they owe me several days. When would you like to go?"

"Joe, when's our next free afternoon?"

"Wednesday."

"Could we meet, say at 2 on Wednesday Maria?"

"Sure. Meet me at the agency. The address is on the card."

As he got ready for bed that night Bob thought about what he had told Maria. It seemed he'd already decided to make enough toys to pay for a holiday next year. Until that minute he really hadn't been sure what he was going to do. He must have made his mind up subconsciously. He wondered if it was the correct decision as he drifted off to sleep.

The agency where Maria worked was in the Old Town, three blocks away from his hotel. She had the addresses of four apartments from her friend. Two of them were within walking distance. The first was within the Old Town; it rented at twelve hundred pounds a month during January and February. The second, which was just outside the Old Town's boundary, cost nine hundred pounds a month. Both were nice places; each had a bedroom, a small kitchen, a living room and a tiny balcony.

"There are two more to look at but they're further out. Do you like the ones we've already seen?"

"Yes I do. Especially the first. I like its layout better than the second and its balcony looks onto a square. It would be nice to sit there with a coffee and watch people pass by. But I think it's a bit too expensive for me."

"Well lets go and look at the other two," and Maria took Bob back to the agency and into the small parking lot that lay behind it. "We'll use my car. The apartments are not far away but it's uphill. Do you mind walking back? You told us you like walking and I'd like to drive home after we have seen them though I could take you back to your hotel afterwards if you want me to."

"Let me see where they are before I decide Maria."

The next two apartments had the same features as the ones they had seen, a bedroom, living room, kitchen and a balcony. The monthly rent was eight hundred pounds. One apartment faced west and the other faced east, that was about the only difference between them. They were about six blocks from the Old Town and about the same distance to the waterfront.

"How do you like these?"

"I prefer the second one, the one that faces west, but the first one you showed me this afternoon is still the best because it's in the Old Town. It's close to the waterfront, the restaurants and the bars. That's the place I would rent if I can afford it and I should know if I could by August or September. Would that be too late to rent it or another one like it, in Old Town?"

"I don't think so but I'll ask my friend to write to you so you'll know if you should book it earlier. Give me your address."

Bob copied it down on the back of one of her cards then Maria said, "I must go now. Do you want me to take you back to your hotel?"

"No. It's not far and it is downhill. I'll walk, see some of the city I haven't been to before and I won't get lost. Thanks for showing me these places. Will you be in the bar the next four days?"

"No. I'm going to be with my mother. She lives in Lisbon and I won't be back until Monday. That's the day you leave isn't it?"

"Yes. Well, if I return next year I'll see you then. Thanks for showing me these places."

"I'm glad I did. I hope to see you again."

"I hope to see you too," replied Bob, with a smile.

As he walked away Bob wondered why he said that. Was he just being friendly? Or had Claire's influence awakened a wish to become friendly with women. Interesting. He didn't usually say things like that.

His walk back to the hotel was enjoyable. However the views of the waterfront were broken by buildings, several old, dilapidated, but graceful homes and some modern, uninteresting-looking apartment blocks next to several others being constructed. The area was certainly not as interesting as the Old Town. Yes, he decided, that was where he would rent, even if it cost more. He could easily earn the difference, selling forty train sets would do that. He wondered how many Rose or Jenny had sold by now. Probably none, for it was still the wrong time of the year.

There were two more coach outings that week. The first was to a vineyard, the second they had visited. The first time Bob hadn't bought any wine but this time he liked the red and bought a bottle, noting that it was much cheaper than the wine he bought in England. He had already decided to buy a couple of bottles of Taylor's Tawny Port at the airport's duty-free shop. Port was now one of his favourite after-meal drinks and he had drunk a glass each evening since he had been given one on the first night.

The last outing was to a long beach, twenty miles east of Lagos. Children and a dozen people dashed in and out of the water and others made castles with the sand. Bob and Joe walked along the beach for a mile or more, chatting about the holiday and saying how much they had enjoyed it. Bob told Joe that he was thinking of renting an apartment for a month next year. He asked if they would be interested in doing the same thing but Joe told him that they had been discussing Spain. They liked Portugal but they also wanted to see a bit more of Europe. The year after that they thought that they would try a week in Paris or Berlin.

"You should think about going with us to one of those cities Bob. They would be quite different from Lagos. We'd visit the museums and art galleries on that trip. Would you like to do that?"

"I think so, but I'm not ready to do that yet. I'd like to join you if you go in a couple of year's time and if I have enough money."

"Good. I'll remind you of that," said Joe.

They returned to the group to have lunch, a special farewell buffet held in a large restaurant. Bob chose a mixed seafood casserole and drank a local beer instead of wine, just for a change.

There were no organised activities on the last day, Sunday, February 11th. This gave everybody time to do what they wanted, to buy last-minute gifts and to pack their cases for the airport bus which was leaving at six Monday morning.

As Bob had expected the journey home was simple. There were no surprises for he remembered the Faro airport layout and now knew what flying was like. The only thing he didn't know was the Customs procedure entering England but it was easy to understand and remember. Walking back to Joe's car Bob realised he could easily travel to Europe by himself now. He didn't have to go on a tour, especially not if he had an apartment waiting for him. The only problem would be getting to and from the airports but there were plenty of busses in England and on the Continent and he didn't expect that part of the journey to be difficult.

"Thanks' for asking me to go with you Joe, Jane. It's been lovely. I've learned so much and had such a nice time."

"And become a seafood eater and a port drinker too!" said Joe.

They laughed and Jane repeated what Joe had told him, that they would be going to Spain the next year, and asked Bob if he would like to go with them.

"I don't think so Jane, but I might return to Portugal. I haven't decided what to do yet. Maybe in the end I'll decide not to take a holiday."

"Why ever not?"

"Well I'll have to make lots of toys and I won't do that if they're not selling. I've been thinking a lot about what I should do during the holiday. I'll tell you what I've decided when I know."

**Chapter 4 What to do?**

Bob had finished his breakfast and washed the dishes by seven on Tuesday morning. The clothes he had washed Monday afternoon had dried overnight so he put them away then looked over the lounge to see if it needed cleaning. It looked okay to him and he didn't see any dust when he ran his finger over the top of the side table. No need to do any cleaning until the weekend. He walked to his workshop and checked the wood he had on the racks. Overnight he had thought that he might have to order some more but there was enough for now. There was no news from Jenny in his mail, just his usual bills and a late Christmas card from Aunt Sally. He sat at the kitchen table and planned his activities for the week. Today he'd return the suitcase, go to the gift shop and talk to Rose, then catch the bus to Big End do some shopping and find out if Jenny had sold any of the farm sets.

Jane was busy in her kitchen when Bob arrived.

"Oh, hello Bob. No, I've changed my mind. I don't need the suitcase. You can keep it. It's an old one and we're not likely to use it any more."

"Thanks Jane. Can I leave it with you now and collect it later? I'm going to see Rose and then to Big End to talk to Jenny Wood and see if any of my toys have been sold. I don't want to carry it there and back."

"Sure. Let me know if she has when you come back."

"I will."

Rose welcomed him and asked if he had enjoyed his holiday.

"It was very enjoyable Rose. Lagos is an interesting town, friendly people, many lovely buildings and lots of exciting food. I'm thinking I might go again, next year. How are you and Jack doing?"

"We're fine. We're thinking about holidays too. Just for a few days. Somewhere not to far away that we can drive to. We can shut the shop Monday to Thursday any February week. Most of our customers only come on the weekends then and it's too cold to work on the cottage so Jack's free. Oh, yes, about your farm sets. I'm sorry, I haven't sold any more. I think it's too early. We'll probably sell one or two over Easter and more during the summer. If you make any village sets I'd like to have one, just to see how they look and to find out if they'll sell."

"Okay, I'll make a couple and bring one to you in a few days time. I'm off the Big End now to see if Jenny has sold any. 'Bye Rose."

"'Bye Bob. Good luck."

Jenny was glad to see Bob when he arrived. "I've some good news for you. I've sold three farm sets and lots of animals and it's not tourist time yet. They sold to local people. Isn't it great!"

"Oh yes! That's excellent. You know I also make train sets and I'm going to make a village set next. Perhaps you would like to see them. I could bring you some next time I'm here."

"Yes, I am interested. If they are a good as these farm sets I would like to have six of each. Let me give you a cheque and a statement for the ones I've sold." She sat down, filled in a form and gave a copy to Bob.

"As you can see it says, 'Sold three Small End Farm Sets at £22.50, minus thirty percent commission. £47.25. Do you agree with that?"

"I'm sure that's correct," and he put the cheque and the form in his wallet. "Thank you Jenny."

'Oh,' thought Bob, as he walked out of the shop, 'that was nice. But now I'm in trouble. I have to make six train sets and at least one village set before I see Jenny again. I'm glad I didn't tell her I make birds. Well I'm not going to stop at the Fox nor have lunch here. I'll just do the shopping then spend the rest of the day in my workshop.'

At home, after a quick ham sandwich and a mug of tea he went to his shop having decided what he should do. He'd make two village sets, one for Rose and one for Jenny. Then make train sets for Jenny. 'She'll probably want some more farm sets so I'll have to make more of them.'

He sat on the stool and took his village sketches from the drawer under the bench. The village sets he had planned would have five simple houses, three larger ones, four shops with a single window and two with a double window, one church, one pub, one post office, one bus stop with a bench for waiting, and lengths of small and large hedges. 'All this may be too much,' he thought, as he looked at the drawings. 'It'll probably take too long to make. They'd have to sell for twenty five or thirty pounds to make it worth while. I'll have to think about this.' He took down a length of house-sized wood, long enough to make ten small houses, and began shaping it.

He stopped working at seven. It was dark and his light was not really strong enough for working on small details and he was tired. He'd done enough for one day. He'd made all the houses. He made the larger ones using the same production-line technique and just glued on an entrance porch and a conservatory. The houses hadn't been sanded or painted but he'd try to paint at the end of each day so they could dry overnight and he could add the second coat when he next painted.

He decided to have his supper at the pub. He could tell Len about his holidays and that he was now selling his toys in Big End. That would interest him.

Supper, two pints, speaking to those in the pub filled the evening. At 9:30 he said 'Good night' to Len. "It's time for bed. I've lots to do tomorrow."

After Bob had left Len commented to the two men they had been chatting with, "I wonder what changed his mind? Before Christmas he was happy to be retired and his wood-carving was just a hobby. Now it seems like he's a different man. He's got more energy and drive. It's like he's ten years younger."

Bob was back at his bench at seven on Wednesday with a table light taken from Regina's bedroom shining on his work. On the calendar that his insurance agent had given him for Christmas he wrote "6-V" on Tuesday's square to note how many hours he had been making village sets. He would also note how much wood and paint he used. 'I'd better do that to know exactly what each set costs to make,' he told himself.

With short coffee and lunch breaks and no tea break, he was able to write "10-V" on Wednesday's square. Then he thought he should also record what parts of the set he had made during this time and wrote "houses" for Tuesday and "shops, church, pub and post office" for Wednesday and put "2" in a circle to note that he had made two sets. 'I can probably finish all the other parts tomorrow,' he thought, 'and I'll sand them on Friday then start painting.'

He was right about the time, he did finish the set on Thursday. The hedges still took a long time to make but he knew they were important; they greatly improved the appearance of the village when positioned. Friday morning he took everything outside and sanded them. Luckily it was a warmish and dry day; after lunch he gave the set its first coat of paint.

He had given everything a second coat of paint by lunch-time on Saturday and was tired and ready for a break. It had been a very busy week, something Bob had not experienced in the last few years. However he had to do his weekly Big End shopping so he took the bus there after lunch.

Since he didn't have the train or village sets to give Jenny he didn't enter the shop but looked in the window. There it was, one of his farm sets, complete with animals, right in the centre of the display. Two boys were looking in the window. Bob couldn't see if they were looking at the farm so he moved a little nearer to hear if they mentioned it, but they were talking about the electronics kit; one of them wanted to build a radio and was telling the other boy that he had asked his Dad to buy the kit for his birthday.

Bob pulled out his shopping list. Ah, yes, last night he had wondered if there were quick-drying paints and had added "Art shop" to his list. They might know if there was such a thing. If there was he might be able to do all the painting in one day.

At the shop the assistant told him about acrylics. "That's a quick-drying paint and it comes in many bright colours. Here, look at this box."

Bob liked what he saw and bought a cheap student's set to experiment with. He put the receipt carefully in his shirt pocket; he would need it when he did his book-keeping and completed his income tax return. His next stop was at the building suppliers. He thought he might be able to make twenty farm sets, twenty village sets and twenty train sets during the next two months and had made a list of the wood he'd need. He gave them the list, paid for the wood and was told they'd deliver it next Wednesday. His last job was to shop for the foods he couldn't buy in Small End. He went to the fish shop and was told there wasn't enough demand for them to carry fresh sardines so he bought two salmon filets. At the supermarket he bought a package of frozen white fish then caught the three o'clock bus home.

At the Crown that night he told Joe and Jane what he had been doing and repeated much of it when Rose and Jack joined them. Joe wanted to know why he had decided to do so much. Jane wanted to know if he had decided about next year's holiday. Rose was very interested to learn that Jenny had sold three sets in two weeks and Jack told him that he would have to enlarge his workshop if he was going into mass-production.

"I've been thinking about that. Do I need planning permission to make the shop longer? By about ten feet?"

"Naw you don't," said Jack. "But you won't hav' much garden left."

"That's okay. I won't be doing much gardening in the future if my sets continue to sell."

The conversation shifted to discuss their friends. Jack said that Bonnie had not heard from Claire. Joe looked at Bob when her name was mentioned and noted a faint flicker in his eyes. 'So he still thinks about her, though I think his infatuation, if that's what it was, has diminished.' He mostly thought that because he'd watched Bob flirt, in a tentative way, with the unmarried women they met on the Portugal trip. He told Jane on their flight home that Bob was beginning to get over Betty's death and explained why he thought so. Jane thought he might be right.

Sunday was a rest day for Bob. He didn't go to church. He never had, his parents were not religious. He just needed a break from his week of work. He did his laundry and gave his house a good cleaning. That took most of the morning. After lunch he walked along the Tusset for a couple of miles, stopped to tell Betty, as he usually did when he walked past the tree where he dropped her ashes in the river, what he had been doing since his last visit. Then he took one of the foot paths that would return him across some fields and through a couple of woods to Small End. It was a fine day, warm for February and he enjoyed using his legs after a week in his workshop. The five miles took him three hours. It would have been less if he hadn't stopped to talk to the two farmers he met. He was happily tired when he arrived home but had enough energy to cook the salmon, potatoes and peas. Betty's cookbook stated that grilling the salmon in the oven was the easiest way to prepare it, so that's what Bob did. It was sweet and tasty but too dry. He'd have to make the sauce that they suggested next time. After supper he watched television and drank a glass of port.

Bob woke at five thirty on Monday morning and lay in bed, asking himself again if spending most of his time making toys was the right thing to do. He couldn't decide so told himself he'd just try it for a while. He'd increase his toy production and keep a careful record of how many he made, what they cost to make and how much money they earned, then, maybe during the summer, decide if he should continue. Did he want to start a business and travel or did he want to retire and read? He wouldn't enlarge the shop until he had made up his mind about his future.

During breakfast he made a To Do list. The first item was 'Make twelve train sets,' thinking that should be enough to last until the summer. Then, 'Make ten village sets.' Then he added, 'Ask Jack to design labels for the farm set and the village set.' Until now Rose had just sold the farm set in the boxes like the ones he'd bought without a label. But Jenny, and Rose now, might want something better. He hoped that Jack would have enough time to do both labels. One more item went on the list, 'Ask Rose to order another hundred boxes.' That should be enough to last him all year.

Breakfast done, Bob began work. He decided it was easiest and quickest to make all twelve engines first, then make the thirty-six carriages. That should be quicker than making one set at a time. By five o'clock he had cut all the engine parts and they were piled in the cardboard boxes on the shelves. The wheels, boilers and chimneys were cut from different sized dowel rods. The base and coal boxes of the train were cut from planks.

After sweeping the shop he put a village set in a plastic bag and walked to the gift shop. Rose and Jack were both there and watched as he placed the pieces on the counter.

"There's lots of different ways to make the village," Bob explained. "It'll keep children busy for ages."

"Yes I can see that. I like it and want some."

"Good. Oh, Jenny told me she would like to sell train sets as well as the village sets. Jack, could you design some sample labels for the village and train boxes? I'd like fifty of each and this time I'm going to pay for them. Rose, could you order me another hundred boxes please, the same size as before. Oh, and some rolls of tissue paper to wrap the small parts in. I don't know how much paper I'd need. Could you decide that?"

"All right. My, you'll be busy! Are you sure you want all this extra work? You're very different these days from the way you've been during the last three years."

"Yes, I know. I was a bit of a slow-poke then and I seem to have woken up. I feel more energetic now."

"I'll call t'train set t'Small End Train Set, eh?" asked Jack.

"Yes. We'll use the Small End tag on everything I make. Oh can you make me a business card? Here is a sketch showing the information and how I'd like it to be laid out. I don't know if you can put a small photo or a drawing of a train in the corner. If not don't worry, I just though it would be nice if you could add a picture of some kind."

"I'll try som'in."

Tuesday morning Bob shaped the long blocks from which he'd cut the base and the body of the carriages. He cut them into the parts for thirty-six carriages in the afternoon and cut the wheels from a large dowel rod. It didn't take very long and he sanded everything afterwards. Now the painting.

Painting always took the longest for he had to paint the body, roof, doors, windows and wheels of each carriage and the body, wheels, chimney, coal and a few decorative lines on each engine. The problem was he could only paint colours that didn't touch each other. The ones that met he had to wait until the first coating was dry which meant he had to leave them overnight. However the wheels were quick to paint even though there were a lot of them because they were only one colour. Hopefully acrylic paint would be the answer.

He had a quick supper then returned to his shop. It was time to find out how the acrylic paint looked and how quickly it dried. He wanted to know how long he'd have to wait before adding the next colour. He took an old piece of wood from the waste bin opened the acrylic set and painted six strips of red along the wood. He looked at the clock. After five minutes he painted a strip of white on the first strip of red. No, that was too quick, the red smeared. He waited another five minutes then painted some white on the second red stripe. That was much better. In fact there was almost no smearing and the colours were bright, almost vivid and very attractive. After another five minutes he could paint lines and strips on a red stripe and they kept their shape. 'This is great! Now what does water do to the paint?' It had to be waterproof since small children would be playing with the toys. He put a few drops of water on one of the red stripes and rubbed it with the end of his paint brush. The paint smeared. 'Oh no, that's no good, but maybe I put the water on too soon. I'll let them dry overnight and see what happens in the morning.'

The first thing Bob did when entering his workshop Wednesday morning was put some water on the previous night's paint job. Keeping his fingers crossed he scratched the paint with his finger nail. Nothing happened. He scratched harder, pushing against one of the thin lines. It wasn't affected. Excellent! That meant he could paint the base coats of all the carriages, then paint all the doors, then all the windows and the roof and, with care, the paint wouldn't smear and it wouldn't hurt if children wet them. He thought about how he'd manage the work and soon decided he would place them in a line and paint from left to right. Then return to the one on the left and paint the second coat on top, in fact, he could add a third or fourth coat, one after the other. That should do it and it looked as if it would take only a half-day to paint all of the carriages if he did that!

He tried the technique and painted all the bodies and roofs of the carriages then took a coffee break. After his rest he painted the doors and the windows using the white paint. White window panes didn't look very good on top of the acrylic, maybe silver would be better. 'I'll have to see if the shop has any,' he told himself.

The wood was delivered at one o'clock, just as he was about to eat lunch. He helped the man unload and, immediately after lunch, built four racks. The shop looked much tidier once all the wood was placed, upright, between them. Then he returned to painting and finished the engines, the chimneys and all of the wheels by six. It had been another very productive day.

Bob cooked some of his frozen fish in a frying pan filled with water for supper. It lacked taste and he wondered if there was a sauce he could add. Frying did taste nicer even if it was not supposed to be healthy to cook that way.

Thursday morning he felt tired. His back ached a bit from hunching over the bench when he was painting. He didn't rush breakfast and thought again about what he was doing. He wanted to enjoy his life and not rush it so much. He knew now that he could make plenty of money if the Small End toys sold as easily in the future as they had in the past. He could probably make five thousand pounds a year if he wanted, enough for two or three holidays. He could make even more if he hired someone to help him, a boy fresh from school perhaps, one who was interested in working with wood. He sat in his easy chair by the window and day-dreamed for a while about all the trips he could take in the future. Then he picked up the book he had started on the flight back from Portugal and read for a while. He'd take the morning off.

But Bob couldn't resist the urge to complete the sets so after coffee he returned to the shop and glued the parts together. He used hot animal glue that he heated on a little hot-plate, the same glue his Dad had used to mend furniture. It was quick to dry but he had to be careful when applying it. After lunch he screwed the wheels onto the engines and carriages and twisted the connecting eyes onto the rear of the engines and the hooks and eyes to the front and back of the carriages. He assembled one of the trains. The bright acrylic paint greatly improved its appearance; it looked much better than any of his earlier trains. Tomorrow, if Rose had the boxes, paper and labels, he'd pack them, ready to be taken to the shops.

During his supper, a curry and a bottle of beer, he made a couple of shopping lists. He'd need more hooks and eyes, a big box of acrylic paints and some silver and gold acrylic if they had any. Under his workshop needs he listed his grocery items. He'd buy another piece of salmon and cook it in water. The fish he had cooked that way yesterday needed butter, lemon and slices of buttered bread to boost its flavour; he'd look for a sauce of some kind the next time he bought that kind of fish. Salmon didn't need a sauce provided it wasn't overcooked. Maybe he should learn how to make a sauce. Well, not just now, in the summer perhaps, when there was less to do in the shop.

He walked to Tyne's Gift Shop Friday morning, catching Jack as he was leaving to go to the Community Centre.

"Hi Bob. I got t'label designs. Want t'look at 'em?"

Rose was behind the counter and pointed to a box and a roll of paper in the corner.

"And your boxes and wrapping paper have arrived Bob."

"Oh thanks, Rose. Let me see the bill, I might have enough to pay you right now. Ah, yes I have. Here." He gave Rose the money then followed Jack into their back room.

"They's here. Wot d'you think?"

Bob looked at the different designs then pointed to one of them. "I like this one best, the one with the train and carriages. All the village labels are good, which do you prefer?"

"This 'un, wiv' houses an' a duck pond."

"Yes that's good. Okay, that's what I'll have. Can you make fifty of each?"

"Aye, an' here sketches of t' business cards. I put a hand drill in t'corner of one. Like it?"

"Yes. That's also the best. I like the font and the way the words are spaced makes it very easy to read. Can you make a hundred of these Jack?"

"Aye, but I'm usin' jet print ink. It smears when wet. Wont me t'spray 'em wiv matt lacquer?"

"If that will stop the ink from smearing, yes."

"Okay. When d'you want 'em?"

"Can I have them tomorrow Jack? I'll come down at nine to collect them if that's all right."

"Aye."

They returned to the front of the shop and Bob picked up the package of boxes and roll of paper.

"I've got some more train sets Rose," Bob said. "Do you want any? I'm using a different paint now and they are brighter than the earlier ones."

"In that case I'll take three but I won't put them out until I have sold the ones I've got already. I've still got eight from the ones you gave me in December. I've a cheque for the farm set I've just sold. Here it is, £15.75."

"Thanks Rose. Would you mind paying me at the end of each month from now on? I'd prefer that. It'll make my book-keeping easier."

"Of course. That's what I do with most of my sales—pay at the end of the month. I'll send you a statement of how many I've sold that month with the cheque."

"Great. Thanks."

Bob had his morning coffee when he returned to his house. It was another cold day and he turned on the electric fire as soon as he entered the workshop. He wondered if the cost of the electricity used in the shop would be a deductible expense and supposed it must be but couldn't think of a way to estimate how much he used there and dismissed the idea.

He unrolled a length of tissue paper. A piece about a foot square amply wrapped an engine or a carriage. He placed the wrapped engine and three carriages in a box and fastened the top with some cello tape. 'That's another thing to put on my shopping list,' he told himself. All the box needed now was the label.

After he had boxed all the sets he took them into the house. He'd glue the labels on the boxes in the house where it would be warmer. He wondered if he should put his business card in each box but decided not to. He didn't want to open the boxes now he'd taped them and he didn't want Rose or Jenny to think he was including the card in the hope that customers would come directly to him. He wasn't going to steal their business.

Bob spent Friday afternoon making lists and doing a bit of book keeping. He headed one sheet of paper 'Expenses' and drew several columns on it. He headed the first column 'Date,' the second 'Item,' the third 'Amount' and the fourth 'Number.' Then he took out the envelope where he had put his invoices. He had only two, the wood and the paint; it was easy to add them to the expense list. He numbered each invoice after he had copied the details, put the same number in the 'Number' column then he clipped the invoices together and put them in a box. He added how much he had spent and pencilled it at the bottom of the page. Then he wondered if he should he open a business account at the bank? But no, it was too soon to do that. He'd just keep a good paper record of his costs and income.

He headed another list 'Income.' This was going to be a much nicer list to keep although there wasn't much to put down yet. He didn't include anything from last year. He would start his 'business' this year even if it didn't turn out to be a business in the end. 'If I ever earn lots of money I'll buy a computer. I could use it to track my income and expenses. It could do the addition much quicker than I can. And I could make my own labels and type my letters too. I wonder how hard it is to learn how to use one? Jack would teach me I expect, if I paid him. Hmm, I'm beginning to like doing all this; starting a business might become quite enjoyable.'

Jack phoned Bob at eight on Saturday morning. "I'm goin' t'bring you t'labels an' yor cards right now. Okay?"

"Yes, okay Jack."

He had just finished his breakfast when Jack arrived. "Hi. Do you want a cup of tea Jack?"

"Nay, can't stay, me helper's sick an' wood's comin' t'cottage." He put a small package on the table.

"Thanks. Have you got a bill for me?"

"Aye."

Bob fetched his cheque book and wrote a cheque.

"How do you keep track of all your income and expenses Jack?"

"On t'computer."

"I thought you might. I've begun keeping a record of my expenses and income but I'm doing it by hand. I'm filling in columns on paper."

"That's 'ard. Mus' go now Bob. See you at t'Crown ternite. Tarra."

"'Bye Jack. Thanks for making these so quickly."

Bob used a bottle of liquid glue to fasten the labels to the top of the boxes. 'Very impressive,' he thought. 'I should have put my train sets and bird ornaments in labelled boxes years ago. Now they look professional and more people might buy them as gifts.'

He decided to have an early coffee then go to Big End. He'd take six trains to Jenny, buy a bigger box of acrylic paints, some silver and gold acrylic if they had it and get his Big End groceries. He added paint, bottle of glue and cello tape to his list. He'd have lunch at the Fox and go to the library. 'If they have a book showing coloured pictures of farms I'll borrow it.'

Jenny smiled at Bob as he walked into her shop. "I've sold another farm set. I hope you've got more for me. Is that what's in the bag?"

"No, sorry Jenny. I've a village set and some train sets. We talked about them last time I was here."

"Yes we did. I'd not forgotten. Let me see them."

Bob put the bag on the floor took out a box and put it on the counter. He opened it and unwrapped the train and carriages.

"Here's a train set. Rose sells them for fifteen pounds. If you like the look of them do you think that you could sell them at the same price?"

"Yes I could. And I'll take just twenty five percent. Your stuff's easy to sell and when I sell them I also sell some animals. We talked about my taking six sets, do you have that many?"

"Yes I do." Bob put the bag on the counter and gave Jenny one of his business cards. "You can phone me if you want more. At the moment I have another three. If I don't have any when you call me it would take about a week to make more. Here, let me show you the village set."

He took the box out of his bag, opened it and put each piece on the counter. Susan joined them as he built a village and exclaimed "This is fun. We should have some of these Jenny."

"Yes. Can we keep this one and have another six Bob?'

"Yes of course, but it'll be a while before I have them."

"All right. Bob, how do you want me to pay you? What I usually do is pay my suppliers at the end of each month. Would that be okay with you? I send them a cheque but I could give you cash, if you'd prefer that."

"A cheque's fine Jenny. Monthly's good too. That's what I'll be doing with Rose from now on."

Bob said goodbye to both of them and stepped out into the cold wind and headed for the pub. It was nearly lunch time. He'd eat early, go to the library and do his shopping afterwards.

After eating his steak and chips Bob pulled out his pocket book, thinking 'I'll have to make another list to keep track of the sets, how many Jenny has and how many Rose has, as well as how many they've sold each month. That way I'll know how many and what I should make next time. A bit more paperwork but it seems necessary.'

There were no tourists in the Crown that night and Len had only two choices for supper, fish and chips and pot pie with chips and Bob chose the fish. Joe and Jane joined him with their drinks just as he was finishing.

"Hello Bob," said Joe. "How was your week? Still busy?"

"Yes. I made twelve train sets. Rose has taken three of them and Jenny has six. There are so many new things to think about now. I suppose it'll become easier when things settle down. How do you handle all the planning, buying, selling, all the paperwork attached to running a farm? Do you do some of it Jane?"

"Well, we split the task. Joe phones his buyers around December and asks what they might want next year. He orders the seeds, fungicides, pesticides and fertilisers, usually during January. During the year he organises his helpers, telling them what to do and making sure the vegetables are shipped out on time. I look after the paperwork. I used to do all that by hand but two years ago I bought a computer and learned how to use it. The Vegetable Growers' Organisation had a special program written and most of the market growers use it. The organisation paid the program developer to prepare and run a course on how to use it and I went. The program makes all the paperwork much easier to handle."

"I see. I've been thinking I should buy a computer. But not now, no time to learn how to use it."

"I can see why, with all the toys you're making."

"Hey Bob," said Joe. "I bet you can't guess who we met in a pub in Winchester yesterday."

"You were in Winchester?"

"Yes. There was a buyer I had to meet and we had lunch together. Well, who do you think we met?"

"Er, Claire?"

"There, Jane. I told you that's what he'd say. No. it wasn't Claire. It was Maria. You know, the travel agent we had supper with in Lagos."

"Maria was in a Winchester pub? Why?"

"Her agency sent her to England to find out what our south coast could offer to tourists. You remember, she told us she ran tours in London and the Lake District. Well the company thinks that a tour along the south coast of England might sell. So she's spent the last week visiting places between Dover and Southampton. Yesterday she was in Winchester looking at King Arthur's table and the cathedral and wondering if she should include that city because it was the capital of England centuries ago. She's going towards Land's End now. I've asked her to visit Small End if she has time and I gave her Bonnie's phone number. She can't visit before the end of her trip but might do so then. She says she often takes a short holiday at the end of these trips so we might see her in a couple of week's time."

"Well that's interesting, though she won't include Small End in any tour. I told you that I might rent an apartment in Lagos next year, didn't I?"

"Yes you did, but you also said you might change your mind and come with us to Spain, right?"

"Yes, I might."

Bob thought about Maria as he walked home from the pub. It would be good to see her again. 'I wonder if she'd be interested if I told her what I was doing.' He could show her and tell her abut his plans.

After hanging his clothes on the line Sunday morning Bob tidied the house. He couldn't stop himself from rethinking his plans for the future. Did he want to develop a business or return to his former life? To see if it would help he decided to do a few calculations. He'd find out how many hours he'd have to work to earn, say, five thousand pounds. He collected his calculator and a pad of paper from the shelf in the living room and sat in his easy chair by the window with his coffee. 'Now, let me see. How long did it take me to make one train set. No, that's no good. I'd better imagine I make twenty trains each time.' He thought back to what he'd written on the workshop calendar. 'It'll probably take seven days to make twenty train sets, assuming I worked eight hours each day. And it'll take about ten days to make twenty villages and about the same to make twenty farms. Okay, but twenty of each wouldn't make five thousand pounds. It'd need about a hundred of each, so let's say I make a hundred of each set in a year. How much would that make me? Well that depends on who sells them. I'd get more if Jenny sold all of them. Perhaps Rose would take twenty-five percent if I told her that Jenny was. No, no, I can't do that. It was Rose who told me about Jenny and I'm very glad Rose agreed to sell my sets after Betty died. I don't mind her taking thirty percent. Okay, if Rose sold one hundred of each set I'd make, let me see.' He jotted some figures on the paper and did a few calculations. 'I'd make four thousand, three hundred and seventy five pounds. And, if Jenny sold them I'd make, err, four thousand, six hundred and eighty seven pounds fifty. Since I don't know who would be selling the toys I'll round it off and say that I'd earn four and a half thousand pounds. So I'd have to make a more than a hundred of each set if I want to make five thousand in a year.'

He checked his notes and did a few more calculations and found he'd have to work about one hundred and thirty five days. 'About half a year, if I didn't work on the weekends. No, slightly more, because I have to buy the wood and paint and other things.'

He went to the kitchen, poured another coffee, added milk and took it back to his chair. 'Now. Do I really want to spend about half a year in my workshop turning out toys for children? Yes or no?'

Well, that's what he'd been doing for the past three years, although he had not been working with a target to meet. It was just a hobby then. It would feel a lot different if he had orders to fill. But he had been leading a bit of a humdrum life before this year. Going to Portugal was fun. He'd like to take more holidays, maybe two each year, one in the winter and one in the summer, perhaps. There were lots of places in England he'd like to visit. They'd be nicer to see in the summer; he could go south, in Europe, where it was warm, during the winter.

Okay. He felt he now had the answer. He'd make a hundred of each set this year, have a holiday in the summer and go to Lagos for a month next winter. That would be cheaper than joining a tour and going to Spain. Then, in a year's time, he'd review how it had been and decide if he should go back to the old ways again.

He immediately felt better. He knew what he wanted to do now and it'd be fun seeing if he could. So he had a quick lunch, eating a cheese and lettuce sandwich and a swallowing a mug of tea, then put on his coat and hat and set off for his weekend walk. This time he took the road going towards Big End; there weren't many cars or lorries so walking was easy. After a couple of miles he turned right and followed a footpath that ran to the railway track and he followed it back towards his house.

He stopped at the railway station, remembering the years when he was station master. 'I like my life better now than when I ran the station,' he thought. He pushed at the door to the waiting room. It was still locked and he was surprised, having expected it to be forced open by some of the village lads. He peered through the window. The seats were dusty and the coal bin next to the stove was still half-full, the way he'd left it. 'I'd better check with Jane to find out when they'll start the new building and remind her I want to help. It'd be a nice change from working indoors all day.'

He made his monthly telephone call to his children after supper, this time having several things to talk about with his grandchildren. Roy told him that the aeroplane crashed and broke into many pieces when he took it to school and tried to fly it over the roof. Bob asked him if he wanted another but he said he'd prefer to have a game for his new computer. Jane and Bess told him that they still used their kitchen set but only when friends came around to play. "We help Mum make real cakes now." Jane told him that she thought she might like to be a cake-maker when she grew up. Sam and Regina were much as usual and told him what had been happening since they spoke last.

Sam was a town planner in Dorchester; his news was that he had been promoted and was now head of the planning group. Regina's husband, Bernard, was a solicitor and they lived in Yeovil. Her news was that she was thinking of taking a part-time job in the library. "Bernard doesn't want me to work but I insisted. It's only three afternoons a week." Bob told her that if that's what she wanted to do then he supported her choice. He privately thought that Bernard was too restrictive and that both Regina and Roy should have more freedom but he wasn't going to tell Regina that.

First thing Monday morning Bob pinned a sheet to the notice board above his bench. It would be his inventory and he would note how many sets he had on hand. The first three columns were headed 'Train,' 'Farm' and 'Village.' He'd written "3" in the train column because that was how many he had on his shelves. He then took enough of the squared-wood lengths to make houses for twenty village sets from the racks. Time for him to get to work. He marked "8 am" on the February 26th square on the calendar. He'd keep track of how much time it took to make twenty sets of each toy.

He worked about nine hours each day until Thursday. That day he worked only in the morning, going to the Community Centre in the afternoon. There he worked with Jack, Jim and Ken making flats in the shape of trees, bushes and flower beds to be used by the dancers in the Spring show. They finished about five o'clock when Jim suggested they have a pint in the Crown before going home.

"Aye," said Jack.

"We should do that every time," said Jim.

"Aye," said Jack, again.

At the pub Bob asked Jack if he knew when they would begin building the new hall and was told that they had to wait until Joe had time to clear the site with his tractor. "He's about t'plow fields right now."

**Chapter 5 Maria**

After another nine hours work on Friday Bob estimated he was half-way through the job. 'I'll probably finish next Friday,' he guessed. 'Nine and a half days to make twenty village sets. That'll be £350 for me if Rose sold them, more if Jenny sold them. That's almost as much as I made when I was station master! Ah, well, I always knew that job didn't pay well. The best part of it was working just a few steps from home.'

After supper he made a to-do list for the next day. He'd go to Big End and call at Home and Holidays. If Jenny hadn't already sent his monthly statement and cheque he'd ask for it. He'd tell her she could have the village sets next Saturday. He wondered how many farm or train sets she'd sold and decided that if she had sold, say, a hundred pounds worth he'd ask her to have lunch with him in the Fox. 'I wonder if she is married? She doesn't wear a wedding ring.'

Bob was at her shop about eleven on Saturday morning. "Hello Jenny. How are you?"

"Busy, which I like, but I'm also glad it's Sunday tomorrow. I'm ready for a rest! Our visitors are early this year, mostly older people. I suppose some of them are taking a late winter holiday. Do you have any sets for me? I'd like some villages, if you have them, and some more farm sets. I sold the village set you gave me and two farms. I sent you a cheque; you should get it early next week."

"Thanks. I'll bring you the villages next Saturday. Can we celebrate Jenny? Can you have lunch with me?"

"Oh, thanks Bob, but no, not today. Saturdays are the busiest days for us. I'll take a rain-check and have lunch with you sometime in the middle of the week, if that's okay."

"Okay. I'll look forward to it. Then I'll be back next Saturday with the sets."

As he went out he added the £15.75 he'd received from Rose and realised he had made £138.25. 'Well I'll celebrate and buy a couple of steaks for dinner next week.'

Bob had lunch at the Fox, a satisfying but not exciting curry and rice, then he walked to the art shop where he bought more acrylic paint finding he could buy it in tins, which made it much cheaper. They did have both silver and gold paint so he bought a tin of the silver but only a big tube of the gold because he didn't need a lot. He also bought several brushes, including a very fine one that he would use to paint the lines on the train and carriages. Afterwards he walked to the supermarket and bought a filet of salmon and two steaks.

That evening at the Crown he told Joe that he was going to ask Maria to have her friend book an apartment for him in Lagos.

"I'm planning on going for a month, February. I'm going to make enough toys this year so I can have another holiday in the summer, provided Jenny and Rose can sell them."

"That's grand! It's time you explored the rest of the world."

"You know I've never thought much about travelling before going with you to Portugal."

Rose and Jack joined them and Rose asked where Jane was. "She's at a committee meeting discussing the Spring show," said Joe. "She said we should eat and not wait for her."

"When do you think you'll be ready to work on the station Joe?" asked Bob.

"Not for another three weeks. I've four fields to plough and sow first. Which reminds me, do you want me to save the bricks?"

"Aye," said Jack. "No need t'waste 'em."

"It's a lot of work to chip off the old cement Jack. Well, it'll take me a bit longer if I've got to avoid breaking too many. If you've enough people to move the bricks out of the way I should get it done in a day though. I'll dump the broken ones in the ditch at the end of the parking lot when you've sorted them."

"I'll help," said Bob, "and I'll ask the Smiths if they'll help when I see them on Thursday."

"Ken said he'll help with the interior walls," said Rose. "Don't know about Jim, he's more interested in playing golf. How about John, the guy who works for you, Jack? Maybe he'd help."

"Aye. I'll ask him."

Sunday afternoon Bob collected his spade from the small lean-to attached to the far side of the house; it was time to prepare his garden. In the past he spent a lot of time looking after his vegetable garden but didn't expect to do so much this year. He sharpened his spade then double-dug half of the plot. It was hard work so, when a slight rain started, he decided to leave the rest until the following Sunday. He cleaned the spade, coated it with a little oil and hung it on its hook. 'I'll have one of the steaks tonight. The salmon can wait until tomorrow.'

The week went as planned. Jenny's cheque arrived in the mail on Monday and Bob wrote it down in his account book. He worked about nine hours most of the days and had his twenty village sets ready for sanding at the end of the afternoon on Wednesday. Thursday morning he sanded all the pieces, doing most of it outside to keep the dust out of his shop but a half-hour drizzle, which came immediately after he'd returned from his coffee break, forced him to finish the job inside his shop so he left the door and windows open during lunch. When he returned the room was cold but there was no lingering dust. He closed the windows and locked the door then went to the Community Centre.

No one felt like working all the afternoon. Jim said the weather affected how everyone felt so they stopped early and talked about going to the Crown.

"I can't today," said Ken, "we're visiting friends."

"That's okay by me," Bob said, "I've some work I should get back to."

He went directly to his shop when he got home and moved the electric fire closer to his seat and settled down to paint. He used the tins of acrylic because he wanted to find out how much paint twenty village sets required, a figure he might need for his books, though he was pretty sure he didn't have to be that particular when calculating the cost of making a set. He'd use the tubes when he had just a few to paint. He'd completed half of the painting by five o'clock.

He was putting the tins of paint on the shelf when someone knocked on the door. He was very surprised; it was unusual for anyone to visit. He opened the door.

"Maria! Is that you? Hello. How are you? Here, come in. Jane and Joe told me that they had seen you in Winchester."

"Hello Bob. Well I was interested in what Small End looked like, having heard so much about it from all of you last month. I decided to take a couple of night's holiday and I'm staying at Bonnie's Bed and Breakfast. I arrived earlier this afternoon and phoned Jane but there was no reply, then I phoned you and again, no reply. So I asked Bonnie where you and Jane live. There was nobody at home when I called at Jane's place so I came here. I thought that you weren't here as well but then I saw a light on in this building so I came here."

"It is good to see you Maria. Sit down. I'll just tidy up then we can go to the house and have a cup of tea or a drink. I've still got some port but I've other stuff as well."

"So this is where you make your toys and ornaments. The shop's bigger than I imagined. And all these toys! I didn't think you made that many."

"Well things have changed since I saw you in Lagos. I liked that holiday so much that I want to have more in the future, two each year if I can, but that means I'll have to earn more money. So that's what I'm doing most of my time now, making lots of toys. Two retailers sell them for me. I've decided about next year, Maria, I want to return to Lagos. Can you ask your friend to book the apartment that we saw in the Old Town? For next February, for the whole month, if that's possible."

"Of course. I'll check when I get home. You are talking about the expensive place, the one that cost twelve hundred pounds a month?"

"Yes, that's the one. It's such a nice location. I'll look forward to it all year if your friend can book it."

"Well, she'll do what she can. I hope it's not already taken."

"Thanks. Well, I'm done. Come, let's go and have a drink."

Bob ushered Maria out, locked the door and they crossed the garden and went into the house.

"This is the kitchen. Here, give me your coat. What would you like to drink?"

"Tea's fine. I've been drinking lots of it this past month."

"I'll put the kettle on and we can go to the lounge until it's ready."

Bob hung the coat on one of the a hooks that were on the wall beside the back door then opened the door to the lounge.

"Sorry it's a bit messy. Sit there, that's where I sit when reading. You can see a bit of the country from that window."

"Thanks Bob. This is a comfortable-looking room."

"Yes. I think so too. I clean and dust it once a week, on Sundays, usually. That's why it's untidy."

"It looks okay to me. Er, what's that noise?"

"That's the kettle, it's boiling. I'll go and make the tea. Won't be long."

Bob went to the kitchen and made a pot of tea then looked for biscuits. He had his digestives but wanted something better for Maria. He thought he had some cream filled biscuits left over from Christmas and eventually found the package at the back of the shelf. He arranged the biscuits on a plate and put it, the pot of tea, the bowl of sugar and a jug of milk on a tray and carried it into the lounge and put it on the side table beside Maria.

"You're designing a South of England tour I'm told," Bob said.

"Yes that's right. I'm pretty sure the office will run one or more from all the information I've collected. If they do I'll likely be the guide for the first two or three because I made all the contacts and can sort out any problems that arise. The agency partners' make the decision about which tours to offer. I'm just doing the research right now. I've done that a couple of times before but most of the time I'm just an agent in the office. I guide maybe four or five times a year."

As they were finishing their tea Maria asked Bob if she could take him to dinner that night.

"I was just thinking of asking you if you'd like to come with me," Bob said.

"Well. Let me take you tonight and you can take me tomorrow."

"OK But you should know that Saturdays I eat at the village pub. You'll be able to meet Jane and Joe there and some of our friends."

"That sounds very nice. Good, we'll go there tomorrow and tonight I'll take you to a Big End hotel I stayed in several days ago: Mulberry Court. They serve a nice meal. I'll come around seven if that's okay."

"Yes, lovely."

"All right. I'll be off now. Thanks for the tea Bob."

Bob watched her drive away thinking 'She's a very nice woman and interested in what I'm doing. I like her.' Then he stopped and asked himself, 'Why did I think that about Maria? Am I still looking for a girl friend? Surely not, after what happened with Claire. Ah, well, if so, I'll be more careful about what I imagine when Maria comes to mind. I don't want to really make a fool of myself as I almost did with Claire.'

Bob had bathed, dressed smartly, and was watching the road through the window fifteen minutes before Maria arrived. She did a three-point turn and pulled to the curb beside his front gate. He waved, locked the door and ran out to the car.

"You know, this might be the first time ever that someone has driven me out to dinner," he said, as he climbed into the front seat.

"Well I'm glad you can join me. I've had enough lonely evenings for a while. Let me see now, I turn right at the corner and follow the road all the way to Big End, right?"

"Yes. How do you find your way around a strange country Maria? Do you organise every part of the trip before you leave or do you just go where you like?"

"I do lots of planning and know mostly where I want to go before I set off. The agency partners usually decide what groups to target, historians or gardeners, for instance. First I make lists of what might interest the groups we are soliciting. Then I look at the brochures from other agencies and see where they go. I write to Chambers of Commerce and note what they have to say about their towns. Then I roughly plan my trip to see as many of the places as I can. I also make lists of hotels before I go and visit several in each location when I arrive. I do more research in the town's library if I have time. I analyse what I've found each evening during the trip and rough out what might be suitable tours. I have a list of five this time; one for historians, one for gardeners, one for sea-food lovers, one for lighthouse aficionados and one for religious groups. I give the partners my suggestions and they decide if any are good enough to add to the next brochure."

"That's an awful lot of work. You must be tired after doing all that. Do you have a holiday when you get back to Lagos?"

"No. These extra days in England are all I get.

"That's too bad. Oh, about my Lagos reservation, should I give you a cheque?"

"Not right now, I'll tell you what to do if you get the apartment. You'll probably have to send about five hundred pounds as a deposit to my friend. If it's already booked would you like a different one?"

"Yes please, anything as long as it's in Old Town and has a balcony overlooking an interesting street or a plaza and in an area that's nice to walk around."

"Okay. I'm sure there will be several apartments to rent in places like that. She should have no difficulty in finding one." They chatted about Lagos on the rest of the way to the hotel.

The receptionist recognised Maria as soon as she walked through the door.

"Hello Mrs. Schroeder. Welcome back. Do you want a room?"

"No Tess, thanks. We've come for dinner, that's all. Is Chef Joseph cooking tonight?"

"Yes, he is."

"That's good. I want my friend to taste his cooking. This way Bob. Let's hope we get a seat near the fire though anywhere in the hotel is comfortable and warm."

The meal was excellent. Bob, of course, chose a fish dish, settling for a grilled trout. Maria had pork chops. Bob insisted on buying a bottle of wine, a Chardonnay. Maria told Bob that he had to drink two-thirds of the bottle because she would be driving back to Small End.

It was a very pleasant evening. Maria told Bob about her life. She grew-up in Lagos, went to school there and found a job in the travel agency. She, a couple of years later, married a man who came into the office to add a short tour to the end of a business trip he had just completed. He was charming and she fell for him. They married and lived in his apartment in Berlin where she found a job even though her German was not perfect. At first everything was wonderful but her husband lost his job and took to the bottle. He became abusive when drunk. It was two years before he found another job. Maria stayed with him thinking things would return to the good times when he was working. However he was hired as a travelling salesman and he hated the work so he never stopped drinking and drank until he was sick each weekend. "I told him I'd leave him if he didn't stop. He didn't but I stayed with him for another year then left. As you know, it's been three years since we divorced and I haven't heard from him during all that time and I don't want to."

"Do you have any children?"

"No. We both thought we should wait for a while. We wanted to buy a house before we had children and were saving all our money. He spent most of it on booze. Ah, well, I'm glad it's over. Do you have any children?"

Bob told her about his wife, Betty, that she died nearly four years ago and that he had a daughter, a son and three grandchildren.

"Regina has a boy and Sam has two girls. I'm 56, by-the-way."

"I'm 52. I have a sister, Delizia. She's fifty, married and has two children. So I am an aunt. They're both girls, too."

They finished with coffee and mint chocolates, then Maria drove Bob home.

"Drive past my place and turn in the station's parking lot," Bob told her. "It's easier than doing a three-point-turn."

"Okay."

"Would you like me to show you the village and its surroundings tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'd like that."

"Good. However I have to take some of my toys to Big End in the morning. Can we do that first?"

"Of course. How about I collect you at nine?"

"Great. Well thanks for a lovely evening and an excellent dinner Maria. Good night, and sleep well."

Bob waited at the gate and waved as she drove off. 'That really was a lovely evening,' he thought as he walked to his front door.

He woke early had a bath and dressed carefully on Saturday morning. It was going to be a warm and pleasant day, the sun beamed through the trees across the road and there were no clouds in the sky After breakfast he took three large shopping bags to his workshop and put six villages in two of them and six trains in the other. He didn't think he needed an overcoat, a thick sweater under his jacket would do. He picked up one of the bags holding village sets and carried it to Rose's gift shop, wondering if he was too early but the sign was outside so he knew the shop was open. Rose was sitting behind the counter finishing a mug of tea when he walked in.

"Hello Bob. It's going to be a glorious day."

"It certainly looks like it. You know, I forgot to ask you about your holiday when we were at the Crown. What did you do?"

"Well we've had two short trips. We went to Bournemouth for the first one and stayed in one of the hotels on the cliff. We went to the theatre one night and walked through the gardens and along the coast path several times. I liked that even though it was a bit cold. We visited Salisbury the second trip. I'd never been inside the cathedral before; it was magnificent. We stayed in a hotel on the main street and went to the movies one night when it was raining. We mostly ate pub meals but had one good dinner in our hotel on each holiday. I was so glad to have a change from cooking all the time. Jack enjoyed himself too."

"I'm glad you had such a good time Rose." He put the plastic bag on the counter. "I've just finished making some village sets and I've six of them here. Would you like them?"

"Yes. I'll open one of the boxes and put it in the window but I don't have room to display its pieces, I'll do that the next time I rotate. Come into the back room and I'll write a receipt."

"Have you sold any sets this month Rose?"

"No, not yet. We've only been open at weekends, don't forget, and I don't think there have been any tourists."

"Well, there's one now. She's staying at Bonnie's. Her name is Maria. Jane, Joe and I met her in Lagos during our holiday. If you and Jack eat at the Crown tonight you'll meet her. She's going to eat with us. I think you'll like her."

"I'll see if Jack has anything planned but we'll likely be there. Here Bob, here's the receipt."

"Thanks. Hope to see you tonight then. Cheers."

Bob walked slowly back to his house thinking how nice it was to be outside when the weather was as warm as this. He took the bags for Big End to the window and sat in his chair watching the road as he waited for Maria. He jumped up as he saw her drive past, picked up the bags and was at the curb when she pulled up.

"Hello Maria. Isn't this a lovely day?"

"Yes it is. Bonnie tells me it's going to be warm all day. That's why you don't have an overcoat I suppose."

"Yes, that's right."

As they drove to Big End they discussed what they might do. Bob said he usually caught the bus in; visited Jenny's shop; had a coffee; went to the bank when he needed some money or had a cheque to deposit; did his special shopping; then caught the bus home.

"Don't you have a car?" asked Maria.

"No. We never needed one. I've worked at the railway station ever since leaving school and we were always short of money. Our priorities were to raise the children and give them a good education. We travelled by train when we went on holidays since I could get discounted fares. Betty used the bus when she worked in Big End and we all had bicycles. So I never had a car and I don't know how to drive although I took some lessons a long time ago. I thought about buying one during my walks in Lagos. If my business takes off a car would be very useful. I'd need something to take sets to the retailers. I also thought about taking driving lessons, not now, but maybe this summer."

"Good for you Bob. It's very useful to be able to drive. If you have a licence you can rent a car anytime you're on holiday and see more of the country."

"Yes, and that's what we should do today. Since it's going to be nice I suggest we buy some sandwiches and have lunch on a beach I know. Would you like that?"

"Sounds nice Bob."

"All right. Slow down now Maria, Jenny's shop is not far from here. You can park there," and he pointed to a spot just ahead of them.

They walked along the pavement to Home and Holiday looking into the windows of the shops they passed. There were no customers in the shop when they entered, just Jenny and Susan arranging items on the shelves.

"Hello Jenny, Susan. I'd like you to meet my friend, Maria. She's from Portugal"

"Hello Maria. Welcome to Big End and Home and Holiday. Have you been here long?"

"I've been in England just over three weeks. I'm researching tour opportunities for the travel agency I work for in Lagos. We may develop one to go along the south coast."

"It's a nice part of England. I hope you do. People like coming here."

"I hope we can offer one Jenny. It'd be nice to come back."

"Do you have any more sets for me Bob?"

"I've six village and six farms."

"That's good. We haven't sold any since I saw you last Bob but don't worry I'm sure we will before long."

Jenny wrote a receipt for Bob while Maria looked around the shop. During coffee Maria said she'd like to look for a gift to give her sister on her birthday. When finished they bought sandwiches, Maria had chicken salad and Bob had roast beef and horseradish. They both chose bottles of orange juice to drink.

Bob went to his bank and deposited his cheques whilst Maria walked along the street looking for something her sister might like. She didn't find anything so they drove to the mall where she finally bought a wooden basket of jams, chocolates and coffees.

"She likes all of these so she'll be happy and it's not too heavy for me to carry onto the plane."

They drove slowly along the coast road and Bob told Maria to stop next to the path that lead down the cliff to Smugglers Cove. They worked their way down to the deserted beach and they carried their lunch to a nearby tumble of rocks and sat in the sunshine to eat. Afterwards they walked to the far end of the beach where Bob showed her the entrance to the cave where smugglers used to store their brandy from France. "Joe and I searched the cave many times but never found anything. We planned to come back with a shovel and dig along the edge at the back but never did."

"That sounds fun. I'd like to do that."

"Then we must, and we'll share whatever treasure we find Maria."

Climbing up the path to the road reminded Bob of the time he was there with Claire. Did he want to hold Maria's hand and help her up? He didn't have to answer that question for Maria grabbed his hand when the slope increased.

"We used to run all the way to the top when we were young," Bob told her, as he pulled her up a steep part. "Can't do that any more."

"I know I can't, either. It's a nice beach and well worth the climb back."

In Twinner Maria stopped beside an art gallery. After looking at the four pictures in the window they entered and were greeted by a smiling, middle-aged woman.

"You had some watercolours painted by a local artist, Robert Crankshaw, when I was here a few days ago," Maria said. "Do you still have them?"

"We sold one yesterday but we still have these," and the woman pointed to four paintings hanging on the wall.

"Oh, you moved them. Yes, that's the one I liked," and Maria pointed to one of them. "Tell me, is that Smuggler's Cove beach and rocks?"

"Yes it is. Robert only paints scenes near Twinner and that's a popular place for many people."

"I like it and it'll remind me of today. We have just been there and I'd like to buy it."

"Well, good. Would you like to meet Robert?"

"Does he live nearby?"

"Yes, very close. I'll phone him.

She did, but there was no reply.

"Well perhaps I'll meet him the next time I come," Maria said.

As she paid for the painting Bob asked her how she was going to carry it home safely. When told that Maria was flying back to Portugal the assistant put it in bubble wrapping. "That'll protect it and it's small enough to pack in your suitcase if you have enough room."

"I'll make room."

Walking back to the car Bob noticed a toy shop on the opposite side of the road. "Do you mind if I look in their window Maria? I'm looking for shops to sell my toys."

They crossed the road and stood outside. 'Yes,' he thought, 'it looks as if they would stock them.'

"Let's go in and see if they are interested."

Bob greeted the man behind the counter and gave him his business card. "At the moment I make trains, farms and villages. Unfortunately I don't have any with me but I can bring you some if you're interested. Rose Tyne and Jenny Wood, who have shops in Small and Big End, sell them."

"Oh, I know both of them. We talk about how we are doing at shows and conferences. If they sell your things I'm pretty sure that I could too. When could I see them?"

"How about next Saturday?"

"That'll be all right, I'm here all day, come anytime you want. Bring three of each kind, that way, if I like them, I could take them all. My name is Leonard Tinnet. People call me Leo. Say 'Hello' to Rose and Jenny next time you see them."

"I will."

They drove along the lanes through Easing then over the bridge that crossed the Tusset River on their way to Small End and Maria dropped Bob at his house.

"What time do you go to the Crown for supper?" she asked.

"Just before six so I can grab the table by the fire. I'll come to Bonnie's about 5:45. All right?"

"Okay."

Bob waited at his gate and waved as Maria drove away. 'She's a very nice woman,' repeating his previous thought, 'but I'll not get any romantic ideas this time.'

Inside the house he checked his lists. He had three train sets and eight villages. He'd have to make some farms and decided to make twenty, even though it would take nearly two weeks to do all of them, but he would concentrate on finishing three before Saturday. 'I might get all of them done in a week if I work hard. Maybe I should try that. I really should keep a stock of each toy on hand, that way I wouldn't be in such a rush when more are needed.' He sat in his chair and thought about how he would organise his production to finish early and fell asleep, waking an hour later. It was five thirty so he quickly washed, put on his overcoat and walked to Bonnie's, arriving a couple of minutes late. Maria was waiting for him at the gate.

"Sorry I'm late Maria. I fell asleep."

"That's from pulling me up the slope!"

On the way to the Crown they stopped at Rose's shop. She had closed it early so they just looked in the window.

"We'll likely meet Rose and Jack at the pub. Rose has been selling my trains for three years. I only started making farms and villages this year. That's one of my village sets. If Leo sells them I'll probably make enough money to have two holidays each year."

"That sounds nice. Will you always go to Lagos?"

"No, I don't think so. There's a lot to see in Europe. You could tell me where to go. Not yet though, not until I know how much money I have." Bob opened the pub's door and they crossed to the bar.

"Hello Len. This is Maria Schroeder. We met in Portugal. Maria works for a travel agency and she's been researching the south coast, looking for places that tour groups might visit."

"Hello Maria. Welcome to the Crown. I hope you'll bring many groups to Small End."

"Hello Len," said Maria. "I'd like to, for it is a nice place. Unfortunately the groups I have in mind wouldn't come to Small End. I'm only here because Bob, Jane and Joe live here. We met in a Lagos pub. It looked a bit like this pub." As she was saying that Joe and Jane entered and joined them.

"Hi Maria. Welcome to Small End."

"Hello Jane, Joe. I'm happy to see you again."

"Why don't you two ladies sit down and we'll get the drinks. What would you like Maria?" asked Bob.

"A glass of red wine please."

"Gin and tonic for me Bob," added Jane.

Joe and Bob ordered their usual bitter. As Len poured the drinks Joe pointed to the blackboard. "That's an unusual menu," he said.

"It's an experiment. I want to find out if Small Enders will eat local food. The rabbit and pheasant came from one of the farmers and the mackerel's from a Lymington fisherman."

"It's a bit more expensive than our usual stuff Len."

"Yes I know. That's the problem. I don't know if our lot will like it enough to pay the extra. Visitors would but I'd need both to order it to make it worth preparing."

"Well we'll tell you what we think after we've tried it."

Joe drank nearly half of his bitter while they were talking and said to Bob, "It's been a hot and busy day for me in the greenhouse."

"At that rate you'll soon put the water back!" he replied as they carried the drinks back to the table.

"Rose's shop was closed when we went past Jane," said Bob. "Are they away?"

"No. Jack is showing some people the cottage that'll be ready to sell soon and Rose went with him. They'll be here later. Have you found enough places to design some tours Maria?"

"Yes. Lots. I'm pretty sure the agency will accept one or two of my suggestions. I hope they let me run them if they do."

Joe said that he was hungry and asked everyone what they would like to eat. Maria and Joe chose pheasant and Jane asked for the rabbit. Bob said he would have the mackerel and Joe took the order to the bar with his empty tankard. "Is anyone ready for another drink?" he called as his glass was being refilled. None of them was so he returned, with quarter of his bitter already drunk.

"We're going to Spain next year," Joe told Maria. "I'll write you later for recommendations, you'll know Spain better than our travel agent. Bob told me that he wants to return to Lagos. Is that because he likes the place or because you're there Maria?" he added, with a smile.

"Oh, no, it's not me, it's the place," she replied. Bob didn't know how to reply and remained quiet.

"Where are you going to stay Bob?"

"I've seen an apartment I like. It's in the Old Town and you can see right into the central park from the balcony."

They chatted for a while about Lagos then made room for Nancy to put their meals on the table.

"Hope you like the pheasant. My uncle shot them on his farm," she said, "and his son caught the rabbits. They've all been properly aged."

Jane tried her rabbit pie.

"It tastes great Nancy. Rabbit pie's a favourite dish of mine ever since my mother made it. Joe, you should put snares along the east boundary. There are lots of rabbit holes along that hedge."

"I would but they would be mostly for you Jane. I don't like rabbit pie, I had it too often when I was young."

"Maybe mine would taste better than the ones your mum made. Do you have any snares?"

"I think so. Dad kept them in the tack room in the big barn. I'll look there tomorrow, if I remember."

"I'll remind you," Jane said. "This pie's delicious. How do you like the pheasant Maria?"

"It is very nice, especially the gravy."

"It needs gravy because it is too dry without it, I think."

"The mackerel's excellent," said Bob. "It's a pity we don't have fish mongers in Big End any more. I used to buy crab from the one on High Street. You can't get a nice crab anywhere now."

"I'm ready for another drink. Who want's one?" Joe asked.

Shortly afterwards Jack and Rose joined them with drinks in their hands. Bob dragged up two more chairs and they sat down. Joe introduced Maria and told them how they met. Nancy came over and asked if they wanted to eat. Jane had told them how much she had enjoyed the rabbit pie so that's what they ordered.

They talked about England, Portugal and their holidays until nine o'clock when Maria said she should go and pushed back from the table. "I've still got to pack my suitcase."

"What time's your flight?" asked Bob.

"11 am, from Gatwick."

"Sound's like the one we caught in February," said Joe. "If the traffic's normal you can get to the airport in less than two hours. We left at seven because we had to meet the group at nine thirty. You'll have to return the car first, though, so you'll have to leave time for that, I suppose."

"Yes. I'll probably leave at seven as well."

"I'll walk back to Bonnie's with you," said Bob and stood up. "Pay the bill for us Joe and I'll give you the money next time we meet."

"Okay."

**Chapter 6 Driving lessons**

Bob rushed through his washing and dusting first thing Sunday morning. He had his laundry on the line and the housework finished by nine. He then had breakfast, a slice of toast and marmalade. He then took his tea to the workshop, planning to work as long as he could each day to see if he could finish all the farm sets that week. By Thursday night he knew that he would.

The sets had been given their last coat of paint as he cleaned his brushes at seven o'clock Friday evening. All together it had taken about fifty hours to make twenty farms. He was tired but very happy and promised himself a couple of days rest next week. He warmed a frozen curry for supper and drank a bottle of beer as he ate. He watched the news, had a glass of port and was in bed just after nine.

After a late breakfast of porridge and tea, Bob wrapped and boxed the farms. He put three boxes in a big plastic bag, added three villages and put his last three trains in another bag. Now, for the trip to Twinner.

He caught the 9:45 bus to Big End, staying on it until it arrived at the bus station. The coastal run bus left at 10:30 and he had time for a mug of coffee. He looked at the timetable while waiting and found that the bus back left Twinner at two. 'I'll not get back to Small End until 4:15! It's probably not worth selling there if it takes that long to deliver. I'll see how many Leo sells and decide about that later. It must be a good location, lots of tourists must pass through Twinner in the summer, though they'll also go to Big End. Jenny's place might be enough. I'll just have to see what happens.'

Leo was happy to see Bob and liked the toys.

"I'll take all of these. They should sell well. I can call you if I need more, can't I?"

"Yes." Bob made a mental note that he'd have to make trains next, though it wouldn't be next week, he'd wanted a rest first.

He found a Deli and had a sandwich and a mug of tea for lunch. Then he walked around the streets and did his grocery shopping until it was time to catch the bus to Big End.

Once home he collapsed into his arm chair, put his feet on the stool and had a nap, not waking until six twenty. He had a quick wash, put on his coat and walked to the Crown. After buying a pint he joined Joe in the corner.

"Where have you been?' Joe asked, after Bob had sat down. "I thought you must be sick. It's nearly 6:30."

"I've been to Twinner delivering toys to a gift shop. I spent most of the time on a bus or waiting for one. It's a bit of a chore."

"Well you'll have to buy a car."

"If I could afford one."

"You've a sound reason to buy one now."

"I don't have a driver's licence Joe. Years ago I took a few lessons but stopped when we realised a car would cost too much to buy and maintain."

"Well it's not too difficult to get a licence. Tim Sawyer's son, Peter, gives driving lessons. He taught Howard to drive and he passed first time. Why don't you go see him?"

"Well maybe I should. I'd need a car if I'm going to deliver to Twinner and, maybe, some other villages or towns. Yes, you're probably right, I should do that."

"See him tomorrow, he's opening the garage on Sundays, now the tourist season is starting."

"I don't have the money to buy a car Joe. I might be able to buy a used one. Hey, how much do I owe you for last Saturday?"

"Twenty four pounds."

"Right, here you are."

"Drinks on me t'night," said Jack, as he and Rose walked to the table. "I've sold t'cottage tenants wer' rentin'."

"Congratulations, I'll have another pint," said Joe.

"Me too," Bob added, and quickly swallowed the rest of his beer.

"Gin and tonic for me, Jack," said Rose, as she sat down. "What have you been doing this week Joe?"

"I've finished the first planting and am ready to plant in the greenhouses. I can knock down the railway station after they're finished."

"We'll have to tell the brick sorters as soon as you know when you can come. The architect still wants to use the old bricks Joe?"

"Oh, no. Jane told me he's changed his mind. Too difficult to find matching bricks so we're buying new ones. Jane's talked to the bank and they'll lend us the money if we don't have enough. So I'll just flatten the place. We'll have to remove the doors and windows first. The committee thinks we could sell them. The inside wood studs will have to be removed before I push it down. It's going to be burned. Jane'll arrange that with the firemen. When that's gone I'll push the bricks, roof and slates to the far end of the parking lot and dump it down the slope. It'll enlarge the lot a bit. Here's Jane. She can tell you all the rest."

"Hello everybody," Jane said. "Has Joe told you about what we're going to do with the station?"

"Yes. I guess you'll need a crew to remove the doors, windows and wood studs now."

"Yes that's right," she said. "And I need help on the stage as well. Bob, can you come Thursday afternoon?"

"Yes of course. What do I have to do?"

"Help make the set for the second play. We're doing two again. One's a comedy and the other's a mystery."

"Okay. I'll be there. Will Jim and Ken be there too?"

"Ken will be but I don't know about Jim. He might be golfing."

"I've been to Twinner today, Rose. I took some toys to Leo Tinnet and he asked me to say 'Hello' to you. Do you remember him?"

"Oh yes. He used to be the treasurer for the association. He'll probably sell several of your sets each month. Lots of people go through Twinner."

"I hope you don't mind me asking him to sell mine."

"No, not at all. That's exactly what you have to do if you want to expand. Ask as many retailers as you can."

"I'd like to expand a little but it took most of the day to take the toys to Twinner. Joe says I should buy a car. I don't know about that but I've decided to get a driving licence. If I pass the test I might buy a second-hand one.

"Wonderful, " said Jane. "It's a pity you didn't have one when Betty was alive and the kids were all at home; they would have enjoyed it."

"Yes I'm sure they would but we didn't have the money. I still don't have enough to buy a new car. It's selling the wooden toys that has made all the difference. It's amazing how it's changing my life."

"No," said Joe. "It was Claire's visit that changed your life most, wasn't it?"

Everyone laughed, and Bob blushed a little.

"I'll get mor' drinks," said Jack.

Bob tried to sleep in on Sunday, but couldn't. He was so used to getting up more-or-less as the sun rose that it felt uncomfortable lying in bed. There were things to do, even though he promised himself a few days rest. It seemed the only rest he could take was to work more slowly. He got up, wondering what he should do after the week's chores had been finished. 'Ah, yes, I'll ask Tim to teach me to drive. And I must find out how much used cars cost.'

Bob had a slow morning, taking time to clean the house more thoroughly than usual and having a long coffee break. He thought about buying a car most of the time. It looked as if he could earn five to six thousand pounds this year. That would surely give him enough to buy a used car, pay for driving lessons and have his holidays. One problem was, he knew so little about owning cars. He'd have to pay for maintenance and for insurance. How much would that cost? He didn't even have a driveway or a place to park a car. He could leave it on the road but didn't like the idea of doing that all year. It would probably be all right if he parked it in the railway parking lot although he'd have to tell the police what he was doing so that they didn't think it was an abandoned car. He'd talk to Tim, maybe he'd have some suggestions.

After his coffee break Bob tidied his workshop. He'd have to order more wood and he really needed a bigger place to store it, the racks he'd made wouldn't be big enough. Then he thought about adding a lean-to on the end of the shop. He could make one and store the wood inside. Yes, that's what he could do this week. It would be a nice change. He'd catch the bus to Big End tomorrow and order the wood for the toys and for a lean-to. Hopefully he would have it by Wednesday. It shouldn't take more than a couple of days to make.

He walked to the rear of his shop. As he thought, there were six wooden windows leaning against the wall, stored there from the time the downstairs windows were replaced ten years ago. He checked the frames. Most of them were fine. They were standing on bricks and the bottoms hadn't rotted. 'I'll have to putty some of the windows and the frame needs painting. I'll buy the putty and paint for it; white would be best. I can make the door, that'd only take a day.' He collected his measuring tape from the shop and measured the two windows he'd use for the lean-to. He locked the shop and headed indoors. 'Time to draw up a plan and make a shopping list.'

A cheese and ham sandwich and a pot of tea didn't take long to prepare. He took them to his easy chair with a pad of paper and a pencil. An hour later he had a sketch of the lean-to, a floor plan and a list of items he would have to order. He'd put it on a concrete base and calculated how much cement he'd need. He leaned back and reviewed the list, mentally running through each of the steps he would have to take to make the lean-to. 'No, I'll call it a shed I think, it's got a door and windows. My lean-to is where I store the garden tools.'

Tim's garage was on the opposite side of the road from the Crown, just a hundred yards from his house. It was windy and Bob put on his overcoat. Tim's son, Peter, was filling a car with petrol when he arrived. They exchanged greetings as Bob passed. Tim was sitting in a chair behind his desk.

"Hello Bob. How are you? I've seen you passing from time to time but I don't think that you have ever been in here."

"No, that's right and I bet you can't guess why I've come. I want to learn how to drive a car and I want to know how much a used car would cost."

"Wow! I never expected that from you. You told me several years ago you could manage without a car. What changed your mind?"

"Selling toys, that's what. I've found that I can make enough money from selling toys to consider owning a car. I think I'll need one if I'm going to expand my business."

"Well, well, well. That's news and good news too. Take a seat and we can talk about it. First, if you want to learn how to drive you should be talking to Peter. He runs the driving school. He'll be in as soon as he's finished with that customer. As for buying a car, the price of a second-hand one depends upon what car it is, its age, how many miles it's been driven and its condition. They start about two hundred and fifty pounds and go into tens of thousands. I don't have any for less than a thousand in the yard. I can show you what I have now or we can wait 'til you have your licence. By that time the ones I have right now might have been sold, of course."

"Then I'd better wait."

Peter walked in, wiping his hands with a rag. "Hello Mr. Barns. It's nice to see you here. Are you just chatting or is there something we can do for you?"

"I'd like to learn how to drive, Peter. Is it hard?"

"That depends upon you and your abilities. You have to be able to use hands and feet together, to judge distances accurately, to learn the traffic laws and things like that. You can try right now, if you like. Do you want to?"

"Yes, I do."

"Okay. We'll do it on the railway station's parking lot. It's not a very big lot but it's big enough for you to find out what driving is like. I'll be off for a while Dad."

"Okay Peter."

They walked into the yard and climbed into Peter's car. Peter drove it to the parking lot, stopped in the centre, switched off the engine and they changed seats.

"Okay Mr. Barns. First thing, I want to find out how much you already know."

"Thanks' Peter. But please call me Bob. That's what I'd prefer."

"All right, err, Bob. Let's do it this way. You point to each of the controls, tell me its name and explain what it does. That way we won't waste time."

Bob did that, naming the steering wheel, the accelerator, brake and clutch pedals, the control arm for the turn signals and lights. As he did so he explained what each one was used for.

"How do you know all that if you haven't driven before?"

"I took a few lessons years ago and I've watched what drivers do. It's obvious what each control does. It's mostly driving practice that I need."

"Well, you can start now, if you like. Would you like, say, a half-hour's driving lesson?"

"Yes please. I like the sensible way you cover the basics and I'm sure you'll be a good teacher."

"Okay. Then what gear is it in Bob?"

"Why it's in neutral. I saw you leave it there and the gear lever is in the slot marked 'N'."

"Good. Now, before you turn the engine on, you have to put your left foot on the clutch pedal and press it to the floor. Why do you have to do that?"

"I don't know."

"It's just for safety. If you always do that it wouldn't matter if the gear lever was accidentally in gear, because the engine wouldn't move the car if you had the clutch pedal depressed. Where should your right foot be?"

"On the brake pedal."

"Right. Now, without looking, is the parking brake on or off?"

"I saw you pull it up, so it's on."

"That's right. Okay, summarise what you now know about driving a car."

"All right. When you park the car you put the gear lever in neutral and put the parking brake on. Before you start the car you check that the gear lever is in neutral and put your left foot on the clutch and your right foot on the brake pedal."

"And press both of the pedals down. Good. That's what we do if the car is parked on level ground. It's a bit different when we're parked on a hill but I'll tell you about that later. Now what else must you do after starting the car before driving off?"

"'Er, I don't know."

"Well you must release the hand brake."

"Oh yes, of course. You'd have to do that. And check the road."

"Good. Okay, that's enough talk for now. Start the engine now but don't move the car."

Peter watched as Bob started the car. "Perfect. Now, do nothing, but tell me what you have to do if you wanted to drive to the end of the lot."

"Well. I should put the gear lever into first. Then lift my left foot off the clutch and my right off the brake and put it on the accelerator pedal and press down. And take off the hand brake."

"Yes, that's right. The trick is to learn how to do these things without stalling the car or making it jerk. That's what we will practice today. So try doing all that. Start the car and drive it slowly to the end of the lot."

Bob checked the gear lever position, put his feet on the clutch and foot brake and started the car. Then he moved the gear lever into first gear, moved his right foot over to the accelerator and slowly lowered the hand brake. Then he took his foot off the clutch and the car stalled.

"Why did that happen Bob?"

"I don't know."

"You lifted your foot from the clutch too quickly. You have to let it rise slowly so the engine can gently start the car's wheels turning. Turn off the key now, put the controls into a parking position and we'll try everything again."

After two more tries he could start the car and drive, very slowly, near to the end of the lot.

"Okay. Stop now and park the car."

He did that, smiled and turned to face Peter.

"You're doing very well Bob. Now I'll turn the car around and you can try these things again."

Twenty minutes later Bob thought he now knew how to drive the car and said so to Peter.

"Oh, I think there's quite a bit more to learn: how to change gears, do three-point-turns, drive through traffic and so on. Do you want to take more lessons?"

"Yes I do."

"Then change places. I'll drive back to the garage. There are some forms to fill in and we'll decide what times will suit us both."

At the garage Tim asked Bob how the driving practice went.

"I enjoyed it, it's fun."

"He did excellently Dad."

Peter took Bob to his office and they completed the paperwork. "That's the application form for your provisional licence. Fill it in and I'll send it off. There's a fee to pay but I'll add that to your bill. You can pay me each time or each month, or, because I know you, you can pay after you've passed the driving test. Which way do you prefer Bob?"

"I'll pay at the end of each month." Monthly payments seemed to be the best way of handling his finances these days.

"All right. Now when do you want to have the lessons? I'd recommend you have two or three each week."

"Can I have them every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday? Two o'clock on Sunday and five o'clock on Tuesdays and Thursdays?"

"Just let me check my calendar. Yes, I can do that. Okay. Now here's a manual for you, the Rules of the Road. You should read through it and start memorising the rules and learn the driving tips it provides. They'll question you on those things in the exam, though you probably know most of them from watching others drive."

"Okay. Thanks Peter."

"Well, I'll see you Tuesday. 'Bye."

A letter from Maria arrived Monday morning. She told him that her friend had booked the flat, 'the very one you wanted,' for him for February, 1997. He should send her a cheque for five hundred pounds. She would convert it into escudos. Her company's address and her name was on the card she had enclosed. 'It looks like I will be conducting one of the tours along the south coast (if enough people sign up for it),' she added. Bob replied, saying 'I'm looking forward to seeing you again. I hope we could meet if you do lead the tour.' Then he wrote to thank the real estate agent and sent her his cheque. He'd post both letters in Big End.

He checked his shopping list, adding white paint, brushes, putty, door hinges and an entrance set then caught the bus to Big End. There, he went to the post office, bought five international stamps and posted the letters; the extra stamps would be needed if he wrote to Maria again. Then he walked to the lumber yard and ordered the wood, roofing shingles, nails, parts for the door and the cement and sand for the floor and the foundation. They told him it would be delivered the next day. "We're making many deliveries to the contractors in Small End these days," Bob was told when he asked why he was able to get it so quickly.

In the afternoon Bob banged short dowel rods into the corners of his future shed and joined them with a string. It would be ten feet by five feet with the door on the end, facing his house. He took off his coat and started to remove about six inches of the soil inside the string. He put it in his wheelbarrow, pushed it to the back of the station's parking lot and dumped it into the slope. Before returning he filled the barrow with crushed stone that had been sitting in a pile for fifteen years. It was the remainder of the stone that had been used when the platform was repaired. If he didn't use it it would be pushed down the slope when the new Community Centre parking lot was made. He wheeled the stone back and tipped it onto the ground; he'd use it to make a bed for the floor or mix it with the concrete. He took a short tea break at three then continued until he had removed all the dirt from the floor area. He was exhausted when finished, ate little for supper and went straight to bed.

Immediately after breakfast he returned to work, digging the foundation trench this time. Each time he dumped a load of dirt he returned with a load of stone. It was a fair trade, he thought, not that anyone was likely to complain. As former station master he surely had first claim on unwanted materials.

The wood and materials arrived just as he was going into his house for coffee. The driver helped him unload and sat in the kitchen afterwards drinking and chatting.

"I expect you're busy these days, with the new construction in Small End and elsewhere," said Bob.

"Yes, we are. In fact Leon, that's the manager, told me they're going to extend the lumber yard for fifty yards. We'll need more room for all the wood they'll be stocking. The developer in the subdivision that's behind your garden told me he expects to sell twenty houses this year. Lot's of people want to move south or get away from the big cities. You'll have two or three hundred families on the other side of the railway lines in a couple of year's time I think."

"Where's everyone going to work?"

"Don't know. There's a rumour that an industrial park will be set up somewhere near here, no idea where though."

After the driver pulled away Bob returned to work. He removed the dowels and string then spread about three inches of stone on the shed floor and raked it smooth. He placed a wide board across the foundation trench then began mixing his first batch of concrete, sand and stone in the wheelbarrow. When done he filled two pails with water and poured some into the barrow. He stirred it backwards and forwards with his garden hoe, adding a little water when needed. It didn't take long to mix. Then he wheeled the wheelbarrow to the far end of the shed and dumped the cement into the foundation trench. As soon as he had done this he decided to collect some bigger stones; it would take a long time to make enough cement to fill the trench using just small stones. He washed the wheelbarrow then wheeled it back to the station yard. This time he filled it with rocks and old pieces of brick, dumping them beside the pile of stones he'd retrieved. He'd add the rocks and brick pieces to the next load of cement before putting it into the trench. He made a dozen trips to collect rocks and big stones then stopped for lunch.

Bob heated a can of soup and drank it from a mug with a slice of bread, not feeling hungry, just thirsty. The soup and his tea put back some of the water he had sweated out that morning.

He had filled all the trench by four o'clock and was ready for a rest. He cleaned the barrow and the hoe and sprinkled water over the concrete then went indoors for a mug of tea and two of the Hot Cross buns he had bought when shopping, warming them in the oven before eating them in the kitchen.

'Now for a bath and clean clothes,' he told himself. 'I hope Peter doesn't question me on the rules of the road, I've not yet looked at the book.'

He walked down to the garage and saw Peter standing beside the car.

"Hello Bob. Get in and I'll drive to the parking lot then you can take over."

In the lot Bob practised changing gears and reversing for twenty minutes. Then Peter told him to drive to the road and turn left, away from the village.

"I'm breaking the law when we do this because your provisional licence hasn't arrived yet so drive carefully! We'll take the road to Easing. You'll be able to change into third and fourth gears along that road, it's wide and there are few cars to worry about. I usually have beginners practice there."

He enjoyed the drive and learned how to keep his eyes on the side of the road when other cars approached rather then look at them, which Peter said might cause him to drive towards the other car. The Peter's Driving School sign on the roof probably made other drivers slow down and keep clear as well.

When they got to the outskirts of Easing Peter told him to drive into the pub's parking lot and park the car. There they discussed the drive and the parts that caused a little difficulty then Bob drove home.

"I think you'll be ready to take your test next month at the rate you're going Bob. Do you want to?"

"If you think I'll be ready, yes, I do."

Bob cooked salmon for supper that night. Then he watched television but found himself falling to sleep in his chair so he went to bed, knowing that it would be another hard day's work tomorrow. He felt good as he fell asleep; he would have a shed to store things in when he was finished.

There was an intermittent drizzle most of Wednesday morning but Bob didn't mind. It wasn't enough to stop him from making, laying and smoothing the concrete floor and the thin coating of moisture kept it damp, helping it to cure properly. 'I'll take a risk and not cover it with plastic, it's not going to rain much longer,' Bob thought.

After lunch he worked in his shop, scraping the flaking paint from the windows then renewing the putty where needed. He took a short tea break before returning, when he painted the window frames white. After supper he tried reading the drivers' manual but kept falling asleep so he went to bed, knowing that it had been another good day.

Thursday he made the shed door. It was a simple one, wide boards held together with three boards and two cross-pieces. It was finished and painted white by lunchtime. He had a sandwich for lunch then walked to the Community Centre. The Smiths and Jack were already there and were looking at the plan for the new Centre. It would be nearly three times bigger than the one they already had, having a hall, a cafeteria, cloak room, toilets and about ten meeting rooms.

"Impressive," said Jack. "Wots they goin' t'do wiv t'old Centre Jane?"

"It hasn't been decided."

"Wud they sell it?"

"Perhaps. Why do you ask?"

"I'd make it inter a shoppin' complex if I 'ad backers."

"I'll let you know what the committee decides Jack. Okay everyone. It's the comedy we're working on this afternoon. We have the wood so the sets can be made but the canvas hasn't arrived. I ordered it two months ago and they promised it would be here by now. I'll be very worried if it's not here by next Thursday."

As they were walking to the pub afterwards Bob told the crew that he wouldn't be having his supper in the Crown on Saturday. "I'm having driving lessons."

"How's it goin'?" asked Jack.

"Pretty well I think. Peter says I might be ready to take the test next month and he's going to book one for me. I have three lessons each week and I'm going for one now."

"All right," said Ken.

"We'll be careful and keep to the side of the road when we come out!" added Jim.

"Ha, Ha!"

Peter wasn't at the garage when Bob entered.

"Hello Bob," said Tim. "Peter had to go to Big End to collect some parts. He'll be back soon. Do you want to wait here or do you want him to collect you from your place when he arrives?"

"I'll wait for him here Tim. I'd like to look at the cars you have for sale to see what they're like."

"I'll come with you but there's still nothing selling for less than a thousand pounds."

"That's all right. I just want to know what I would get for my money if I bought one, although I'd be looking for one that cost around five hundred, not a thousand."

Peter interrupted their discussions when he drove into the yard twenty minutes later.

"Sorry I'm late Bob. The shop needed the parts urgently."

"That's all right. I've been learning about buying a second-hand car."

"Well if you're ready we'll start the lesson now. I think it's time you practised three-point turns. We'll do some in the station's parking lot then try them on one of the wide sections along Easing Lane. Oh, here's your provisional. Bring it each time we drive."

"I'll put it in my wallet Tim."

"I also have the date for your driving test. It's on April 26th. That's a Friday. It's at ten o'clock and we have to be at the test centre at nine thirty. Because the test's in Bournemouth, we'll have to leave about seven thirty. Will that be alright?"

"Oh, yes."

Three-point turns were easy for Bob to do in the parking lot. The first time he tried doing them in the lane it became a five-point turn but he soon learned how far he had to turn the steering wheel and did four turns without trouble after that.

"Excellent Bob, you're doing well. Now this Sunday we'll drive along the coast road, you're ready to do that. We'll use the back roads to get there. Don't worry about the traffic; there won't be much."

"I look forward to it."

The phone rang at eight o'clock Friday morning, just as Bob was leaving the kitchen to go to his shop.

"Hello."

"Hello, Is that Bob Barns?"

"Yes. Who's calling?"

"It's Leo Tinnet. I've been trying to reach you the last two days. Have you been on holiday?"

"No. It's probably my phone. If I'm working in the garden or in my shop I can't hear it ring. I'll have to have an extension line put in."

"Oh, use a cordless phone, that's what we use. Get one with a long range. Now, I've sold all the toys you gave me and I need some more as soon as possible, before the weekend if you can. Can I have six of each?"

"Oh, that's great Leo. Yes, I'll bring what I've got but I'm not sure when. I'll come as quickly as I can."

"Thanks Bob, they're popular with the tourists. Selling your farms helps me to sell my animals too. In fact I'd like to make it a dozen farms if you have them."

"I'll bring what I can."

He hung up, fetched his notebook from the lounge and checked to see how many sets he had. The totals were as he remembered; the book said he had five village sets, seventeen farm sets and no train sets. He'd have to tell Leo that he would have to deliver the trains next week.

But when? He didn't want to waste a whole day delivering them. Then he remembered his driving lesson. He'd call Peter and ask him if he could have it today instead of Sunday. Since he had said they would be driving along the coast road he could drop them off in Twinner.

He called the garage and Tim answered.

"Tim, it's Bob Barns. Is Peter there?"

"No. He's giving a lesson. He'll be back just after nine. I'll ask him to call you then, if that's okay."

"Yes, please do."

He looked at the clock. It was 8:15. He had time to check the shed floor, water it if it wasn't damp enough, and bag the sets for Leo. Then he'd wait for Peter's call in the kitchen. 'I hope Jenny hasn't been trying to reach me as well. I'll have to make more sets next, the shed will have to wait.'

On his way to his workshop he checked the concrete. It was fine and the foundation would be strong enough to hold the walls any time now. In the shop he counted his sets. They agreed with his book tally; five village, seventeen farm and no trains. He put the sets for Leo in bags and took them to the kitchen. There he changed the number of toys he had in the shop and changed Leo's list. 'I'll have to make trains first, then villages, and I can't look for more retailers, I can't keep up with the ones I've already got!' The phone rang and he picked it up.

"Hello Bob. It's Peter. Dad said you wanted me to call."

"Hi Peter. I wonder if you could help me. I have to deliver some of my toys to Twinner as soon as I can. It takes most of a day if I go by bus. Can I have my Sunday's driving lesson today? Do you have time to fit me in?"

"Just a minute Bob, I'll check. Yes, I can, I have two hours free this afternoon but I'll first have to see if my Dad needs me. We are a bit short-handed at the moment. Let me call you back."

Two minutes later Peter called.

"Yes. I'm free. Is one o'clock okay for you?"

"Yes it is."

"Then I'll be at your house at that time. You can drive all the way, but, remember, it's not a rush, it's a driving lesson!"

"I'll not forget. Thanks Peter."

Now there was time to work in the shop. He'd give the shed windows and the door their second coat of paint later. He took them to the end of the shop and leaned them against the walls and began making trains. By ten he had the long bases and the blocks for the carriages cut and stopped to make a pot of tea but carried his mug back to the shop and cut the dowels to make the engines, the chimneys and the wheels. It was surprising how quickly he could make them now and hoped the quality wasn't deteriorating. Perhaps he could make the twenty train sets in just three or four days now he was using the acrylics.

He stopped at twelve thirty, tidied the shop and locked the door. He made a quick sandwich and ate it as he changed his trousers and shirt. He put on a grey sweater; it looked nice, both for a driving lesson and for delivering supplies to Leo. He drank a can of lemonade while watching for Peter who arrived just before one.

"Hello Peter. Thanks for making time for me. Was you Dad upset?"

"No. I can help him this evening and we'll be caught up by tomorrow. We often have extra work to do in the Spring; people want their cars tuned or their summer tires put on. Okay, you drive and we'll go through Easing to Twinner, then along the coast a bit before turning back. You're not ready to drive through Big End yet, especially not on a Friday afternoon. It'll be very busy. Do you want to have your usual lesson on Sunday? If you do then we can drive through Big End because there won't be much traffic then."

Bob thought about what Peter said. He wanted to work on the train sets and there was the shed to complete too but if he was going to have his test in five weeks time he'd better have the lesson.

"Yes, please, I'd like to try. Are you sure I can do that?"

"I think so. We'll find out, won't we."

On the journey to Twinner Bob told Peter what he had in the bags and described how busy he was these days. Peter said it reminded him of when he started giving driving lessons. He was very busy then. He had to memorise all the traffic regulations and learn how to how to handle high school students when there were two critics decrying the driver's actions sitting in the back seat.

The drive was pleasant and there were few cars on the road until they came close to Twinner. Bob kept to the speed limit even though many cars wanted him to go faster. Peter told him to ignore the other drivers because he would fail the test if he went faster than allowed. Apart from a few irritated drivers, who seemed not to see the learner's plate or the driving school sign on the roof and who tooted or shot past whenever they could, the journey was uneventful. Bob parked near Leo's shop and carried in the bags.

"Hello Leo. I'm sorry I missed your earlier calls but I'll look for a cordless phone when I'm in Big End. Here are the sets I have at the moment. Twelve farms and five villages. I don't have any trains but I've started making them and I'll deliver them next week. I hope that'll be all right."

"Yes. That's fine. If anyone asks for a train set I'll tell them they are on order. You know, it seems that lots of people are interested in wooden toys now. It's part of the green movement I suppose, although the fact that these are locally made might be why they're selling so well. You might have to bring a load every week!"

"Well I can't do that. I'll have to figure something out. Oh, do you mind if I tell you that Jenny sells my toys on a 25% commission. Would you do the same?"

"Yes. They sell easily and also help me sell other things."

"She gives me a receipt each time I deliver and sends me a cheque and a statement each month. Can you do that as well?"

"Why, yes, that's no problem. Does she use a computer?"

"I don't know. I'll ask her to call you, if you like."

"No, that's all right, I'll see her at the conference."

"Okay. Leo, I have to leave now. I'm having a driving lesson and my teacher is waiting in the car outside. I'll see you next week. Oh, what time do you close?"

"Six o'clock during the week. In the summer I stay open until nine. Why do you ask?"

"So I know when to deliver."

"I don't live far away and I can always be here if you want to deliver outside opening hours. Here's my card; I'll write my home number on the back."

"Thanks. I'll see you next week then. 'Bye."

Bob returned to the car and told Peter he had to deliver more sets next week. "Can I do that on one of my lessons, preferably the Tuesday one?"

"Of course you can. I think you could drive the full coastal road and back through Big End by Tuesday. It would be better if it was in the afternoon though, for there would be less traffic then."

"That suits me. Leo'll be in his shop then."

Bob drove back, parked the car at the garage then went with Peter to his office.

"I have three hours free Tuesday afternoon. When would you like to go?"

"Is three o'clock okay? That would suit me best."

"Yes."

"Thanks."

Bob walked back to his house thinking about all the work he would have to do. It might soon become too much. 'I should probably slow down, but it's nice to make money this way. I think I will have to hire someone. How much would that cost, I wonder? And could I pay him and still make a profit?. There's so much to sort out.'

He changed into his work clothes, returned to his shop and worked until eight cutting the long blocks he had prepared and trimming them. When he stopped he was hungry and very tired. He ate a pot pie with carrots and treated himself to an ice cream afterwards and felt very happy; he was sure he could make twenty train sets in three days if worked long enough each day.

It was raining Saturday morning when Bob walked to the bus stop to catch the early bus to Big End. Jenny and Susan were tidying the shelves when he entered Home and Holiday.

"Hello Jenny, Susan. How are you enjoying the last of the winter?"

"I'm glad it's almost over," replied Susan.

"Me too," added Jenny, "even if I won't be wearing my new coat any more!" They laughed.

"Sold any of my sets this month Jenny?"

"Sold a few. Come, let's check the books." She walked to the back office and Bob followed.

"I've sold two of each. There's only one village and one train set left. Can I have some more?"

"I only have farm sets at the moment but I'll soon have trains. Do you want them early next week or can I deliver them on Saturday? I'm so busy right now."

"Saturday would be all right. I'll take up to six of each. Just bring me what you have. I'm likely to sell more each month from now on though."

'Then,' thought Bob, as he left the shop, 'I'll ask everyone tonight if they know of someone looking for a job.'

He did his usual grocery shopping and caught the eleven o'clock bus back to Small End. 'If I had a car I'd save two hours on each trip to Big End and about six hours each time I have to go to Twinner. I really will need one if things continue this way."

After a quick lunch Bob returned to his shop, finishing all the train pieces by five. All that needed to be done now was sanding, painting and gluing.

He was sitting in the corner of the Crown by the fire at six with his bitter in front of him when Joe and his pint joined him.

"Hello Bob. How's driving? Enjoying the lessons?"

"They're fun. Peter says I'm almost ready to take the test and he's scheduled one for me in April. How's your week been?"

"I've been a bit delayed. My helpers were three days late, but we're almost caught up now. That means I can do the station next week. I don't know what day yet. If you want to help you can join the others taking out the windows and doors. I'll leave a wagon in the lot to put them on and I'll take them to the Community Centre. We'll stack them behind the building until we're ready to use or sell them. The dismantling group starts Monday morning. Jane is arranging the details. You can tell her what you want to do."

"Well I can't help next week, I'm afraid. I'm so busy making toys and a storage shed. I must do those things first. Does Jane have enough people?"

"I don't know. Ask her when she comes."

Rose and Jack joined them. Joe and Bob brought them up-to-date with the news. Then Jane arrived and Bob told her what he had been doing. "So you see, Jane, I'm very busy. Can you manage without me this week?"

"Oh we'll be okay. Many people want to help; everybody wants a bigger Centre. Don't worry about it. We can do without your help on the stage sets too, if that's going to add to your worries. You need someone to help you I think."

"Yes I do, but I don't think I'd make enough money to pay a man, that's the problem."

"Why not hire a boy?" suggested Joe. "You can pay minimum wage and the insurance premiums wouldn't be too high."

"What insurance premiums?"

"You have to have insurance if you employ someone, and there're other things you have to pay for, like holidays and sick leave."

"Aye," said Jack. "I hire people on contract. Nout t'worry about then."

"Can I hire a teenager on a contract?"

"I don't see why not," said Joe. "I do that during the picking season. They usually do a good job. I pay piece-work, so much for each pound or each basket they turn in. Could you do something like that?"

"I probably could. I'll think about it. Thanks for the suggestions, they make me feel much better. Let's get another round and order supper, I'm hungry."

The men walked back to the bar and bought drinks and ordered the meals. When Bob returned to the table he asked Rose if she'd sold any sets this month.

"Two. It's too early for visitors in Small End. I'll sell more when we have the Spring Show as you know."

"Yes."

While eating Jane told them how the show was progressing and, finally, the big surprise.

"Guess what happened this week. Small End's been given a £100,000 grant from the government to build the Centre. We'd asked for that and we have now got it! It's more than enough to pay the electricians, plumbers and other contractors. So we may have a new Centre, all paid for, by the fall. And we've got all the money we raised from the shows to cover other things. Isn't that great!"

"Wow, yes!" "Congratulations!" "That's tremendous!" Everyone raised their glasses to Jane for she had done more than anyone else during the past four years.

As they got up to leave half an hour later Jane took Bob to one side.

"I think I know a teenager who might be able to help you. It is Jim Smith's son, Benny. He's sixteen. He quit school at Christmas but hasn't got a job. Jim says he sits in front of his computer all day playing games. He sometimes replies to ads but hasn't found any work yet. Call Jim and see what he says."

"Thanks. I'll do that tomorrow. Let's hope the kid's interested, I certainly need someone."

His clothes were drying on the line and all the dusting finished Sunday morning when Bob filled the kettle. He'd have a quick coffee than sand the pieces. He switched on the stove then phoned Jim.

"Hello Jim. It's Bob Barns. I was talking to Jane last night about needing someone to help me in my woodwork shop and she suggested Benny. What do you think? Can I see if he's interested?"

"Yes, certainly. I want Benny to get a job, it's not good to do nothing all day. Can you come over and see him?"

"I will, after I've had my coffee. In fifteen minutes. Can you tell him I called?"

"Sure, and I'll tell him to take the job."

"Thanks. See you soon."

Benny must have been watching the garden gate for he opened the door as Bob walked up the path.

"Hello Mr. Barns. Dad's told me you might have a job for me. Come in, but I should tell you that I don't think I'd like it."

"Why not Benny?," said Bob as he walked in. "Why do you think that you'd not like the job when I haven't told you what it is?"

"Because it is indoors. I've told Dad many times that I want to work outside. Then he asks me what kind of a job I want outside and I can't tell him. I don't know. I had thought of going to Canada and planting trees but I've found out I'm too young. Maybe I'll do that later, when I'm eighteen or so. I've worked on the farm for Dad's cousin, Joe Smith, and I like that. Trouble is, it's seasonal work. What I'd like is a year-round, outside job."

"That's a pity, for me, at least. I don't want to hire someone who doesn't like what they're doing, they're likely to make too many mistakes. Do you know anyone who might like to make toys?"

"I don't think so. I didn't take any woodwork courses at school. My friends mostly like computers and I don't think any of them would do anything like that. You could ask the school's woodwork teacher if he knows of anybody."

"Ah yes. That's a good idea, thanks. Then I should let your Dad know what we've decided. Is he here?"

"He's in the garage, cleaning his golf clubs. Golf, that's his passion. Ever since retiring playing golf is what he wants to do. I'll take you to him. You know, he's an outdoors person too, maybe I'm the way I am because of him."

Jim knew why Benny declined the job. "You only want to work outside, I know, Benny. Well, I'll go and see Joe again and ask if he has a job for you, though I don't like the idea of you being a farm labourer all your life."

"I don't have to be, Dad. I could become a farm manager, couldn't I?"

"I suppose so, if you're any good. Well I'll talk to Joe then."

"Thanks Dad."

"Do you know any young man who might work for me Jim?"

"I don't think so. You could ask my brother, Ken. He's worked with wood all his life. Did you know he was the general manager of TimberForms? They made furniture and were bought out last year and Ken was replaced by the new firm's manager. He's got a good pension so he's not looking for a job but he might know of someone who is. Why don't you call him."

"Yes, thanks, I will."

**Chapter 7 Ken**

Ken wasn't at home when Bob telephoned so he left a message. He collected the wooden pieces and sat on a stool in the garden and began sanding. The phone rang five minutes after he had started.

"It's Ken here, Bob. I got your message and was about to call you when Jim phoned. He said you're looking for someone to help you make toys. You know, I might be interested."

"Ah, I can't hire a man Ken. It costs too much; his wages, benefits, sick-leave, pension and so on. I was looking for a teenager who would perhaps work on contract for a few months."

"A few months is all I'd want to do, too. And I won't want a pension, I've one already, nor do I need benefits and so on. Why don't I come round tomorrow and you can show me what you do and if I like the idea of helping, I will. We can discuss pay later."

"Well, okay. Can you come at nine?"

"Sure. See you then."

This was something new to think about. What would it be like working with Ken? He seems a nice enough chap but I'm not making enough to pay him a man's wages so the idea won't come to anything. I'll let him make villages tomorrow and see how it works.

Bob was cleaning his paint brushes in the kitchen Monday morning when Ken knocked on the door. "Hello Ken. How did you know I was in here?"

"I thought you were in your shop and went there first. Then I saw you here. What are you doing?"

"I've just been giving the trains a coat of paint. I normally do that in the shop but with you coming I thought it would be better to do the painting here. Take a seat. Would you like a mug of tea?"

"No, thanks. That's a lot of pieces, they're for carriages for your trains, right?"

"Yes, that's right. I make twenty sets at a time. Each set has an engine and three carriages. I make three different kinds of toys; trains, farms and villages. I used to make and sell birds as well but I don't do that now. It takes too long."

"I've seen your trains and birds in Rose's shop. I'm surprised she sells that many. Is someone else selling your toys as well?"

"Oh yes, they are now. Home and Holiday in Big End and Toys and Gifts in Twinner. Home and Holiday's been selling them since January and Toys and Gifts started just over a week ago. It is hard to build all they're asking for so I need help. That's why I'm looking for a young man."

"I see."

"Is that your lunch?" and Bob pointed to a paper bag Ken was carrying.

"Yes."

"Let me put it in the fridge."

Bob showed Ken the bathroom then took him to his workshop. On the way he pointed to the concrete pad, "I'm making a shed to keep the wood in. I need more room in the shop, for painting and gluing now I'm making twenty at a time. Come in."

Ken stopped just inside the shop's door and looked around. "It's nicely laid-out. The bench's strong, you've got good lighting and some decent tools. Your shop's much better than mine. Working conditions interest me. You know I was the General Manager of TimberForms, the furniture-maker in Southampton?"

"Yes, Jim told me. So that's why you were interested in the layout. Well, I'm glad you like it. Let's hope that you still do after today! I'd like you to try making villages. I'll show you what I do then watch you do it. If you're okay, I'll leave you to it and make the walls for the shed. Will that be okay?"

"Yes, of course, and if I run into trouble I'll see you."

"Right. I usually start at eight each morning, stop for coffee about ten and eat my lunch around twelve, but since it's nearly ten now I suggest we delay the coffee and lunch breaks for an hour."

"Okay. Can I see a completed village before we begin?"

Bob took one of the village set boxes off the shelf, opened it and spread the pieces over the bench.

"These are the large houses and here is a small one. This is a row of shops. That's the church and there's the Community Centre and the post office. These are hedges. If you think of any ways to improve the design please let me know, but don't make it too complicated. I don't want to spend more than six days to make twenty sets. The farms are similar to this set; they also take about six days to make twenty. The train sets are much easier and take just three days."

"Okay. Show me what you do."

"First I shape a block long enough to make twenty houses. I do that with the circular saw."

Bob took down a length of wood and started shaping it. As he worked he explained what he was doing. "After shaping this piece of wood I cut it into twenty houses. I do that eight times and end up with eight houses for twenty villages. Then I make five large houses for each village. I do the same thing again, to make twenty churches, but there's only one of them in each village. Then I make two rows of shops the same way. The other things come next. The most time-consuming part is hedges, they take over a day to make. I'll show you how I do that when you're ready. See, I've shaped the long block now. It'll make twenty houses, as I said. It didn't take long, did it?"

"No, but it's a bit rough. You sand the pieces later?"

"Yes. I usually do that at the end of the day to let the dust settle overnight. I use a belt sander and some sandpaper. I tried sanding outside recently and I might do that in future. If it's not raining, that is."

"Okay. I understand. Can I try making a house block now?"

"Yes, of course."

Ken walked to the wood and selected one of the pieces.

"This is where you keep the wood to make small houses?"

"Yes, that's right."

He watched Ken shape the wood. 'He did it almost as quickly as I did,' Bob thought, 'and its shape is just as good.'

"That's great Ken. It's very good, in fact, even though it's the first time you've done that."

"Thanks. It's been a long time since I've done any woodwork. When I was about ten I made a rifle and a revolver. My friends saw them and wanted them so I made several and sold them, making enough money to buy sweets for several months. It was fun. You know, I think I'd enjoy working with wood again."

"I hope you do. Okay, I'll leave you to it and work on the shed. Call if you need me." Bob took his plans, a tape measure, circular saw and an extension cord from the bench and went outside. It was still cloudy but the morning weather forecast said there shouldn't be any rain for the next two days.

He put his things on the concrete and removed the plastic sheet that covered the wood on the lawn. Checking his plans he pulled the four-by-two lengths he needed to make the rear end wall and began cutting them to length. Once he had finished cutting all of them he went into the shop for the nails.

"How's it going Ken?"

"Fine. I've already made all the small houses. Do they look okay to you?"

"They look fine to me. At this rate you'll probably finish twenty villages quicker than I can!"

Bob picked up the box of nails and went outside. He laid the four-by-twos on the concrete floor and nailed them together. Twenty minutes later the wall frame was made. He leaned it against the back of the shop and checked his watch. There was enough time to make the front wall before coffee. This one was a little more complex, for it included the door-opening, but it was finished and nailed together by eleven fifteen. He put his head in the shop and told Ken that he was going to put the kettle on for coffee. "Come when you are ready."

Over coffee Ken told Bob how he had been made redundant when his company had been bought. "They used their own manager. It was the right thing to do, of course; their manager knew their machinery and their construction methods. They gave me a reasonable redundancy package and I started my pension. I've been at a bit of a loss this last nine months. My wife thinks I should go out more, she probably wants the house to herself during the day. Jim's wife is like that so he plays a lot of golf although that's what he's always done. Golf doesn't interest me so I've been riding my bike, walking the paths, helping in the garden, reading books in my study, things like that, but I'd like to do something more interesting."

"Working here might be more interesting Ken but I can't pay you much."

"Let me worry about that Bob. I'm sure we can work something out. Let's forget pay until I know if I want to continue, we can talk about it then."

"All right."

"I've been looking at the hedges you've made and thinking how you must have done it. I can see that it must have taken a long time. I think there's probably a quicker way. I don't know for sure, but I think so."

"It'll be nice if you could find a quicker way. Well, I'll have to get back to the shed."

"Let me know when you are ready to fasten the walls together and I'll give you a hand," said Ken, as he walked into the shop.

The long wall, with two window openings, took over an hour to make and Bob decided to join the walls together after lunch. He opened the door to the shop. "I'm going to have my lunch now. Are you ready to eat?"

"Almost, be with you in a minute."

Bob put the kettle on the stove and made himself a lettuce, tomato and cheese sandwich.

"Ah. Hi Ken. I've put your lunch bag on the counter. With all this stuff on the table we'll eat in the lounge. Do you feel tired?"

"A bit. I've worked harder this morning than I've done for several months. It's enjoyable. I've finished the conservatories and front porches for the big houses and I'll make the churches, shops, and post offices this afternoon. I won't be ready to sand any of them today though."

"Yes, that's what I do. I make the pieces first then sand. Can you help me fasten the shed walls together before you start?"

"Sure. How do you fasten the bottom plates to the concrete?"

"I drill through the wood and into the concrete using a carbide bit, bang a piece of wood right down to the bottom then drive a long nail into it. It's a strong joint and easy to do. I fastened the workshop walls to the floor that way twenty years ago and there's never been any trouble."

Ken stood up and pointed to the window. "There's some dark clouds on the horizon. It looks like it's going to rain. We should fasten the walls right now if you want to get them up today."

With Ken's help the shed walls were up, squared, nailed both to the foundation and to the shop in thirty minutes. "Perfect," said Bob. "It doesn't matter if it does rain now. I'll start on the trusses Ken. Might be able to cut them before the rain starts."

Unfortunately, that didn't happened. Bob felt the a few drops as he was about to cut the first length of wood so he unplugged the saw, put it in the shop and covered the wood pile with the plastic sheet."

"It looks as if it's going to rain for the rest of the day Ken. I'll give you a hand. Okay if I make the hedges?"

"Sure. Do you want the stool?"

"No."

"What are you going to sit on?"

"The saw horse. I'll have to get another stool."

"I can bring mine tomorrow."

"Thanks. I'll make another soon as I have the time."

As soon as they began they ran into a problem, there was only one table saw and both couldn't use it at the same time. "What are we going to do about that Bob?"

"I don't know. I could buy another saw but where can I put it? There isn't enough room."

"We'll have to plan our work better then; one of us could cut the blocks while the other one shapes the hedges. That would work."

"Okay. When you've finished with the saw we'll break for tea and afterwards I'll cut the hedges. I'll make a list of things to buy while you're using the saw."

At Ken's suggestion Bob added "masks" to his shopping list. "It would be best if we had a ducted exhaust system to use when sanding," Ken added, "but they cost a lot of money. We must sand outdoors whenever we can. Breathing sawdust isn't healthy."

"Yes, I agree. I've never had this much to sand in the past. Okay, I'll put the kettle on, it'll take about ten minutes to boil."

As they were drinking their tea Ken said he had thought of a way to make the hedges quicker. "We could use three routers in a jig. Three of them would only cost about fifty pounds if we bought second-hand ones. Do you think it's worth trying?"

"How much quicker would it be, Ken?"

"Don't know until we try. It'd make hedges for twenty villages in a couple of hours I think."

"It could be that fast? That'd be marvellous."

"Also, I think it would be quicker to make the houses and shops using a jig, but that would cost money, maybe as much as a hundred pounds. The big problem about what we're doing, apart from the money, is room; there's not enough room in here. We'd have to enlarge the workshop somehow and I don't see how we can. So it really comes down to this, are you sure you want to make a lot more toys?"

"Yes I'm sure. If we found a way to make the shop larger how long would it take to make twenty villages, that is, if we had both of your jigs and they worked as well as you've suggested?"

"Less than two days maybe even only one day, plus the time it takes to paint the pieces."

"Twenty sets would bring in about three hundred and fifty pounds! In two days! Wow."

"I don't know how much money it'd make but could you sell that many if we made them?"

"I'm not too worried about selling, at least, during the tourist season Ken. There are lots of gift shops around here. I wouldn't like working in the shop day after day, week after week, though."

"Well if you're sure you can sell the toys I've a suggestion: I could make the toys, or you could hire people to make them, and you could concentrate on selling. What do you think?"

"I don't know. Selling has been fun so far. I like meeting and talking to the retailers. They like the sets and seem glad to sell them. But I've never thought about being a salesman and someone else making the toys. I'll have to think about that."

"It's just a suggestion Bob. You could do both jobs if you wanted. Alright, you think about it. I'll help you tomorrow and Wednesday but I can't come Thursday or Friday; we're going to London. We've tickets to a show Thursday night."

"Okay Ken. Thanks."

Both men were rather quiet as Ken finished cutting the extra pieces for the set. When the clouds suddenly cleared away and the rain stopped Ken unscrewed the belt sander and took it outside, making enough room for Bob to cut the long hedge blocks.

As he prepared supper that night Bob rethought Ken's ideas. 'It'd be easier if I stayed small; I know what that kind of life's like. As long as I make enough money for a couple of holidays each year I'll be satisfied. If I don't try making more will I regret it later? And what about all the extra money I'll have to spend to increase production? Well, I guess it wouldn't cost much to buy the routers and saws, surely I can afford two hundred pounds. I suppose the biggest question would be, do I want to sell and let someone else make the toys? Would I be happy doing that?'

He thought through these questions during his supper and afterwards, when he glued the train pieces together. 'Do I want to become rich or remain more-or-less poor? If I sold lots of toys then what am I going to do with all the money I'd make apart from spending it on holidays? Give it to the children? Take lots more expensive holidays? I suppose I could go to Europe two or three times a year if I earned enough, though that might not be so much fun if I didn't go with Joe and Jane.'

Bob finished the gluing, washed his hands and sat in his easy chair, thinking and rethinking, but finally he had to stop and go to bed. Perhaps he would know what to do when he woke up. Funnily enough he slept well and he also knew what to do when he woke up early the next day.

When Ken arrived carrying his stool Bob was in the kitchen, having added the eyes and hooks that linked the engine and carriages and painted the lines that added more realism to the toy. He told Ken to sit down, offered him a mug of tea which Ken accepted this time.

"Buy the routers and the saws Ken and make the jigs. It'll be great if they worked. Almost any improvement in the speed of making the hedges or other parts would be very welcome. And I think we'll have room enough to use them when the wood is moved into the shed."

"I'm pretty sure that the hedge jig will work Bob. Years ago we used jigs like the one I have in mind in our factory; we made mouldings with them. Later we bought a special machine to do that but I remember how well the jigs worked. Just how many toys are you thinking of making?"

"I guess that depends on how many I can sell. Have you got any more ideas?"

"Yes I have. One of the first things you should do is copyright your company's name. Actually it's not a copyright you need it's a trade mark."

"Why?"

"Because if you're successful people will come to know your name. Once bigger manufacturers realise how successfully your wooden toys were selling they'll make the same thing cheaper and quicker than you and soon put you out of business. However, if people already knew the company's name they're more likely to buy your toys not other company's."

"I see. How do I obtain a trade mark?"

"Go to an agent. He'd do it. I know one in Southampton. What would you call the company?"

"Ah, I've already decided that, it's on my labels. It's "Small End Wooden Toys."

"Okay. Lastly, here's one other suggestion. Take time to think about it and I don't mind which way you decide to go, instead of you paying me to work for you how about us forming a partnership? I would look after making the toys and you would look after selling them. You've told me that you don't like the idea of making the toys under pressure. From what you've said you'd probably like travelling the country, visiting new places, talking to new people and seeing new things. Of course that can become tiring but you need only do as much as you want. You don't have to continually revisit your retailers, they can phone when they want more toys and we can hire a man to deliver them. There's all sorts of things like that we can do, once we grow big enough. Now, take your time to think about all this. It is a big step but something like that is needed if you are to become much bigger."

"What kind of partnership do you mean Ken? Are you thinking we would be equal partners?"

"We could do whatever you want Bob. It'd be nice to be equal but it's your business not mine; you have to make that decision. All I'm doing right now is making toys for you but making them faster than you did."

"Oh no Ken, you are already doing much more than making toys. You're giving me many new ideas. It's a very interesting suggestion. I'm sure you could create a toy manufacturing company, and a very successful one, as long as I could sell all the toys you'd make. I'll think about us becoming partners."

"There's no hurry, as I said, take your time. Well, let's start the days' work."

"Would you help me with the shed first Ken? I'd like to put the roof and the siding on. Once that's made we'll put the wood in it and rearrange the shop."

"Of course. Let's go."

Cutting and fastening the roof joists to the window wall and to the workshop didn't take long. Once in place they held the shed firmly in place. Ken cut the siding and Bob nailed it onto the back and window wall. They were completely covered by eleven when they broke for coffee, drinking it in the kitchen and talking about how the shop should be reorganised once the wood had been put in the shed.

"We could put the boxes that store the pieces and the boxed sets in the shed as well as the wood," said Ken. "We could even move the belt sander there, the place is big enough."

"The dust would coat everything if we did that."

"Not if we made a plastic-enclosed sanding booth. I know a shop where we can probably buy a second-hand exhaust fan. We'd have to have one of those. Oh, another thing. I think that cutting the long blocks into the separate houses or the dowels into engine boilers and so on could be done much faster and more accurately if we used a band saw."

"Yes I know. I thought about doing that a couple of weeks ago but it seemed an extravagance then."

"We needn't buy a new saw: an old one with a new band would do."

"I see."

They covered the front wall with siding then stopped for lunch. While eating Bob thought a lot about what Ken had said and, unusually quickly for him, made his mind up as he swallowed the last of his sandwich.

"You've lots of good ideas Ken and I think they are sensible ones so let's go for it. Let's become partners and see what happens. We should be equal partners for you'll probably be doing more work than me if everything goes the way you suggest.

"Well I'm glad you're willing to take the risk Bob. We should do well, I think. However, you'd better have fifty one percent, not fifty. That way you'd always have control. It's really your business, I'm just joining it."

"Would forty nine percent be all right with you?"

"Of course. I'm only doing this for fun. Then let's see a lawyer and formalise it."

"All right. We should share the expenses and income from now on."

"No, that's not fair Bob. This month's income is yours; you did all the work. Let's share everything beginning next month."

"Well, okay. The cheques arrive at the end of the month, so it's easy to arrange. I'll tell everybody what we're doing next time I see them."

"Wait until we've signed the agreement Bob."

"Okay."

They boarded and shingled the roof and fitted the windows after lunch but left the door for Bob to fit later. There was plenty of wood left from the shed's construction. Bob planned to use it to make racks to hold the wood and shelves to hold the boxes, leaving room by the door for the sanding booth.

"Let's go to Southampton tomorrow Bob. If we left at eight we should be finished by lunchtime. I'll phone the lawyer and agent when I get home. If they can't see us I'll phone you tonight and we'll set another time or date."

"All right. I must buy a cordless phone while we're there. I can't hear the kitchen phone when I'm in the shop. Leo said a cordless phone would solve that problem."

"It would. We have one and I use it in my garage and in the garden with no problem."

"Good. I'll see you at eight tomorrow then. If you have to call me tonight don't call before 6:30, I'm having a driving lesson."

"Okay. Have fun. 'Bye."

Bob boxed six train sets and put them in a bag ready to take to Leo then he washed and changed. Peter arrived promptly at five.

"You drive Bob. We'll go the route I suggested, along the back roads, through Easing to Twinner then along the coast road. We'll return if the traffic gets bad along there. Keeping to the speed limit when most people want to exceed it can be very stressful."

Peter quizzed Bob on the traffic regulations while they drove. He could answer most but didn't know much about the penalties.

"Read the book Bob. There's lots to remember. The most important thing, though, is the way you drive and I don't think you'll have any trouble with that."

Bob parked opposite Toys and Gifts in Twinner and carried the sets to Leo. "I was about to call you because I have only one village set left Bob. Did you bring me any today?"

"Sorry Leo. I've only got trains. I could bring you some villages on Sunday. Do you need more farms?"

"No, I've still got five."

"You're selling almost everything I can make right now. Leo. I'm hoping to increase production and I'll tell you about it when it's all arranged."

"Good. Lots of people want to buy your toys. Some are put off when I tell them how much they cost but most of them buy."

"I'm glad. Then I'll see you Sunday afternoon. I'll be here about 2:20. Should I go to your house?"

"No. I'll be working in the back of the shop. Just knock hard if you can't see me."

Bob stopped about half-way along the coast road, did a three-point turn and headed home. In Twinner he practised parking between cars several times.

"I think you could pass the test tomorrow Bob. It's a pity it's not until the 26th. Are you interested in taking one earlier if there is a cancellation? I'll phone them if you are."

"I would be, if you think I'd pass."

"I'll call them tomorrow and ask. I suggest we wait at least two weeks because you must have some practice driving on the motorways and through city traffic first. We can go along the A31 and the M27 on Thursday. If we do that we'll need a two-hour lesson. Is five o'clock alright?"

"Five's okay. I need to practice driving in the dark as well Peter. Could we do that if we started later?"

"No. You should do that on less busy roads first. Next week would be best. Drive to the garage and park at the back Bob."

"Okay. If the date for the driving test is changed can you call me in the evening tomorrow? I'll be in Southampton during the day.

"Sure."

He thought about all the things that were happening to him as he walked up the road to his house. 'It's almost more than I can handle right now; I hope it slows down soon.'

The skies were grey and gusts of rain hit Bob as he ran to join Ken in his car on Wednesday morning. "Hi. I look forward to the day when I have a car Ken. It's not much fun waiting for busses when the weather's like this. When's our first appointment?"

"Ten o'clock, with Arthur Glone. He's my lawyer and he'll draft the partner-ship agreement. The trade mark agent, a Mr. Smyth, will be in his office all afternoon and we can see him anytime. That gives us plenty of time to do our shopping. How well do you know Southampton Bob?"

"I've been there a few times. I took Betty and the kids to the docks once and we shopped there occasionally but I don't really know the town. The best part of going there, for me, was when the bus went through the forest. We had competitions, like who could spot the most horses."

"There are lots there, not that you can see many from the road. They roam all over the place."

"I know. It was just a way to shorten the journey for the kids."

"Well I know Southampton very well. When I worked at the factory we lived near the common so were quite central. I've known Arthur Glone for two years. He acted for me when I sold our house and when I bought the one in Small End. When I called him last night I asked if he had drawn up any partnership agreements before and he said he had. He told me that some can be very complex but they can also be quite simple, it depends on the number of people involved and how complex the agreement is. I'm sure ours will be one of the simple ones Bob."

"I should think so. We've agreed on the split, there are only the two of us and we have little to start with. That's it, I suppose."

"He'll probably raise other things we should consider. Lawyers usually do."

Bob kept a close eye on Ken's driving, particularly when he entered and exited the motorway. He drove just as the driving manual suggested, speeding up on the ramp. It was interesting to look for a driver's mistakes almost as good as a taking a driving lesson.

They arrived at the lawyer's office ten minutes early and the receptionist asked if they would like coffee or tea. They both took coffee and ate a couple of biscuits. The lawyer came out of an office as they were finishing.

"Welcome Ken. I think that this must be your colleague. Hello. My name is Arthur Glone. Please call me Arthur."

"Hello Arthur. I'm Bob Barns. I guess that Ken's told you that we want to form a partnership, making toys."

"Yes, he told me last night. It sounds an interesting venture. I don't know of another business like that around here. I think there are some in London or up north but I've never dealt with one before. Let's hope you're successful. Please, come into my office.

"There are several things you should discuss and agree upon before we word a partnership. I'll outline a few of them. The agreement should name those in the partnership, the name of the business and it's address, the company's fiscal year, the accounting method to be used, the funds contributed by each partner, if new partners can be added, how the partnership is to be dissolved. Things like that. I have a form that will help you to decide. You can fill it in and give it to me. I'll review it and we'll discuss any items that may cause you trouble in the future. Then I'll have the agreement drafted. There is a glossary at the end of the form and that will help you make your decisions."

"Oh. This is a bit more difficult than I had expected," said Bob.

"It may sound difficult but it really isn't. By making these decisions now you can avoid all sorts of problems later."

"What will all this cost?"

"If you already agree on most or all of the items and if it is a simple agreement then it should not cost more than two hundred and fifty pounds. But that is not a quote; it's only a guess. I think you two are likely to get along with each other so there shouldn't be much disagreement and my fees will be minimal. Here are the forms, one for each of you. I suggest you write your answers in pencil then meet and discuss what you have written. When you have agreed then send the forms to me. I'll go over them, we'll meet and I'll suggest additions or amendments if there are any. Then I'll have it typed, you sign it and I'll look after everything else. Then you'll have a legal and binding document linking you together."

"Well, that sounds straightforward. Thanks Arthur. I'm glad Ken suggested coming to you; you make things easy to understand. Can I have one of your business cards?"

"Of course."

Arthur ushered them out. Luckily the rain had stopped but the wind still pushed them around as they returned to the car.

"What did you think about Arthur, Bob?"

"I liked him and his form looks pretty straight forward. I can fill mine in during the next night or two. When do you suggest we meet to discuss it?"

"Saturday or Sunday. I'll do mine when we get back from London."

"Let's do it Sunday then. How about Sunday afternoon, after I've finished my driving lesson. That would be around four o'clock."

"All right. Why don't you come to our place and have dinner with us. Mary is anxious to meet you."

"That would be very nice. Thanks I'd love to. Okay, what do we do next?"

"I want to go to a shop I know that sells second-hand equipment as well as new stuff. That's where I hope to buy the routers and saws."

"Okay, and from now on we'll share all costs. Or, more correctly, I'll pay 51% of the costs and you pay 49%."

"That'll be a bother, there'll be a lot of expenses. Do we always have to do that?"

"Of course, but we need only do it at the end of each month after all the expenses are added together. Just keep all the bills."

"Okay."

The shop had several routers and Ken chose three small ones. There were several band saws but there were only two of the kind he wanted. He bought them and asked the salesman to call him if more like the ones he'd chosen came in. He also bought two new bands and paid for the lot using his credit card.

"I'm glad they have the routers. That's what I need to make the hedges. The jig to make them is going to be a bit more complicated than I first thought. It'll have to be adjustable, I think, because we might want to make different size hedges one day."

Next they went to a radio shop and Bob asked if they sold cordless phones.

"We have four models, for large or small houses. How big is your house?"

"I want it to go from the house to a workshop in the garden. About thirty yards."

"I'd recommend this one. It'll easily go fifty yards if there's nothing in between. It should do the job."

Bob bought it and they walked back to the car and put it in the boot.

"I'm paying for that Ken. It's something I need for the house."

"If you are sure Bob, although I expect you'll mostly be using it for business. Or I will, since I'll be the one in the shop and you'll be on the road."

"Not until I have my driving licence and a car. Thinking about that, I hope I pass the test first time. Worrying about that keeps me awake sometimes; I'll be glad when it's over. Now, where shall we go for lunch?"

"How about fish and chips? There's a shop I often went to. It's supposed to be the best in town and it has room at the back to park."

"Okay."

They ordered cod and chips, added malt vinegar and salt, then ate them in the car. Afterwards they drove to a pub for a pint. "This is a nice way to do business," Bob said, as they entered.

They drove to Mr. Smyth's office afterwards and told him they wanted to trademark the name "Small End Wooden Toys" for a business they were starting.

"I don't think you'll have any difficulty with a name like that, it's not likely that anyone else would already have it but I'll have to search the register to be sure. I'll need a couple of days to do that. I'll register the name for you if it's available."

"How much will this cost?" asked Bob.

"About twenty five pounds."

"Okay. What happens after you've trademarked it?"

"I'll send you a statement saying I've registered the name for you. You should take it to your lawyer and ask him to explain the Business Names Act or you could look it up in a library, it's not difficult to understand. Okay. I'll need your names and addresses. It's a limited company you're forming?"

"Yes" Ken said. "That is, we own the company and we hold all the shares."

"All right."

Bob gave him one of his business cards and Ken wrote his name and address on a pad of paper the agent provided.

"I'll send you an invoice and after you've paid that I'll give you the signed registration form."

They thanked him and walked back to the car.

"Should we read the act or ask Arthur to explain it Ken?"

"Just read it. He said it was easy to understand. We have to keep our expenses down if we want to be profitable."

"Yes, I'm already worried about how much we are spending."

Bob watched Ken as they drove home and could reliably predict when he would pull out and overtake another car and when he would hold back. He felt that passing his driving test was probably more important than how to conduct the business but he wasn't going to tell Ken that. They arrived at Bob's place mid-afternoon.

"Enjoy your time in London Ken," called Bob, as he opened the boot to get his phone. "I'll see you Sunday with my form."

"It'll look much like mine I expect," shouted Ken, as he drove off.

Over supper Bob checked his lists. 'Yes; fourteen train sets, five farms and I'll soon have twenty villages. I'll have to make farms next.'

After supper he checked what he had in his shop, muttering to himself, 'don't need more paint or glue, but need more hooks. I should list what wood, paint and things I buy for the records in future. No. don't have to do that, the bills will tell me. I'll have to check every day what's in the shop so I don't run short. No, Ken will be doing that.' He wrote down what he had to buy and put the paper in his pocket. 'I'll order it by phone, they know what kind of wood I use.'

Then he remembered his cordless phone, returned to the house, poured himself a mug of tea, took it to his easy chair and opened the box. The instructions couldn't have been easier. All he had to do was insert the telephone jack and the electrical plug into their sockets; the extension only needed electricity. He plugged them in so the batteries would charge. 'I hope someone phones me tomorrow so I can find out if the phones work. Now, what's the next thing; read the traffic regulations or work on the partnership form? I'd better read the manual, the forms can wait until tomorrow.'

After breakfast Bob was fastening the door to the shed when he heard a phone ring. It sounded different from normal and suddenly he remembered his cordless phone. He rushed into the shop and picked up the extension.

"Hello."

"Hello Bob. You sound agitated. Did I interrupt something?"

"No. It's Peter isn't it? I've just installed a cordless phone and you're the first person to call on it. I'm glad you did, for now I know it works."

"Good. I've some good news about your driving test. When I called them yesterday they said there was already another person on the waiting list. So I asked them to add your name. They've just called me and said there have been two cancellations so they now have room for you. It is on Wednesday, April 10th. At 10 am. Would you like to take it then?"

"Yes please. Where will it be?"

"In Bournemouth, this side of the town. I know the roads they use so we will go there and practice soon. Okay. I'll phone them and book it."

"Thanks."

"I'll see you at five tonight? You'll be driving to the A31 and M27, remember?"

"Yes, I do. I'm looking forward to it. See you at five Peter."

Bob hung up and went to the kitchen for his coffee. Whilst the kettle was boiling he called the lumber yard and ordered the wood. "It'll be delivered tomorrow, before noon," he was told. He'd put the wood in the shed with the old wood from the shop. Ken could then organise the workshop the way they had discussed when he came back.

After coffee Bob made the shops, churches, post office and Community Centre for the village sets. In the afternoon he cut the hedge blocks, stopping just in time to wash and change his clothes before Peter arrived.

They practised exiting and entering the motorway every time they came to an intersection and it soon became an easy routine. "Well you'll have no difficulty with that," Peter said, "although I don't expect them to ask you to do it. But there will be questions on how you should do it on the written exam."

"Is it a hard exam?"

"It won't be for you. Nor is it for most people. Most failures are on the driving part, not completely stopping at stop signs, failing to signal, driving too close or too fast and so on. You don't make those mistakes and you park and do three-point turns without difficulty. You'll pass first time Bob. Wait and see."

That cheered Bob, although, by now, he was fairly confident he would pass. The drive home was pleasant; he even had time to take a look at the scenery now and again. Once home, Bob heated a chicken pot pie, changed back into his work clothes while it was warming, ate the pie rather quickly then headed for the shop to continue working on the villages. He stopped at ten, after the hedges, the hardest part, were made. Then he remembered; he hadn't looked at the partnership form. 'Well there's plenty of time to do that before Sunday.'

The wood was delivered when Bob was sitting on a chair in his garden finishing the sanding Friday morning. The driver was surprised to see his new shed and helped him stack the wood inside.

"Why did you build that? I thought you stored the wood in the workshop."

"I need more room in the shop. I'm getting some new equipment so I'm making room for it." He signed the invoice and told the driver he'd pay when he was in Big End.

Bob took his coffee into the shop, sat on the stool and wondered if he should start rearranging the shop after he'd moved the rest of the wood to the shed. He considered moving the bench to give more room for cutting the long pieces but couldn't decide where it should go. It'd be easier to decide once the wood was out. Coffee finished, he transferred the wood and the finished sets to the shed. It was surprising how much bigger the shop looked afterwards. 'I can see where the bench should sit now but maybe Ken should be the one to decide where it should go. It's more Ken's shop than mine now.'

He began painting the village sets, stopping after they had been given their first coat. Supper that night was a curry, washed down by a bottle of beer.

After tiding up Bob sat in his easy chair with the partnership form and a pencil. He found most of the areas easy to complete but left the accounting method line empty, Ken or the lawyer would have to help him with that. He wrote that he'd have a fifty-one percent interest and Ken would have forty-nine. And he stated he would contribute £2,550 to the start-up capital and, presumably, Ken could write £2,450. £5,000 should be enough to start the company. They'd have to talk about where the money should be kept; he assumed they'd have to open a new bank account. He left the space for the accountant's name and address blank and suggested July 1st for the fiscal year. However he wasn't sure what date would be best.

Completing the form took about an hour and Bob was tired but happy when he'd finished. He had read somewhere that starting a business was hard and time-consuming and was now beginning to understand why; filling forms, stock-taking, keeping track of expenses and income, knowing what retailers could or could not supply and more. He guessed that even after he'd learned all about those things he'd still be worrying about whether their income would cover their expenses. Hopefully they wouldn't have to worry about sales. That is, if he could find enough retailers who were willing to stock their toys.

Bob arose early again on Saturday, put his clothes in the washer and dusted the downstairs rooms before giving the village set its second coat of paint. After lunch he caught the two o'clock bus and went directly to Home and Holiday.

"Hello Jenny. How are you? Hi Susan. How's business? Are you ready for the spring crowds?"

"Not quite Bob. I'm glad to see you though. We've sold about half of your toys. Come into the office and I'll check. Yes, here we are. We sold three village sets, three trains and two farms in March. If I don't sell any today I'll be sending you a cheque for, just a minute, £123.75. It'll arrive by Wednesday, I expect."

"That's great Jenny. I'm so happy; it looks like we're both going to make money. I'd still like to buy lunch for you but it's too late today and I know Saturday's not a good day for you. Maybe some time next month."

"Thanks Bob. I'll probably need more sets by mid-month and perhaps we can lunch then. Right now I've three or four of each toy. The Easter visitors will buy most of them, I expect."

"Let's hope so. I'm off now, got to go to the bank. Call me when you need more."

At the bank Bob transferred five hundred pounds from his savings to his checking account, withdrew one hundred pounds and ordered more cheques. At the lumber yard he paid for his wood and thanked the manager, who was at the counter till, for delivering it so quickly.

"We deliver materials to Small End builders three or four times a week these days, that's why you get it quickly."

"You mean the sub-division behind my house? I live next to the railway station."

"Yes. Although there's going to be another sub-division soon, north of the railway tracks. They'll lay the water and sewer pipes this summer, I'm told. It's likely they'll build some model homes after that. I'm extending my yard to hold all the wood they'll need. There'll be an industrial area in Small End but I've not heard where or when they're going to put it."

"One of your drivers mentioned that. Where do you think all the people will be coming from?"

"From London, I guess, or from cities where there's low employment. There'll probably be a lot of retirees too. Small End will be as big as Big End in ten years if the rumours are correct."

"I won't like that at all. I sure hope it doesn't happen."

"We'll have to see what happens. I like the growth, it's good for business, but I don't live there."

Bob thought about what he had been told as he walked to the super-market. He didn't want Small End to become a great deal bigger. It was bad enough with the new sub-division behind his house. They couldn't put lots of people there, there wasn't enough room, but if they built above the railway track there'd be cars and busses running up and down in front of his house all day.

He checked his watch and realised it was later than he thought. He'd missed the bus and wouldn't get home 'til 6:15 now. Well, Joe would save a seat for him. He might as well go to the library and read the Business Act.

"You probably mean the Business Names Act of 1985. Yes, we have it. It's often called for. Most small owners ask to see it. Are you starting a business?"

"Yes, with another man. Can I borrow it?"

"No. I'm sorry. It's in one of our reference books. If you only want the act you can buy a photocopy."

"Then I'd like to buy two copies please."

He sat in the library reading the act until it was time to catch his bus. The act was straight-forward and it looked as if the only thing they would have to do would be to buy some headed stationary. Arthur would tell them if they should do anything else.

**Chapter 8 Forming the partnership**

The Crown was busy when Bob arrived but Joe had saved a chair for him at their usual table.

"Hello Bob."

"Hi everyone. Have you ordered yet?"

"Yes. We weren't sure you were coming. It's six thirty. Len says the fish is good. Jane and Jack have ordered it."

"Then that's what I'll have," and Bob walked to the bar.

"I'll have the fish please Len and a bitter. You're busy tonight."

"Yes. An early tour bus stopped here. Good thing we had extra food!"

Bob carried his beer to the table and sat down. "I can guess what most of you have been doing this week but I bet you can't guess what I've been doing."

"Well tell us what we've been doing first and we'll guess what you've been doing afterwards," prompted Jane.

"You've been emptying the station, taking the parts you want to keep. I've seen Joe with a wagon load and meant to come over but I've been very busy."

"Yes, you're right. We've taken the doors, the stove and scuttle, the pictures, the telephone, desk and chairs and the benches. We'll probably use some of them in the new place. We stored them in one of the meeting rooms. As for you, you've been practising your driving and will take your test in two weeks. Tim told me that."

"You're right so far but I've been doing much more. Ken Smith worked with me Monday and Tuesday and we've decided to become partners and start a business."

"Become partners? Whatever for?"

"We're going to make wooden toys, of course."

"You're doing that already. What's Ken going to do?"

"Well I don't like the idea of constantly making toys. That's what I'm doing right now and it feels like I'm working in a factory. Jenny and Leo are already selling two or three sets a week and it's only March. They're certain they'll sell even more in the summer. So I have a problem. Do I return to my old way and make just enough for you, Rose, or do I make more so I can have a couple of holidays each year. I want to have holidays now, after my Portugal trip, so I planned to hire someone to help me but Ken suggested something else, that he'd make the toys and I'd sell them. He knows all kinds of ways of cutting wood and has already increased the production rate."

"Wow! You'll just sell the toys not make them? Will you like that?"

"I don't know. I think I will, at least for a while. We went to Southampton Wednesday to ask an agent to register our trade name. It'll be 'Small End Wooden Toys.' We also saw a lawyer about forming a partnership although we haven't signed the papers yet."

"I think you are moving too fast," exclaimed Joe, "but I know Ken. He's got tons of energy and likes to get things done. If he says what you're planning is going to be okay then it will probably will be. He's got a lot of experience. He worked on the shop floor for several years before becoming a supervisor, then shop-floor manager and then going into management, so he knows all about working with wood."

"I know him too," said Jane. "He's a good man."

"Well I won't sign any papers until I have gone carefully through the forms. So, you can see, this week's been a busy one."

"It sure has. Don't overdo things Bob, you're not twenty any more!"

"Yes. I'm beginning to realise that."

"Oh Bob, you weren't here when I told the others the good news," Jane said. "Small End has been given another grant from the government; four hundred thousand pounds! Isn't that wonderful!"

"Yes, it certainly is. But why? Why did they give us money?"

"Because Small End will soon be supporting two to three thousand more people. They'll come from London or the north over the next two or three years. The money is to be used to improve the place, the water and sewage systems, enlarge the post office and the municipal offices. Some of it is for the Community Centre, if we need it, but with the grant we've already got and the money we've made from the shows we've over a hundred and eighty thousand pounds. The architect says that's more than we'll need."

"He doesn't want me to demolish the station," Joe said. "I'm glad, the tractor's not designed to push down buildings."

"How are they going to knock it down?"

"We've hired a company in Big End," said Jane. "Their bulldozer will do it as soon as we have removed the interior walls. They'll also take anything we don't want to the dump. The architect doesn't want to use any of the old windows or doors so they'll take them too."

"Well I'm glad we got the grant but I don't like the idea of two or three thousand more people coming to live here," said Bob. "That's what I told Leo, the lumber yard manager, when he told me about this."

"Not many people here like the idea either Bob. It'll be a big change. About three hundred will live behind your house. All the rest will live in a new subdivision north of the railway line. We've been told there'll be an industrial park north of the line as well, to be built when the next subdivision is being built."

"Yes, Leo told me there'd be one. He likes the expansion, of course. More business for him."

"Us'll be called Middle End then."

"It's nothing to laugh about Jack," said Bob.

As they were getting up to leave Rose gave Bob an envelope. "Here's the money from my March sales, £33.25. I sold only one village and one farm this month so I still have plenty. I'm glad Leo and Jenny are already selling them. You deserve the money and you should use it to have plenty of holidays."

"Thanks' Rose. Two a year will be enough for me I think. Oh, would you order another hundred boxes and wrapping paper. No, make it five hundred, please. And Jack, could you make six hundred labels please, two hundred of each. I'll be running out soon."

"Yes, of course I can," said Rose and Jack nodded. "Aye, Bob."

"Is there anything you want from the station before it is bulldozed Bob?"

"I don't think so Jane. I'll walk over tomorrow and check. I suppose it's all open now you've removed the doors."

"Yes. Take anything you want. All the rest is going to be scrapped."

"I'll be sorry when it disappears; my Dad's and I spent our whole working lives there."

With that the group broke up. Jane moved over to another table to talk about the Spring show and Joe moved to the bar to chat with Len until Jane had finished. Len would let everyone know what Joe told him about Bob's activates; he was the village's chief source of information.

After breakfast next morning Bob pushed through the narrowing gap in the hedge that he and his father had used for so many years and crossed the parking lot to the railway station. The office was bare; no desk, chair, stove or picture remained. He didn't go into the toilets but looked into the baggage room, where he had spent many days when he was young. The shelves had been torn down and the coal stove stood no longer in the middle of the wall opposite the door. He suddenly remembered the old railway lamp that his Dad had kept and wondered if it was still where it was hidden. He fetched some of the broken shelves and jammed them into the wall in the corner where the roof of the baggage room joined the station and climbed on top. He reached into the gap and, yes, the lamp was still there, together with a pair of old gloves. The inspector had told them to use new gloves but his Dad kept his, intending to use them in the garden. Bob carefully pulled the lamp out, put it on the floor and clambered up again to collect the gloves. They weren't worth keeping, but the lamp certainly was. Its red glass was dirty but not damaged. 'It'll look nice in my window with a bulb inside,' he thought.

He left the gloves on the window ledge and carried the lamp home. The week's housekeeping was done by nine thirty. After hanging up the washing Bob sat at the kitchen table and cleaned the lamp as he drank his coffee. He found that a lamp bulb socket would fit where the wick holder had been so he drilled a small hole near the bottom of the lamp, passed the wires through it and fastened the socket in place with a couple of screws. A short piece of narrow metal pipe extended the switch to the outside. He refitted the glass and plugged it in to see how it looked. 'That's nice. I'll put it in the lounge window.'

He finished the morning's work by giving the village set its last painting, taking time to carefully outline the windows and doors of the houses and the shops and adding touches of shade to the hedge rows.

He ate a leisurely lunch in his easy chair, a cheese, tomato and lettuce sandwich, and looked through the traffic regulations. Afterwards he bathed, dressed in a clean shirt and sweater and wondered if he looked smart enough to meet Ken's wife.

Bob was in the driving seat and on his way to Big End by two o'clock, for Peter had arrived early. "I have a route that will take you through all the stop lights, over the town's railway crossing and across a bridge where it's not easy to see what's coming. If you can handle all that then the Bournemouth test will be a snap."

There was not much traffic and Bob drove slightly under the speed limit when he was in the town,. He looked carefully at all the signs, obeyed their directions, stopped completely behind the line when any of the traffic lights were red and kept closely to the left side of the road when driving over the narrow bridge.

"You'll certainly pass first time if you drive like today Bob."

"Well, I drove carefully and will always try to drive that way."

"Ah, you wait until you have been driving for a few months. You'll be a lot less circumspect then, I bet."

"Maybe I will but I'm usually a careful man so I think I'll be a careful driver."

Peter gave Bob an envelope when they reached his house.

"Here's my invoice for your March driving lessons."

"Ah, can I give you a cheque on Tuesday?"

"Tuesday'll be fine. Can we start at eight o'clock so you can drive in the dark?"

"I'd forgotten all about that. Yes eight'll be fine."

"Okay. I'll see you then. 'Bye."

At 3:40 Bob put on his mackintosh, although it did not look like it was going to rain, and walked to Ken's home. It was an old farmhouse that lay beside the Tusset river, about a mile along the road that led from Small End to Easing. Bob looked forward to seeing the house, having been told that it had been completely renovated. Ken was working in his garage when he arrived.

"Hello Bob. Welcome. Hang your coat on the hook," and Ken pointed to one that was fastened to the wall near the garage door."

"Hello Ken. How was London?"

"Enjoyable. The hotel was comfortable, just off Piccadilly Circus, though the bedroom was very small. We had an expensive early dinner at the Savoy before the show and saw The Mousetrap, something we've always wanted to see but never have. Mary says we should take a trip like that every few months! Now, take a look at this," and he pointed to a two foot square of thick plywood that was clamped to the end of his work bench. Complicated-looking metal shapes held two routers to the top and another router underneath the plywood.

"Can you guess how this works?"

"No but it looks like you feed the wood through the jig vertically."

"Yes that's right. The most important part is this," and Ken picked up a piece of carefully shaped wood. "This is the holder for the wooden block once it's been roughed into its hedge shape. The bottom of the block fits into this slot and is held in place by the rubber strips that run along the sides of the grove. Now these curves," and he pointed to the edges and the bottom of the wooden holder, "move those metal arms," and he pointed to them on the jig. "The two arms on the top move the routers in and out and the arm on the bottom moves the underneath router sideways. That movement shapes the sides and the top of the hedge. I'll turn it on and show you how it works, though the wood I'm using is harder than the wood you use so I can't push it through quickly. Now, watch what happens." He picked up a length of wood that had already been cut into the thin, triangular, hedge-block shape and pushed it into a wooden holder. He switched on the routers and said, "Move to the other side so you can see what happens."

Once Bob was in position he pushed the holder slowly through the jig. "There. Can you see how it works?" Bob watched as the hedge block moved further down, formed, almost perfectly, into the shape of a hedge. "That's marvellous! It only needs a bit of sanding and some paint and we've got a hedge! Wonderful, wonderful, Ken."

"Thanks. As I said, it'll be quicker when we use the softer wood. And I've only made the holder a foot long because I wanted to try the jig. I'll make the holder long enough to make a four-foot hedge. What I'd like to do is bring the jig to your shop tomorrow and try it with your wood. It'll probably need a few adjustments but that shouldn't take long."

"I'm so glad we are working together Ken. We can make a fortune with this jig."

"I don't think so Bob. We'll probably not make more than ten thousand pounds a year; that's not a fortune."

"It is to me Ken."

"You'll soon find ways to spend it: a new car, for instance, could take all of it. Now, we should go inside. Mary will be wondering what we are doing."

"I know what you're doing Ken," said Mary, who was standing at the front of the garage. "Hello Bob. I've been hearing a lot about you this past week!"

"Hello Mrs. Smith. I didn't see you there. Thank you for inviting me to dinner."

"Call me Mary, Bob. I think that we will be seeing a lot of each other in the future. Ken says that you and he will be partners in toy making."

"Yes, although I've made and sold toys for four years it's only been in a small way. Rose Tyne sold them for me in her shop in Small End until this year. Now I've two more retailers selling them."

"I bought a train set from Rose last Christmas for our grandson, Larry. He's two years old. You must have made it."

"I probably did."

"He enjoys playing with it. Come inside now, it won't be long before supper's ready."

"Take Bob in and show him around Mary. I've just thought of something I want to try out."

"Don't be long then. We'll go in the front door Bob, it's nicer than going through the garage entrance."

"The hall's wider than needed we thought," noted Mary, as they entered. "We asked the architect if we could move the wall on the right side to enlarge the kitchen and dining room but he advised against it. The powder room is this first door on the left, in case you need it. The corridor beyond it goes to the laundry room and the door to the garage. There's not much to see down there."

The door to the kitchen was open so Bob looked inside. "Something smells delicious Mary."

"I hope it tastes that way too. The dining room is behind that door. We'll see it later. Ken's study is here, on the left, I expect he'll show you that. The hall ends in the lounge."

"It's very big. Was it always this size? You don't usually find rooms this size in farm houses."

"No. We enlarged it. The extension begins where the two walls jut-out. The beam that supports the upper floor rests on them."

"I love the view through those windows—the lawn, the gardens and the river. It is beautiful."

"We think so too," said Ken, who had just joined them.

"Who looks after the gardens?"

"We both do. Ken digs the beds, when necessary, and the holes for the bushes and trees. I usually select the plants and do the weeding but Ken helps me when there's a lot to do. Once the spring work has been done the rest doesn't take very long. In fact, it doesn't take long enough for you Ken. Apart from the pottering he does in the garage he doesn't have enough to do. That's right, isn't it, dear?"

"Err, yes, I suppose it is. At least, you are always telling me to be more active or get out more."

"I do. You know Bob, he whistled much of the time he was working in the garage this weekend. He only does that when he's happy!"

"Oh, enough about me Mary. Let's have a drink before supper."

"Not for me, I've things to do. You can have fifteen minutes then we'll eat. Ken tells me that you have some business to discuss afterwards, that's why we are eating early Bob."

"Let's go to my study. This way. What would you like to drink?"

"I'll have the same as you please," Bob replied, not knowing quite what to ask for.

"Scotch then. Do you want water with yours?"

"Yes please. Just a little."

They sat down in two easy chairs facing the fireplace.

"This is a lovely home Ken. You must be very happy here."

"Yes we are. We were fortunate to find it. It came on the market just before I was made redundant. When that happened we decided to move to the country. That was something we had always wanted to do but my work in the factory and James' schooling made it difficult. He's our son. He's married to Julie and they have one child, Larry. We don't see enough of them because James' job is in Nottingham. This was the first house we saw when we started looking and we both fell in love with it and immediately made an offer."

"I can understand why. How much land do you have?"

"About an acre. You can see most of it from the lounge."

"Do you fish? I used to, when I was a boy, close to here, at the low spot on the other side of the bridge."

"I've never tried fishing. But I expect Larry will want to try it when he gets older. I might fish with him then."

"Try the spot Joe and I used, we caught quite a lot there. I'll show you where it is though it'll probably be just as good at the bottom of your garden."

"Supper's ready boys," cried Mary. They looked at each other, swallowed what was left of their scotch and crossed the hall to the dining room.

Supper was soup, roast beef and an apple pie. Ken opened a Shiraz and the bottle was empty before the dessert was served.

"That was a great meal Mary. Thank you. I really enjoyed it."

"I'm glad Bob. No, you don't have to clear away. You do your business with Ken. Would you like coffee or tea?"

"Coffee please."

"Me too," said Ken.

"Then I'll bring it to the study."

"Thanks Mary," and Ken led the way back to the study. "Would you like another scotch Bob?"

"No thanks."

"Sit down then."

"Okay" said Bob, once seated, "I've filled in the form from Arthur. Have you done yours?"

"Yes. I didn't find it too difficult, did you?"

"Well, I didn't know what our fiscal year should be and I guessed that £5,000 would be enough capital to start with. That's about all I wasn't sure about."

"I left the fiscal year empty as well. Perhaps we should start it from the date our partnership begins. I put April 1st for that but that might not be the best time. We should probably have a signed agreement between the two of us before we start. I guessed the same as you about how much money we should start with and put down £5,000. Since we agreed upon a 51-49 percent split it would mean that you'd contribute £2,550 and I'd put in the rest."

"That's exactly what I wrote."

"However there's a bit more to add I think Bob. You have a number of toy sets already made. We could add their value to your incoming equity, if you like."

"Well, yes, I'd like that. But nothing more. There's not much wood or paint."

"Okay, that'll simplify things. Do you know an accountant to look after the financial side?"

"No. Do you?"

"Yes. Simon Delare does my income tax each year and he told me he also looks after several businesses. He could be our accountant if you like."

"All right. Is he expensive?"

"I've no idea what he'd charge to look after a business. Probably very little to begin with."

"I'm worried about all the money we'll soon be spending Ken, mainly because I'll have to have a car. There's not enough to buy one so I think we should rent or lease. What do you think?"

"You're right. Renting would be best, until we know how things are going."

"All right. I'll talk to Tim about it the next time I see him."

Mary came in with the coffee, put it on the side table beside Ken's chair then left, shutting the door behind her.

"Let's drink it now while it's hot," said Ken. "I don't have anything else to discuss about the form. Do you?"

"No. However I've read the Business Names Act. I've a copy for you. I don't think there's anything to worry about with that. As far as I can see we just need to use stationary with our business name and address on it, but you should look through it in case there's something I missed. We should ask Arthur if there's more we should do when we see him."

"When do you want to do that?"

"How about Wednesday? And what days do you want to work next week Ken? Monday to Wednesday?"

"I don't know. I might want to work full-time from now. I want to work on the hedge jig tomorrow and maybe Tuesday. So Wednesday would be good for me. I'll call him tomorrow and see if he can see us then. Anything else to discuss?"

"Can't think of anything right now."

"Then let's ask Mary to join us and bring her up-to-date. We'll have a drink to celebrate. Do you like cognac?"

"Yes I do."

"So do we. I'll make some more coffee to go with it and light the fire."

Mary was very interested in what she heard and wanted to know more about how they would run the business.

"Do you know enough retailers Bob?"

"Not yet, but I can find them. Probably the librarian can help me. The Chambers of Commerce in different towns will know which retailers sell toys."

"Will you be working in Bob's shop while he's out selling Ken?"

"Yes, there's not enough room to do it here. Of course, if we make lots of money we could build a workshop in the garden."

"I don't want that Ken. This is our home. I don't want it to become a factory site!"

"It'll never become that Mary. Okay, we'll not build it here. Perhaps we can find a barn to rent."

"Do you think we'll ever need something as big as a barn?" asked Bob.

"Who knows! How about another cognac?"

"No thanks. It's time I went home." Bob stood up. "Thanks for a lovely dinner Mary. I enjoyed it very much."

"You don't have to walk Bob. I'll take you. We'll go out the side door and collect your Mac."

Bob was too tired to pack the village sets after waving goodbye to Ken so he sat in his easy chair. He picked up the traffic book and started to read but his thoughts wandered and he realised he was falling asleep. He looked at the clock; it was nearly ten o'clock. 'Oh! I've forgotten to call the kids. Well, I don't suppose they'll be worried, I'll phone next Sunday.'

**Chapter 9 Jigging up**

Bob jumped out of bed at 6:30, eager to box the villages. He did that and stored the boxes in the shed before he ate breakfast. He updated his inventory while chewing; 'we now have twenty villages, five farm and fourteen trains and we'll make farms next.' After washing his breakfast things he went to the workshop, thought about where they could position Ken's jig, decided it should go on the left end of his bench and began clearing it when Ken walked in.

"Hi Ken. Didn't expect to see you today. Oh, you've got the jig. Want a hand?"

"No, it's not heavy. Ah, you're making room for it. Good." He put the jig on the bench. "Yes, the bench is too low. I thought it might be. We'll have to raise the jig. Have you any four-by-twos? And long screws, to fasten them together?"

It took half an hour to fasten the raised jig to the bench. Ken then fixed a length of the hedge-block triangle into the new holder. "Now, let's see how it works." He started the routers, held the wood and it's holder above the jig then fed it through, slowly at first then speeding up until he reached the end.

"Look at that Bob. It works much faster with your wood than mine. Now let's see if it's okay," and he pulled the wood from the holder.

"Hmm. The hedge sides don't quite match, nor does the top. A few shims and a bend or two in the arms should correct that, I think."

"Once this works properly you'll have saved hours of work Ken."

"It's a good beginning. I want to make a jig to cut the blocks next. Two band saws, set at an angle, would do it. The saws will have to be adjustable, so they will cut both the hedge and the house blocks. The wood to make the blocks can run horizontally, which means we can use eight-foot lengths. I'd like to make a narrow bench that'll hold both jigs and put it at the back of the shop, where this one is. So we'll have to move this bench to the front. Do you mind Bob?"

"No not at all."

"Okay. The tool racks don't have to be moved and you already have electrical outlets on the front wall so that's not a problem. Let's measure the shop to be sure there's enough space then I want to take this jig home, bend the arms and make the shims. I'll be back after lunch."

"What can I do to help?"

"You could move this bench to the front if you like."

"All right. Do you want coffee before you go?"

'No, I don't think so. I'd rather work on the arms and shims. Oh, yes, I phoned Arthur and he said he could see us at ten on Wednesday. So I booked that time. That's okay with you?"

"Yes, that's fine. Afterwards I'd like to go to the library and find where the gift shops are in Southampton."

"Okay. We'll do that."

They checked to see if there would be enough room for the two benches then put the jig in the car. Bob watched him drive off. 'He sure gets things done quickly. I hope he's healthy enough to keep it up.' He turned and went to the kitchen; he felt ready for coffee and biscuits even though he hadn't done much.

Moving his bench wasn't as easy as he had expected. He had fastened it to the wall with nails not screws and had to use a crowbar to break it free. It was difficult to rotate but he eventually managed. This time he fastened it to the wall with long screws since he didn't know if Ken would want to move it again.

Ken was back just before one, carrying the modified jig and put it on the moved bench.

"Let's make the new bench now then screw the jig on."

They made the bench high enough to mount the hedge jig and just wide enough to hold it and the future band saw jig. It took them an hour. Bob fetched and cut the wood and Ken screwed it together. Then they fastened the hedge jig to the left end of the bench.

"Now we'll cut a couple of four-foot hedge block lengths and try the jig."

Bob cut the blocks while Ken checked that the metal rods moved without hitting anything.

"Here you are Ken."

"Thanks." Ken turned on the routers, pushed the triangular block the rubber-lined slot on the holder then moved it through the jig. He took out the cut wood and handed it to Bob.

"What do you think? Good enough?"

"Why yes, they certainly are, and there's hardly any sanding to do. This is great Ken. We'll quadruple our production!"

"Even more, when I have the other jig I think. I've another idea too, it's about the houses. We could make them with the roofs overhanging the walls. They'd look better that way."

"Yes, I'd also thought about doing that but didn't want to increase the time it took to make houses so I never did it."

"All right, then we'll not do that now."

"Okay. What do you want to do next Ken?"

"I want to make the band saw jig. It shouldn't take too long. I just need to make a base to hold the saws since they're already adjustable. I'll also have to make a couple of guide arms to keep the block straight as it's pushed through the jig. What are you going to do?"

"We need to make more farms, we've only got five. We're okay on villages and trains for now. I'd like to have a stock of fifty of each to draw from. But right now I'm going to have a mug of tea. Want one?"

"Ah no. I'd rather work on the saw jig. I'd like to have it ready to try tomorrow. Can I have a key to the workshop?"

"Yes of course. I'll give you the spare one."

It took Bob the rest of the afternoon to cut a hundred and eighty four-foot triangular hedge blocks. 'That'll be enough to make forty five farms. I'll let Ken use his jig to trim them.'

He cooked a salmon filet for supper and opened a bottle of Chardonnay to go with it. 'Is it too early to start living a life of luxury?' he wondered. 'No I don't think so. If I drank one glass a day a bottle would last a week. That's not so bad. I wonder what the last glass will taste like?'

After washing the dishes he took his tea and the traffic regulations to the lounge. His Dad's railway lamp looked rather grand in the window with the light on. He sat in his chair and read, finishing all of the parts of the book that referred to car drivers. 'No point in reading about motor bikes or towing trailers,' he thought. 'I'll skim it again before the test but I'll make a summary now. That'll help me remember the significant parts.'

Bob had written most of what he though important when there was a knock on the door. It was Jack, who had a large envelope in his hands. "Hi Bob. Here's t'labels an' me invoice."

"Thanks Jack. Come in and have a beer won't you?

"Nay Bob. I ain't yet had supper. Rose said t'boxes 'ul come Wednesday mornin'."

"I'll collect them then, Jack. No, I can't, Ken and I'll be in Southampton on Wednesday. Ask Rose to hold them for me and I'll come as soon as I can."

"Aye, I will. Tarra Bob."

"'Bye Jack." He closed the door, put the envelope on the kitchen table and climbed the stairs to bed.

Ken was already in the workshop when Bob entered Tuesday morning.

"Hello Bob. Thought you wouldn't mind. I wanted to see if the saw jig would fit so I came at seven. I think it's ready to try now," and he pointed to it.

"I wondered how you were going to hold the band saws. Do you think the clamps will be strong enough?"

"I think so. They held it when I used my wood and it's easy to move the saws if I use clamps."

"I see. What are you going to make first?"

"I saw you've already made the hedge blocks when I came in so I've set the saws to cut the small house blocks. I was just about to try one." He switched on the band saws, placed the block on the guides and began pushing it through the blades. "Yes I thought that might happen. The wood twists as it comes out. I'll have to put guides on the exit side. Hold the wood as it comes through Bob. Yes, there, thanks," and Ken pushed the wood through the blades. "Well what do you think?"

"Pretty good Ken. Should be perfect with exit guides."

"I've been thinking about sanding Bob. You know, a belt sander isn't the best tool for the job. I've an idea I'd like to try out. I like to make a kind of flayed-sander that would sand by pushing the wood against lots of rotating strips of sandpaper. Something like the rotating brushes used in a floor cleaner. I don't know if it would work but I think it should. Perhaps there's already something like it we can buy."

"I've never heard of one. If you could make one you should patent it."

"Maybe. How about me using the jigs and you sanding?"

"Sure. There are the rest of the houses, the shops and the other bits to make and the hedges to run through. I've left them all for you."

During their tea break they discussed the money they'd be putting into the business.

"If we start our partnership yesterday, April 1st, that is, if the lawyer says we can do that before we sign the formal agreement, we can calculate what we should put in after accounting for what we've already spent," said Ken.

"All right. You do the maths, here's my calculator," and Bob took it out of a kitchen drawer. "I'll assume the toys I've got are sold on the thirty percent commission rate. On April 1st I had twenty villages. I would get £17.50 for those since they're sold for £25. I had five farms, for which I get £15.75 and 14 trains. I get £10.50 for them. What does all that add to?"

"£575.75. No, that's not all we should include Bob. Your retailers have sets don't they? We have to include that."

"I guess so. Okay. Just a minute." He went to the lounge where he had left his account book. "I'll do the villages first: Rose has 5, Jenny has 3 and Leo has 2. Now farm sets: Rose 1, Jenny 3 and Leo 7. Train sets: Rose 3, Jenny 3 and Leo 3. What does all that come to?"

"Just a minute. £490. So adding that to £575.75 makes £1,065.75. So you are giving the partnership £1,065.75. That means you should put £2,550 less £1,065.75 or £1,484.25 into the company. Let's make it £1,450. That would add a little for other assets in this workshop, the wood, paints, hooks and eyes, etc.. Would that be okay for you?"

"Yes of course. £1,450, I've enough in my savings account to cover that. How about the money you need to put in Ken. It shouldn't be £2,450 because you paid for the band saw, the routers and the bits. What did all that cost?"

"£105."

"So you should put in £2,345. Right?"

"Yes. We'll do all the money transfers after we have signed the agreement, I guess. I'll keep these notes and tell Arthur the amounts tomorrow."

"Okay."

"How long did it take you to make the village, farm and train sets you have in the shed Bob?"

"Probably two weeks. It depends on how many hours I work each day. The most I do is about eight. Usually it's less."

"Then you were earning about £12,500 a year."

"But I don't work all the time. When it was a hobby I never worked all day. Rose didn't sell very many each year. It's the thought of having a holiday each winter that made me want to make more."

"Well. I've no idea how much we'll make in a year but if we work for only half the year then we should make several times that much using the jigs. Provided we can sell them, of course."

"It's a good job we don't really need the money isn't it."

"It's surprising how useful it is, once you've got more than you need. There are plenty of ways to spend it other than taking holidays."

"I suppose so. I think about it from time to time but I try to keep my head. I'll wait until the money is in the bank before thinking about how I'll spend it."

By one o'clock they had finished the last pieces of the forty five farms and stopped for lunch.

"We'll give them their first coat of paint after lunch. Did you bring sandwiches?"

"Yes they're in the car."

During lunch Bob showed Ken the railway lamp. "You know my father was the station master and I took that job when he retired. This is a memento of those days. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been if I hadn't followed him. What did your Dad do Ken?"

"He was an engineer, a mechanical engineer, and he worked for Morris, in the design shop. I suppose my interest in mechanical things comes from him. My mother was a teacher but stayed at home after I was born. I started work at the furniture factory in 1960, when I was nineteen. I had my matric but didn't want to go to university. I wanted to earn money and marry Mary. My parents didn't want me to do that, they wanted me to go to university, but they gave way in the end. The factory suited me almost immediately and I worked my way up the ranks. It was an interesting life and challenging too, as the machinery we used improved and we began to use particle board and other cost cutting products. I'm sorry the company was bought out. As Mary told you, I've been at a bit of a loss wondering what to do with my life since then. But this venture's beginning to absorb me. I think I'd like to continue doing this for several years, building the business."

"Well, it's a bit different for me Ken. I can see that we can expand, that we can make money, but I'm not sure that I want to do that for the rest of my life. I was fairly adapted to retirement and my woodworking was just a hobby. All this change is a bit frightening. I'd really like to go more slowly but we'll see how it works out. Right now I'm happy, though I'm also a bit anxious. I'm glad we're working together. You've lots of ideas and plenty of energy."

"I like what we're doing, too. Ready to start again?"

"Yes."

"Let's bring the farms here. We can paint them on the kitchen table."

They collected the boxes holding the pieces and tried to put them all on the kitchen counter. "There's too many," said Bob. "We can't do the painting here Ken, there's not enough room. We'll have to paint them in the shop."

"I don't think there's enough room there, either, once they're spread out to dry. We could make some shelves to put them on."

"Or widen the existing shelves with wood supports, held onto the existing shelves with clamps; we could put the boards on them. That way we could remove them when cutting so they wouldn't be in the way. It would be awkward but workable. Since acrylic dries in a couple of hours we could probably do a complete paint job in one day. How about trying that?"

"Okay. Let's see if it'll work."

They carried the boxes back to the shop, made two wood supports and clamped them into place. After painting for about five minutes Ken said, "You know, we could use a spray gun to give them their first coat, or, at least, most of their first coat. Some of it we'd still have to do with a brush. I think it would speed things up."

"Where would we spray?"

"Don't know. We couldn't do it outside. Maybe we'd have to build another shed."

"Oh dear. I'm beginning to feel like Mary must have felt. I don't want to do that Ken."

"Okay. We won't. It's just an idea."

After each piece had been painted they put it on a plank, then put the planks on the supports once full. By five they had painted most of the first coat on the fifty sets. Bob said he would finish them after supper.

"Don't you have a driving lesson?"

"Not until eight tonight. I have to practice driving in the dark."

"Have fun."

"I will."

**Chapter 10 Signing papers**

Supper over, and the rest of the fifty farms painted, Bob sat down by his window waiting for Peter. It was very dark when he arrived and Bob felt a bit anxious.

"Where will I drive Peter?"

"I'd like you to drive along the main road to Big End. It's wide and you shouldn't have any trouble. When a car approaches look to the left edge of the road. If you think the road is wide enough for two cars to pass easily just keep driving but keep close to the left side. You do that so the oncoming driver's lights don't blind you and so you won't drive into him. Sometimes that's what people do if they stare at the headlights. You'll be fine along this road."

And so they were. Five cars drove towards them on their way into Big End and Bob passed each of them easily. Bob remembered to dim his headlights in each case. One car overtook them. Once they arrived in Big End Peter asked him to drive along the main street. Near the end he was told to do a three-point turn and then park between two cars.

"Perfect. Now I want you to drive through some of the narrower streets. Go a bit slower than you would in day time. If the gap between you and an approaching car seems very narrow just slow down. You can even stop if you like. The other driver would have more experience than you and he or she will drive past you. Just keep to the left all the time and you'll be all right."

Bob had to slow almost to a stop three times. Once he did stop the car as several cars left the parking lot of a pub and drove towards him. One or two of them were moving a little from side to side and he guessed their drivers might have had a bit too much to drink.

"You did the right thing there Bob. If you were stopped and they hit you it would have been their fault, no questions asked. So we'll drive through a few more streets then go home. I'll quiz you on the manual as we go."

They were back at Tim's garage by nine o'clock.

"Would you like to go to the Crown for a drink Peter?"

"Not tonight Bob. Let's do that when you've passed your test. Now on Thursday and Sunday we'll drive to Bournemouth and practice driving along the streets that they use during the tests. Those lessons will take about ninety minutes. Will that be okay?"

"Oh yes. Will we leave at five on Thursday?"

"Yes. There will be rather a lot of traffic on the major roads but that's no bother to you. Also people will be parking their cars along the roads in Bournemouth, that might be a little more difficult but you'll be okay. I'll see you Thursday then."

"Yes. Thanks'. I'll be waiting for you. Oh, I almost forgot. Here's the cheque for my March lessons."

Bob gave Peter an envelope then got out of the car and walked home. 'This is an exciting time,' he thought as he made his way up the hill. 'So many different things to do. So much to think about. I wish Betty was here. I'd like to discuss it all with her.' He then felt a little sad and promised himself a glass of Chardonnay to cheer up. As expected the wine was fine and it tasted just as nice as it did the day before so he had another while watching the extension to the news. Then, at ten, he went to bed.

He was waiting on the road when Ken pulled up the next morning.

"Hi Bob. When I filled my tank this morning Peter said you were sure to pass your test. Would you like to drive my car to Southampton?"

"I'd like that Ken but it's an automatic, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Then I'd rather not. I don't want to alter my driving habits until I've passed the test. Thanks for offering but I'll be happier just watching what you do."

So Ken drove and Bob watched. They talked a little about driving and how other drivers on the road were behaving on the way and arrived at Arthur's office just before ten. His secretary showed them in and a tray of coffee and biscuits followed. They talked about the weather for a minute or two then the lawyer put his cup down.

"Are you ready to go through the partnership form? If so I'll ask my secretary, Jennifer, to join us. She'll take notes."

Ken smiled at Bob, "Yes we're ready." Arthur called his secretary on the intercom, "Bring your notebook please Jenny.

"This is Mr. Bob Barns and Mr. Ken Smith. They're forming a partnership."

"Oh that's interesting. I like working with those contracts."

"Jennifer's helped me with several. If I'm not here and you have a question it's likely she can help you. Now let's start at the top of the forms."

They pulled out their copies and went through each item.

"I have your names and addresses. What will you call the partnership?"

"Small End Wooden Toys," replied Bob.

"No. That might be your trade name. How about Bob and Ken? Or Robert Barns and Kenneth Smith?"

"Oh I see. I'm happy with either. How about you Ken?"

"Either is fine."

"Then I suggest we use both the Christian and surname. That way there's less chance it will be confused with another. What is the address of the partnership?'

"Use Bob's address Arthur."

"What does the partnership do?"

"Runs a company that makes wooden toys."

"Okay. Will you add other partners?"

"I don't think so. If we ever wanted to do that is it difficult?"

"Not if you have a simple partnership, which I think yours will be. When do you want to start this partnership. How about May 1st?"

"Ah no. We want to start it April 1st."

"Why?"

"Because we have already started working together and because we have assessed the assets as of that date."

"Well I've never helped form a partnership retroactively but I see no reason why it can't be done. Okay. Put April 1st for the start date Jenny. How will you divide the ownership?"

"Bob owns 51% and I own 49%."

"That's a good choice. What capital will each of you contribute?"

"We have calculated that. Bob will put in £2,550, but he already has put in several assets, so he only has to contribute £1,450. Same for me. I put in £2,450 but I've put a few assets so I contribute £2,345. We plan to open a business bank account with this money this week. Is this a sensible way to contribute capital?"

"Very sensible. You've done your homework. How will you distribute the profits or add more money if the company needs it?"

"Just as the partnership suggests. I put in 51% and Ken puts in 49%," said Bob.

"And we take it out in the same way. Bob takes out 51% and I take out 49%."

"Fine. What will be your fiscal year?"

"We think that April 1st would be easiest for our accountant even though we might be busy as a company at that time of the year. That's usually when I have to make a lot more sets for the tourists. They're the ones that buy most of them."

"Who is going to be your accountant?"

"I thought about Simon Delare, Arthur," said Ken. "He does my income taxes. Do you know him?"

"Yes I do. I've used him a few times. He knows his stuff in the real estate and income tax fields. Have we ever used him as an accountant Jenny?"

"We used to do that Mr. Glone. We didn't have any trouble with his work but five years ago you let your nephew do them."

"Ah yes. That's right. Well either would be okay for you. Who do you want to try Ken, Bob?"

"We might as well go with the one you already know Ken."

"Okay we'll ask Delare. If he's too busy we'll let you know Arthur."

"All right. Will both of you have signing authority?"

"Yes," said Bob.

"How do you make decisions?"

"By mutual consent I expect," Bob said.

"Though you'll have the final decision Bob, since you have the most shares."

"Yes I suppose so.

"You'll also be the nominated partner."

"What's that?" asked Ken.

"The one that is responsible for sending in the tax return. Simon will tell you all about that. Lastly, how will you dissolve the partnership?"

"By mutual consent," said Bob looking at Ken.

"Sure," Ken added.

"Okay, that's all I need," said Arthur. "Do you have any questions?"

"No I don't," said Bob.

"Nor me. When do we sign the agreement?"

"You can probably do that this afternoon. Can you have it ready by then Jenny?"

"Certainly. Anytime after two would be fine."

"Come back at two and we'll be your witnesses. Can you manage that?"

"Yes we can. Thanks."

Arthur showed them out and they looked at each other and smiled again.

"Well, we've done it. It's almost feels like a marriage; I hope that we'll be very happy together Bob."

"And profitable too Ken!"

They were too content to start shopping so, even though it wasn't yet eleven, they decided to go to a pub and have a drink to celebrate.

After drinking to the success of the company Bob took a pad of paper from his folder. "We need to make a to-do list Ken. First, we should call Simon Delare and see if he'll be our accountant. Second, you said that band saws would be better to cut the houses and pieces so we should buy them. Third, I'd like to go to the library and photocopy the yellow pages of toy and gift shops in Southampton. Then visit one of them—more, if we can do that before seeing Arthur."

"What about lunch?"

"We'll squeeze that in. Let's call Simon Delare now. If he won't be our accountant then we must tell Jennifer. Can you phone him?"

Ken used the phone in the pub's hallway then returned.

"Yes, he's happy to look after us. I asked him about costs and he said that looking after the taxes for a small firm like ours won't cost much if we keep good records of our income and expenses."

"That's good. I'm constantly worried about the bills we'll be getting."

"Don't worry Bob. We'll be alright."

"Let's make that our motto Ken: 'Don't worry, we'll be alright'. It might help me to cope with my anxieties if I keep reminding myself to say it!"

"Sure!" and they lifted their glasses and smiled at each other as they repeated the words.

"Why don't we have an early lunch here and do the shopping afterwards. They have fish and chips," said Ken.

"Alright. Another pint?"

"Not for me Bob. I have to drive and there's too much traffic to take a chance."

"Then I won't either."

Afterwards Ken drove to the town's lumber yard and asked if they had any second-hand band saws.

"We've two. They're over here" and he took them to a side counter. "Are these the kind you wanted?"

"You make the decision Ken, but how much are they?"

"This one is sixty pounds; that's forty-five. Both are in good condition."

"I'll take that one."

"That's the cheap one Ken. Do you think it is good enough?"

"The adjustment controls work okay, I've just tried them, and the blade looks like a new one. Yes this'll do."

"Oh, yes, I can see that now. I should have asked a fifty for it."

"Too late! We'll buy it for forty-five."

They walked to the till and Ken gave the man his credit card and collected a receipt. "You don't have to repay me until the end of the month Bob," he said as they walked to the car.

"You can have the money as soon as we have opened our account. When should we do that?" asked Bob.

"Can we make it Saturday? My bank, the National Westminster, is open on Saturdays. They know me and that will make opening a business account simpler. I'll come for you at ten?"

"Okay. I'd like to do some shopping afterwards. Would you mind that?'

"No not at all."

"While we're there you should meet Jenny Wood, the owner of Home and Holiday. She's sells our toys.'

"Alright."

The next stop was the library where the librarian photocopied the yellow pages of the gift shops and also copied a business list provided by the town's tourist association.

"It's a pity I forgot to bring samples Ken. We could have found out if any would sell them for us."

"There's two shops along the main street Bob. I'll park there and we'll check their windows and find out if they already sell anything similar. It's only one thirty so we have time."

Parking was a bit difficult but they eventually found a place. They paid for twenty minutes and walked to the first shop.

"Nothing I can see Ken. Do you see anything?"

"No. They might have some inside. Let's go in and ask."

"Er, you do that Ken. I prefer not to go in before I ask them if they'd sell ours."

"All right. Wait here."

Ken returned a few minutes later. "No they don't have any wooden toys. The girl says I'm the second person today to ask if they sold them. I think we're on to a good thing Bob."

"I hope so."

"Let's do the same thing in the second shop."

Ken walked in and told Bob, as they headed back to the car, that they didn't have any either.

Jennifer had the agreements ready to sign when they arrived at the lawyer's office. It took only five minutes to complete the transaction and sign four copies. "There's one for each of you, one to register your partnership with Revenue and Customs and the extra's for my files. Jennifer will send you my invoice in a couple of days."

They could see a column of smoke as the car approached Small End, coming from the top of the road where Bob's house sat.

"My God, Ken! Look at that—it's my house!"

"You don't know that Bob. Could be something else nearby."

"Go faster Ken. We might be able to put it out."

'Hang on, soon be there," and he swung the car around Tim's garage and up the hill.

As they got nearer it was clear where the smoke was coming from. "It's at the back of the parking lot, not my house," cried Bob. "Thank God."

There was a fire engine in the station's parking lot and two firemen were hosing down the remains of a fire. Jim was watching them.

"They must be burning the wood from the station," said Bob. "I'd forgotten they were going to do that today."

Ken parked the car and, as Bob got out, said, "I'll be at home Thursday and probably Friday working on the saw jig. I'll let you know when it's ready to try. Can you give me a few pieces of your wood? I'll work with mine until I'm ready to try the proper wood so there won't be any waste."

"Hang on, I'll fetch some."

Bob collected the wood and took them to Ken. "Then I'll see you Saturday at ten. Good luck with the jig."

After watching Ken drive away Bob crossed the parking lot to the bonfire and spoke to Jim. As he did so, Jack, who had been inside the gutted station, walked towards them.

"I was scared when I saw the smoke. I thought it was my house," said Bob. "I'd forgotten you were doing this today. It didn't take long to rip out the wood then."

"No," said Jim. "Jack, myself and two other helpers did it all yesterday. We started the fire as soon as the firemen arrived today and all of it, except the roof beams and joists, has been burned. Jane came by a little while ago and said she'd ask the bulldozer to come tomorrow. It's likely the driver will have it all down and levelled by the end of the day. Then we'll have to wait until the contract's let and the builders come."

"They'se usually late," said Jack.

"Yes, because the contractor times contracts as though there is never any bad weather that'll slow them down," answered Jim. "That's what happened when I've had contractors work on my house."

"Aye, 'tis so," replied Jack.

"This place already looks so different, I guess I won't recognise it tomorrow night."

"Are you sad, Bob?"

"A little. The station has been here all my life. It was where I could always find my Dad. It was where I used to play. I guess the only things that will be the same will be the trains going through. We have to live with change I guess." He walked slowly back to his house thinking about his Mum. He was glad she didn't have to see the place knocked down. She liked living next to her husband's place of work and could take him a cup of tea anytime or have him help her in the garden when he wasn't busy.

There were two letters on the floor by the front door when he walked in. One was from Jenny with a cheque for £123.75 and the other came from Leo and held a cheque for £315. That money immediately cheered him up. It was his money, payment for sets sold during March and not the partnership's. He'd take the cheques to his bank, Lloyds, when he was in Big End on Saturday. If he added them to his checking account he'd only have to transfer five hundred from his savings.

He painted the second coat in the evening and added the few touches needed of the last coat.

He had glued about half of the sets by coffee time on Thursday and was about to sit down in the lounge when a noisy roar came through the open window. He put his mug on the side table and walked back through the kitchen and into the garden. It was a bulldozer, an old one, with bursts of black smoke exiting its exhaust pipe. He watched it over the hedge. It moved to the end of the station wall facing him and began thrusting at the top. The corner rocked, then the end of the roof split away and a clump of bricks and several roof tiles fell down. Moving down the wall the bulldozer pushed again, knocking down much of the central part of the wall. It moved to the corner and pushed once more: in five minutes all the wall and half of the roof was on the ground. The driver then took the machine to the far side of the building and began pushing again. This time both end walls crumbled and the whole wall fell to the ground. The driver stopped the machine, turned off the engine and stepped down carrying a thermos. He sat on the end of the machine and Bob walked over.

"Hello. I've been watching you. What are you going to do with the wood that held the roof tiles? They've just burned the wood from the inside."

"Push it over the back edge of the lot and cover it with the bricks."

"But won't the wood rot?"

"Yes, in ten years or so it'll need levelling, that is, if they're going to use that part for parking."

"Isn't there a better way than that?"

"Only if the tiles were removed first, then you could get at the rafters and joists. But it is cheaper, quicker and easier if it's done this way. That's what most do. There's nothing to worry about for the subsidence is quite slow."

"I see," said Bob, feeling a bit sad to think that the building where he and his Dad had spent so much time was being treated this way.

He finished all the gluing by lunchtime, deciding to wrap and box the sets in the afternoon. Then he remembered, he'd forgotten to collect the new boxes from Rose. He'd have to collect them first and hoped he could carry all of them; five hundred boxes would be quite heavy.

He tidied the kitchen after he finished his soup then walked to Rose's shop. She greeted him as he walked in.

"How are you doing Bob? I hear you've been busy. What were you doing in Southampton with Ken Smith yesterday?"

"Seeing his lawyer. I told you last Saturday we were forming a partnership. Well we signed the papers yesterday. So we are now 'Robert Barns and Kenneth Smith' in partnership. We'll open a business bank account in that name on Saturday. Which reminds me; can I pay you at the end of each month please? It will simplify our accounting if we do that."

"Yes, of course Bob. That's what most businesses do if they don't give a thirty-day credit. We've already been doing it, I only pay you at the end of each month don't I."

"Yes that's right. Good. Will Jack mind if he and I do the same thing?"

"No he buys wood and things for the cottages that way. I'll tell him. Your boxes are in the store room. Three large packages and a roll of wrapping paper. I suggest you carry one lot of boxes at a time; each one must weigh forty pounds."

"I'll do that Rose. I'll take one box and the roll of wrapping paper. Can I come back for the others when I have time?"

"Sure. Just sign the slip saying what you have taken. I like everyone to do that because my memory is not as good as it should be. It also proves the items have been collected if there's any doubt."

Bob signed the slip, picked up one of the packages and the roll of paper. Rose opened the door for him. "It'll be a lot easier when I have a car won't it Rose."

The afternoon went quickly as he wrapped, boxed, labelled and taped each filled box. He finished about four-thirty then washed and changed his clothes for the driving lesson.

The roads were busy on the way to Bournemouth but he had no trouble. Most of the drivers were returning from work and usually sped past him as he kept just below the speed limit.

"Good," said Peter. "Don't let them rush you, especially during the test. Now take the next exit and be ready to turn left when you come to the yield sign."

Bob followed Peter's instructions and before long was driving into the eastern outskirts of Bournemouth.

"Turn right at the next intersection, keep going to the cross-roads, then turn left."

Once he had completed this route he was told to stop opposite to the parking lot which was on the right side of the road.

"That's the DSA's examination centre," Peter pointed to the small building at the end of the lot. "We'll park in that lot when you take the test. Then I'll take you into the building and you'll be asked to take a written test. That won't take long, it's multi-choice. After that we'll wait until the examiner can see you. He'll tell you what to do. I'll be in the waiting room when you return."

"What's he likely to ask me to do first?"

"He'll probably bring you out here and ask you to read a licence plate on a car that's about twenty yards away. You can do that because I've already checked. He might ask you one or two things about your car, for instance, how would you check the oil level or where the spare tire is kept. Then he'll tell you to get in and drive. He'll tell you where to go. He'll ask you to do a three-point turn, or park between two cars and probably ask you to make an emergency stop. We'll do all those things today, repeating them once or twice and we'll use the roads they generally use. Of course, he can ask you to drive along different roads. The whole test will be around forty minutes. Ready to begin?"

"Yes, though I'm already a bit nervous, even though this isn't the real thing."

"Many people feel like that when we come here. It will disappear as soon as you start. Okay. First, leave the car, walk around it and then get into the driving seat."

"All right." Bob did that and climbed back into the driver's seat.

"Why did you ask me to do that?"

"I wanted to make sure that you would put on your seat belt. Some people forget to do that when taking their test and they immediately fail. You put yours on. Now start the car and drive along this road to the stop sign."

Thus Bob's rehearsal began. As expected, he soon lost his nervousness and easily accomplished all that Peter asked him to do. They were finished after thirty minutes.

"Okay. Now you can drive home. Tell me, what was the hardest part?"

"The sudden "stop" and doing those three-point turns in the narrow streets I think. Driving along a road where people were parking their cars wasn't that easy either."

"You won't have many people parking cars when you take your test. They're doing it now because they've just come home from work. Your test is at nine in the morning. Most people will have left by then and the roads should be a lot clearer. About the three-point turns; you can do them in more than three turns if necessary. We'll do several "sudden stops" on Sunday when we'll come here again so you get to know the roads."

Peter asked Bob more questions on the traffic rules as they drove home. Bob left the car at the garage and decided to have his supper in the Crown that night. 'Might as well use some of my earnings,' he thought, as he crossed the road.

The Wooden Toy Company

Bob didn't know what to do Friday morning. He could collect the packages from Rose then what? He knew that they should build some trains next but that was now Ken's responsibility. He'd soon have the band saw jig and would want to use it, just to see how well it worked. 'I'll collect the boxes then decide how to spend the rest of the day.'

Jack was putting the paper stand on the pavement when he arrived at the shop.

"Hello Jack. How're things?"

"Middin' Bob. Nowt t'do 'cept help Rose. I'm lookin' fer werk."

"I'm a bit like you this morning. I don't really know what to do now because Ken's taken over the toy making. I'm here to collect my boxes."

"I'll 'elp."

"Thanks."

"I'll go 'en fetch 'em."

Jack returned with one box and Rose followed carrying the other.

"Hello Bob. I'm glad you collected these, I'm expecting several parcels today and need the room."

"I should have taken all of them when they arrived. Sorry." He signed the slip, picked up one of the packages and walked to his house with Jack. "We'll put them in the shed. Just let me fetch the key."

After dumping them Bob asked Jack if he'd like a coffee. "Nay. I've decided to go t'Big End t'talk to some contractors. Goin' t'Crown ter night?"

"Of course."

"Ah, see yer there, then."

Bob walked with Jack to the gate and on his way back realised that he should be planting his vegetables. All of a sudden his day was full. He'd dig the rest of the vegetable plot and not stop for coffee until he'd done the raking.

He was tired when he finished. He had his coffee and the last of his biscuits in his easy chair. He added 'digestives' to his shopping list then fetched the diagrams of his last year's garden. He drew a new plan each year, using last year's drawings to decide where he would put each vegetable this time because he rotated his crops. This year he'd plant the courgettes and cucumbers on the right edge. He usually planted them along the side of the garden because they could run over the grass that way. The peas could go next to them even although they would shade the plants during the spring. The carrots would go next, planted with radishes, because they grew quickly and made the row easier to see when hoeing, then a row of onions, then beets. Then he'd plant the broccoli and the cauliflower. All this he sketched on a piece of paper. He swallowed the last of his coffee and went outside.

He was about to make the first row when he heard his phone. He went to the shop and picked up the cordless. It was Jenny. She said she wanted him to bring her more sets.

"Are you coming to Big End soon?"

"Yes I am. What would you like?"

"I've just sold the last village set and I have only one of each of the others. Can you bring me, say, six of each?"

"Yes. Will tomorrow be okay Jenny?"

"Yes, good. Thanks Bob."

'Now Ken will have to make train sets next,' he thought. 'I bet Leo will ring soon and want more sets. Ten minutes later Leo did, asking for five of each.

"I don't have trains yet Leo."

"Okay, I'll have to wait then."

"I don't know when I can deliver Leo. I'll try to do it tomorrow." He'd ask Ken to drive him there after they'd been to Big End. He'd bag them after he'd finished in the garden.

Ken arrived at one o'clock. "Hello Bob. Can you help me carry the saw jig to the shop."

"Oh. Hello Ken. I didn't expect to see you today. You've finished it then?"

"I think so but it'll probably need a bit of adjusting. We'll see."

They carried the jig to the shop and sat it on the back bench. Ken screwed it down with a couple of screws. "I'll put more in if this spot's okay. We can run an eight-foot length of wood through if it's here."

"What are the saws set for?"

"To cut the roof shape for small houses. Let's see how it works." He took one of the eight foot pieces and pushed it through the blades. "Yes, same problem as with the router jig. I need a couple of spring rollers to hold the wood as it sits on the guides. I can work on that at home, perhaps this weekend. Okay. What do we need next Bob?"

"Trains."

"All right. I've another suggestion. I think it would be best if I cut all the long blocks for the trains, carriage bases, or for the houses, barns, churches and so on first."

"Where would we keep all the pieces if we did that Ken?"

"In the shed."

"There's not going to be much room left once the shed has been filled with the wood from the lumber yard. I suppose we could make bays where we plan to put the sanding booth. By-the-way, we haven't ordered the sawdust extractor for it yet."

"I guess we both forgot about that. Yes, I'm worried about the room we have here too. There's not enough."

"I'm afraid you're right."

"Well we'd better think about moving into a bigger place."

"We don't know if we can sell enough to afford a bigger place Ken."

"Do you doubt that you can sell them? I know I can make many more than you've been making."

"No not really. People want them, it seems, and retailers are glad to have them."

"Then we'd better start looking for a bigger place. Do you know of one? A place near here?"

"No. I'll ask Jack and the others at supper tomorrow. One of them might know of a place we could use. An old barn perhaps."

"Only if it has electricity and if it's not too dirty."

"Yes. Finding it isn't going to be easy. Now, can I do anything to help this afternoon Ken?"

"I can't work any more today Bob. I promised Mary we'd go to the movies in Big End and she wants to do some shopping first. She's already thinking about things we might need for our holiday, medications and so on. We're going on a cruise, to the Mediterranean."

"Oh, when?"

"Not until the end of August but she likes to plan ahead. I'm not sure when, Mary arranged it all. I'll ask her and let you know tomorrow. Are you having a holiday?"

"Maybe Ken. It looks as though I'll have enough money so I thought I might. But if I did I'd have to be sure our retailers are well stocked."

"Yes. I'll make sure they are. I have to leave now Bob. I'll collect you tomorrow at ten."

"Oh Ken. I have to take Jenny some sets and Leo called today and asked if I could take him some too. Would you mind driving to Twinner after we're finished in Big End? You'd meet Leo if we did that."

"No, wouldn't mind at all. I'd better get to know our retailers. If anything happened to you I'd be doing the delivery unless we hire someone to do that."

"Thanks Ken. I'll have five bags. Is your boot empty?"

"I'll check right now." They walked to the car and looked. "Yes plenty of room."

"Good. So I'll see you at ten tomorrow. Enjoy the movie."

"I will. It's the shopping I don't like so much."

Bob went in for an early tea and made a to-do list for tomorrow. He'd have to go to Jenny's, Lloyds and Ken's bank, do the shopping and then go to Leo's. No, he'd leave the shopping until the end and ask Ken to take him to the Twinner supermarket. That way the frozen food wouldn't thaw. They'd probably have lunch sometime too. Now, did they want any more paint? He'd better check that next.

In the shed he discovered he should order more dowels, screws, glue and paint. This time he would buy the biggest cans. He locked the shop and shed and returned to his chair. Now he could think about a summer holiday. If Ken was taking one then he thought he should have one too and maybe they could go at the same time. He'd have to ask Ken when he was going then visit a travel agency and see what they had to offer. But he didn't want to go on a cruise or visit Europe this time. He should see a bit of England first. There were so many places he'd read about but had never seen. He should visit Stratford, or go to Scotland, and he drifted off to sleep.

He was standing at the gate with the bags for Jenny and Leo when Ken arrived on Saturday morning. They put Jenny's bag on the back seat and Leo's in the boot. On the drive to Big End Ken told Bob that the cruise was from September 3rd until September 12th. "They call that a ten day holiday but the first and last day is mostly the flight between Heathrow and Rome. I'm quite looking forward to it because I've never been on a cruise before. We have been to many places in Britain and in Europe. I've usually driven to those but we've taken bus tours twice."

"How did you like those?"

"They were relaxing. It was nice to look out of the window and see the countryside. When you're driving you mostly see the road or cars and lorries. Are you thinking of taking a bus tour?"

"I don't know. I'll collect some travel brochures and see what's available. Do you think we should take our holidays at the same time?"

"I don't suppose it matters. As long as the retailers have stock we can lock the doors and leave. Do you have a to-do list for today?"

"Yes and a shopping list for the business. Here's what I put down; more wood and dowels, screws, glue, hooks, brushes and paints. We should order envelopes and paper with our business address and get some business cards. Jack made the cards I use and I think they are fine so I can ask him to make new ones. I have to deposit two cheques in Lloyds before we go to your bank, too."

"Okay. Let's first deliver Jenny's sets then go to the banks."

Susan and Jenny welcomed them as they walked into the shop and he introduced Ken. "Ken and I formed a partnership this week. Ken knows a lot about making wood products, he used to manage a furniture factory. Ken, this is Jenny and Susan."

"Hello. I'm happy to meet both of you."

"Hello Ken" said Jenny. "We like Bob's toys especially his village and farm sets. When we sell those the customer invariably buys some of our miniature people and animals. It's a pity that they're made from plastic. If only you could make them out of wood. Do you think you could?"

"I don't think so. It'd take a lot of time to make each one unless Bob can design some simple ones."

"I've never found one that looked good and would also be simple to make."

"Keep looking then. They'd sell well. It that bag for me?"

"Yes. There's six of each set."

"Give them to Susan please Bob. I'll write the receipt." She went to her office completed a form then gave it to Bob as Ken looked around the shop.

"I've never been here before. I see you stock some of the things Mary, my wife, buys for our grandson. We'll come together next time."

"Please do."

Two customers entered the shop so Ken and Bob said goodbye and left.

"Jenny's nice, don't you think?"

"Yes, she is. Is she married?"

"I don't know. Perhaps." Then Bob wondered why Ken would ask that. As far as he knew, Ken's marriage was working well. 'Maybe he's thinking about me,' he thought. 'Jenny's nice but I'd rather think about Maria. It's a pity I have to wait until next February to see her.'

They walked to Lloyds and Bob deposited his cheques then went to the NatWest and spoke to the receptionist.

"We want to open a business account," said Bob. "Can we speak to someone about it?"

"I'll see if Mr. Longman is available," she said and picked up the telephone. "He has a customer right now. Mr. Longman is the man who looks after our business accounts. He will be free in twenty minutes. I can make an appointment for you, if you like."

"Please do," he said and turned to Ken. "While we're waiting let's have a coffee. I missed mine this morning and I'm ready for it."

"I'll book Mr. Longman for eleven o'clock if that would be alright. What are your names please?" They told her, then walked to Bob's usual coffee shop.

"Do you know Longman Ken?"

"No. I don't think so. He'll see I have an account with the bank so he can easily find lots about me and my banking habits. We shouldn't have any problems. Shall we have lunch afterwards? Have any ideas about where to eat?"

"I like the sandwiches they sell here. Why don't we buy some and a drink and eat them on the way to Twinner?"

"All right."

Bob pulled out his list of items.

"Is there anything else we should buy for the shop?"

"No, you've got it all, I think."

"All right. Let's buy our sandwiches and go back to the bank."

Mr. Longman appeared as soon as the receptionist phoned him. He introduced himself and asked them to follow him to his office. Once there, Ken told him that they had formed a partnership and wanted to open a business account.

"I've been a customer of the National Westminster bank in Southampton for about twenty years," said Ken, "so you'll be able to find me on your computer. Bob uses Lloyds. Will it be difficult to open a business account for us?"

"Not at all. We'd be glad to look after you. Let me access your account. You said your name is Ken Smith?"

"Yes. Here's my bank card, if you need it."

"No, I don't need that, I have you already. You live in Small End now?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Tell me about your company. What will it produce?"

"Wooden toys. Our trade name is 'Small End Wooden Toys'."

"What capital will you be depositing?"

"£3,795."

"That's a funny number. Oh, I guess you've already included some assets."

"Yes, that's right. I'll deposit a cheque for £2,345 and Bob will put in the rest."

Mr. Longman looked at Bob, "Can you give me your full name and address Mr. Barns?"

"Bob Barns, Small End, Hampshire."

"And your account number at Lloyds?"

Bob gave him his Lloyds card.

"Why do you need that?"

"We need some verification that you are who you say you are. Lloyds will help me check that. Does the company have an accountant?"

"Yes. His name is Simon Delare. He lives near Southampton."

"I know him. We've worked together a couple of times. Now I'll need both of your signatures on this card."

With a few more exchanges and after Bob and Ken's cheques had been handed over, the account was opened.

"I can give you a dozen cheques if you need them immediately. But they won't be numbered. You should receive two hundred named and numbered cheques by next Friday. Do you have any questions?"

"I've two," said Ken. "First, we'll need two credit cards on the business account."

"That's easy to arrange. I can give you a £10,000 credit limit but no more to begin with. Can you manage with that?"

"Oh yes," said Bob, "I'm sure that'll be enough."

Mr. Longman pulled some forms from a drawer in his desk, added a few details then handed them to Ken. "You and Mr. Barns should sign here," and he pointed to the lines he had marked with a cross.

"You won't get the cards for a couple of weeks. They'll be sent to you by mail. Now, you had another question?"

"Yes. If we want to borrow money, say, for enlarging our business, can we do that through you?"

"Yes of course. If you want to do that I will need evidence of what you have done, what you plan to do, how you are going to do it and what assets the company has. A business plan, that is. I will be the one to judge if it is acceptable to us."

"All right," replied Ken. "Thanks."

"Then that's it. You have a business account now. Thank you for allowing us to help you. I hope your venture is profitable."

As they walked out of the bank Bob said "Why did you ask about borrowing money? Surely we've enough. What do you have in mind?"

"Nothing Bob. It's just a vague idea I had when day dreaming about us. Maybe someday we'll want to enlarge again. You know we already need more room. We might have to do it again."

"I see. Well, I'll ask everyone tonight if they know of a place. If they don't we'll see an estate agent or put an ad in the newspaper. Okay. Lets go order the wood and buy the paint."

"I've been thinking about the paint Bob. If we make a spray booth then we might have to use a different paint."

"Oh. Well we can't do that until we find a bigger place to work in. Right now I guess we have enough paint to make three or four hundred sets. The greens I use on the hedges might be the first to go. Keep an eye on it and I think you will be all right for a while."

As they walked back to the car they passed one of the travel agencies.

"Just a minute Ken, I want some brochures. Won't be a minute."

Every agent was busy with a customer so he simply walked to the rack and took the ones that offered bus tours in Great Britain. "I'll enjoy looking at these," he told Ken, showing him what he had collected.

They ordered the wood and were told it would be delivered between eight and ten Tuesday morning.

"You're still going to Small End several times a week then?" asked Bob.

"Yes we are and, most likely, more than once a day soon. I've been told that they've approved the plans for the new sub-division and the industrial section. It's going to be above the railway lines, opposite the new housing estate."

"That was quick, I'll go and look at the place sometime."

"Let me know what you've seen when you come here next."

"I will. Can we pay our bills at the end of the month from now on?"

"Yes. This lot will cost you, hum, £86.77."

Bob wrote that down as Ken drove along the coast road towards Twinner. They stopped in the first parking lot they saw and sat on a bench over-looking the sea.

"I'm looking forward to driving this road when I have a car Ken."

"When's your test?"

"Wednesday."

"Good luck then. I hope you pass."

"I hope so too. I don't know what we'll do if I don't. Would you swap jobs? You drive to the shops and I make the toys?"

"If we had to although you said you'd not be happy pushing wood through jigs all the day."

"No I wouldn't."

"I won't be, either, for long. We'll probably have to hire a helper. I wouldn't be happy selling, though. Hey, if you don't pass we can hire a driver. A salesman."

"That'd be expensive. We couldn't afford it."

"Then you'll just have to pass the test Bob," and he chuckled. "I'm sure you will."

"Well Peter says I will. Let's hope he's right."

Returning to the idea of getting help Ken said, "You know, once the jigs work properly I think I will hire a helper, a boy, who'd work for minimum wage. He could push wood through a jig easily and doesn't have to know much else."

"Joe said it'd be cheaper to hire helpers on contract, when we wouldn't have to pay all kinds of extras, holidays, unemployment fees, and so on."

"I hadn't thought about that. Is it legal?"

"Don't know. I suppose so. We could ask Arthur."

"I'll have a word with him," said Ken."

"Can we afford to hire someone though?"

"If it helps us to make the toys quicker we could. As long as we can sell them."

"You know Ken, I'm a bit afraid of the speed we're doing all this. Things are happening so fast. I keep thinking something will go wrong and we'll lose our money."

"We won't lose more than we can afford to risk Bob. There's always risk in business ventures."

"Yes. The most I can risk is what I have in my savings. I planned to keep that for my grandchildren's education."

"Don't worry about it Bob. We'll be alright. Remember? That's our motto. Well, I've finished. You ready to move on?"

"Yes," but Bob continued to worry and forgot to watch Ken's driving. He couldn't help thinking they might be taking too much risk if they moved into a bigger place and hired a helper. A new place would need fixing up and just how much would that cost?

Bob told Ken where to park in Twinner and they entered Leo's shop. After Ken had been introduced to Leo, Bob told him that they were going into business together. Leo seemed very surprised. "I thought that you were making toys mostly as a hobby Bob: to earn a little more money."

"Well I was but I took a holiday in Portugal in February and that made me want to take more of them. That's why I began selling toys in Jenny's shop and with you. Rose couldn't sell enough for me."

"I see. Well I'm glad to have them. What have you got?"

"There are five of each in the bags."

"Thanks. I'll give you a receipt for them."

Ken was glad he had met Leo and said he looked like a competent person after they had left. Bob thought Leo seemed a bit distant, especially after he had told him that they were now forming a company. It seemed to bother him in some way but he didn't say anything to Ken.

"Let's have a beer Bob. There's a pub I like near here. It overlooks the sea and it's a good way to end our Saturday's work."

After a pint and some crisps they drove to the supermarket where Bob bought some fish and a few TV dinners. Ken dropped Bob at his house, saying "Don't forget to ask them tonight about a bigger place. Any place, even if we have to buy it."

'Oh, no,' thought Bob, as he walked to his door. 'We can't spend money buying buildings. Oh dear. What's got into Ken.'

Joe was waiting for him in the Crown that night and Bob told him about his fears.

"Don't worry about Ken, Bob. He's an honest man. However he's been used to getting his own way. He did run a big operation and probably thinks that Small End Wooden Toys could easily be made into a bigger company. I bet that's what he's trying to do, enlarge it, just for the fun of doing so."

"Ken moves far too quickly for me. He suggests things, then almost immediately wants to put them into effect. I like to think through the idea first and move a bit more cautiously."

"Then that should be your role; you should be a counterbalance to his impulsive nature. You'll be successful working that way, one balancing the other."

"I hope so."

Jack and Rose joined them and Joe told them about Bob's fears.

"I know how you feel Bob" said Rose. "I feel somewhat that way every time Jack says he's found another cottage or house and has decided to buy and renovate it. I'm afraid something will go wrong and that we'll lose money."

"We ain't so fer, right?"

"No. But it doesn't stop me worrying the next time. Do you have one in mind now?"

"Nay, but I'm lookin'."

"Do you know of a building that Ken and I could rent Jack?" asked Bob.

"Wot kind?"

"A place we could use to make the toys. Ken wants something two- or three-times bigger than my workshop."

"Maybe a farmer 'as a barn ter rent."

"A drafty one, full of cobwebs and hay, I suppose. I hope Ken doesn't want one of those. I wouldn't want to be the one who cleans it."

"Wait a minute," exclaimed Joe. "I might have just what you want. What about my old milking parlour? Do you think that would be suitable?"

"Isn't it full of equipment?"

"Yes it is. It's the hay-cutting machinery my father and I used when we kept cattle. There are three horse-drawn mowers, two or three rakes, a seeder, old ploughs and some harnesses in there. I'll never use that stuff again and I don't suppose anyone else would. Not many farmers use horse-drawn equipment these days."

"What are you talking about Joe?" asked Jane as she sat down to join the group.

"Bob's looking for a place to make toys, something bigger than his workshop. I thought about letting him have our old milking parlour. I'd have to get rid of the equipment in there first."

"You would? That's great. I don't see much good in keeping that old stuff. But I thought you wanted to keep them because they belonged to your father."

"Well, that's partly true. I also thought Howard might like to keep them but he'll never run the farm and won't want the stuff. We might as well get rid of it now or he'll have to do it when we're dead."

"We're not going to be dead for a long time I hope Joe. I like the idea. It's a pity a good building like that is used just to store old stuff. What do you think about using that place Bob?"

"I don't know it, at least, I don't know what it looks like inside. I can see that it's about the right size, that it's well made and has a good metal roof. Has it got electricity?"

"Of course. There's a telephone in it too, although it's just hooked to our house phone. If you use the place you'll have to get it connected to an outside line."

"Well I'm very interested Joe. Can I see it?"

"Come tomorrow morning. Bring Ken. We can have a coffee and decide if you want it after you've seen the place."

"Thanks. I'll phone Ken right now and find out if he can come tomorrow." He got up and walked to the bar.

"Len can I use the phone? I want to call Ken Smith."

"Yes of course." He opened the bar hatch and Bob walked through to the telephone which was fastened to the wall just around the corner. He pulled out Ken's card and dialled the number. Mary answered.

"Hello Mary. It's Bob Barns. How are you ?"

"I'm fine Bob. How's the business going? Ken told me what you've been doing today. Next thing you'll do is buy a building, he says."

"I hope not Mary. I hope we can rent one. That's what I want to talk to him about now. Is he there?"

"Yes. Hang on, I'll call him. Ken," she shouted, "It's Bob, on the 'phone."

"Hello Bob. Anything wrong?"

"No, but I might have found a place for us. It's Joe's milking parlour. He suggests we look at it tomorrow morning. Can you do that?"

"Sure. I know where it is. As far as I remember it's about the right size. Great. What time tomorrow?"

"How about ten o'clock?"

"Right. I'll be there. Has it got electricity?"

"Yes, and a telephone, but that'll have to be connected up."

"That's great news. I think that it might be just the right place. See you tomorrow then."

Bob told Joe what they had arranged. Joe said ten o'clock would be perfect and he'd tidy it a bit before they came.

"Oh, is the floor level Joe? You used to have a drainage ditch in the middle didn't you?"

"We filled that in when we decided to keep equipment there. Yes the floor's level and it's all concrete."

"How do you heat it in the winter?"

"The cows did that. I don't know what you'll do. That might be a problem."

"One we'll solve if we decide to rent it I'm sure."

"I'm goin' t'order supper," said Jack, as he got up. "I'll get t'menu," and walked to the bar. He returned with Mildred.

"We've got roast turkey, pork pies and halibut," she announced.

"How is the halibut cooked Mildred?" asked Bob.

"It's baked in a cream sauce."

"Then I'll have that," said Rose. "Me too," said Jane and Bob.

"You make t'pies?" asked Jack.

"Yes."

"I'll 'ave that,' said Jack.

"Me too," added Jim. "Where's Nancy tonight?"

"She's having a holiday. She'll be back next Friday. It's just Len and me when she's away," and Mildred bustled off.

"She'll be busy then," Jane said. "It's time she had a holiday too."

"I'm thinking of taking one this summer," said Bob.

"Going back to Portugal?" asked Joe.

"No. I'll probably take a bus tour: in England, most likely, but maybe I'll go to Scotland. Either would be interesting: a chance to try different beers," and he took a swill of his.

"How's the Spring show?" Rose asked Jane.

"We're having rehearsals twice a week now. Full-dress rehearsals start next week. The show opens in just over two weeks."

"Do you need an usher?" asked Bob.

"I'll let you know next week Bob. I think we have enough ladies to do that and to sell the snacks and food. Thanks for asking."

Then she told them that the sewer lines would be positioned sometime during the next two weeks for the new Community Centre and the concert floor poured around the end of the month. "The place looks very different now, doesn't it Bob."

"Yes it does. I'm glad my parents didn't see the station demolished. It was their whole life."

"You all know that the new sub-division and industrial site will be started this summer?" asked Jane, and everyone nodded their heads. "Well, Small End will be more than six times bigger when all the houses are occupied."

"Six times! I don't like that" said Joe.

"Nor do I" said Bob. "It's big enough already."

They stopped talking as Mildred put their suppers on the table and began to eat. Half way through they had another drink, resumed their discussions and left for home as soon as their drinks were finished.

Bob thought about Joe's parlour as he walked up the road. He hoped it would be suitable for he didn't want Ken to rent a barn, or worse, build a place.

Jack was helping Joe push the machines together in the milking parlour to make a pathway when Bob walked in on Sunday morning.

"Hello Joe. Hi Jack. You've got an awful lot of stuff in here."

"Yep, it's where everything was dumped. I can move it all out this afternoon if you do decide to rent it. Ah, that's Ken driving up now, I think."

It was. He parked his car and stopped at the door before entering. "Hi everyone. This place is big enough, it's perfect, in fact. What do you think Bob?"

"Oh yes. I think it's fine. I'm very glad you like it, I thought you might want something bigger."

"No this is just right; it's a good size and has electricity. It's just what we need."

"And there's a toilet outside, at the far end," Joe said.

"That makes it better still," exclaimed Ken. "All we need to do is clean it up, put up a few walls and make a couple of benches."

"Arr," said Jack. "Rose hoped you'd 'ire me t'help."

"We might do that Jack."

"What walls do you want Ken?" Bob asked.

"We'll need a paint spray booth and that should be totally enclosed. We need an office where we can keep the paperwork, desks and the phone. They'd need walls. The office should be near the entrance door and the paint booth should be at the other end of the shop. What do you think Bob?"

"That sounds fine to me."

"How about you Joe. Do you see any problem? Do you mind us putting up walls?"

"Not if you take the place for long enough. Five years or more Ken."

"Ah. I'm not sure about five years Joe," said Ken, "I expect we'll need a bigger place by then. Let me think about it for a moment."

Bob, who had felt his tension disappear when Ken said he'd liked the place immediately began worrying again. A bigger place? Why think about that?

"Yes. I can see how we might manage that. Yes a five-year tenancy will be all right. How about you Bob.?"

"I can't see us needing a bigger place Ken. What rent would you charge Joe?"

"Jane and I talked about that last night. How about £50 a month?"

"That's very good, we could afford that, but surely the place is worth more than that."

"Probably it is. But Jane said £600 a year would be enough and that it wasn't earning anything before. So £50 is fine by us."

"Then we'll take it. Thanks Joe," said Bob, glad to have it settled before Ken changed his mind. "Thanks."

"You'll have to pay your own electricity, telephone and for any changes made," Joe added.

"Yes of course we'll do that. I'll arrange for the electrical conversion and tell the Post Office we're moving in," said Bob. "What's your address Joe?"

"100 Big End Road, Small End, Hampshire."

"They'll tell me if I have to use another address I suppose."

"I don't know. You'll probably have to register your business and they might tell you about those things."

"Do you have a tape measure Joe?" asked Ken.

"'Ere's one," said Jack.

"Good. Let's make some measurements. I've some paper in the car."

"Hold on Ken. You don't have to go so fast. It's time for coffee and it'll be much easier to measure when the equipment's removed. I can do that first thing this afternoon. You can help, if you like, and measure the place afterwards."

"All right."

"Come to the kitchen, the coffee'll be ready now. You too, Jack."

They moved to the kitchen and told Jane what had been decided. She fetched a pad of paper and wrote the details down. Joe, Ken and Bob signed it and Ken drew out his cheque book and gave Joe a cheque for £50. "This is for April Joe. I still think you should charge us more!"

"Don't say that too often Ken. You might make me regret it."

"No fifty is enough," said Jane. "It's money for doing nothing for us and it'll be fun watching what happens."

"Well the next thing is to measure the inside and sketch where we want the rooms."

"No," Joe interjected. "As I said, the next thing is to clear it out and sweep the floor. Then you can do your measuring. If you all help I won't need the tractor to pull the machinery out."

"I can't help," Bob said. "I've a driving lesson this afternoon."

"I can," said Jack.

"So can I," said Ken. "How long do you think it'll take to build the rooms Jack?"

"D'pends on wot you wont. Wont t'walls up to t'ceilin'? Quicker an' cheaper that way."

"Yes. We'll need another room too, a sanding booth."

"We'd also need a small waiting room, one that leads to the office and the workshop but closed off so it remains clean. Do you agree Ken?" said Bob.

"Yes. Good idea. Okay, you're hired, Jack. We'll meet at two this afternoon, empty the place, clean it, then measure. I'll rough out a sketch during my lunch today and work from that. Can you join us after your driving lesson Bob?"

"I'll come right here when I've finished. It'll be about 4:30. I don't suppose you'll be finished by then."

"Probably not," Joe said. "The equipment will take an hour or more to move because I want to put it in the field. Don't worry boys, it's not very heavy!"

"Do you know the approximate size of the room Joe?"

"It's about sixty by thirty-five or thirty-six."

"Okay. I'll use that and make a sketch of what we want and show it to you this afternoon Jack. One more thing Joe: the big sliding doors on the side—can we remove those and fit a smaller door? We don't need the big ones, and they'd make the place harder to heat in the winter."

"I should think so. Yes you can. They're easy to remove, they just lift off the tracks. I'll store them in one of the barns."

"Thanks," said Ken. "Well I must go now. See you at two."

"'Bye Ken."

"That's Ken," said Jane, after he had shut the kitchen door. "Always on the go. I don't know how he's survived these last months. You'll have to get used to him Bob. When you see Mary ask her how she manages him."

"I think I'd better," he answered. "Joe's already told me that I counterbalance his eagerness. I don't know about that. I haven't been able to slow him down yet."

"Give it time Bob. Give it time. And you do have the final vote don't you?" asked Joe.

"Yes. But when you think about it, Ken's doing no more than what I earlier said I wanted to do. It's just that he's doing it in a few weeks whereas I was planning to take two or three years. It's his speed that worries me."

"You can trust him," said Joe.

"Yes," said Jane, "that's right. Try not to worry so much Bob."

On the drive to Bournemouth Bob told Peter about their plans to move his workshop to Joe's old milking parlour.

"You're expanding quickly, let me know if I can help in any way."

"Thanks. If I pass the driving test I'll need a car to deliver the toys. You or your Dad might help us that way, finding a good one that's not too expensive."

"You might find a van would be more useful. You'd need a very big car to carry as much as a small van would carry."

"I hadn't thought about that but you're quite right, a van would be better."

"I'll ask Dad if he knows a dealer who sells them."

"Thanks."

"Okay. Now about your driving today. We'll park in the parking lot at the test centre. Then I'll put you through the steps I think the examiner will use. We'll do the whole thing and talk about it afterwards. If there's anything you should practice we'll do that before we go home. Is that okay?"

"Yes. Thanks. I'm beginning to feel nervous again."

"As I said, it's normal. Nearly everybody feels that way."

Five minutes later Bob pulled into the parking lot and parked the car. Like before, Peter asked him to get out, walk around the car, then return to the driver's seat. He then told him to start the car.

Forty minutes later Bob arrived back at the parking lot and stopped.

"You've passed the test Bob, with flying colours. But there's one thing we should practice. Do you know what it is?"

"Yes. Sudden stops."

"That's right. What you did was fine but I saw you tense up as soon as I told you to do it. Let's do two or three of them then we'll drive home."

Bob felt al lot more comfortable after completing several sudden stops. "I don't mind them now Peter. I think I'll be alright" As he drove back to Small End they discussed the most important driving regulations. He parked the car behind Peter's office, switched off and gave the key to Tim.

"Now don't look at the manual again. You know all that you should and don't have to swot. Just let your mind relax. You'll pass the test. I'll pick you up on Wednesday at 7:30. That will give us plenty of time."

"What about our Tuesday lesson?"

"You don't need one."

"If you say so. Then, thanks, Peter."

**Chapter 11 The Milking Parlour**

Everyone was studying Ken's sketch as Bob walked into the milking parlour. The big doors and the equipment had been removed and the place looked much bigger than it had earlier. Someone had chalked lines on the floor showing where the walls would be.

"Hello Bob. You've come just at the right time, all the hard work's been done!" said Ken. "Here, let me show you the lay-out. We can change the plans easily if there's something you don't like. Look, that's the door customers or trades people enter," and he pointed to the door in the wall next to the yard. "The room on the left of the door as you come in is the waiting room, although I expect it will be mostly used as a tea room. I don't think we'll have many customers or tradesmen visiting us. We'll put three or four soft chairs and an electric kettle; that's where we can have tea or coffee. Now, the room on the right-hand side of the door is the office. It's twelve by twelve. Do you think that's big enough?"

"I'm sure it is. Why do we need one so big?"

"Because we'll both need a desk and we'll need some filing cabinets. The waiting room is the same size and that leaves a twelve-foot, unused space behind it. I'll store new wood there in some racks. This door here," and he pointed to the sketch and walked to the chalked lines that marked the spot, "leads from the waiting room to the workshop. Now come over here," and Ken took Bob and Jack to the other side of the milking parlour. "The room on the right is the first-coat paint shop. It's small, only twelve by eight, but I think that's all we need. Next to it is another eight by twelve room. The second and third coats can be painted here. What do you think so far?"

"Let me see. The new wood will be stored in the racks next to the waiting room."

"Yes. They would be delivered by a new delivery door, a smaller door, that will be where Joe's big doors were."

"Okay but after the wood has been cut it would have to be sanded right?"

"Ah yes. I've forgotten about sanding. We'll need a booth for that. Now where can that go?"

"Why not here, the other side of the back wall? Just past the back door. A twelve by six foot room would fit there and the dust extractor duct could go through the wall. Would it be okay to cut a hole in the wall Joe?"

"Sure, as long as it could be covered if you later leave the place."

"Right. Then that's what we'll do. Well, do you think it'd work Bob?"

"I'm pretty sure it would. If it doesn't then we can change it later can't we Jack?"

"Aye. Do t'walls fer sandin' room go t'ceilin'?"

"Yes," said Ken.

"Where will you assemble the toys?" asked Bob.

"On a second long bench. See those chalk lines? We'll have two benches, the first, nearest the side door, for cutting and shaping and the second for assembling, gluing and boxing."

"Okay. The whole process will be like an assembly line then."

"That's right. Once the wood has been cut it'll be sanded, then painted then assembled on the second bench."

"Where will you store the full boxes Ken?"

"Ah. I thought that you could store them in your workshop Bob. You'll be the one delivering them so that would be the logical place to use. Don't you think so?"

"I guess so. Oh Peter said I should buy a van, not a car, to deliver. It holds more and costs less to run. We could use that to move the boxes to my shed."

"Sounds good. Any other suggestions or ideas Bob?"

"There was a toilet here wasn't there Joe? What's it like?" asked Bob.

"Come and see."

They walked out the back door. The toilet was on the right and Joe opened the door.

"It's messy 'cos we didn't clean it. I'll get rid of the rusty pails and give the place a sweep."

"I think the walls should be painted Ken, otherwise it looks fine. Does the toilet flush?"

"I'll have to turn the water on first. The valve's by the house," Joe replied. "I don't mind paying for your water, I don't think you'll use much."

"Thanks Joe," said Ken. "How long do you think it'll take to make the rooms Jack?"

"Wi' John, four, five days. Once t'wood's here. Give me t'sketch," and he pointed to the sketch in Ken's hand, "an' I'll order t'wood an stuff. Do you want windows in t'office?"

After some discussion they agree that they should have a windows between the office and the waiting room and small ones near the doors of the painting and sanding booths.

"I want to paint all the walls white," said Ken. "It'll make the place brighter."

"Right," said Jack. 'You'll need an electrician t'wire walls before we gyprock 'em."

"I'll get one, and someone to install a telephone," said Ken and added them to his list.

"Can we park our cars and the van alongside the long wall Joe?" asked Bob.

"Sure as long as you leave room for the tractor and wagon to pass. There should be enough room."

"Good. Thanks."

"Jack can you order the wood and other materials? Asked Ken."

"Aye, termorrow. If it comes Tuesday might finish nex' week."

"Wow. I'd forgotten how big the parlour was," said Jane who had just joined them. "What are all these lines for?"

"Let me show you," and Joe walked her around the building and explained what each area was as Jack re-measured each line and annotated the sketch. Bob walked slowly from room to room thinking about what would be done there.

"The lines for the benches are a bit vague Ken."

"I know. There'll be two twenty-four foot benches but I'm thinking I might have to make one longer. We can decide about the length later."

"Who'll make them?"

"I want to do that so I'm sure my jigs fit. Jack might have to help if I am squeezed for time."

"You will make the train and village sets as soon as you can?"

"Yes. In your workshop Bob. I'll do that this week. We could get all of it done this week if you can help."

"Glad to. I want to keep busy, it'll stop me from worrying about everything else that's happening!"

"I won't be in early tomorrow Bob. I have to make several phone calls and visit the Post Office. I'll come as soon as I can. Well if everything's okay I'm off now."

Ken drove away and Jane returned to the house while Joe talked to Jack.

"How are you going to cover the gap where the big doors used to hang?"

"Iv' a big tarp. Do it tremor."

"Do you want any help?" asked Bob.

"Nay, John and I'll manage."

As Bob walked home he noted that another day had sped by. He felt tired as he walked up the road, thinking he still had to put his washing away and make supper. He'd leave the cleaning to next weekend but he must call the kids; he had a lot to tell them.

Monday morning Ken went to the Post Office and told the woman behind the counter that he wanted an address for a company he and Bob Barns had started.

"It's to be in Joe Smith's old milking parlour. You'll know Joe's address, it's 100 Big End Road."

"Of course I know it and him. Went to school with Joe. How's he doing?"

"He's fine, busy, like always. So's Jane, she's working with the committee on the new Community Centre and organising the Spring Show."

"Say 'Hello' to them from me when you see them next. So you'll be using his milking parlour. All Small End will be reviewed next year and everyone's address might change but, until then, call it "110 Big End Road."

"Okay. I'll do that. Thanks."

He returned home, went to his office, called the telephone company and explained what he wanted.

"At the moment there's a phone in the building that's connected to the house. I want it to be connected directly to the system not to the house. How soon can you do that?"

"The house is in Small End?"

"Yes that's right."

"Well we can't do it before Thursday. Sorry."

"That'll be alright. Thanks. What will be our new number?"

"You'll have to ask the installer. He'll tell you when it's connected. He'll be there Thursday afternoon and there has to be someone to let him in the building when he comes. Will that be okay?"

Ken told her that he'd make sure someone would be there and made a note to tell Jack about this.

Then he called Arthur's office and spoke to Jennifer. He told her their new address and said he'd be there during working hours most of the time and would let her know the phone number later that week.

Ken called their trade mark agent next and told him the new address.

"Then you'll have to stop using your old envelopes and stationary and buy new ones with the new address. I'll change the address on the forms," he said, and Ken made a note to tell Bob about that.

The last thing he did was call Pat, an electrician who had worked for him when he set up his garage. Pat was not there but his wife answered. Ken told her that he would like Pat to wire the new workshop this week, if he could. She said she'd ask him to call back but didn't expect him to be home until the evening.

He took a break then and told Mary what he'd been doing over a cup of coffee.

"How do you feel about everything?" she asked.

"Marvellous. It's like a promotion, like opening a new branch in the factory. No, it's better than that. There's an added dimension. I can design and build jigs and new equipment and try them out without other people wanting something different. I like that very much."

"Have you finished for today?"

"No, I'm off to Bob's shop. We've lots to do this week. Can you make me a sandwich for lunch?"

Monday morning Jack was busy also. He phoned the lumber yard and ordered the four-by-twos, gyprock, metal siding, nails and screws, doors and windows, hinges and paint. The man he spoke to promised to deliver them first thing Tuesday morning and he spent the rest of the morning helping Rose in the shop. In the afternoon he walked to Joe's place to review, once more, how the work should be organised. When he arrived Joe had just cleaned the toilet and was about to turn on the water.

"Hello Jack. Glad you're here. Can you flush the toilet while I stand by the tap. If it doesn't run there'll probably be a leak in the line. Let me know what happens."

After a gurgle or two the toilet flushed and Jack opened the tap on the sink to see if that was connected. It was but the water was brown just as it was in the toilet so he let it run until it cleared. There was only one tap. Joe's Dad had never seen the need to have hot water because the water was mostly used to cool the cans of milk that were put in a big metal tub in the yard. That tub had long-since rusted and been thrown away.

Bob, Monday morning, unable to sleep any longer, was in his workshop at six o'clock making the bases and bodies for fifty train sets. He worked until eight, stopped for a couple of slices of toast and a pot of tea and, when Ken arrived at eleven, had everything, including the dowels for the wheels and the chimneys ready for sanding. This was the first time he had made that many in one go and in such a short time. He and Ken sat in the garden, sanding, and Ken told him what he had done that morning.

"The new shop's address is 110 Big End Road and I've told Arthur and Simon. Simon says we must use that address on our letters and business cards from now on. We will have the shop's telephone connected Thursday afternoon and we'll know the number then. Once we know that we can order the new stationary and cards. I've spoken to the electrician's wife. She says he'll call me tonight and I'll ask him if he can install the wiring, sockets, lamps and switches this week. His name's Pat."

"Tremendous. I hope he can. Have you heard from Jack?"

"No. He'd call one of us if there was a problem."

They stopped for lunch at three o'clock, after the sanding had been finished and agreed to continue until the first paint coat had been done. Ken phoned Mary to tell her he'd be late that night and he and Bob were back, painting, at three fifteen. They had a quick tea-break at five and finished at six.

Bob was exhausted. "I'm going to have a pot pie and go to bed."

"Mary will have saved something for me but I'm not ready for bed yet!"

"I hope the electrician calls."

"Me too. Jack can't install the gyprock until the wires are in place. We'll do the rest of the painting then glue and box. We'll be able to start on the villages in the afternoon. Okay Bob?"

"Yes. You know I never thought two people could accomplish this much in one day!"

"One day for you but only two-thirds of a day for me. But it's been a long one. Of course, making fifty at once speeds things up."

"And the jigs," said Bob. "They made all the difference."

Bob was tidying the kitchen when Ken arrived on Tuesday morning.

"Hi Ken."

"Hi Bob. Ready for another long day?"

"No. I don't want a long day! I want a short one and a good night's sleep. It's my driving test tomorrow and I'm supposed to be relaxed when I take it."

"I'd forgotten all about it. Okay. Let's stop at five regardless of how much we've done."

They went to the workshop and painted, finishing before their coffee break.

"Pat called and said he would fit our work in," said Ken, as Bob poured the coffee. He'll come first thing on Thursday and should have everything in place by five if Jack or John can help by drilling the holes for the wires and pulling them through."

"But the telephone man will be there that afternoon won't he?"

"Yes but I don't think it matters. The phone's in the office and I'll ask him to put an extension on the back wall of the workshop as well but that shouldn't be a problem. His wires can run across the roof joists and just drop into position."

Just then the mail flap banged and something dropped on the floor.

"I think that's the mail Ken. Can you fetch it while I look for some more biscuits?" Ken shouted from the front door, "One letter, that's all. Addressed to both of us at Small End Wooden Toys. It looks as if it's from Arthur. Here you are." He handed the letter to Bob who opened it.

"Yes it is. His bill. He's charged us £35."

"That's very good."

"Yes. I'll put it with the others. They're all in this box if you want to see them."

The coffee break was another short one and they returned to the shop to begin gluing.

"When I'm in Big End I'll go to the art shop Bob. I want a thinner acrylic paint if they have one. If they don't have it I'll try the Bournemouth or Southampton shops. I want it to try dip-painting the first coat. That'll be much quicker than using a brush."

"I thought you were going to use a spray gun."

"I was. But we can't afford the proper kind of spray booth yet. Dipping will be the best for us right now."

"How would you hold the pieces when dipping so all of it gets painted?"

"Using needle-holders, narrow boards with needles pointing out of them. You push the pieces onto the needles. A couple of eye-hooks on the other side will hang the holder on a rack while the paint dries. The racks will be on a trolley and that can be pushed from the first booth to the next."

"Have you ever done that before?"

"Years ago, when we were experimenting in the factory."

They stopped for lunch at twelve then returned and screwed on the wheels, fitted the hooks and eyes, then wrapped and boxed the trains. It was all done by three thirty.

"Well that's excellent. We'll not start on the villages. Let's go and see what Jack's done Bob."

"Good idea. Yes let's."

They tidied the shop and Bob locked the door. "I'll get you the spare key to the shed Ken. You've already got the one for the shop."

They drove in Ken's car to the milking parlour, entering the farm yard and parking along the side of their new workshop. The opening in the wall where the big doors used to hang was now covered with a grey metal siding. There was a hole on its right side where a delivery door would be fitted. They walked into the building through that gap and looked around. The work area was now twelve foot shorter. Wall studs covered the end on their right except for the twelve-foot space that was on the right of the waiting room. Bob pointed to it. "That's a perfect place for the wood to be stored."

"Yes it is. Jack'll make some racks and shelves for it when the rest of the work has been done."

John was holding a spirit level against one of the office-wall studs and Jack was nailing its top to a ceiling joist as they entered; Ken and Bob stood and watched until the wall was fastened.

"You've done a lot today. I particularly like the outside wall Jack. The join between the old siding and the new is hardly visible."

"Aye."

"What does Joe think about it?"

"Ain't seen 'im, nor Jane all day. Maybe on 'oliday."

"I wouldn't think so, not at this time of the year, and they'd have told us if they were."

Ken began walking to the paint booth and said to Jack. "If we dip-paint, Jack, we might have to make the room larger. Just a minute."

Jack and Bob left Ken to his thoughts and went to the sanding booth. "If he's goin' t'change size of t'room as well I mus' know now," said Jack.

"It looks fine to me. Here he is; ask him."

"Jack, the painting booths are okay," said Ken. "We'll just use a narrow bench."

"Wot abat t'sanding booth? Is it okay?"

"Yes. I'm not sure where the exit hole for the exhaust fan should be, we'll have to wait until we get the extractor. We'd need a bench in there too. Are you free next week Jack?"

"Aye, both of us."

"Okay, work when you can. Do you have everything you need?"

"Aye."

"Okay. We'll leave it to you. I'll be in Bob's workshop if you need me during the day. I'll drive you home if you like Bob."

"No, thanks. I'll walk. Need some fresh air. I expect to be back around eleven. You'll start the villages tomorrow?"

"Yes. Good luck Bob."

"Thanks Ken."

As Bob walked home he wondered where Joe and Jane were and hoped that nothing was wrong. They hadn't said anything about taking a holiday, even a short one. As he entered the door he decided to cook salmon for supper, fish was supposed to be good for the brain. It might be just what he needed to help his memory when the examiner questioned him.

Bob was standing by the front window watching the road at 7:20 Wednesday morning, hoping that Peter wouldn't be late. He knew there were tail-backs along the roads between Southampton and Bournemouth each morning and hoped he wouldn't be trapped in one.

Peter arrived at 7:25 and climbed out of the driver's seat.

"Hello Bob. Yes, I know. Don't worry about being late. We've plenty of time."

"How did you know I'd be worried?"

"Everyone is. Now, there are five places where incoming traffic will slow us down and we might have to stop. But none of the stops last for more than three or four minutes so don't worry when that happens. I've made this trip many times and I've never been late for a test."

"What if there's an accident?"

"Then the office will know about it and they'll give you the first cancellation. Okay. Let's go."

On the drive to Bournemouth there were a few slow-downs and they did stop for several minutes three times but they arrived at the centre's parking lot thirty minutes ahead of time.

"Now we'll go in and register. There'll be a short written test then the driving test. You'll find me in the waiting room when you come back. Good luck Bob."

There was one scary moment when Bob was driving. It came shortly after he had started. He was following the examiner's instructions, driving along a street that ran past a school and had slowed to the lower speed limit and was passing several cars when a young boy dashed out immediately in front of him. Bob's reaction was instantaneous—he slammed on the brakes and the examiner's head shot forward. The boy continued, without looking in either direction and ran across the street to the school and entered the door.

"I'm sorry about that. Are you all right?" exclaimed Bob.

"Yes. You did exactly what I would have done. You don't need to apologise. Did you see the boy before he ran out?"

"Yes I did. When he was on the pavement. I thought he would wait until we passed but I was worried that he might run out and I was watching for him."

"You did very well. Are you alright to continue?"

"Yes."

"Then drive to the next intersection then turn right."

The rest of the exam was a bit of an anti-climax. Bob drove as though he had been driving all his life, making his three-point turn easily and reversing perfectly.

After forty-five minutes he was asked to drive back to the parking lot and park. The examiner added a few remarks to the record sheet then turned to Bob and said, "You handled yourself excellently. If all my beginners drove like you my days would be much easier. You've passed the test."

"Oh, thank you. Thank you very much!"

"Come with me to the counter and we'll complete the details with the clerk."

They did that then Bob shook hands with the examiner and said goodbye. He went to the waiting room. Peter was reading a magazine and looked up as Bob entered. Then he looked at the clock on the wall.

"Oh. Did something go wrong? You're back early."

"No. Everything went perfectly. I've passed!" and Bob waved the form in the air. "Let's find a coffee shop and I'll tell you all about it."

Driving back to Small End Bob felt wonderful. He had his driver's licence. He could drive anywhere he wanted. He could have a driving holiday. What opportunities opened up for him now. He told Peter how he felt.

"Yes. It must be different for you. Most of my learners are in their teens. They expect to be able to drive because most of their older friends already drive. So it is not an unexpected privilege for them. Whereas for you it opens many new opportunities. You appreciate it more. So enjoy it."

"I will Peter." Then Bob remembered about buying a van and celebrating with Peter. "I'll talk to your Dad later this afternoon about buying a van. And you remember you promised to let me buy you a drink?'

"I do. But I can't do that now. I have two more lessons to give this afternoon. How about at seven tonight?"

"That'll be fine. Will you have dinner in the Crown?"

"No. I often miss meals with the children and I prefer to eat at home whenever I can. That's why I suggested seven o'clock."

"All right. I'll see you in the Crown at seven. Bring my bill and I'll pay you then."

He waved goodbye then hurried up the hill, into his garden and burst into the workshop. "I've passed the test Ken. Now there's nothing to stop me visiting shops and delivering sets all over the place. We're on our way!"

"That's great news Bob. Congratulations. Was the exam hard?"

"Only one part and it wasn't really part of the exam. I'll tell you about it."

Ken was running the blocks through the roof-shaping jig for the villages and Bob handed him the wood as they talked. They worked together until all the long-blocks for the houses and shops had been shaped then stopped for lunch.

"I must have a helper Bob. We did a lot the first two days this week and I want to maintain that rate. I can only do that if we hire someone."

"What would we have to pay him?"

"A teenager would work for £125 a week."

"About £500 a month. I guess we should be able to afford that once money from sales comes in. I'll make a notice for Rose to put in her window. It would be best if we had someone from around here. If there's no one we'll have to advertise in the Big End paper."

"All right. Let me decide who we hire Bob. I'll spend more time with him than you and we'll have to get on together."

"Of course. Talking about money; how much will we have to pay Jack and John?"

"Don't know yet. I guess it'll be between six and seven hundred pounds. Jack told me the material, the wood, gyprock, doors and things cost just over £565."

"Then we're going to be short this month Ken. We've about £3,750 in the bank and we won't have any income until the end of April. Actually not until about a week or two after the end of the month. It takes that long for them to do the paperwork, calculate what they owe us and for the cheque to arrive. Also we have to buy a van. That'll be one or two thousand pounds. And pay the hired man and reimburse you. We won't have enough money."

"We don't have to buy a van Bob. We can rent one for a few months until we see how we are doing. But we'll have to buy a mop sander and I know where I can get one. I've been told that it sands much quicker and gives a much better result than using a belt sander and finishing by hand."

"How much will it cost?"

"I'll want two, eventually, so that two people can do the sanding but we'll start with one. One motor and sanding head and some sanding mops will cost about £50 I guess."

"And there's the exhaust fan and sawdust extractors to pay for as well."

"Yes. It'll be tight for this month and maybe the next but, after that, we should be in clover."

"Oh, I hope so," sighed Bob.

After lunch they shaped the long blocks to make the churches, Community Centres and Post Offices and then cut all of them into the individual units. They stopped for tea at four when Bob suggested they quit for the day.

"Let's go and see Tim about a van and check what Jack and John have done."

"Okay. I'd like to start at eight tomorrow Bob. I want to finish the villages this week."

"If you want to do that you'll have to work Thursday and Friday."

"Yes I know. Mary's happy about that. But she wants me to take time off to see Larry soon. She misses him."

"Larry, your grandson?"

"Yes. I told you Jim and Julie live in Nottingham so we don't see them often enough for Mary."

They finished their tea and put the mugs in the sink, washed their hands and locked the buildings. Ken drove to the garage but Bob decided to walk, even a short walk was better than none. Ken and Tim were in the back yard when he arrived.

"Hello Tim," Bob called.

"Hello Bob. Ken's been telling me that you now want to rent a van, not buy one. I have this one but it's not good enough for you. A builder had it and it's rusty and banged up. It'll need a paint job before any respectable business uses it."

"You don't have anything better?"

"No sorry. If you need one now you should try one of the garages in Big End. Come to the office and I'll call the biggest and see if they've got one."

"Hello Charles. It's Tim Sawyer in Small End. How are you?"

"I'm fine Tim. Hope you are too. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"There might be. A couple of friends want to rent a van for their business."

"What kind of business Tim? I have three at the moment but I'm not renting the good ones to just anyone, especially not to a painter. The last time I did that the floor was covered with paint and it was very hard to get off. What do they want to carry?"

"Boxes of wooden toys. Small boxes, they won't mark the floor. And they're careful people. You'll like them. So you do have some then."

"Yes. When do they want to see them?"

"I'll ask. When would you like to see the vans?

"Now?" said Ken, looking at Bob who nodded his head.

"They'll be over in half-an-hour."

"Thanks Tim," said Bob. "That was quick. What's the garage name and where is it?"

"It's called The End Garage and it's two streets north of Main Street. It's easy to get to."

"I know it," said Ken. "Let's go." They stood up and Bob shook Tim's hands before leaving. "Thanks for looking after us."

Charles welcomed them as they walked into the office. "Hello. Welcome to The End Garage. Tim says you want to rent a van. I'll show you what we have."

He took them to the yard at the back of the garage and pointed to the rear.

"At the moment we only have these, one small and two big. What size are you interested in?"

"The small one looks big enough. What do you think Ken?"

"I think that'll be fine. At least for a couple of months. After that we might need one of the bigger ones. How many sets do you think it would hold Bob?"

"Seven to eight hundred probably. How much does it cost Charles?"

"How long do you want it for? It's cheaper the longer you keep it."

"How much for one month and for two months?"

"After one month the rent is always the same unless you rent for a year. It costs £212.50 a month. That includes the insurance. The petrol tank will be full when you get it and you have to return it full otherwise you'll have to pay for the petrol we add."

"What if something goes wrong with it? Or if it needs oil?"

"It's not likely to need oil or go wrong but if that happens you call me and we'll find a replacement for you."

"Okay," said Bob. "We'll take it. Can we take it now?"

"Of course, once the paperwork's done."

They returned to Charles' office. Ken used his credit card to pay for a two-month rental. Charles was very surprised when he saw Bob's driving licence.

"Don't tell me this is the first vehicle you've driven."

"Yes it is, apart from Peter's car, the one I took my lessons in."

"My God! Well, it's done now. Don't you dare have an accident or everyone will think me a fool. To rent a nearly-new van to a beginner!"

"You needn't worry Charles. The examiner told me I was an excellent driver. And Peter, Tim's son, you know him? He thinks the same."

"Let's hope they're both right Bob. But I'm not too worried, the insurance will look after me. Just don't get into an accident, there's not much protection in the van except for the seat belts."

"I'll be careful."

Fifteen minutes later Bob was sitting in the drivers seat looking at the switches and levers. The car had standard shift and the light switches and heater controls were in the same position as they were in Peter's car. Only the hand brake was different. Two minutes later he was following Ken back to the main road and then on the road to Small End.

They drove to Joe's farm and parked side-by-side next to the side door. Someone was hammering as they entered. Jack and John were nailing the sanding-booth's window frame to the uprights.

The place seemed smaller once again, reduced in size by the paint shops which extended twelve-feet from the back wall. However the open area, where the work benches would be, was still about four times bigger than Bob's workshop. They walked around the shop looking at everything. The doors of the office, waiting room, paint shops and sanding booths had been fitted and some of the windows. John had gyprocked the ceiling of the office and waiting room but the joints had not been taped.

"Wot d'you think?" asked Jack.

"It looks great Jack. It's becoming just like I imagined," said Ken.

Joe and Jane walked in at that moment.

"We saw you drive in. So you have passed your driving test Bob. Congratulations!" said Joe.

"Hi Joe, Jane. Yes, I did. Thanks. What happened to you? We expected to see you yesterday. Was anything wrong?"

"Oh no. Howard phoned on Monday evening and wanted us to celebrate their engagement. His girl friend, Shirley. works for the same company. She's also a chartered accountant and the contract they were working on finished last week. They were going to come here but, instead, asked us to go to see them so that they could show us the apartment they've just rented."

"What's Shirley like Jane?" asked Bob.

"I like her. She's warm and speaks well. Although you'd expect that, I suppose, since it's probably one of the criteria used when hiring people for the firm."

"She is a nice girl," said Joe, "and I'm sure they'll be very happy. I also liked the apartment. It's downtown. They can walk to work or to the shops and there are many restaurants and pubs nearby. It's just the kind of place I'd like to have lived in when I was in my twenties but I had to run the farm."

"What do you think about your milking parlour now Joe?" asked Ken.

"You've certainly changed it. I would never have recognised it if I just saw a picture of the inside."

Bob showed Joe and Jane around, explaining what the rooms were for. Ken talked to Jack about the position of the electrical sockets and they marked the locations with a felt-tip.

As they were leaving Jack told Bob that Rose has none of his toys left. "She'd like two of each."

"I'll bring them tomorrow Jack."

Bob waited until Ken had left then he drove the van to the station's parking lot and parked it next to his house. He didn't like leaving it there because teenagers sometimes used the lot after the pubs had closed and he didn't want to risk anyone damaging it but he didn't have anywhere else to put it except on the road. 'I'll have to make a place for it in the front garden. Oh, look at the time. I'd better hurry or I'll be late.' He washed, changed his clothes and hurried down to the Crown. It was 6:45 and he was ready to eat and decided to order. Peter wouldn't mind because he would have had his supper. He glanced at the menu and asked Len for a pint and the shepherd's pie. His corner was taken so he used the small table on the other side of the fire. Five minutes later Mildred brought him his supper.

"You'll be glad when Nancy returns I bet," Bob joked.

"I certainly will although it's not been too bad so far. It's the weekends, that's when we need help."

"You can't find a temporary helper?"

"We've tried but no one wants to work the times we most need them. We might find someone when there are more people in the village."

Bob dug into his pie and had eaten half of it when Peter walked in.

"I'm here Peter. Get yourself a drink and anything else you'd like. I have told Len to put it on my bill." Peter collected a pint and a bag of salted nuts and joined Bob.

"First, a drink to celebrate. Thank you for your excellent instruction, Peter."

"It was a pleasure. Thanks for being an excellent learner Bob." They laughed, took a drink and Bob returned to his dinner.

"How're the children?"

"Fine. They both love school, that's the main thing. We talked about where we would go for a holiday this year. I'd like to take them to France, they're old enough to enjoy it. We could go on the Eurostar through the chunnel. I'd like to do that. I don't know if we'd take the car or just book a hotel and stay in Paris."

"I'd like to do that someday. Is it expensive to take a car?"

"Yes, if you are only going for a day or two. We're thinking of going for two weeks so that wouldn't be so bad. With a car we would see more of the country and hotels are cheaper once you're out of the city."

"Ah that reminds me, I owe you some money."

"Here's the invoice." Bob looked at the total and wrote a cheque.

"Is the business paying for your lessons?"

"No. I decided to learn to drive last Christmas, though it'll make deliveries much easier now I can drive."

They chatted a little more then Peter said he should go.

"Let me know what holiday you choose," called Bob, as Peter walked to the door. Bob decided not to have another drink and carried his plate and mug back to the bar. He paid the bill and told Len he'd passed his driver's test that morning.

"That's good news Bob. Now you'll want to buy a car."

"No I won't Len. Ken and I have already hired a van for the business. I'll be driving that. You might see me in it as I drive past, it's white."

"Is it a Ford or a Vauxhall?"

"I don't know. I never thought to look!"

Bob waved goodbye and walked back to his home. 'I guess I'm supposed to know something about cars now!' He felt happy, not tired at all, so he had a glass of port and watched television for a while then went to bed, smiling, at nine thirty

After breakfast Bob went to the shed and collected the sets Rose wanted and returned to his kitchen to write the note for her notice board. 'Wanted. Someone to work in the Small End Wooden Toys workshop. Apply 110 Big End Road.' He thought that that would be enough. If they wanted more information they could ask Rose. He was putting the toys in a bag when Ken arrived.

"Hi Bob. I'm on my way to the shop. Are you ready to start work?"

"After I've taken this to Rose. What do you think?. Is it okay?"

"It's short but says exactly what's needed. Yes that's fine. So what are you going to do today?"

"I'm going to Southampton to call on their gift shops. Do you want me to do anything before I leave?"

"No. It's retailers we want most now."

Bob lifted the bag, said he wouldn't be long, then walked to Tyne's. He resisted the temptation to use the van but looked forward to driving it later. It was nice to stretch his legs on a sunny day.

Rose read the notice then pinned it on the notice board.

"You know we charge fifty pence a week for displaying these," she said, "but it's free for you Bob. Jack's been telling me about what's going on in Joe's milking parlour."

"He's doing a very good job Rose."

"He tells me that Ken will make the toys and that you'll look for shops to sell them. That's a big change. Will you like that?"

"I think so. You see, I don't really like making toys the way Ken makes them. It's too fast for me but it is exactly what we need right now. And I do like the idea of driving around the countryside. I'll go to Southampton today and visit the shops there."

"I know a better way to contact shop owners and managers than visiting each one Bob. Why don't you take a booth at our conference? You can show your sets and take names of people who are interested in selling them. Lots of suppliers do that."

"Oh? What conference and when is it?"

"It's the area's Gifts and Toys' conference and it's on April 24th and 25th, less than two weeks from now. Here," she fished in a drawer under the counter, "you can have this reminder. It's in the Nextoria Hotel, just outside Bournemouth. Phone the conference manager, there's his number, and ask if there are any booth-spaces left. Do it today. It's certainly the best way to meet everyone. I'll be going. And certainly Leo will go too. I don't know about Jenny."

"Well thanks Rose. I'll phone them as soon as I get home."

"Ask Jenny and Leo to write recommendations for you. I'll write one tonight. Put them on your table and we'll tell people how well your toys sell if any of them ask us. Everyone knows Leo because he used to be our treasurer."

"Thanks Rose. Oh these are for you. Jack said you wanted more sets. I've two of each here."

Bob waited until Rose gave him a receipt then said goodbye and walked quickly home. He popped into the workshop and told Ken about the conference. "I'll phone them right now and ask for a booth. I'll tell you what they say afterwards."

Bob tried the number only to find that it was engaged. He'd ring every five minutes until he got through. He pulled out his pad and began making a note about what he should display if he had a booth. One of each set of course. And the recommendation letters. 'I must remember to ask Jenny and Leo for one.' What else? Lots of business cards, and a container where interested people could leave their cards if they wanted him to call. He'd better make a small notice and to ask them to do that. What else should he have? Then the telephone rang. Bob put down his pen and picked up the phone.

"Hello."

"Hello. It that you Bob?"

"Yes. Hello Leo. How are you? Can I do anything for you?"

"Well I need more sets and I want to talk to you about them. Can you come over today?"

"Yes I can. This afternoon, is that all right?"

"Yes. Can you bring ten of each kind?"

"Ten? Um, Yes."

"Good. Then I'll see you later. Bye."

"'Bye," said Bob. 'That's strange,' he thought. 'He didn't sound very friendly. Has one of the sets got a problem? Or have some been returned? I wonder what's happened.'

He tried the conference manager's number again. This time it was answered. He told the man who he was and what they made and asked if there was a display booth they could use at the conference.

"Yes. We have room for three or four more. There's space for a twenty-foot booth. How much room do you need? The smallest space we sell is six feet. That costs £75."

Bob was shocked by the price. But finding just one or two retailers at the conference would save him a lot of searching. "Six feet is exactly the space we need," he replied.

"Fine. Give me your company's name, address and phone number. You have my address?"

"Yes."

"Good, then I need a cheque for £75 before April 17th. If we don't get it by then we may let the space to someone else. You know where the Nextoria Hotel is?"

"Yes." He gave the man the details he wanted, hung up and walked to the shop. He told Ken what had happened. "They charge £75 for the space! That's a lot of money."

"They're never cheap. I've been to lots of conferences, as a supplier in my early years and as a manager later and I know what renting a space costs. We can afford it and it's well worth while. We have to become known in the business and this is one of the best ways to do it.'

"Well, if you say so Ken. Leo just phoned me. He wants more sets. Ten of each. The tourist trade is already under way I guess. How are the villages coming?"

"They'll be finished tomorrow and I'll paint the first coat. Would you do the rest?"

"Sure. Next weekend, if no one wants any before then. You know, I'm a bit worried about Leo's call. He seemed annoyed about something. He didn't say what but his voice seemed less friendly. I'll try and find out why when I see him. Are you having lunch here today?"

"Yes. I'll always do that in future."

"Alright. I'll put the kettle on for coffee now and give you a hand afterwards."

He helped Ken sand the village pieces after coffee stopping for lunch at two o'clock. They ate it in the garden, moving from their stools to two old lawn chairs that Bob kept in the garden lean-too. They were much more comfortable. As they ate they discussed the display booth.

"I can make it," said Ken. "I've got some plywood that'll make a top. The legs I'll fit so they can be removed or folded. I'll do it this weekend unless Mary has something planned."

"Good. I'll make a sign to say who we are. I've listed what we should put on the table. I'll fetch it." Bob got up and came back with the list and some biscuits. "Help yourself. Here's the list. Can you think of anything else?"

"A large photo of our new workshop would be nice. That's if it's finished by then."

"That's a good idea, but it'll show that we are just a small company. Wouldn't that be a bad thing?"

"I don't think so. Retailers are often more friendly if they think they are helping someone grow."

"All right. Then let's hope the shop's ready in time," said Bob. "You know, if they like to help small companies we should have a photo of this place too."

"Yes, good idea, we should do that too."

Bob added 'photos' to the list and said, "It's too late to go to Southampton now. I'll just take Leo his sets and find out what's bothering him."

They put the chairs back in the lean-to and Ken returned to sanding. Bob collected the sets for Leo and since the sun was still shining and the sky a bright blue decided to drive to Twinner along the coast road. Along the way he stopped by the entrance to Smuggler's Cove and wondered how Claire was doing and how much her brief presence in his life had changed him. He smiled as he drove off; he was enjoying the change.

Leo was just completing a sale to a customer when he arrived. Bob put the bag with the toys on the counter and waited until he had finished. Leo then said, "Hello Bob. Have you got ten of each?"

"Yes Leo."

"Then I'll give you a receipt." He did that then said, "Come to the back room for a minute. I've something to discuss with you."

His assistant put the sets away as Leo closed the door.

"Take a seat Bob. I want to talk to you about the commission rate. It's something that I don't think you know about. The owners and managers of shops like ours like to help artists, people like you, for instance, sell their creations. We sell their things, usually, for a thirty or twenty-five percent commission. That's what I did for you as did Rose and Jenny. But when manufacturers bring their stuff to us we negotiate a rate between forty and fifty percent. Now you've become a company I must tell you that any retailers you approach will want that rate. I do too, and I think Jenny and Rose will, although they might not tell you. You see, it's something we quite often talk about at our meetings, what manufacturers and distributors are costing us."

"Oh dear. I didn't know that. Thanks for telling me Leo. What rate should I be giving you please?"

"Well I'd be satisfied with forty percent since you're still a very small company. I think most other retailers would. What do you think?"

"I want to do what's right Leo. I'd gladly give you forty percent. We became a company at the beginning of this month and I'll pay you and Jenny and Rose forty percent from that time. I'm happy you told me about this." He stood up and they shook hands.

"Thank you Bob."

As they were about to leave the room Bob said, "Are you going to the Gifts and Toys' conference Leo?"

"Yes indeed. I never miss it. Why? Are you going?"

"Rose told me about it and yes, I've booked space for a booth. She said that it's the best way to meet retailers. She's going to write something about selling my toys for several years and she suggested I ask you if you would do the same."

"Yes, gladly, Bob. Sit down and I'll write something now."

They sat and Leo pulled out a piece of paper and wrote a note saying how easily and quickly Bob's toys sold then signed it. "Here. This is all you'll need. Most people know me and will know I tell the truth. I think that several will want you to supply them."

"Thank you very much Leo. And for straightening me out about the commission rates. "

"I thought it best to tell you Bob. If you asked other people to sell at the old rate they'd be annoyed and might simply refuse. Well. I'll see you at the conference then. Or before, perhaps. More and more people are buying wooden items these days."

"That's good news for both of us, isn't it. 'Bye Leo, and thanks again.

Bob was very glad Leo had told him about the proper rate to charge. He'd have to see Rose and Jenny and tell them what commission rate they'd give now. But what would Ken think? He'd probably calculated what their income would be and used it when planning their future. Receiving only sixty percent instead of seventy or seventy-five made a big difference, especially if they sold a hundred or more sets each month.

Bob drove the direct way back to Small End, parked the van in the station's parking lot then walked through the back garden to the shop. He told Ken what Leo had told him and what he had agreed to do.

"I'm sorry Ken, I had to make the decision without first discussing it with you. I felt I had to do that. I thought it was important to decide right then."

"You did the right thing Bob. You did have to decide then. I had thought earlier that we should be giving our retailers a higher rate. At the factory we only received about thirty percent because our distributor got their cut as well. Leo could have said he should receive fifty percent. I'm glad he agreed to forty and said the other owners would probably sell for that. Don't worry. We'll do all right as long as you find plenty of sellers. We'll still make ten or more thousand pounds a year."

"I won't think about making that much until it happens Ken. You realise that when we gave them twenty five percent we'd get over five thousand pounds a hundred but now we'll get under four?"

"I guessed it might be about that."

"And we'll be alright with just that?"

"Of course we will."

"Okay. So what are you doing now?"

"Just begun painting. I'll keep doing that until I've finished the first coat. I've also ordered two dust extractors, one for the jigs and one for the sanding booth and an exhaust fan for the paint shop. They'll be delivered in about two weeks. I got second-hand ones and they cost £337.50. and I ordered a mop sander, which, with some extra mops of different grits, cost £55."

"I hope we can cover all this. I've changed my mind about going to Southampton. It seems best to wait until I see all the retailers at the conference. Instead I'll tell Rose the new rate then drive to Big End, tell Jenny and see if she needs any more sets. Is there anything you need from the town Ken?"

"Yes. A thousand, one inch, or shorter, needles for the dipping holders and some long, shallow, trays, about three inches wide and four foot long. Ask the paint shop man if they sell an acrylic paint suitable for dipping. If they do, ask how much it costs. And go to the lumber yard, order enough wood for two hundred of each set and ask them to deliver it to our new address, say, next Thursday. The shop should be mostly finished by then."

"Okay," and he made a quick note of everything. "When are you going to stop? I'd like to see how much Jack and John have done."

"Let's see. It's after five. Lets go now. You can see Rose afterwards and I'll come back to finish the painting."

"Okay."

So they tidied up, locked the doors and walked to Joe's farm. There was an electrician's van in the parking space and a man was pushing wires into a box near the door as they walked in.

"Hello Pat. Do you know Bob Barns? How are you doing?"

"Hello Mr. Barns. It's going okay but I'll not finish today. I'll come back early tomorrow, it'll take about two more hours. I hope the fluorescents are in the right place. Let me know if they're not and I'll move them."

"They look about right but I won't know for sure until the benches are in. Has the telephone man been here?"

"Yes, he came this morning. He said you should be connected sometime this afternoon and he wrote your 'phone number on a piece of paper. It's on the desk in the office."

"When did Jack and John leave?"

"About an hour ago. They said that if you came in I was to tell you that next thing they'll do is gyprock the rest of the ceiling and the stud walls. They decided to wait until I'd finished so they won't be in until about nine tomorrow. I'll be done by then."

"Okay. Oh, did you wire the toilet? We need a light there."

"Yes. That's done."

"Good."

Ken and Bob went to the office and Ken picked up the phone to see if it worked. It did and they each copied down the new number then walked around the shop looking at the outlets, checking to see if there were enough to handle the current and future equipment. Ken asked Pat to install two more, one on each side of the room and marked where they should go.

"That'll be no trouble. I'll do it tomorrow. Okay, I'm off now," and he put his tools in his box and headed for the door. "Leave this door unlocked tonight. I'll be here about seven."

"They did that as they left and Ken returned to Bob's shop and Bob walked along to the Gift Shop.

"Hello Rose. How're you doing?"

"Fine Bob. Business is picking up."

"That's good. Rose, I've something to tell you."

"Is it good news or bad news?"

"Good news. I talked to Leo this afternoon and he told me that toy manufactures give retailers between forty and fifty percent of the selling price. He told me that because I've become a manufacturer now rather than an artist or hobbyist I should change the commission rates if I wanted to succeed. He's agreed to take forty percent and Ken and I want to ask you if you would sell for us at that rate."

"You don't have to do that Bob. You're a friend and I'm glad to sell at thirty percent."

"Thanks' Rose but we can't do that. We'd feel much better if you take forty. I'll talk to Jenny tomorrow and tell her that's what we are going to do."

"Well thank you Bob."

"Leo says some retailers might ask for fifty percent though.

"Yes. I'm sure some will but you don't have to give it to them. It's best if everyone's on the same rate. However the rate's negotiable. You might give a higher rate to a retailer if he sells more than the average for instance. We all know that can happen and wouldn't be upset if someone got more for selling two or three times more than anyone else."

"Ah I see. I'll have to remember that. Thanks. Well, I'm off to make my supper. Probably a stir fry tonight—shrimps, vegetables, a sauce and some rice."

"You'd better be careful Bob or I'll be inviting myself to a meal!"

Ken was still painting when Bob entered the workshop and asked if he could help. "Not much left Bob. I'll finish and lock up. You go in and have a rest."

And that's what he did. He sat in his chair and when he heard Ken leave he got up and began to make his supper. Keeping busy stopped him from feeling lonely. He didn't mind being alone, he just didn't like knowing there was no one to talk to in the evenings.

**Chapter 12 Holiday planning**

Bob was finishing his first mug of tea Friday morning when the postman pushed two letters and a small package through the front door. He bent to pick them up, took them to his easy chair and opened the package. It was the cheques for the company. Then he looked at the letters. One had a Portuguese stamp and he deduced it was from Maria. He opened it and read that the agency was going to run a church-visiting tour in the fall along the south coast and that she would be running it. 'Good,' he thought, 'it'll be nice to see her again.' Then he read that she would be guiding two Lake District tours, one in July and one in August and gave their dates. "And," she added, "you might be interested in the August holiday because it will be conducted in English, not Portuguese. A group of adult English-language learners asked us to arrange it. They're combining a holiday with a chance to practice their English. You could join them for they would be glad of another person to talk to. What do you think?" 'That's not a bad idea,' he thought. 'It's one place I want to see and it shouldn't be too expensive since I'm already in England. I'll write to Maria and ask for more information.'

The second letter was from his aunt, Aunt Sally. Now that was strange. It wasn't his birthday and he wondered why she would be writing to him. Normally they only exchanged Christmas cards. When his mother was alive they'd visit her every two or three years. She was also Bob's Godmother and she always hugged and kissed him a lot when he came. Her husband put up a swing and a slide in the back garden and they went on long walks together, looking for blackberries, watching the birds or picking flowers.

She wrote to tell him that she was tidying her estate and had some things his grandmother gave her and she though he might like them—a mantel clock and three paintings. Did he want to visit and collect them?

'Of course I do. I haven't seen her for five or six years. I'll drive up in the van. It'll be a nice adventure; no more tiring train and bus ride. I'd better go on a weekend. No, that's not the best time; too much traffic then. I'd have to go during the week. I'll talk to Ken about it then write to her.'

There was a knock on the kitchen door and it opened. "Hello Bob. Another nice day! Are you in the lounge?"

"Yes I am. Come and sit down Ken, I've something to discuss. Want a cup of tea?"

"No thanks, just had some." He sat down. "What's up?"

"Holidays. I've just had two letters. The first one, from Maria, says she's guiding two Lake-District tours this summer. I want to go on the one she's running in August because it's for an English-speaking group. When did you say you were taking your holiday?"

"In September. The cruise is from September 3rd to September 12th. We leave from and return to Rome, so we'll arrive a couple of days earlier. I'm thinking of taking two weeks off. Pass me the calendar. Yes. We will fly over on Sunday, August 31st, so I'll be away from then until Monday, September 16th."

"In that case I'd be back before you leave and we won't miss any calls for more toys. I'll write to Maria and tell her I'll join the August one. The other letter was from my Aunt Sally. She lives near Boston. She's got some things my grandmother gave her that she wants to give to me: a clock and some paintings. I'd like to drive up and collect them but I don't want to drive on a weekend when the roads are clogged with traffic. So I want to take, say, three days during the week. When do you think would be best? I'd like to go soon but I don't want to go when you might also be away."

"Well I won't be taking any extra holidays for a long time. I want to organise the new shop, find and train a helper and make several hundred sets to build a stock. Then I'll think about taking a few days off."

"I'll help you in the shop until I visit her. I was going to Southampton and Bournemouth to visit shops but it'll be better to go after the conference."

"Why don't you go and see your aunt before the conference, I'm sure you'll be busy afterwards."

"Yes, that's probably true. All right. Then I'll go next Wednesday and come back on Friday. That'll give me time to prepare for the conference. Can you manage the move from here to the new shop without me?"

"With luck we'll be moved by Wednesday. I'll see what Jack says about that."

"Then I'll write to my aunt and tell her when to expect me. I'll do that now and post it this morning. She'll probably get the letter on Monday."

"Okay. I'll start another fifty farms. You can collect the villages any time you want. They're on the shelves."

Bob was just about to write to his aunt when there was a knock on the front door. He opened it and a man wearing a hard hat said, "Hello. Is that your van in the parking lot?"

"Yes."

"Well can you move it please. We will be digging around there. It's where the station's sewer pipe runs. If you move it to the other side of the lot or lower down the road it'll be okay."

"I'll do it now," Bob said. He drove the van just past his garden and parked it on the road.

"It'll be all right there," the man called.

Bob locked it, returned to his kitchen, pulled out his shopping list and added 'order gravel or stone for driveway.' Then he wrote to aunt Sally telling her when he planned to visit. He walked to the post office and mailed it.

Ken was in the middle of shaping the wood for the barns when he went in to collect some village sets.

"I'm going to make the coffee before I start Ken. I'll take it to the garden. Join me when you are ready."

"Won't be long."

After their break Ken returned to making farm sets and Bob sat in the kitchen giving the village sets their second coat of paint. About twelve thirty, as Bob was shading the hedges, Ken walked in saying he was ready for lunch and watched Bob for a while. Then he said, "I think the third coat of paint on the hedges, houses or trains could be done with rubber stamps. It'd be easy to do the shading on the hedges but the window and door outlines could also be done, I think. It would make that job quicker."

"Ah but the lines can't smear and they'd have to be in exactly the right place."

"I think that we can manage that. I've some soft rubber and I'll make one for the hedges when I have time. Not this weekend because I'll be making the table for the conference. That's all I can do for us because Mary wants some help and we're also visiting friends."

Ken carried the tray with tea things and his lunch bag to the garden while Bob fetched the lawn chairs. They discussed the move to the new shop over lunch. They'd use Bob's tools and equipment to begin with but buy new ones when they knew exactly what was needed. Keen to know when the move might occur they decided to walk down to the shop and see what Jack and John were doing.

Jack's van was parked next to the side door. He and John were screwing gyprock to the ceiling of the paint shop when they walked in. The ceiling of the main floor was covered, only the ceiling of the sanding booth remained to be done. But none of the walls had been covered yet.

"This is great Jack" said Ken. "I'd offer to help but it looks as if I'd be in the way. You two can manage those sheets much better than I could. I know they're very heavy."

"We're used t'it. We'll start t'walls arter this."

"Can you work on the weekend Jack?"

"Aye. 'O aba't you John?"

"I could work in the mornings," he replied.

"Okay. We'll finish gypin' t'walls Saturday and do t'joints Sunday. Monday we'll give 'em a second coat."

"When can you paint them Jack?"

"Tuesday. Tuesday mornin', I guess."

"And the second coat of paint?"

"Wednesday, s'long nowt goes wrong."

"So we can begin working in here on Thursday. That means you won't be here Bob. Err, have you written to your aunt?"

"Yes I have. And posted it."

"Oh okay, it'll be all right. I'll make the benches and move the jigs on Thursday. Yes, we'll be alright. Well thanks Jack. And John. You've done a great job. I'll pop in on Saturday and see how things are going. How about you Bob? It looks great, doesn't it?"

"Yes it does. Thanks Jack, John."

"I wonder what Joe and Jane think about the place now," said Bob, as they left the parlour. "I'll have to ask them."

Five minutes later they were back at Bob's place. Ken returned to the shop and Bob continued the painting. He was finished by three and put the kettle on for tea before visiting Ken. Ken had finished the long blocks for the hedges, barns and houses. "I'll shape the pigpens and the pen sides after tea. Then I'll cut the blocks.

"You're very quick Ken. Are you sure you need a helper?"

"Oh yes. This isn't quick enough for me!"

"Well I'm finished painting so I'll do some sanding."

They continued working until seven when everything except the painting and gluing was done. "I'll do the first coat on Monday," said Ken, "and leave the rest to you. Then I'll start another fifty trains. Now I'm going home for a scotch and supper."

"I might go to the Crown for mine."

But ten minutes later he decided he was too tired to do that and put a curry in the oven to warm and opened a bottle of beer. 'You know,' he told himself, 'I think it's time I bought a microwave.'

That evening he simply watched television. Working such long hours was a bit too much for him. He'd be glad when the work was done in the new shop. Ken could work all day and all night then and he wouldn't feel so pressured to help.

He didn't have the energy to write to Maria that night and decided to do that Sunday. He knew that after a couple of drinks tomorrow night he wouldn't feel like writing then. It wouldn't make any difference when he wrote it if he posted it on Monday. Friday nights he'd try to make a rest-night.

Over breakfast the next morning Bob organised and rewrote his shopping list so he wouldn't have to drive backwards and forwards across the town. His plants and seeds were the last stop, for the nursery was on the way back to Small End. He put five of each toy in a bag in case Jenny wanted some. He'd try to work in fives or tens from now on, it made the paperwork slightly easier. He locked the house and carried the bag to the car.

Part of the road had been excavated at the corner of the station's parking lot. He walked to the barrier that surrounded it and looked into the hole. At the bottom was the pipe that took the waste from the station's toilet and from his house. 'I hope they won't have to dig all the way down to the crossroads,' he mused. 'If they do I'll have to park the van in Joe's yard. I'll ask them to deliver the stone first thing Monday morning and make them drop it in the right place. So that means I'll have to remove some hedge today or tomorrow. So much for a restful weekend!'

He was in Big End before nine. There were several parking spots near Jenny's shop. He left the bag in the van and walked to the shop.

"Hello Jenny, Hi Susan. Enjoying our nice weather?"

"I am," said Susan. "It means I can ride my bike to work most days without worrying about getting wet."

"And I can weed and plant in the garden tomorrow," added Jenny.

"That's what I've got to do soon," said Bob. "Jenny I have some news for you. Can we go to your office?"

"Sure." They walked in and sat down.

"Jenny I've talked to Leo," started Bob, and he told her what Leo had said and what they had decided. "So we want to give you a forty percent commission. We'll give that to everyone from now on."

"Thanks Bob. That's very nice. I'm glad Leo discussed it with you. You shouldn't have any trouble finding enough retailers to sell for you if you give them that."

"And another thing. Rose told me about the Gift and Toy conference. Are you going to it?"

"Not this year Bob. We're getting busy and there's only Susan to look after the shop if I go. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I'll have a booth there and Rose suggested I ask you and Leo to write a note about our toys. She and Leo have written one already."

"I'll write one too. Just a minute." Like Leo she wrote on one of her letter headed pages then gave it to Bob who quickly read it.

"That's very nice Jenny. Thanks. I've got something to show you, come with me," and Bob led her outside and pointed to the van. "We've rented that. So I can bring toys to you any time now. Do you want any at the moment?"

"Let me check with Susan,"

She walked back and asked Susan if they needed any.

"It's probably a good idea to have a few more."

"Well I've got five of each in the van."

"Okay, bring them in and I'll give you a receipt."

He drove to the paint shop next.

"Yes," the assistant said. "We do sell thinner acrylic paint, but you can make your own if you want. Just add water. However it loses it's covering ability if you make your own. You get more body if you buy the thinner paint from the suppliers. What do you want to do?"

"I'll try both ways. Can I have six of the thinner ones."

That done Bob crossed 'acrylics' from his shopping list and drove to the lumber yard.

"Hello Bob. Want some more wood?"

"Hello Leon. Yes and a few other things. Here's my list," and he passed it over.

"No problem about the wood for your toys. We keep it in stock and I'll have it delivered next Thursday to your new address. You must be near Joe Smith's farm.

"Yes. It's in his yard. We are using his old milking parlour. My shop isn't big enough these days."

"Okay. I'll note it on the order and the driver will know where to go. Ah, we don't sell needles. Sorry. What do you want them for?"

"To hold wood when it is dipped into paint."

"Never heard of that being done. Let me know if it works. These long trays; they're to hold the paint then?"

"Yes."

"Well we don't have anything like that. You might find them in the paint shop but I don't expect so. Their trays are for rollers. The best thing to do is make your own. Buy a sheet of metal and bend it into the shape you want. Don't cut the corners or you'll have to solder them. Just bend them. Do you understand?"

"Yes. My Dad made boats like that for me to float in my bath when I was a kid. I'll tell Ken to try that."

"Okay. The gravel or stone. What's that for?"

"A driveway. I don't have one and we've rented a van. I'll have to park it on my lawn."

"Then you should use crushed stone. A layer between one and two inches thick might do if the ground's hard. How big an area do you want to cover?"

"Enough to park a small van. It's a Ford," he added. "Their smallest."

"Well try five tons. If that's not enough, or if it sinks after a rain, add more."

"Can you put the stone on a separate bill. I'll pay for that now. Can we pay our business orders at the end of each month?"

"Sure. We give thirty days before charging interest."

"The stone, can it be delivered first thing Monday?"

"It'll be there at eight Bob."

"That's perfect. Thanks." He paid for the stone then crossed all the lumber yard items off his list. Now he would have to go to the bank, the stone had taken nearly all his cash.

After the bank he drove to the shopping centre and bought his usual food and two salmon steaks. Then he saw some kippers and bought two packs of them. He hadn't had those since his mother made breakfast for his Dad. They'd be a nice treat. He'd have them tomorrow. The last thing he bought was the needles and could only get a hundred. At the counter he asked the assistant if she could order more. "I need another nine hundred, no, better make that a thousand. We're sure to break some."

"I'll order them but they won't be here until Saturday. What are you going to use that many for?" she asked. "To hold wood," he replied and wondered if she believed him.

The nursery sold plastic boxes of four plants so he bought one of courgettes and one of cucumbers, two of broccoli and cauliflower and three of cabbage. That would be plenty. He bought an envelope each of carrot, onion, beetroot and radish seeds and a quarter-pound bag of peas. That was all he had on his list. He resisted the temptation to buy others, he wouldn't have time to look after them and the garden was smaller.

Having the van made shopping so much quicker and he was home by eleven.. He unpacked, putting the needles and the paint in the workshop and the boxes of vegetables just outside his back door. He'd give the garden another rake this afternoon then plant them. 'I'm a bit like Jenny. It'll be nice to garden now the weather's fine.'

The afternoon passed quickly. He wrote the name of the plants on wooden end stakes. As he was planting the courgettes and cucumbers he remembered that some people grew them on stakes. He'd try that. He'd wait until the runners were about two feet long before putting put the stakes there. That way he could train the shoots up the stakes at the same time. 'I wonder how it'll work.'

He stopped at five and had a bath. He usually bathed three times a week, always on Saturdays before eating at the Crown unless he was running late. He daydreamed a little in the bath, looking forward to chatting with Joe, finding out how his planting was going and learning what Jane and the others had been doing. He felt himself falling asleep and jerked his head. This wouldn't do. He'd be late if he didn't hurry.

Nancy was behind the bar when he walked in and he asked her how she liked her holiday. Holidays were becoming much more important to him these days.

"I went to Blackpool with Daphne, my friend. We spent too much money but had a great time!"

"Blackpool? Oh, what did you do there?"

"We went to the arcades and played the slots. I won £22 one afternoon but lost it all the next day." As he carried his pint over to Joe he thought he wouldn't go to Blackpool if that's what most people did to pass the time.

"Hello Joe. I thought I'd see more of you around the farm this week. Have you been away again?"

"No. I've been planting cabbages in the back field. Jane drove the tractor while Arne and I planted. Arne's the only helper I have this year. My greenhouses are only half full. It might not be a good year for me. Jane says I should retire but I wouldn't know what to do if I did. I don't want to move away from the farm and I'd hate to see it neglected."

"You could grass it all Joe."

"I suppose so."

"Come to think of it, Jim's son, Benny, is looking for a job. You could ask him."

"Oh? I'll give him a call. Ah, here's Rose and Jack. Hi!"

"Hello Joe, Bob. Is Jane coming tonight Joe?" asked Rose.

"Yes. It's the usual thing, she's still at the Centre talking with the committee. Or working on the show, it opens soon."

"I was too busy to drop by this afternoon Jack," said Bob. "Did you finish the workshop walls?"

"Aye."

"What do you think of your old parlour now Joe?" Bob asked.

"It looks like a modern workshop. Jane says it makes our farm worth ten thousand pounds more than before."

"Parking in the lane isn't causing a problem?"

"Not at all, although I'm going to widen it a little, when I've finished planting. There'll be more room for turning then. Oh, Jane said we shouldn't wait to eat. She doesn't know when she will be free."

"What kept you so long?" asked Rose when Jane arrived.

"The committee. There was much to decide about the new Centre. The architect was there and he insisted that we should tender the job and hire professionals to build the whole thing instead of relying on volunteers. It'll cost more but we eventually agreed to do that."

"You must be ready for a drink. What would you like?" asked Joe.

"Oh, a gin and tonic please. Thanks. Nothing to eat."

"Can I get drinks for anyone else?" he asked.

"I'll have a pint," replied Bob.

"Not for us Joe," said Rose. "We will be leaving soon, there's a show on TV we want to watch."

While Joe was collecting the drinks Bob told Rose that Jenny wrote a recommendation for him but she would be too busy to go to the conference. "Who looks after the shop when you go?"

"Jack does. Don't you Jack?"

"Aye, I do."

Jane told everyone about the revised plans for the new Centre. "As you must know, Bob, they've started laying the new sewer system. That and the water pipes will be done by the end of next week. Ads for tenders will be in the Southampton and Bournemouth papers on Monday. I'm sorry Jack, but we can't hire you."

"S'okay Jane."

"Well I'm sorry. We'll need volunteers later, to organise the place, set-up rooms, move our things from the old Centre and so on."

"Will you have a special opening ceremony?" asked Bob.

"Yes. I don't know what or when. Probably in the fall."

"You'll be glad when it's all over."

"I beginning to think so!"

"Do you need me as an usher for the Spring Show?"

"No Bob, thanks."

As Jack and Rose stood to leave Bob got up and left with them, having decided to have an early night because there was much to do on Sunday.

"Jack, can you make some business cards, stationary and envelopes for us using the new address and telephone number?"

"Aye. 'Ow many?"

"A hundred letters and envelopes should be enough. Fifty cards for Ken and, err, two hundred for me. Do you have the telephone number?"

"Aye. An' t'address is 110 Big End Road, Small End, right?"

"Yes. Do you have a digital camera?"

"Yes," said Rose. "I gave him one for Christmas."

"Can you take coloured pictures and print them on your computer Jack?"

"Aye."

"Then will you take a picture of both shops, mine and the new one and print a copy of each? I want to put them on my table at the conference."

"Okay."

"That's an interesting idea," said Rose. "I think retailers will like to see where the toys are made."

"I'll take yer home-shop photos termorrow."

"Thanks Jack." Bob said goodbye and turned back to walk home. As he neared his house he realised he hadn't turned on the railway lantern. 'I'll have to remember to do that.'

A few years ago his doctor told him not to add salt to his dishes. Knowing that kippers were very salty he rinsed them before warming them in a little fresh water in his frying pan Sunday morning. He ate them with buttered toast, enjoying their flavour. They'd be one of his new treats.

It took over a half-hour to remove the first bush from the hedge in the front of his garden. Its roots were large, intertwined with other bushes and the soil was very hard. So he sawed off the other bushes then uncovered the stumps and chopped off another six inches with an axe so they wouldn't dig into the van's tires. He wheel-barrelled the dead bushes to the back of the station's parking lot and tipped them down the slope. He made the gap large enough to take a bigger van, should they ever need to have one.

He washed, made coffee and drank it in the back garden wondering if he had planted his vegetables too close together. Afterwards he hung his laundry on the line. Still feeling tired from removing the hedge he sat in the kitchen and wrote to Maria. Dusting would wait until next weekend.

He began by telling her that he wanted to go on the August tour and asked her to book a place for him, send him a brochure if there was one and asked how much it would cost. He then told her about his partnership with Ken and the new workshop. Then he remembered to tell her that he now had his driving licence and that they had hired a van to deliver the toys. At the end he was tempted to say that he looked forward to seeing her again but didn't quite know how to write it without seeming too forward so he just signed off, writing ''Bye now, Bob.'

He was getting some lettuce out of the fridge for lunch when Ken tapped on the kitchen window. He opened the door and Ken said, "Can you help me get the table out of my car. Mary helped me put it in. It has to be twisted and I can't do that myself."

They carried the table top to the lounge then Ken fetched and screwed on the legs. Bob pushed against it, wondering how firm it was.

"Oh, it's strong enough," said Ken.

"How big is it?"

"Five by three. Will they provide chairs?"

"I don't know. I'll take one in case they don't. I've sent them the cheque but I haven't heard back. I want to know when I can set up. I don't know if I do that the day before or on the first day. I'll phone the man and ask when I'm sure the cheque had arrived."

"Have you made the poster yet?"

"No. I'll probably do that tonight. I'm just about to have lunch. Like to join me?"

"No. We're going to a friend's house for lunch. But I'm going to see what Jack's done before going home. Want to come?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go."

They drove to the shop and parked next to the side door. "There plenty of room to turn now," said Ken as they entered.

"The walls make a big difference don't they Ken," said Bob.

They walked through the door to the waiting room then went into the office.

"It's fine, but the windows need cleaning," said Ken. "I'll do that. Let's go and look at the booths."

"Oh, I bought a hundred needles, that's all they had. The rest will be there on Saturday. I ordered an extra hundred because I'm sure we'll break some," said Bob. "They're one inch long; that's the shortest they had. I also bought some thinner acrylic paint. They told me we can make our own by adding water to the normal paint. Why not try both ways."

"Okay."

Bob walked back to his house as Ken drove home. He made himself two lettuce and cheese sandwiches and ate them in the back garden. He must have dozed off afterwards for he was woken by Jack tapping on his shoulder.

"'Ow do Bob."

"Why, what's the time Jack?"

"Three o'clock."

"Wow! I must have been very tired." He stood up and looked at the letterhead samples Jack gave him. "Yes, these are fine. When can I have them?"

"'Not 'til Thursday."

"Well I'll be away from Wednesday to Friday so Saturday's fine. I'm going to see my aunt in Boston. Come, let's look at the shop. It might need to be tidied."

Jack took over a dozen photographs. When done they moved to the bottom of the staircase in the house where it was darker and looked at the camera's screen. Bob went through them several times and finally said, "Can you make a full-sized colour print of this one Jack?"

"Aye."

"Good. Thanks."

After Jack had left Bob decided to go for a walk, hoping that would wake him for he still felt sleepy. He put on a coat and walked along the river path for a mile, stopping for a while at the bent tree to review the latest news with Betty. He took a short-cut to the village graveyard where he stopped at his parent's grave for a few minutes, remembering the time when his mother died, then he went home to have an early supper. Things didn't seem right for some reason. He still felt tired and was glad he'd be taking a bit of a holiday that week. The drive to Boston would be a nice change.

He spent the evening making different sketches of the booth table eventually decided to make a holder for each of the photos and screw them onto the back of the table. The left poster would show the photo of his home workshop and the right one would show the new shop. He would sit or stand in the middle. He'd need a small notice asking interested people to leave their cards and he'd have to find something for them to put them in. He'd put some of a village set on the left, the train set in the middle and some of a farm on the right. He'd could only put out a few pieces of each toy because there wasn't room enough for more. The pieces he didn't use he'd keep in their boxes under the table in case anyone wanted to see them. With the sketches finished he headed upstairs to bed.

Ken was in the shop by seven thirty Monday morning, painting the farm sets with the thinned acrylic. Bob called in to tell him that he'd join him later, "I'm expecting a load of stone. I have to make a parking lot for the van."

"Yes, I saw what you'd done. I bet it was hard pulling out the bushes."

"Yes it was. How's the new paint working out?"

"It's a bit early to tell. I just hope it covers as well as the thicker stuff."

"I hope so too."

The lorry arrived promptly at eight and the driver called out the window, "Where do you want it?"

"In here, if you can. It's to make a parking lot," and Bob pointed to the rectangle he had made with strings and pegs.

"I'll do my best. Stand back," and the driver drove up the road past the house then backed towards the gap where the bushes had been removed. He stopped, drew back the tarpaulin cover and unlocked the tail gate. Then he returned to his cabin and slowly raised the front of the box. As the stone fell from the lorry he moved slowly backwards, raising the box as he went. The whole area was covered in less than a minute.

"That's great," cried Bob. "I thought I'd be spending all day shovelling stone!"

"There's a bit of levelling to do. Use a strong rake, it's quicker than a shovel. Can you sign here?" and held out a pad of paper, pointing to a space. Bob signed it and the driver gave him a copy. "Take it easy when raking. It's harder than you think."

Bob fetched a rake, worked for ten minutes and stopped to collect his winter gloves for he didn't want blisters. He raked for half an hour then stopped and went to see how Ken was doing in the shop.

"How's the paint now?"

"The first lot's already dry. It looks okay to me. What do you think?"

Bob picked up a piece and took it to the window. "Yes it's fine."

"Good. Then you can do the second coat if you like."

"Not yet. I'm just taking a rest from levelling the drive. It's hard work."

He raked the stone until it looked level then parked the van on top and looked where the wheels had run. The stones had sunk a little so he drove the van out and raked some stones into the depression. He repeated that until he was satisfied then left the van on the stone.

After coffee Ken finished the first paint coat and Bob began giving the dried ones their second. Ken stopped at twelve, saying he was going home for lunch today and that he'd be back as soon as he could. Bob continued painting and had finished at two when he went in to eat his lunch. Afterwards he walked to Rose's shop and asked her if she had some stiff card that he could mount the photographs on.

"What colour do you want?"

"White, I think."

"Is this size big enough?"

"It should be. I'll just take one Rose. I think it's big enough to make both posters."

"Don't make any mistakes then!"

He paid her and put the bill in his pocket to add to the others. 'Bills, in the future, should be kept in the new office,' he thought. 'We should order a filing cabinet and get a safe to keep cheques in.'

Ken was in the shop when he returned. "Watch this," he said. He picked up a wooden holder. Ten needles had been pushed into the underside leaving about three-quarters of an inch sticking out. He held it over five houses that were sitting, up-side-down, in a channel cut in a piece of wood. He pushed the holder down so the needles stuck into the bottom of the houses, raised the holder and the five houses were lifted with it.

"What do you think of that? I tried lifting ten but it's too hard to push that many needles into the wood. All we have to do now is dip the houses in the paint."

"You have some great ideas Ken."

"There's a much better way than dipping though Bob. We could hang them from a belt and run them past spray guns. We'll buy one when we get big enough."

"Then we'd need a bigger workshop than we already have!"

"Yes. We would, but all that's in the distant future. Oh, I like your new driveway.

Someone knocked on the shop door. They looked at each other with surprise then Bob opened the door. There was a young man standing outside.

"Hello. Can I help you?"

"I'm here because I read your notice on the Gift Shop's board. The lady there told me to go to Mr. Smith's farm. I went there and a man told me to come here. Do you have a job for me?"

"We have a job for someone," Ken said, "but not this week. It'll start next Monday. It'll be for one week, a trial period. If you can do what I want, and do it well, then the job's yours."

"What is the job?"

"Do you like working with wood and being inside most of the day?"

"I don't know about working with wood yet but I've been inside school for a long time and I can handle that. Let me try and we'll both find out if I'm any good."

"That's a good answer. All right, come at eight o'clock on Monday. Not here. We'll be in the new shop then, at Mr. Smiths place, where you first went. We'll be in the building to the right of the entrance."

"All right. Thank you. I'll be there," and he took a quick look around Bob's shop, turned, then left.

"He sounds like a sensible young man Ken. I hope he's a good worker."

"I'll know by Monday lunchtime," and he returned to pushing needles into the holders.

"I'm going to make a couple of supports to hold the photos," said Bob. He cut four strips from a short plank, picked up a tin of screws and a screwdriver. "Shouldn't be long," and left the shop.

He screwed the strips to the back of the display table then looked at them from the front and thought that the photos would look better if they slanted backwards a little. He returned to the shop and made four angled wedges then screwed them between the strips and the edge of the table. 'That's better,' he thought. 'That'll do for now. I'll have lunch then make the posters.'

"You ready for lunch?"

"No Bob. I'm going to Big End. I want to buy the metal for the paint trays. Got to find out how dipping works. I'll eat mine as I drive."

Bob thought about what he should write on the cards during lunch. He only needed a few words, the photo would tell the story. He thought something simple would be best and settled for, "Our first workshop," and "Our new workshop." After lunch he cut the poster into two cards and, leaving room for the photos, he wrote each of the short sentences as carefully as he could then propped the cards against a cereal box to look at them. Some of the letters were slightly misplaced but he thought it would do.

He heard Ken opening the shed door and joined him in the workshop.

"Any luck?"

"Yes. I've got four sheets of thin, galvanised steel, the stuff used to make heating ducts. I can bend it easily. Here's the bill."

"How many trays will you need?"

"Probably one for each colour. I'll make each tray big enough to take the largest pieces. The smaller pieces can all be dipped in a smaller tray. I won't need all the sheets for making pans, I'll be using the others to make dust collectors. We'll need some of those over the benches. What are you doing this afternoon?"

"I've nothing planned. Anything I can do?"

"Yes. Can you push needles into the rest of these holders? You can copy the ones I've done." Bob took the pliers from him and began pushing them in. It was hard to keep them straight at first but it quickly became easier.

"What will you do with each one when it has a wet piece hanging on the needles?"

"Hang it on hooks I'll put on the wagon shelves. You'll see. It'll be easy. The next thing to do is make a tray and try dipping. I'll thin some of our acrylic and try that. too."

Bob wore gloves after their tea break to protect his hands. He'd already broken three needles, for it wasn't easy to push them into the holder. Ken formed a small tray, then put some of their normal acrylic in an empty paint tin, added water, stirred, then poured the thinned paint into the tray. He pushed five houses onto one of the hangers, dipped them into the paint and hung the hanger from one of the shelves. He watched what happened and how quickly the paint dried.

"That's not very good Bob. The paint's not thick enough. I can still see the wood. I'll add more acrylic."

After two more unsuccessful tries Ken used one of the tins of the thinned acrylic Bob had bought and tried it. "That's much better. It dries evenly and quickly. We'll have to buy thinned paint then Bob. I hope we can buy it in big drums. I'll phone the maker and ask if he sells them that way. Mind if I use your phone?"

"Help yourself. Here," and Bob passed it to him. Ten minutes later eight, five-gallon pails of the thinned acrylic paint had been ordered, to be delivered to their new shop next Monday.

"A hundred and forty two pounds, fifty, Bob, charged to my credit card, as you heard. I'll write the cost on the packing slip and give it to you for the records when the shipment arrives."

They stopped working at five. Bob had made all the hangers for the hedges and the larger houses. Ken poured the unused paint into the paint tin, added just enough water to cover the top then put the lid on. "Hope that stops it from drying."

They'd finished making the hangers by coffee time Tuesday morning. After coffee Ken made the rest of the paint trays while Bob weeded then watered his vegetables. The mop sander was delivered just before lunch and they put it on a bench to try after lunch. Ken read the instructions while eating his lunch then returned to the shop. He screwed the machine to the bench and fitted a four inch mop. Bob walked in as he was about to try it.

"I'm using your eye protector Bob. Do you have another?"

"No. We should order some, I suppose."

"We should. Well, stand back a bit and we'll see what happens." He held a short piece of wood tightly and slowly pushed it onto the spinning mop then pulled it back and looked at it.

"Not bad! It's almost done that end already but it's not even. I'll try wobbling it a bit." He pushed the other end into the sander and twisted it from side to side. "That's much better. It's much quicker than our old way and it looks good enough to me. What do you think?"

"Let me try Ken." Ken gave him the glasses and Bob pushed another piece of scrap into the mop.

"Yes. It's easy to do and looks better than when we used the sanding belt. We probably don't have to sand any with paper now. That's another problem solved. A couple of men could sand all the parts for fifty sets in an hour! What do you think?"

"Maybe. You know Bob, if that boy's any good I'll hire him and find another and let them work together. What do you think about paying them piece-work? So much money for fifty sets?"

"I don't think that's best. They'd probably rush and the quality will drop. We can't have that because people won't buy the toys."

"Yes, I guess so. What do you think about hiring a second boy?"

"That's probably a good idea. Start with this one, train him and see what happens. He might be able to train the next one and leave you free to do other things."

"Yes. Well, I'll finish putting the eye hooks on the hangers, then I want to see how Jack's doing."

"I'll finish the gardening and join you."

Jack and John had finished the first paint coat and were washing the brushes when Ken and Bob arrived. Jack pulled an envelope from his pocket and gave it to Bob as soon as his hands were clean. "It's fer you."

Bob opened the envelope and said, "It's from the electrician," and passed it to Ken. "£93.75, including all the stuff he installed. That's not bad."

"No. So we could start working here tomorrow. Is that right Jack?"

"Aye. Don't cut wood or sand, 'cos there's mor' paintin' t'do."

"I'll have to cut wood, I want to make the benches."

"Cut it outside. Wan' me ter help?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"A'rite."

They all left together, locking the doors behind them. "I'm off to see my aunt tomorrow Ken" said Bob, "and won't be back until Monday. I wonder what the place will look like when I return."

"Like a small factory, I hope. Drive carefully, Bob. Have a good holiday."

"Thanks. I hope to."

**Chapter 13 Sally**

Bob packed the suitcase he'd taken to Portugal in the evening adding his slippers and a dressing gown. After that he looked at the map of England that Betty always kept in their bookcase. The shortest route to Boston from Small End skirted London on the M25 but he didn't want to go that way. People drove too quickly and there might be long tail-backs. So he decided to go through Oxford. He wrote the names of the towns he would pass through on a post card, connecting each town by a line upon which he wrote the road number. This, he thought, would save him from constantly stopping to look at the map.

He was through Southampton by nine Wednesday morning and continued until he arrived at Newbury where he stopped for coffee and a piece of cake. He had skipped breakfast being anxious to start the journey and was now feeling peckish. He had more then two hundred miles to drive, a very long trip for him, so he planned to stop every fifty miles and have a rest. Breakfast would be the first, lunch the second and an early tea break would be the third. He had told Aunt Sally to expect him about five.

As he drove he thought back to the times he used to visit her. Mostly he remembered his uncle, for he spent most of his time with him when he wasn't busy in his office. His uncle was a stock broker and he and Aunt Sally lived in a big house at Wyberton, a village a couple of miles south of Boston. Uncle Brian often drove him to the seaside where he sometimes rode on one of the donkeys. They always bought two ice cream bars, one as soon as they got there in the morning and another in the afternoon and they usually ate fish and chips for lunch. Uncle Brian died eight years ago and he and his mother went to the funeral. There were many people there but the only relatives were Aunt Sally, his Mum, himself and Brian's sister. He didn't enjoy that visit and he didn't like Brian's sister. She was overweight, wore thick glasses and stared at him all the time, why, he never discovered.

He remembered the bedroom he always had. It was big and at the back of the house, overlooking their garden and the fields. Aunt Sally only grew flowers. A gardener came each week to care for the flower beds and to cut the lawn. There was a tiny pond at the back of the garden that Uncle Brian had dug. They put minnows they caught in one of the large ditches that drained water from the fields in the pond and wondered if there were any of their youngsters still there. His uncle took him to see the pillboxes that stood near the sea and was told that machine gunners would be stationed there if there was an attack during the war. Sand had partly covered them and spilled into the entrance but he climbed into one and looked through the holes. It was dark and scary inside and there could have been a rat in one of the corners so he didn't stay long. The best times, apart from being at the seaside, was when they went blackberry picking or when he picnicked with both of them and his mother. Aunt Sally made cucumber sandwiches and he had his own big bottle of lemonade. The only bad thing about those visits was going and coming. It was a long journey, travelling by buses and trains. He liked sitting in the trains but travelling all day wasn't much fun.

He had lunch in a pub half-way between Oxford and Northampton and ordered a half-pint only, not wanting to be even slightly incapacitated, and chose one of the beers made in that area. He ate his Plowman's lunch in the garden at the back of the pub, enjoying the sunshine and peace for the pub was almost empty. After eating he examined the map to see if he could find the road that Aunt Sally lived on but all it showed was the main street going through Wyberton. He remembered what the house looked like but did not know exactly where her road was. He'd ask someone if he couldn't find it.

He stopped for a pot of tea in a café in a village just before Peterborough. Driving through Peterborough wasn't difficult although he had expected it to be busier than Bournemouth. The worst part was the construction detours but the signs were easy to spot and most of the traffic was following the same route.

He remembered Wyberton once he had arrived and quickly found his aunt's road. The house was just as he remembered although the gardens needed tidying. Some of the bushes had grown too large and should have been trimmed or removed. He parked the van in the road, walked to the front door and knocked. Then he remembered that there was a door bell and he searched for the button. It was partly hidden by a cluster of ivy leaves. He pressed it and heard it ring. He waited, then pushed it again. After another thirty seconds or so the door opened. It was Aunt Sally but she sat in a wheel chair and a tube curled from a metal bottle to her nose.

"Hello Bob. Come in, come in. It's so good to see you! Sorry I took so long to answer the door."

"Hello Aunt Sally," and he bent to kiss her on her cheek. "I didn't know you were in a wheelchair, nor that you used oxygen. I'm sorry for knocking then ringing twice. If I had known I'd have waited."

"I didn't hear the knock, I was probably napping. It takes me a while to move about now I'm in this chair. I should have walked. That's what I usually do because it's much quicker but I felt lazy. Come in. I'll tell you all about my troubles later. Where's your bag?"

"Oh, it's in the van Aunt Sally. I'll go and fetch it."

"Van? What van? Did someone drive you here?"

"No. I drove myself. I'll tell you about the van and all I've been doing when we sit down."

"You can drive Bob? I never knew that."

"I've just learned. Let me fetch my bag and lock the van and I'll tell you."

"Put the van in the driveway Bob and I'll put the kettle on for tea. I've given you your old room, the one at the back. Put your bag there. You remember where the bathroom is?"

"At the end of the corridor."

"Yes, that's right."

During tea they began talking about the old days, when he, his mother and father visited during and after the war, rather than what Bob had been doing the past few months. All Bob remembered about the war was loud bangs, usually at night, when bombs dropped in Southampton or on the docks. Normally they only heard the explosions when the wind was blowing in their direction. He told her that he remembered Uncle Brian taking him to see the pillboxes and how scary it was inside, and how they went to Skegness and ate ice creams and had tea and cakes in one of the villages on the way home.

"Would you like to do those things again Bob?"

"Why, yes, I would."

"Then lets do that tomorrow. I don't get out very often and it would be nice to visit some of those places again."

"Well there's lots of room in the van. Your chair can easily fit in the back."

"Oh we don't have to use the van, we can use my car. I sold Brian's Rover after he died but kept my Vauxhall. It's in the garage. It's a good car but I haven't used it for two or three years."

"The battery's probably no good then. If you have booster cables I can start it with the van's battery."

"I've a better idea. Give me the phone," and she pointed to the shelf under the table where his tea was. He passed it over and Sally dialled a number.

"Hello. Is that David?"

"Yes, and you must be Sally. I haven't heard from you for a long time but I can always remember your voice."

"Yes it's me. How are you and are you busy?"

"You know me Sally, I'm always busy, but not just at this moment. Can I do something for you?"

"Yes please David. My nephew, Bob, is staying with me for a couple of days and I want him to take me out in the Vauxhall but I haven't used it for a long time. Can you have one of your men come and check it? Bob thinks the battery might be dead although we haven't tried it yet. And the oil or something might need changing."

"Dick is free at the moment. I'll send him over. Say 'Hello' to Bob for me, although I don't expect he'll remember me. We met at Brian's funeral."

"Yes I will. Thanks David."

She replaced the phone in its cradle then explained that David owned one of the garages in Boston and that he serviced their cars and was one of Brian's friends. "They would occasionally play golf together and I would talk to his wife at the club dinners. Dick won't be long. Do you want any more crumpets?"

"No thanks. I've eaten four and I feel very full. Do you still make cucumber sandwiches?"

"Not this time of the year but I do in the summer. Funny you remembering them. They're one of my favourites. Now I didn't know what to give you for supper. I usually don't eat much. I try to cut down on my food these days because I don't want to get fat. I don't get any exercise 'cos I spend most of the day sitting down. I'd like another cup of tea though. Could you make a new pot?"

"Of course." He carried the empty teapot to the kitchen, filled the kettle and put it on the stove then returned to his chair.

"Why do you need oxygen Aunt Sally?"

"I have emphysema. Brian and I smoked but I stopped after he died. He didn't get it, he died from a heart attack. I find it hard to breath now and oxygen helps. It's too difficult to climb the stairs so I sleep in Brian's study. It's a nicer room than the dining room and has a better view. I've enlarged the downstairs toilet and put in a bath. A lady helps me bathe twice a week."

"Do you cook all your meals auntie?"

"No. I mostly live on frozen pre-made dinners. I should call them lunches really for I eat them at noon."

"I eat the same things too but eat them in the evening. Do you use a microwave?"

"Yes."

"I'm thinking of buying one. They're supposed to be much quicker than the oven."

"Quicker and much easier. As long as the meal is on the right kind of plate or in a suitable dish there's nothing to go wrong. Don't use plates with a metal design on them. The instructions that come with the microwave will tell you what to use. Ah that's the kettle. Remember where the tea bags are?"

"No."

"In the cupboard on the left side of the sink on the second shelf."

He went to the kitchen and returned with a fresh pot and put it on the table. "I'll let it sit for a while."

There was a knock at the door. Bob opened it and Sally called, "Is that you Dick?"

"Yes Mrs. Jackson. Can I have the keys to the garage and the car?"

"Yes. Bob will bring them to you. Here Bob. It's these two."

Bob removed them from her key ring and told her he'd wanted to see what Dick did so he'd go with him to the garage. "Pour your tea while it's fresh Aunt Sally. And don't clear, I'll do it when I come back."

Dick opened the garage door, climbed in the car and tried to start it. "Yes, the battery's dead. I've got a charged one in the truck. Just a minute." He fetched it and two cables then opened the bonnet and used the cables to connect the batteries. He turned the key and with a groan then a roar the car started. He let it run for a minute, stopped the car, removed the spare battery and tried to start the car again. It started but only just. "It's not good enough," he said. "Mrs. Jackson will have to buy another."

"I don't know if she will want to do that. She doesn't use the car now. Can you fix it so it will run?"

"I can lend you this battery but we must have it back tomorrow morning."

"We were going for a run tomorrow Dick. Let me go and ask her what she wants to do." Bob left Dick in the garage and went to the house.

"Aunt Sally, the battery is dead. Dick can lend us his spare but he wants it back tomorrow morning. We'll have to go for our ride in the van, I'm sorry."

"No. Tell Dick to put in a new battery. The car will need one when I sell it so it might as well have it now."

"All right," and Bob told Dick what his aunt had said.

"Then I'll go back to the our garage and put a new one on charge. I'll bring it early tomorrow. The oil's okay but it should be changed. I can do that here tomorrow too if you like."

"Well, yes, please. I think she will want that doing as well. Will it make a mess?"

"No. I'll change the oil filter too."

"Okay, thanks. Does it need anything else?"

"I don't think so. If you have any trouble when you're driving call us and I'll come and fix it or tow you to the garage, but I think you'll be fine. We used to maintain this car and it seems to be in good shape. I'll be here about eight thirty with the new battery. Is that okay?"

"Yes, thanks Dick."

Bob told his aunt what had happened and she was pleased. "Dick's a good mechanic. If he says it'll be okay then we'll be fine."

They talked for nearly two hours that evening. Bob told her all about his busy months, about going to Portugal with friends, enjoying it so much that he wanted to go every year and how that made him decide to make more toys to earn the money.

"Then Ken joined me and we formed a partnership. He's got lots of ideas. We will be able to make toys quicker now. That means we'll soon have plenty of money. We've rented a building and are building a bigger shop there. It should be finished when I return."

He told her how they would run the company. Ken would hire helpers and that a teenager had already applied and that he would start on Monday. Then he told her he would be going to a conference of toy and gift retailers and hoped to meet retailers who would buy toys from them.

"My, you've been busy Bob. My, my! Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"I think so, but sometimes I wonder. I'm not young any more but I don't think that I'm too old to try something new, as long as other people do the hard parts. I get tired if I do too much. We'll see what happens. I'll give it a year or two and if it's not what I want to do I'll quit and let Ken have the company."

"If the company is successful then you'll make money, but if it's not you'll lose money won't you?"

"Yes that's right. I'm using some of the money I saved from selling my toys over the last few years. I was saving it for the grandchildren in case they needed some for their education. But I'm sure we'll be alright. I'm already selling toys through two other retailers and they sell many more than Rose does. Probably because they're in towns and Rose's shop is in the village."

"Yes I know Rose and her shop. I visited it several years ago."

They talked about Bob's activities for another hour but he didn't say anything about Claire or Maria. Maybe he would, tomorrow. Or maybe he wouldn't. Would she want to hear about his interest in other women? She was his mum's sister, after all, and might expect him to remain faithful to Betty forever.

As the conversation slowed Sally said she'd make a mug of Ovaltine and asked Bob if he would like one.

"Yes please. Ovaltine's another thing I haven't had for a long time. We didn't drink it at home and I think the only time I had it was when I was here."

"Ovaltine and biscuits then. Or would you like something else? Baked beans or sardines on toast?"

"Oh, no thanks, auntie, I can still feel the crumpets. Ovaltine and biscuits will be nice."

After their drink Sally said she was going to go to bed, "but you can stay up as long as you like. Here's the television control. I don't know what's on, I usually go to bed at this time. When do you get up?"

"Between six and seven."

"I get up at seven. When's Dick coming?"

"About eight thirty."

"We'll have finished breakfast by then. Do you want a fried one?"

"No thanks, Aunt Sally, I usually just have toast or porridge and a mug of tea."

"All right. Then we'll have that about eight. Sleep well. 'Good night, don't let the bed bugs bite!' Do you remember us saying that when you were young?"

"I do now, yes. Sleep tight, auntie."

Bob turned on the television but found nothing he wanted to watch so he went to bed ten minutes after his aunt had left. He slept well, and there were no bed bugs, as far as he knew.

Bob watched Dick as he changed the battery, oil and oil filter. Some of the oil dripped onto the newspaper Dick had put on the concrete floor. There wasn't much room under the car and he was glad it wasn't him changing the oil. If he ever bought a car he would have that done in Tim's garage. What he had to do was interesting though, and Bob liked learning new things; he'd never seen anyone change a car's oil and filter before.

Dick cleaned up then backed the car out of the garage and left it beside Ken's van in the driveway. He told Bob the garage would send his aunt the bill then drove away.

Sally had put a coat on and was standing by her chair when he returned. "I can walk from here to the car if you hold my arm and the oxygen bottle" she said. "Put me in the seat then fetch the wheel chair and put it in the trunk. There's plenty of room for it."

Bob did that, locked the house then sat in the car. "Now, where would you like to go?"

"Anywhere. It's so nice to be out. Let's go towards the coast and find a place for a morning coffee. Do you drink coffee?"

"Oh yes. Usually every morning, about ten."

"That's what I do too. Brian and I always liked to have coffee together at that time when he was at home."

Bob found the Vauxhall easy to drive. It had an automatic shift, the first he had ever driven and it was a bit strange to use only his right foot. Peter had told him what to do when driving an automatic. "Keep your left foot on the floor all the time. Just use your right foot to accelerate and to brake." Automatic shift made driving much easier when they were in Boston's semi-static queue. Once out of town he headed towards Skegness, occasionally pulling into a lay-by when there was something of interest to look at.

"There's a nice place to have coffee around the next bend Bob. Brian and I would often go there, especially in spring time. It's a coffee shop attached to a garden centre. They have a conservatory where I'd like to have coffee. I hope there's room for us. Yes, there, that's the place. Pull in as close to the front door as you can and we won't use the chair."

Luckily there was a parking space near the door. They took it and Bob walked his aunt inside. Luck was with them again, for one of the four tables inside the conservatory was empty.

"What would you like Aunt Sally?"

"A large mug of their normal coffee Bob. They have espresso or latte and other types if you want them."

"Regular coffee is all I drink auntie."

"Call me Sally, Bob, I'd much prefer that. Auntie makes me feel a bit too old coming from a grown man!"

"All right, auntie, I mean Sally. It'll be a bit strange at first but I'll try. What would you like to eat with your coffee, Sally?"

"I'll have a slice of apple pie if they have that. Otherwise nothing Bob."

They did have apple pie and he bought two slices and two large mugs of coffee. They took their time, eating slowly and only sipping the coffee. It was very nice, sitting there and looking at the flowers and listening to the tinkle of water dripping from a small ornamental fountain that centred the room.

Bob stretched his legs and began telling Sally about Lagos and being shown around by Maria. She seemed very interested so he added that Maria would be guiding a tour in the Lake District in August. "I've told her I want to go on it. They tell me it's a lovely place, good for walking, with lakes and rivers."

"Are you interested in the place or in her Bob?"

"Both, I think. There was another woman I was attracted to last December but she married another man. I'd like to have a girl friend but I can't tell if a woman's interested in me, that's my problem Sally."

"I would think that many women would be interested in you Bob. And if they are you needn't worry. They'll let you know, one way or another. Do you want to marry again?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. When I think about that I remember Betty and don't want to spoil those memories. Marrying again might do that. No. I don't think that I would marry someone else."

"Betty wouldn't mind if you did. Nor would she mind if you found a lover. She'd want you to be happy, that's all." Sally sat still for a minute or so then said, "We should be going, we haven't see the sea yet!"

They were in Skegness twenty minutes later. He drove slowly along the road next to the shore. There weren't many people on the beach, most were on the pavement next to the shops. He parked the car and Sally asked him to push her along the path that edged the beach. He did that for a while then she said that she'd had enough. "I'm feeling a bit cold from the wind Bob. Is it too early to have lunch?"

"Not if you're ready. It's gone twelve."

"Then I'd like to go to the North Sea Restaurant. Did you ever go there? It's the one at the end of the beach, the one with the lounge that gives a great view of the sea. It's another place Brian and I often went to."

So Bob drove her to the restaurant and parked close to the front door and Sally said she would walk again.

The waiter remembered her and found them a nice table by the window. "Do you want your usual Mrs. Jackson?"

"Fish and chips with a glass of white wine? Yes please. I would like that."

"And you sir?"

"I'll have the fish and chips but a half-pint of Bass please. You have that on tap I see."

"Yes we do sir. Would you like a soup or a salad?"

"I'd like a soup please," said Sally.

"Me too," said Bob.

Sally chose the minestrone and Bob a clam chowder.

Lunch was very enjoyable. Bob was tempted to buy another half-pint when Sally had a second glass of wine but decided not to, remembering what Peter had told him.

Afterwards they drove towards the shore at Freiston then along the road that led to the pillboxes Uncle Brian had taken him to. He stopped when they got there, left the car and climbed the small bank to examine them. They had not changed, just more sand and grass. He didn't try to go inside. When he climbed into the car Sally told him it was time for her nap and asked him to drive home. She dozed a little on the way back. When Bob helped her into her chair she told him she would likely sleep for an hour or so. "What would you like to do?"

"I'd like to look around the garden then go for a walk."

"All right. There's a key on the tray in the hall. Lock the door when you leave."

"All right Sally."

The back garden was overgrown, just like the front, with bushes spreading into each other and upon the lawn. He searched for the pond then found it hidden under the low-lying branches of a tree. He moved the branches and looked carefully into the water to see if descendants of the fish had survived but couldn't see any. He let the branches swing back then walked out onto the road leaving it to join one of the paths leading to Wyberts Castle, a route he had taken several times with his uncle when they were looking for butterflies. He saw only two this time. On the way back he stopped for a pint at the inn. It was a holiday, wasn't it, he thought, and he didn't expect to drive any more that day.

Sally was in the kitchen when he returned warming scones in the microwave. There was a container of clotted cream and a pot of raspberry jam on the tray. "Rita buys scones and cream for me a couple of times each month. I told her to bring six this week because you were coming. I like raspberry jam more than strawberry jam; it's got more flavour. Come, sit down in the lounge and we'll eat them."

So Bob sat and they ate and talked. This time Sally told him that she did not have long to live. As a former nurse she understood what was happening.

"That's also why I asked you to visit Bob. You'll have everything when I die. I was very close to Betty and I am your Godmother. I have no relatives except you."

"You won't die for a long time Sally. You did very well today. I think your oxygen tank will keep you going for many years."

"No I don't think so. I'd like you to have my car Bob. I was going to sell it but now you can drive you might as well take it, I don't need it anymore. Rita has a car and she comes here three times a week. She does the shopping and cleans the place for me. Sometimes I go with her for a ride but driving to Boston's supermarkets isn't much fun. I could ask her to drive me to other places but she has other jobs to do and I don't want to ask too much of her. So you take the car."

"I can't Sally. I have to drive the van home."

"Oh I don't mean this time. Come again. I'll get David to do all the paperwork and we can sign it over on your next visit. You'll have to get here by bus and train though."

"Well thank you very much Sally. I'd love to have it. I really enjoyed driving it today."

"And there's the clock and the three pictures I'd like you to have. They are in the dining room. I don't go in there very much and I won't miss them. I don't think that they are worth very much but your grandmother owned them. If you take them today the lawyer won't have to included them when calculating inheritance tax. David will state that the Vauxhall is worth less than £3,000 and I don't think that'll be included either."

"I don't know anything about inheritance taxes. When my mother died it was all looked after by the bank. I don't think we paid anything."

"Well there will be some to pay when I die but don't worry about it. Our lawyer will contact you and he'll periodically send you cheques until the estate's settled. That's what happened to us when Brian's father died. Now I don't want to go out any more today but I'd like to tomorrow, if you have time."

"I'll have time Sally. I'll not leave until the afternoon. Where would you like to go?"

"I'd like to go to King's Lynn, to the cemetery where Brian and my mother and father are buried. I want to take some flowers from the garden. Then I'd like to look at the school I attended and drive back through Spalding to look at the tulips. Brian proposed to me there. We could have lunch out or come home and have something."

"Let's have lunch out Sally. I enjoyed the one we had today."

"Good. That's what I'd like too. Now go and look at the clock and pictures and let me know if you want something to wrap them in. I've got some brown paper somewhere."

The clock, a wooden mantelpiece clock, was on the sideboard. Bob wasn't sure where he would put it in his house but he'd make room for it. There were two small pictures, about ten by fifteen inches, of rivers meandering through meadows and trees. The third picture was twice as large, showing a three-masted sailing boat scudding along in the wind. That he would put in his living room; the smaller ones might best be hung in his bedroom.

"I think that I should wrap the pictures in paper but the clock could sit on the floor in front of the seat. It will be all right there."

"You should lock the mechanism and remove the pendulum of the clock before you move it Bob. Open the back and you'll see how to do it."

"All right."

"And the brown paper is in the cupboard in the spare bedroom, I think. You might as well wrap the pictures now because you won't have much time tomorrow if we go for a drive."

He placed the wrapped pictures in the front hall and the clock on the floor beside them. After that they listened to the news on the television then watched a documentary on penguins. Sally told Bob where to find the Ovaltine and how she made it. As they drank she said, "I always wanted to go to Antarctica to see the penguins but we never did. If you want to travel Bob don't put it off. Eventually you won't have the health to do it so go now, while you're still able."

"Yes I'm thinking that way too Sally. I'm finding out that there are many interesting places to visit in the world. I would like to see some of them."

"Make a list. I did. Brian and I visited some of ours. China and parts of India were the most interesting. You should go there sometime. Put them on your list."

"All right Sally."

"And watch travel shows on the television. You'll learn about different places and find the ones you'd like to visit. Lying on a beach didn't interest us, we preferred to see how other people lived. We went to their museums and walked through the backstreets or sat in the tiny squares and drank coffee, watching what everyone did. And we preferred the local's food, too."

Sally described some of the places they had visited and what they did when they were there. After ten minutes Bob took a piece of paper and made a few notes. Sally and he had similar interests it seemed. About an hour later she said she was tired and would go to bed and he followed her shortly afterwards.

After breakfast the next morning Bob went to the garden and picked a large bunch of flowers collecting those that were nearly opening. He gave them to Sally who sorted them and put them in a heavy vase and told him to "half-fill it with water, put it in this wicker basket and kept it upright by pushing crumpled newspaper around the sides." This he did, then helped Sally to the car, locked the front door and drove to the cemetery in King's Lynn. Once there Bob pushed her along the path to Brian's stone-covered grave. She asked Bob to remove the dead flowers from the pot standing in a hole, clean it and fill it with water. "The tap's by the front entrance. And bring the basket with the vase and flowers from the car too please."

When he returned she took half the flowers from the vase and arranged them in Brian's pot. Then he pushed her to her parent's grave and helped her tidy it. Her parent's had paid for permanent care so the covering grass was cut but stems near the headstone needed trimming. Sally used the garden scissors she had put in the basket with the flowers. Bob removed the dead flowers, cleaned the pot and filled it with water.

"How often do you come here Sally?"

"Every month. It's one thing I do ask Rita to do. Sometimes I skip a month, if I'm not feeling too well or if the weather is too rainy or cold."

Then they drove to the primary school Sally had attended.

"It hasn't changed at all Bob. I had so many good times here and the staff were so nice. I often visited two of my teachers after I'd left."

"Do you want to look at your secondary school too?"

"No. My time there was okay but I don't have the same fond memories of it. If it was the weekend I'd probably ask you to push me around the outside and I could show you the classroom I liked the best but I can't do that now. The children would watch us rather than their teacher!"

They returned to the car and drove towards Spalding looking for a coffee shop and eventually found a rather dilapidated restaurant. They had coffee and shared a stale cream cake. They did not linger to chat as they had done on Thursday but continued towards Spalding, passing many fields covered with tulips, most in full bloom, looking for the field where Brian had proposed.

The farm they sought had become a popular place to visit because people were allowed to drive along a track to a small parking lot in the middle of the field. The farmer had placed three benches on a rise so they could sit and fill their eyes with colour. Sally showed him where the entrance was and he followed the track then parked the car. The place was empty. Sally pointed to the middle bench.

"That's where it happened. There weren't benches there then; that's where he parked the car. I was quite surprised when he asked me to marry him for I thought we were just having an affair, but no, he wanted to get married. It took me a minute to say 'Yes'."

"Was it the right decision Sally?"

"Oh yes. He wasn't the kind of man I thought I would marry but he turned out to be all right. It's a pity we didn't have any children but that's my fault, not his. I suggested we should adopt but he didn't want to do that. In a way I miss not having bought up children but we had a good life, never-the-less."

"Betty and I had children as you know, and I'm very glad we did although I don't see much of them these days. Nor the grandchildren. Just a few times each year. I had a good marriage and I think that Betty had a good life too."

"Yes, she did Bob. She told me so one summer holiday, that time you looked after the children and we went to Eastbourne together. For some reason Brian couldn't take a holiday that summer."

"Yes I remember that. I took Sam and Regina out to dinner each night when you and Betty were away. We almost lived on fish and chips!"

"You're making me hungry now. Let's find a place to eat but not fish and chips."

"Do you like curry?"

"Yes very much. The first time I had it was when we were in India. Brian didn't like it but I did. Sometimes I ask Rita to bring me a curry dinner from the supermarket."

"Well I saw an Indian restaurant when we drove near here on Wednesday. Why don't we go there."

The meal was excellent. Bob had a beef madras, Sally a lamb korma. One naan and some rice and dish of mango chutney. Bob had a bottle of beer and Sally some water, saying she didn't like wine with curry. After the meal they drove directly back to Sally's home, for she knew it would be a long drive home for him. He helped her into the house then returned for the wheelchair. Then he parked the car in the garage and returned the keys to her.

"I've very much enjoyed your visit, Bob, and I know you much better now than I ever did before. When can you come next? The car will be ready for you by next weekend."

"I can't come for a while Sally. The conference I told you about is next week and it will, I hope, provide the names of several retailers who'll sell our toys. I'll have to visit them before I can return here. I don't know how many there will be but, with that and the new shop, I think it will be three or four weeks before I can come back."

"All right, I understand, you must be very busy. Well, come when you can."

They kissed goodbye. Bob climbed into the van, drove it into the road, parked and closed the gate. He waved to the house as he drove by but thought she wouldn't be able to see him. Then he settled down to the drive home. The van didn't feel half as comfortable as the Vauxhall. Fancy! Next time he came here he would drive home in a smart-looking car. He wondered if parking it on his new driveway was the best place for it. But where else could it go? If he built a garage the only place it could go would be on the driveway where the van was parked. He didn't think he would like that, it would block half the view from his front window. Then he turned his thoughts to the new shop, wondering how it looked now and what Ken had done in the last three days. 'I'll stop there on my way back. Maybe there'll be someone there, though it'll probably be seven or eight o'clock.'

He followed the same route home as he'd used going to Boston, stopping once for petrol and another time to use the toilet in a town.

There was nobody at the workshop when he drove up and he didn't have a key so he drove home and parked the van in his driveway. He put the clock and the three paintings in the front room and decided to unpack his suitcase tomorrow. All he needed was his pyjamas, toothbrush and slippers. 'It'll be nice to put my slippers on'.

There was an envelope waiting for him on the mat by the front door. A credit card. He had received unsolicited credit cards in the mail before and had simply thrown them away but this one was from the National Westminster bank and the card was his business card. Using it might be a bit of a problem for he'd never had one before. Then he had an idea; the van needed petrol so he'd fill-up at Tim's garage and use the card there. Tim would show him what to do if he ran into any trouble.

Then he called Ken. Mary answered and told him that Ken was out, having a drink with a friend. Bob asked her to tell him that he'd called. He opened a can of baked beans, warmed them in a small bowl and spread half of them on some buttered toast for his supper. He put the rest in the fridge to have another day.

**Chapter 14 Craig**

Ken phoned at eight Saturday morning. "Hello Bob. Did you enjoy your holiday?"

"I certainly did although my aunt isn't very well. She's got emphysema and uses oxygen. But we went for a couple of drives and had lots to talk about. How did things go at the workshop? I'd like to see what you've done."

"I can be there at nine. How about then?"

"I'll be there." He sat down to eat his porridge and make his shopping lists. His grocery list started with 'coffee,' the brand he preferred and couldn't get in the Small End grocery shop and ended with fish. Then he made a separate list for workshop items adding 'six safety glasses' and 'four overalls.'

Before leaving he crossed the parking lot to see what they had done at the new Community Centre's site. Where it was to be erected a large rectangular section had been excavated and covered with crushed stone. Capped sewer and water pipes projected in several places. He shook his head thinking that he wasn't going to like living that close to the Centre there'd be so much noise though it might be like the trains, he only noticed the sound from them when wondering if they were on time.

He drove the van to the workshop and parked at the side. The exterior walls had been painted and their new colour brightened the place making it look attractive and welcoming. Ken was already in the shop pushing a large rack towards the paint booth.

"Hello Bob. How do you like this, a moveable rack? I've made four of them. They're to move toys from the end of the line to the paint booth. I had to buy sixteen wheels for them. They were expensive because I had to buy new ones. You'll see them on Leon's bill."

"The racks should be very useful. Did you buy anything else?"

"A few ducts. We'll need them for the extractor and exhaust fans. Screw hooks for the racks and a few other things. Nothing cost much."

Several shelves were mounted on the long wall of the hall and cardboard boxes sat on two of them. Bob pointed to them and asked, "those are for parts?

"Yes. They'll do for now but I want something stronger. If you see any plastic boxes when you're shopping buy one or two. Once we get the right size we'll buy a couple of hundred. Hey, did you notice how far apart the shelves on the trolley are? That's so I can put hooks underneath. The holders will hang there after the parts have been dipped and they'll dry there. That way they'll be ready to move to the next paint booth. Oh, I've made all the other paint trays. Come. I'll show what we've done."

They went to the sanding booth where the sanding mop was bolted to the bench. "The extractor fan hasn't come yet. It should be here early next week. Jack helped me make the trolleys and the benches. I told him that I didn't think we would need him again so he gave me his bills. There's the labour costs, that's him and John, and it's £1,075. The materials he bought during the construction cost another £732.88."

"We won't have enough money to pay all our bills Ken. We're going to need well over £4,000."

"I guessed that. Why don't we add another £2,500. That should keep us going until we get money from the retailers. Can you manage that?"

"Fifty one percent, yes. I can do that today, I'll be in Big End after this to do my shopping."

"I'll give you my cheque then." Ken pulled out his cheque book and wrote one, payable to Small End Wooden Toys. "Here, put that in when you deposit yours."

"Do you want anything for the shop? I've started a list, it's just got safety glasses and overalls. Two medium and two large size. They should fit most people. I can get the overalls and glasses from the lumber yard."

"I can't think of anything right now. I'll make a list next week if I think of anything."

They walked around the place one more time, visualising how things would work if there were two or more people working in the shop. As they were leaving Bob said, "I'll make a sign to hang over the entrance door. 'Small End Wooden Toys.' It'll be a wooden sign, stained brown, so it'll show against the wall."

"Just what we need. Good!"

Bob drove the van to the garage to be filled and gave Tim his credit card. He took it, slid it through his machine and Bob signed the slip. It couldn't have been easier. But he decided not to get a card for himself; thinking it'd be safer if he only used cash.

At his bank in Big End he transferred £2,000 from his savings to his checking account and bought a bank draft for £1,275, putting that and Ken's cheque in their business account at the National Westminster. Now he felt less worried. There was enough to pay all their bills and if Jenny and Leo sold the toys they had they'd be all right for a while. If he found more retailers they'd begin to grow. 'Let's hope I do that at the conference.'

After lunch he went for his usual walk. It had begun to rain but he didn't mind, it was what his garden needed and he needed the walk to think how he would answer questions from future retailers about percentages, quantities and deliveries. He'd have to take a notebook to record special requirements and details about contacting or delivering to them. It would be important to be consistent and precise about what he said. He also had a quiet little chat to Betty about Sally as he walked beside the river.

He joined his friends in the Crown at six and told them about his visit to his aunt, a little about her illness and that she had given him her Vauxhall. Joe told him about the sub-division above the railway tracks.

"There's about two hundred acres under development. The water and sewer pipes are already at their main entrance."

"Oh and what about the Centre Jane, who's going to build it?" Bob asked.

"We haven't received any bids yet. We'll probably get them next week."

"How's the Spring Show going?" asked Rose.

"The rehearsal was a disaster. One of the school groups had to cancel because so many of the children had colds. We're looking for another skit. Any of you have a suggestion?"

"Joe can whistle," suggested Jack.

"Only if you sing," he replied.

"The children might be better by the time the show opens but they won't have had much practice. Worse, the lead actor in the comedy fell and broke a leg and his replacement has not learned the lines. I guess it'll all probably work out in the end. It usually does."

"I'm looking forward to it. You know, the shows are about the only entertainment I get apart from television and holidays," said Bob.

Bob left with the others and as he was saying goodbye Jack told him that he had the stationary and workshop photos and would bring them to him tomorrow.

"Oh great. What time?"

"'Ow about nine?"

"Yes, that's fine. I'd also like some titles beneath each photo. I've taken another look at what I've done and it's not good enough. Can you do that?"

"Aye. 'Ow big?"

"How about me coming to your place and see what you've got."

"Okay."

As soon as his washing was in the machine and he had finished his dusting on Sunday morning he walked to Jack's place. It was early, just after eight thirty, for he wanted to hoe the garden before the rain began.

"'Ow do Bob. Come in," and Jack led Bob to the back room where his computer was kept. He turned it on and while they were waiting for it to open up he gave Bob the photo he'd taken of the new shop. It showed the benches, some machinery, and the painting and sanding booths.

"A nice one Jack. It shows how much bigger we are now."

"Aye."

"Did Ken choose it?"

"Aye."

"Then we'll use it. Now about the titles. All I want is 'The first workshop' and 'The new workshop.' I want the wording under each picture so it doesn't have to be too big."

Jack loaded his word processing program then showed him the range of fonts and sizes he had. After selecting the most appropriate combination Jack printed each on thick paper and gave them to Bob.

"Nothin' for that Bob. Here's t'bill for t'other stuff."

Bob glanced at the figure, £32.50. "I think we can afford that."

Rose walked into the room and suggested they have coffee in the small garden behind the shop. Bob wanted to return to his garden but accepted her offer because he wanted to know more about the Gift and Toy conference. Over coffee she answered his questions, telling him to dress smartly, to be prepared to discuss percentages and delivery details. He walked back with his arms full of paper and his mind wondering how he could attract retailers to his table, fearing that everybody would spend their time at the bigger displays where there would be much more to look at. He decided to buy some sweets and put them in a bowl on the table, perhaps that would help.

It looked like the rain would be arrive any moment so he put everything on the kitchen table and started hoeing. He was lucky for it didn't begin until he'd finished most of the garden. He spent the afternoon cutting wooden letters for the new shop sign with his jigsaw. He sanded each one then glued them onto an old curved plank. They read 'Small End Wooden Toys.'

After supper he pasted the photographs and titles onto the cardboards making posters of them. The printed titles covered his hand-written script and he was pleased with the results. 'One look at these will tell anyone how we started and what we've become. It shows how well we're doing and that might make them more willing to work with us.'

He was in no hurry to get up Monday morning not knowing what to do that day. It was still raining so he couldn't work in the garden. He couldn't think of anything else he should do to prepare for the conference. He could go to the shop and help Ken but he didn't want to be there when the new boy arrived. Ken should be the one he reported to, not him. Then he remembered the sign he'd made for the workshop door. He'd stain the letters. That would make them stand out.

He was eating his breakfast, wishing he had bought more kippers because the ones he had yesterday were wonderful, when a letter from Maria arrived. She had booked him on the August tour and included a brochure. To confirm his booking he should send her £500 and the agency would convert it into escudos. He would have to pay the balance one month before the tour began. He looked at the tour date. It began Sunday August 11th and ended the following Sunday. He wrote the dates on his kitchen calendar and put a note on Saturday 3rd July to remind him to send the rest of the money. Then he added 'buy a £500 bank draft' to his to-do list.

In her letter Maria congratulated him on getting his driving licence. "Now you can drive me when we meet in August!" Bob thought of telling her that he would be driving a Vauxhall by then but decided to keep that for a surprise. She was interested in his business venture and said she hoped she could meet Ken when she did her September tour. The date of that tour was September 15-22nd and he added those dates to his calendar, not that he was planning to take a church-visiting tour but just to record when she was in England. 'So if Maria hopes to meet Ken she must be thinking she'll extend her stay. That'd be nice.'

He thought more about what Maria wrote as he dried the dishes and decided to get a draft from his bank today. 'I'll go to the bank this afternoon and see if Jenny wants any more sets.' Rose had told him he should keep in touch with his retailers so that they got to know him and were more likely to suggest his toys to people who were not sure what to buy. He didn't need to visit Leo because he's see him at the conference.

In his letter he told Maria that he would love to drive her around the Lake District although she would have to tell him where she'd like to go because he hadn't been there before. "Perhaps we can look for new places that the agency might add to future tours." He wondered if the company would pay for her to spend a few extra days in England. Probably not. He looked again at how she had ended her letter. She had written the same words he had used, "with love, Maria." So he ended his letter in the same manner.

Bob stained the wooden letters and left them on the bench to dry. He donned his mackintosh, collected an umbrella and walked to the workshop, entering by the front door.

Ken was running wood through the saw jig. He stopped when he saw Bob and greeted him. "Hello Bob. This is Craig Elton. He's on trial for a week. Craig, this is Mr. Barns. He and I own the company."

"Hello Mr. Barns. I hope my work will satisfy you."

"It's not me Craig, it's Mr. Smith you have to satisfy. He's in charge of the work shop." He looked at what Craig was doing. "Do you know what these are for?"

"Mr. Smith told me that the needles will hold the wooden pieces that are to be painted. This is what they do," and he pushed the holder he was holding into a piece of scrap wood and lifted it. Bob noticed that he was wearing a glove, probably one Ken had given him.

"That's right. How many holders are you going to make Ken?"

"Enough to hold a hundred pieces. I was telling Craig how we make the toys. Do you have any more questions Craig?"

"Well I've several but I'll wait and watch what you do. That might answer them. I learn best by seeing what's done rather than being told about it."

"Yes I do too," Ken said.

"Me also, I think," echoed Bob.

"Let's have a break now, it's nearly ten. Time for tea. I've bought a kettle and the other stuff. But we don't have anything but these two stools to sit on. The chairs won't be here for another week."

"You can have a couple of our garden chairs Ken. I'll bring them later. Where's the kettle, I'll make the tea."

During the tea break Ken told Craig that he'd like the staff to call them Ken and Bob. "I know it's unusual to use first names in England but it's done in many factories in America. I'm told this helps to build teams and team spirit fosters production and quality. I wanted to try that in Southampton but couldn't get the rest of the management group to agree. What do you think Bob. Do you mind?"

"No not at all."

"Then Craig, please call me Ken and Mr. Barns, Bob."

"I'll try, er, Ken. It'll be a bit difficult but I'll try."

'It'll get easier with practice."

After the break Bob helped Ken as he ran the long blocks through the saw jig to make the small houses. They stopped for lunch and Ken told Craig that the lunch break was only half-an-hour. "Do you mind having a short one?" Craig said he didn't mind at all but he hadn't brought any lunch. "Here, have this," said Ken, and gave him a sandwich and an apple.

"Thanks Ken. Tomorrow I'll bring my own. I didn't think about lunch when I left home."

Bob said he didn't have his lunch either. "I'm driving to Big End this afternoon so I'll eat at home. I'm going to my bank and I'll also see Jenny to see if she needs more. I'll take five of each set Ken. Do you want anything for the shop?"

"I haven't thought of anything. Oh, I don't think the plastic bags you use to carry the sets in looks very professional. Why don't you look for something better?"

"Good idea, I'll do that. I'll collect the sets for Jenny after lunch. How are we going to keep track of the ones you make and the ones I've taken?"

"I'll write what we make on a piece of paper. You do the same for the ones you take. I'll pin my sheet to the wall in the office. No, we should have a notice board and some drawing pins. Can you buy them and a stapler, pencils, a pencil sharpener, some ball-point pens and two or three pads of paper. Things for the office and anything else you think of or see when you are in the stationers."

"Okay. I'll add them to my list. I'm off now. See you this afternoon. 'Bye"

As Bob opened the waiting room door he saw Ken opening another package of biscuits. 'I'd better buy more of those and some tea and sugar too,' he told himself.

After lunch Bob took three plastic bags from the cupboard under the sink and two garden chairs from the lean-too, put them in the back of the van and drove down the hill to the shop. He left the chairs in the waiting room and then wished he had brought one of his side tables for the room. He'd do that tomorrow. He collected five of each toy set, put them in the bags then wrote what he'd taken on a piece of paper and pinned it to the wall.

"Have you thought of anything else Ken?"

"No."

"Okay, 'Bye then."

He parked the van in the bank's parking lot, bought the draft to send to Maria then crossed the road to Jenny's shop. She wasn't there but Susan told him that they didn't need any more sets at the moment. She smiled at him and pointed to his mackintosh.

"Don't you like my coat?" he asked.

"Yes. But it's not the latest fashion. Oh sorry. I hope you don't mind me telling you that."

"No I don't. I'm told I should look like a 'professional.' You should help me chose my clothes!"

"I can't do that! You could go to Hankins, they'll help. My Dad goes there."

"What does he do Susan?"

"He's an insurance agent."

"Well he probably wears the kind of clothes I should wear. I'll see what they suggest."

Mr. Hankins helped him chose a suit, a smart, dark blue one, a tie and two shirts. He was told they could adjust the trouser length immediately and Bob said he'd be back in half an hour or so. Luckily he had enough money with him to pay for the clothes. He walked back to the bank and withdrew another £200 before retrieving the van.

His next stop was the shopping centre where he bought the tack board and office items from the stationer's shop, together with a receipt book he'd use to record the number of sets given to retailers. They also stocked three different sizes of plastic boxes so he bought one of each. Ken could chose the one he wanted. He was told that the supermarket sold large plastic carry-all boxes so he went there and bought two as well as coffee, bags of sugar, two boxes of tea bags, ten packets of biscuits and, as a treat for himself, four packs of kippers and his special coffee. He asked for two bills, one for the shop items and one for himself.

The rain had stopped when he returned to the clothes shop so he left his mac in the van. He didn't want Mr. Hankins to sell him one of those, at least not yet. His suit was ready for him, waiting in a large plastic bag.

Ken was moving a drum of acrylic to the paint booth when Bob walked in the side door carrying one of his carry-all's filled with items from the stationers. "Don't fasten the notice board to the wall Bob," Ken called. "I'll put it up after the desks arrive." Bob nodded, left everything in the office and went back to the shop to see what was happening.

Craig was pushing wood through the saw jig making village houses. Bob watched him for a while and showed him a slightly better way to hold the wood. Then he went to the paint booth and watched Ken. Five engine boilers were hanging from the needles of a holder and Ken dipped them into a tray full of paint as he watched. Lifting it carefully Ken brushed the lower side to remove the excess paint then hooked the hanger onto two of the eye rings that were screwed into the bottom of the shelves on the movable rack.

"It'll get faster as I learn the best way to do it," he said.

"It's much faster than brushing it on right now. I hope the paint looks okay after it has dried.'

"If this paint is the same as the paint we tried earlier they'll be fine. I'll do all the first coats today and do the second tomorrow. Then I'll try the rubber stamps to see if they work. I made them yesterday. Craig can glue them together then fasten the wheels and hooks, wrap and box them. Not much to teach him there."

"I'll drop in tomorrow afternoon and see how it's going. I'll be working on the display table in the morning. Oh, I've bought three plastic boxes. Choose the one you like and I'll find out where we can buy them in bulk."

Ken nodded his head. "Good." He was much more interested in the way his dipping was working than in what Bob was saying. So Bob bid goodbye and drove home. He checked his wooden sign; the stain had dried so he gave it a coat of varnish before making his supper.

Bob woke with a start early Tuesday morning very worried about his display table. Ideas for it were running through his mind but something was bothering him. Was the table going to collapse? No, it couldn't be that, it was strongly made. Was it too small? Maybe that was what was wrong. Then he suddenly realised that it had no sign saying that the toys were made by Small End Wooden Toys. That was the problem. He'd phone Jack and ask him to print one.

Since he couldn't phone him this early he decided to treat himself and have a pair of kippers for breakfast. After he had washed the dishes he fetched the toy sets from the van, set up the booth table in the lounge and was about to put some of the toys on the table when the scratches and smears of paint on the top of the plywood board caught his eye. Earlier they hadn't looked too bad but today they did. He'd have to find something to cover them and thought about using one of Betty's table covers but all of them were circular. It needed a plain white cloth, perhaps a bed sheet would do. He screwed the slanted poster holders into the back of the table, fetched a sheet and positioned it then added some toys. That worked. He placed the photograph cards on the holders and stood back. Yes, they told the story and looked nice. But where would he put the company name? There wasn't enough room to put it on the table. He could hang it on a line strung between the two posters above the table but that would look pretty shoddy. Then he thought of hanging it in front of the table. It'd probably look fine there, with the sheet as a background.

Since it was nearly eight he decided to call Jack. Rose answered the phone.

"No. Jack's already left. A real-estate agent phoned last night and said there's an old cottage that's just come on the market and Jack's gone to look at it. He'll probably be there most of the morning. I'll tell him you called when he returns Bob." Bob thanked her then hung up. That wasn't too good. What if he didn't come back then or couldn't make the sign today?

He sat in his easy chair and thought. Could he make the sign? It was very important to have the company's name displayed. Ken had told him that weeks ago. He was stupid to have forgotten. How could he make one that would look professional?

Then he remembered how he used to make letters for Sam when he was learning the alphabet. He had cut them from wood and painted them. Sam and Regina would put them in alphabetical order or make words with them. He could do that, that is, if he could find the stencils. They were probably with his old woodwork magazines. One year the magazine provided stencils of letters and numbers each month in different fonts and sizes. He'd use one of those.

The magazines were stored in Regina's room. He found the stencils but soon realised that the letters would be too small. He'd have to enlarge them. He found his pantograph and drawing board and took them and the stencils to the kitchen. He'd choose a font, scale it up, draw the letters on white paper and transfer the outline to some thin plywood using carbon copying paper.

It was a joy to use his jigsaw again. He remembered the days when he cut the alphabet and gave it to Sam for Christmas. Regina used the letters more than Sam did, forming words, then sentences like, 'I love you Mom and Dad'. They were happy times.

He sanded the letters, took them to the lounge and placed them in order on the white sheet realising as he did so that they'd show up better if they were stained. A dark walnut colour would be best. He took the letters back to his shop, opened the can and stirred the small amount that was left in the tin then brushed the top of each letter with stain, wiping it afterwards with a cloth to even the coat. 'Now, how am I going to fasten them to the sheet? Ah, I'll glue them to a cord, that should do.'

When Jack phoned he told him why he had called that morning. "But I've solved the problem, I've cut the letters out of plywood.'

"Okay."

"Rose said you were looking at a cottage. Did you buy it?"

"Nay. He wont's too much."

"Why not make him a low offer and see what happens Jack?"

"Aye, I might."

The stain had dried after he had eaten his lunch so he arranged the letters and glued a string on the back. Being made out of wood they'd add just the right touch to his display table. No one could miss seeing their name now. Then he searched the house for a box where the retailers could leave their cards eventually choosing a wooden fruit bowl. He put his business cards in a box that he'd made years ago to hold Betty's earrings then arranged them all on the table. It all looked pretty good to him.

He walked down to the shop carrying one of Sam's bedside tables and left it in the waiting room. It would do for now but it should be replaced by a bigger, more-suitable one. When he went into the shop it was empty but there was a noise coming from the back. He opened the rear door and saw Ken and Craig screwing two brackets into the wall.

"Hi Bob. The exhaust fan came this morning and we're just tightening the bolts. We've tried the fan earlier and it does a great job. I pushed wood into the sander and there's next to no dust in the booth when the fan's turned on. This duct," and he tapped it, "goes directly to the sanding booth. The fan fits on this bracket and the dust goes into a bag under the machine. The bag's reusable but I don't know where we'll dump the dust. I'll ask Joe where to put it when I see him. How's the table? All set up?"

"It's fine now. I made a sign saying 'Small End Wooden Toys' to hang on the front this morning."

"Take a photo of the whole thing at the conference. It might be useful someday."

"All right. Did the other fans arrive?"

"Yes. We'll install the one for the saw jigs tomorrow but we'll need more ducts. I didn't know where they had to go and I didn't order enough. I'll need some flexible duct too. The paint booth fan can be installed later. I had no trouble when painting, there didn't seem to be any fumes, so we might not need one in there."

Once the fan and it's bag had been properly installed they showed Bob how well it worked then they decided to stop for the day. Craig left first, collecting his bike from the side of the shop and riding off.

"He's asked if we can provide a place to chain his bike. He doesn't think it'll be stolen but he doesn't want to worry about it. I'll ask Joe if he has something we can bolt onto the shop wall."

"Will you hire him?"

"Yes I will. He learns quickly and is good with his hands. I'll tell him he can have the job if he guarantees he'll stay with us for at least one year. I don't want to take him on then find that he wants to take a different job in a month or so. And Bob, I want another helper. We'll need one if the conference brings in lots of customers. If he's as good as Craig we'll be in clover."

"All right. Do you want me to put the same sign in Rose's shop?"

"Yes please."

"Okay. The conference is very important, isn't it? It worries me. If I don't find lots of retailers all this is for nothing."

"Now don't think like that. You have to have a positive outlook when you meet people otherwise you'll turn them away. Remember, 'Don't worry, We'll be alright,' that's our motto. Keep it in mind."

"Yes. You're right. Okay. Tomorrow'll be fine.'

"Good. Well I'm going home now. Enjoy the next few days and let me know what happens as soon as you can."

"Okay. Cheers Ken."

Ken locked the door, got in his car and waved as he drove away. Bob walked home, thinking more positively about the conference. 'Well it'll be a new experience, that's for sure,' he told himself, 'I might as well enjoy it.'

**Chapter 15 The Conference**

Bob was in the bath at six o'clock on Wednesday morning, scrubbing his back with a Betty's loofah; he couldn't sleep any more. Normally he bathed in the evening before going to bed two or three times a week. Having a bath in the morning always made him wish that he had installed a shower but Betty didn't like them so he had never installed one. Perhaps he should now; selling toys was different from getting coal or sawdust in his hair during the day. When he was working at the station he would be out in the rain, moving packages and luggage or sweeping the floor or stoking the stove and no one noticed if he smelled a bit. A bath at the end of the day made sense then; in his new job it would probably be better to shower each morning.

He put on his new suit after checking to see that there were no tags or labels attached. He didn't find any; Mr. Hankins must have removed them. Bob still had plenty of time, the conference manager told him when he eventually replied to his phone call that he could set up his booth any time after eight. He also said that the conference's registration began at 9:30 and people wouldn't arrive much before then. Bob knew he'd only need fifteen minutes to set up his booth but still planned to arrive at nine. He'd set-off at eight because he didn't want to worry about slowdowns or tailbacks as he drove to Bournemouth.

He loaded everything in the van—table, poster stands, posters, the sheet and company name, bowl and box, introductory notes from Rose, Jenny and Leo, business cards and toy sets. Then he visualised the table—did he have everything? No, he'd forgotten the screwdriver he needed to fasten the poster stands to the table and fetched one. Driving away he remembered that he was going to put some sweets on the table so he stopped at a newsagent's shop and bought some wrapped toffees and a box of chocolates. He'd cover the top of the box with paper and put the toffees in that. He'd keep the chocolates for himself.

He parked in the lot behind the Nextoria hotel and walked through the door at the back. A man holding a clip board was walking towards him so Bob told him he had a table to set up for the conference, adding, "My name is Barns, Bob Barns."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Barns. You have six foot, I think. Come, I'll show you where you'll be."

He took him along the corridor and pointed to a space between two marker posts. "This is yours."

The corridor they were in was wide and already had a few display booths set up on each side. People were opening boxes and putting out their wares, moving them from place to place and arranging table lights. Bob, seeing that, wished he'd brought a light, they highlighted items and greatly improved their looks. He'd bring one tomorrow.

He fetched his table, screwdriver and the poster stands from the van and set them up. Then he collected the sheet, the company's name and two drawing pins and set them up, hanging the Small End Wooden Toys sign across the front of the table by hanging the cord from the pins driven through the sheet and into the ends of the table. He positioned the rest of his display: the letters were placed in the centre of the table with Leo's on top for he'd be the person most people would know; some of the toys were arranged along the back of the table; the bowl for retailer's business cards, a pile of his cards and the box lid with the toffees were all placed along the front. He walked backwards and forwards along the front of his booth, making sure everything was suitably placed. As he thought, it took only fifteen minutes to set things up. He sat behind the table on a chair the hotel had provided and wondered what else he should be doing. Nothing came to mind so he decided to see what other people were selling.

There were several stands where toys were sold. Labels on the boxes suggested that most of what they were selling came from China. Many tables were covered with china figurines, coffee mugs, T-shirts, belts, stuffed animals—all the things normally found in a gift shop. There were very few wooden items and no wooden toys that he could see. 'Why not,' he wondered. 'Had they tried selling them? Did retailers not like them? Did the three retailers that sold for him stock his toys because he was a local man?' If so he'd be in trouble, maybe none of the retailers would sell his toys. He walked back to his stand and sat down, a little dispirited.

A young woman was busy arranging lights over the jewellery that was on the table on his right. Two men were putting jars of jam, honey, cakes, toffees, fudge, and other edible items on small stands on the table to his left. He wondered if they made all these themselves but thought not. There were too many different items and he assumed they were distributors.

He had seen the reception table at the end of the hall near the front of the hotel and a table with cups and saucers stood next to it. A young man wheeled a trolley holding four large jugs along the corridor towards it. When he saw that he guessed they held coffee and tea and asked the woman with the jewellery if the coffee was for them.

"No, it's not for us," she said. "We have to buy ours from the hotel's cafeteria. Is this your first time here?"

"Yes."

"Well I wouldn't go for it now. Retailers are arriving and it'll be busy. I'll show you where to go when they begin the conference."

"Okay. Thanks."

People in twos or threes began to drift by. No one stopped; they preferred to speak to each other but most took a quick look at each display as they passed.

"What they're doing is what they usually do," the woman said. "They talk to their friends. They'll be back before or after their lunch break and at other times. I always remain at my table if there's nothing on their agenda. Did you collect one?"

"An agenda? No I didn't."

"Well look at mine," and she handed hers to Bob then read over his shoulder. "See, they begin the conference at 10 and continue to 12:30. There's a lunch break until 1:30. I always have my lunch after they have finished theirs. There's a half-hour break at 3:30, and there's a social from 5 to 6:30. You won't see many people that hour but I stay at my booth until 7, that's when they have their dinner, in case any of them come here then."

"Well I'll do the same. Thanks. I'm Bob, Bob Barns,"

"I'm Tina Liscome. Hello Bob."

"Hello Tina. How long have you been selling jewellery?"

"This is my tenth year. I started making jewellery as a hobby and gave it to my friends, then other people asked if they could buy it. That's when I started selling it. Eight years ago I quit my job and have been making jewellery full-time ever since. Do you like it?"

"Well I haven't really looked at it. It looks fine to me but my wife used to choose her own jewellery, not me. So I don't know much about jewellery. It all looks very bright. What's it made from?"

"It's mostly silver and gold, that's why it's shiny. What happened to your wife? You said she used to choose her jewellery, not she chooses it."

"She died three and a half years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"That's okay."

More people were walking along the corridor now so they stopped talking, hoping someone would stop. Bob stood behind the table while he waited but the woman sat. One or two groups paused to see what Bob had on his table but didn't say anything. He wondered if no one stopped because he didn't have lights, most booths had plenty of lights brightening their display by now, or because they weren't interested. Tomorrow he would bring both the bedside lamps he made after they were married. The lamps weren't too big and were made of wood so they'd be in keeping with the company's theme. Trouble was, there wasn't much room on the table for two lamps; he'd probably have to put the train or one of the carriages on one of their bases. That might look alright though.

At ten the retailers disappeared and Tina told Bob that she was going to have a coffee. They walked together to the cafeteria, bought their coffee and chatted as they drank it.

"How's business Tina?"

"Pretty good. I rent a shop in the centre of Bournemouth and make the jewellery at a small work bench at the back. What about you?"

Bob told her how he began and that he and another man had just formed a company to make and sell their toys.

"I saw the company's name on your stand but I don't know Small End. Is it really small?"

"It is at the moment but it's growing and will be almost as big as Big End in a few years. Do you know Big End?"

"Oh yes. I've been there two or three times since I've lived here."

"Where did you live before?"

"In London. I left when I decided to make jewellery full-time. I might have sold my things in the city but the shops were too expensive for me. I once had a holiday in Bournemouth and thought that would be a nice place to live so that's why I moved here."

They talked a little more then Tina looked at her watch and told Bob she wanted to go back to her booth to finish a piece she was working on. Bob looked at his watch then said he'd go for a walk to pass the time. The Nextoria was near the highway but Bob found a side road that led to a small sub-division and he explored that until it was time to return.

The doors of the large conference room opened at twelve thirty. Many of the participants went to the cafeteria but about half stayed and walked along the corridor looking at the displays and talking to some of the people behind them. A steady stream visited Bob's booth. He showed them what he and Ken made, taking extra parts of the toys from the boxes if they seemed interested. He explained the arrangements he had with his current retailers and told them the wholesale and usual retail prices. When he mentioned Leo people picked up interest and took a closer look at the letters he had put near the centre of the table. Most of them dropped their cards in the bowl and took one of his toffees. Several said they'd see what Leo or Rose said about his toys. None of them ordered any and he began to worry. He hoped that was simply because they wanted to ask Leo how they sold before placing an order.

He was busy every minute until 1:30 then sat down and rested. Talking to people while standing took more energy than he'd expected. Maybe that's why Tina sat most of the time but she'd been busy too. He asked her if it was a successful lunch-hour and she said that most of the people she talked too were retailers who already sold her things but there were a few new ones as well.

"You know," Bob said, "it only just struck me that you sold through other retailers as well. Earlier I'd thought you just sold through your own shop but you wouldn't be here if you didn't have others sell for you."

"Well I didn't have the shop when I first came to Bournemouth. For the first four years my stuff was sold only by others. They continued to do so when I started selling. I make more when I sell them myself but I still make a good profit when they sell. I'm going to have my lunch now Bob."

"Me too. Are you eating in the cafeteria?"

"Yes. There's nowhere else around here."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all."

So they had lunch together and Bob learned that her boy-friend, "more-or-less an ex-boy friend now," Tina said, had moved to Bournemouth a year ago and she saw him periodically. "He drove me here this morning. It's too awkward to take the table, lamps and pieces on the bus. Do you have a car?"

"I have a van, a rented one."

"Well can you drive me home after this is finished? Tommy would if I asked but I told him I'd catch the bus. He'll drive me home with the stuff at the end of the conference but I don't want to bother him more than I have to."

"Yes of course. Glad to."

"Thanks. I have to change buses to get home and you know how long that can take if you miss one."

"Yes I certainly do. Having the van makes life much easier for me."

"Bob do you mind if I tell you something about your boxes?"

"My boxes?"

"Yes."

"What about them?"

"Well they don't look very nice. When we go back to the tables have a look at mine. Not the small blue boxes I use for the cheaper ear-rings and brooches but the ones for the large necklaces or bangles. I don't know if you noticed them but they are much better than the ones you use."

"I didn't notice your boxes Tina."

"Well I had the big ones made for me. When I order a thousand at a time they're not much more expensive than the popular blue box. If you had some made they'd probably cost three or four times more than the brown boxes you're using but I think they'd be worth the money. If you've finished let's go back and I'll show you what I mean."

They returned to their booths and Tina pointed to the larger boxes near the back of her table. "See, they have curly black lines over a range of colours. It's just a design I sketched and they use it when making the box. This box looks much more attractive than my ordinary blue boxes don't you think? And, if you don't mind me saying so, ten times more attractive than the brown cardboard boxes you are using."

"Yes they do look nice. Do you think the company you buy from would make boxes for me?"

"Of course they will. That's their business. The company's in Salisbury. Visit them and talk to Don. He's the designer. I'll get their address for you when I get home tonight."

"Thanks. Is there anything else about my stuff I should change?"

"No I don't think so. Do you make other kinds of toys beside these?"

"I used to carve birds but they take too long. We couldn't make them, it's something an individual has to do."

"Well you might think about making some different toys as well. If retailers like what you have now they'll ask if you have others and it would be a pity not to provide them. That's why I make all kinds of jewellery instead of just brooches or just necklaces."

"I'll talk to Ken about that. Trouble is, he's set up something like a production line and I don't know how easily it could be changed to make a different toy. I suppose it would depend on what we chose to make. You've given me something to think about, two things, in fact."

"I hope you don't mind."

"Quite the opposite Tina. Thanks."

She smiled at him, sat down and started engraving a broach. Bob sat behind his booth thinking about what Tina had said. 'New boxes, yes. That made sense, if they don't cost too much. My boxes do look cheap now I think about it. But making different toys might upset Ken, though maybe it wouldn't, he likes solving problems. Making different toys might be something he'd like to do sometime in the future, if not at the moment. I should design a few before talking to him about it.' He thought about the ones he'd made for Sam and Regina, one or two of those might be easy to make. And he had the magazines, they had lots of designs for toys.

Just then he saw Leo and Rose. They had just walked out of one of the meeting rooms and he stood up and walked down the corridor to greet them.

"Hello Bob. I saw you earlier but was talking to friends so I didn't come over," said Leo.

"Same for me," said Rose. "How's it going?"

"I don't know. I've talked to lots of people but no one said they wanted anything from me."

"Ah! That might change," said Leo. "Several people have asked me if your stuff sold."

"Me too," said Rose. "I think that they'll come and see you later."

"Oh thanks. That makes me feel better."

He returned to his table when they said they were going to have some tea. Shortly afterwards people began dropping by and asked what his toys normally sold for and the discounts he gave then said they'd like to try selling them. He took their cards and noted how many sets each wanted on the back. This kept him busy until four o'clock when they moved into various meeting rooms.

"It looks as if you'll have some sales," Tina said. He smiled at her. "Yes it does, doesn't it. I'm happy now!"

A few others placed requests during the social hour but the place was empty by six thirty. He counted the number of cards on which he'd written orders. Twenty eight! He had twenty eight shops to visit now and he might have more tomorrow. Then he counted all the cards in the bowl. Another seventy seven but they would surely include some of the twenty eight so it could be quite a lot less than that.

"They're going to rest or have a shower or change before dinner now Bob. Most of them will be staying in the hotel and I like to wait in case someone visits."

"How do you deliver to your retailers Tina?"

"By registered mail."

"Ah yes. That would work for you. It'd probably be too expensive for us to do that. How many people do you think there are at the conference?"

"Probably between a hundred and one-fifty. The organisation covers the western half of Hampshire, all of Dorset and the southern half of Wiltshire. There are lots of shops in that area. Oh, here's Julie. She's the editor of the organisation's newsletter. I expect she'll want to talk to you because you're a newcomer. Hi, Julie."

"Hello Tina. It's nice to see you again. And I think this is Mr. Barns," she said, looking at Bob.

"Yes. My name's Bob Barns. We manufacture wooden toys."

"Leo told me about you and that you've just formed a company making wooden toys. I'd like to interview you. I do that for every new manufacturer or distributor who rents a booth at one of our conferences. That lets those who can't attend learn about what's new. I also spoke to Rose and she told me she's sold your toys for four years and she told me a little of your history. Do you have time to talk now?"

"Yes indeed."

Bob told her why he began to sell toys and why he decided to make more of them. Then he told her about the partnership and the new workshop and pointed to the photographs. Judith seemed very interested. She took notes, photographed Bob, his booth and each of the two photos.

"I'll send you a few copies of our newsletter when it is produced. That'll be near the end of next month. I hope you like what I write."

"I'm sure I will. Thanks' for talking to me."

As Julie walked away Tina said, "that's an interesting story. Julie might make it the feature article. If she did it would be very good for your business. Well I'm packing up now. Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes."

Tina collected all her jewellery and put it in a small suitcase.

"Should I take my toys Tina?"

"No they'll be all right. I take the jewellery because someone might pinch it but I don't think anyone will take your toys. Most people leave their stuff here. The doors to this corridor are locked at night."

On the way to Tina's flat she asked Bob where he was going to eat that night.

"I'll go home and since it's late I'll probably eat at our local pub."

"I'm eating out too. I'm going to have Thai tonight."

"What's that like?"

"It's wonderful. Umm, do you like curries?"

"Yes I do."

"Well Thai food is often hot and spicy but it's much tastier than curries, I think. Why don't you come with me? There's a Thai restaurant just around the corner from my flat."

"Well thanks. That's nice of you to suggest it. Yes I'll join you. You can tell me what to order and show me how to eat it."

Tina showed Bob where to park and they walked to her shop. She opened the door and pointed to the boxes on the shelves behind the counter.

"See, they all have the same background design. Some of my necklaces are rather large and that's what's in the bigger boxes on the lower shelf. I'll get you the address of the company that makes the boxes. They're called Salisbury Boxes," and she walked to the back of the room, opened a drawer in a desk and took out a small box that held business cards. She found the one she sought and wrote the name on a piece of paper and gave it to Bob. "They're near Salisbury. Okay, let's go and eat, I'm hungry!"

They left the shop and walked around the corner onto the main street. The restaurant was a small one, almost hidden between a newsagent and a bicycle shop. They were given a table for two and Tina took Bob through the menu, explaining what her favourites were made from and what they tasted like. Eventually they shared an order of vegetarian Spring Rolls, a chicken Pad Thai, a stir-fried chilli-and-basil beef, a mango salad, some rice and a couple bottles of Singha. At the end Bob insisted on paying for the meal, wanting to thank her in some way for the good ideas she had given him.

"That was excellent Tina. I like Thai much better than curries."

"Well, as you saw on the menu, they also serve curries but Thai curries are also better than Indian I think. Next time you should try one."

"I will. And I'll look at the frozen foods in Tesco's to see if they sell Thai."

"I've never looked there because this is so close to me. Would you like to have coffee at my place Bob?"

"Well, it's getting a bit late, Tina." He didn't know if it was sensible thing to do. It might be best to head home.

"Oh come on. It's not that late! And you should have coffee after drinking beer don't you think?"

"I suppose so. Okay."

They walked back to the shop and Tina opened a door beside the entrance. "Here we are," and they climbed the stairs to her flat.

It was a small place but nicely furnished. Bob sat on the sofa while Tina made the coffee. He was a bit worried about what might happen next. What if she asked him to stay for the night? What would he say? Tina was a nice-looking lady. She must have been about thirty five. And she referred to an 'ex' boy-friend so there wasn't anyone to complain if he agreed. Did he want to do that if she asked? What happened with single people these days? He just didn't know what to expect.

However nothing like that happened. They drank the coffee, talked for a while about selling items on the internet then Bob stood and said he must be going. Tina walked with him down the stairs to the door and kissed him lightly on the side of his face as they said goodbye. He felt himself blush a little as she did so. She stood and watched him walk along the road towards his car before shutting the door.

Bob had plenty to think about as he drove home. New boxes, different toys and Tina. Tina seemed to be a very nice woman. He would like to get to know her better. But Maria was also very nice. In fact Maria would be the one he'd choose if he had to choose between the two. Maybe he could be friendly with both. But he certainly couldn't become the lover of both; he had never learned how to do that although some of his school-day friends used to boast about having two girl friends. It would be much too complicated, especially at his time of life. So he forced himself to stop thinking about women and to think about Thai food. 'Now that's a food I could eat everyday.' He should learn how to make it. Oh there were so many things he hadn't done and so many new things to experience. Life was good, wasn't it!

Tina smiled at Bob when he arrived next morning, carrying two bedside lamps and an extension cord. "How do you feel today?" she asked.

"Excited. Yesterday provided so many new contacts! Let's hope there are more today. How about you?"

"Happy. It's nice to chat to some of my retailers yesterday. Here are two more coming now," and she turned her head and greeted a couple.

Bob removed the train set and some fencing and placed the lamps on the table. He then curled the train and it's carriages around the base of one of the lamps. 'That looks quite nice,' he thought. He formed a square with four short pieces of fencing around the other lamp base and put a plastic man and a cow inside. "Hmm, that's not so good but it'll do.' He looked around, no one seemed to be coming towards his table so he walked to the registration desk. "Can I have one of the conference schedules and literature about the association please? I'd like to know more about it and learn who are its members."

"Of course. Here's the package we give to all new registrants. You'll find everyone's names in there. Aren't you Bob Barns?"

"Yes. How did you know that?"

"Well I've walked past your booth a couple of times and Julie also told us about you. Welcome."

"Thank you. I'm very glad to be here and plan to come back every year."

He returned to his table and looked at the schedule. Ah, yes, the conference ends in the afternoon, just as he guessed. Quite early in fact, at four o'clock. That was to give members time to drive home he supposed.

The day passed much like the first day. People stopped, looked at what he had, asked if he supplied other toys, put their cards in the bowl and often took a toffee. Some placed an order and asked him to deliver as soon as he could. Sometimes he asked if they had talked to Rose or Leo and most said they had. He had coffee and lunch with Tina and met Tommy, her ex boy-friend, when he came to take her things home. Bob told him that Tina had given him some good suggestions and added, "Look after her, because I hope to see her again next year."

"You don't have to wait 'til then," said Tina. "Pop in when you are in Bournemouth and we'll have some more Thai."

"All right," said Bob and looked at Tommy whilst he spoke. Tommy smiled, nodded his head and said "Perhaps we'll all have lunch together. I like Thai too."

Before packing his things to take to the van he counted the number of cards he'd collected. Together with yesterday's cards he had ninety nine retailers to visit, of which forty four wanted sets as soon as possible. That was a very good return on the £75 they had spent for the booth. Ken would be happy.

He packed quickly then drove back to Small End. Ken was just about to close the workshop when he arrived.

"Hello Bob. How was the conference? Did you get any orders?"

"Forty four! They want me to bring the sets as soon as I can. And I have cards from another fifty five who want me to call. It's likely they'll want sets after they learn that their competitors are selling them. I'll try to see all of the first lot in the next week and go to the others when I can. You know, it looks as if we're going to be swamped with orders."

"Then you won't mind when I tell you I want to hire two or three more helpers. Craig would be one as you know. He's so good I'll make him temporary supervisor when I have to leave the shop. And a girl called in today saying she's looking for a job. I was tempted to say we were looking for men because of the equipment we have to handle but I can't. We can't discriminate by sex. So I told her to come on Monday and I'll give her a week's trial."

"Interesting. I wonder how she'll do. I guess we'll find out. What else happened while I was away?"

"I've ordered the furniture for the office; two desks, two chairs, a filing cabinet, two desk lamps, a table for the waiting room—your bedside table isn't big enough and it'll get scratched if we leave it there—a floor lamp and a set of shelves for supplies. They said they'd deliver all of them tomorrow. All together they cost just over £600. There should be enough money in the account to pay for them."

"Ah, about money Ken. When I explained our rates and how we wanted to be paid many of the retailers said they couldn't send a cheque at the end of the month. They told me they did an inventory before they paid for items sold. All agreed to send a cheque before the fifteenth, but that means we can't count on getting the money for any month's sales until about the twentieth of the following month."

"That's earlier than we used to get ours at the factory. It might be a problem for the next month or two, especially if we hire two or three more workers because we'll have to pay them at the end of each week. Any other problems?"

"Not problems but suggestions. One, that we buy better-looking boxes for our toys. It was pointed out by a helpful lady that our brown cardboard boxes looked pretty mundane. She's given me the name of a company that designs and makes boxes. I'm going to see them, find out what they've got and how much they would cost. I think that's a good idea, don't you?"

"Yes I do. What was the other suggestion?"

"Well I wasn't going to tell you about it just yet but here it is. She suggested we make other kinds of toys because, if these sell, then retailers will ask for others. Some of them have already done so, in fact. I wasn't going to tell you about that now because you have the shop set-up to make our current toys and might not want to change it. And also because I don't know what other toys we should make although I know where I can get ideas from."

"You're right about the shop set-up but we might not have to change much, it depends on what you suggest. Think about toys we could make with the current set-up if you like."

"Okay. How many of each set do we have now?"

"By the end of Friday we'll have 75 village, 55 farm and 100 train sets."

"That won't be enough Ken. I've got forty four retailers wanting sets. To give them five of each set I'll need 220. That's 220 of each set."

"Well we might be able to make that many each week now the shop's all set up. Craig and I can probably make 450 sets a week, 150 of each kind. Maybe even 200. If we get two more good helpers they could do something close to that. We might even make more later if some other ideas I have in mind work out."

"Well that's excellent. I'd no idea we could make that many in a week. It's exciting isn't it?"

"Yes, it certainly is."

"Anything else to tell me?"

"I've ordered five hundred plastic boxes. £180. That's all, I think. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I'm going to Salisbury and see the box-making company and take toys to the retailers who have shops in that direction."

**Chapter 16 Boxes and dreams**

He called Salisbury Boxes as soon as he arrived home and made an appointment for 1:30 the next day. Supper that night was the salmon he'd bought last weekend; he grilled it. Afterwards he opened the road map and circled the forty four retailers who wanted toys as soon as he could provide them then put their cards in an envelope to take with him. To make sure he didn't forget anything he made a to-do list for Friday: 'Take map. Buy more detailed maps of the area conference members came from. Take receipt book and pen. Put the sets in three bags in the van.' He added, 'Take sandwich lunch', thinking that this would give him time to travel to more shops as well as save money, and 'Thermos of tea' if he could find where Betty stored the ones they took on picnics.

His first call Friday morning was typical of all the calls he made that day. The shop owner recognised him, thanked him for coming so quickly and was glad to take five of each set. Only one of the retailers questioned the rate, asking for a fifty percent commission, but when told that everyone else was selling them at a forty percent the man said, "Okay, I'll do the same." The visits took, on average, about twenty minutes, so there was time for him to call on two of the stores in Salisbury whose owners or managers hadn't gone to the conference. None of them wanted any of his toys which was good, in a way. He didn't have enough to provide them right now.

He ate his lunch on a table in the park next to the Avon. 'Salisbury's a pleasant town,' he thought. 'It'd be nice to live in a house overlooking the river. I might be able to do that if we made enough money.' It would be much better than living in a giant Small End and next to a bustling Community Centre. But all his friends lived in or near Small End and he didn't want to move away from them.

He stayed in the park watching people feeding the ducks until it was time to go to Salisbury Boxes. Once there he parked the van, put one of each set in his carrier, entered the office and was greeted by a man standing behind the counter.

"Hello. It's Mr. Barns isn't it?" Bob nodded and the man continued "My name's Bill Watford. We spoke on the phone. I understand you're interested in buying boxes from us."

"Yes but not like the ones I have here," and Bob pointed to the three in the carrier. "Something more attractive."

"Well there are some we make," and he pointed to the walls. "Any of them look better than a plain cardboard box, don't you think?. Do you see one that might suit you? Don't worry about the size, we can easily change that."

"Just a minute. No, I don't think so. You see our toys are all made of wood. I was wondering if you could make a cylindrical box for us and colour the outside to make it look like a log."

"A cylindrical box? Oh, yes, I think we can, though I'll have to check with my brother." He put his head through a door behind the counter and shouted "Dan. Can you come here for a minute?"

"Be right in."

"Dan this is Mr. Barns. Mr. Barns, this is my brother, Dan Watford. Dan and I own the business. Dan is the designer and manages the factory; he spends most of his time there. Dan, Mr. Barns asked me if we sell cylindrical boxes!"

"Well, well, well! That's interesting. A client ordered cylindrical boxes about two months ago. He imported linens from China and wanted a distinctive box for his napkins, table cloths, sheets and so on. but he was killed three weeks ago in a car crash and his business has closed down. So we thought the design and the cutters we made were wasted. Just a minute, I'll fetch one of the samples we made to show him what we could do."

Dan left the room and returned carrying a piece of cardboard. He put it on the counter then rolled it twice to make a cylinder. He then bent the outside ends inwards to make the cylinder into a box. With one hand he held the cylinder firmly and used the other to pull a tab that turned out to be the edge of a flap that was cut through two sections of the cylinder.

"That's how you open the box. We'd add the design you chose to the outside and parts of the inside would be coated with an adhesive and protected with waxed paper. We ship the boxes flat and your staff would have to remove the waxed paper and roll the pasteboard around a large wooden cylinder we provide to make the boxes. The adhesive will hold it in shape. Then they fold one end like I did and the adhesive will fasten that end together. Lastly they pull out the cylinder and fold the other end. It sounds like a long job but I can fold ten boxes in a minute. What do you think of a box like this?"

"I think it's excellent! I've never seen one like that before, especially the way it opens. But wouldn't it roll? That would be inconvenient."

"No. Since I didn't roll it on the cylinder I wasn't able to bend the bottom of the box and shape its ends properly. The cylinder is slightly concave along the bottom. Pressing the pasteboard into the concave part actually forms the bottom. The top is on the other side when the board is rolled correctly."

"Can you colour the outside to make it look like a log?"

"Easily. Just tell us what kind of log you want, maple, oak, silver birch, or whatever. We could print any of them."

"Wow. People would buy our toys just to have one of the boxes! How much would they cost?"

"Are those boxes in your carrier holding your toys Mr. Barns?"

"Yes, and please call me Bob. I think we are going to be doing quite a bit of business together." Bob pulled out one of the boxes and opened it to show the village set that was inside. "The other boxes hold a farm set and a train set but they all fit into the same sized box."

"I'm Dan. Well, the smallest order we take is a thousand boxes. What would we sell a thousand of these for Bill?"

"A box a bit bigger than those cardboard boxes you use would be £250. We give twenty percent off if you order in quantities of five thousand."

"£250 for a thousand, that's twenty five cents each. These cost five cents, but yours are so much better I'd like to order a thousand right now. Can you show me what the outside would look like?"

"I can show you photographs of tree barks on the computer," said Bill, "and you can choose one. Come and look," and he walked behind the counter and did something to the keyboard. Several different tree barks appeared on the screen.

"How did you do that?"

"I used a search engine and looked for royalty-free pictures of tree barks. Now I'll enlarge some and you could choose the one you'd like."

"Can I have that silver birch? This part of the bark," and he circled a section of it with his finger.

"Of course. I'll copy the photo and enlarge just that piece. Dan'll use it when setting up the printer's computer."

"And we would want our company name printed too. Small End Wooden Toys. Can you print the label on one side so it can be read when the box is on the shelf? I think it could be put here," and Bob showed Dan where he meant on the sample cylinder.

"What colour ink?"

"Black I think. That would stand out."

"Do you want the name of the toy that's inside printed on the box?"

"No. I think we'll use a sticker for that. We don't know how many of each we would need."

"I can print a check-off box on one end then all you'd have to do is tick the box that names the toy you've put inside."

"Yes. That's a good idea. Put in four lines, leaving one blank because we're probably going to make some different toys. The label would list Train, Farm and Village. Thanks. How long would it be before I received the boxes Bill?"

Bill stopped copying Bob's instructions for a moment and said, "How long Dan?"

"It'll only take a week right now because the time I reserved on the cutters for the client who died hasn't been taken by anyone else. All I have to do is program the computer and adjust the cutters. Cutting and putting adhesive on the pasteboard doesn't take very long. You're lucky."

"Do you deliver to Small End, a village near Big End?"

"Yes we do. No charge for delivery for that distance. We'd fit it into our other deliveries. But that might add a couple of days to the time before you get it."

"Then call me when they're ready and I'll pick them up. I want them as soon as possible. Here's my card. I'll give you a cheque for all of them now."

"Thank you. Then let's do the paperwork."

"Can I take that cylinder you made to show my partner?"

"Sure. Here it is. How's the business doing?"

"Very well. We anticipate selling two hundred sets a week and we hope to sell more. Almost a hundred retailers showed interest in buying these toys at their conference this week. That's where I met Tina Liscome. She told me about your factory. She buys her boxes from you. There's one of them there," and Bob pointed to one of the boxes that Tina used that was hanging on the wall.

"Ah yes. We both know Tina. Say 'Hello' to her from us next time you see her."

"I will."

'What luck,' thought Bob, as he left the factory. 'A box like that will surely increase sales.' Then he started to worry, what are the retailers who only have the old boxes going to think? 'I bet they'd be unhappy. What can I do. Oh, I know, I'll replace their old boxes with new ones.' That being settled he drove to the next nearest shop on his list.

It was about 4:30 when Bob parked at the Small End workshop. He carried the pasteboard cylinder into the office. Ken was arranging the furniture that had arrived. The desks, chairs, cabinet, shelves and a few boxes filled most of the space. "Which desk do you want Bob? You get first choice."

"It doesn't matter Ken. You'll be using the office much more than me. Which do you want?"

"This one. It's near the phone outlook and I can see through the window into the waiting room if I sit here."

"Okay, that's your desk. I'll take the other one. Move it anywhere that suits you. Where's Craig? I didn't see his bike when I came in."

"It's Friday Bob. Craig told me he had a date and I let him go at four. I might do that each week as a small bonus. I'll think about it. I paid him, gave him a cheque for £125. I think he's happy with that; we'd have to pay a man twice that. I want to pay the staff at the end of each week like I said Bob. We could make it every two weeks but I think it better if we pay weekly and it's easier to make changes if they take a day off, for instance. They feel better once they have the week's pay in their pockets, too."

"Whatever works Ken. Hey, look at this," and he held up the cylinder. "Do you know what it is?"

"It looks like a cardboard cylinder to me."

"Well, yes, it is, but it has a lid," and Bob opened the top. "I've ordered a thousand of them. The outside will be coloured to look like a log, a silver birch log. We'll use them for our toys. I think they'll add to our sales when people see these on the shelves, it makes them look more like a gift than the our cardboard boxes. They cost £250 and I gave them a cheque."

"I think they'll look very attractive once they look like a log."

"I'm still a bit worried about all the money we're spending Ken. I'll list all of our expenses this weekend and find out how we stand. It's near the end of the month so we'll soon have to pay the bills. I'll phone you if we don't have enough in the bank. I hope we don't have to add more."

"Okay."

"How many sets do we have now?"

"We made another fifty farms and are working on a hundred villages. We'll make them in lots of a hundred from now on. Altogether there are seventy five villages, a hundred and five farms and a hundred trains at the moment, minus the ones you handed out today."

"I gave five of each to nine retailers. So we've got thirty villages, sixty farms and fifty five trains. I'll mark it on the sheet. Do you have it?"

"Yes," and Ken pulled it out of his pocket. "I'll pin it to the notice board when its up. How many sets do you think you'll need each day?"

"I can probably go to ten shops if I spend time talking to the owners. More if they're together in a town and many more if I just simply hand the sets over and don't talk to anyone. Right now I'd need fifty of each set each day."

"Okay, then we'll have to hire more workers. Craig and I can only make about a hundred sets a day."

"Of course it's only now I need that many. Later they'll only need to replace the ones they sell."

"Yes but they might sell a lot more than we expect. You might have to deliver a hundred of each every day."

"A dream Ken."

"If we ever sold that many do you know what that'd bring in each week?"

"No."

"Well, after all our expenses are paid it could be as much as a thirteen thousand pounds."

"No. I don't believe that."

"Nor did I at first, but think. Retailers sell our sets at different prices, fifteen, twenty two fifty and twenty five pounds and we receive sixty percent of that. Here, let me write it on a piece of paper," and Ken picked up the pad and wrote '£9, £13.50 and £15.' "That's what we get from them. Let's say, on average, we get £12.50 a set and that we sold the same number of each set. Now I've roughly calculated what it costs each week and, after paying for wood, paint, distribution costs, Craig's salary and so on it's a bit less than three hundred and fifty pounds. When you do the rest of the maths we'll make about nine pounds on each set. That shouldn't be a surprise, you used to take home more than that for each set you sold to Rose. The big difference is that we can make more than a hundred a day whereas you made only a few. So if each set sold gives us £9 net and if they sell a hundred of each set a day, what do we get?"

"£9, times three, times one hundred."

"Which is £2,700. And five days a week gives us £13,500."

"And £13,500 for fifty weeks makes nearly seven hundred thousand pounds a year! No, it can't be right Ken. A hundred of each set, that's three hundred sets each day! That means we'd need a hundred retailers because each might only sell three a day. And five hundred retailers if each sold only three in a week."

"It is right Bob. However, for that to happen we'll have to expand our distribution area. We might need four or five hundred retailers."

"I couldn't possibly deliver to that many."

"Yes I know. We'd have to hire drivers and more vans. Or find a distributor to handle our stuff."

"We wouldn't get as much money from each sale if we hired drivers, rented more vans or used a distributor."

"No I know. But all this is in the future. We'll just see what happens over the next two or three months."

"I can't think about what's going to happen over the next two or three months Ken. It's too much to handle and gives me a headache. Two many things might go wrong."

"Well it is a lot to think about, I agree, but that's the way I am. I've always liked to think about the future, even if what I think might not happen. In the long run we'll just have to see what happens Bob."

"Yes. Just don't change too quickly Ken. It worries me, aiming so high and spending so much money as we go along. Spending money is the worst part for me, I don't have that much."

"Ah, don't worry Bob. We'll not go too fast. Now, let me help you load the van."

They put all of the sets into the big cardboard boxes that were in the van and Bob drove off, his head reeling. To think that he could be earning over a quarter of a million pounds in a year! He couldn't imagine it. 'What could I do with that much money? Give it all to the children? That wouldn't help them live a sensible life,' he thought. 'Give it to charity? That might be the answer. But do I want to work that hard just to give the money away? Ah. It's not sensible to think about this. It's like imagining what I'll do if I won a million pounds in the lottery; it's a waste of time. But Ken thinks it might be possible.'

It wasn't until Bob had finished his supper and switched on the television that his mind stopped thinking about such a future. Slowly he focussed on what else was happening in the rest of the world, the real world, not the fantasy world that Ken described.

He changed his Saturday routine that weekend, thinking it would be nice to have a couple of days at home for, in future, he'd be sitting in the van most of the week. He wouldn't even drive to Big End; any shopping he needed he'd do during the week in between calling on the retailers.

It was a bright, sunny Saturday morning. He checked the vegetables and did a little weeding. There were a few radishes big enough to eat so he pulled them. After coffee he took the sign and some screws, a level and a screwdriver to the workshop. Jane saw him as she climbed into her car and shouted, "I'm glad you're putting that up. It'll stop people knocking on our door. You'll be at the Crown tonight?"

"You bet."

The day continued to be a bright and cheerful one so he decided to take a longer walk than usual. He crossed his garden, went to the back of the station's parking lot, made his way carefully down the slant where the bulldozer had dumped the bricks and wood from the station and onto a lot where the builders had just dug the foundation. He walked along the edge of the lot then along the road toward the T-junction, passing five houses that were in various stages of construction and three finished ones that had a 'For Sale' sign pasted on the front door. Half-a-dozen homes were already occupied, with cars in their driveways and people were working in their gardens, seeding grass, putting down sod, planting bushes and small trees.

At the junction, where the road heading south met the road to Big End, he turned north, walked between two unoccupied houses to the remains of a barbed wire fence, climbed the slope and crossed the railway lines. He stopped on the far side for he could already see several changes. There were no more fields. The hedges had been removed and the trees that used to grew in some field corners had been removed. He hardly recognised the place. Muddy tracks ran from the torn-up acreage to the main road. There were signs where they intersected. He worked his way down the slope and crossed to one of them and read 'Section Eight.' Presumably these 'sections' would be sold to developers. The cleared land extended for what seemed to be a mile to the north and about the same to the west.

He remembered playing there when he was young. In those days there were farms, barns, hedges, trees, fields, crops and cattle. He and his friends would pick apples from the ancient trees that grew in the hedges. His Mum would wash the apples, cut away the many bad parts and conjure apple pies or apple sauce from what remained. Sometimes they stole carrots but they never took them home for their fathers would have told them off or hit them. Mostly they ate the carrots raw but sometimes they made a fire and cooked them in a tin can. They also stole potatoes and cooked them with the carrots although he preferred his potatoes baked in the hot ashes. They tasted much better than the boiled ones, even though the outsides were burned and covered with ash. One year he and two other boys made rabbit snares and placed them in the runs. A farmer came by while they were doing it and told them to catch all of them if they could, he didn't want them eating his crops. The only bad part was killing the ones that hadn't strangled themselves with the wire noose. His Mum didn't enjoy eating them so he didn't do it often.

It was depressing to see the changes so he returned to the rail track and followed it back to where it crossed the road above his house. He joined the road and walked along it until he came to the bridge over the river then he took the river path. He was glad that that part hadn't changed. He took his normal route for the rest of the afternoon. He stopped to admire the view occasionally and when he came to the riverside pub he drank a pint in the garden, looking at the river and almost fell asleep. Afterwards he took the footpath that crossed the fields and led to the village. There was still time for a nap before having his bath and going to the Crown.

**Chapter 17 Spring cleaning**

Bob was the first to arrive at the pub that night. Len poured his bitter and asked how the business was going.

"Too soon to tell Len. Ask me in a month's time."

"You call your company 'Small End Wooden Toys' I've heard."

"Yes that's right."

"And I've been told that you'll be visiting shops from now on, not making the toys."

"Yes I will. I had a booth at a conference for gift shop owners in Bournemouth Thursday and Friday and I think we're going to be very busy. We've hired a young man and we're looking for another two. Do you know of anyone looking for a job?"

"Don't think so. I'll ask around and see if anyone else knows of somebody. Young men you said. What do you mean by 'young'?"

"Teenagers mainly. Boys who won't ask for a man's wage. Boys we can train and, if they can do the work, keep. Then we'll pay them more."

"Oh, boys who have just left school. That's what you mean."

"Yes."

Joe came in and joined Len and Bob at the bar. He ordered a beer and they left Len and moved to their usual table.

"The shop's been busy this week Bob. I've looked in a couple of times. Ken and that new guy are always on the machines. You must have hundreds of toys now."

"Not hundreds Joe, I wish we did have hundreds. I went to the conference this week and I've got about a hundred retailers wanting toys. I just don't have enough to give them."

"That's the conference that Rose goes to each year?"

"Yes. She told me about it and I'm very glad she did. Meeting the retailers at the conference will make things much easier when I visit their shops. They'll recognise me. What have you been doing?"

"Weeding mostly. I had to spray one of the fields, cabbage white butterflies. They're going to ruin the cabbages if I don't get rid of them."

"I get them too. I usually look for their eggs, squash them and kill any caterpillars I see. I can get rid of most of them that way but it takes a long time."

"Spraying's the only way I can handle them."

"What are you shipping?"

"Carrots and new potatoes. They're no trouble to grow but I don't have enough helpers."

"That's the same for us," and Bob told him that they didn't have enough toys for the retailers who asked for them. They supped their beer and were quiet for a while.

"How's Jane managing Joe? She must be very busy with the show right now."

"She is, although it's not as bad as it was when they were putting it together. She'll be along later."

"Have you seen it yet?"

"No. I'll probably go next week. How about you?"

"I'll probably go next week too. Ah here's Jack and Rose. And Jane. I thought you said she'd be late."

"I guess she's left someone else in charge. She missed lunch today and is probably hungry."

"Yes I am Joe," she said. "I want something to eat then I'm going back. What's on the menu?"

Bob fetched one, took their orders to the bar and returned with drinks for Rose, Jack and Jane.

"I very glad I went to the conference Rose," he said when he sat down. "I collected ninety-nine cards from interested retailers and forty-four want toys as soon as possible. That's because lots of them had been talking to you or to Leo, I think."

"Well lots talked to me about your toys though Leo is much better known than me so most probably went to him. You've told me that he sells more toys than I do so that's probably why they decided to stock them. I'm selling them now, three today."

"Perhaps because there's four bus loads at the show tonight," said Jane. "The house is full and we had to turn late comers away. Any of you going?"

"I'll go next Friday Jane" said Joe. "Save me a seat."

"Okay."

"And one for me on Friday too please, next to Joe," added Bob.

"It'll have to be Saturday evening for us Jane" said Rose. "I can't close the shop early on a Friday."

"Okay. Four tickets, two Friday and two Saturday evening. I'll get them when I go back. I'll tell you what I know about the new Centre now 'cos I must leave soon. The contract has been let to a big Southampton company. They say it'll only take four weeks if the weather's good. If that happens then we'll move in during June. I'm told the company has also bought one of the sections north of the rail lines so that'll make them finish our job quickly."

"I took a look at it this afternoon," said Bob. "It doesn't look very nice. A giant, flat, muddy spread. No hedges or trees. No farms. depressing."

"Be better when it's built," said Jack.

"Yes I know," said Bob. "Oh, anyone know of a couple of teenagers who might like to work in our shop?. We need more helpers."

"Same for me but I need men able to do a hard day's work without complaining," said Joe.

"Nay," replied Jack.

"Nor me," said Rose.

Their meal arrived. Jane hurried through hers then left. The rest of them stayed until nine when the pub filled with people coming from the show. Bob had mixed feelings as he walked home; he was happy to have spent the evening with his friends in a half-empty pub but the crowd that entered at nine reminded him that Small End was quickly changing. It was becoming less like the village he knew and drinking in a noisy crowd spoilt the fun. 'I can't stop it so I'll have to accept it,' were his thoughts as he entered his front door. Once again he forgotten to turn on the railway lamp.

The sunlight woke Bob Sunday morning. Should he close the blinds and try to sleep for another hour or two or should he get up? It wasn't really something to question because he knew the answer; he was a morning person, always had been. The only time he stayed in bed was when he was sick and, apart from colds which didn't stop him from working, he hadn't been sick since he was a child. He lay in bed thinking about what he should do that day.

The most important task was to make a list of their months expenses. He already had a fair idea about how much they'd spent from an estimate he'd calculated when talking to Ken; about four and a half thousand pounds. They could cover that.

All right, what else did he have to do? The garden was weeded, the washing done, his workshop clean. Then it struck him; this was the time of the year when Betty did the spring cleaning. Since she had died he had never done it. 'So that's the first thing I must do; the spring cleaning. I'll do the accounts in the afternoon. Or evening, if the cleaning takes a long time.'

Yesterday he'd thought he'd have kippers today but he liked to take his time when he ate those for they were a treat. He'd leave them for another day and have porridge today. Now, how did Betty spring clean? She started at the top of the house, he thought, did the bedrooms then moved downstairs and worked on the bathroom and the lounge. The kitchen was last for some reason. What did she do beside dusting all the furniture and hoovering the floors? Ah yes, she took the curtains down and shook them outside. And put the carpets on the washing line and beat them with on old tennis racket. She probably tidied the shelves as well. He could do those things but it would take all morning and it'd be hard work. So he got up, ate breakfast and started.

He cleaned Sam's room first and removed the two posters that were still on the walls. He rolled them up and put them in the closet besides three pillows and a suit Betty bought but Sam didn't like. 'I'll give the suit to the Salvation Army. He won't want it now.' He dusted the six books Sam had left on the top of his dressing table then decided to give them away as well. The longest part was shaking the curtains and beating the carpet but Sam's room was finished in half-an-hour.

Regina's room took over an hour. They had used her room as a stock room and it was full of boxes, books, magazines, dolls, dresses, a drawing easel and old equipment. He cleaned as well as he could but decided to phone Regina before throwing away anything of hers. His room was relatively easy, he normally cleaned that each week. Just the curtains and the carpet to do. He had finished the upstairs by nine-thirty and stopped for a rest and an early coffee.

As he was cleaning downstairs he had a thought. The shop needed room to store the toy sets and they were going to use his workshop but it would be nicer to use Sam or Regina's room. It could be fitted with shelves whereas his workshop couldn't, at least not without removing the benches and he didn't want to do that. He'd move all of Sam's furniture into Regina's room, all except the bed. Sam had told him, when he was invited to stay for the night, that several of the springs had been broken many years ago when he and his friends held jumping competitions and it was very uncomfortable for him to sleep there now. 'I'll throw the bed away and Regina's too and give the sheets and pillows to the Salvation Army, that is, if they want them.'

As soon as he had finished cleaning downstairs he dismantled both beds and took the mattress and the pieces to the side of the house, ready to be picked up by the dustbin men. He'd call them tomorrow to tell them they were there.

He was very tired by now but content and glad he'd cleaned the house. It felt a bit like he'd been tidying his life too, making it a little more like it really was these days. No children living at home really meant he needn't keep all their stuff around. Mementoes of Betty he'd always keep; her photographs, the pictures she loved more than he did and her recipe book. He used the book now when he wanted to try a different dish. But he hadn't kept any of her clothes; Regina had taken them to a thrift shop a few months after she died.

After lunch and an hour's nap in his chair, something he really didn't want to do but felt too tired to resist, he emptied the box that contained the business bills on the kitchen table. He sorted them twice, once by date and then by who had paid the bill. Then he headed a lined paper, 'April, 1996,' and made six columns underneath. He headed them: 'Date' 'Item' 'Cost' 'Paid?' 'Total' and 'Notes'. He didn't know what he would put in the 'Notes' column nor did he know if Simon would think these were the correct headings to use but he understood what they meant and he could describe them to Ken.

The first entry line read 3, Saw, £45, Yes, £45. He put, 'by Ken,' in the notes column. To him that meant 'On April 3rd they bought a saw and it cost £45, they'd paid for it already and they had spent £45 to date and Ken paid for them. The second row read: 3, 500 boxes, £22.12, Yes, £67.12, by Bob.

He continued doing this until every expense he knew about was written down. The total spent came to £5,268.18. Of course most of these bills hadn't been paid yet but that's what April's expenses were and they'd have to send off the cheques within a couple of weeks. Well, they had £6,345 in the business account so there was enough. The ones that had already been paid would have reduced the amount in the bank but it would also have reduced the amount they had to pay. The only extra they might have to pay would be for the new girl and for some more petrol, unless Ken had bought something he didn't know about.

So they had enough money in the business account, just. What was not spent in April should last until they started receiving money from the retailers around the fifteenth of May. Paying the helpers each week made it very tight until money started coming in. But after that it would be easier. They didn't have to buy any more machinery and, come to think of it, the rent for the van had already been paid until the end of May.

Now he'd check what he had in his own accounts. He looked at his savings book and, as expected, he had just over £5,250. And he had about three hundred in his checking account. This meant he could easily add more to the business account if that was needed. He felt better immediately. He needn't worry. They were going to be all right.

He made a pot of tea and opened the tin box of chocolate covered biscuits that Regina had given him for Christmas. He chose the biggest one, a covered digestive biscuit, and ate it slowly. Then another. And another. Then he put the lid on. 'That's enough for now,' he said to himself, 'or I won't eat any supper. Now I'll make a to-do list for next week.'

Looking at the addresses of the remaining thirty five retailers who'd said they wanted toys as soon as possible he wondered how he should organise the job. First how many sets should he give to each one? He didn't have enough to give five to everyone but if he gave only three he would have to return more frequently. He eventually decided to give five then work in the shop until there were enough to give another five to the next group of shops.

Next, which way should he go, west, north or east? He looked at the road map and put a pencil cross where each of the shops were. 'I'll go east tomorrow and visit Southampton and the southern shops,' he decided. There were eleven shops to see in that direction but he had only enough village sets to visit six. He'd visit the remaining five shops when he went north. There might be enough sets for him to do that on Wednesday. After that he'd help in the shop until there was enough to go west to do the Bournemouth area. That'd not be until the following week. He'd leave the shops who hadn't wanted them immediately until he had enough toys. Yes, he could now see very clearly why they must hire more workers. Right now he would have to do both jobs, making and selling. 'I hope I have the energy to manage both.'

He remembered to call the children that night to find out what they had been doing and to tell them his news. He always talked to the grandchildren but usually didn't know enough about their everyday activities to know what to say. Sports was usually a good topic. They didn't like to talk about school or exam marks. Tonight he mostly wanted to tell Sam and Regina what he had done with their rooms and that their beds were to be discarded. They'd have to know that in case they suddenly wanted to sleep here. He called Regina at nine o'clock, his usual time, and told her that he had cleaned the house and had dumped her bed. "Is there anything in your room you want to keep?" "No," she replied. "Anything that's there now I don't want." Sam, when he called him next, said much the same thing.

**Chapter 18 Lori**

He drove directly to Southampton on Monday morning, arriving at the first shop on his list at nine. As he had done Friday he chatted for a few minutes, discussed the conference or the weather then gave the manager or owner five of each set and collected a receipt. He told each one that when he came next he'd bring some better-looking boxes but couldn't say when that would be. He had a mug of coffee in one shop and he had visited all six shops by eleven thirty so he drove home. He had a short rest, a quick lunch and was in the workshop by one thirty.

"Didn't expect to see you today," said Ken.

"I had no more villages to give out. I went to Southampton, visited six shops and left five sets with each."

"You'll have another hundred villages tomorrow, as soon as the last coat is dry. Right now we have to finish the hedges, sand them, then paint the whole set. Lori is helping us now, Lori Turner. She's in the sanding booth. I'll introduce you when she comes out. I think we have another treasure there. I'll tell you about her afterwards."

"What can I do?"

"Help Craig make the rest of the hedges. I'm going to paint the houses and other sanded parts."

They stopped for tea and biscuits as soon as Lori emerged from the sanding booth. She was an attractive girl, about twenty years old. She, like Craig, had gone to the Big End high school but she had left when sixteen to work in a clothes shop. She had expected to manage the shop by now but the owner had told Lori a month ago that her daughter would become manager as soon as she finished college. So Lori left and had been looking for a different kind of job. A friend had seen the notice in Rose's shop when she had visited a week ago and told Lori about it.

"You live in Big End then Lori?" asked Bob.

"Yes."

"Do you think you'll like working here?"

"Don't know. It's a lot different from selling clothes. I can tell you I don't like sanding, it's too noisy in the booth. I'd rather paint. Or even try pushing the wood through those cutters."

"You can switch to painting tomorrow Lori," said Ken. "Finish the rest of the sanding today and it'll be the last time you'll have to do that."

"You promise?"

"Yes. However we'll have to see how well you can paint or push wood if we're going to keep you. I'd suggest you wear old clothes when you work here. You could keep them here and change in the toilet if you don't want to travel in them."

"I'll think about that. Do you have any work I can do in the office. I'd like to do that most of all."

"Not yet. We will when we get bigger, I expect. We'd need someone to answer phones, keep records and that sort of thing."

"How do you record what you do, what you buy and sell, at the moment? I know how to use spreadsheets and I use a word processor at home."

"We just write what we need to record on paper."

"What about inventory? For instance, you seem pretty low on wood."

"We check that by eye. Oh Bob, I ordered wood for another four hundred of each today. As Lori said, we'll need that soon."

"Well Mr. Smith, when you want someone to use a computer please think of me."

"It'll be a while before we buy a computer Lori. We don't need one at the moment."

"Do you still need more help?" asked Craig. "Mum told me that the notice was still on Tyne's board yesterday."

"Yes we do," answered Ken. "We need another two helpers immediately. Do either of you know of anybody?"

"There's a boy I met at a concert last Saturday," said Lori. "His family just moved to Small End and he's looking for a job. I'll tell him you have one when I see him next but I don't know where he lives. One place you might try is our high school. Kids who took the shop course might be perfect; one part of it is carpentry. You might find someone there. I didn't take that so I don't know anyone. Did you take that course Craig?"

"No."

"Well I can ask my friends or you could visit or phone the school."

"Thanks Lori. That's a good idea. I'll do that right now," and Ken went to the office, adding, "You'd better get back to work now or Bob won't have anything to sell."

After Craig and Lori had left that afternoon Ken told Bob that the school said there might be one or two boys looking for a job. "But they won't finish school until July. So that's no good. It might be okay in the future but not now. Let's hope Lori finds the boy."

"What were you going to tell me about her?" asked Bob.

"Well she's already told you. I was just going to tell you where she worked and that she'd never done any woodwork before today."

"Do you think she's any good?"

"Well the sanding she's done is okay but it's depends on how well she can paint and cut wood."

"Yes. I'll be here tomorrow and can help," said Bob. "I'll box the sets once they're dry and go back to the Southampton area in the afternoon and visit the rest of the shops. Wednesday I'll help here until we have enough to go out again."

"Okay. The wood should be here tomorrow afternoon. Leon said he kept the amount we normally ordered on hand but our last order was a bit unexpected. I told him to keep that quantity on hand from now on until we told him differently. I must order more paint too. I'll do that tomorrow."

"We don't need to order more boxes. I'll collect a thousand on Friday."

"Yes. We'll have to keep a careful track of how many we use. It takes a week, or did you say longer, to get them."

"More like two weeks. I'll keep an eye on what we've got."

"Okay."

Bob made a check list to track box usage when he arrived home. 'I'm getting too many lists. Maybe we should ask Lori to look after these kind of things.'

Ken was pinning houses to the holders when Bob arrived just after eight on Tuesday. He donned an overall and joined him.

"When do Craig and Lori arrive?"

"Craig is here by nine. Lori got here at eight forty five yesterday. She'll probably be here the same time each day unless her bus is late. I'll stick to the routine we had, they start at nine and leave at five, have half an hour for lunch and a couple of tea breaks. Oh, we need more biscuits and tea when you're shopping."

"What do you do about milk?"

"Mary buys it and I bring it in each morning. Ah, that's Lori. Morning Lori."

"Hello Mr. Smith, Mr. Barns. Looks like rain later. I've brought my umbrella." She picked up an overall and said, "I'm painting today, right?"

"Yes. Watch what I'm doing then take over. Can you guess what this is for?" and he held up one of the holders.

"I guess that's the way you paint the houses."

"Yes. We dip five of them in paint at once then hang them up to dry. We clean the needles with a cloth before using them the next time, just the ones that need cleaning, that is."

"I see. And you put the houses in that box thing there to position them correctly on the needles."

"Yes, exactly. Okay, so you do it now. Then we'll pin the other buildings and the hedges. After that we'll start dipping. I'll do it while you watch then you can take over."

"What do you want me to do Ken?" asked Bob.

"You and Craig start making train sets, a hundred of them. Lori and I'll join you when we are free."

"Okay."

At their ten-thirty tea break Lori told them she had talked to some of her friends but those who had jobs were happy and those who were still looking didn't want to work with wood. "Maybe someone will change their mind later," she added.

"It would be nice if a couple did," said Ken.

"I've been thinking about all the lists you must be keeping Mr. Smith. You don't need to buy a computer, you can use my old one. Dad gave me a new one for Christmas. My old one already has a word processor and a spreadsheet program on it so you won't even have to buy them. Someone will have to collect it though, and I'd like to be the one to use it. What do you think?"

"Call me Ken, Lori. We might give it a try but we don't have that many records to keep so it won't take up much of your time. You'll still be mostly working in the shop."

"That's okay. I like doing different things during the day. It's only the noise in the sanding booth I don't like."

"Then why don't I drive you home tonight and collect the computer."

"Okay but you'll have to buy a printer if you want to print the lists. I didn't get a new one of those."

"All right, but let's see how much we can do without one. Can Lori use your desk Bob?"

"Of course. And if we ever have free time you can teach me how to use the computer Lori. And call me Bob."

"All right."

The day passed quickly. Lori had brought sandwiches for lunch and they were a comfortable group, sitting around the table and chatting. Craig soon began cracking jokes.

The third coat of paint was dry after they'd finished their afternoon tea break. Bob glued the parts together, Lori boxed them and then put them in the van. He wrote 100 on the list under Village Sets and pinned it back on the notice board while Lori watched.

"You'll have trouble at the end of the year or whenever you want totals Bob. You'll have to keep all these lists and add them manually. If I kept them on the computer you'd know the grand total anytime."

"Yes you're right. Maybe we should use a computer."

After Ken locked the shop Bob drove home thinking about tomorrow's deliveries. 'I've enough to visit eleven shops so I'll finish the east section then go north.'

**Chapter 19 Jose and Luke**

Delivering to eleven shops, seven of which were in villages surrounding Southampton, took until two o'clock and Bob felt a little exhausted driving back to the shop. He knew he should take longer over his lunch and take a break when he felt tired but hadn't learned how to do that yet.

Everyone was busy when he arrived. Lori was fastening wheels to the engines and carriages, Ken was shaping house blocks and Craig was cutting them into houses. Bob waved hello then went to the office to pin the large map he had brought that morning that showed Hampshire, Wiltshire and Dorset on the wall. He noticed Lori's computer and other pieces piled on his desk. He knew enough to recognise the screen, keyboard and mouse. He hoped Ken wouldn't ask Lori to fix it up or switch it on this week; they should spend all their time on making more sets.

He pushed coloured drawing pins into the map, green for the shops he had already visited, red for the shops still to see that were on the 'early delivery' list and blue for all the others. When he had finished it became apparent that there were still lots of places to visit and many more sets to make, plus Rose's, Jenny's and Leo's shops, which he hadn't included. And there were all the other retailers who were on the Gift and Toy's membership list but hadn't put their cards in his box or hadn't been at the conference. There was so much work to do.

Ken looked at the map when he saw Bob in the office and guessed what the colours meant. "I'll show Craig and Lori and they'll understand why we are working so hard. Oh, here they are. Come and look at this," and he pointed to the map.

"That's not all of them," said Bob. "There are another fifty or sixty I've not added."

They returned to the waiting room and Ken put the kettle on and opened a package of biscuits.

"A friend told me about two boys who might be interested in coming here," said Lori. "They are on holiday right now but will be back on Saturday. I'll phone and ask them if they're looking for work. They have been working as volunteers in a South African project. I'll tell them about this place and let you know what they say."

"Thanks. Have you seen the other boy, the one you met at a concert?"

"No."

"I may be able to find someone, a cousin who's looking for work," said Craig. "Trouble is, he lives in Scotland. He'd like to move here, anywhere in the south of England where it's warmer, but has no family except us and my mom doesn't want to put him up."

"£125 a week wouldn't leave him much after he'd paid for board and lodging," said Bob.

"No."

"Well please keep looking. We do need at least two more people."

"We could work overtime if you like," said Lori. "At least, I could."

"Me too, depending on what days you'd want us to work."

"Not at time-and-a-half, we wouldn't want to pay that."

"That's all right," said Lori. "It's just a suggestion if you really become stuck."

"The problem is now, as you can see from the map," said Bob. "We want to get the toys to the shops whose owners said they wanted them as soon as possible. Once they have a few, and I'm giving them five of each set when I visit, then the demand will greatly slacken. We'll only have to deliver when they have sold the ones they've got."

"I see. Then would it be a permanent job for any new people?"

"I think so. We think that people want wooden toys and are willing to buy them so we expect to be busy for several years."

"It's partly due to the Green Movement," said Craig, "People are getting worried about all the plastics and the chemicals we use today. And the pollution that causes."

"You might be right. Leo, one of the retailers I deliver to, thought the same thing," said Bob.

"So that's why people are buying wooden toys?" asked Ken.

"That and probably grandparents remembering the toys they played with when they were young," answered Craig.

This was one of the reasons Bob enjoyed their chats together. He learned different things and saw the world from a different point of view. So young people also thought about the Green Movement and reasoned that was why his toys were selling.

Bob worked in the shop doing whatever Ken wanted done for the rest of the week. He helped Lori add the stripes, windows and doors to the train set using Ken's stamps Thursday morning. The trains were dry after the tea break and he and Lori fasten the wheels and inserted the hooks and eyes then boxed the sets, not stopping until they had finished. Craig pushed blocks for the farm houses, barns and pig pens through the router jig and Ken cut them. From now on they would make a hundred each time so they didn't have to alter the jigs so often. A hundred was just enough to do without becoming overtired.

A boy knocked and entered as they were finishing lunch. "Hello. Mum tells me you are looking for helpers. What sort of work is it?"

"We make wooden toys," answered Ken.

"Oh. I don't think I want to do that. I want to make computers. Will you make those some day?"

"I don't think so," replied Ken. "Would you like to try toy making?"

"Mum said I have to get a job so I suppose so. What do I do?"

"Cut wood and paint it."

"That sounds easy. Can I try?"

"Yes. What's your name?"

"Sean."

"Well Sean. Come with me," and Ken led him to the band saw. He picked up a piece of scrap wood, put on his safety glasses and cut an inch off one end. "Now you do that," and he handed the boy his glasses.

"Not too bad," said Ken, "but push the far end against the stop when you cut the wood. That will keep the end you are cutting straight."

After several tries Sean managed to do that.

"Okay." Ken clamped the block further along the bench. "Push against this block and cut these. They are hedges for our farms and villages."

It took several tries before Sean could cut the hedge end properly.

"I don't like doing this," he said. "I keep thinking I'm going to cut my hands. Is there anything else I can do?"

"Well you can't use the routers then. No. We must have people who can use all the machinery here. Sorry Sean. Tell your Mum that we can't hire you."

"All right. I'm glad. Perhaps she'll stop bugging me for a while now."

Everyone else had returned to work by then and had heard most of the conversation. When he had left Ken asked Craig if he knew Sean. "I've seen him and his Mum in the village but I didn't know his name. His Mum might come after you; she's a bit of a loud mouth."

"All right. Thanks for the warning. But we must have people who can do everything. Would you like to paint next?"

"I'd be glad to. Lori, would you mind if I did some painting?" Craig shouted to her.

"Not if I can do your job," she replied. "It looks easy enough."

"Good," said Ken. "Provided you can do the job properly you can swap jobs any time you like, just tell me before you do so."

Bob told Ken he was going to phone all the retailers who asked for sets early to say that he hadn't forgotten them, that they were making more and that he'd be able to deliver next week. "I don't want them to think I'm neglecting them." It took him just over an hour and afterwards he told Ken that they seemed pleased he had called. "It was well worth the cost of the calls."

The telephone rang then. "Hello. Is that Bob? Hello Bob. It's Bill Watford. Your boxes are ready. Do you want to collect them?"

"Yes I do. What time do you open?"

"Eight o'clock, Mondays to Fridays."

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Thanks for calling," and he hung up. "The boxes are ready Ken. I'll go there first thing tomorrow and we can start using them. It's too bad I don't have sets to deliver on my way."

"Right, well, if I can get two more helpers as good as Craig and Lori you won't be short again."

It was eight thirty when Bob arrived at Salisbury Boxes. Bill was ready for him and helped him carry the pasteboards to the van. There was plenty of space and they pushed them to the far end, leaving room near the doors. Bob made a dozen boxes while Bill watched. "I'm going to transfer the toys that are still in the shops from the old boxes into these. They look so good. Keep the cutters and the design ready, we'll be wanting more soon."

He climbed into the van and looked at his list, deciding the best way to visit the shops he'd already delivered sets to and began driving. Most of the shops had sold sets, the biggest number were sold in the centre of Salisbury where seven had been sold. Bob said he couldn't provide more toys for a week or two. The owners loved the new box and thought their very appearance would promote sales but three of them worried a little about the room they took up. On the drive home Bob roughly calculated how many larger boxes he could put in the van. The new ones were twenty inches long and had a diameter of seven inches. The old ones had a one foot square base and were four inches high. Nearly nine hundred of these could fit in the van but, if his mental calculation was right, only about three hundred and sixty of the new boxes would fit. That meant about one hundred and twenty boxes of each set. Giving five to each retailer he could go to twenty four shops in a day. 'Well, I don't want to visit more than that in a day, so it'll be all right.'

He stopped at a village deli and bought a roast beef baguette and bottle of lemonade then ate his lunch at a pull-in beside the Avon. Later he stopped at a Ringwood supermarket and bought some groceries. He'd buy the rest in the Small End grocery or they'd think he'd left the village.

Ken and the others also liked the new box. Ken said they'd need more tissue paper to pack the toys and said they wouldn't have enough room to store them once they had more than four or five hundred in stock.

"I can keep them in my spare bedroom Ken. It should hold over a thousand. That should keep us for a while. Oh, and in my shed, the new one against the shop. If I clear out the wood and shelves it should hold another five hundred or more."

"With that and a full van we can keep about two thousand. If we ever have that many in stock we'll celebrate."

"That's a good idea," said Craig, "but we'll never reach that many since Bob keeps taking them to the shops."

"What if I keep track of the number we've made on the computer," interjected Lori, "and we can celebrate every thousand we make!"

"No way," said Ken, "but, yes, we'll celebrate, though not until we've made, err, two and a half thousand. We'll pay for a meal together or something like that. Okay Bob?"

"Sure."

"Then I'll set up the computer and start keeping track."

"Not right now Lori," said Ken. "I want to finish the farms this week. I tell you what; you stop at three-thirty and set it up before you go home. Would half an hour be enough time?"

"Oh yes."

"Then we start counting from this week. You can start by putting down three hundred, even though we made some of the villages last week."

Even with Bob's help they couldn't finish the hundred farm sets by the time they stopped at four because the first paint coat hadn't fully dried. "You can still make it three hundred for this week Lori," said Ken. I'll come in tomorrow and put on the other coats."

After Lori and Craig had left Bob and Ken sat in the office and reviewed the week.

"About the farms Ken. I'll come in and pack them on Sunday. Then I'll have enough to deliver Monday."

"Fine."

"I'm going to the Spring Show tonight," Bob said. "Are you going?"

"Mary and I saw it last week. We enjoyed the comedy best. The mystery made me think I could write a better one. One day I might try writing. Do you ever think about writing Bob?"

"No. The only thing I could write would be an autobiography and it would be a short one at that. I'd call it Life of a Station Master."

"And Toy Maker, Bob."

"Well toy making has only been for a few years and only a few months as a full-time activity."

"You know, our toy-making would make a book in itself. We should write the story together."

"That's an idea. We'll talk about that when we stop doing this, there's too much to do right now."

"Yes. Okay. If we remember this agreement and all the things we did, we'll do that," and they laughed a little at the idea.

Like Ken, both Bob and Joe enjoyed the comedy best but the whole show was lively and relaxing. They had a pint at the Crown afterwards but had to stand at the bar for the place was full and it was too noisy to have much of a conversation. "We'll talk at dinner tomorrow," Joe shouted to Bob as they headed to the door. Bob nodded his head and smiled.

The garden was too wet to hoe Saturday morning so he washed his clothes and hung them to dry on the kitchen clothesline. He dusted and tidied the lounge then put on his mac and walked to the village grocery to buy his groceries. He napped in the afternoon, had a bath then put on his jacket and mackintosh and headed to the Crown.

Joe and he arrived together. They talked to Len for a while then moved to their table when several newcomers walked up to the bar.

"How's business?" asked Bob as they sat down.

"The greenhouse lettuce is selling well and we have spring onions and peas. It's a bit too early for yours I expect."

"They shouldn't be long. They need weeding again but I couldn't do it this morning because of the rain. I'd like to have a greenhouse, as you know, but I don't have room for one. I'd have to put it where the workshop is and I can't do that."

"Ever though about selling you house and buying one with a bigger garden Bob?"

"I couldn't afford to do that. My old house wouldn't fetch much and I'd be sorry to leave it, it holds so many memories."

"Yes. I understand that. My farm has for me. I don't know what I'll do when I'm too tired to farm."

Luckily Rose and Jack joined them at that moment and their slight sadness disappeared. Rose gave Bob a cheque for £205.50. "I sold five villages, seven farms and four trains last month. I don't think I've ever sold so many in April before."

"That's probably because we have so many visitors," Joe added. "Jane told me that four bus loads booked seats for tonight's show. She said that we were not to wait supper for her, she'll be late." So they ordered and ate as soon as it arrived.

"Did you buy the cottage you were looking at Jack?" asked Bob.

"Nay. A couple bought it. They mus' have money, fer t' kitchen an' bathroom need fixin'. Oh Bob, wont any more cards?"

"Yes I do. People at the conference took nearly all of them. Can you make me another two hundred?"

"Aye. An' labels?"

"No. We won't need them in future. The new boxes have places to check what's in them. I'll bring you some of the new ones tomorrow Rose. You'll like them. I'll move the toys from the old boxes into them; they look good on the shelves. I got them yesterday from Salisbury Boxes."

"Can I have some more sets Bob?"

"Could it wait until you are completely out Rose? I'm still delivering to the people who wanted them early and we don't have enough to do everybody."

"All right."

"Anything new happening in the Community Centre Joe?" asked Bob.

"Nothing I know of. All I know is that we're still waiting for the contractor to turn up. You'll probably see him on the site before we know he's here."

Jane had no news for them when she arrived after the show had finished which was just as well for it quickly became hard to hear what anyone was saying. She refused a drink, saying she just wanted to tell Joe she was tired and was going home. Everyone decided they might as well do the same and left with her.

After his breakfast kippers Sunday morning Bob checked the April expenses box. He had two boxes now and the May box contained very little—petrol, maps, pins, biscuits and tea. There were just two new items to add to April, Lori's wages for two days, £50, and £33.74 for petrol. The total was now £5,351.93. They'd get the telephone bill soon and that should be all. And May's bill should be less even though they'd have to add about £1,000 for Craig's and Lori's wages. The question now was, will they make that much money from the toy sales? He'd be much happier if he knew the answer to that question.

After an early coffee he drove to the shop, stored the pasteboard under the bench where the toys were assembled, made seventy five log-boxes then filled them with farm sets. Afterwards he made and filled enough boxes to hold seventy five villages and the same number of farms. He now had enough to give five of each to fifteen shops. He'd drive towards the west tomorrow and do the Bournemouth area.

He put a few empty boxes in his van and drove to Rose's shop. He picked up the boxes, walked round to the back of her house and knocked on the kitchen door.

"Hello Rose. How are you? Sorry to bother you on a Sunday but here are the new boxes."

"That's okay Bob. Bring them in and let me look at them."

Bob walked in and put them on the kitchen table. "What do you think?"

"I like the shape. They look like logs. Nice, but how do you open them?"

"Pull the tab."

"Oh I see. That's clever. But they're longer than the old boxes. I won't have room to put more than one on the counter shelf."

"Will you have room to store them in your stock room?"

"Well yes."

"Good. Give me your sets and I'll change them over."

Jack came in as they were doing this and gave Bob the cards he'd ordered. "All done an' dry. Ere's t'bill."

"Thanks Jack. Mind if I don't pay until the end of the month?"

"Nay. That's okay."

That afternoon Bob took his usual walk, wearing his Mackintosh and the felt hat Betty gave him for his fortieth birthday for it was just beginning to rain. He followed only the river path, knowing that the low spots in the woods would be very muddy. As he passed the place where he had dropped Betty's ashes into the water he was sorry she wasn't there to share these times. Would she have liked all his activity? She'd probably have been worried about all the money he was risking. A few minutes later he remembered Tina. 'I wonder if she'd like to know what's happening now?. I'll phone her and ask if she'd like to have a Thai lunch tomorrow.' He did that after supper and she said "Yes, I would."

Monday morning Bob drove towards Bournemouth on the old road that led through one or two villages stopping at shops along the way. He could shorten the time he spent with each retailer by not talking to them but he didn't think that was wise, at least, not this time. Later, he would, once they knew him and his toys. He had been to nine shops before he parked a hundred yards from Tina's jewellery shop.

There were no customers when he entered and Tina said, "Hello Bob. How are you?"

"I'm fine, and how are you, Tina?"

"All the better for seeing you, as my Mum used to say."

"Business good?"

"It's picking up. I expect it's the same for you, too. Mostly it's older tourists. They buy different jewellery than the younger ones. So I change what I put in the window this time of the year. I suppose your retailers also do that."

"I hadn't noticed but I suppose they do. Are you ready for lunch?"

"Yes. Shall we go to the same place?"

"Sure, unless you know of other Thai restaurants."

"I know of two others but they are too far away to walk to at lunch time. Let's just go to the same place." She pulled down the front-door shade and popped a sign saying 'Closed for lunch' in the window and they walked to the restaurant. The menu only offered various combination specials for lunch. Tina chose a stir-fry and Bob a green curry with coconut milk and both drank only water. The lunches came quickly.

"I love this taste Tina," said Bob. "I'll make some at home if I can get the ingredients."

"Supermarkets sell coconut milk but I'm not sure if they sell green curry. Use any Thai curry sauce if they don't and let me know what it's like."

"All right. I'll do that when we eat together again." He spent the next half-hour telling her about the business and the new boxes. They walked back to Tina's shop then and she hugged him when saying goodbye.

"Bye Bob."

"Bye Tina. See you soon," said Bob as he turned away, thinking that the hug felt very nice and hoping they'd do that again.

He visited six shops before returning to Small End, arriving about four o'clock. There were two new young men in the shop when he walked in.

"Hello Bob. We have two new helpers now. This is Jose Jimman and this is Luke Wister. This is Mr. Barns. He founded this business and has been selling toys for four years. I joined him a month ago. How did it go today Bob?"

"Very well. Went to fifteen shops and left sets. Hello Luke. Hello Jose. Welcome to Small End Wooden Toys. I heard that you've just returned from a holiday. What were you doing before then?"

"We were volunteers in a building project in South Africa. We've been there since last August so now we want to make some money. I want to go to college and earn a diploma in construction techniques for underdeveloped countries. Luke would like to volunteer in South America next."

"Did you meet each other in South Africa?"

"No. We both went to the high school in Big End," said Luke. "I remember Lori being there but she doesn't remember me."

"So you only want to work for a few months?"

"Yes. Mr. Smith, err, Ken, said it would be all right if we did that, though we might change our minds later on."

"I'm glad you can join us even if it's only for a few months. We need helpers."

"You don't make toys any more Mr. Barns?" asked Jose.

"Not usually, mostly I'm selling them. And please call me Bob, we like to keep things informal. Selling's keeping me busy right now and we're short so don't let me stop you from working. We'll talk later," and he left the shop and went into the office; Ken followed.

"They've been working on the benches. I'm training Jose and Craig's training Luke. We're making village sets and they can handle all we've asked them to do so far with no trouble."

"What's Lori doing?"

"At first she was in the office making lists about our production and tallying up the wood and paint we have in the shop. She ordered more wood because we will soon be running out again. Then she made files for me to keep, one for each person we employ, their address, telephone number, the name of a parent or friend, so we know who to contact in emergency. Then she moved to the paint booth. She's there right now. So you went to fifteen shops?"

"Yes. They're all towards, around, or in Bournemouth. There are just three more urgent ones."

"Well, like I said last week, two people can make a hundred farm or a hundred village sets in two days. They can make a hundred train sets in a day and a half. That's if everyone's up-to-steam and if I'm also working full-time. So once Jose and Luke are properly trained we should be able to make two hundred farm, two hundred village and three hundred train sets a week. More if you're able to help too. It's surprising how efficient production-line processing is, if you have good people."

"I still find it hard to believe but you must be right. We'll have to hire someone to help me soon if our retailers sell as many as you'll be making. I'd still want to make the initial contact but we'd need another person to help me deliver."

"We'd have to rent another van."

"Yes."

"Will you be in tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Can you buy some more safety glasses and overalls first Bob? Then work on farms or trains."

"I'll take the trains, they're quicker. Once the village sets are finished I'll be off. It looks as if that'll be on Wednesday. Ah, another thing. Three retailers asked me if we have other toys and I had to say 'No'. Is it too early to do that?"

"Yes. I want to wait until all our store rooms are full. You can tell me what kind of toy we should make next, if you like. I'd have to think about it and see if we'd need different tools or jigs."

"All right."

There were two envelopes waiting for him when Bob arrived home. One held a statement from Leo and a cheque for £435. He had sold eleven village, fourteen farm and nine train sets. The other one was a £301.50 cheque from Jenny. She'd sold nine village, seven farm and eight trains. Adding the money he had received from Rose their April income was £842. He'd deposit the cheques tomorrow. It was a pity he didn't know what their May sales would be; that would be the first true indicator of how well the business was going.

Since the lumber yard opened before the bank he went there first and used his business credit card to pay for the overalls and safety glasses. Leon was surprised when he did that. "I thought you wanted me to send you an invoice at the end of the month Bob."

"Yes I do. You must have added the wood Lori ordered to our account but I want to practice using my credit card. It's the first time I've had one and I want to be sure that it will always work. It works at petrol stations. If I never have any difficulties I might get one for myself. Everyone's using them these days. They're very convenient."

"Well I find them so. Especially on holidays. You don't have to carry tons of money with you or a load of traveller's cheques."

"Ah yes. That'd be nice. Well, I'm off to the bank, some cheques to deposit."

"That's good. I like depositing cheques too! Cheers Bob."

"'Bye Leon."

The National Westminster teller accepted Bob's cheques and gave him a receipt just as Mr. Longman walked by. "Hello Mr. Barns. How's business?"

"It's too early to tell Mr. Longman. We won't know how well we are doing until the May cheques come in."

"Yes. Of course. However it's not usual for a business to show a profit it's first year. It might be a couple of years before you know if you're doing all right."

"I hope it doesn't take us that long Mr. Longman. I've sold toys for several years and I think people will buy them as soon as they are in the shops."

"Let's hope so. But if you need money in the meantime do come and see me or one of our employees."

"I will, thanks," said Bob, hoping it would never happen.

"Good. Oh, you should be getting your first statement from the bank any time now."

"I look forward to it. 'Bye Mr. Longman."

"'Bye Mr. Barns."

He handed out the safety glasses when he returned to the workshop and told everybody to write their name on their overall. "I'll wash them once a fortnight," he promised. That being done he began cutting the dowels and bases for the train sets.

Jose and Luke did most of the talking during the lunch break.

"Volunteers like us aren't paid," said Luke. "The organisation paid for our flights and gave us a little pocket money. The villagers fed us and found us a place to live."

"Were you two together all the time?"

"Yes," replied Jose. "We told them we wanted that when we signed on. It meant we didn't move to as many places as others did but we did work in three villages."

"What do you do?" asked Lori.

"Built schools and hospitals."

"What do you make them of?"

"Concrete blocks, if they had them. Twice we had to use wood. We used corrugated iron for the roofs. Windows were usually left open in the schools. Hospital ward windows were also open but others were usually glassed."

"Did you like the food?" asked Ken.

"Usually, though I didn't like a couple of meats they used," said Luke.

"Nor me. I didn't have the courage to ask what animal it came from," added Jose. "And the spices were sometimes too hot but we were hungry enough to eat just almost anything."

"Did you work every day?" asked Craig.

"Just the week days. Saturdays we might go to the nearest town," said Jose.

"But you didn't have much money to spend."

"No. We had about a pound a week, enough to buy beer or candy."

"We didn't work from nine to five like here," said Luke. "We started as soon as there was enough light and stopped when it became too hot, about ten in the morning. Then we begin again about four when it had cooled down and continued until supper."

"That was when it was getting dark, usually. About seven," added Jose.

"What did you do on Sundays?"

"Sleep, play cards, explore some of the nearby places, chat with any of the locals who could speak English."

"Most of them do but they have an accent that takes time to get used to."

"Were there any girls there?" asked Lori.

"Oh yes. Jose had a girl friend, didn't you? Rosemary."

"Yes. We tried to keep it secret. If they found out they would move one of us to a different village."

"Will you see her again?" asked Luke.

"I don't know. She's staying in South Africa but I want to go to college here. I had a letter yesterday saying I was accepted. Rosemary and I write to each other at the moment but I don't know what will happen in the future."

"I don't think I would like to work there," commented Craig.

"Nor me," echoed Lori. "I wouldn't like the heat."

"Nor the bugs."

"And not being paid."

"Well I liked it," said Jose. "It's something I want to do again."

"And me," said Luke, "although I want to go to South America next time and see a different part of the world."

Bob and Ken were rather quiet whilst this conversation was going on. They were interested but didn't understand why anyone would volunteer to go to hot, humid and dusty villages when there were so many nicer places in the world they could work.

Joe walked into the shop just after they had resumed work. He looked around, pleased to see so much activity, then asked Bob and Ken if he could have a chat and they moved into the office where he put several papers on Ken's desk.

"Look, I'm sorry to bother you but my electricity bill has just arrived. My bill for this time of the year is usually about fifty pounds but this year's bill for April is sixty seven pounds, plus a few pence. I'm pretty sure it's the electricity you're using in the shop that makes the difference."

"Yes," said Ken. "I bet it is."

"And I think it'll be more this month because you have more saws and tools running," added Joe.

"Yes, it's certain to be higher. I think we should have a separate meter installed. How about we pay, say £20 to cover your extra costs for this month and also pay for a meter to be put in?"

"£20 would be fine. Having a meter installed would be the best way to handle it," said Joe.

"Okay, I'll tell Lori to order one. What about water usage?"

"Oh that bill's not changed. You can't be using much."

"No a few flushes each day and some kettles of water. That's all, I suppose. I'll write a cheque for the electricity Joe. Thanks' for telling us about it."

The National Westminster statement was on the floor when Bob returned home. All the cheques they had issued had been paid. There was an extra bank deduction of £8.66 for the cheques and 'banking charges.' That reminded Bob he'd soon have to write the cheques to cover the items they had bought. He made a note and used one of Betty's magnets to stick it on the fridge.

After supper he added the bank charges to his earlier calculation of April expenses. They now owed £5,180.59. The £7,287 they had in the account would take care of that. Then he remembered the £20 cheque Ken had given Joe and added that to the April amount.

The villages they had finished on Tuesday gave him enough to load the van with a hundred of each set on Wednesday morning. He checked the map in the office and planned his route. He would go to the three shops that remained on the urgent list then start visiting the shops whose managers or owners had dropped cards in the bowl. He fetched the map from the van and sketched the route, thinking that he'd better buy a felt tip pen because the pencil was hard to see. He said goodbye to Ken and the others and set off.

With a morning coffee, a half-hour lunch, eaten in a café because it was raining, and an afternoon tea break Bob managed to visit all of shops on his list and was home by five. He didn't go to the workshop; he'd done enough for the day.

He worked in the shop Thursday and was there when two envelopes arrived in the mail. One was from the telephone installation company with an invoice for £54.13. The other had the April's phone bill of £5.53. Bob added them to the month's expenses and beckoned Ken to come to the office.

"We spent £5,260.25 in April Ken."

"What do we have in the bank Bob?"

"£7,287."

"Excellent."

"We should be all right from now on."

"Yes we should though I'll have to upgrade our saws and routers soon. They can't handle all the work we're giving them much longer. One of the routers jams now and again. And we must order more sanding mops, Craig told me this morning that it is taking longer to sand now. I'd better tell Lori to do that. I also think we should add more fluorescent lights over the benches, it's not really bright enough. Lori can get Pat to do that. I'll drive to Big End tomorrow and buy three new routers and new bits. The saws don't need replacing, they're good ones and will last a long time I think. Will you be here tomorrow?"

"Yes. I'll open the shop if you like and I'll work on the trains. What will the other's be doing?"

"They'll get most of the village and farm sets finished and painted today. Then they'll make another hundred of each. I've told them to rotate places and continue making sets whenever they've finished a batch. Jose and Luke are okay doing anything now."

The phone rang half an hour later. Lori ran to the office and answered it returning to tell Bob to say, "It's a shop in Southampton. They want toys and asked when you could deliver them."

"Tell them Monday. Ask them what toys they want and how many of each. Make a note of any calls like that on a piece of paper with their name and address." She returned to the phone, took down the details and gave the paper to Bob.

"You know," Lori said, "I should keep a record of each of these orders on the computer and print out a copy for you. That way we'd both have a record."

"I see. How much would a printer cost Lori?"

"It depends on what kind you buy. I don't think you would need an expensive one. You could buy one for all we need for about £150."

"All right. Ken and I'll discuss it. If we buy one you'd know what kind and where to get it?"

"Oh yes. We'd would need paper for it too. That's not expensive."

Then the phone rang again. Lori picked the shop extension and took notes.

"That was Southampton again. Here's what they want."

"I heard you say 'on Monday.' Good."

"What do I say if there's a call from Bournemouth?"

"Tell them Wednesday. I don't want to drive east and west the same day. I hope Bournemouth doesn't phone for a few days." Then he thought, 'Fancy that, I'm hoping people don't request toys! I'd never have thought that I'd be doing that!'

After the employees had left Bob told Ken that Lori suggested they buy a printer.

"And she's right," he continued. "I think we should buy one and that she should use it. I'm finding it a lot of work to keep track of everything myself."

"All right. I agree. We'll need a printer to handle our letters and invoices as well. But if Lori kept all our records she'd know all our financial details. I'm not so happy about that. How would you feel?"

"I don't know. She'll have a good idea of how we're doing because she and everyone else knows how many sets we're selling."

"But they wouldn't know our income," said Ken.

"Lori would if she opens the mail at the end of each month. She'll see the cheques. She also knows how much we pay for the wood, paint and other items. So she could easily calculate how we're doing."

"Well in that case what we're really asking is do we want Lori to be our secretary and our financial officer. If we didn't want that we'd have to have all the mail sent to your home or to mine and we'd have to do all the work ourselves. I don't want that and you've already said that keeping the lists up-to-date is a big chore."

"It's too bad we can't ask Simon to track our expenses and income," said Bob.

"No. He's an accountant. It's not the sort of job he'd take and it would be expensive to ask an outsider to do it. Then let's think about it and decide later."

"All right. And Ken, we should order more boxes; there's about two weeks waiting time at Salisbury Boxes. We should order five thousand this time, I think we'll need that many, and we get a 20% discount if order that many."

"Okay. Is it too late to phone them now?"

"I don't know. I'll try." Bob picked up the phone and called them. Bill answered the phone but told him that the boxes wouldn't be ready until May 25th. "We're very busy right now. I hope that won't be too late for you."

"I don't know Bill. I hope not. Do you need a cheque before starting?"

"Not this time Bob. I'll call you when they are ready."

"Thanks," said Bob and hung up.

"We'll also need more paint Bob. Would you ask Lori to order them first thing tomorrow? We might as well buy three pails of each colour this time. No only one of the yellow. We aren't using much of that. When I'm in Big End I'll see Leon and order enough wood to make a thousand of each set too. Is there anything you want?"

"We'd better get some more of the plastic boxes, the ones you use to keep the pieces in. We can use them to hold sets in since we won't be getting the boxes from Salisbury quick enough."

"Yes, ask Lori to order a thousand of them. They'd have to be bigger than the ones we use for the parts. Tell her to measure the size we want before she orders."

"If you make seven hundred sets a week you'll need more than a thousand Ken."

"You're right. Okay, tell her to order two thousand. We can stack the empty ones and keep them with the wood but when they're full you'll have to keep them at your place. We won't have any room."

"Okay. Storage's going to be a big problem Ken. We'll have to find another place to keep them soon."

"Yes, you're right Bob."

Ken walked into the workshop just after they had finished the tea break Friday morning. He was carrying a new router in one hand and a bag in the other. He beckoned Bob into the office and showed him what he'd bought.

"Leon sold me the new router and these three bits for a very good price Bob. £181.35. He had to order the others. I ordered the wood and we'll have it Wednesday. It'll be £457.80. Leon asked me if I wanted to pay by credit card and was relieved when I told him we still wanted to pay at the end of the month. He said you paid for the overalls and glasses by credit card.'"

"Yes. I wanted to get used to using one. I think I'll get one myself they seem safe enough."

"I think they are. Leon was happy when I said we'd pay by cheque, he pays a fee every time someone uses a card. Did you know that?"

"No. I suppose it can't be much."

"It adds up."

"Lori ordered the paint this morning and she asked me if I wanted to pay by card or cheque. I told her by cheque, at the end of the month, and they accepted that. They probably prefer a cheque for the same reason."

"When will it come?"

"No later than the end of next week, at least, that's what they said."

"Okay. Supplies are another thing we need Lori to track Bob."

"I haven't told her we'll buy a printer. Do you want to do that?"

"Yes. I'll ask her if we can buy it tonight and I'll drive her to the shop to get it. I'll take Josh and Luke to Big End as well," said Ken.

"She's ordered the plastic boxes. I don't know when they'll come but they cost £300. The paint cost £65. I'll add up what we've spent and let you know on Monday. And there's everybody's wages. I've written cheques for them. You should be the one to give them out. Here they are," and he handed Ken the four cheques. "We'll only have about £1,050 once these are cashed."

"We'll have to put some more in the bank then. How about another five thousand. It looks as if our May expenses will be about the same as April now that Luke and Jose have joined us."

"I guess you're right."

"Then I'll write a cheque now and you can deposit it when you're next in Big End."

"Right. £2,450 for you and £2,550 for me. If we need more I'll have to borrow from the bank because I'll need the rest of my savings for my holiday. I hope I can soon put some money back."

"We will. Don't worry!"

The third coat of paint on the farm, village and train sets was dry after lunch. Jose and Lori glued then boxed the sets and everyone else started making another hundred sets, trying to get as much done before four o'clock.

As Ken was handing out the cheques he told Lori that he wanted to buy a printer and asked if she could do that today. "If you can I'll drive you and the boys to Big End."

"Oh yes. Do that Lori," exclaimed Luke. "I'm going to a concert and want to shower and change first. It'd be a very short shower if we had to bus to Big End."

"What concert is this?" asked Lori.

"The Bad 'Ems. They're in Bournemouth. Jose and I have tickets. We haven't been to a concert for nearly a year and are looking forward to it."

"Will they have tickets for me?"

"I don't think so," said Jose.

"Can I phone them Ken?"

"Yes. Of course."

Lori found the theatre's phone number and called only to be told that the show was sold out a week ago.

"Oh never mind. I'm not fond of the 'Ems anyway. It'd just be fun to go out tonight. So yes Ken, lets go buy a printer."

**Chapter 20 Sally**

There was a letter from Sally on the mat when Bob arrived home. In it she told him she had sold her house and would be moving to a retirement home at the end of the month. "When could you come to get the car?" she asked.

He called her after supper. "Would next weekend be all right Sally?"

"Yes, lovely. How long can you stay?"

"I can't come until Saturday and I'll have to return on Sunday. We're very busy right now. I'll stay longer next time, I promise."

"Good. I suppose you'll come by train and bus?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll expect you when you arrive. It's a long journey."

"I know. When Mom and I used to visit I liked looking out of the window of the train and seeing the back gardens of all the houses and the city's outskirts so that part won't seem too long. I won't mind."

"I'll have some supper ready when you come. 'Bye Bob."

"'Bye Sally."

He thought about her and about owning a car as he ate his meal. He'd park it in his driveway and leave the van on the road or next to the workshop. 'I hope Sally has the manual to tell me how to look after it. I'll have to arrange insurance for the car. I'll talk to the agent about it tomorrow.'

After his usual Saturday morning dusting and clothes-washing Bob found his insurance agent's number and called him, explaining that his aunt was giving him her car and he would like to insure it.

"We can do that for you Mr. Barns. What is the car?"

"It's a Vauxhall."

"What year?"

"What do you mean?"

"What year was it made?"

"I don't know," said Bob

"Do you know the model number?"

"No. I really don't know much about it."

"Well we can't insure it without more details Mr. Barns. Can you call me when you collect it and I'll arrange it for you then."

"I'm collecting it next Sunday."

"Oh. Then can you have your aunt phone us?"

"I'll ask her to do that, thanks."

He phoned Sally and asked her if she could call his agent and giver him the details.

"What kind of details Bob?"

"The age of the car, it's model number and probably some other things."

"I don't know all those things Bob. Like you, I don't know much about the car. I'll phone David and ask him to phone you."

"Oh, thanks Sally."

Ten minutes later David called.

"Sally has told me you want to insure the car Bob. I can arrange that for you. I can use our agent or yours and it'll be done by the time you get here."

"I'd like to pick it up next Sunday. Are you open on Sundays?"

"Oh yes, Sunday's a busy day for us. Now, who would you like to insure with?"

"Use my agent please David. I've already spoken to him about it. Here's his number."

"Okay I'll phone him. He'll phone you if he needs anything we can't provide. Oh, we've checked the car and put it in Sally's garage. It's all ready to go. The ownership transfer has been completed and it's in the car with the manual. Just sign it where it's marked."

"Thanks David."

"Safe travel Bob."

After coffee Bob dug a few carrots, picked a couple of handfuls of peas and pulled enough rhubarb to make a dessert that would last a week. He stewed it with some chopped-up crystallised ginger and a little sugar then stored it in the refrigerator. He didn't normally eat dessert but ginger-rhubarb mix was something he couldn't resist.

He walked to the village store and bought the groceries after lunch. At the check-out counter he asked if they kept any Thai sauces. "No," they said. "You're the first to ask for that kind of thing. I'll start a list. We'll stock it once three people ask for it. 'That might take a long time,' he thought, as he left the shop. After putting his food away he had a mug of tea, a nap and a bath, then went to the Crown.

It was the last night of the Spring Show and the bar was full when he arrived. He collected his pint and joined Joe, Jack and Rose at the table. Joe told him that Jane was at the show and wouldn't join them that night so they ordered and ate their meals, hardly saying anything until the noise dropped when the crowd left for the show. Then Joe told them he and Jack would be dismantling the show scenery Sunday afternoon and asked if Bob could help. He replied, "Yes." Rose asked him how the sales for April had been.

"I don't know Rose. I only know what you, Jenny and Leo have sold. I expect we'll have cheques this week then I'll know."

"It might take a week or two before the toys begin to move Bob. If you remember I didn't sell any of yours the first month I had them. We were both a little upset about that."

"Yes I remember. You sold the first one to a visitor who's grandson was interested in trains."

"Yes that's right," she said.

The first thing he did after breakfast on Sunday was write the cheques for the April purchases so he could mail them that afternoon. Then he rummaged through his stack of woodworking magazines, removing any that had toy designs. He took these to the lounge and skimmed through them while drinking his coffee.

He ended up with a list of twenty or so toys they could make, everything from fire engines or milk wagons to toy houses and the furniture for them. There were many patterns for jigsaw puzzles, some with just a few large pieces meant to be used by young children and others with many small ones. There was even a design for a carousel but that looked very complicated and he guessed it would have to sell for fifty pounds or more to cover the costs. He listed them in order of easiest-to-make, folded the magazines to the page where the article was and put them in a box to take to Ken. 'He'll have to chose what to make.'

After lunch he put all the wood that was left in the shed in the workshop then took down the struts and shelves. He brushed the walls to remove the dust and swept the floor. Now it was an empty store room, able to hold many plastic boxes or filled log-boxes. He'd fill the shed first and use his spare bedroom only when the shed was full.

There were four new helpers working with them on the stage that afternoon, newcomers to the village. It didn't take them long to dismantled the scenery, take down the lighting system and unfasten the stage curtains. They shook the curtains and put them in their big storage boxes then moved, with everything else, to the biggest meeting room. They would stay there until they would be taken to the new Centre.

During his supper of broiled fish he remembered he hadn't told his children about the holiday he'd be taking in August when he called them last. 'I'd better tell them tonight in case they're planning to visit me then.' He called at nine, but no, they weren't coming his way. Sam and Lilly were camping again that summer. "We're going to Wales Dad. Bess insists we climb Snowdon. We'll go the easy way and it's not hard, so you're not to worry about us." Regina told Bob that they'd booked a two week holiday in Paris. "We're going by Eurostar. Bernard's very happy about that. It was his idea. Several of his friends have travelled that way already and say it's fun."

Bob also told them that his toys were being sold in over a hundred shops. "And if they sell the toys we're making I'll be very rich," he added. Both were pleased but didn't seem especially interested. Their interest would pick up if he made as much as Ken predicted he guessed. Before getting into bed he put a spare shirt and some underpants in a small bag. He'd add his pyjamas and toilet bag when he got up for he expected he'd have to stay in a bed-and-breakfast Monday night.

When he arrived at the shop in the morning Craig helped him load a hundred of each set into the van. He used the office map and the retailers' business cards to set his route.

"I'll be back when I've delivered all these Ken. But I can't deliver to twenty shops and talk to the owners in one day so I'll probably be back Tuesday afternoon. Will there be another hundred of each then?"

"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."

"I guess so. That'll take care of the £212, I suppose."

"Yes. It probably will."

Bob was back at the shop by five o'clock Thursday. Only Ken was there and they loaded the van together.

"What happened today Ken?"

"There were three requests for more sets. Lori put them on a list for you. And Pat installed the fluorescent lights."

"I noticed that it looked brighter when I came in. What did that cost?"

"Don't know yet. He'll send a bill later. And another cheque arrived, for £128."

"From a Southampton shop?"

"Yes."

"I wonder when we'll start getting some from the Bournemouth area. I'd have thought that there'd be just as many visitors there."

"It could be people about to cruise back to the States that are buying them in Southampton. I wonder if we could market to them directly somehow."

"We could have a brochure and have it delivered to the ship before it arrives."

"I think that'd be a bit complicated to arrange Bob."

Sam Loring was standing by the patch of concrete when Bob parked his van so he walked over to talk to him.

"It can't be solid enough to work on yet can it Sam?"

"Not quite, although this stuff sets quicker than the concrete people normally use. But it'll be ready on Monday. Our brickers will be here then."

"How much would they get done in a day?"

"They won't be finished, I can tell you that!"

Friday was a long day. Bob took side roads trying to avoid the traffic jams but there were very many cars: probably people having a Spring holiday. He didn't get back to the workshop until after six. There was no one there. He would have preferred to drive home but he had to park at the shop because he needed his drive to park the Vauxhall. He was too tired to make supper so he ate at the Crown.

He caught the early morning bus to Big End, walked to the station and dozed most of the two hour trip to Waterloo. He had two hours before his next train left so he took the underground to Kings Cross and wandered around, looking for a place to eat. He passed several inviting pubs but hoped to find a Thai restaurant. He asked a couple of passer-byes if they knew of one but all they suggested was Indian. So that was where he ate, filling his plate from a buffet that had probably begun life a week ago. His next train took him to Grantham and, after a short wait, he caught one to Boston. Finally a taxi took him to Sally's. He arrived just in time to join her for afternoon tea.

"I've scones and raspberry jam again Bob. I told Rita to buy extra and if you didn't arrive in time for tea I was going to butter them and give them to you tomorrow for your drive home. I'll make you some cucumber sandwiches instead. It'll probably be the last time I make them."

"You could make them in the retirement home Sally."

"I suppose so but all I'll have in my room is a microwave and a sink. I don't know why they give you a microwave, they provide all the meals."

"What if you wanted to make tea or coffee for yourself?"

"Ah, that's it. I could use it to boil a mug of water. Have you bought one then?"

"No, not yet."

"You can have mine if you come May 31st. That's the day I move out, a Friday. The auction's the next day."

"Are they selling your things here, from the house?"

"Yes. It's the easiest way. So if you want anything now's the time to say so. I'm not keeping much, just the photographs, three or four books and some pictures."

"I don't know what to say Sally. You have some very nice things but I just can't go around and take them."

"Course you can Bob. It'll all be gone to someone else in a month's time. Come, lets take a look," and she eased herself out of the chair and reached for Bob's hand. "You'll have to help me; I don't want to fall. Let's start upstairs while I have the energy."

It took a while to climb the stairs. Bob carried the oxygen bottle and held her under her arm. Once upstairs Sally led him to her old bedroom. "There are one or two nice pictures here Bob. Would you like them?"

"I would but I've nowhere to hang them."

"Sit with me on the bed for a little while Bob. I'd like a short rest. There, that's better. Now, tell me about Maria. Is there anything new to tell me about her?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"I thought that you rather liked her."

"I do, but we haven't met since I last talked to you."

"Do you write to her?"

"Only about the Lake District tour she's conducting. I'm taking it."

"Oh. I rather thought that you and she might be seeing more of each other by now."

"No. That might happen in the future or it might not. I don't know what she thinks about me. Nor do I know if I'm still attracted to her."

"The reason I asked is because if you two lived together in the future, or if you did that with another woman, you'd probably move to a different house. Most women would want a more modern home than the one you have now."

"Yes you're probably right. I hadn't thought about it. But I don't want to leave my house. It's the family home."

"It was the family home Bob and will always be so. But if you start a new relationship you might also want to move to a different place. So, I'd say, if you like those pictures, take them. You may have lots of room for them in the future."

"Oh Sally. I'll take them, as a gift from you. Thanks but I'm not thinking of moving to a different house!"

"Okay. Now what else. The furniture is good quality but probably not your taste."

"Er, yes, that's right."

"And the lamps or the ornaments?"

"No Sally."

"Okay. Let's go and look at the other rooms."

They slowly checked each room in the house and Bob ended up with six pictures, a nice wooden sculpture of a bird, not one he'd made and given to her, she was keeping that one, two intricately carved book ends and a set of fish knives and forks.

"I know not many people use these today Sally but I'd like to. They're lovely."

"Yes. They came from my Mum's Mum, your great grandmother. I think they were one of her wedding presents. Now I must have a short nap and then I want you to take me to a new restaurant for supper, one I've just heard about."

"All right. I'll go for a walk while you are resting. How long do you want?"

"An hour would be fine. Take the key and lock up when you leave."

Bob walked around the small village of Wyberton, keeping away from the road running through it as best he could, admiring the flowers in the well-kept gardens. He returned just over an hour later and tip-toed past the living room where Sally was still sleeping and carried his bag to his bedroom. He looked out of the window; there were groups of dead flowers next to the rocks at the side of the pond and the grass badly needed cutting. It was a sad to think about what was happening. He washed then sat in the lounge and waited until Sally woke.

"Oh, hello Bob. Is it late? I must have slept longer than an hour."

"Just a bit Sally."

"Well, I'll wash then we can go and eat."

"Do you want me to help?"

"No thanks Bob."

"Then I'll get the car ready."

It started as soon as he turned the key and would be a joy to drive home.

The restaurant was run by a French couple. They had taken an old run-down mansion and installed chandeliers, tapestries, floral wallpaper and had polished the woodwork and the floors. Three candles, set around a bowl of roses, lit each table and a pianist was playing softly from an alcove in the corner. Bob was impressed and somewhat intimidated. The maître d' and a waiter helped Sally into her seat and placed the oxygen bottle where it was not noticeable. She had refused to take her wheelchair and used a walking stick and lent on Bob's arm when moving about.

They began with asparagus Dijonnaise, which Bob ate with pieces of a largish hot roll. He finished the rest of the roll with a creamed mushroom and onion soup; Sally chose a garden salad with vinaigrette dressing. Both were tempted by the tenderloin medallions but Bob settled for breast of duck in a balsamic cherry sauce, refusing the fish choices this time. Sally ordered a poached sole fillet. They ordered wine by the glass, letting the waiter select the most suitable. A crème caramel for Sally, a tiramisu for Bob and coffee completed the meal. Sally refused to let Bob pay.

"It's my turn Bob. You can pay next time. It was a nice meal, wasn't it?"

"Yes it was. We'll have to come back here."

Over breakfast the next day Sally told Bob that she was glad to be moving to a nursing home. "Things are becoming quite difficult for me. It is hard to prepare a meal and cooking, the little I do, is exhausting."

"What is it like, the place you're going to?"

"It is comfortable and people I know who have had friends or relatives stay there say the staff is very helpful. When I was a nurse I often went there to see clients and I always thought it would be a good place for me when the time came. You'll be able to see for yourself when you visit."

"It will be a while before I can come back Sally. Maybe a month or more. I'm so busy delivering toys. We might have to hire another man to help me. And customers have asked for different kinds of toys so I'll probably have to make a few and Ken will have to see if we can make them in the workshop."

"I understand. Come when you can then."

She stood, leaning against the side of the front door as Bob drove away and lifted her arm and waved back when he put his arm out the window to wave goodbye.

He followed the same route home that he used when he drove to see Sally in the van. Driving through the bigger towns took the most of the time for the arteries were relatively quiet. He drove just above the speed limit, slightly slower than most of the other drivers. When he got home he found that there was plenty of room in his driveway for the car, something that he had worried about. He carried the pictures and the other items from Sally indoors then collected his overnight bag. He added his used clothes to the others that were already in the washing machine and turned it on. He made salmon sandwiches for supper, thinking it was a lot different from the one he had eaten last night. Afterwards he sat in his armchair, put his feet on the coffee table in the lounge and supped a glass of port while he thought about where he'd go tomorrow.

**Chapter 21 Production**

Ken was standing behind his desk when Bob walked in Monday morning and pointed to the corner behind his desk, telling Bob he'd bought a safe in Southampton. "There it is. I was just going to bolt it to the floor but that can wait."

"How will you do that? It's concrete. Do you have a carbide bit?"

"Yes," and he sat down.

"The safe's got a combination lock, here's the number," and he passed a piece of paper to Bob. "It's the date we began our business—141996. That's easy to remember, I've tried it and it works."

"What did it cost?"

"£237.81. Here's the bill."

"Thanks."

Bob sat down and asked "How many sets did you make last week Ken?"

"Six hundred. We could have made more but things slowed down when Pat was installing the lights. He had to turn off the electricity for a while. The sets have been boxed and Saturday I stacked a hundred of each in the van and put the rest in your shed. We're almost out of the log boxes and the plastic ones haven't arrived so we'll have to wrap the sets in newspapers and store them in your shed if the new boxes don't arrive soon."

"All right. I'm driving west today and tackling the Dorset shops, the ones I haven't yet visited. I'll check the map, plan my route then leave."

"Rose dropped in early Friday morning. She was surprised to see the shop so busy. She told me she needs more sets. Perhaps you could see her on your way out."

"All right. I'll put some more in the van before I go."

At Tyne's Gift Shop Rose asked for ten of each set. "We are selling the new ones mostly but people still want the trains. Can you spare ten of each?"

"Yes we can now Rose. Ken and I want to take you, Jenny and Leo to lunch someday. What days would suit you?"

"That's nice. Any day will do Bob. Jack'll run the shop if I'm away."

"Oh that's good. I was worried we might not find a day suitable to everyone. Then I'll let you know the date we've chosen as soon as I can. 'Bye Rose."

He drove directly to Lyme Regis and called at the two shops there then began the return journey, following the road to Bridport, Abbotsbury and Weymouth. He ended the day at Fortuneswell, tired, but happy, having left toys at ten shops. The traffic in the towns, lack of convenient parking spaces and having to explain who he was and what he was selling took time. None of the owners or managers had heard of Small End Wooden Toys. However each one was interested to learn that other shops were selling them and were willing to try. No one questioned the forty percent rate he offered.

He arrived home around six, long after everyone would have gone home so he didn't stop at the shop. He left the van parked on the road in front of his house and loaded it with sets using his carry-on to move them from his shed to the van. He looked at the Community Centre's new wall as he walked to and fro; it was about four feet high. When he had finished loading he walked over and admired how straight each wall was. There were four openings. 'So they must have four doors. One or two of them must be for emergency, I suppose. I'll ask Jane about that when I see her. I hope the main door doesn't face my house.'

Tuesday morning he drove to Dorchester, handing out sets to sixteen customers. The shops were busy and the owners didn't have time to chat. They heard what he said then simply said they'd take five of each toy as a trial. He arrived back at the workshop at three and everybody was in the meeting room having tea. No one was talking when he entered and he filled the gap by telling them that the toys they were making are now selling from Lyme Regis to Southampton and up to Salisbury. "What do you think about that?"

"We'd be famous if you put our names in the boxes," said Lori."

"We can do that," replied Ken. "It's not a bad idea. We could include a slip saying who made the toy."

"You'll have to put all our names on each one then because everyone's involved."

"All right," said Bob. "I'll ask Jack to make the slips."

"Hey, you don't have to ask Jack," said Lori. "I can do that and print off as many copies as you want."

"Yes, of course," replied Bob. "We've always used Jack in the past. I wasn't thinking. Okay. How many do we need Ken."

"We're making seven hundred sets a week so let's make enough to last ten weeks. Oh! How long will you be staying with us Jose? Luke?"

"I'd like to stay until the end of August," said Jose. "I'll have to stop then to get ready for college."

"Okay, and you Luke?"

"I haven't found anything in South America I'd like to work on so can I stay here until I find something? Let's say until the end of August, like Jose. That should be long enough."

"Well in that case make seven thousand Lori. We'll make more when we run out. Don't make them too big. Can you get fifty on a page?"

"Easily. I don't suppose we want to say much more than 'Made by . . .' and list our names do we?"

They discussed what they should say and asked Ken if they could include small photographs of them as well. He politely said no to that. Then everyone except Lori returned to the shop. She went into the office and began typing.

While she was typing Bob told Ken about the shops he'd visited, how busy they were and that they'd all accepted sets. "They mostly said they'd take them on a trial basis. I think that's what they usually do when something new comes along."

They were interrupted by Lori who said, "Here they are. We should buy a paper trimmer; it'll take a long time to cut all these with scissors."

"Yes. You're right." said Ken.

"Can you get it tomorrow so we can start adding them to the boxes? Didn't you mention that you were going to Big End?" she asked, as she opened the door into workshop.

"Yes, I'll do it tomorrow."

"Thanks."

He and Bob moved into the office after Lori left and Ken shut the door. "Here's the latest news. First, the new pails of paint arrived. They're stacked under the bench in the paint booth. I thought we might be able to store some of the sets there but there's no room for that now. Second, Leon phoned to say that the two routers have arrived so I'm going there first thing tomorrow. I'll have to buy some new blades for the belt saws."

"And the trimmer. The stationers or the art shop would likely sell them."

"I'll deposit the cheques too," said Ken.

"The April sales ones?"

"Yes. I don't think we'll get any more now. It is the twenty first."

"How much did we get?"

"£1,639.50. They sold 46 villages, 37 farms and 30 trains. If we add what Rose, Jenny and Leo sold we made £2,581.50. We're doing well so I'd like to pay everybody a little more, they're all doing an excellent job."

"I agree but can we wait until we see what we've earned this month?" asked Bob.

"Yes of course. I didn't want to do it immediately and only if you agreed but I'd like to do it as soon as we can. I don't think anyone wants to leave and no one has asked for more pay but I'd like to give them more because it demonstrates how much we appreciate all they're doing."

"Yes you're right. About tomorrow, do you want me to stay here until you return?"

"Yes please. I'd be back before nine if I didn't have the trimmer to buy

"Then I'll buy it. I can do that as I drive through."

"Okay."

Bob drove to the south of Dorset Wednesday morning, stopping in Poole before heading home. He called at seventeen new shops and each accepted the toys. Now there was only the north of Dorset to see but he decided to leave that until he heard from Salisbury Boxes. That way he could do two jobs at once. He stopped at Big End on the way home and bought a paper trimmer. It cost £13.75 and he used his credit card. Then he visited Home and Holiday.

"You've come just at the right time Bob," Jenny said, as he entered the shop. "I'll take another five of each."

"Then I'll go and get them."

After collecting the receipt Bob said "I still want to take you to lunch, Jenny. In fact, Ken and I want to take you, Rose and Leo to lunch together. Is there any day that you could be free to do that?"

"Yes of course. I'd like to see Ken and Rose again but it'd have to be a Monday or Tuesday. There's too many customers for Susan to handle on the other days."

"Then it'll be on one of those days. Rose can manage any day so I'll find out what suits Leo. I'll phone you and let you know when."

When Bob walked into the workshop office Ken told him that the plastic boxes had arrived. "They're stacked behind the boxing part of the bench. I'll make some shelves for them tomorrow. And Salisbury Boxes called. They said our boxes can be picked up anytime after lunch tomorrow."

"Oh, that's good. Then tomorrow I'll do Dorset north."

"We now have our own electricity meter Bob. I don't know what it cost," he added, knowing that was likely to be Bob's next question. "We'll have to wait for the bill."

Bob squeezed in seventeen more shops before calling at Salisbury Boxes on Thursday. Bill helped him load the paste boards in the van then told him he had something to show him.

"It's in here," and he opened the door at the back of the room that led to the workshop. Don saw them enter and walked over carrying a piece of plastic.

"Hello Bob. I'd like to show you this, it's a new lid for your box. It replaces the pasteboard lid you're using now. Look, this is how it works." He picked up one of the Wooden Toys' pasteboards, carefully cut off the lid portion then rolled the pasteboard into a box. "This plastic piece fits into the hole and makes the lid. Look." He pushed the larger end of the plastic into the hole in the log, bent it and slipped an extended portion on the opposite side into the other side. "See, the wider plastic sides stop the lid from falling in. Now anyone can see what there is in the box."

"That's very interesting. Let me try fitting it," said Bob.

"Okay. Of course the side you fit first into the box will have a quick-fastening adhesive on it. That will keep the lid in place when the box is empty but I haven't added that yet."

Bob removed the plastic and refitted it. "Yes. It's nice to be able to see inside. How much would this cost per box?"

"If you ordered five thousand it would cost an extra fifteen pence per box."

"Oh. Well I'll have to talk to Ken about it. Can I take this to show him?"

"Of course. Let me know what you decide as soon as you can. There's another company interested in the idea and they might want exclusive use of it but I told them you had first choice since you were the first to use this kind of box."

"Thank you. I'll phone in a day or two."

The shop was empty when he arrived at five-thirty so he left the van by the side door and walked home. One of the boys would unload it tomorrow.

The Community Centre's walls were at the roof height now and were level, ready to take the supports for the roof trusses. There were plenty of openings for windows, several of them on the south side, facing his house. 'That's where the noise will come from in the summer,' he thought.'

There was a small package by the front door and he opened it in the kitchen. It contained five newsletters from the Gift and Toy Association and a note from Julie inside. "Here's our newsletter Bob. Hope you like what I wrote. Good luck with your venture. Julie."

A colour picture of Bob and his stand was on the third page, under the heading Small End Wooden Toys was Julie's article. She explained that Mr. Barns started selling his toys in 1992, shortly after his wife died and continued:

"Rose Tyne was the first to sell the toys in her Gift Shop in Small End. Early this year Jenny Wood in Big End began selling them in her shop, Home and Holiday. Then our past treasurer, Leonard Tinnet, Leo to most of us, tried them out in his shop, Toys and Gifts, in Twinner and has sold many. A couple of months ago Ken Smith joined Bob and formed a partnership and shortly afterwards they built a larger workshop in Small End. The first and the second workshops are shown in the pictures on either side the stand that Bob had at our conference. He told me that he hoped all our members would sell his toys and Rose, Jenny and Leo told me that they sell quickly and easily. I suggest you call Bob and have him bring some of his toy sets to you. At the moment he sells trains and carriages, village and farm sets. Children can build their villages or their farms in many different ways and they have been scaled to suit the animals that many of us sell, generating more animal sales. Let's hope that Bob and Ken make a zoo set next; we need one to house our giraffes, lions and elephants!

"I'm sure we all wish them success in their new venture.

"Julie Mayor."

'What a nice article' thought Bob. 'Ken and the others will be most pleased. And it'll help me sell to association members who haven't heard of us. I'll call Julie tomorrow and thank her!'

Bob was pinning the article he'd cut from the newsletter to the clipboard on Friday morning when Ken walked in.

"Look at this Ken. It's the Gift and Toy Association's latest newsletter." He gave Ken one of the extra copies. "Turn to page three. There. Isn't that nice?"

Ken read the article and beamed at Bob. "Yes it is. We should have lots of people calling us once they've read this. We've already got a lot of new requests. Lori has a list of at least ten who want more toys soon."

"That's great! I've collected the next batch of pasteboards from Salisbury Boxes and they gave me this," and he handed the sample box to Ken.

"It looks nice, easy to open."

"Don't worry about the lid falling away, it'll be held on by an adhesive band. This lid adds an extra fifteen pence."

"Well I rather like the idea and we can afford the extra price."

"Yes, that's what I thought when I first saw it. However I thought a lot about it on my way home and I now think we shouldn't use it. Our chief feature is that we are part of the Green Movement. That's what Craig said, remember? We shouldn't spoil that image. But a plastic lid does exactly that."

"Hem! Maybe you're right. Let's just put a toy inside and see if it's worth risking that."

"Okay but I still won't think we should use plastic Ken, even if it does look nice."

"Okay. Then we won't, though I'm not sure you're right Bob because just about every thing has a plastic wrapping these days and customers are used to seeing what they're buying."

"But that's my point. Our toys appeal to those who don't think in the same way."

"You don't think that more people would buy them if they could see what was in the box?"

"Well they can see what they're buying—in the window display."

"They don't display all that's in the sets I bet."

"No but they'll be shown if they're interested."

"All right. I give in. We'll not use the plastic tops. Where are you going today?"

"Southampton and the eastern areas. I'll go through Twinner and ask Leo when he could have lunch. It has to be on a Monday or Tuesday Jenny says."

"Let's suggest Monday June 3rd. I'll make sure I don't arrange anything else for that day. Is that date okay with you?"

"Yes it is."

Craig arrived shortly afterwards and Bob asked him to help unload the van. They then packed it with sets and Bob drove off thinking about what Ken had said. He was a bit unhappy about arguing with him but he was sure his thinking was correct.

He gave Leo more sets on his way to Southampton and asked if he could come to lunch on Monday, June 3rd.

"Don't know. Let me call Lena and see if she can watch the shop that day." He dialled, asked and hung-up the phone.

"Yes. She can be here. Where are we going?"

"It's not been decided. Rose, Jenny, Ken will be coming too. Can you suggest anywhere?"

"If the girls are coming it had better be in a restaurant near them. You or Ken will know the places near the Ends better than I do. Chose one and tell me where we're going and what time and I'll find it."

"All right. Then keep the 3rd free and I'll phone you early next week. 'Bye Leo."

"Cheers Bob."

Many owners smiled when they saw Bob entering the shops in Southampton and said they liked Julie's profile. He thanked them, chatted and asked, as soon as an opportunity offered, if any Americans bought toys there. They told him that they frequently bought wooden articles, "perhaps because they are lighter than metal or pottery objects." When he asked if they would put up a sign to promote his toys they all refused. "If we did that everybody would want to do the same," he was told. 'So that's that,' he thought. 'If the shops wouldn't promote the toys he'd have to find another way.'

When he got back to the shop he told Ken what the owners said about selling to Americans and added "I'll try to find out if the shops they have onboard would post a notice."

"I bet they'd charge a lot to do that."

"Yes I suppose so. All right I'll forget the idea. Oh, June 3rd is okay for Leo. He suggested we chose a place near here so Rose and Jenny could get to the restaurant easily."

"Where it is doesn't matter much, you or I could drive them to it. How about going to The Windlass Tree in Warmly? Mary and I've been there a few times. They have a good menu."

"Sounds good. If you have their number, would you make the arrangements."

"Sure. I'll call them now." Five minutes later they had a window table reserved for one o'clock.

"I can take Rose and Jenny, Ken. Leo will drive himself."

"Why don't I take all of you? I know where to park if their lot's full."

"All right. I'll phone Jenny and Leo and tell them and I'll tell Rose tomorrow night."

"We made another seven hundred this week Bob. With those and another seven hundred next week we'll have close to twenty five hundred sets. That's the number we set when we said we'd take the gang to lunch."

"So we're making twenty five hundred each month now?"

"It'll soon be nearer to three thousand. I'm keeping my fingers crossed about selling them, Bob. We can make them but can we sell them? That's the big question."

"Yes it is, you're right about that. It'll take another month or more to find the answer. We'll have to increase our territory though, if we're going to sell that many, two hundred shops isn't enough. I'll have to look for other Gift and Toy Associations, those that border our territory and visit their retailers. Julie could probably tell me the association's addresses and I could get membership lists from them."

"I've got a simpler idea Bob. Why not just go to the bigger towns? That must be where most of our toys sell. Doing that would save you a lot of time. For instance, you could just go to Bristol or Basingstoke or Portsmouth. You could do the villages later."

"I'd have to stay two or three nights in each area if I did that. And we'd need a bigger van. Let me think about it."

**Chapter 22 The barbecue**

It was the usual weekend for Bob. Washing, dusting and cleaning, grocery-buying in Small End, gardening and an afternoon walk on Sunday. During his walk he thought more about selling mostly in the towns. The idea was attractive; he could explore the towns in the evenings, something he would like to do, and the evenings were lighter these days. He would be able to find and eat in different restaurants, paid for by the company, but staying away from home might generate a new feeling, that of loneliness. He'd seen what looked like salesmen sitting by themselves in pubs in the evenings, having nothing to do but drink. They looked as though they were lonely and he didn't want that to happen to him.

In the end he decided it would be good for him and for the company. He'd try it for a while and just treat it as a new experience, something to be enjoyed for a while, not something he would do forever. If he didn't like it then they'd hire a man to do the deliveries.

There was no news at the Crown Saturday night. Everyone knew that the Community Centre's walls were up. "They'll have the roof on and the doors and windows in place by the end of next week," Jane forecasted. Joe was very busy in his fields and greenhouses, Jack had occasional work with the developers but the unions didn't like non-union workers so it wasn't easy to find a job. He was constantly looking for cottages to buy or people who wanted renovations done. Bob showed them the Toy and Gift Association's newsletter and read what Julie had written. They were all very pleased for him. "Should boost your sales a lot," said Joe.

As they left the pub Bob told Rose the date of the lunch. Jack overheard and asked if he could come too. "No way Jack," said Rose. "You'll be looking after the shop."

Bob told Ken first thing Monday morning that he would try his suggestion and concentrate on the bigger towns. "I'll also stop at any shops I see on my way of course, no point in not doing that, but I'm not sure I'll like being away from home each week."

"Try it for a month."

"Yes I will. I'll know then if it's a job for me or if it's for someone else. We'll need a bigger van of course and we should hire someone to deliver to the nearby shops. He can use the small van."

"All right, I hope we can find someone."

"Well let's see if Charles has a bigger van first," said Bob and he picked up the phone.

"We have a lorry that people borrow when they want to move a house full of furniture. It that what you want Bob?"

"No that's too big. We want something four or five times bigger than the van we already have."

"You have the Ford now I think. Let me check the rental sheet. Nothing's available now but we'll have one the size you want next Monday."

"How much would it cost per month?"

"Three hundred and fifty a month."

"Okay we'll have it. We'll collect it Monday afternoon."

"Who's driving it?"

"I will be Charles."

"Oh. Are you returning the Ford then?"

"No. We're going to hire another driver."

"Okay. Do you know how long you'll want the new van?"

"Let's start with a month but we might want it longer. We'll let you know."

"All right. I'll book it. One Ford Transit, June 3rd, collected in the afternoon. We'll have it ready for you. And it will be clean, of course! Thanks for calling us. 'Bye Bob."

"'Bye Charles," said Bob. "Now we'll have to find a driver Ken. Jack said he'd help when he didn't have any construction work but he wouldn't become an employee and he wouldn't be available if something more in his line turned up."

"Well we won't want a full-time driver right now. All we need is some one to fill phoned-in orders. Maybe we'd need a man once or twice a week. Oh that reminds me, Lori has another list for you. About twenty shops."

"No problem, I'll do them this week."

"And Bob, I've been thinking about the lunch for the gang and the decision not to increase their wages for a while. I do want to reward them somehow. What do you think about making the last afternoon of each month a holiday? We could have our celebration lunch and they wouldn't have to return to work. Do you like the idea?"

"Yes I do."

"Okay let's do it. This month I'd like to hold the lunch at my place and have a barbecue. I've talked to Mary about doing this and she says she'll do all the arranging. We'll buy beer and soft drinks. What do you think? Will that be okay?"

"Yes that'd be very nice, they'll enjoy that. They can swim or fish if they want to as well. Tell them about it in the tea break, I want to see how they react. Keep all the bills, the company should pay for that kind of expense."

"All right."

"It should also pay my hotel and meal bills when I'm working."

"Of course it should, so you keep all your bills too."

Everyone loved the idea of having a barbecue at Ken's home on Friday.

"Bob or I can drive you there and bring you back," Ken said. "You could swim in the river if you want for I live beside the Tusset. Or try fishing."

"It'll be too cold for swimming," said Craig. "I felt the temperature yesterday with my friends because we like swimming. But fishing should be okay. We fish by the bridge near your place."

"What do you catch?" asked Lori.

"Carp, roach, perch and pike mostly."

"Do you eat them?"

"I eat the perch. I never eat pike because it's got too many bones."

"Well could you bring your rod?" Lori said. "I've never tried fishing."

"Sure."

"I'm glad you all like the idea," Ken said. "Bob and I also think that the last afternoon of every month should be a holiday so you don't have to return to work after the lunch. However in future you'll have to decide where you'd like to go to eat."

"You mean we'll get a holiday and a lunch each month?" asked Craig.

"Yes. I think that's the easiest way to arrange the lunches instead of waiting until we produce twenty five hundred. We'll be doing that or more each month from now on I'm sure."

"Can we go to the Ritz for lunch?" asked Lori, with a smile.

"No. We have pub-style lunches in mind. But we could do something better at Christmas."

"We won't be here then," said Jose.

"You might, if they throw you out of college," said Luke.

"I had higher marks than you at school, so you can't talk."

"Just kidding. They won't throw you out."

Bob phoned Salisbury Boxes after the tea break and explained why they wouldn't buy the plastic lids. Then he loaded the van and began delivering, going East that day, North on Tuesday and West on Wednesday. It was a pity the towns weren't closer, driving took up fifty percent of the time.

Thursday he worked in his own shop. Whilst driving he'd considered what kind of new toy he should make. He first thought about making extra pieces for the existing sets. a garage or a milk van, a school or a swing set for the village set, or a tractor, wagon, some hay stacks and a chicken pen with miniature chickens for the farm but discarded the idea because they weren't "new toys." Then he considered the toys he'd seen in the magazines and eventually decided to make different kinds of vehicles driven by miniature men. Children could do things with that kind of toy. He'd make a fire engine with a moveable ladder first.

The fire engine was finished, all but the painting, by lunchtime. It was harder to make than a train because it had a base, a cabin with holes for two firemen, an open back with a water tank, a ladder that rotated and six wheels. The two firemen were simply short cylinders with a rounded end which he'd paint to look like a head. Drilling all the holes and fitting the rungs to make the ladder was very time-consuming. Two screws held the ladder on a rotatable base fastened on the back of the fire engine. He gave the toy it's first paint coat after lunch and it's second coat after his tea break. It was a happy day for Bob; he was at home, doing what he loved and not in a rush. Being away from all the traffic turned it into a holiday.

Maria came to mind after supper. He hadn't thought about her since talking to Sally, over a week ago. He wondered how she was and thought about phoning her but couldn't think of anything to say. It would be the same if he wrote a letter. He could tell her what he was doing but he really wanted to know what she was doing and what she thought about them meeting again. Did she really like him? He stopped himself from thinking more about that; uncertainty would spoil his evening.

Bob drove his car to the workshop Friday morning so he could take people to Ken's for lunch. He showed the fire engine to Ken. "Do you think you could make this for a profit Ken?"

After looking at it for a minute or two he said "We'd probably have to sell it for twenty pounds to make a profit. Would people pay that much?"

"I don't know. I could show it to Rose and ask her. It took me a day to make."

"It would probably take two people three days to make a hundred once we had set-up the jigs and after a few days practice. That's less time than it takes to make a hundred farm sets. A farm set is sold for £22.50 so £20 is probably the right price."

"I'll see what Rose says. What can I do to help now?"

"Oh just look around and help anyone you can. But don't get in the way—they've figured out how to do things quickly in pairs or by themselves. Probably wrapping and boxing would be the best thing."

Doing that, filling the van, collecting the bills and lists from Lori and chatting to each of them filled his morning. They stopped at noon, gave Bob their overalls so he could wash them and climbed into the cars. Ken took Lori, Craig and his fishing gear and Bob followed with Luke and Jose.

Mary welcomed them, showed them where the toilet was then walked them through the house to the back garden. Three tables, a lawn swing and a dozen chairs sat on the grass. Ken opened the cooler and offered beer and soft drinks.

"There's fresh lemonade in the kitchen fridge as well. Help yourself," said Mary.

"Why don't you explore the gardens while I cook the steaks?" said Ken. "Who wants theirs well-done? One? Okay. Who wants it medium? Three? I'll do the others medium-rare then. We also have sausages. Put your fingers up to show me how many of those you want." Everybody except Mary put up two fingers. "Right. Seven steaks and thirteen sausages. I'll fire-up the barbecue. They'll be ready in about twenty minutes. Want to help me Bob?"

The others walked down the garden and looked at the river.

"Do we have enough time to try fishing?" asked Lori.

"I wouldn't think so," said Craig. "We'll have a go after lunch. Feel the water; do you want to have a swim later?"

"No. I don't need to feel it, I haven't brought my bathing costume."

Jose and Luke walked around the flower beds and Mary joined them. "We like the flowers Mrs. Smith. Do you do all the gardening?"

"Ken digs and plants the big items, the trees and bushes, but I do the rest. I'm glad you like it."

"The people we helped in Africa seldom grew flowers. Many had vegetable gardens though."

They chatted about Africa and Mary told them she would like to go on a safari with Ken. They told her that they would also like to do that but that they had already seen many of the animals. Ken called out, saying the steaks were done, and they walked back to the tables and joined Lori and Craig. Mary went to the kitchen and returned with the salad.

"Help yourself to drinks," said Ken. "Bob will hand out the steaks and sausages. Just tell him what kind you want, well-done, medium or medium-rare."

Lori couldn't eat her second sausage so she gave it to Craig. Bob ate both of his but they and a steak, over-filled his stomach and he refused the ice cream cake.

Lori, Luke, Jose and Craig each used Craig's rod after lunch but no one caught a fish. "It must be the wrong time of the day," said Craig. "I usually fish early in the morning or in the evening. That's the best time to catch them."

"You'll have to prove it Craig," said Luke. "Take a photograph next time."

"I can bring in two or three on Monday."

"All right. Do that and we'll believe you. We've heard fishing stories in Africa, haven't we Jose?"

"Often!"

About three o'clock they decided it was time to leave. They thanked Mary and Bob and Ken drove them back to Small End just in time to catch the early bus home.

"That was great Ken. Thank you. And thank Mary from me, for getting it all ready. Everyone enjoyed themselves," said Bob when they walked into the workshop afterwards.

"Yes I think they did. It gave Mary a chance to see and talk to them also." They sat in the office and Ken put his feet on his desk. "Now on Monday when we go out to lunch we'll have to put one of them in charge. It should be either Lori or Craig. Who do you prefer?"

"Craig. He's been with us longer than Lori. Lori will accept him but Craig might be a bit upset if you chose her."

"Yes, I agree. Okay. I'll tell them that during Monday morning's the tea break. We shouldn't be gone for more than two or three hours, should we?"

"No I don't think so. You can drop me at Charles' so I can collect the new van on the way back."

"Where are you going next week Bob?"

"I'll head east. The week after that I'll head north, then go to the west the following week. I'll follow the tourist's route as much as possible; that's where there are likely to be gift shops. I don't want to spend the weekends away from home and the van won't hold enough toys to keep me going for two weeks so I'll leave on Mondays and try to be home on Thursdays but I might have to stay until Fridays sometimes."

"How many shops do you think you will be able to visit?"

"Don't know. Maybe forty a week, depends on how many there are."

"If you find forty shops in each direction we'll have another hundred and twenty. That'll give us nearly three hundred and fifty all told. Think of what we'd earn if they all sold one set each day!"

"I hope they sell more than that Ken. Rose can sell two or three on a Saturday or Sunday when the tourists are visiting. Bigger shops in towns should sell many more. Even Leo sells more than one a day in his village. Trouble is, how do we keep all of them supplied?"

"And how do we make that many. Seven hundred a week won't be enough. We'll have to double that. You know, until we do that I won't have time to set up a line to produce the fire engines."

"Yes, you're right. Okay, we'll leave that until later. But how can you double production? There's not enough room in the shop to add another two benches."

"We might add one, between the other two, but it'd be very crowded and people would be bumping into each other. We'll have to rent another place. Ask your friends if they know of a building we can use."

"I can do that. But I don't think we'll be that lucky. Getting Joe's milking parlour saved us last time. There can't be any more places like this. I'll let you know what they say Monday morning. What are you doing this weekend?"

"We're going to Manchester to see James, Julie and Larry. Mary keeps saying we don't see enough of them. It's especially important now since he's nearly three and is changing so much. She misses him, even though they talk each weekend. He can speak quite well now."

"It's a long drive and you'll be tired. Does Mary drive some of the way?"

"Not usually. I don't mind driving. I know the road, 'cos we've driven it many times in the last three years. We'll leave after supper tonight. It's usually less busy then."

"Well drive safely Ken."

"I will."

**Chapter 23 Where next?**

There were three loads of washing to do Saturday morning, two whites, mostly of overalls, and one dark. The line full of clothes waving in the breeze reminded him of the times when Betty had everyone's washing hanging there. As the kids grew older there was less and less room on the line and she had told him to put up another one. He had never done that but it looked as if he might have to do so in the future if they hired another four workers.

He did a little hoeing, pulled some carrots and all the peas that were at least three-quarters full. They would be nice with his chops on Sunday. The rest of the morning he cleaned the house. After lunch he took his usual walk but stopped at Betty's branch to tell her about his new life. 'I think she'd be pleased that I'm doing this,' he thought, as he walked on. 'She never wanted me to spend all my spare time in my workshop.' He didn't go to his parent's grave but did go to the village shop for his staples but they still didn't carry Thai sauces. He'd look in bigger shops when he was delivering.

No one at the Crown knew of any barns or places to rent. Jack knew just about everything that was on the market or empty within twenty miles but he knew of nothing. Joe said, "The only thing is to wait until the industrial development is opened. Do you know how long that might take Jane?"

"No I don't. They are about to build houses on two of the sections above the railway tracks but I've heard nothing about the industrial area. I don't expect it will be long; there has to be places for people to work if they're going to bring in such a large number. Not all of them will be retirees."

"'Ow's t'Centre comin' Jane?" asked Jack.

"Oh I can tell you that," said Bob. "The roof, windows and doors are on. I went there last night and took a look. There's nothing inside yet."

"That's right. They're putting up the walls for the rooms next week," said Jane. "You'll be able to see the layout once the framing's done."

"I won't be able to see anything until the end of the week," said Bob. "and the gyproc'll probably be on by then. We're renting a bigger van and I'll be driving east, towards Brighton, visiting shops in the towns along the way most of the week."

"Brighton? Are you going to drive there and back each day?" asked Rose.

"No. I'll stay in a hotel or bed and breakfast, in a place where there's room enough to park the van."

"If you want places that are nice but not too expensive you'd probably have to stay on the outskirts. Do you belong to the AA? Their guidebook's good. It tells you where they are and how much they charge."

"No I don't. Does anyone?" he asked.

"No," said Joe. "I can fix most things if ever something went wrong."

"Nay," said Jack. "'Wot you doin' wiv t'old van?"

"We'll use it to visit shops that are not too far away."

"Is Ken going to be driving?" asked Joe.

"No he'll stay in the shop. We'll have to hire a man to drive it."

"Hey,'" said Jack. "John or I cou'd do that."

"It'd only be for a day or two each week I expect."

"Tha's okay."

"Well good. Ken or I'll call you when we need a driver."

Rose gave Bob a cheque for £286.50 as they left the Crown. "That's the May's sales. I sold five trains, eight villages and nine farms. There's a list in the envelope."

'So Rose has sold about four sets each week. I wonder what the others have sold,' he thought as he walked home. 'I bet we've done well this month.'

Sunday morning he added the May bills. They had spent £5,782.92, although there might be a few more expenses from Ken. Not the barbecue, he'd already included the forty five pounds for that. The biggest expense for May was the salaries. They came to £2,250. The next biggest expense was the boxes, the pasteboards cost £1,000 and the plastic cost £307.50. The routers, blades and safe were the other big items, all the rest were relatively small amounts. No, there would be the van to pay for as well.

He then checked how much there should be in the bank. On May 10th, after adding the income they'd received from Rose, Jenny and Leo and paying Craig and Lori's salary there should have been about £1,050. Then he and Ken had added five thousand and they had money from other sales of £1,639.50. So they had over seven and a half thousand in the bank. That meant there was enough to cover the May expenses and he could write the cheques.

He did another quick calculation. After paying any additional May expenses there should be over £1,500 in the bank. That, plus the May income, should give them enough to pay the June expenses. 'So we won't have to borrow from the bank. I'm very glad about that,' he thought. 'I hate the idea of paying nine or ten percent interest.'

It took most of the morning, although he took rather a long coffee break, to do all the calculations and write the cheques. Afterwards he wondered how long it would take Lori to do the same job. Probably about the same time, but maybe not, since she would use the computer. However it was going to become harder when they hired part-time drivers and more helpers. Perhaps they should hire an expert to look after the books. He would know how to keep accurate records and how to minimise their income tax.

After mailing the cheques he walked over to the old Community Centre and read the notices on the board by the front door. The one that interested him the most was a notice stating that, after June, there would be no more activities in this Centre. Everything in future would take place in the new Centre, probably starting in August. Sports in the field would continue but the Centre would be closed and members would have to change in the toilets at the edge of the field during July. 'Well if there's nothing going on in here then perhaps we could rent this building. I bet we could put eight or ten work benches in the hall. And there's plenty of places to store the wood and boxes. I must talk to Jane about this.'

He walked, almost ran, to Joe's farm and knocked on the kitchen door.

"Who's that?" called Jane.

"It's Bob, Jane. Can I speak to you?"

"Of course. Come in Bob. Here, sit down while I put these pies in the oven. I should have made them earlier this week but didn't have time. I'm taking some of them to Howard and Shirley tomorrow. What did you want to talk about?"

"It's the old Centre, Jane. What's the village going to do with it?"

"I don't know Bob. Why do you ask?"

"It's exactly what we want, a place where we can have a bigger workshop. Could you find out what they're going to do with it? Can we rent it for a year or so? Or could we buy it? Surely they're not going to pull it down. It would be ideal for us. If we had it we'd provide work for some of the new people that are coming to this village!"

"Wow, Bob, slow down. I'll ask the committee what's planned but I don't think anyone has talked about it yet, we've all been too busy thinking about the new one. There's a meeting next Friday afternoon and I'll raise the subject. So you would buy or rent it?"

"I'm not sure about buying it, maybe, Jane, but we'd love to rent it. And for a year at least."

"Okay. I'll not say anything about buying it but I'll tell them Wooden Toys would like to rent it for at least a year. I'll let you know what they say."

"Oh, thanks Jane. It would be such a relief. We have to expand because we're doubling the number of shops that sell for us. Can you telephone me as soon as you know?"

"Saturday evening at the Crown would be too late for you?"

"Oh yes. I couldn't wait the extra day!"

"All right Bob. Would you still keep this place?"

"I would think so. It's all set up and we'll need as much room as possible. If we can rent the old Centre Ken and I will talk about what we'll do in the milking parlour but I'm sure we'll keep it."

"All right. I'll tell Joe that. He might worry if he thought you were going to move out although he shouldn't; what you've done adds value to the farm so we'll get more for it when we have to sell. Now, here, have a piece of pie, the first batch should be cool by now."

"Aren't you taking them to Howard?"

"Not this first lot; they're for Joe and me. Here, try this, and she handed him a slice and took one for herself.

As Bob ate he relaxed a little and they began talking about holidays. Bob told her what he planned to do in August and Jane told him a little about their intended visit to Spain. After finishing his tea he bid goodbye and walked back to his house. He decided he wouldn't say anything to Ken until he heard what Jane found out. It would be a shame to excite him if they said they didn't want to rent it.

Sally called him after supper just before he was going to phone Sam and Regina and gave him her new telephone number.

"How do you like the residence Sally?" he asked.

"There's three on the staff I remember but all the other's are new. There's one lady still here that I used to visit and I said 'hello' to her but she didn't recognise me. I think she has Alzheimer's."

"Is your room a nice one?"

"Yes. Although I wish I'd kept my chair, the one they provide isn't as comfortable."

"You old one was sold with the rest of your furniture?"

"Yes. I sat at the back and watched the auction. I was surprised by some of the prices. Things I thought to be worth little fetched high prices and some of the expensive furniture fetched very little. It was sad to see it go and I'm glad Brian wasn't there."

"Why not buy yourself a new chair, the same kind as you had before?"

"I might. But I might get used to this one. We'll see."

"And how's the food?"

"No complaints, but I've only been here a day so it's too soon to tell. I hope they vary the menu each week. We have three entrees to choose from at lunch and at dinner. When are you coming to see me?"

"Not for a few weeks. There's a hundred or so new shops to visit first. I hope to come after that."

"There's a room I can rent here if you want to stay in the building."

"I'll decide that when you tell me if the food is always good Sally. But we'll go out for meals when I come."

"Good. Well, don't leave it too long. 'Bye Bob."

"'Bye Sally."

Then he called Sam and Regina and asked how their month had been. There was little news; a sprained finger from catching a cricket ball, lots of homework in preparation for the exams, sports days that were coming soon and some new clothes for their holidays. He wondered if he should ask if he could visit when he was in their area but he couldn't fix a date so he didn't say he'd be near them in three weeks time. He could always drive over for a Sunday lunch now he had the car but with all the driving he was about to do he probably be too tired to do more on the weekend.

**Chapter 24 On the road**

When Bob entered the shop Monday morning Ken was talking to Craig. "Would you supervise, that is, be in charge of the shop, when Bob and I go to lunch today? We'll be gone for about three hours. Can you manage that?"

"Yes, of course. I'll be glad to. We'd just carry on as usual?"

"Yes."

"What time are you going?"

"About twelve thirty. Good, I'll tell the others in the tea break."

No one minded when Ken told them that they were taking some retailers for lunch and that Craig would be in charge when they were away. "We'll be back about three," he added.

"Where are you going?" asked Lori.

"The Windlass Tree."

"In Warmly? That's where my parents took me to celebrate my high school graduation. It's a nice place."

"In that case we should go there for our next lunch," said Luke.

"Maybe for Christmas," said Bob. "It's a bit too expensive to go to a place like that each month."

"I know a good pub we could go to," said Luke.

"So do I," said Jake.

"Why don't you make a list of places you'd like. We'll veto any that might be too expensive," said Ken. "Okay, it's time to go back to work."

Rose was busy behind her counter when Ken and Bob arrived to pick her up. "Give me a minute to finish this and get my mackintosh," she called. Twenty minutes later they collected Jenny and at ten to one the car splashed through the puddles into The Windlass Tree's parking lot. Leo was sitting at a small bar waiting for them when they entered.

"Hello Leo," Bob said.

"Hello everyone," he replied.

Rose hugged Leo and Jenny shook his hand. "It's nice to see you again," she said.

A waiter approached, asked them if they were ready to eat then, after Ken had said they were, led them to their table. It was in the bow window, as requested. Once they had sat down he handed out the menus and said he'd be back to take their orders in a minute or two. "Would anyone like to order a drink now?" he asked.

Ken told everyone to order what they wanted and Leo said he'd probably have some wine with the meal, Jenny asked for a Bloody Mary, "because I'm not driving," she added. Rose said she'd have a gin and tonic. Ken and Bob said they'd have something with the meal.

Leo turned towards Jenny and said, "I haven't seen you for a year or more. How're things?"

"They're good Leo. Business was a bit slow after Christmas but it's fine now."

"Same for me. We closed the shop for two weeks at the end of January and went on a cruise to the Canary Islands."

"We took our holidays about that time," said Rose, "but in little pieces, a few days one week and the same the next."

Ken told them that he and his wife, Mary, would be going on a cruise, "but not until September. We're going to the Mediterranean."

"Let me know how you like it," said Leo. "Lena wants to go there next winter."

"I will."

"What are you going to do for a holiday Bob?" asked Jenny.

"I'm joining a group and touring the Lake District in August. There are many places I haven't seen in England and that sounded like an interesting place. There are many good walks there, I'm told, and I'd try some if we have any free time."

The waiter brought the drinks and some warm rolls and pats of butter. "Would you like to order now?" he asked.

"Sorry no. We haven't looked at the menu yet."

Everyone opened their menus then wondered what to order. Bob said he would like to start with one of the soups because it was a cool day, in this way suggesting to the others that they might also order a starter.

Two minutes later the waiter reappeared. Rose said she'd have the watercress soup and the Lancashire Hotpot; Jenny chose a garden salad and the Shepherd's pie, Leo asked for the vegetable soup and the steak and kidney pie, Ken also had the vegetable soup and the roast beef. Bob said he'd have the watercress soup and the fish pie.

"You seem to specialise in pies," Ken said to the waiter. "It's a bit different from the times I have eaten here before."

"We changed the head chef two months ago. The one we've got now thinks that people might like pies this time of the year. He changes the menu at the end of each month. Would you like to order more drinks now?"

"A bottle of red wine might be nice with the meals we are having," said Ken. "What do you think?" he asked the table. No one disagreed and Ken ordered a Merlot, thinking that most people would like that.

Lunch passed quickly, often with two conversations at the same time. Leo spoke mostly to Ken about business topics. Jenny and Rose chatted away and Bob interjected in both conversations from time to time. A second bottle of wine, coffee and desserts—bowls of trifle, bread-and-butter and sticky toffee puddings and an ice cream topped up their already-full stomachs.

"That was a lovely," said Jenny.

"Indeed it was," echoed Rose. "Thank you, Bob and Ken."

"Yes, thank you," said Leo. "I must come here with my wife before they change the menu. It was a great meal."

"We're very glad you could come," said Bob. "You've all helped Ken and me so much as we started this business. Thank you, everybody."

They said goodbye to Leo as he drove off then climbed into Ken's car. The rain had stopped and they were able to see some of the coastline as they drove back to Big End. Ken parked beside the National Westminster bank.

"Bob has to visit the bank. Then he's going to rent a bigger van and drive it to the shop so we don't have to wait for him," he explained to Rose and Jenny.

"I'll get out here too," said Jenny.

"All right," Ken replied. "I'll see you later Bob," and he drove off.

After ordering more cheques Bob walked to Charles' garage, glad the rain had stopped, for he'd left his umbrella in Ken's car. The van, looking rather large to Bob, stood near the exit.

"Hello Bob. That's it, the one near the road," called Charles, who was standing at the door to his office. "Do you think it's a suitable size?"

"It looks perfect Charles. Can you open the back? I want to see how I might separate the toys. We might have to build some kind of walls."

"Open the doors and have a look."

"Okay. Ah, we'd have to build two temporary walls. Do you mind? Made of plywood. We wouldn't have to fasten the walls to the floor, plywood across the bottom and top would hold them in place."

"You can do anything you like as long as you remove it before returning and don't mark or make holes in the van."

"Good. Thanks." He closed the doors. "What's it like to drive?"

"Easy. It's automatic with power brakes, steering and windows. You'll have no trouble. Come and do the paperwork and you can find out for yourself."

After filling the forms Bob told him they wanted to keep the smaller van for another two months. "That would be £425, right?"

"Yes. £425 for the small one for two months and £350 for the big one for one month."

"Would you give us a discount seeing we are renting two vans from you?"

"Well I think I could. Just for you. How about ten percent?"

"Thank you. So I'll give you a cheque for how much?"

"Let me see. The calculator here says £1255.50."

After receiving the cheque he gave Bob the keys and watched as he climbed into the cab. Bob adjusted the seat's position and the rear-view mirrors, checked all the instruments, switches and knobs. Then he told Charles he would like to back it into the yard before driving it away, "Just to be sure I understand everything." He did that successfully then waved 'goodbye' and drove slowly out into the road. "Take it easy until you're used to it," shouted Charles.

Bob drove slowly through Big End toward the lumber yard where he stopped and bought six sheets of plywood and some four-by-twos. The van was much smother to drive and more comfortable than the smaller van. He parked it near the side door of the shop and walked into the busy workshop.

"I've got the new van Ken."

"Hi Bob. What's it like?"

"It's warm and comfortable. Much easier than the old one to drive. I've looked in the back and we'll have to build a couple of walls to separate the sets. I've bought the wood. Can you give me a hand?"

"Sure."

An hour later the walls were firmly in place and Ken asked Luke and Jose to load the van before going home.

"Tell me every time you've added a hundred of each please, I don't want the top ones to squash those at the bottom," said Bob. "Put the farms in the left compartment, the trains in the middle and the villages in the right, long-wise, so they won't roll out when I open the doors."

Bob told them to stop loading after they had loaded twelve hundred.

"There's twelve hundred sets in the van now, four hundred of each," he told Ken. "That gives me enough to go to eighty shops and give five of each toy to each. That will be more than I need for one week since I'll have to talk to the owners, but it's nice to have more. I don't want to run out if someone wanted a lot. Of course, if we are just delivering we could carry another four hundred as well. All we'd have to do is put a platform half-way up to stop the ones on top from squashing the ones below."

"Great. Well, they've all left now and I'm going to close the shop. Mary and I are eating with friends tonight. You're going east tomorrow?"

"Yes. Probably be back on Thursday."

"Okay. Take it easy."

"Will do," and Bob climbed into the van and drove it to the new Community Centre's parking lot.

He took the tourists route toward Portsmouth Tuesday morning, stopping in an occasional gift shop. He showed each retailer Julie's article in the Gift and Toy Association's newsletter which helped introduce him and the company. They all took five of each set and agreed on a forty percent commission. He stayed the night in the Journey's End motel on the eastern side of Portsmouth. He counted his receipts after eating supper in a small steak house; he had eleven.

Wednesday he continued his journey eastwards and stayed the far-side of Brighton. Sixteen more retailers agreed to sell his toys that day.

Thursday he headed north, to Winchester and turned down through Eastleigh, arriving home at 6:30. Adding that days thirteen shops gave him a total of forty for the week. He parked in the road for there were two lorries and a crane in the Centre's parking lot. The crane had probably been used to install the centre's roof.

Bob arrived at the workshop at nine on Friday, glad to be back. Everyone was busy but Ken put down the block he was working on and joined him in the office.

"How was the week Bob?"

"A bit tiring but I'm glad I'm driving the bigger van. It's much easier and the radio's a great help."

"How many new shops did you get?"

"Forty. I'll give the receipts to Lori to tabulate."

"We've had another 26 requests. Some of them are from shops close to, or in, Southampton. It's a pity you didn't know or you could have seen them on your way back."

"Well, I could phone you each night to check. How about me doing that, would you mind?"

"No, it's a good idea. What time would you call?"

"What time's best for you? What I've been doing is stopping at a motel that's near a restaurant, eating supper then going to my room."

"What about nine o'clock. Would that be all right?"

"Yes. That's a good time. Okay, I'll phone then. How many did you make this week?"

"It'll be nearly eight hundred by four o'clock this afternoon. It's like we are working to a rhythm—everyone pulls together. And I think it's time we gave everybody a raise. I'm sure we can afford to do that now. We've already received £2,332 for the May sales and that's only from a few of our shops."

"All right. Let's do it. What do you have in mind?"

"I'd like to give everybody another £50 a week. That's the profit from only five sets for each person, if you look at it that way."

"Okay."

"And I'd like to promote Craig and make him a supervisor and give him an extra £25 a week. And I'd like to make Lori a helper/secretary/financial officer and give her an extra £25 a week as well."

"What's a 'helper/secretary/financial officer'?"

"It's what she is doing right now. She works in the shop but also in the office. And I'd like her to handle our expenses and income too. You said it's a lot of work for you at the end of each month. She can do it daily on the computer and we'll review it each Friday, or each day if you like. She must have used the till when she sold dresses so I'm sure she'll be trustworthy."

"Okay, we'll try it, but I wouldn't want her to sign cheques.

"That's fine, though she'd have to use the credit card sometimes, when ordering supplies from a new supplier, for instance. Do you mind that?"

"Let's not give her too much responsibility yet. Why not have her call you if that's needed."

"All right. Then I'll tell everyone about the raise at tea time and tell Craig and Lori about the extra jobs we would like them to do, separately, in the office afterwards."

"Why not tell them now? Then you can tell Jose and Luke about everything during the tea break."

"You're right. Can you take over Craig's work and tell him to come and see me now?"

"Sure."

Craig and, later, Lori, were delighted that Ken thought so highly of their work and that they would be promoted. The tea break was a bit longer than normal as Ken explained why they were increasing everyone's' wage and making Craig a supervisor and promoting Lori to be the financial officer.

"We will have to hire more people soon," Ken said. "Bob has another forty shops selling for us and he is likely to have another sixty to eighty more in two weeks time. That's why we need a supervisor, to teach and help the newcomers as well as doing some of the work. And, as you know, Lori already keeps our records and she'll be looking after our expenses and income from now on."

There were a few hugs and one spilt mug of tea before they went back to the shop. Afterwards Bob asked Ken how he was going to find more helpers and where they would work if he found them.

"I've been thinking about that and I think we could run two shifts. One starting at six, that's the earliest anyone could get here from Big End by bus. That one could end at one. And the next shift could start at one and end at eight."

"Two seven-hour shifts. Then neither will make as many sets as the eight-hour shift we have now."

"No, but we'll get about fourteen hundred sets a day that way. I'm still only thinking about how to arrange it, I've got to find more workers first."

Bob was tempted to tell Ken about the chance to use the old Community Centre but he didn't want both of them to be disappointed if the committee said they wouldn't rent it. He'd tell him tomorrow if they agreed, then they could both celebrate.

Bob worked in the shop for the rest of the day then loaded both vans with sets. Jack would deliver the sets that had been requested by shops in the east and, since he was going north next week, he'd deliver the ones that way. The requests from the west could wait until the following week unless they were urgent.

He was sitting in his lounge after supper, sipping a glass of port, when Jane phoned.

"I'm sorry Bob. I told the committee that you'd like to rent the old Centre for a year or more and we discussed it for nearly an hour. Some people want to tear it down and build a small ornamental park. It's a good spot for that, the existing park's mostly grass and used for playing games. Others say we need a shopping mall, saying that we have to cater to our new residents otherwise they'll all go to Big End and we'll lose all the income a mall's retailers might bring us. But some said we shouldn't discourage what seems to be a successful business and that waiting a year might help us decide what's the best thing to do for the village. So we didn't decide what to do and we are going to talk about it again next Friday. Keep your fingers crossed; you still might get it."

"I will Jane. Thanks for asking them. I haven't said anything to Ken in case they say 'No.' I didn't want to disappoint him."

"Then I won't say anything to anyone else either Bob. Are you going to the Crown tomorrow?"

"You bet."

After breakfast Bob walked over to the new hall and looked through the windows. The interior stud walls were up, ready for the electrician to run the wires. Unfortunately, Sam wasn't there so he couldn't get inside or ask if everything was still on schedule.

The rest of the weekend followed it's usual routine. Jane had no more news about when the new Centre would open, Joe was still very busy and rather tired, as he usually was this time of the year, and Jack was glad he had a day's work delivering toys. And the village grocer still didn't carry Thai sauces.

When Lori walked in Monday morning she told Ken that she'd talked to the boy who was looking for a job.

"I thought you didn't know where he lived."

"I saw him again Saturday. He lives in one of the new houses. He has a job now and isn't interested in changing but he'll tell his mates at work about this place in case they know of anybody who'd like to work here."

"Oh thanks."

Then Lori added, "Why not call the high school? The head will know boys who are finishing this year and there might be some who are interested."

"Ah yes. I'll call them again."

When he called the secretary told Ken that the headmaster was in a meeting, "but he will call you back as soon as he is free," she said. Twenty minutes later he did. Ken told him that he was looking for four people to help make wooden toys in their workshop in Small End. "We have four of your graduates already," he said, and told him their names.

"Oh I remember Lori. She was an excellent student. I'm surprised she didn't go to college or university. All right. I'll talk to the shop teacher. He'll know who's likely to be interested. I'll give you a call later this week to let you know what happens."

Bob overheard most of this conversation as he checked to see if there were any northern shops that wanted more toys. For some reason there were none so he waved goodbye to Ken and headed out the door.

"'Bye ,Bob."

"I'll call about nine. Let me know how you are doing and if any more money comes in Ken. 'Bye."

He drove north towards Basingstoke stopping at two gift shops along the way, showing them the newsletter and his toys and leaving five of each set when they agreed to sell them. Basingstoke had changed so much from the way it used to be. 'That's how Small End will become if we expand to the south as well as to the north,' he thought. 'Let's hope it doesn't go that way.' He then drove to Reading and stopped for the day at six o'clock, having another ten receipts in his envelope.

"I'm in Reading Ken. We now have another ten retailers. What's the news from the shop?"

"More cheques arrived today. Lori tells me we've now got £4,381. It's in the safe. All are from May sales. She asks if you paid all the May bills?"

"Yes I did. A week ago. So she's already handling the money side of things?"

"Yes. She's shown me the spreadsheet she keeps on the computer."

"And it looks okay? You understand what she's done and it's correct?"

"Yes I think so. You'll have to check it when you return."

"I'll do that each week. Anything else?"

"There are a few requests for more sets. Lori tells me she'll separate them into areas and I'll let you know which are on your way when we know where you are driving. Where are you going tomorrow?"

"Swindon and the roads around there."

"All right. You'll call me tomorrow?"

"Yes. Same time?"

"Yes. Take it easy Bob."

"You too Ken."

A day driving around Swindon in the rain and dashing with a container full of toy sets from the van to the shops quickly tired Bob, who was only cheered by the fact he'd another sixteen shops selling for him. He was glad he wouldn't be delivering to them in the future, they'd hire someone else to do that. His meal was uninteresting too— over-cooked vegetables and two under-cooked chops. He tried to be cheerful when phoning Ken, there was no sense in upsetting him.

"Another sixteen Ken. How are things your end?"

"£7,443 now Bob. And fourteen more requests for more deliveries. I talked to the gang about doing overtime today but only Craig is interested. I haven't heard from the school."

"Did you offer time-and-a-half for overtime?"

"Yes. It wasn't a money thing. They all find it hard work and felt they couldn't work at our rate for more than eight hours a day."

"Oh are we pushing them too hard?"

"I don't think so, they set their own pace. I think they each work hard to show the others they can handle it."

"Interesting, let's hope it continues that way. I'm going to Marlborough and Andover tomorrow. Are there any requests I can handle on that route?"

"Well there are another nine around Southampton. I'll read out their names and addresses."

"Okay."

Ken read them out then Bob told him to ask Lori to print a copy of all their retailers with their addresses. "I won't have to copy them all down when I have that list. You can just give me their names and I'll put a mark by their name."

"All right. Are you coming home tomorrow?"

"Yes. It's been a hard day and the rain hasn't helped. I'll not call tomorrow night and I'll be in the shop on Thursday."

"All right Bob. Cheers."

"Cheers Ken."

It was raining again on Wednesday but Bob added thirteen new shops and dropped off the extra sets in the Southampton area. As he drove towards Small End he thought about supper. He didn't want to go to the pub, he was tired of eating out, so he'd just heat a pot pie.

There was a letter on the mat when he opened the door. The handwriting and the stamp told him that it was from Maria. He took it to the kitchen and put the pie in the oven to warm before he opened the envelope. He expected it was a reminder to pay the balance of the money for the August holiday, but no, it wasn't that, Maria wrote to say that a church group liked the description of what they read in one of their brochures and that they asked the agency if they could run one especially for them. They had twenty two people who would go if they could run it in June. It took a lot of last minute organising, finding hotels that had enough room, or finding two of them close to each other when needed, and arranging all the speakers but it had been done and they would be arriving Saturday June 15th and she would be the guide. She said that it would be returning Saturday June 29th and asked, 'do you want to meet me then? I have arranged to fly back on Sunday. I thought we could go to a show in London. Please can you call me this Friday night at nine o'clock or later that evening to discuss this. I hope you receive this letter in time.' It was signed 'with love from'.

He immediately cheered up. Maria did think about him and she did want to see him again. Of course he could make it. If there had been anything on he would have cancelled it to see her, but, of course, that weekend was no different from any of his others, nothing had been planned. He'd drive the Vauxhall to the airport, no more buses for him. Presumably she would be arriving at Gatwick. He'd have to ask about that and find out what time she arrived. And tonight he'd have a beer with his pie and a glass of port afterwards!

**Chapter 25 Maria and money**

Ken was working in the shop and Lori was working on the computer when Bob walked in Thursday morning. She greeted him, moved her chair back and asked, "Do you want to sit here Bob?"

"No, thanks Lori. I think we'd better say that that's your desk and chair now though I could use a small one. Order it and just squeeze it in a corner. So how're we doing? What did the May sales bring in?"

"£8,890.50. Is that enough to cover all the month's expenses?"

"No not yet, but we should be getting more in if this month's like last month. Right now we're using money Ken and I put in. Here are the receipts for this week's sets. There are thirty nine altogether."

"I'll add them to the list. Did you go to the shops that phoned in?"

"Southampton area? Yes. I gave them five of each."

"Okay. I'll add that to the lists."

"Let me look at last week's figures Lori. I'd like to see the sheets that show what we've produced, given out, sold and our expenses and income."

"Do you want me to print them out or would you like to see them on the computer?"

"The computer I think. If there's anything I don't understand I might like a printed copy to study.'

"All right. If you come here you can see our production and stock."

"Ah yes. That's very good. How about the ones all the retailers have?"

"That's here."

"Oh yes. That's about what I guessed. Okay."

"And here's our expenses. The next page is what we have received."

"I see. There are a few items I didn't know about. Nothing big though. Looks like you've got everything under control Lori. Very good. Could you print a copy of each of these sheets, or spreadsheets, whatever they're called, for me at the end of each month?"

"Yes of course."

"Thanks. Well, I'll load up for the next trip."

Bob shouted "Hi" to everyone in the shop as he walked through to open the side door. At the van he opened the back and counted the number of sets that remained then fetched more until he had four hundred of each. All it needed now was petrol before heading off next week.

Everyone was having their tea when he'd finished and he joined the group, laughing so heartily at Craig's jokes that Ken said, "You seem very cheerful today Bob. It couldn't have been that bad in the rain yesterday."

"Well," replied Bob, "it has been a good week, after all."

The phone rang. Ken went to the office and took the call. It was the shop teacher from the high school. He introduced himself and said, "Most of our boys want to work in a garage or in a machine shop but I've told them there won't be enough openings for all of them. Perhaps because of that, or because they like working with wood, three said they might be interested in working in your shop. Can I send them over to see what you do? Since they're looking for work the headmaster doesn't mind them missing school."

"Yes of course. Can they come next week? During the day? That's when we're working."

"Yes that's no problem. They could come any day."

"Then how about Monday? If they're here before ten they can chat with our lot during the tea break."

"They can do that. You know they won't be available until July? When school finishes?

"Yes."

"All right, I'll send them over. What's your address? You're in Small End, right?"

"Yes. It's 110 Big End Road. The building's in a farm yard. Mr. Smith's farm. Everybody in the village will know where that is. Tell them to look for the sign Small End Wooden Toys over a door. That's the entrance."

"All right. Then you'll see them on Monday. Thanks for calling the school; it isn't easy for some of our lads to find work and we appreciate it."

Ken told everybody that there would be three boys from the high school visiting Monday. "They might like to work here so I want you to be nice to them."

"We're always nice," said Lori.

"What are their names?" asked Craig.

"I don't know. However if they do agree to work for us there's a problem. I'd like to put in another bench in the shop but there's no room for one. So I've been thinking about shift-work. What do you think about that?"

"What kind of shift work? From nine to five and five to one? There are no buses in the middle of the night," said Luke.

"No not those times. How does from six to one and from one to eight sound?"

"Is there a bus that would get us here at six am?" asked Luke.

"Yes I've checked."

"Well I wouldn't mind working the early shift. What about you Jose?"

"I'd do it if you would," he replied.

"What about you Lori? Craig?" Ken asked.

"I think I'd prefer the early shift too. Could I change if I don't like getting up that early?" Lori replied.

"Yes of course. How about you Craig?"

"I don't mind. I'd do what ever you want. It's easy for me to get here either time and I don't mind getting up early. I do that when I go fishing."

"Okay. I'll talk to the boys on Monday and see what they say. We'll work something out."

All through that discussion Bob wished he could tell them that they might be able to rent the old Community Centre but he couldn't. He hoped the committee would agree, it would solve a lot of difficulties.

Most of the day Bob worked with Ken. Luke and Jose worked together and Lori and Craig paired up. Sanding or painting changed the routine sometimes for it was difficult for two people to work in the booths at the same time, especially when handling long hedge blocks. And it wasn't always Ken or Lori who answered the telephone; whoever was nearest the shop phone or near the office would stop and take the call. Ken didn't mind and it demonstrated to Bob how much of a team they'd become.

As Bob entered his garden after work he saw a group of men standing near the new Centre. Sam Loring was there, talking to them. After he'd finished Bob walked over. "What's happening now Sam? Is anything wrong?"

"No I was just giving everyone some news about the company. We've got another contract, a big one, so we'll be expanding."

"Something around here?"

"No the other side of Salisbury."

"Oh. Well that's good. Can I go in the Centre and have a look?"

"No. Not now they're here. There's a union guy with them and he hates visitors on a site. 'It's likely to cause an accident,' he says. Maybe tomorrow, if I'm alone, although I don't know when or even if I'll be here then."

"Okay. Is everything going well?"

"Oh yes. We'll be done by the end of June."

Bob worked hard in the shop all day Friday. They were going to need a lot of sets soon, he and everyone else knew that. Ken must have talked about it when he was away. But they still ended at four. He overheard Craig telling Lori he'd call for her at six thirty. 'I wonder what's going on there?' he asked himself but he didn't tell Ken what he'd heard.

Bob was tempted to knock on Jane's door when leaving but he was with Ken, so they loaded the overalls in the boot and Ken drove him home. He consoled himself, knowing that she'd call as soon as she gets home.

He put the overalls on the kitchen table and was tempted to check the Centre. Perhaps Sam was inside but he decided not to go because Jane might call. Whilst waiting he put the overalls in the washing machine, dug some carrots and picked the last of the peas. He'd steam them later and have them with the white fish he had bought as he drove home Wednesday. Then the phone rang. It was Jane.

"Hi Bob. It's good news, they'll let you have the hall."

"Oh that's wonderful Jane. I'm so relieved. And Ken will be too. Do you know when we can have it?"

"As soon as we have moved all our stuff to the new Centre. We'll do that as soon as they're finished."

"Okay. Can we have it for a year?"

"Yes."

"Can Ken and I visit it tomorrow and take some measurements? I'm sure Ken will want to design a workshop to fit the hall as soon as he hears the news."

"Yes. I'll let you in tomorrow morning. How about nine o'clock?"

"Perfect. Unless Ken can't come. I'll phone him now and find out if he's free and I'll call you if he can't make it then. What's the rent Jane?"

"There was quite a lot of argument about that. Some said we should charge you several thousand pounds a month. They think that you must be earning lots of money since you are expanding so quickly. Two of them said we shouldn't charge you anything because you are providing jobs for our kids. Then others said that most of your people come from Big End, rather than Small End. Eventually it was decided to charge you five hundred pounds. That's each month. Can you afford that Bob?"

"Oh yes I'm sure we can, especially in a month or two when money from this month's or July's sales comes in. Thank you Jane. Thanks for helping us out. That's twice now, this place and your milking parlour."

"Do you still want to keep the parlour Bob?"

"Yes we do. We'll need both places."

"I'll tell Joe. And I'm glad to help. I'll see you tomorrow, in the morning at nine or in the Crown for supper."

"Yes. 'Bye Jane. And thanks again."

"'Bye Bob."

Bob immediately called Ken.

"Ken, guess what? I've some great news. We can rent the old Community hall."

"What? We can rent the hall? How did that happen?"

Bob told him about the last two weeks, how he had been hoping for the best but afraid to say anything in case they wouldn't let them have it. "Isn't it wonderful Ken?"

"It sure is. When can we have it?"

"Ah there's the rub. We can't have it until they've moved all their stuff to the new hall and that won't be finished until the end of June."

"Oh. That's too bad. Can we look at the place? I'd like to know exactly what we will be getting."

"Jane will let us in tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. Can you make that time?"

"Yes. I can. Mary and I were going to Poole for lunch but we'll change that. Tomorrow at nine will be great. Do you know how big the hall is Bob?"

"No. It seats over three hundred when full. Oh, there are forty two seats in each row if that's any help. And when they put the chairs out they leave an aisle at each side of the hall."

"And at the front and back too I know. I'll play with those figures tonight and work out how many benches we could put there. That's wonderful. I'll see you tomorrow then. 'Bye."

"'Bye Ken."

Bob thought about the hall size as he ate dinner. It must be forty or fifty feet from the stage to the back and a hundred or more feet from side to side. They could have eight or ten benches in that space. And he guessed where Ken would put the sanding and painting booths, in the area at the back of the stage, where the scenes and props were kept. 'I wonder if we can remove the stage? I'll have to ask Jane that. I suppose it depends on what they decide to do with it in a year's time. I shouldn't be thinking about this kind of thing, that's Ken's job, not mine.'

He was so excited about the news that he didn't remember until eight thirty that he would be calling Maria that night. Thoughts about her and the hall kept his mind churning as he sat in his arm chair and waited until nine. He called her apartment and the phone was picked up on the first ring.

"Hello? Is that you Bob?"

"Yes Maria. How are you?"

"I'm fine Bob. And how are you? Very busy I'm sure."

"Yes I am. It's lovely you'll be coming to England and I do want to meet you. On Saturday, June 29th, you said. At what time and where Maria?"

"I'll have to get the group through the check-in procedures to go home before I'm free. I'll be done about twelve o'clock. I'll go to the arrivals area and wait at the Meeting Point. Do you know where that is?"

"This is at Gatwick?"

"Yes."

"Well I think I know where it is. I think I passed by it when I returned from Faro. I'll find it anyway. How long can you stay?"

"Only until Sunday. I've arranged to catch the four o'clock plane home."

"You said you'd like to go to a play in London?"

"Yes. I'd like to see Les Mis. Have you seen it?"

"No. I've heard about it. They say it's good."

"Well I'll book two tickets then. It'll be lovely to see you again."

"That's what I think about you too Maria."

"Take care of yourself Bob."

"You too Maria."

Thoughts of meeting Maria pushed everything else out of Bob's mind. 'If we're going to Les Mis we going to the centre of London. I don't want to drive there. No, that'd be terrible. I'll leave the car at Gatwick and we can catch the train. There must be plenty of trains between Gatwick and Victoria. Where shall we stay? I'll let Maria decide that, maybe she'll book the hotel. I should have asked her about that. Oh, it'll be great to see her again.'

Bob and Ken were waiting at the Centre's entrance when Jane arrived. She unlocked the door then crossed the corridor and opened one of the doors to let them into the main hall.

"Here. I'm sure this is what you'll want to look at first. You'd put your work benches in here, right?"

"Yes," said Ken. "I bet this is a hundred feet wide Bob. Here," he took out a surveying tape, "hold this at that side and I'll go to the other." They separated, straightened the tape then Ken called out. "Yes. As I thought. It's exactly a hundred feet. Now let's measure from the stage." Bob walked to the front of the stage and held the tape on the floor as Ken moved to the back. "Forty five feet. Perfect," and he noted the distances in his notebook.

"Where are all the chairs?" asked Bob.

"Under the stage," she replied.

"Do you think they'd let us work in the hall before you move everything to the new place Jane? I'd love to do that. We'd not move anything you have stored and it would allow us to start making toys immediately after you've taken your stuff. We'd start paying the rent from today if we could do that."

"I'll ask them. I think they'll agree but I won't know until next Friday afternoon."

"All right. Can we look through the rest of the building?"

"Yes of course."

They walked to the front of the hall and climbed the stairs to the stage. Ken and Bob measured the distance from the front of the stage to the outside wall. "Hmm, another twenty five feet," said Ken. "Okay. Let's see the other rooms, please Jane."

They left the stage down some steps and through a door that led to the end of a corridor. On their left was a pair of emergency exit doors opening to the back of the Centre. They walked along the corridor, looking into two long meeting rooms and what used to be the games room, turned right and went along the entrance corridor, then right again and down the other side, checking the cloakroom, the toilets, the two rooms that were used by the actors as dressing rooms and another meeting room. This corridor also ended with a pair of emergency exit doors.

"We can have the wood delivered through these doors and store it in there Bob," and Ken pointed to the room at the end of the corridor. "We could use one of the dressing rooms for our lunch and tea room. And we could store thousands of toys in the rooms on the other side of the hall and there'd still be other rooms we could use if needed."

"Where would you put the office Ken?"

"We wouldn't need one in this building, we'll use the one we already have in the workshop. We'd have people working there too. Our only problem now is to find people who can work for us. Do you think any of your committee members would know of anybody Jane?"

"I'll ask them. They'll be glad to help you find workers. One of the members mentioned that newcomers have already asked about jobs. Our secretary will have their names I think. I'll ask her to call you."

"Thanks Jane. Oh, one last thing. We have to exhaust the dust from the workshop. That means we would want to run a duct through the back wall. Can you ask the committee if we can make a hole in it? We would re-brick it when the year was up and no one would notice where it had been."

"Yes I'll ask. I don't think there'll be a problem with that. They knew you'd have to make a few modifications if they rented the place."

Jane locked the door as they left and they walked back with her to the farm. She left them at her kitchen door and Bob and Ken went to the workshop office.

"We're going to need more money now Bob. We'll need between three and five thousand to equip the hall and for the first two or more months we'd need more to pay our employees."

"How many do you want?"

"Eight I think. That would be a bit more than four thousand pounds a month if we paid them one hundred and twenty five pounds a week. We'd have to have enough to pay them weekly for at least two months, until sales from the toys they make covers their salary."

"I don't have anywhere near that kind of money Ken."

"Well we can get a business loan. Trouble is, if we go that way we'd have to prepare a business plan and show what we have done and exactly what we plan to do. That's an awful lot of trouble and I don't know if the bank would like the way we're managing things."

"There's another way to get money?"

"Yes. You could mortgage your home. That'd be a lot easier and a bit cheaper for us I think."

"I couldn't pay the monthly principal and interest Ken. I've just enough in my savings to pay for my August holiday and a little more for emergencies. My pension wouldn't be enough; it only covers my normal living expenses."

"There's a way around that too, Bob. Lets see, if we added twenty five thousand to the business you'd put in just over twelve and a half thousand pounds. You could easily get a mortgage for fifteen or twenty thousand pounds and then use the excess to pay the monthly mortgage fees. You could also ask for a mortgage where you just pay the interest each month. Don't forget, you wouldn't need the mortgage for very long because we'll soon be rolling in money. What do you think?"

"Oh dear. I'm a bit scared about taking out a mortgage Ken. I'd lose the house if things went wrong. What are you going to do?"

"I've money in the stock market, I'll sell some shares."

"All right, if you're willing to do that then I'll get a mortgage. I can see we need the money. I'll go to the bank this afternoon."

"Good. I'll phone my broker on Monday. We're off to Poole when I get home so I'll work on the plans for the hall tomorrow. You're off to Bristol on Monday?"

"Yes. I'll call you in the evening."

"Okay. Safe trip Bob."

"Thanks Ken."

**Chapter 26 The mortgage**

Bob thought carefully about the money he had in his savings and what he would need in the future while eating lunch. He'd need about a thousand pounds to pay the balance owing on his August holiday and some more for pocket money during that tour. He could cover that by transferring two thousand pounds from his savings to his checking account. He'd do that first then tell the bank he wanted a mortgage.

Transferring the money was easy. The teller handled that but when he told her he wanted to arrange a mortgage she told him that he would have to speak to another officer. "Please wait here and I'll find out who's free." Two minutes later a young woman approached and asked him to come to her office. Once seated Bob told her that he wanted to take out a mortgage on his house.

"I want one for seventeen thousand five hundred pounds."

"Why do you need the money?" she asked.

"We need it for our business," and he told her about their plans. "What I want is to be able to pay just the interest each month and also to be able to discharge the mortgage any time I want. Is it possible to get a mortgage like that?"

"Yes it is. But both features make your mortgage rate a little bit more expensive."

"What's the interest with those options?"

"Ten and a half percent."

"All right. Then that's what I want, please."

"Well I don't think you will have any difficulty in getting a mortgage but our appraiser must check your house to see that it's worth at least, err, thirty or thirty five thousand pounds. Almost all houses are worth more than that and I'm sure yours will be but he must see it and approve the loan before the bank will give you a mortgage."

"When will I know if it is approved?"

"He'll check your place in the next two or three business days. I'll phone you Thursday or Friday to tell you what he says. Then if you still need the mortgage you'll have to sign some papers."

"Good. Thank you very much. He's my address," and he gave her one of his earlier cards. "I won't be home on Thursday I'll be on the road, visiting our retailers. I'll come in on Friday and find out what's happening, if that's all right."

"That's fine. Here's my card. My name is Mrs. Pringle. Thank you for doing business with us. Goodbye."

He drove to the shopping centre next, did his grocery shopping and managed to buy two bottles of Thai sauce.

At the Crown that night Jane told everyone that the electricians had nearly finished wiring the new Centre and that the plumbers would start on Monday.

"The construction manager phoned me Friday afternoon. He said they'd be installing the gyprock next week. I told him that volunteers from the village would paint the walls as soon as they were ready. So please be available. We'll probably do most of it one weekend, there'd be more people to help then."

Jack and Joe said they'd help and Bob said he would if he could.

"What do you mean, 'if you could?' Bob," asked Joe. "Aren't you feeling well?"

"Oh, I'm okay. I'll be able to help next weekend if it's ready by then. But I'm going to London for the weekend, two weeks from now."

"London? What for? Are you going to deliver there?" asked Joe.

"No. I'm going to see Maria. She's guiding a tour and will be free on that Saturday. We're going to see Les Mis. I won't be home until Sunday evening."

"Maria Schroeder?" asked Jane.

"Yes."

"Oh, oh," said Joe. "We'll want to know all about it when you return!"

"It won't be as interesting as what I've got to tell you about Wooden Toys. Do you know that we'll be renting the old Community Centre?"

"I do," said Joe.

"No," said Rose.

So Bob and Jane summarised what the committee had decided and what they had done that morning.

"Jack we'll probably want you and John to help build the benches. The committee will tell us when we can start, hopefully by next Friday," added Bob.

"Ah, good. Could do wiv' a bit more work."

Sunday was a bit of a let-down. Friday's and yesterday's excitement had cooled. He wouldn't see Maria for two weeks and they couldn't do anything in the Centre. There was just the washing, dusting, cleaning and some hoeing to do, none of which filled his mind with interesting thoughts.

He looked through the windows of the new Centre as he started his afternoon walk. He could see a bit of the hall and one side of the stage. Many wires led to one corner. 'That's where the lighting board will be,' he guessed. The hall didn't look to be much larger than the one they had in the old hall; most of the extra space in this Centre was used for meeting rooms. Jane had told him they wanted lots of rooms for crafts, painting, pottery, music, bridge and, probably, woodwork. Dancing and the fitness classes would be held in the hall. The plans had been drawn after they studied how other towns designed their Community Centres. The fact that they had done that study had helped them get the grant.

Monday was just like days of the previous week. Bob bought petrol at Tim's garage then headed towards Bristol, visiting the gift shops he passed. He stopped after gathering eight new retailers and stayed in a motel that had a small restaurant.

The interesting part of that day came when he called Ken.

"Lori has had requests from three shops in your area," he said, and he gave Bob their names.

"I know about the second shop Ken. I've already called and they were very surprised that their delivery was so quick until I said I didn't know that they'd phoned the office and that I was just looking for more customers in this area. The owner told me that his wife's brother is already one of our retailers. That's why they phoned. I'll see the others tomorrow. What else has happened?"

"The three boys the shop teacher told us about arrived at tea time this morning. Craig knew two of them. They seemed interested although one said he'd not tell his friends that he'd be making toys! However none of them would be available until mid-July which is a bit late for us. I've ordered all the equipment we'll need to make an extra-long bench. I didn't try to get second-hand stuff. Buying new meant that some of it will be delivered this week and the rest early next week. It'll cost just over one and a half thousand pounds. I paid for them by credit card, since the sellers didn't know us, and that means we won't have to pay them for another month. We'll have enough to pay them by then I'm sure."

"What do you mean by an 'extra-long' bench?"

"I'm going to change the way we make the toys, Bob. I'll do it all on one long bench. We're going to have a production line."

"Including the sanding and the painting? How can you do that without getting sawdust in the paint and on the toys?"

"I'm going to use exhaust ducts and strong fans. It's a bit complicated to explain but it's easy to understand once you've seen it in use."

"Have you ever done anything like that before?"

"No, but I don't see any reason for it not to work. If it doesn't then we'll sand and paint in separate booths."

"If it works I guess it'd increase production. How many sets do you think we might make in a week if we did that?"

"Don't know. We're making about seven hundred now and with two or three times as many workers and a faster production process we'll probably make three or four thousand a week."

"Wow! Then go for it. I'll trust you. Did you find any more people to work for us?"

"The secretary that Jane told us about gave me nine names. Lori called all of them and seven will come tomorrow or on Wednesday to see what the job is and I'll tell them how much we'll pay. I'm going to say we'll pay one twenty five a week until they prove themselves to be as good as the people we already have. And then we'll increase their wage to one fifty. That should give them an incentive to learn quickly and do a good, error-free, job. I'll tell them we can't take them on until the new place is set up, which, I'm assuming, won't be for another two weeks. But I won't ask them to come in then. I'll make it a week later, on July 8th; we should have settled most of the problems we're bound to get by then."

"Yes, they said the new Centre should be finished by July 1st, all except painting the walls. You'll need to order the extra paint and the box pasteboards now if you want them in two or three weeks. And you'd better let Leon know you will be ordering larger quantities of wood in the future."

"Ah yes. I'll have Lori do that tomorrow. And order overalls and glasses. I have a list of things that have to be done but I haven't put those on it."

"Have you included making the rubber stamps for the last paint coat?"

"No. I'd forgotten all about that too. Make a list of all the things to be done that you can think of and give it to me when you return. You don't need to tell me by phone unless there's something urgent. Where are you going tomorrow?"

"South, towards Warminister and Bath. I'll stay there or in Bristol tomorrow night. 'Bye Ken. Don't overwork."

"I'll try not to."

He told Ken he had been to eleven shops when he phoned Tuesday evening "Including the two that had called Lori. What happened with you today?"

"The wood and paint has been ordered. Oh, and Luke said he might not go to South America in the autumn. He said he likes working here and thinks the salary is good. However Jose said that's not the reason he's not going, he has a girl friend now."

"I bet there was some teasing after he said that."

"Yes there was. And three men and a woman came looking for a job. Only one man and the woman said they'd like to try working here. The pay might have been too low for the others. I told the two interested ones to go to the old Community Centre at nine o'clock, Monday July 8th. Oh, I saw Jane as I was leaving and she said to tell you that the gyprock walls are being installed and they'll need people to paint soon."

"Yes, I already know that."

"Where are you staying tonight Bob?"

"Just outside Bristol. I'll finish around here tomorrow then go to Weston-Super-Mare. There'll be lots of gift shops there I bet. Plenty of tourists. I'll call again tomorrow Ken."

"Ah, not tomorrow, Bob, we're having dinner with friends and I don't think I'll be back that soon. You'll come home Thursday?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll see you then. Take care Bob."

"You too Ken."

He slept in Weston-Super-Mare Wednesday night, tired after talking to the owners of thirteen shops. He had his dinner in a pub and began thinking, during his second pint, that he really didn't like what he was doing, there was too much work. It was getting much bigger than he expected when he first started with Ken. And it would get bigger, that's clearly what Ken had in mind, but it wasn't what he wanted. He just wanted enough extra money to go on two, or even three, holidays a year. At the rate they were expanding he'd have enough to have a holiday every month.

He had a vivid dream that night. He was in a small boat and going rapidly down the centre of a river towards a big, thundering, waterfall. He pulled on his oars, faster and faster, trying to get to the bank but the boat kept moving towards the drop. He woke suddenly, just as the bow of the boat dipped downwards at the sharp edge, frightened and trembling. He lay there and knew he didn't need anyone to interpret that dream. He knew what it was telling him. It was a long time before he got back to sleep.

Thursday he drove around and through Taunton, then via Yeovil and Dorchester back to his home, collecting twelve more shops along the way. He was very tempted to visit Regina at lunch time, then Sam at six but resisted the idea. Neither would want to see him driving a van and he didn't know if they would be home at those hours anyway. He arrived home at eight thirty, had a ham and lettuce sandwich for supper and tumbled into bed.

Bob parked the van at the side of the workshop Friday morning. He entered by the side door and chatted to Craig and Luke, who were cutting houses then went to the office. Lori was there and he told her that he had forty four more shops and gave her the receipts. In return, she told him that there were thirty-two requests for more toys and that they had come from all over their territory.

"I can't manage all this Lori. We'll have to hire someone else to help deliver, a full-time person, I think. I'll talk to Ken about it. In the mean time can you make two lists separating the calls from the east from those from the west. I'll go east next week and the other driver can go west."

"Don't leave on Monday Bob, that's when most retailers call me with their requests. They usually sell them over the weekend or they check their inventory then and find out that they're getting low. At least, that's the way we handled it in the dress shop."

"Well that suits me. I'd be glad to take a longer break from driving. I don't really want to do it all the time."

"Why not hire two drivers then Bob?"

"Well we could, if we could find them." Ken joined them at that time and sat down behind his desk. "What do you think Ken?" asked Bob.

"What? I was thinking and didn't hear what you were talking about."

"With the number of calls coming in it might be time to hire two drivers. Did you know there are three hundred and sixteen retailers selling for us now?"

"316? I knew it must be close to three hundred but I didn't think it was more. Well, that's great. You don't have to worry about getting drivers, I think I already have some. Five people called yesterday. Two were painting someone's house when Lori called earlier and the others had only just got the message. I knew that you couldn't deliver to everyone we had now so I asked everyone if they would be interested in delivering as well as working in the shop. Two said they would. So you can relax Bob. I also rented another small van from Charles. It'll be ready for us after four today. Can we collect it after we've finished?"

"Oh that's very good. Yes of course."

"You didn't tell me about finding more people Ken," said Lori.

"Sorry. You were busy in the shop all afternoon and I forgot.'

"Okay. I'll organise the deliveries differently then. Do you still want to deliver Bob?"

"Yes I think so. We'll see how it goes."

"We had a problem yesterday Bob. Jose cut his hand on one of the saws. It wasn't very deep but I took him to the hospital and they put in a stitch."

"Is he okay now?"

"Yes. He came in this morning. I told him to take it easy. Maybe you can go and help him Lori."

"Okay."

"Do you know what we earned in May, Ken?"

"It hasn't increased from last week, nearly £8,900. I assume that'll be all we'll get for May. I deposited the cheques yesterday while Jose was waiting to be treated."

"So everybody has been paid?"

"I think so. Lori's spreadsheet names everybody and lists what they've sold, what they've paid us and how much stock they have."

"I'm glad she's looking after the lists," Ken. "I couldn't do all that and deliver too. You know, if our income increases each month I might not need a mortgage. What do you think?"

"I think you'd better. If things continue like this I'm going to add a second bench and hire more people."

'Oh dear,' thought Bob. 'He's already thinking about expanding. I don't know if I can handle it, it's too much and too quick. I suppose I'll have to learn to live with it. It might be easier when we have other people to deliver.'

"I'm a bit scared about how quickly we're growing Ken. Can't you slow down a little?"

"It's probably best not to do that right now Bob. People are buying our toys right now and it's best to get our name known before other manufacturers start making wooden toys as well."

"I suppose you're right. I just worry, that's all."

"Don't Bob. Remember, 'don't worry, we'll be all right.' That's what we said, wasn't it?"

"Yes, I guess we did. Okay. Tell me about your new production method. How long does it take to find out if it works?"

"There are bound to be problems to begin with but we'll know how good it is in a couple of weeks."

"All right, I'll get the mortgage. I'll drive to the bank and find out if it's been approved. Have you deposited your amount?"

"Yes. The cheque arrived Wednesday and I put it in yesterday."

"So once my money's in, plus the May income and the money left over from paying May's expenses we should have over thirty three thousand. Less, of course, this month's salary cheques."

"After the rest of the June salaries are paid it'll be about thirty two. We'll need most of that when we have ten or more working for us."

"I guess you're right. I still can't help thinking we're expanding too fast. It will make me very uncomfortable when it comes to mind."

"I'll tell you what Bob, I'll not start a second bench for at least another month. By that time we should be able to start taking money out to repay ourselves. How about that?"

"Well I'll be glad when we're taking it out instead of putting it in. Okay. That's a deal. No more expansion until August or later," and he held out his hand for Ken to shake. "I'm off to Big End then. See you after lunch."

"Yes. 'Bye Bob."

Mrs. Pringle was busy when Bob arrived so he bought a bank draft from the teller for £1,000. He'd give it to Maria to cover the August holiday balance when he saw her. Then he sat in the chair outside Mrs. Pringle's office. 'What would Betty think about what I'm doing now,' he wondered. They had rented before moving into Bob's parent's house and had never had a mortgage. So much had changed since she had died. His head nodded a little and he almost fell asleep when, "Do come in, Mr. Barns," alerted him.

"It's been approved and everything's ready. Here's the agreement. Look, it says you have a mortgage for seventeen thousand five hundred pounds; you pay ten and a half percent interest, interest-only is payable monthly and the principal is repayable anytime. All you have to do is sign in these places," and she pointed to the three crosses marked on two sets of papers. "One copy is for you, the other is for us. Once you've signed them the money's yours."

Bob signed the forms then Mrs. Pringle asked him if he wanted the money paid into his account, "or do you need a bank draft?"

"A draft, please. Our business account is at another bank."

"I thought so. If you would like to transfer that account to Lloyds I could reduce the interest rate by one percent Mr. Barns. Would you like to do that?"

"I don't think so. Not just now. Maybe in the future. Thanks for suggesting it."

"All right. Just wait here and I'll get the draft."

Bob deposited it in their business account and carefully checked the balance when given the receipt. They now had £34,161.44 in the account. When he later showed the slip to Ken he just smiled.

Bob spent the rest of the day boxing toys then he reloaded his van and checked the smaller one to see if it was full. Afterwards he went to the office and asked Lori how many pasteboards they had. When she told him he said that she should order another ten thousand.

"I've all ready done that. Ken told me to do it yesterday. Don't worry Bob. Everything's under control." It saddened Bob a little when he realised what she implied; it made him feel he wasn't needed anymore. But then he cheered up. He didn't really want to worry about the inventory, or keeping the list of retailers up-to-date or looking after all the little things. Worrying about money was quite enough.

After everyone had left Ken drove Bob to Charles' garage and they rented another Ford, the same model as the first one. Charles gave them a ten percent reduction in price without either of them asking for it. Ken asked Charles how much the van would cost if they were to buy one but Bob rapidly interjected, "No, we're not ready to do that." Charles didn't say anything.

Maria

Jane called Bob at six, just as he was cooking his supper.

"Hello Bob. More good news, in fact, lots of it. First, the committee said you can set up your equipment any time you like, just don't do anything that will make it difficult for us to move our stuff out. Second, you can cut holes for the ducts too. And, third, you don't have to pay any rent until the beginning of next month. Isn't that great? I think they are rather glad that you are hiring people from Small End, the ones who have called the secretary, and don't want to discourage you in any way. I'll tell you why at supper tomorrow night after I've checked a few things. You'll be at the Crown?"

"You bet. That's very good news Jane. Ken will want to start on Monday I'm sure. Can we have keys for the place?"

"I have some spare keys and I'll give you a couple. Will tomorrow night be soon enough?"

"Oh yes."

He phoned Ken and told him what Jane said.

"That's wonderful. Then I'll phone Leon and order the wood to make the bench. They're open 'til nine on Fridays aren't they?"

"Yes."

"I'll phone Jack and see if he can help and I'll start on Monday."

At eight o'clock the phone rang again. It was Maria.

"Hello Bob. Is this a good time to talk?"

"It certainly is. How are you Maria?"

"I'm fine. I'm with the group in Winchester now. We've just finished supper and I'm free. I wondered if we could have lunch together Sunday. I'll be busy all day tomorrow but they have nothing planned for Sunday. I'll have to be with them over breakfast and for a while afterwards in case they want some help from me but I'm sure I'll be free by eleven. So can you be here then?"

"Yes. Where are you?"

"In the King Arthur. Meet me in the lobby but I'd like to have lunch somewhere else. In a village would be nice. Can we do that?"

"Of course. When do you have to be back?"

"By three."

"All right. It'll be nice to see you again Maria."

"And for me to see you Bob. 'Bye for now."

"'Bye Maria."

After putting his clothes in the washing machine and tiding the house Bob headed to the garden. He did a little hoeing, stripped the dying pea vines from the stakes and put them on his compost heap. He tugged the three-year-old wooden stakes from the ground and leaned them against the back of his lean-to. The rain would wash them and they would be good for another couple of years he thought. Then he dug the ground where they had been, raked it, made a small trench with the end of his hoe, sowed a row of broccoli seed and raked the earth to fill in the trench. Now if the weather co-operated the broccoli would be ready to eat by the end of September.

After lunch he walked to the new Centre and looked through several windows. All he could see was the interior of some of the rooms and along two of the corridors. It wouldn't be long before the place was finished. He continued walking, going beside the river, thinking about where he should go next week. The shops were getting further and further away from Small End. He could go to London and spend three or four weeks skirting the city and visiting as many as he could but he hated the thought of driving in and out of traffic all day. Maybe they could find a distributor to cater to the London shops. He could go west to Cornwall or east to Canterbury and the coast. But Wales was closer and it should be full of tourists at this time of the year. So he decided to head north to Cheltenham then down the west side of the Bristol Channel towards Cardiff. As he thought about the distances he had been driving he realised that they couldn't ask their drivers to cover all that territory in one day; they'd have to stay in motels like he was doing and that would be very expensive. There must be a better way to do things, perhaps Ken knew of one.

He did his local shopping as he returned through the village and had a bath before heading to the Crown. He was early and half-way through his first pint when Joe and Jane joined him.

"Rose and Jack aren't coming tonight. They're off to Big End to see a movie," said Jane. "Let's order supper then I have some news for you Bob."

They checked the menu then, as Joe was placing the order at the bar, Jane told him that someone from the BBC had called the committee secretary and said that they were going to feature Small End in a documentary and talk about how they were handling everything as they grew into a town.

"They're going to film the village and all the new sub-divisions. And they'll also cover the opening of the new Community Centre."

"Have they said when they'll start?"

"Two of the team will be here for a few days next week and the film crew will come during the second week of July."

"Will everything be moved into the new Centre by then?"

"Oh yes. Long before then. We'll start painting the walls Wednesday morning. We have about a dozen volunteers. Can you help?"

"I won't be here Jane. I'll be back on Thursday and could help Friday or Friday evening."

"Well I think we'll be nearly finished by then. Okay, I'll call if we need you."

Bob didn't have much news for them. "I've found out that I don't like driving all the week so we've hired two men to do some of it. You'll see them in the yard. They'll drive the small vans."

"I've seen the vans," said Joe.

"Are they taking up too much room?"

"No. But won't most of them be parked at the old Centre soon?"

"They will, although we'll still be using the old shop. Ken'll have some of the work done there but I don't know what yet."

"He told me he might use it to make fire engines."

"Oh. He hasn't said anything to me about that. I get a bit out-of-touch being away most of the week."

"You must be doing quite well if you're hiring more people and two drivers," said Joe.

"I hope we soon will be. I had to take a mortgage to cover the next two months expenses. It makes me uncomfortable but I think it will be worth it."

"I'm sure it will," said Jane.

"I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed about it. Say, do you know who I'm having lunch with tomorrow?"

"No," said Joe.

"Maria," said Jane.

"Yes. That's right! How did you guess?"

"You told us she was guiding a tour and that you would see her when she had finished. That's next weekend, isn't it? So I guessed that she would be somewhere along the south coast with her group about now."

"She's in Winchester."

"Well that'll be nice."

"If the rain holds off," added Joe. "They say it's going to rain tomorrow."

"Ah. Well rain won't make much difference," Bob said and smiled.

He donned his working clothes and washed his car before breakfast Sunday morning. This was the first time he had ever washed a car and he wanted Maria to be impressed. He knew that it would only take an hour to get to Winchester but decided to leave at nine thirty, park near the hotel and walk along High Street before meeting her. He remembered how nice it was when he and Betty had taken the kids to see the cathedral. He must go there again when he had more time. He checked how he looked before leaving, then smiled at himself. Just like being a teenager, he thought. As he drew near Southampton he turned on the radio and discovered they were playing tunes from Les Mis. He had heard some of them before and liked them so he knew he would enjoy the show.

He parked and had time to walk to the Lichen, watch the water flowing and listen to the ducks quacking before returning to the hotel. Maria was sitting in the lobby, waiting for him.

"Hello Bob," she said, rising and giving him a kiss on his cheek.

"Hello Maria," he replied. "Sorry. Am I late?"

"Not at all. I've just sat down. Shall we go?"

"Yes." Maria took his arm as they headed out the door, around the corner and into the car park. He liked her holding him and almost wished he had parked further away.

"Here we are," and he put his key into the lock and opened it for her.

"You have a car now Bob? I thought we would be driving in the van."

"Aunt Sally gave this to me a month ago. I didn't tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise. We can use it to explore the Lake District after the August tour. You've booked a few days holiday?"

"Yes. Four, from Sunday to Thursday. My assistant will look after the group on their way home. The agency wants me back to cover the following weekend so I have to return Thursday afternoon. But that's a long way ahead, let's not talk about that. Where are we going for lunch?"

"I thought we might go to Longlight Manor. It's open on Sundays. We could have our lunch and take a tour of the house if you like. It's a beautiful mansion on the river."

"That sounds nice."

Unfortunately the manor was closed that weekend because they were filming part of a movie there so they checked the map then drove to the Granite Golf Club, sure that that would be open and hoping the food would be enjoyable. It was open and the food was good but Bob enjoyed their conversation more than the food. They ate and talked on the terrace. He kept an eye on the clouds, remembering what Joe had said about rain. Maria asked him what he'd been doing and he told her that they now had 360 retailers, that they would be hiring more employees and that he had taken a mortgage to cover the expenses they would be incurring.

"Is it safe to do that?" asked Maria.

"I hope so. I'll know better in August and can tell you then. Okay, that's enough about me. Tell me what you've been doing."

"Working in the office mostly but I took a group to Italy last month."

"You speak Italian as well?"

"A little."

"It must be nice to be able to speak so many languages; Portuguese, Spanish, German, English, French and Italian. I only know English."

"It's easier to learn languages when you live on the continent and are exposed to them when you're young."

"What will you be doing between now and the July and August trips?"

"Office work I expect."

"What do you like doing most?"

"Oh, guiding tours. If there are not too many problems that is. I don't mind a few problems, they add spice, but I don't like it when someone becomes ill or there's a robbery."

"Have you had that?"

"Yes. Three robberies, two in Italy, one in Spain. And a man had a heart attack on a tour I guided last October."

"What did you do when that happened?"

"I was lucky. It occurred in a hotel and the manager called the ambulance and the police. He had the numbers on a sheet tacked to a notice board in his office because it had happened before."

"It's a fascinating life you lead Maria. It's a lot more fun than mine."

"Well working in the office isn't much fun. You wouldn't want to do that week-after-week."

"No, I suppose not."

"I'd like to have my own agency. There's a lot of money to be made if an agency has a good reputation. But, if I can't have that, I'd just like to run tours."

"It would take a lot of work to start an agency."

"Yes it would. I think I'm too old to do that now but it used to be a dream of mine."

"But you're clearly not too old to run tours.

"No. I couldn't run more than one or two a month of course. It depends on how long the tour is, how much research I'd have to do before each one, if the agency books the rooms or if I have to do it; things like that. However, running one or two tours a month wouldn't pay enough to live on. Lot's of people would like to just run tours so the agency doesn't pay them much. Maybe I'll do it when I retire. My agency knows me and knows what I can do. I'd probably be on the top of their list."

"I planned to sit in my workshop and make toys and carve birds when I retired but look what's happened to me!"

"Life's strange, isn't it Bob. When I was a teenager I thought I'd be happily married and have children and grandchildren by the time I was fifty but that didn't happen."

"Do you wish you'd stayed with your husband?"

"No way, but I wonder what's happened to him sometimes. If he didn't join, what do the American's call it, the 'AA,' then he's probably dead by now. Ah, enough about that. Let's go to the river and walk beside it. We've only got half an hour before you'll have to take me back to the hotel. I have to review what I'm to tell them about tomorrow's activities and the group meets at four."

"All right."

They were in luck, it didn't rain, although the sky turned dark as they drove back to Winchester. She leaned over and kissed his cheek after she undid her seat belt and told him not to get out of the car. As he drove home he thought how nice it would be to talk to her every day. But it wouldn't be long before he would see her again, just six days, and he hummed Drink with Me, one of the Les Mis songs that had played on the car's radio that morning.

After a seven-o'clock breakfast Monday morning Bob filled his thermos with tea, picked up one of the newsletters Julie had sent him and strolled down the hill to the workshop thinking he should write to Julie and ask her if she had any extra copies. The ones he had were getting rather grubby.

No one had arrived at the shop so he climbed in the van and began driving to Gloucester. The clouds had cleared and it was a warm, sunny morning.

Twelve shops later he quit for the day and found a small Bed and Breakfast near Cheltenham. They didn't serve dinners and there were no restaurants nearby so he had to drive four miles to eat. 'Next time I'll look for a restaurant before looking for a place to sleep,' he told himself. He used the restaurant's phone to call Ken although it was only eight o'clock. Ken answered and began to tell him what he had been doing that day.

"We've built the bench Bob. It's four feet wide and eighty feet long. That means the only way you can get from the entrance doors to the stage is around the ends of the bench or through the corridors. It's a pity but that's the way it has to be. We'll cut a hole in the back wall tomorrow, the one for the exhaust ducts. It'll be like a window, with a wooden frame. We can replace it with a window or with bricks when we leave. I'll make it big enough to hold six ducts."

"Will we need that many?"

"Not until we have three benches. Not for a few months Bob. Don't worry! Oh, Jack said that the field manager and the assistant director from the BBC film crew are staying at Bonnie's. I guess they'll be talking to the committee and looking over the village during the next day or two."

"Did the new drivers show up?"

"Yes. They were waiting for me when I arrived at eight thirty. One man was a corporal in the army who's wife didn't want to move to different countries every few years so he quit. His name's Gerry Holmes. The other man was a landscaper who has hurt his back. He wants to stay until it's good enough to go back. His name's Bert Long. Lori gave them a list of places to visit, maps and receipt books and showed them how they should be used. They returned this afternoon and she said the receipts were fine. They refilled the vans then helped in the shop until we closed at five."

"Well that's one less worry. What'll they do tomorrow?"

"Oh there are more places to visit. We've had lots of calls today. They seem to call on Monday's more often than on any other day."

"Yes, Lori told me that. It might be best to have them work in the shop on Mondays and not start delivering until Tuesdays each week. She told me that too."

"Okay, we'll do that. Where are you now?"

"I'm outside Cheltenham. I'm going to drive down the Bristol Channel into Wales towards Cardiff tomorrow. I've another twelve retailers now."

"That's good. We're going to need them. Since they're further away do you think you should leave extra sets with them? Then you wouldn't have to return so often."

"I'd thought about that, Ken and asked them if they'd take ten of each but they don't know if the toys will sell so they didn't want to take more than five. I'll leave more next time, if they agree."

"Good. Well, safe journey Bob."

"Thanks. Cheers Ken."

Bob stayed at a small hotel the other side of Cardiff Tuesday night. He told Ken he had fourteen more shops and asked how his day had gone.

"We've cut the hole for the ducts,' Ken replied. "It took longer than we expected but it's all framed now and covered with a sheet of thick plywood. Pat installed the fluorescent lights. He used the outlets in the ceilings, the ones the stage lighting used, so all the switches are behind the stage. It's a bit inconvenient but saves us a lot of money. And he dropped wires from the ceiling to feed the electrical sockets along the bench too. Jack helped him. Oh, the BBC people visited the workshop and talked to Craig and Lori. Then Craig brought them here to see what we were doing. I told them the story and they wanted to see your workshop so I took them there. I hope you don't mind. I let them into the shop and they said they wanted to talk to you and film what we're doing. We're going to be film stars Bob!"

"Oh! When are they going to do all this? I won't be home until Thursday evening."

"Not this week, the cameramen and narrators aren't here. They'll be filming around the time the new Centre opens. It'll all be part of the story about how Small End is changing. 'Adapting,' the assistant director said."

"'Adapting', ah, yes. That's what we're doing, adapting. And I suppose many others in the village are adapting too. All right. Then I'll call tomorrow Ken. 'Bye."

"'Bye Bob."

Wednesday night Bob's call was at eight thirty, for he wanted to go to bed early. "I'm in Swansea Ken, and I'm driving home tomorrow as soon as I've visited a few more shops around here. We have another ten to add to the list. What's the news at your end?"

"The exhaust fans arrived this morning. Jack and I installed them and the ductwork. We hung the ducts from supports attached to the structures in the ceiling, the ones that held the lighting. They're very strong. The exhaust fan for the sanders is rather noisy because I ordered a big one but you don't hear it when you are at the front of the Centre or inside, just when you're at the back."

"I'm looking forward to seeing it all. Will you be finished this week?"

"No. The routers, sanders, saws and heaters won't be here until next week."

"I suppose Craig is looking after the shop while you're at the Centre?"

"Yes. He's in charge and Lori's taking all the calls and arranging the deliveries with Gerry and Bert. They went out today but will work in the shop for the rest of the week. Oh, and it's been decided where we go for our celebration lunch. It's this Friday, remember? We're going to a micro-brew pub in Big End."

"I'd forgotten about the lunch. Will Gerry and Bert be going?"

"We talked about that at lunch today, while they were on the road, and everyone agreed that they should. They are becoming part of the gang even though they're not in the shop all the time."

"They'll be pleased to have an afternoon off the first week of their job! And being paid for it too, I imagine."

"Yes. I couldn't do otherwise. But they're good men and they'll do their best for us I'm sure."

"Good. Well I won't phone tomorrow. I'll be home. Does Lori have any places for me to visit on my way back?"

"Yes. There's seven of them. All around Swindon. She guessed you'd be returning that way. Are you?"

"Yes, it's the shortest way."

"All right," and he read out the names and Bob put a cross beside each one on his list.

"Then I'll see you Friday Ken."

"Good. There's lots to see and talk about. Drive carefully."

"I will."

Bob had expected to visit a dozen shops before returning home but stopped at noon, bought a sandwich and filled his thermos with tea at a deli. He had to start driving back now for he had to get to the Swindon shops before six or they'd be closed. So he had only seven new shops to add to his list.

He arrived at Swindon at four. As expected there was a traffic jam at Bristol and that took time to get through but there was enough time to drop boxes at Lori's seven shops. He arrived home at eight thirty, tired but happy. He was looking forward to an enjoyable weekend, first with the pub lunch, then with Maria. He began humming again.

Friday morning he drove the Vauxhall to the workshop, arriving just after nine. Everyone was busy. Craig was teaching the two new men how to operate the router jig. Bob walked over to meet them after saying 'Hello' to Lori, Luke and Jose.

"Bob, this is Gerry and Bert. And this is Mr. Bob Barns. He's the company's founder. He's been on the road, finding more shops to sell our toys."

"Hello Gerry. Hello Bert. I'm glad you've joined us and extra glad that you are doing some of the deliveries. How do you like the work?"

"I'm used to driving, Mr. Barns," said Gerry. "I did a lot of it in the army when I first joined up. But I like working in the shop too. Everyone's so friendly."

"Yes, that's right, Mr. Barns. Everyone is friendly. However, I'm a bit worried about working with wood in the shop because I'm afraid I might twist my back. But driving's no problem, I can manage that."

"You might best do painting or boxing then Bert. What do you think Craig?"

"I didn't know you had a bad back Bert. Yes, you can paint or box, there's plenty of that to keep you busy."

"And I'd rather you both called me Bob. We're very informal here. You know about our monthly Friday celebrations?"

"Having lunch and the afternoon off? Yes we certainly do. I don't know of any place that does something like that."

"Well we do it to celebrate making two and a half thousand sets in a month. It's a reward. Which makes me think we'll have to increase the target once the new shop starts working or we'll be having a holiday every week!"

"Do you think we'll be making that many?" asked Craig.

"Ken thinks we will and I expect he's right."

He then walked over to Lori who was counting the boxed sets.

"Hello Lori. I've the receipts from the new shops for you. Another forty three."

"Thanks Bob."

"Do you know how many we've made this month?"

"Two thousand nine hundred and six."

"Then we didn't make three thousand."

"We will, once the trains are dried and boxed. It'll be three thousand and six then. That'll be done and they'll be packed by lunch time."

"Well it's remarkable, what everybody's doing. How will you manage to look after things when we open the shop at the Centre?"

"I'll check there every afternoon or have someone do it for me. You know that we'll be keeping the office here?"

"Yes."

"So I'll spend most of my time here, near the phone. Oh, Ken said the company would buy my computer. I said he needn't, I didn't want it because I have a new one, but he insisted. He asked what it was worth and gave me a hundred and fifty pounds for it. So you'll see that on the expense sheet for this month."

"Well, I'm glad he did that. I suppose we should buy a new one sometime."

"Not yet. The one you've got does everything we need to do. It's not so good if you want to play games but that's not what we want to do."

"One day you're going to teach me how to use it, remember?"

"I do. Just tell me when. I'm off to the centre now to see what Ken and Jack are doing. Do you want to come with me?"

Bob did, so they walked over together.

"So this is the new bench Ken. It sure is a long one. I know you said eighty feet but it's gigantic. How will you use all that? And where's Jack? I thought he was helping you."

"I didn't need him any more this week. He'll be back when the new equipment arrives. Here, walk with me and I'll explain what happens," and he took Bob to the left end of the bench.

"The wood will be stored in the room by the back door, right? Okay. Then what we need is carried here and placed on the end of the bench. Now," and he walked with Bob a few feet along the bench, "the 'R' I've chalked here," and he pointed to it, "is where the router jig will be. The long block is pushed through the jig and left on the bench until it is picked up by the next operator who cuts it into pieces by the band saw. That'll be here, where the 'B' is. The pieces will be put in a tray on the other side until they're picked up and sanded. The sanders are next on the bench, see the two 'S's?"

"Yes. Why do you have two?"

"Sanding takes more time than the other operations so we have to have two or the line will slow down. I'd like to have a drum sander instead of the mop sanders but I'm not sure how well it'd handle all the edges some of the parts have. I'll make a small one in my garage sometime and see if it works okay. If it does I'll make or buy one for the line. If we had one it'd release two people because all you have to do is dump the wooden pieces in the barrel and let them rotate for a while. Now, you see the end of the duct that's hanging over the 'S's? Jack and I'll make a big wire frame, hang it from the end of the duct and cover it with heavy plastic sheeting. The whole thing will cover the sanding mops and all the sanding will be done inside the cover. Air and sawdust will be exhausted through the duct. We'll have the same kind of exhaust system over the band saw and the routers."

"That's why you ordered the large exhaust; it has to suck dust from all these places."

"Yes that's right. Okay. After the blocks have been sanded they'll be pushed onto the pin hangers and then dipped into the first paint tray, here, where there's a 'P'. These hangers will be slightly different from the ones we use now, they'll have two rollers glued to the top, the kind that are used to hold curtains. You know, the ones that run along an 'I' beam. Well, there'll be an 'I' beam or rail running above the bench from here on. The hangers will be slid onto it and pushed into a plastic tunnel. The tunnel has hot air flowing through it and that dries the paint."

"What makes them move along the rail? And where's the hot air coming from?"

"When you slide one hanger onto the beam it pushes all those ahead of it further down the tunnel. That's one of the reasons why the tunnel is made of plastic—you can see if there are any hangers in the tunnel and just where they are. The heat comes from a fan heater, that'll be fastened under the bench. Now, look, there's ten feet between the first 'P' cross and the next 'P'. With the right heat and right production rate the first paint coat will be dry by the time it reaches the end of the first tunnel and rail. The second 'P' is where the second coat of paint will be given, brushed on in this case, the roof of the house, for instance. Then the hanger will be slid onto the second rail and it goes to the last 'P' where it will be given the last coat, the lines. They'll be stamped on. It's then put on the last rail and travels for another ten feet, although a much shorter length might be all we need there. At the end the pieces are pulled off the hanger pins and put in the plastic boxes ready to be glued or screwed together, sorted into sets and packed. All that happens along the last part of the bench."

"I see. If the hangers drop off the end of each rail won't they get damaged?"

"I don't think so. There'll be a cloth ramp at the end and the hangers will slide down into a tray."

"Smart. Okay, what stops the heat from just going out the ends of the tunnels and not drying the paint?"

"It's fed into the centres of the tunnels and it does exit by the ends but it dries the paint before it leaves. One problem I can foresee, the hot air might heat the workshop too much on a warm day. We'll have to deal with that if it happens. But the air doesn't have to be very hot and some of it will be sucked into the exhaust ducts as well. It's all a bit of an experiment right now but I can't see any reason why it shouldn't work. It'll take time to solve all the problems but they're all little ones I think."

"It's fascinating Ken. How many do you expect to make in a day?"

"Well, if there's someone on each station and two on the sanders, nine people altogether, I think we'll get four or five times our normal rate of production."

"You mean, instead of making seven or eight hundred a week we'll make that many in a day?"

"Once all the bugs are worked out, yes, I think we will."

"My God! Who's going to sell all of them? We don't have that many shops!"

"We might have. Here, sit on this chair and let's talk about it."

"You've bought these chairs Ken?"

"Yes some of the work can be done sitting down. And, with position-rotation, it'll make the line-work easier for everybody."

They sat down, facing each other, and Ken pulled out a pencil and a piece of paper from his pocket. "I've talked to some of my old friends about distribution and costs. Distributors take twenty to thirty percent. That would leave us with only forty or thirty percent of the selling price. If the shops sell a toy, let's say for £20, then we'd only get £8 or £6, depending on what they charge." He wrote the figures on his scrap of paper. "It'd actually be a bit more if they were selling village or farm sets, but £8 or £6 will do to calculate what kind of profit we could make. Let's say we make three-and-a-half thousand sets a week. Again it would be more, I think, once all the problems are solved. Then we'd make £28,000 or £21,000 a week. Of course we have to pay the wages, rent, wood, paint, and so on out of that. Wages would be the biggest cost. For fourteen people at, say, £175 a week that would be £2,450. Wood, paint, rent, electricity and miscellaneous expenses could come to about £900 a week. We'd not need any vans if we had a distributor. No, we'd better keep one to take things from one shop to the other or when we're shopping for stuff. So let's say the miscellaneous expenses came to £1,000 a week. So, we'd clear approximately £24,500 or £17,500. Each week! Now, these are very rough calculations but they won't be far wrong. Have I made any mistakes in my calculations?"

"I'd have to use a pencil, calculator, last month's expenses, all the current routine expenses and so on to be sure but it sounds right. Unbelievable, isn't it."

"Trouble is, I'm counting on selling everything we make. Thirty five hundred sets each week. We now have how many shops selling for us?"

"Three hundred and fifty eight. That'd mean each shop would have to sell about ten toys a week. They don't do that Ken. All they sell, on average, is three or four. Of course, the bigger shops in large towns would sell more but the smaller ones sell less."

"Yes. So we do need a bigger territory, at least three times bigger. Maybe four or more times bigger, if the production-line method works as planned."

"And twice that if we had a second bench. It's overwhelming!"

"Distribution of all this would be impossible if we tried to do it all ourselves. But with the right distributor we'd be in clover. They'd take the sets, store them and distribute to the retailers."

"And just send us the money."

"Yes. They'd just send us the money, when they're sold, of course. If the toys don't sell they'll send them back to us. Now that raises another problem. Our toys are selling now because of the Green Movement or whatever but the wish to buy wooden toys won't last forever. It'll fade and something else will pop up. We're supplying a demanding market now but it won't always be that way. Either we make different articles to sell or we'll eventually go out of business. You see that?"

"Yes of course. How long do you think the demand will continue Ken?"

"No idea. Maybe for a year or maybe for five years. It's one problem I don't know how to solve. Do you?"

"We could make different things. All I've been thinking about in the past is making different kinds of wooden toys but if the market for toys disappears we'd have to make something else but I don't know what."

"Well we don't have to decide just yet. We have a few months to think about it. Just keep the problem in mind. We'll come up with something I'm sure."

"Yes. Then we'd better call a few distributors and see what they say. We'd want ones that distribute toys or gifts, I guess. They would be serving the kinds of shops I've been going to."

"Can you find out how your retailers get their supplies, what distributors they use?" Ken asked.

"Yes, I'll phone some on Monday. Hey, we'd better be going back. Everyone will be wondering where we are. They'll have finished their tea break."

Everyone stopped work at twelve. Craig checked that the floor had been cleaned, the wood carefully stacked, tools in their proper places and all the paint trays cleaned, taking Bert and Gerry with him to help. They then gave Bob their overalls and climbed into the cars.

"We're going to need a bus next time," said Lori.

"Hopefully one of the new people has a car," replied Ken.

"I have one," said Bert. "I can drive if needed. And Gerry has a motor bike. He'll be using it next week and will give me a lift. He could give someone a lift next time and I'd have room for three more in my car."

"Great," exclaimed Ken.

The pub was very busy but Luke had made a reservation for eight and a table on the patio was waiting for them. Ken sat at one end and Bob the other. All ordered beers except Lori who had a gin and orange. They gossiped about the pubs in Big End, the young ones voting for the noisiest ones, Bert and Gerry preferring the quiet ones. Curries, fish and chips, and sausage and mash were ordered and eaten and more beer drunk. It became a rather noisy group with much laughter and leg pulling about relationships. Apparently Craig and Lori were becoming an item, Luke's girl friend didn't want him to do any more volunteer work and Jose's girl, Rosemary, had not written to him for five weeks. The table quietened when he said that and Luke squeezed his arm. Everyone except Ken and Bob had one last drink then Ken and Bob drove them home.

They returned to the shop afterwards and went into the office to discuss next week's activities.

"I'll not seek more shops Ken. It will be a waste of time if we hire the right kind of distributor. They'll already have a market for us."

"What about the ones who now have our toys but aren't on their list?"

"I don't know. We might have to deliver to them ourselves or drop them. I'd hate to do that. Or perhaps the distributor will add them to their list. There are too many unknowns to work on that problem now. So next week I'll help you set up the equipment or work in the shop."

"All right. What are you doing this weekend?"

"Oh didn't I tell you? I'm off to London with Maria. We're going to a show, Les Mis."

"A bit of a holiday, eh? Well, enjoy yourself. You know, you don't have to come back on Monday. You could take one or two more days off."

"Ah, Maria has to return to Portugal on Sunday."

"That's too bad. Well. Enjoy yourself Bob."

"I will Ken, I will."

After parking the car in his driveway Bob walked over to the new Centre. The doors and windows were open and people were putting the tops on cans of paint or washing brushes. Some of the walls were still wet and notices at the front door warned people to be careful. He walked in, said 'Hello' to several people he knew and asked them where Jane was. He eventually found her in the main hall.

"Hello Jane. The painting's all finished then?"

"Hello Bob. Yes it is. It should dry over the weekend. I'd like to keep the windows and doors open for as long as I can. If I give you a key can you lock it tonight and open it tomorrow morning?"

"Of course. But I won't be here to keep an eye on it after that. I'm going to London with Maria."

"Oh yes, of course. I hope you have a nice time. The weather should be nice. You can walk around Hyde Park and feed the ducks."

"I suppose we could. About the windows, should I open them Saturday morning before I go?"

"Yes. I'll check it during the day and lock it overnight. Leave the key at the side of the stage, here, this corner will do. I'm sure the place will be all right during the day."

"All right."

Jane took him around the building, explaining what each room might be used for.

"We'll have a cafeteria here Bob. It's something we've always wanted. It'll be equipped so we can serve cooked lunches and we might even have special dinners in the Centre. We can prepare the food and drinks for the shows there."

"It's a big building Jane. How are you going to keep it clean?"

"Volunteers won't be enough Bob, so we're going to hire a superintendent. Someone who can do many things, clean, of course, but also repair items, windows, for instance, keep the place warm in the winter, water the garden. Some of the village ladies want to plant a flower garden and it'll need watering. Things like that."

"Where's the money coming from to pay him?"

"Money we raise. From the shows, membership dues, sales, and so on. Maybe we'll get a grant or some donations. We've lots of plans. The place will be busy all the time."

"Will you have dances here?"

"Of course. Dance lessons and dances, formal and informal. Do you dance?"

"A bit. Betty and I used to, when we were courting."

"So did Joe and I. I'm going to persuade him to take lessons with me. Ballroom and Scottish. It'd be nice to do that. You should come. There's bound to be several unaccompanied ladies who would like a partner."

"Maybe I will. Do you know what's happening at the opening ceremony?"

"There's a sub-committee working on that. There'll be a band from Big End's high school and it'll play some pieces, then a couple of speeches, one of them describing the kind of activities that the Centre will be offering. And there will be refreshments and tours of the rooms, although most will be empty. The ceremony won't last long."

"And the BBC?"

"I suppose they'll be filming some of it. They're not here because we have a new Centre, though, they're here because the village is one of the ones that's undergoing an expansion. I think that other villages will be included in the same documentary."

"Ken says they want to film our workshops."

"Oh, that'll be interesting. They're also going to film our committee, the river path and a few places in the village, the park, perhaps."

"Sounds like it'll be an hour-long episode then."

They walked out of the Centre and Jane gave him the door key. "Have fun this weekend."

"I hope to Jane."

Bob walked back to his house and looked at the car to see if it needed another cleaning. He decided it didn't. He put the overalls in the washing machine and had supper. After cleaning the dishes he hung the overalls on the line and put his own clothes in to wash then walked over to the Centre, closed all the windows and locked the door. He decided to hang his clothes on the line and go to bed as he walked home, even though it was only eight o'clock. He didn't feel like reading or watching television, he'd rather think about tomorrow.

Unable to sleep any longer Bob climbed out of bed at six Saturday morning, had a bath and donned his best flannel trousers, a grey shirt, a light-blue tie and his blazer. He hoped that'd be okay to wear in the theatre, he didn't want to take his suit. He added a thin sweater, his pyjamas and clothes for Sunday together with his electric razor and tooth brush. Over breakfast he wondered what else he should take then remembered his slippers. He didn't think there'd be much time to use them but took them anyway, it'd be nice to slip into them after a day wearing shoes.

After washing the dishes he felt the overalls hanging on the line. They were not dry enough to bring in so he left them there and walked to the Centre. He opened all the windows and the doors and put the key in the corner of the stage. He touched the paint several times and found that it was already dry. 'No need to open the windows tomorrow,' he thought.

At eight thirty he collected the washing, hung some of his clothes on the kitchen line and draped the rest over the kitchen and living room chairs. It would be dry when he returned. He'd take the overalls and hang them in the workshop, they were almost dry all ready. He did that, driving there and filling the car with petrol afterwards. Then, although it was not yet nine o'clock, he decided to drive to Gatwick. He knew it wouldn't take more than a couple of hours and that Maria would not be ready until noon but he couldn't wait any longer. He wanted the holiday to begin. He returned to the house, put his suitcase in the boot and drove off.

He reduced his speed as soon as he left the motor way at Winchester, driving along the A272, then up to Horsham. He couldn't stop himself from looking for gift shops and noticed several he could have called on. He had a coffee and a bagel on the far side of Horsham, lingering over it until it was eleven fifteen, then drove to Gatwick and parked the car. He took a seat close to the Meeting Point. He was twenty minutes early. He wished he had bought a bunch of flowers when a man sat on the seat opposite him carrying one but it was too late to look for a flower shop.

"Hello Bob."

"Maria! Hello," he stood up, "I didn't see you. How are you?"

"Ready for a rest. The group kept me very busy. Do you have your car? I'd like to have lunch somewhere, not here, I get tired of eating at Gatwick. There's probably a pub nearby. And I'd like to get rid of my suitcase for a while too," and she pointed to it. "All I need for the weekend is in the small bag."

"The car's not far. Let me pull your big case. Oh it's good to see you again Maria."

"But it's only been a week since you saw me last!"

"I know. It just seems longer. Come, let's go. It's this way," and he led her through the doors to the car park and his car. He opened the boot and put her big bag inside. "We'll put the small ones on the back seat."

"Can I have a hug now?" Maria asked.

"Oh yes."

They hugged and Maria lifted her face and Bob, without thinking, kissed her.

"I'm glad you did that," she said, "I thought you might not want to."

He kissed her again. "I wanted to do that last week and before that but I thought you might not want me to."

"Then let's try it again," she said and lifted her head. Three more kisses and Maria said she'd have to sit down. "Let's go for lunch. And I want a toilet too."

They found a restaurant ten minutes later after looking at, then passing, a most disreputable-looking pub. Salads and a glass of white wine for both of them was all they wanted. She told him about the last week of the trip, saying how the couple that argued so much with each other the previous week gradually got over their differences. And that the woman who cried every time they visited a church told everyone last night that her husband died only a month ago. "She thought taking a holiday might help her adjust and I think it might have. She was the only one that came from her church so no one knew what had happened."

"I expect everyone wanted to comfort her once she'd said that."

"Yes they did. She probably made several new friends on that trip as well."

The waiter asked them if they would like tea or coffee and they both asked for tea.

"I'm back to drinking tea," she told Bob after he'd left. "It'll be coffee all the time when I get home."

"What are we doing this weekend Maria? I mean, what have you already arranged?"

"I've booked the seats for Les Mis and two rooms at a near-by hotel. That way we can walk back to it after the show. It's better than driving back to Gatwick. We can do that tomorrow, when we have lots of time."

"I thought it would be better to take a train to Victoria than drive into London. I didn't like the idea of doing that."

"Good idea. Yes, that's much better. Going by train will give us a bit more time to explore a bit of the city too.

"Jane told me that we should go to Hyde Park and feed the ducks!"

"Did she! Well we could do that if you like."

"Okay. Let's go. I'll park the car at Gatwick and we'll catch the train."

Less than two hours later they were at the hotel. Bob insisted on using his credit card when they checked in. Maria had reserved two adjacent rooms. They unpacked their bags then strolled, hand-in-hand, along Shaftsbury Avenue, past the Palace Theatre, where Les Misérables was showing and along Charring Cross road looking in the windows and at the passing crowds. They had a beer in a pub whose barkeeper asked Maria if she was from Spain. When she said Portugal he said "That's where I'm going next month," and smiled at her. Then they walked slowly back to a restaurant they'd noticed earlier and had supper. Fish, salmon with a lemon dressing, and asparagus for both of them and a half-bottle of white wine.

"We'll have a coffee, no dessert" he told the waiter.

"We'll be back for dessert after the show perhaps," Maria added.

The seats were in the auditorium, close to the centre aisle. Bob was glad he wore his blazer, shirt and tie for most of the men were similarly dressed. They held hands during the show and found the bar quickly enough to buy a drink without a long wait during the interval. After the show they walked slowly back to the hotel, discussing the performance, the actors and sang some of the songs. Neither felt like returning to the restaurant for a dessert. At the hotel they sat in the lounge where Maria had a Drambuie and Bob a scotch. They lingered, not wanting to hurry the evening, then Maria stood up and told Bob she was going to bed. He followed and they kissed 'good-night' outside her door.

Twenty minutes later, just after Bob had put on his pyjamas, there was a tap on the door. It was Maria. She said nothing, just walked in, took off her dressing gown and climbed into his bed. A rather-surprised Bob shut the door, looked at her, then smiled as he climbed into the other side. "What do we do now?" he asked. "Let me show you," she replied.

The sunlight woke Maria first. She gently eased out of the bed, found her night-dress, went to the bathroom, returned and opened the bedroom curtains then sat on the side of the bed watching Bob as he slowly awakened.

"Hello Bob. Did you sleep well?"

"I don't remember how well I slept," he replied, "but I do remember how well I felt when I wasn't sleeping. It was a wonderful night for me. How was it for you?"

"Wonderful as well. And I'd like to have another one just like it."

"So would I. I'd like to have many like it."

"I don't think that's possible Bob. I live in Portugal and you live in England, but we can meet several times a year and more often if I can persuade the agency to make me the UK guide. I'll talk to them about that when I return."

"Then come back to bed Maria. I won't see you for another six or seven weeks after today. Come back to bed. It's my turn to show you what else we can do."

"Do you know what the time is? It's nearly nine o'clock. Let me dream about that until our next holiday."

"That's too long to wait. Maybe I can take a trip to Lagos."

"No Bob. Let's not hurry everything. It'll get better if we don't rush. Look. I'm going to dress and pack my suitcase. Why don't you do the same and we'll have breakfast. I'll knock on your door when I'm ready. Okay?"

"Okay Maria, although I'd rather stay in bed. With you, but okay."

He thought about the night as he showered. He had almost forgotten how pleasurable making love was. But was it love or was it just sex? It was very enjoyable whatever it was. Did he love her, he asked himself. He liked her very much. He liked talking to her, listening to her opinions and finding out what she believed. She thought much like he did so they seemed compatible. He liked the way she looked, especially when she tied her brown hair back behind her head. 'How do I know if I love her,' he wondered. 'It's not the same as with Betty. I knew I loved her as soon as we met. I knew I wanted to marry her. It's different with Maria. I like being with her but I don't know if I would like always being with her, being with her forever.'

There was a knock on the door. It was Maria and he hadn't even fully dressed.

"Come in Maria. I'm not dressed or packed yet. Won't be long."

She sat in the arm chair and watched him.

"You don't have to wear your blazer or a tie today Bob. That sweater would be enough."

"Good. Then that's what I'll do. Shall we go to Hyde Park?"

"It might be too far for me to walk there and back. Can we take the tube?"

"Of course. We'll save our walking 'til we get there."

They walked to the elevator holding hands but released them when another couple got in. They were lucky enough to be given a table next to the window but all they could see was a dying tree with torn plastic bags hanging from its branches and a broken bottle half buried in the dirt that surrounded the trunk. Orange juice, croissants and coffee suited them both. When the waiter presented the bill Bob asked if they could have some old bread, "in a bag, please. We want to feed the ducks."

"I can give you some left-over rolls from last night's dinner. Would that be all right?" They were, of course.

They returned to their rooms, collected their bags, went to the cashier and Bob signed the credit card slip. "We'd like to leave our bags here for a while. Can you arrange that please."

The cashier signalled a boy who gave them two coupons and took the bags. "We'll collect them in three or four hours," Bob said and gave the boy a tip. They walked to Tottenham Court and caught the tube to Marble Arch. There they stood for a while listening to an old man decrying the state of the world, declaring, "We're not here for much longer. You must repent now!" What they were to do after repenting was not made clear so, like most of the onlookers, they moved towards the next speaker, a young man arguing about communism with members of his crowd. This back-and-forth exchange held them for ten minutes. They then followed a footpath that led to the Serpentine. They ambled along the path that ran beside the lake, breaking the rolls into pieces and throwing them towards the swans and ducks until a man told them they should not feed the birds. They apologised then put the few that were left in a waste can, found an empty bench and sat down.

"There's so much I want to talk about Maria, I don't know where to begin."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Us. And what we do next."

"It's too early to talk about us, Bob, and what we are going to do next. We must just let things develop, if they want to. Let's see what happens when it happens. We can talk about the future after we have experienced more of the present. We'll know better what we want 'us' to do then."

"I suppose you're right. It's funny, it's like I was a young man, not knowing what'll come next. It's almost uncomfortable."

"Do you want to stop seeing me?"

"Oh no. Just the opposite. But what else I want, beside making love with you, I don't know."

"Nor do I Bob. It'll be fun finding out, won't it?"

"Yes."

"Then that's what we'll do. We'll let it develop and see what happens. We can make decisions about the future later."

"Okay, although it'll be difficult for me. I don't even know what to do about the rest of my life without knowing what we are going to do."

"Why are you worried about the rest of your life?"

"It's the business mostly. I'm not sure I really like it. Sure, it's about to make a lot of money but I'm not happy with my role. Ken makes almost all of the decisions, which is all right, he has all the ideas and is doing all the work in the shop. I just seem to be a salesman and I don't really like that."

"Can't you hire people to market and sell the toys?"

"We will be looking for a distributor. If we find one they'll do most of the marketing and they'll know the shops that will sell our stuff. Then I'll have nothing to do."

"Didn't you talk about making different kinds of toys?"

"Yes. Yes, that's right. I could do that. I'd much rather do that than what I'm doing now."

"Then your problem's nearly solved. Find the distributor then design different toys."

"Yes, that's the way to look at it. I'll try that."

"And let what happens between 'us' develop as it wishes."

"All right."

They stood up and walked along a path to Hyde Park Corner. There they found a deli, bought wraps and bottles of juice and waited until one of the pavement tables was empty then sat down. Afterwards they took the tube to Leicester Square, walked back to the hotel, collected their bags and took the tube to Victoria. An hour later they were at Gatwick. Bob collected Maria's bag from his car and they walked to the check-in counter. Once she had her boarding pass and her bag had slid along the ramp they had time for a coffee. He remembered the bank draft and gave it to her.

"It's for £1,000. That should cover the rest of the payment for the August tour I think. I don't know the conversion rate."

"Yes, it should be enough. If it's not, I'll pay the rest. It won't be far wrong."

"Let me know if it's not enough. And you'll write to me?"

"If you'll write to me."

"I feel like writing to you every day."

"Don't do that! Once a week is enough. I won't be able to write more often than that. You can write some poetry and put that in your letters if you want to write more frequently."

"I wonder if I could; I've never written poetry."

"We had to do that at school. I quite liked it, but my poetry mostly made the girls laugh although the teacher gave me good marks for the stuff I wrote."

"When you retire you could become a writer."

"Maybe. I wouldn't mind trying. I'd have to do something like that if you'd be in your workshop making toys all day."

"Hey. Are you making plans about our future? You see us together?"

"Oh, I must have been thinking that. Just for a moment. But that's only one future; it might not be the one that develops Bob. Sorry. I shouldn't have said it."

"I'm glad you did. Then I can do the same thing, dream about possible futures."

"Just remember they're only 'possible' ones though. Hey. I must go. I should be in the boarding lounge by now. 'Bye Bob." She stood up, bent down, kissed him quickly on his forehead and ran towards the gate.

Bob stood up, almost started running after her but remained standing, watching her being passed through the gate. He waved when she briefly turned her head towards him then sat down again when she went out of sight. 'That was too quick. It wasn't a proper goodbye. I'll sit here for a while and collect my thoughts.' His emotions slowly died, then, five minutes later, he stood up and walked to his car.

He drove slowly home, thinking about the weekend and Maria. The house felt empty when he walked in. He put his bag down and collected all the clothes and put them on his bed. He'd put them away later. He had a pot pie for supper, not bothering to add any extra vegetables. At nine he phoned the children. The grandchildren were looking forward to the school holiday. Sam was enjoying his new job and learning how to manage other people. Regina had started to play golf and joined her husband's golf club. "It's cheaper for a family membership and I'm thinking that Roy might start too."

"Tell me how he likes it the next time I phone," he said.

"If he tries it. At the moment he's not very interested."

He told Sam and Regina that the BBC would be filming Small End in two weeks time and that they might film him and the workshops. They said they'd look out for the program and watch it.

"Can you copy it for me if you see it?" he asked both of them.

"Yes Dad," said Regina.

"I'll try," Sam answered. "Our machine sometimes doesn't work properly, the tape jams. I think I'll buy a new one. I'd like to see what the BBC thinks about the future of Small End."

Afterwards he wrote a short letter to Maria, telling her again how nice the weekend was. And he included a poem. He wrote: 'You were here—then gone. Sorry it's short, but it says all I want to say.'

**Chapter 27 Wholesalers**

Bob walked to Rose's gift shop first thing Monday morning and found her setting up the newspaper stand.

"Hello Bob. If you want Jack he's helping Ken but I expect you already know that."

"It's you I want to talk to Rose, not Jack. Do you use distributors? If so, I want to learn what they do.

"Well, come in and have a mug of tea and we'll talk. It's already made." She took him to their tiny office, went to the kitchen and returned with a tray loaded with a tea pot, milk, sugar, mugs and a bag of oatmeal biscuits.

"I buy most of my things from two wholesalers. They provide catalogues and I order items that I think might sell. They bring what I ordered when they're next delivering in this area, that's about once a fortnight. If they don't have what I want they'll phone and tell me."

"Why are you talking about wholesalers? Are they different from distributors?"

"Well distributors carry non-competing goods whereas wholesalers carry products from manufacturers who would be in competition with one another. For instance, the wholesalers catalogues list tea pots made by several companies and I have a wider choice and, often, better prices than I'd get from a distributor."

"Then we should be looking for a wholesaler not a distributor?"

"Probably. They'll buy a number of your toys and list them but you'll be competing against other toy makers."

"Well we are in competition with others, anyway. But no one makes, as far as I know, wooden villages and farms."

"You see, if you go with a distributor he'll want a long-term contract with you and he'll really investigate your company to be sure he's representing a sound company, one with a well-known name and a reputation, things like that. At least, that's what I understand. Thus if I want to buy some plates from a well-known manufacturer I would have to buy from their distributor not a wholesaler."

"I see. How did you chose the wholesalers you use?"

"I talked to other retailers about the ones they use. One of my wholesalers supplies goods from Europe and the other one buys stuff in Asia. I also use other catalogues sometimes. Why do you want to know all these things Bob?"

"Delivering the toys is becoming too difficult. We are about to make many more and we need a lot more shops if we are going to sell all of them. So we thought about having a distributor sell them for us. But I now know we should be looking for wholesalers not distributors."

"Jack told me about the production line Ken was setting up. It sounds a bit complicated."

"I think it'll work. I've always found that Ken knows what he's talking about. He says that the new line will produce as many toys in a day as our existing workshop can produce in a week."

"Well I'll give you the names of the wholesalers I use and you can contact them."

"Thanks Rose."

She copied their names on a piece of paper and gave it to Bob. He walked along the road to the workshop and entered by the side door, greeting everybody and watching what they were doing.

"Thanks for the clean overalls," Craig said.

"You're welcome. Have you got overalls for the new people?"

"Yes," answered Lori. "Who's going to wash them next time? There'll be too many for one person to handle."

"Perhaps Mary, Ken's wife, will take half next time."

"Maybe we should buy a washing machine and do them weekly. They're pretty dirty after two weeks. We could put it here, in this shop, in the corner by the paint booth."

"I'll talk to Ken about that. It might be a good idea. I've got to make some phone calls now. We're looking for a wholesaler to distribute our toys."

"Oh? What are Bert and I going to do if you do that?" asked Gerry.

"We'll probably need someone to deliver to local sellers, or you could work in the shop. Don't know yet, we'll find something. Don't worry." He went into the office, sat at Ken's desk, picked up the phone and called Leo.

"Hello Leo. How are things?"

"Hello Bob. It's good with me. Your toys are still very popular. I've met one of your new men, Gerry. He's delivering for you now then?"

"Yes. We've two people doing that as well as working in the shop. The other guy's Bert. You might see him sometime."

"Well I don't need more sets at the moment Bob, thanks."

"No, I didn't want to talk about that, Leo, I want to learn about using wholesalers. That's how you get most of your stuff isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Who do you use? I'm asking because we are thinking of asking some of them to sell our toys."

"You know they'll take twenty percent or more from you if you use them?"

"Yes, Ken told me. You see, we'll soon be producing enough toys to need a wholesaler."

"Well the one I use most often is based in Liverpool. They stock stuff from most of the world so they have a wide variety of items. They also stock toys and they might be a good choice for you. I don't know what they charge a manufacturer though."

"What's their name Leo?"

"We-Have-It Wholesalers."

"We-Have-It?"

"We-Have-It Wholesalers. Yes. The name's simple and easily remembered. They're probably the biggest distributor of goods for shops like mine. Here's their phone number," and he read it out.

"Thanks' Leo. Do you use any others?"

"Yes, several, but the Liverpool one is the best for me and the prices of the goods they sell are competitive. Do you want the names of the others?"

"Er, no. Not now. I'll call We-Have-It and see what they say. Thanks Leo."

He hung-up and leaned back in his chair. 'That's interesting. Why doesn't Rose use We-Have-It? I'll have to ask her next time I see her.'

He picked-up the phone again and called the Big End library and explained that he wanted the names of the biggest wholesalers that carried toys in England and asked if they could help him. They said they would look for the information and call him back in a day or two; they couldn't do it today because they were too busy.

The outside door opened as he hung up and Ken and Jack walked in. Jack greeted Bob as he walked through the waiting room to the workshop but Ken, seeing Bob in the office, joined him. He gestured to Bob to remain seated, gave him a list and perched on Lori's desk.

"Here are the names of some distributors that my work colleagues told me about. You might call them and see what they say."

"I don't think we can use a distributor Ken. They only represent companies with big reputations. Small End Wooden Toys isn't that yet. Rose and Leo obtain almost all of their things from wholesalers. I have the names of three and the library will send some more in a day or two. Rose uses GB Wholesaler often. They supply items from Europe. I'll have to phone them and ask what they would charge us and where they deliver. Leo uses a company called We-Have-It Wholesalers. I'll have to ask them the same thing. I'll do it after the tea break."

"Wholesalers, eh, not distributors. Hadn't thought about how they differed. So we're not big enough to have a distributor represent us? Well, we will be, one day."

"If wooden toys remain popular."

"Well teddy bears did. Every young boy is given one of those. That could happen to us."

"Yes. Maybe. So what are you and Jack working on?"

"We were making racks to hold incoming wood and have just finished. After tea we'll build shelves to hold the boxed sets. I wish the saws and sanders were here; I'd much rather be installing them."

The door from the workshop opened and everyone walked into the waiting room. Craig put the kettle on and Luke opened the biscuit box, putting it on the table and everyone grabbed a couple.

"Do we have any more chocolate digestives Lori?"

"Yes, two packs. I've never let us run out have I?"

"No, not yet."

"Did you have a good weekend with your girlfriend Luke?" asked Lori.

"Yes. I saw you and Craig in Benny's Inn Saturday night."

"Oh did you. Well why didn't you come over?"

"You seemed too interested in each other and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Don't be daft Luke. We were discussing business," said Craig.

"I bet you weren't. You had your arm over her shoulder nearly all the time you were there."

"Next time you see us and you have your girlfriend bring her over. I'd like to meet her," said Lori.

"Maybe. What did you do this weekend Jose?"

"Read mostly."

"Have you heard from Rosemary?"

"No."

"Well next weekend you'll have to come out with us. We could arrange a date for you if you like."

"I don't want one. I'd might join you if you're by yourselves or if you're with a gang. Let me know what you're doing and I'll decide."

"Okay."

Bert was talking to Gerry about paying something towards the cost of the petrol he was using when he drove him to work whilst this was going on. Ken made a few notes on a piece of paper then started talking to Jack about something. Bob sat in a corner taking it all in, just enjoying being in the group. He didn't feel he had to participate. Fifteen minutes later everyone had left. He went to the office and called GB Wholesaler. He described who he was and that they were looking for a wholesaler to carry their line. "At the moment we want to know if you would handle our toys, where you deliver to and what you would charge."

"We'd be glad to include your products in our catalogue. We already have three toy manufactures but none of them make the wooden toys you're making. We deliver to all of the southern half of England, including all of London. Our rates depend upon how many we sell and we charge extra if we have to collect the toys from you. If you bring them to us you save money."

"Where do we take them to?"

"To our warehouse just outside Heathrow airport."

"Okay. About how many gift or toy shops use your services?"

"Probably a thousand, maybe fifteen hundred. I don't know without going through the lists and counting."

"We deliver ourselves to over three hundred shops at the moment. If any of those aren't on your lists would you send them your catalogue?"

"If they were in our territory we'd gladly do that."

"Some of them are in Wales."

"Well you would have to deliver to those shops yourself. How many toys do you sell each week?"

"About 150. We sold over 600 in May and expect it to be much larger soon. We're aiming to sell ten times that number soon."

"If we sold 6,000 of your toys each month we'd probably charge twenty percent of the retail price. It wouldn't be less and it might be more. You'll have to talk to people in our sales department to get a firm figure."

"Well thank you. I'll talk to my partner and will call you back with our decision."

"Thanks' for calling us and I hope we work together in the future."

Bob made notes whilst the man was talking and, when finished, he called We-Have-it Wholesalers and asked them the same questions. He was told they delivered to the whole of Great Britain, all except some distant parts of Scotland, that they sent their items by bus to retailers who lived there, that they probably delivered to three or four thousand gift and toy shops, that their main office was in Liverpool and that the closest warehouses to them was in Basingstoke. They would charge between twenty five and thirty percent of retail, "and you have to deliver the stock to one of our warehouses. We don't collect."

Bob had enough information to do some calculations now. He knew the shop's expenses, paying twelve employees salaries, buying wood and materials, and miscellaneous would be about £5,000 a week. The savings for not renting two of the vans would about pay the Community Centre's rent so five thousand would probably be good enough.

If Ken was right and they made, say, three thousand a week, and they paid a wholesaler no more than thirty percent, then . . . He took out the calculator, forty to the retailers plus thirty to the wholesalers equals seventy percent, so they'd be left with just thirty percent of retail price. 'That means if we sold a thousand of each toy each week we'd make £4,500 on the trains, £6,750 on the farms and £7,500 on the village sets. That's £18,750, less £5,000, which leaves £13,750. And more, much more, if we made over three thousand each week or if we could get a lower rate from the wholesaler.'

Of course, the retailers would have to sell the three thousand before they'd want more. They'd need a thousand retailers if each shop sold three per week. Some would sell more and some less but about three each week, during the tourist season, would be about right. Then they could go with either wholesaler. He talk with Ken and see what he thought they should do.

They had a chance to talk after lunch. Bob told him what he had discovered and explained his rough calculations. "So you see Ken, it doesn't matter which wholesaler we go with."

"I'd rather pay twenty percent than twenty-five or thirty percent. That means we should go with GB Wholesaler."

"Yes. He said that probably a thousand or fifteen hundred shops they delivered to might take our toys."

"Yes. However if half of them didn't we'd be stuck. How many shops might buy toys from We-Have-It Wholesalers?"

"Three or four thousand is his guess."

"That's much better but charging twenty five to thirty percent is a big problem."

"Yes, but, as I said, if we make a thousand of each set each week we'd definitely need a thousand retailers selling them. We'd need more of them if we made more than that."

"And we'd make £13,750 each week if we went with We-Have-It?"

"Yes, if they sold everything."

"Then let's go with them. We won't have to worry about the toys not selling if we did that. I can always set up another bench if the demand requires it."

"Okay. Another thing in their favour, it's much easier to deliver to Basingstoke than Heathrow. So we should keep the big van and return the two small."

"Let's keep all of them for now until we see how things work out. You'll make the arrangements with We-Have-It Wholesales?"

"Yes. I'll phone both of them now. What will we do with Bert and Gerry if they are not delivering?"

"They can join the production line once We-Have-It takes over. They seem like good workers."

"Okay. You know Ken, we'll be making close to £700,000 a year if this works out. About £350,000 for each of us. It seems impossible. I have no idea how to manage that much money."

"You'll soon learn I'm sure, Bob. Let's worry about that when it happens."

"It's such a lot. I don't think it's really possible."

"We'll see. I'm going back to the Centre now. Will you be here tomorrow?"

"Yes, unless Lori says there are lots of deliveries to make. 'Bye then Ken."

"Cheers Bob."

Bob called GB Wholesaler to say that they would be working with a wholesaler who covered all of England and then called the library, telling them he no longer needed the list. They seemed rather pleased when he said that. Then he called We-Have-It.

"Hello. It's Small End Wooden Toys again. I talked to you about half-an-hour ago. We'd like you to be our main wholesaler."

"If you only use us you are likely to get a better rate," he was told. "Talk to the sales people about that and see what they say. When can you come to see us?"

"In Liverpool?"

"No. You can talk to our man in Basingstoke. If you contract with us this week we can get you into our next catalogue."

"I'll check with my partner and see if he can do that. He's very busy right now. I'll let you know what he says."

"Oh you don't have to call me. Call Dave Posser, he's in Basingstoke. Here's his number. He's the man you should see."

"Okay, thanks."

Bob called Ken. He had to wait for nearly two minutes before the phone was picked up.

"Hello Ken. Sorry to bother you. Is there something wrong with the phone? Didn't you hear the ring?"

"Yes I did but I couldn't just stop what I was working on. And the phone is in the old office. I leave the doors open so I can hear it but we'll have to have an extension in the hall. Ask Lori to call the phone people about it would you? What did you want?"

"We-Have-It said we have to sign an agreement with them and asked if we could see their sales agent this week."

"No. I can't. Can you do it without me?"

"I don't think it would be legal for just one of us to sign the agreement. He said if we do it this week we could be included in their new catalogue."

"Oh, God! See if we can do it on Saturday then. Saturday morning, as early as possible. I want to be free to work here the rest of the time."

"Are things going wrong?"

"No, but they might, so I want to be free in case they do."

"All right. I'll let you know what they say."

Dave answered the phone as soon it rang. Bob told him what he wanted to do. "Could we meet early on Saturday."

"Would eight o'clock be early enough?"

"That'd be perfect. We were told if we sign-on this week you could include us in your next catalogue."

"Yes that's right. Then you'd better bring in a description of each of your items, each wooden toy, and a photograph of each, in colour. Also their normal retail prices, we'll work from that to calculate our rate."

"Do we get a better rate if we make you our sole wholesaler?"

"We used to do that but it became unmanageable. Manufacturers find other ways to sell and it caused problems. So we stopped doing that two months ago. Do you know that you have to deliver your toys here or to one of our other warehouses? We don't collect from manufacturers."

"Yes. I was told that. We're in Small End. It's near Big End, midway between Bournemouth and Southampton, so that's why I called you."

"I know Big End. Had a holiday near there about ten years ago. Nice place."

"Yes."

"All right. I'll expect you at eight o'clock Saturday morning. Here's the warehouse address," and he read it out. "My office is with the others at the front of the building. Tell the guards you want to see me and one of them will take you there."

Bob walked into the shop and asked Lori if she could come to the office.

"Ken wants a phone extension in the centre hall so could you call the phone company and arrange that. And we are going to contract with We-Have-It Wholesalers. They'll handle our toy distribution. They deliver to everywhere in Great Britain and will put our toys in their next catalogue. So could you write a description of each one, listing it's features, and its retail price."

"I'd have to think about what to say about each one first."

"They want it this week. Ken and I will see them on Saturday so we want it by then. We have to include a photo of each and I'll have Jack take them. He'll print copies and you can paste them on the sheet. Tell him how large they should be."

"Jack uses a digital camera so I could give you a memory stick holding both the text and the photos. They'd probably prefer that. Should I?"

"Er, yes please Lori. Give us both, just in case. Can you show me what you've written as soon as it's done?"

"Yes. Can you do any deliveries this week? I hope so because there are lots of requests."

"Yes."

"Would you like to go west, north or east? I've got three lists.

"North," he replied. It was much nicer scenery that way. She went to her desk and found the list for him.

"It's a long one and it'll probably take three days to go to all of them."

"From the look of it you're right. I'll not be back until Thursday then. In that case you'd better show the toy descriptions to Ken and ask him if he thinks they're okay. I'll check them on Thursday. And, Lori, we should have signs at the Centre to show where deliveries should go. Put a notice by the front door and back door. We'll also need a bell at that door to alert Ken or Craig when there's a delivery. I'll tell Ken about the bell and he'll get Jack or Pat to put one in. Oh, do we have chairs and a table for the tea room at the Centre?"

"Not yet. They've been ordered, and a small fridge, a microwave and a cupboard for supplies. They'll be in this week, I hope."

"Good. It looks like you've been giving this a lot of thought."

"Ken, Craig and I discuss these things all the time, but we didn't think about a notice for the doors or the bell."

"That's all I can think of. Okay, I'm off to the Centre now."

He found Ken and Jack in the far storage room building the last of three big racks of shelves. He told them about the Saturday arrangements.

"We should be back before eleven and I can help you over the weekend if needed. I've asked Lori to write the descriptions of the toys. And, Jack, can you photograph each of our toys and print them in colour and give them to Lori. And she'd like a memory stick with the photos on too."

"Aye. When do you want 'em," asked Jack.

"Could you do it by Wednesday?"

"Aye."

"Thanks. Lori will show you what she's written Ken. You can change it if needed of course. I'll be delivering tomorrow and Wednesday so I can't look at it until Thursday."

"All right. Did you ask Lori to tell the phone company we need an extension?"

"Yes and we thought there should be a bell by the back door so you know when there's a delivery."

"I've got one an' can put it in," said Jack.

"Okay," said Ken.

"Well I think that's all," said Bob. "I'm going back to load the van and take off, unless there's something I can do here."

"No, we're nearly done. Then we won't see you until Thursday?"

"No."

"Have a safe trip then. Cheers Bob."

"'Bye boys. Don't do too much or you'll collapse."

**Chapter 28 The factory**

Bob filled the van's petrol tank at Tim's and was on his way to Salisbury by eight thirty Monday morning. Using the shortest route and eating sandwiches as he drove he was able to deliver sets to thirty seven shops before six pm. He stayed in the same tiny hotel the far side of Cardiff that he'd used before. The landlady recognised him and told him he could have the room at the front for the same price as before. "I like to do that for my regular customers if no one's already taken it. It's a better view and a bigger room." Bob thanked her, thinking this might be his last stay there.

He wondered what Maria would think of his poem as he ate his fish-and-chip supper, washing it down with a Guinness. He hoped she'd comment in her reply. He used the pub's phone to call Ken after he'd finished, not to tell him that he had added more shops but to find out what had been happening in the shop.

"The routers, sanders, saws and heaters arrived this morning and they're already fastened to the bench. The router jigs will need a lot of adjusting before they can be used. I'll do that tomorrow. Jack installed the ducts and the fan heater today and will hang the rails and form the plastic tunnels tomorrow. If we can get all of it set up I'll have Craig and Jose or Luke run some wood through the line on Thursday. If everything works as it should I'll ask everybody to try it on Friday. You'll be here by then so you should join in too. That way everyone will have an idea of how the new system works and, with luck, it'll be ready for July 8th when the new people come in."

"I see what you meant about keeping the weekend free. I'd forgotten about them starting next week."

"There are bound to be problems that'll have to be fixed before they arrive. Oh, yes, Lori showed me the descriptions she'd written about the toys at the tea break. I thought they looked good and I passed them around so everybody could see. Luke suggested changing 'bright colours' to 'brilliant colours,' saying the acrylic looked that way to him and we agreed. That's the only change we made. You'll check it when you return, of course."

"I will. Did she make the signs for the doors?"

"Yes, and she suggested we make two from wood, one for visitors, to tell them where to park, and the other to direct deliveries to the back. I told her I'd make them but not for a week or two."

"I can make them. This weekend, if you don't need my help. I've been thinking about making another Small End Wooden Toys sign for the new shop but I don't know if we should put one there. We don't want visitors there."

"No, you're right. We could have Small End Wooden Toys—Workshop, but let's do that later. Another thing, if I put a second bench here I'll move the office over. Then we might need another sign."

"We told Joe we'd be using his old parlour for a year Ken."

"Oh we'll use it. Maybe it could be used to design new toys, set-up the jigs they'd need and run trials. It can be a research centre."

"I see."

"Well I'm off to bed now. It'll be another busy day for me tomorrow. Goodnight Bob."

"Goodnight Ken."

Bob had one last shop to visit at five thirty on Wednesday but, even though he rushed, it was closed when he arrived. Bert or Greg would have to add it to their next delivery. Or the wholesaler. He didn't know how frequently they delivered, or did they say they delivered every two weeks? He was tired and had forgotten that kind of detail.

He was at Shaftsbury, less than forty miles from home. He could be there in not much more than an hour but he was so tired of driving he decided to take a break. He didn't fancy driving home then making supper, even though it would probably be a pot pie, if there was one left. He was going to eat and rest before driving on.

He drove through the emptying streets and eventually found a restaurant on the outskirts that had a big, almost empty, parking lot. He parked, walked in and was ushered to a seat. Some kind of classical music was playing softly in the background. He ordered salmon with a creamy sauce and a glass of their house white. That and a coffee made the meal. The bill surprised him, twice what he'd normally pay. 'So that's why there weren't many cars in the lot, the place is too expensive.' They probably lived on people celebrating something or tourists or people like him who didn't know what their food would cost. He added a tip and paid with the company's credit card, wondering if Lori would say he shouldn't include the cost of this meal since he was nearly home. But she wouldn't do such a thing although a man from the income tax office might.

He felt refreshed and the drive home afterwards was easy for there wasn't much traffic. He parked the van in the parking lot beside his house, not wanting to walk home from the shop, he just wanted to go to bed.

Lori was there answering the phone when Bob walked into the office Thursday morning. She waved to him and he put his bills, credit card slips and the lists she had given him on her desk and sat in Ken's chair, waiting until she had finished.

"Hello Bob. How are you?"

"Better after a night's sleep. How's things Lori?"

"We've had lots more requests. There's enough for another delivery this week but they'll have to wait because Ken wants everybody here tomorrow, Bert and Gerry too, so he can show all of us how the new process works. Since I'll have to be there too I'm going to ask him if we can buy an answering machine. Almost all our calls are from retailers wanting more sets so I don't want to miss any. It'd be okay if I was sitting at my desk all day but that'd be a waste of time, there's not enough office work to keep me busy there while waiting for a call."

"It'll be much easier when We-Have-It handles the deliveries Lori. All the calls will go to them. Where's Ken?"

"At the Centre. With Jack."

"Okay, I'll walk over and see what they're doing. That last shop on the my list, there, the one I've not ticked—I couldn't get to it in time, they were closed."

"Okay. I'll add it to the list for next week."

"Have you received any cheques for last month?"

"No, not yet. I've got lots of bills though. Nearly £4,500, things for the new workshop and meeting room. You know, their room is nicer than ours."

"Then maybe we should make this one better. I'll ask everyone what they would like to have at the break. I'm off now. Cheers Lori."

Ken was dipping short pieces of wood into paint and running them through the first drying tunnel when Bob walked in. Jack was lying on the floor under the bench.

"Hello Bob. Just a minute. Higher Jack. The heat needs to be a little higher." He pushed the pinned holder carrying the wood he had just painted slowly through the tunnel with a long stick, withdrew the stick and laid it on the bench then ran to the other end.

"Yes. It's dry now. We'll have to adjust the heat again when there are several blocks going through. Can you set the same heat in the other tunnels?"

"I'll try. It's not easy. Changing it on one tunnel also changes it on the other two. I think we should have separate heaters for each one."

"Yes, you're right. I should have thought of that. I'll order them today. What do you think Bob?"

"I can see how the line works now, better than I could before. It looks good Ken."

"The tunnels aren't set-up properly yet. If you put your hand at one end you'll find that it's hot. We have to fold in the end plastic and increase the extraction fan rate."

"We'll have t'adjust t' heater again then," Jack added.

"Yes I know. Let's do the next tunnel now."

Ken moved along the bench and Jack slid under the table next to the second duct's heat control lever.

"It'll take a while to fix this Bob," Ken said.

"That's okay. Can I do anything?"

"No, not here. Just help in the shop, if that's okay with you. We'll do all the tunnels then join you for tea."

"Alright."

Bob helped wrap and box until tea break. Ken and Jack hadn't turned up so, after everyone had filled their mug and taken their biscuits, he asked if they should do anything to make the room better.

"You could change the chairs Bob. These aren't very comfortable," said Lori.

"Okay. Anything else?"

"More chocolate biscuits," said Luke. "Other kinds, not just these digestive ones, although they are nice."

"Okay. Anything else?"

"I can't think of anything," said Craig.

"Well the new shop has a fridge and a microwave," said Bob. "Do we want to have the same here?"

"There's hardly room for them," said Bert.

"If we had a microwave I could bring things like soup in the winter and heat it for lunch. It'd make a nice change from sandwiches," Lori said. "We could get a small one. It wouldn't cost much. But I agree with Bert, there's not enough room for a fridge."

"All right. Chocolate biscuits, more comfortable chairs and a microwave. Could you order them Lori?"

"Order what?" asked Ken as he and Jack walked in.

"We're improving the tea room Ken."

"Oh, I only heard 'microwave.' That's a good idea, but you might have to put it in the office 'cos there's not much room here."

"And we'd like nicer chairs."

"And different chocolate biscuits."

"No trouble with the biscuits and microwave or chairs. I'll ask Mary to look for the chairs and I'll arrange their purchase. Can you order the microwave Lori? Who buys the biscuits now?"

"I usually do," said Lori, "and the milk. Bob's mostly not here to do that any more. I carry them in from Big End. Can we have the milk delivered?"

"Good idea. Yes, we could buy the biscuits, tea and coffee from the village store and have it delivered. We should do that for the meeting room in the new shop too. Can you look after that Lori?"

"Gladly."

"But not right now. I'd like everyone to come to the Centre and learn how the new production line works as soon as you've finished your tea."

"What about answering the phone Ken? asked Lori. There'll easily be another two or three shops calling before lunch."

"They'll call back later. Don't worry about that."

"Could we have an answering machine here?" she asked, "then they could leave a message and we won't miss anybody."

"Why not. Could you find one Lori?"

"Okay I'll do that Saturday."

"Buy it if you find the right one and bring it in on Monday. Most of next week we'll all be in the new shop, learning how to run the line. We have to be ready to train the new people when they come in. Okay?"

"What about the deliveries Ken?" asked Gerry.

"We'll leave that until later next week. Perhaps we'd be good enough on Wednesday or Thursday. If so you could deliver after then."

They washed their mugs in the shop sink, everyone except Jose, who said that he didn't see the need to do that every time he used it. His light blue mug had a deep-brown coating on the inside. Ken locked the shop's doors and they walked to the Centre. Once there, Ken walked them along the bench, explaining the function of each part.

"The only new part is the painting operation. I'll show you how it's done." He pushed a piece of scrap wood onto the pins of a holder, uncovered the paint tray and dipped the wood in the paint. He then pushed the holder onto the end of the curtain track."

"See? Look at this holder," and he held one out to them. "The hook-eyes that we have in the old shop have been replaced by these two curtain rollers. All you have to do is push the holder into this gap so that the rollers slide onto the rail. Push the next holder in and it'll push the first one forward. That's the way they move, each holder pushes the earlier ones along until they get to the end. Then they'll fall off. Watch, I'll do several and you'll see how it works. Can you switch on the heater Jack."

Jack bent down and closed a switch.

"We'll put the switch on the bench later and you can work it from you chair," Ken said, "although you'll leave it on all the time, except for the times when the line is stopped."

"Chair?" asked Luke. "We have chairs?"

"Yes. The painters and the sanders can sit on chairs if they want although they can stand if they prefer that. So watch what happens as I do several more. Now, you see, at the end of the track they fall off and drop onto the cloth ramp and slid into the tray."

"Then someone else gives them the second coat," said Bert.

"Yes that's right. That one's put one by a brush. Hedges will have their second tone-coat brushed on that way too."

"And the decorative lines are stamped on at the third place?"

"Exactly. Then when they drop into the third tray they're ready for gluing and assembling. The glue will take a while to dry and that'll hold up the line a bit. I'm thinking of using a contact cement or a fast-acting glue. Until I find the best way to do it we'll just use the glue we use now and put them on trays to dry. We screw on the wheels at the end too. So now let's give it a try. Jack can get some wood and put it on the table; Jose you handle the router jig; Bert you look after the band saw and Gerry, you look after one of the sanders. Lori, you do the first painting, Luke you take the second one and Bob, you take the last one, please. We won't assemble or glue any until we've run the line for a while. Craig and I will walk along the line looking for problems. Okay? We'll go slowly to begin with. While you're doing this think about how you'd train someone to do the job so you'll be ready for next week."

"Can I have a chair," asked Gerry.

"Me too," said Lori and Luke.

"Sure. They're stacked at the end of the bench. Help yourself."

As soon as everyone was ready Jose pushed the first long block through the router jig. Bert picked it up and cut it into house blocks dropping them into a tray where they waited until Gerry picked them up to sand. After sanding they were put into another tray and were ready for the first paint coat.

The first trouble was dust. Ken spotted it as soon as he stood by the first painting tunnel. He watched for half a minute then said that they'd have to stop until the problem was fixed. "The blocks waiting to be painted have dust on them. I'll have to fix that. Can everybody go back to the other shop. All except you Gerry. I want you to sand while we find a way to stop the dust from getting out. Okay?"

"Sure," said Gerry.

"I like working on this line," said Bert, as they were standing up. "Sitting down makes it much easier on my back."

Everyone left except Ken, Bob, Jack and Gerry.

"Is the exhaust fan at maximum speed?" asked Bob.

"Nay," answered Jack. "It's at half. I didn't know wot to set it at."

"How many speeds are there?"

"Five."

"Put it up one Jack and I'll bend the plastic."

Even after increasing the rate to full speed the blocks were still covered with a film of dust. They all watched Gerry as he repeatedly picked up one of the cut blocks with his right hand and pushed it into the plastic-covered sanding booth. He sanded it, then brought it out with his left hand and put it in the output tray. Eventually Ken said "It's mostly coming from you Gerry. Dust falls off your left hand and gets on to the block when you put it on the output tray. It's sticking to the hairs on your hand."

"It might help if he wore gloves," said Bob.

"Yes, though I've another idea I'd like to try first. I'll add a short plastic extension with an elastic ending to each hand hole and add a narrow output tunnel. Gerry can put the sanded block in that. The end of that tunnel will be open so air will enter and suck off any dust stuck to the block."

They got busy. Ken and Jack wired on a new front with two hand entry ports fitted with short sleeves. Bob built an exit tunnel and fastened it to the end of the sanding booth and Gerry went to the office and collected several elastic bands.

Twenty minutes later Ken and Bob were satisfied. The blocks were sanded as well as they had ever been and there was next to no dust on the sanded blocks, even when they reduced the exhaust fan's speed to half. They decided to run a strip of metal along the base of the output trough so the blocks would slide out better but left that to be done later.

Bob went back to the workshop and asked everybody to return to the Centre for another try. Production continued, making modifications whenever needed, one being that they could lower the heat on each tunnel and the paint still dried.

"I'm glad we were able to do that. I was worried about over-heating the shop in the summer," said Ken. "Bending in the ends makes a lot of difference. What do you think about the way these blocks look now Bob?"

"The paint job's excellent. I'm surprised that it dries so quickly. It's both the warmth and the air flow that makes the difference I suppose. It all seems okay to me Ken."

"I think it is. We'll have to look at the gluing and assembly operations next. Once they're sorted we'll work on production speed. It'll be a week or more before we approach our final rate. But, even now, I guess it'll be four times faster than what we have in the old shop."

"Yes, it probably is," Bob said.

"Well it's time for lunch," said Ken. "we'll have another go after lunch. I won't need you this afternoon Jack. Can you come tomorrow? Just the morning I think."

"Aye, wot time?"

"No hurry, about nine is okay."

During the afternoon everyone tried each station. By four thirty, having missed the afternoon's tea break, Ken told every one to stop.

"Thank you everybody. You've done a great job today. We'll pack up now and have another go sometime tomorrow. Think about what we're doing overnight and let me know if you see anyway to improve things."

Craig gave a cheer for some reason and everybody responded by cheering a second time. Then all but Bob and Ken left. They looked at each other, pulled out a couple of chairs and sat down.

"Now we have the beginnings of a factory Bob. With this we'll make enough money to repay our investments in a couple of months I think. Then, even without a second line, we'll make a fortune."

"It's still unbelievable to me Ken. From a hobby that earned me no more than three or four thousand pounds a year to this. I can't quite see how it all happened. None of it would exist without you though."

"Nor without you Bob. We did it together. Pretty soon we can relax. I know I will. By the end of next week, if the new workers are okay and everything goes well, I'll start thinking about my holidays."

"They're not until September Ken. Why not take some time off before then?"

"I think I might. After things settle down. Craig can look after things and you'd be here too, that is, if you wanted to be."

"Yes. Talking about holidays Ken reminds me that I want to visit my aunt this weekend. Can we drive to Basingstoke in separate cars then I could go on and you could return. It would save me three or four hours if we did that."

"Of course. It looks as if there won't be anything to do here so Mary and I might go to London for the night. I'll talk to her. Okay you drive yourself and we'll meet at the warehouse."

"Good, thanks."

"Tomorrow I'm going to glue a few train parts, pig pens and the large houses before anyone comes in to see if I can think of a quicker way to do it. I can see we'll need more shelves to put the trays on while the glue sets. Jack'll make them. Do you want to help?"

"Yes of course. At eight, then."

There was a letter from Maria on the floor when Bob arrived. In it she said how much she had enjoyed the weekend and how she was looking forward to the next one. "And here's my poem. 'I'm here. I'll come.' Do you like it? And it's shorter than yours!" Bob didn't have to think about his answer; he liked it.

After supper he called Sally and asked if he could visit her this Saturday and Sunday.

"Of course you can Bob. I'll reserve the visitors room for you. What time will you get here?"

"Probably in the middle of the afternoon. I have a meeting in the morning. And we can go somewhere nice for supper."

"No I don't think so Bob. I'm not able to get out of my wheelchair without a lot of difficulty now. We'll have supper here. I think you'll like it."

"All right Sally."

A loud bell interrupted Ken, Jack and Bob at eight thirty Friday morning. "There's some un at t'back door," said Jack.

"It must be the wood," said Ken. "I'd forgotten it was coming this morning."

They helped the driver unload, putting the wood into the stock room racks then returned to the bench. Jack was making a set of shelves that would be screwed onto the centre of the far end of the bench. Bob took pieces from the end tray and glued them together while Ken watched and offered suggestions. They continued until ten then walked over for tea. On the way Ken said "I'm not happy about how we glue. It takes too long. We either need a faster-drying glue or more space to hold the drying trays. Trouble is, we don't have enough space for more racks."

"'Ow abat contact cement Ken," said Jack. "I use it, but s'easy ter make mistakes wiv it."

"Yes I know," answered Ken. "There has to be something else."

"We could ask the others if they know of anything," said Bob.

"Oh, Jack, I won't need you for the rest of the day. You're keeping a list of the hours you're working?"

"Aye."

"Well, have tea with us before going. You might have more good ideas."

When they explained the problem no one knew much about glues. Lori said she had an aunt who did a lot of craft work. "She often uses glues. I'll see if she knows of anything."

After tea they took up the same positions in the line that they had Thursday afternoon and started churning out toys. Ken walked backwards and forwards along the line and took notes. They changed positions every half hour, stopped for lunch and continued afterwards until everyone had tried each position at least once. They stopped at three and returned to the workshop for their tea break.

"Does everybody feel they could teach the newcomers how to operate the line now? Ken asked."

There was a general nodding of heads.

"It's interesting but I think it will become a bit boring after a while," said Jose. "Although it's nice to sit on a chair it's working with each part of the operation that I like best. I wouldn't want to just sand or paint every day of the week."

"No, nor would I," said Bert.

"Do most of you think that way?" asked Ken.

There was more head-nodding.

"Then how about changing places every week?"

"It'd be better to change places every day."

"Changing could be done easily," said Ken."

"Of course, all the new people would have to know how each job was done," said Craig.

"Okay, we'll do it. Now how about training them, how should we do that?" asked Ken.

"Like you did with us," said Bert. "You or someone walk them along the line explaining what happens at each place then let them try it."

"But all of us already knew what had to be done," said Jose. "The new-comers won't know that."

"Then how about if we sat in each position and completed each operation slowly and answered questions as they watched," said Lori. "They could see the whole line working and it would be easy to understand why and how things were being done."

"What do you all think about that?" asked Ken.

"Sounds like a good idea," said Craig.

"Yes that would be fine," added Jose.

"Okay. Then that's what we'll do. We'll pack-up now. Next week come here as usual because this is where the newcomers will come. We'll introduce ourselves and then take them to the Centre and start teaching them."

"Will they come here for tea Ken?" asked Craig.

"Er, will there be tea, coffee and biscuits at the new place, Lori?"

"They said they'd deliver at nine. Someone will have to be there to put the milk in the fridge. I'll do that if you like. I know what's coming. But I'll need a door key to let myself in."

"Here, have mine," said Bob. "Keep it and have four more cut over the weekend, can you? You and Craig should both have a key now."

"All right. Thanks."

"Then we'll all have tea at the new shop Monday. Lunch as well," said Ken. "And we'll work out what we do for the rest of the week at the end of the day."

**Chapter 29 The production line**

Bob was the first to arrive at the wholesaler's warehouse. He parked the car in the road near the side road that led to the entrance gates and waited for Ken. He arrived ten minutes later and parked behind the Vauxhall. Bob got out and found Mary in the driving seat.

"You're looking nice Mary. Are you coming to the meeting too?"

"No I'm going to have breakfast and maybe walk around the town, in the old part, next to the town hall. When do you want me back Ken?"

"Thirty minutes should be enough Mary."

"I won't get much of a walk then. All right. I'll park here when I come back. I don't suppose the guards will let me go inside."

"Okay."

Ken got into Bob's car and they drove to the gates. They told the guard who they were and were told to park the car in the small visitor's lot then walk to Dave Posser's office, "it's the corner office." They found the door, knocked and entered. The man sitting behind a desk stood up.

"Hello. I'm Dave Posser. You must be Mr. Barns and Mr. Smith. Welcome to We-Have-It Wholesalers. Have a seat. Would you like a coffee?" They both said yes and he pressed buttons on a machine on the cabinet behind his desk and, a minute later, handed each of them a mug.

"I like that," exclaimed Ken. "What does one of those cost?"

"About nine hundred pounds."

"Oh. I guess we won't be buying one for our shop then."

"Well I find it very useful. Now I understand you'd like us to be one of your wholesalers and that you make toys. Do you have a description of them?"

"Yes," said Bob, "here, and he handed over an envelope and a memory stick. "The photos show what the toys look like, the text explains they're made of wood. The pictures and the descriptions are also on the memory stick."

"That's helpful. You make just three toys?"

"Yes, that's all."

"Oh! Do you make any money?"

"We made nearly eighteen thousand pounds in May and we have just begun building a group of retailers."

"That's net or gross?"

"Gross. It's bound to be more for June because we went from, what, twenty shops, to over a hundred during that month. We've over three hundred and fifty outlets now."

"I see. These are the suggested retail prices for each toy?"

"Yes. As far as we know, everyone of our retailers sells them at that price."

"How much do you get from each retailer?"

"I don't see why you have to know that," said Ken.

"Well, just curious. You know we would take thirty percent of the retail?"

"Yes, we'd expected that. Do you give better rates at all?"

"Ah, we'd have to talk about that later, when we know more about how well your toys sell but, generally, it would be when we sell tens of thousands each month. When that happens talk to me and I'll put you in touch with the people who handle our finances. All right. We'll give it a try. This is how it works. We'd buy the toys from you. To begin with we would only buy what we thought we'll be able to sell, probably a hundred the first time. Once they started selling we would phone for more when we run short. Payment is net 60—you'd be paid sixty days after we received your shipment. And you have to deliver to us, here, in this warehouse. Is all this agreeable?"

"60 is too long. We want net 30," said Ken.

"I can't do that. Our retailers have net 30. I'll give you 50 then."

"Can you make it 40 Mr. Posser?" Asked Ken. "We have our bills to pay too."

"Oh all right. My boss isn't going to like it but I've got away with it in the past."

"Thanks."

"Then I'll type up the agreement and we'll sign it. That's all it takes."

"When do you want the first shipment from us?"

"Not for a while. The catalogue isn't printed yet. That'll be done next week and delivered to our shops the following week. I'll phone you when I know it's in their hands. That'll be in about two weeks."

He finished the typing and printed five copies. "Please sign here and here on each copy and I'll do the same." They signed and were given three copies. "There's an extra for your lawyer if you need it."

"Thanks."

"Now this is about us," and he handed Bob and Ken a sheet of paper. "Our address, phone and fax numbers are listed. You'll need them when you tell your retailers to order from us. On this page," and he handed Ken a sheet of paper. "I've given each of your toys a number. It's the numbers that are important to us; that's how our men locate the items ordered. So tell all your people to include that number when they place an order. Okay?"

"Yes."

"Well good luck to both of you. I hope we'll make a fortune!"

"I think we will," said Ken and smiled at him. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye Mr. Smith, Mr. Barns."

They walked to Bob's car, waved to the guard as they passed through the gate and drove to the main road and parked.

"I was a bit surprised when he said he'd only want a hundred. A hundred of each I hope," said Bob. "Why did he do that after we told him how many we're already selling?"

"It's understandable. He's buying them from us and he only has our word that we think they'll sell everywhere. As far as he's concerned he might have wasted nearly four thousand pounds of the firm's money when he buys the toys."

"I suppose so. Well we'll soon prove him wrong. Why did Mary come with you today?"

"We're going to London for the night. We're both ready for a change. Mary now says she doesn't see enough of me!"

"Are you going to a show?"

"We haven't booked anything except the hotel so I don't know. Ah, there she is," and Ken opened his door, got out and waved to her. He walked over to the car as she pulled to the curb. He turned and looked at Bob. "Have a safe trip. I'll see you on Monday. 'Bye."

"'Bye Ken. Enjoy yourselves." As soon as the road was clear he reversed the car and headed for the highway.

He stopped for an early lunch and bought a big bunch of flowers for Sally. He wondered how she was and hoped she wasn't in any pain. He didn't know much about emphysema, only that it couldn't be cured. He arrived at the residence at four o'clock, told the receptionist who he was and carried the flowers to Sally's room. She was in an easy chair watching television.

"Hello Bob. What nice flowers. Are they for me?"

"Of course Sally. I'll put them next to the others. Do you have a vase?"

"No. I'll have to phone for one. Put them in the sink with some water for now. Tell me what you've been doing since I saw you last."

"I've mostly been driving to shops across the south of England and into Wales. We now have about three hundred and sixty retailers. This morning we signed a contract with a wholesaler who'll deliver the toys to shops all over Great Britain."

"Then you'll have to make lots more toys. Do you have a lot of employees?"

"We have six now and another six are joining us on Monday."

"My, my! You know, I'm surprised you sell so many."

"So am I. But we think it's a fad, we think that people want to buy wooden things today because of the Green Movement. Tomorrow they'll want to buy something else different, electronic toys, maybe."

"So you're making hay while the sun shines?"

"Yes. Now how are you doing Sally?"

"Well it's quite a bit harder to breathe now. I don't have much energy and feel tired most of the time."

"Do you get out often?"

"I could but I don't really want to. I don't need to shop for anything and there's nothing I want, except flowers, of course. Thanks. If I need something, toothpaste for instance, the staff will buy it for me. Oh Bob, I couldn't reserve the visitor's room, someone had already booked it. So I've made a reservation for you at the Bentley Hotel. It's in Boston, on Market Square. I think you'll like it. Years ago Bert and I stayed there once or twice."

"Thanks Sally. Can I still have supper with you?"

"Yes of course. Look, I must have a little nap now. I'll phone for a vase first. Why don't you check-in at the hotel and come back at seven, that's when dinner's served."

"All right. I'll do that."

"Give me a kiss before you go Bob."

The hotel was comfortable but dark. The wood-panelled entrance lounge and restaurant needed many more lights but his room was bright with the sunlight falling on the white bed cover. He washed and replaced his sweater with his blazer and went to the bar for a beer, guessing that they wouldn't serve beer where Sally was.

At seven he knocked on her door. She was ready, sitting in her wheelchair. He pushed her to the elevator then down a wide corridor to the dining room.

"That's where I usually sit Bob. Take me to the side where there's no chair. Yes. Thanks."

"Do you sit by yourself Sally."

"No, not normally. I've two or three friends and they usually join me but they know you're coming tonight so they sat elsewhere. Two of them are at the table near the fireplace." Sally pointed to them and waved her hand as they sat watching her and Bob settle in.

"Tell me about Maria now Bob. How is she? When did you last meet her?"

So Bob began describing what he and Maria had been doing, all except sharing a bed in London. He' d let her guess that, if she wanted to.

The meal was as nice as one he might have bought in a good restaurant. Of the three entrées Bob had the grilled trout. Sally asked for a small helping of the sea-food pasta. Bob found he could order wine so he bought a Sauvignon Blanc, learning that he could have had a beer if he wanted. They skipped the dessert but had a coffee and when they were ready to leave he found that he couldn't pay for the wine. He was told that it would be added to Sally's monthly charges.

"I'm sorry that you have to pay for the wine Sally. I didn't know that's the way it worked."

"Nothing to be sorry about Bob. I enjoyed our meal together. And our conversation."

"What time do you have breakfast?"

"Ah, they don't serve that to visitors, just to residents and those staying in the visitor's room. Can you come for lunch? It's at one o'clock. Would that be a problem? You'd be late getting home if you came."

"No of course that's no problem. I can come before one, if you like."

"No, that'll be the best time. I usually have breakfast in my room then have a rest after getting dressed. Come at one. I'd like that."

"All right Sally."

"Take me over to my friends now Bob. I'd like to introduce you." He pushed her across the room where he said hello and she explained that not only was he her nephew but he was about to sell wooden toys all over England! There was a little more talk then he took her to her room and kissed her good night.

"I'll be here at one," he said, as he closed the door.

Bob had a late breakfast then walked around the centre of Boston, looking in a few of the windows before finding a small park. He checked out at eleven, put his bag in the car and drove once more to look at Sally's old house. Two children were playing in the garden, a boy and a girl. The boy had a cricket bat and the girl was throwing a ball towards him. It reminded him of the times he and Uncle Brian had done that. He sat, watching them for a little while then drove around the countryside until it was time to join Sally for lunch.

They ate at a small table under a canopy in the back garden. He told her about the children in the garden and that that reminded him of playing cricket with Uncle Brian.

"We, your mother and I, also played with you sometimes Bob. So did your Dad. Don't you remember us doing that?"

"No I don't."

"Well we did. Of course Brian and you played more often, nearly every evening if the weather was fine."

"I liked those holidays Sally."

"We liked them too Bob."

They day-dreamed for a moment then Sally said "You must bring Maria next time you come. I want to see her."

"She'll be in England in August, guiding the tour I'll be taking. I'll write and ask her if she can take a few days off and we'll see you then."

"When would that be?"

"Sometime after August 18th. That's when the tour ends. She couldn't come before."

"All right, I'll expect both of you then."

"If she can get the time Sally. If not I'll come without her."

"Yes. But it's her I want to see. I want to know if she is good enough for you."

"Oh Sally. Of course she is."

"I just want to make sure. Now I must have a rest and I think you should be going, it's nearly two. Give me a kiss and say goodbye here. The staff will take me back to my room." Bob got up, hugged Sally and kissed her cheek then left her sitting alone in the garden.

He wrote to Maria that evening and asked if she could take a few days holiday at the end of the August tour 'enough to visit my Aunt Sally. She wants to meet you.' He imagined that Sally wanted to see if Maria was a suitable lady in case he wanted to marry her. but he didn't think he'd do that. He loved Maria but as a girl friend, not a wife.

Bob had just walked into the office on Monday morning when Ken and Lori arrived. Ken had a small microwave that he put on top of the filing cabinet in the office. Lori was carrying an answering machine and a small box. She plugged the machine in and turned it on.

"Listen Ken. This is the message I put on. Let me know if you want to change it." She pressed a button and it said, 'This is Small End Wooden Toys. We are unable to reply at the moment, please leave a message. Thank you.' Is that okay?"

"Sure, that's fine."

"Good. Take a look at this," and gave Ken the box. "My aunt said she often uses a glue gun and she thought that it might work for you because the glue dries almost immediately. So I bought one. It uses heat to melt a stick of glue."

"If it's strong enough it might be perfect for us. Thanks Lori, I'll try it. Pay yourself from the petty cash box."

"Okay. I printed two notices for the Centre, one for the front door and the other for the delivery door. I'll go and put them up and stay until the groceries arrive then I'll come back here."

"All right."

"Oh yes, I bought a package of sticky labels and a marker pen. I think everybody should write their names on the labels and stick them on their shirts. At least for the first week. It'll make it easier to get to know everybody that way."

"That's a good idea Lori," said Bob. "I was thinking I might forget everyone's name. Show me how to use the answering machine before you go."

"You just press this button to listen to the messages," and she showed Bob which one it was. "Don't delete them, I'd like to do that. Here, can you put this on your overall," and gave him a label marked 'Bob.' She gave Ken his, took the one she'd made for herself and left the office.

"Lori's very efficient isn't she Ken."

"She certainly is. I'm very happy she's working for us. Craig too, an excellent employee."

"Did you have a good weekend?"

"Yes. We didn't go to a show, just to a nice restaurant. We walked in St. James's Sunday morning. How about you?"

"Sally's finding it much harder to breathe. We didn't go out but had dinner and lunch at her residence. She want's me to bring Maria to see her next time I visit."

"It sounds as if she's got plans for you two."

"Maybe."

There was a knock on the door. A man entered and asked if this was the right place to deliver milk and the groceries.

"Yes, here and at the old Community Centre," Bob said.

"Okay. Then this must be the stuff for you. I'll go to the Centre next. I'll leave the milk and groceries at the front doors if no one answers. Is that okay?"

"Er, yes. Thanks."

Craig joined them then Luke and Jose arrived. They put on Lori's name tags and sat in the waiting room waiting for the newcomers to arrive. Then Bert and Gerry entered together with four men and two women. "They were standing outside not quite knowing where to go when we rode in," said Gerry.

Ken and Bob stood up and welcomed them.

"It's too crowded for all of us to fit in here," said Ken. "We'll go into the workshop. Bring the chairs with you."

Inside the shop Bob introduced Ken and himself and asked their staff to introduce themselves. Afterwards he asked the new people to tell them their names and what they had worked at before they came here. It took nearly an hour to do all this; some said little more than their names, some gave a little history of their lives and one of the new women said she knew all about their toys, "because my kids asked me for both the village and the farm sets for their birthdays."

"I'm glad to hear that," said Ken. "This is where we make them currently but all of you will be working in our new shop. It's the old Community Centre. Some of you might know it, it's where the Small End theatre shows used to be given. This is Craig, your supervisor; he's in charge if Bob or I am not here. Wave your hand, Craig, and you too Lori. Lori's our office manager, secretary and treasurer and she also works in the shop. Okay we'll walk over the Centre now but before we do let me see if I know all of your names," and he called them out, pointing to each person as he did. "Jean, Ed, Frank, Ray, Diane and Alan. There, I bet you thought I couldn't do that! But, to make it easier for everyone, please write your name on one of these labels and put it on your overall when you are given them. , Gerry and Bert, there are two already made for you. I'd like everyone to wear them for the first week. That should be enough time to learn each other's name."

Once they had made their name tags Ken told everyone to follow him and they walked to the Centre. Once there he showed them where the cloakroom and toilets were then took them to the meeting room.

"We might as well have our morning break now. There's coffee or tea. Lori's already made a big pot of tea I see. You'll have to make your own coffee if you want it. There are biscuits on the table and more in the cupboard. Milk's in the refrigerator. We'll supply these but you'll have to bring your own lunch. Help yourself."

Twenty minutes later Ken stood up and told them that it was time to go to the Centre. "Wash your mug and leave it in the rack to dry. Tea breaks are normally just fifteen minutes and the lunch break is half-an-hour."

When they arrived Lori handed each of the newcomers an overall and a pair of glasses, saying "You have to wear these safety glasses whenever you're in the workshop."

The crew sat or stood by each station while Ken took the new people along the line mentioning what was done at each place.

"Now we'll start making them," he said. Craig picked up one of the long wood blocks that they used to make houses and gave it to Jose who pushed it through the router jig. Ken explained what he was doing and they followed him along the line, stopping for a while at each station, watching as the block was cut into pieces, sanded and then painted.

"Now I'd like you to split up and go to any of the stations and watch what's being done until you think you can do it then swap places and try. Take your time, there's no hurry."

Learning how to use the router jig took the longest time; cutting and sanding took the least. Ken told them they did not have to learn how to glue the pieces, just watch what is being done. "There'll probably be a different way to glue soon."

They stopped for lunch at one, everybody eating in the Centre's tea room and talking to each other. If they hadn't brought any food they ate the fruit Ken brought in that morning. Two of the newcomers were old school friends and talked about what they had been doing since the last time they met. The other's talked about where they lived, how they got to work or about the morning's work.

They continued learning through the afternoon then, at four-thirty, Ken told them to stop. "Come to this shop tomorrow. You should be ready, with your overalls and glasses on and in the workshop by nine. Craig, Luke and I will be here and we'll help you learn. Please fill each of the stations except the gluing, wrapping and boxing ones. We'll put the pieces in plastic boxes at the end of the line for now. Are there any questions?"

"Where do we put our overalls and glasses when we leave?"

"In the cloakroom. Leave your nametag on so you'll know which overall is yours."

"Will we be doing the same work each day?"

"No, you'll be changing jobs from time to time. We'll talk about that when we finish tomorrow."

"Do we always stop at four-thirty?"

"No. We work from nine to five. As I said, we have two fifteen-minute tea breaks and a half-hour lunch break."

"Do you have room for more employees?' asked Jean. "My brothers are looking for work."

"Not at the moment. Maybe in a few weeks," and he looked at Bob.

"What will we be doing?" asked Jose.

"The old gang will be working in the old shop except for Craig or Luke. We'll make the train sets there. That way we won't have to keep changing the router jigs here."

"Aren't we ever going to work in the new shop?" asked Jose.

"Of course you are. Everybody will be included in the job-switching."

"Good."

"How about us?" asked Bert. "Will we still be doing deliveries?"

"Yes, both you and Gerry," said Lori.

"Our wholesaler won't be starting for two weeks so you'll be delivering most of the time until then," added Bob.

"I think everything went very well today," said Ken. "Thank you everybody. We'll see you tomorrow. Oh Lori, could I see you before you go."

Lori walked over to Ken as the others left the shop and he said, "Bob and I signed an agreement with We-Have-It Wholesalers on Saturday and they'll be handling our deliveries in two weeks time. Here's their address," and he gave her the page where Posser had written the toy numbers.

"Do they deliver to our current retailers?"

"No. We'll have to do that until We-Have-It's catalogue comes out. That'll be in about a week's time. After that they'll look after them."

"I see."

"Can you send a letter to all our retailers telling them We-Have-It Wholesalers will be delivering for us starting July 16th. Tell them that each toy has a number and that they should name the toy, state it's number and say how many they want to buy when they order from We-Have-It. They'll all be doing that with their wholesalers so they'll know the procedure."

"Will their catalogue go to all our shops?" asked Lori.

"We don't know yet. Ah yes, add another paragraph to the letter asking them to tell us, or write to We-Have-It Wholesalers directly, to say that they want to receive the catalogue in future, that is if they don't already get it. If they write to us about it send their names to Dave Posser at We-Have-It. He'll add their names to their list."

"Okay."

"And can you order another five thousand plastic boxes. We'll need them to hold the pieces coming off the end of the line until they're glued, assembled or boxed. Tomorrow will be soon enough to do all this."

"Okay Ken."

"Ask them if they supply moveable racks to hold the plastic boxes. We'll have to move them in and out of the store rooms. If they do then order ten, that should be enough."

"All right."

"Well thanks Lori. See you tomorrow."

"'Bye Ken. 'Bye Bob."

"'Bye Lori." Ken turned to Bob then said, "I'm going to try the heat gun now. Want to help?"

"Of course, let's find out if it's any good."

Ken picked up the package Lori had given him, opened it and looked at the gun and the box of light brown glue sticks. He took one of the sticks and pushed it into the opening at the rear end of the gun.

"This must be where that goes. Okay, so now what do I do?"

Ken skimmed the instructions, pushed the plug into an electrical socket then looked at the instructions again. "Ah, it has to warm up first."

"The trigger extrudes the hot glue I suppose," said Bob.

"Yes. Let's try it on some of these rejects."

Ken pressed the trigger and watched a thin stream of glue flow out of the end of the nozzle. "So that's what it does. Let's see how well it glues."

"Wipe off the glue that's already out before you start Ken."

Ken did that then applied a little glue to the end of a conservatory and pressed it onto the back of one of the big houses. After a second he let go and it stuck to the house.

"Oh that's very good, it dries almost instantaneously."

"Try and separate them."

Ken pulled at the pieces "I can't. Wow, that's very quick."

"Holding the gun and two pieces of wood at the same time looks pretty awkward Ken."

"Yes it is. I don't think everybody will be able to do that. Some of the new people are a bit clumsy."

"They'll probably get a lot better with practice."

"Yes, but I don't think anyone will like manipulating three things at once. I don't. You know, I could fasten the gun to the bench, fix a rod to the trigger and run it to a foot pedal. Then they can squirt glue with their foot and have two hands free. Yes that should work. I'm coming come back after supper and see if I can make something that'll work."

"Can I help Ken?"

"Yes please."

"What time will you be here?"

"How about seven?"

"Okay."

Ken was already in the shop when Bob arrived. He had used two metal strips and a block of wood to fasten the glue gun to the bench and was lying on the floor with a home-made wooden pedal.

"Hello Bob. Hold the flashlight would you. I've want to screw this pedal to the floor."

"How long have you been here Ken?"

"Oh I finished supper early and was back by six thirty." He emerged and grabbed a length of flexible wire. "I'm using this Bob, rather than a rod. It's easier to run than a rod and to adjust." He drilled a hole in the front of the glue guns' plastic trigger, pushed the end of the wire through and knotted it. Then he drilled a hole through the bench, pushed the other end of the wire through the hole and crawled back under the bench.

"Tell me what happens when I pull on this end Bob."

"The trigger moved."

"Yes, but how far did it move?"

"About half way."

"That's not far enough. How about now, how far did it move?"

"All the way."

"Good, I'll fasten it. Pass me the drill, please."

"Here you are."

A minute later the foot pedal, wire and gun set-up was complete.

"Now let's see how it works." He put the old stick of glue back in the gun, plugged it in and waited until he saw the little piece of glue that was stuck on the side melt. He then held two pieces of scrap wood close to the nozzle and pushed on the foot pedal. Glue emerged and he placed it on one of the pieces then pressed them together.

"Yes. That's easy to do. And they've stuck already. You try it Bob." Bob sat down, found the pedal with his foot and pushed.

"It's easy Ken, but I don't like the bit of glue that's been pushed out where they join Ken."

"With practice I don't think there'll be any. They'll soon put just the right amount on. However I'll see if there's any clear glue. It'd be better to use that. And I'll ask Lori to order two more guns, one for the other side of the bench and one as a spare."

"And lots of glue sticks too," said Bob.

"Yes. Well that's a good evening's work. Fancy a beer?"

"You bet."

Ken left his car at the centre and they walked to the Crown. He asked Bob if he could be in the old shop tomorrow. "I'll be busy with Craig and Luke training the new-comers."

"We'll only make trains there?"

"Yes."

"And Lori will be with me?"

"Yes. Ask her to make up a rotation schedule between shops, but not for this week because we'll have to stay where we are for training. Have it start next week. She could move three of the new comers to the old shop and the other three could go there the following week."

"What about swapping positions along the line?"

"The old group can do that anytime but the new group can start doing that after I'm sure they can all do each operation properly."

"Okay."

They chatted with Len and another couple for half an hour then left, Ken going back to the centre to collect his car as Bob walked up the hill to his home.

**Chapter 30 The BBC**

Bob and Lori arrived at the old shop at the same time Tuesday morning and sat in the office to discuss the rest of the week. The first thing Bob told her was that he wouldn't be delivering that week. "You see, I want to work in the shop. I think there may be a big demand from We-Have-It so I'll help you and Jose."

"No problem. Gerry and Bert can do the deliveries. We're getting cheques for the June sales now. We already have about three thousand pounds. The cheques are in the safe if you want to deposit them. The June sales should be pretty big I think, judging from the calls I've received towards the end of last month."

"Let's hope so. I've a mortgage to pay off and savings to repay."

"I'll add up how much we spent in June and let you know. I have all the bills I think. It shouldn't take long to do that. First though, I want to order more plastic boxes, moving racks, if they have them and the glue guns and sticks."

"Can you see if they have any clear glue Lori? It's better if we use that if it's available. Ask them to send us their brochure; they might have guns that are strong enough for constant use or that are made so they can be easily fastened to benches. Ken did that last night and it works well. Please thank your aunt for telling us about them."

Bert and Gerry walked in and Lori gave them the lists of shops to visit.

"I've made three lists but Bob won't be able to take one so you'll have to do all of them. Do you want me to split them into two or four lists? And one of you has to go to Salisbury today to collect 10,000 pasteboards. You should take the big van on that trip."

"I'll go there and do the shops in that direction" said Bert. "That van's easier on my back. And you'd better make four lists Lori. All these places will take two days for each of us to handle. Where do you want to go Gerry, east or west?"

"Eastwards. I'd like to go there for a holiday. Do we get one this year Lori?"

"I don't know. Do we Bob?"

"Yes I think so but I don't know how long they'll be. I'll talk to Ken and we'll let you all know once we've decided. You'll join us when you've finished in here Lori?"

"Yes. I won't be long."

"We're about half-way through making a hundred trains Bob," said Jose.

"Okay let's go." They cut and sanded until Lori walked in and asked Bob to join her in the office.

"The June expenses come to £8,664.71 Bob. Here's a list of them," and she handed him two printed pages. "The biggest expense was for the new equipment. That's just under £5,500. Your overnight stays were about £1,600. When you see Ken could you ask him if he has any more expenses. And you can see the petty cash expenses at the bottom of the list. That's where I took the money for the glue gun. Oh yes, there were more cheques in today's mail. Now the June income is £6,993.75. So far we've only had cheques from about a quarter of them, the smallest ones, too, I think."

"That's excellent news Lori. Thanks."

"The glue gun people will send us their brochure and they do sell clear and transparent glues as well as lots of different colours and strengths. So I ordered a hundred clear sticks. They'll mail them and they'll arrive this week. That's all, so I'll join you in the shop now."

"Good. We're finishing the trains. Would you do the gluing?"

"Sure. Pity I don't have a glue gun to use."

It was a quiet tea break, with Bert and Gerry delivering and everyone else in the new shop, but it was an interesting one, for Jose asked Lori if she was still going out with Craig.

"Yes," she replied, "and he asked me to marry him last night! I've been dying to tell everybody but I can't wait until we're all together. Don't say anything to the others until I've told them."

"Congratulations," said Bob and gave her a hug.

"That was very quick Lori" said Jose. "Isn't he younger than you?"

"Yes he's two years younger. Age doesn't matter. He's kind, knowledgeable and knows what he wants to do in his life."

"What does he want to do?" asked Bob.

"He wants to be his own boss, to own a business of some kind. And he's so happy you've made him a supervisor. He thinks that will help him to learn how to handle people."

"Well he's doing a pretty good job of that right now, as far as I know. Ken has never complained or said anything bad about him. But Ken's never said anything bad about anyone in the shop."

"Yes, that's right. I think that's one of the reasons we like working here," said Jose.

"Are you going to stay Jose?" asked Lori.

"Well, for now. I want to earn some money."

"What about your girlfriend?"

"You mean Rosemary?"

"Yes."

"She's no longer my girlfriend. Since she told me about her new friend and stopped writing I've been trying to forget about her."

"Maybe I can find you another. Would you like me to do that?"

"Don't think so Lori. I'd rather find one for myself."

"Well if I think of anyone that might be compatible I'll invite her to our celebration party."

"Will Ken and I be invited to that?" Bob asked.

"Of course."

"When's it going to be?"

"Oh we've not set a date. We told our parents immediately and they already have plans about where we should live, especially my mother. I told her we won't marry for a year or more. Craig and I have to find out if we like living together before marrying."

"You're going to live together?" asked Bob, a bit shocked.

"Of course. We have been looking at flats this past fortnight."

"What does you mother say about that?"

"Oh she thinks it is a sensible way to find out if you're right for each other. If one is always messy and the other wants everything to be in its place, for instance, that could be a problem."

"Wow. It's a bit different from when Betty and I were young," said Bob. "You know, why don't we have our lunch with the others today and you can tell everybody about your engagement then."

"I'd have to talk to Craig about doing that. He said I can tell everybody about it but I don't know if he'd like it to be a big announcement. Wait 'til I've talked to him. If I say we will announce it, will you ask everyone to keep quiet so we can?"

"Of course," answered Bob.

The kettle was boiling and someone had a small casserole of left-over stir-fry warming in the oven when they arrived at the meeting room at the old Centre. Lori grabbed Craig's hand and pulled him into the corridor. Three minutes later they were back and Lori looked at Bob and nodded her head. He stood up, cleared his throat and banged his mug on the table until everyone was quiet. "There's some important news for you. Although I don't know exactly who is going to tell you about it. I'll hand over to Lori."

Lori looked at Craig and said "We got engaged last night."

There was a lot of cheering, the men got up and walked to Craig and shook his hand. Jean and Diane went to Lori and wanted to see her ring. She showed them her hand and said, "We haven't bought it yet so there's nothing to show. And I don't think Craig should buy me an engagement ring right now, we will need the money for more important things."

"We must have a celebration," cried Ken, "and I think we should have it at our place. That way Mary can meet all our new people."

"That would be very nice Ken. Thank you very much," said Craig.

The lunch break was ten minutes longer than usual that day with people moving about, asking and answering questions. When Ken was free Bob gave him the June expense sheets and asked him if he could stay after work because they need to talk about staff holidays.

"All right. Shall we meet here?"

"Okay."

Ken got up and said it was time to return to work. "I said we'll talk about rotations today. This is what Bob and I have decided. We won't rotate between shops this week but we will rotate within shops. We'll start rotating between shops next week and Lori will post a notice in both tea rooms to say who goes where and when. Okay?"

There was no disagreement and a few nodded their heads. Everyone got up and began washing their dishes and tidying the room.

At five o'clock Jose and Lori walked with Bob to the new shop, Jose to join Luke and ride home with Ray in the car pool that Frank had set up and Lori to walk to Craig's house because she was having supper with his parents. After everyone had left Bob and Ken sat down in the tea room for a chat.

"We should move the office to this shop I think," said Ken. "We could use the room next to this one. We could use the old office for storage, there's not enough of it over there."

"I agree. We'll have to bring a load of trains here soon. No point in taking them to my place. Then can we swap telephone numbers? We'd want people to call here once the office is here."

"Probably. Ask Lori to find out . Say, did you guess that Lori and Craig were getting serious? I'd seen them holding hands several times although they were circumspect about it. I knew they were going out with each other, of course."

"Yes I knew that. It's a bit quick to become engaged I think. Lori says they are going to live together and her mother doesn't mind them doing that. It's a lot different from when we were young isn't it?"

"Yes. If a couple slept together they would have to keep quiet about it then. Times are different these days. Now, you said we should talk about staff holidays. What's on your mind?"

"Lori and Jose asked me about holidays and I said I'd discuss them with you. By law we have to give them one, a paid holiday."

"Yes you're right, although I don't like doing that for the new people. They haven't been here for a week yet!"

"Well I don't think that they have to have a week's paid holiday, maybe we could pay them for just a day or two."

"What about closing the shop while I'm away?"

"But that's for two weeks. We don't have to give them that long a holiday. One week's sufficient."

"Then let's close the shop for one week and you run it for the other Bob. Give the old gang pay for one week and pay the new one for just a couple of days. How about that?"

"Yes. That sounds about right. We'll tell them Friday in case any of them want to make holiday plans. I suggest we close the first week of your holidays." He looked at the calendar someone had hung on the wall. "That's September 2nd to the 6th, right?"

"Yes, and we'll tell them about what we'll pay them during their holiday."

"No, let's wait. We don't have to say anything about that yet. We might change our minds about how much to pay and to whom. We'll just tell them that the shops will be closed that week for holidays."

"Okay."

"Did you look at the June expenses?" asked Bob.

"Yes. They're not as bad as I thought. We have lots of money in the bank to cover that and the salaries."

"If you have any more bills for June can you give them to Lori?"

"I don't think I have any but I'll check my desk at home."

"Lori told me the cheques for June sales are arriving and, as of today, we have just under seven thousand pounds. And the cheques are just from about a quarter of the shops. I think we'll earn lots of money even without having a wholesaler."

"It looks like it Bob. It's surprising what you can earn when a lot of people want to buy what you've got. What did I say. We're going to be rich!"

"Yes, I now think you're right. It worries me a bit. Lots of money is going to change my life a lot and I don't know if I want it to change."

"Then you can give it to me Bob. Or your children or grandchildren."

"Ah I can see even more problems if I give it to them. I'll ask Betty what to do."

"Your wife? But she's dead!"

"Yes I know. I sometimes talk to her in my mind when I walk along the river. Doing that sometimes helps me resolve problems."

"Well wait until you know how much you'll have before doing that. Selling toys might suddenly collapse; people might stop wanting them."

"I hope they don't until I've paid off my mortgage and returned the money to my savings."

"We'll be alright Bob. Don't worry! Well, is there anything else to discuss?"

"I don't think so."

"Then I'm going home to talk to Mary about having a celebration at our place. It'll be a bigger group than we had at the BBQ but I think she'll manage. 'Bye Bob."

Bert was unloading the pasteboards when Bob arrived Wednesday morning. They put a third of them on Ken's desk and then drove the rest to the new shop and stacked them in the hall near the exit end of the bench. Afterwards they loaded the van with boxed toys ready for the day's delivery. They passed Gerry who was taking his van to the garage for petrol as they were driving back.

They were about to stop for their tea break when the phone rang; it was the BBC and they wanted to talk to Bob.

"Hello. This is Bob Barns."

"Hello Mr. Barns. This is Jimmy Cager. I'm an assistant director for this documentary and am working with the film crew. I understand you were the one who began Small End Wooden Toys."

"Yes that's right."

"Well as you'll probably know the Small End episode of the documentary explores how a small village expands to become a town. Apart from building new houses you have to develop new businesses or industries and that's exactly what you've done. Clearly villages will want people like you to help them survive so we want to explain how you've grown your company. To do that we want to start at the beginning. Can you show us where you began and describe what happened along the way? Would you do that for us?"

"Gladly, although it's not really me you should be talking to, it's Ken Smith, my partner."

"We've already talked to him and he'll show us the new shop you have. But we want to film the shop where you started and also the one you moved to. It's Joe's milking parlour, according to Jane."

"Yes that's right. When do you want to do all this?"

"Today. We'll start with you at your house and film the shop you have in your garden. Can you be there in fifteen minutes? We've arranged to meet Ken Smith at Joe's parlour shop at ten forty-five."

"All right, I'll be there."

He told Lori and Jose that he had to meet the film crew at his house shop. "Can you continue building trains? We shouldn't be long at my place and they'll come here next. Ken will be here soon and they will want to film this place."

"Will we be in the film?"

"I expect so. I should imagine they'll want to see people working on the line."

"When will they show the film? I want to tape it," said Lori.

"Ask them when they are here. It'll be a part of the series on England's Increasing Population, so it must be listed in the TV Times. I'm going to my place now to make sure the place is tidy."

It was tidy, as Bob knew. That's the way he always left his workshop. There was a thin film of dust on the windows so he cleaned them. Then he went to the house, washed the breakfast dishes and checked the toilet. He didn't think they would bother with the house but they might film his garden. He collected his hoe and was working on the row of carrots when he noticed a camera pointed at him from the parking lot. He stopped and stood up. "I thought it was the workshop you wanted to film," he shouted.

"Don't mind them," a voice behind him said. "They're just shooting some of the background. We might not use it. Hello, I'm Jimmy Cager. You must be Mr. Barns."

"Yes. I'm all ready for you."

"Good." He beckoned the camera trio to approach. "This is Dee Tomik. You've probably seen her many times on TV. She's one of our top narrators."

"Hello Mr. Barns. Can I call you Bob please. It sounds much nicer."

"Yes of course. So what's going to happen?"

"I'll ask you questions about how you began to make toys and why you expanded the business and as we do that we'll walk into your shop and you can point to various things, anything that will help our audience understand what you are talking about. We plan to shoot it only once and edit out any mistakes. So it shouldn't take more than ten minutes. Then we'll go to Joe's milking parlour. Are you alright with that?"

"Yes I think so."

"Okay we'll begin. So this is where it all started Bob?"

"Yes it is. About four years ago." And Bob told Dee about spending most of his time in the shop after Betty died and that Rose sold his trains and birds in her gift shop. Then he told her about having a holiday in Portugal in January and deciding he would like to earn enough money to have other holidays on the continent so he looked for help, expecting to hire a teenager to make toys, but Ken turned up. Whilst he was relating the story to Dee they entered the workshop where Bob pointed to his bench, tools, two partly-finished birds and pieces of a train set.

"You will see more of the train set in the next shop. We're currently making them there." Then he continued, telling Dee how he and Ken became partners, used money from their savings, rented Joe's milking parlour, turned it into a workshop and hired some helpers.

"I had little left in my savings by that time and when we found we could rent the old Community Centre I took out a mortgage on this house."

"Do you still have the mortgage?"

"Oh yes but I hope to pay it off soon. We now produce so many toys, train, village and farm sets, that we have to use a wholesaler. They will sell our toys all over Great Britain."

"You company is called Small End Wooden Toys isn't it?"

"Yes."

"We've already filmed Rose's shop and she showed me some of your toys." Dee turned to the film crew, "Okay boys, cut. We'll go to Joe's parlour now."

Ken was waiting at the shop door and Dee reviewed what they would do together. He and Bob took her and the film crew through the front door, past the waiting room and office and into the workshop.

"This is Lori and Jose. Lori is a jack-of-all-trades; she answers the telephone, is our secretary, handles the finances and makes toys in between. And she's just got engaged to Craig, who's our supervisor. You'll see him at the new shop."

"Oh Ken, you shouldn't have said anything about our engagement," Lori exclaimed. "They don't want to hear anything about that."

"Oh yes we do," said Dee. "Take a close-up of Lori's face will you, quickly, while she looks like that." The camera swirled and Lori blushed. "Great. Now, Ken and Bob, can you tell me what happens in this shop?"

So they did and the camera followed them as they pointed out what Lori and Jose were doing as they worked. Lori took them into the paint and the sanding booths, saying that both jobs were done differently in the new shop.

"This way of painting was your idea wasn't it Ken?"

"Just about all the things in both our new shops are Ken's ideas," said Bob. "Particularly these router jigs, the way we paint by dipping, all the things that improve our production."

With a last sweep around the shop the crew stopped filming. Jimmy told them that they would go to the Community Centre shop now and everybody walked there. Lori and Jose followed because they didn't want to miss any of the action.

It was Ken who took Dee and the camera men along the line, explaining that most of the people working there had only joined them that Monday.

"But they don't seem to have any difficulty doing the job. You don't mind if I talk to some of them? No? Okay. Hello. My name is Dee Tomik. We're filming this for a BBC documentary. What's your name please?"

"I'm Diane Montery. I know who you are, I see you often on television."

"What are you doing Diane?"

"I'm sanding the blocks that make the church in our village sets. See, I push the block onto the sanding mop, I think that's what it's called, then I drop it into this exit tunnel. If you want to film it you'll have to bring the camera closer. There, aim through here," and she pointed to the side of the plastic cover.

"Do you like the job Diane? I should think that it will quickly become pretty boring."

"I've worked on a production line before Dee, if you don't mind me calling you that. And all production lines become boring but this line is different in several ways. We exchange places several times a day and we can stand or sit down in most positions. And everyone's so friendly."

"So you have learned how to do every job on the line in two days Diane? And everyone else has learned to do that? That's remarkable."

"Well the work is straight forward. It's easy to learn. The hardest part is the last paint job, I think. And, anyway, we're not working very fast either."

"No. The problem is sanding right now Dee," Ken said. "We need two people working on sanders and it's only Diane at the moment. Ed's away, he phoned in sick earlier this morning."

"I see. This duct takes the dust away I see. What happens to it?"

"It's collected in a big bin at the back of the shop. Joe uses it. He's the farmer that owns the milking parlour we rented. He mixes it with waste green stuff from his market gardening operation and makes compost for the greenhouses."

"What a good idea. Okay let's move on. Show me how you paint the pieces."

Ken did so, pointing to the heating fan under the bench and explaining how the ducts carried the exiting hot air to the outside. "It doesn't use a lot of heat, and we'll probably let the exiting hot air run into the hall during the winter to help heat this place."

"What about fumes from the paint?" asked Dee.

"There aren't any. Here, smell," and he picked up one of the paint trays. "It's a thinned acrylic and that's a water-based paint so there's nothing to worry about."

They continued along the line, watching the gluing, packing and ended by showing some of the boxes of village sets.

"I like those boxes. They go with the whole concept of a wooden toy," Dee said. She turned to Ken, "I've one last question and it's for everybody. I want to ask them how they like working here. Do you mind?"

"No not at all."

So Dee raised her voice and shouted, "How do you like working here?"

There was a barrage of replies from both the old crew and the new one.

"It's a great place to work."

"I like it, it's a nice and easy atmosphere."

"Fabulous. I like changing places and learning new things."

"I like sitting on chairs and I like the comfortable tea room."

"The Last Friday Celebration is a terrific idea."

"Oh what's that?" Dee asked Ken.

"We have the afternoon of the last Friday of each month free and Bob and I buy lunch for everybody."

"But only if the production meets our target for the month," added Bob.

"Interesting. Well I think we have enough now." She shouted again, "thank you everybody" and turned to the film crew. "That's it boys, pack up." Then she asked Jimmy "What do you think? It is a go?"

"Yep. We need to show the company's name in a couple of places, I think. Did you film the name above the entrance to Joe's parlour shop when we went in?" he asked the camera man.

"Course we did!"

"Okay. Well thanks Bob, Ken," Jimmy said.

"When will you show this episode?" shouted Diane.

"Probably on Sunday. It'll be a part of the episode called The Small End Village. You'll have to watch the whole hour because I don't know when they'll piece it in."

"Are you going to film the new Community Centre's opening? It's on Saturday."

"Of course. We'll be filming many parts of the village and the new housing developments the rest of today and tomorrow. You'll see us around. Thanks everybody. Good luck with your venture," and with that they walked out the door.

"Thanks everybody," called Ken. "You're great. Let's stop for lunch now. I'm sure you want to talk about what's been happening."

During lunch Ken thought about Ed's absence; they'd need a way to track employees' presence or absence. He called Bob and Lori over and suggested that they have a list to do that.

"How would it work?" asked Lori.

"Everybody could sign in first thing or you or Craig could carry a list and sign people in."

"It'd better be me," said Lori, "because I make up the pay cheques. Anyone of you could do it if I was away."

"Do we pay them if they're sick?" asked Bob.

"I think we do once they're hired but I'm not sure how long we have to pay them. Maybe for a week or two. We'll have to find out."

"Do we pay Ed for today's absence?" asked Bob.

"I guess so. We'd better find out what the law is. Can you research it?"

"I think we should call Arthur. It'd be simpler and probably more accurate."

"Okay, I'll call. I'll tell everyone we have to maintain a list of who's here to pay them properly." Ken stood up and told everybody what they had just decided. "Ed's sick today and we have to keep track of that kind of thing. So Lori or one of us will check your names on a list. Don't worry about it, it's only to make sure everyone is paid for the days they work."

He sat down and asked Lori to make some kind of list to track everybody's attendance. "We'll call it a pay-roll register."

"No problem," she replied. "Oh, we had more cheques for June sales this morning. I wrote them down," and handed Ken a slip of paper on which was typed. "July 10th, £8,925. Total received to date, £15,918.75."

"That's excellent," Ken said and gave the paper to Bob. Then he stood up told everyone that it was time to return to work.

As Bob, Jose and Lori walked beck to their shop Lori said, "there should be a bell to announce break times. It's not sensible for Ken to stand up and tell everybody it's break time."

"I agree. We'll look for a time clock. Oh, I've just remembered, can you call the telephone company and ask if we can exchange phone numbers between the shops so that the new shop has the company's phone number. We're thinking about using the room next to the tea room as the office."

"I'll phone them first thing." She did that as soon as they entered and told Bob that they it could be done any time they wanted, "we just have to give them a few days notice."

"Okay, then we'll move the office. I'll let you know when to call them."

"Maybe it's time to buy a new computer too, Bob. My old one is a bit slow for the complexity of the spreadsheets I'm now using."

"Then find out what you'd like, how much it costs and we'll buy one."

"All right. Thanks."

**Chapter 31 The Opening**

Thursday morning Bob told Lori that they wouldn't move the office until a new bench was built in the new shop, "then everybody will work there. We'll keep this shop for research and development."

"Research on what Bob?"

"New toys of course."

"Oh good, I'm always asked about that."

"I have a few ideas about what we could make but Ken want's us to wait until everyone's fully trained. After that he can spend time developing a different production line."

"Okay. A lot more cheques arrived in the mail this morning Bob. Another £16,725. Total for June is now £32,643.75."

"Do you think that's the lot?"

"No. but it's over half. Do you want me to find out how many haven't sent a cheque yet?"

"No."

"I told Craig last night that we should have a clock that would ring a bell when it was tea or lunch time and he said he knew where one was being sold. The shirt factory in Big End, the one that closed two months ago, is selling all their equipment. A couple of weeks ago he went to see what they had to sell and there was a clock and bell system. An old one but, presumably, it works. They're asking £25 for it. Do you think we should buy it?"

"Yes we should. I'm sure that's a good price."

"And on my way home last night I went to my computer shop. The one I think we should have would cost £949.50. Can we buy it?"

"Yes."

"I'll have to order it then. They said we could have it about two days after being ordered."

"Okay. Let us know when you want one of us to collect it."

"All right."

The day was spent making more trains and loading the finished ones into one of the smaller vans. Bob drove it to the new shop after everyone had finished work. Ken was standing by one of the sanders, fastening new mops onto its head. Bob told him the June income, that Craig knew where there was a time bell system and that Lori had ordered a new computer.

"What new computer?"

"Lori says her old one isn't good enough to handle the new spreadsheets she's using now. It takes a long time to calculate the results she said."

"Oh I see. Then we should have a better one."

"I'd like to have the old one. Would you mind?"

"No of course not. What do you want to do with it?"

"Learn how to use it. I think it would be fun, that's what my grandchildren tell me. I'd have more to talk to them about if I knew how to use one."

"They probably play games all the time though. Are you going to do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe I should, it'll help me catch up with what's going on in the world today."

"I suppose I should too, someday. I like the idea of using a time clock. I'll go there now and see if they still have it. Do you know where the factory is?"

"Yes. I'll come with you."

The factory was still open when they arrived and the clock system was still on a shelf in one of the corners. They asked the man looking after the place if it worked. "You just plug it in, set the clock then the times you want the bell to ring, that's all. Here, I'll show you." He plugged it in, moved the hands, rotated some knobs on the bottom of the clock then waited. A minute later a bell rang.

"That's loud enough," shouted Ken. "Switch it off!"

As soon as it was turned off Ken asked the man if they could make the bell quieter.

"Yes, with this lever. Do you want me to show you how?"

"No, all I want to be able to adjust it later. How many settings does it have?"

"Ten."

"We'll buy it. Do you mind if we look around to see what else you have for sale."

"Go ahead, but I close in fifteen minutes."

Industrial sewing machines didn't interest them but office supplies did and they bought a box of computer paper, two notice boards, staplers and three boxes of pens, paid the man and drove back to Small End.

"That was well worth the visit. We should keep an eye open for factory or office sales, not that I can think of anything more we want right now."

"When will we have the new bench Ken?"

"I called Jack last night and he said he couldn't help us next week, he's working for one of the construction companies and so is John. He said he could do it on the weekend, not this one but the next. I said I'll call him if I can't build it myself in the evenings. Mary was mad at me when I told her about that last night!"

"I'll help. It won't take the two of us long. Have you ordered the wood?"

"I'll do it tomorrow."

"What did Mary say about having the engagement party at your place?"

"Oh, she liked that. I'll tell everybody about it tomorrow. During lunch today I made a list of the things we'll have to buy to equip another bench. Here it is," and he pulled it out of his inner pocket. "Can you give it to Lori tomorrow and ask her to order them."

"Sure." Bob took the list and looked at it.

"You haven't listed the routers, sanders, and band saw. Don't you want them?"

"I thought I'd use the ones from the old shop."

"But what about using that place for research and development?"

"We don't want jigs to do that, we want the kind of things you had in your home shop. What's in the milking parlour now is for making trains, right?"

"Yes. You think that what's there now will be good enough?"

"Sure."

"Okay. About the announcement tomorrow, you should tell them about the holiday."

"And about the bell timer system too. I'll put it up tomorrow. It's so easy to do I won't need Pat. Well, here we are, Bob. Back at your place."

"Thanks Ken. See you tomorrow. I'll bring everyone over about three thirty to hear the news. Oh, did Ed come today?"

"No he didn't. Was there a call from him?"

"Not that I heard. I'll ask Lori tomorrow. 'Bye Ken."

"'Bye Bob."

Lori was just hanging up the phone when Bob arrived Friday morning.

"That was Ed," she said. "He's quit. He's found another job, in construction. He's going to be a carpenter. Do I pay him for the days he worked?"

"It was two days. Yes. £50. I don't want him complaining about us although he didn't work, he was simply learning. But don't pay him for the rest of the week; I don't think he was sick. If he was he'll have to prove it."

"Okay. I'll send him a cheque."

"We're going to set up another bench in the Centre, Lori, and everybody will move there as soon as it's equipped. Here's a list of things Ken needs. Could you order them please and tell everybody we need them next week. If they can't deliver them that quickly ask them what's the earliest they can deliver. If it's by the following Monday or Tuesday then order them but if it's later let me know. We might have to look for another supplier."

"Can I tell them that if they say they'll be late?"

"Sure. It might speed them up."

They continued making train sets but, during their tea break, Jose said he wished that he could switch to making a different toy, "just for a change."

"You'll be able to do that soon," said Bob. "It might even be next week. Ken will talk about rotations tonight. There is a meeting at three-thirty in the new shop."

After the tea break had finished Lori told Bob that another £18,500 had arrived in the day's mail. "The June income is now £50,643.75 but I think that's about it."

"Wow! It'll easily pay for the new equipment and the salaries. And I'll probably be able to pay off some of my mortgage. It's very good news. I'll take the cheques before leaving tonight and deposit them tomorrow."

"Is the news tonight good or bad Bob?"

"Good news."

Everyone was seated when they arrived at three thirty and five chairs had been saved for them in the front row. Ken made the announcements.

"Those of you who work here know that we now have a bell system because you heard the rings when I was adjusting it." He looked at the first row and said "I've installed a warning bell. It'll ring when it's time to work and when it's time to stop. I put it in because Craig and I just don't want to keep shouting that kind of thing.

"Now about the engagement celebration party. We're giving it next Friday afternoon. So we'll stop at noon and drive to my place, have lunch and a toast to Lori and Craig. You can stay as long as you like. Bob or I will drive you back to Big End as soon as there's three or four of you wanting to leave."

"It's warm enough to swim in the river," added Craig. "I've been doing that for a month. But fishing isn't very good, at least where we fish near the bridge. It might be better round the corner, at Ken's place."

"I'll bring my swim suit," Diane said. "Anyone else for swimming."

"I will," said Craig.

"Then I better try," said Lori.

"Do you have any floats or balls Ken?"

"A football and some old tennis balls. That's all I think."

"Then I'll bring a plastic ball. We can have a game if there are enough of us in the water," said Craig.

"Will there be anything to drink," asked Diane.

"Yes, but I think I'll ration it to two bottles each. What do you think Bob?"

"Oh, make it three, Ken. Just be sensible if you're driving."

"This is a great place to work, isn't it!" said Diane.

"You'll be getting engaged next Diane, just to have a party," shouted Alan.

"No way, not even for a party," she replied.

"Okay. Okay." Ken said. "Next. About changing shops. There's a list on the notice board. If you haven't already read it look at it before you go. Three people from this shop are to go to the old shop on Monday to replace three from there who will come here. In the old shop you'll learn how to make train sets for two or three days. Craig or I will arrange the next change when the last two from here will go there for training. Any questions? You'll know where you'll be once you look at the list so don't ask me about that."

"What's happened to Ed? He can't be coming back if you said the last two will go there."

"No. Ed's quit. He's going to work in construction."

"Then is there room for my brothers?" asked Jean.

"Yes. There is now. At least for one."

"How will you decide which one?" she asked.

"I don't know. Do you have any recommendations."

"I can't choose between my brothers!"

"No of course not. Well, ask both of them to come here Monday and we'll see who does the best work."

"All right."

"Lastly. We'll be closing the shop for a holiday from September 2nd to September 6th. That's what the red line means on the calendar on the notice board."

"Do we get paid for the holidays?"

Ken looked at Bob and said, "Yes, you do, but we haven't decided if everyone should have the same pay because some have been working for longer than others. We'll let you know what we've decided nearer to the time. All right?"

"Sure. I'm so happy to be working in a place like this I'm not going to worry about how much or how little I get for holidays. At least, not this year," said Frank.

"Same for me," echoed Ray and Diane.

"Well, that's all I have to say. Have a good weekend everybody. See you on Monday."

Everyone got up and crowded around the list on the notice board. One or two copied the holiday dates into their diary and Alan did the same using an electronic PDA. Ken watched him doing this but didn't say anything.

After they had all left he told Bob that maybe Alan was another computer expert. "He might help or replace Lori if she decided to quit."

"Quit? I don't think she'd want to do that Ken."

"But if she became pregnant and had a baby she might take a few months off."

"Oh it's much too early to think about that."

"Well one has to plan for emergencies when there's a company to run. Could you do what Lori is doing Bob?"

"Perhaps, but I wouldn't want to. Keeping track of what toys each retailer has, what each one of them has sold and so on is not what I'd like to do."

"Exactly, nor me."

"More cheques arrived today Ken. We've now got over £50,000. That's about all for this month Lori say's. I have the cheques in my pocket and I'll deposit them tomorrow. You know there's enough for us to take something out now even with paying for the new equipment. I'd like to do that and pay off my mortgage. I hate paying ten and a half percent."

"All right. How much would we take?"

"How about £35,000? That would leave plenty and my share would pay off my mortgage."

"All right. Lets go over to the office and write the cheques now."

As they were leaving the building Ken collected the overalls and gave half to Bob. "Mary will do the ones I've got," he said. As they carried them to Ken's car Bob said they should buy a washing machine and do the washing at the workshop. "It's not fair, asking Mary to do it."

"I agree, but not now, there's too much else to think about than organising how the washing's going to be done."

At the office Bob signed Ken's cheque and Ken signed Bob's, mostly for the fun of it.

"I'll tell Lori what we've done when I see her on Monday," said Bob.

"All right. Do you want me to drive you home?"

"Yes please. These overalls are heavy."

On the short drive to his house he asked Ken if he would be going to the opening ceremonies.

"Yes we'll both be there. It's at two, isn't it?"

"Yes I think so. Thanks for the ride Ken. See you tomorrow."

"'Bye Bob."

There was a letter from Maria on the door mat. She told him she'd been busy and wanted to know what he'd been doing. It was signed, 'with love from.'

After a salmon steak, grilled in the oven with some Italian dressing and a beer Bob decided to go to bed. It was only eight o'clock but he felt tired. It had been a hard week.

The sunlight, shining through the window, awakened him at six thirty next morning. He wasted no time lying in bed; his garden needed hoeing. The camera shot of him hoeing was a prod, it reminded him that he'd been neglecting it. He put half the overalls in the washing machine, ate some toast and jam then hoed, gathered what ripe vegetables there were, made sure the bean runners were climbing the stakes and cut the grass. He had done all of that and washed the rest of the overalls by ten when he stopped for coffee.

As he was opening the kitchen door he glanced at the Centre and saw two men who, he thought, lived in the village, carrying chairs out of the door and placing them in rows. He guessed that the chairs were for the opening ceremonies and, feeling guilty that he hadn't been much of a volunteer, he walked over and asked if he could help.

"Sure. There's another two or three hundred chairs to bring out. Thanks."

So instead of coffee Bob carried chairs, probably a hundred of them. One of the men asked him if he could help them put them away at the end and asked his name. He told them and the man replied "Oh you're the guy that makes wooden toys."

"Yes, but there's several of us making them now."

"Craig Elton works there, doesn't he? I know his father."

"Yes, that's right."

"Did you know that Craig has just become engaged?"

"Yes I did. We're having an engagement party for him and Lori next Friday."

"I haven't met Lori but Pete say's she's a nice girl."

"Who's Pete?"

"Craig's father. My name is Ronald Teller. This is Sam Bonny."

"Hello."

They shook hands then the men bid goodbye, saying they would see him when the chairs had to be put away. Bob walked back to his house trying to remember where he had met Ron Teller before. 'It'll come, once I stop thinking about it,' he told himself. He remembered just as he was washing his coffee mug. 'He's one of Regina's teachers. Maths or science I think. I'll ask him about that when I see him later.'

Bob checked the time; it was nearly eleven. He'd have a quick bath then drive to Big End. He'd have to hurry or he wouldn't be back in time for the opening ceremony.

He deposited the cheques from the retailers first in National Westminster then walked to Lloyds and deposited the cheque Ken had written, his first withdrawal from the company. He asked the teller how long it would take to clear and was told five business days. 'Right, then I'll book an appointment with Mrs. Pringle for the following week,' he told himself.

He bought some kippers at the grocery store, they were now a frequent Sunday treat, and some hot sauce to go with the Thai stir-fries he occasionally made. He didn't cook often these days, he was mostly too tired to do more than heat a pot pie or warm a prepared dinner but things should become easier soon for he planned to just supervise the crew or simply research toys in the near future. The wholesaler could look after all of the deliveries. Gerry and Bert could do any they didn't handle and also do the work he used to do on the line and Ken could look after the shop. Making toys was what he liked doing most of all, not working on a production line and he'd done enough delivering to last a lifetime.

He had a roll for lunch, relishing the flavours and textures of the crusty bread, old cheese and vinegary sharpness of the pickled beetroot he had made three weeks ago. He decided to pickle some more; the beetroot would taste even better in the winter after the vinegar had fully soaked into the slices.

He joined the crowds milling around the Centre's parking lot at one thirty. There were four or five hundred people already there, families with children of all ages. He recognised a few but wondered where everyone else came from. Tim and Peter from the garage were there next to Jim Smith, his wife and Jack. Joe was standing at the back of the chairs and he joined him.

"Hello Joe. Look at everybody! Didn't know there were so many people in the village."

"I guess most of them are from the new houses or from Big End. Or maybe there are people interested in moving here."

"Yes I suppose so. How's the farm?"

"Busy, taking off crops and transplanting fall brassica. We missed you last weekend. How was it in Boston?"

"Sally was rather tired most of the time so we didn't go out for a meal or a drive. She's on oxygen all the time. I ate dinner and lunch on Sunday with her in the residence. The food was very nice. She enjoys being there and has three or four friends now."

"There's no cure for emphysema is there?"

"I don't think so."

"I'm glad I didn't smoke. That's what usually causes it."

"It did in her case, she thinks. Where's Jane?"

"Checking the activities and reminding key people of the schedule they're following. We'll probably not see her until it's all over."

"Oh there's Ken and Mary," Bob said. "I'd like to join them. Come with me."

"Hello Ken, Mary. You know Joe don't you?"

"Of course. Hello Joe."

"Hello Mary, Ken. We'll have to stand I'm afraid. It's too late to find any seats. It won't be too bad, Jane said the speeches wouldn't last long."

There was no time for more talking because the Big End High School band began playing. After two short pieces the conductor put his baton down and everyone clapped and two or three cheered. Bob watched the camera crew at the side as it swung from the band to the front seats when the chairman of the village committee and the local member of parliament stood and walked towards the ribbon stretched across the Centre's front door. The chairman introduced the MP who told a joke or two, said that the new Community Centre was wonderful and cut the ribbon. More cheers, two songs from the elementary school choir, an invitation for everyone to enjoy the cake and drinks that were on the tables behind the band and an invitation to the dance that would be held in the hall that evening. It ended with the chairman saying "Come inside and see our new Small End Community Centre."

Joe told them he wouldn't stay any longer. "I was in earlier this week and I've things to do at the farm." Bob, Ken and Mary talked for a while until most of the crowd had left the centre to line up for refreshments then they walked to the Centre's door.

They read the two pages pinned to the notice board. One invited everyone to the Opening Dance and the other sought volunteers to give courses, coach sports, help in the office or cafeteria, or to join the committees and groups that were being formed.

"I think I'll volunteer, once the work settles down," Bob told Mary.

"I might too," she replied. "What would you do?"

"I wouldn't mind teaching bird carving. How about you?"

"Cooking, if they don't already have anyone doing that. Or help in the office for one or two afternoons a week. What about you Ken. Do you want to do anything?"

"No, I don't think so. Maybe next year when the factory is looking after itself."

"Factory?" asked Bob. "I hadn't thought to call it that."

"Well it is a factory or will be, once we have everything working properly."

"I suppose so. Do you like the idea of being a factory manager again?"

"No, I prefer starting them now, not managing them. I've done enough of that, it's time for a change."

"Well I don't want you to start another one Ken," said Mary. "It takes you away from home too much."

They walked along the halls and looked into the office, kitchen, cafeteria and about twenty empty rooms. "No wonder there's a request for volunteers; there's so much space. They could have a dozen courses running at the same time," said Mary.

"And a play being rehearsed in the hall as well."

"Yes, that too. I wonder if I could act?" she asked.

"If you took up acting you'd be the one that would be away from home most of the time," said Ken.

The crowds were thinning as they walked out of the Centre and a woman carrying a clip board approached them.

"I'm told you men run the Small End Wooden Toys company. I'm Tammy Vermoor. I'm covering this event for The Week's News. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"No, fire away," said Ken.

"I'm going to get a drink before it's all gone," said Mary."

Bob looked at Ken. "How about you answering the questions because I'd like one too."

"No problem."

Fifteen minutes later Ronald and Sam started carrying the chairs back into the Centre and several other men and boys joined them. Bob told Mary that he had promised to help so Mary returned to Ken who was just saying goodbye to the reporter. There were so many helpers that Bob only had two loads to carry. Once all the chairs had been moved he looked in all the classrooms for Ronald but couldn't find him. There were just a small group carrying the remains of the cake and drink into the kitchen and three people folding the tables and carrying them indoors as he left. It was not quite four o'clock, the sky was darkening and it looked like it would rain. Bob went home, sat in his arm chair and put his feet up. Time for a rest.

When he awoke at six thirty it was raining heavily. He washed, put on his mackintosh and took his umbrella from the hall stand, hurrying because he was late.

The Crown was busy. Joe, Jane, Jack and Rose were sitting on stools at the bar. They had reserved one for him and were about to let it go when he entered.

"Here Bob," shouted Joe. "What happened to you?"

"I fell asleep."

"All that hard work putting the chairs away I suppose!"

"I didn't do much of that. More likely tired because of the week's activities. I'm on my feet much more now. Has everybody ordered?"

"No we were waiting for you."

They chose their food, Bob bought his bitter and the conversation returned to discussing the ceremony.

"I was surprised that the MP's speech was so short," said Rose.

"I told him he had only one minute," replied Jane.

"I bet he didn't like that," said Joe. "How did you get him to cut down his speech?"

"I said if he went longer the band was to start playing the national anthem. And it worked!"

"Had they been told to do that?"

"Of course not. But he's not as bad as some people think. I voted for him and I told him that when I asked him if he would open the Centre. It probably made him more receptive to my request to keep his talk short."

"It was a well-organised event Jane," said Rose.

"It's not actually finished yet. There's the dance tonight but it's mostly for young people. We're not going, the music won't be the kind we like. We'll have dances for older people soon."

"Oh, how often?" asked Rose. "Jack and I liked to dance when we were younger and we'd probably go."

"Once a month. And it's once a month for the young-people's dance as well. We might change the frequency later, once we know what people want."

Bob didn't say anything about the dances but didn't like what he was hearing. Adult dances would probably be all right and he might even go to one of them to see what they were like. But dances for teenagers were likely to be very noisy and the Centre was so close to his house. Many of the kids would drink and that could make it worse though there must be adult supervisors, maybe he was worrying unnecessarily.

They enjoyed their food but sitting on bar stools wasn't the best place to eat and shouting wasn't pleasant so they left as soon as they'd eaten. Shortly afterwards half the pub left as well, running up the hill through the rain to go to the dance.

Car engines woke Bob at eleven. People were shouting goodbyes, several were laughing loudly and two were screaming insults at each other. The noise didn't last long probably due to the rain. 'I'll shut my window next time there's a dance,' he told himself, before falling back to sleep.

**Chapter 32 The engagement party**

It was still raining when Bob awoke and the garden was too wet to think of working there. He did the usual weekend dusting and cleaning, thinking about how much his life had changed in the last half year. Working every day, lots of money coming in—likely more in the future—and a girlfriend in Portugal. There was much to think about including how he wanted to spend the rest of his life. He decided to walk along the river after lunch and tell Betty about it.

The rain had slackened to a heavy drizzle after Bob had eaten his lunch. His mackintosh and umbrella kept most of it off as he walked slowly along the path, thinking what Betty might have said. It wasn't Maria for which he sought guidance, it was about the factory; he didn't like the idea of working within a factory, even though he was its principal owner. 'And all the money coming in, Betty, what do you think about that? Got any suggestions?' It didn't do any good, no solutions arrived and he turned back and began home. Near the end of the river path he saw Ronald Teller standing looking at the bushes then up into the trees.

"Hello. Ron. What are you doing?"

"Oh, hello Bob. I'm looking for birds. I'm what some people call 'a twicher'. There's a Common Yellowthroat here. I can hear it but can't see it. Can you hear it?"

"I can hear something but I don't know what it is. A twichety twichety kind of call. Is that it?"

"Yes, that's it."

"Well I can't see any birds at all even though there must be one somewhere. Do you look for birds along the path often? I've never seen you here before."

"I don't usually come here but a friend told me a Yellowthroat's been heard here. It would add one to my year's list if I found it."

"You used to be a teacher didn't you?"

"Yes. I taught biology and general science in the Big End high school. How did you know that?"

"You taught my daughter, Regina, many years ago."

"Regina Barns. I may have. I don't remember her but I don't remember many of the children I taught."

"Well we must have had a chat there for I thought I knew you when we met yesterday."

"We probably met during an interview. I'm retired now. My hobby is birding. Does it interest you?"

"I used to carve birds but don't have time to do that now. Making toys takes all the time I have. When I carved I sometimes looked at photographs of birds to find one to carve."

"Well if you every want to try bird watching give me a call. I live the other end of Small End, near to where Ken Smith lives and my number's in the book. Ah, there it is. Look. Can you see it? It's at two o'clock on the edge of the bush, the third bush down from us. The bird's got a yellow throat and a black band across its beak with a white band above that. At least that's what this one, a male, has. Here, use my binoculars," and he handed them to Bob.

"No I can't see it. Oh yes, I see it now. It's pretty."

"Yes it is."

Bob gave the binoculars back to Ron who looked at the bird until it flew away. "Well, that's enough for me today. I'm going home to a warm fire and a rum and coke."

They walked together to the end of the path where they said goodbye. Ron climbed into his car and Bob walked home thinking about birding. It might be an interesting hobby if he ever had time for one. And he slowly realised that that's what he wanted most of all, not lots of money but more time for himself. To be with Maria as well of course. He didn't want to be an owner of a toy-making factory, he wanted the freedom to do what he wanted, any time he wanted, not making toys all the time. He wanted to retire again.

As he opened the front door he asked himself if it was talking to Betty that helped him discover his real needs. No, it wasn't Betty, it was talking to Ron. He made me think about having a hobby. 'But I wouldn't have seen him if I hadn't gone for a walk to talk it over with Betty. So I guess I can thank both of them.'

He wrote to Maria that evening, telling her about the new employees, that Craig and Lori had become engaged and that the BBC had filmed the shop. He looked forward to her comments on the last part.

Craig was in the milking parlour workshop with Luke, Ray, Diane and Alan when he arrived on Monday morning. Craig was taking them along the line, as Ken had done in the other shop, explaining how the engines and carriages were made. Luke demonstrated each step as they moved from one position to the next. Bob watched from the side for a while then went into the office.

"Hello Bob," said Lori. "Did you have a good weekend?"

"Yes. Except for the noisy group leaving the dance on Saturday night. How about yours?"

"Very good. We rented an apartment and we'll move in next Saturday. You and Ken will have to come and see it."

"We must. Let us know when you're ready for visitors. Oh I have some news for you but don't tell anyone except Craig because Ken want's to announce it when we finish tonight; we're having the engagement party for you this Friday afternoon. It'll be at Ken's place."

"Oh that's nice. Thank you."

"It's Mary who you should thank, she's making all the arrangements."

"I will."

"Ken and I have withdrawn £35,000 Lori. And I'm going to discharge my mortgage. Isn't that good?"

"It certainly is. You know, I think that July's income will be as good as June's. I'm still getting lots of requests. I'll make up the delivery list later today. Do you want to be on the road this week?"

"No, just make lists for Gerry and Bert."

"Okay."

"Can you ask the phone company to switch our numbers on Friday? We'll move the office to the Centre next Monday. We'll need another desk and a chair and a couple of easy chairs for visitors and anything else you think we should have. Could you order them and have them delivered Friday too, if they can do that?"

"Okay. I'll order the new computer as well then. Can you or Ken collect it next weekend?"

"How about if we collect it on Friday after the party. One of us could drive you home and call by the shop on the way."

"Okay, that'd be nice. Thanks. Is there anything else I should do?"

"What did the heater and exhaust fan suppliers say about delivery?"

"They'll be here Thursday. We should have everything by Friday."

"Good."

"Did you see The Week's News on Sunday? There's an article with a photo of new Community Centre. Ken was interviewed."

"I met the reporter at the opening ceremony on Saturday. Is that the paper?"

"Yes. I'll post it on the notice board after you've read it."

Bob skimmed through the article and handed it back. "She liked the new Community Centre and the opening ceremony but she didn't say much about Wooden Toys."

"Probably there wasn't enough room to put more."

Someone knocked on the door and two boys entered.

"Hello. We're from the high school. You told us to come when we had finished school for the year so here we are."

"Ah, yes, Ken told me you'd be coming," said Bob. "The man you want to meet is Mr. Smith. He's at the old Community Centre. I'll take you there but I don't think there are any jobs now," and he looked at Lori. "Jean's brothers are coming in today aren't they?"

"I think so."

"But I thought we were promised a job when we came here last," said one of the boys. "It's not fair if you've given it to someone else."

"Well lets see what Ken, err, Mr. Smith, says. I'll take you to see him."

Ken was running the router jig when Bob walked in the shop. Jean, Frank, Jose, Bert and Gerry were spread along the line cutting, sanding and painting. Bob shouted hello and walked the boys over to Ken.

"Ken, these are the boys you saw a month ago from the high school. They are hoping for a job but I told them that there may not be one now."

"Oh there will be. You're Tiger and you're Nobby aren't you? Where's Alf?"

"He decided he didn't want to make toys. I think he was afraid of what his friends would say."

"Didn't Jean's brothers turn up then?" asked Bob.

"No. Jean said they've taken construction jobs. About the same pay as we're giving but there's plenty of overtime." He turned to the boys. "Well I thought there would be only one job here but I want two people now so you're both in luck, that is, you've got a job if you can do the work. Bob, would you like to walk them along the line or should I do that?"

"You'd better. You know what you want to emphasise. I'll handle the jig."

So Ken showed the boys what was happening. At the end of the line he pointed to the painted pieces that were waiting to be put in plastic boxes and said, "One of you can look after that job. I'll show you where they are stored until we glue them." He took them to the storage room and they returned with one of the trolleys and a load of empty boxes. "Who would like to work here?"

"What's the other job?" asked Nobby.

"Bringing the wood from the wood storage room to the front of the line."

"Then I'd like to do this job," said Nobby. "When can we try the others?"

"This afternoon. This morning I just want you to watch what the others are doing. When you have time stand behind one and watch what is being done and ask questions; they'll be glad to explain what's happening. Try to remember exactly what is done. And get to know their names but first, come and get an overall and safety glasses."

Once they returned he showed them where the new wood was stored then put them to work. He stood next to Bob and watched. "That was lucky. I'd forgotten the boys were coming and I would have to turn them away if the brothers had showed up. I guess there's lots of work in the construction business now. We might find it hard to get new workers next time we need them."

"I'm sure there's lots of work but maybe not for youngsters like Tiger and Nobby. How's the production? Is it near full-speed?"

"Just about. And it won't take long to show the people in the old shop how to make trains. Don't know how long Tiger and Nobby will take to get up to steam. Nobby seems alert, I'm not sure about Tiger."

"Craig's showing the three you sent over how to make trains now. I expect Lori will join them when she's finished in the office. She told me that all the equipment she's ordered will be here on Thursday or Friday."

"Good. It won't take us long to make the new bench and it'll be good to have everybody in the same place."

"I don't want to work in the shop Ken."

"No of course not. Nor do I. We'll be the managers."

"I actually want to retire but, for now, I'd just like to develop new toys and, like we said, do it in my shop, at home."

"Okay. We can use the milking parlour shop to develop the production line we'd need to make the fire engine or other new toys. Oh, the wood for the new bench arrived this morning. It's outside the back door. Are you still okay to work on it tonight?"

"Yes, seven o'clock?"

"Yes."

"Then don't arrive earlier and have half of it done before I get here."

"It'll take all night to get it only half-done."

"Then I'll come at six-thirty. Can you manage that?"

"Yes. Will you bring everybody here for the last ten minutes today so I can tell them about the engagement party?"

"Why not tell them at the end of lunch Ken? They're all coming here for that."

"Okay."

"I've already told Lori when it will be. I didn't think you'd mind me telling her."

"No that's fine. "

"Well I'll go back now. See you at lunch."

Ken's reply was indiscernible for the shop bell rang. The new boys looked around wondering what was happening and were told it was the tea break. They were taken to the room as Bob watched. When he passed the tea room door Jean was showing them where the supplies were. He thought they would be very happy working here, if the smiles on their faces meant anything.

The day passed much as planned. £1,837.50 arrived and there were more calls for sets. Everyone cheered when Ken told them that the engagement party would be that Friday.

"Can we go to the party?" asked Nobby.

"Of course. Unless you quit or are fired before then," said Ken. "Have you already decided you'd like to make toys?"

"Sure, it's fun," said Tiger.

"Yes it is," said Nobby.

"Well if you can do as well as everybody else you'll both have jobs."

Ken and Bob both arrived at exactly six-thirty that evening. They worked hard until nine-thirty when two-thirds of the bench was built.

"How about taking tomorrow night off and coming back Wednesday?" asked Ken.

"That suits me. I feel pretty tired right now."

"The rest of the bench won't take so long."

"What about fitting it up?"

"I don't want to do that in the evenings, Mary wants to see something of me this week. How about Saturday? Can you help?"

"Yes I can but isn't Jack going to be here?"

"Yes. I want him to install the fans and duct work. If you're not up to it we can manage."

"No I'll be here. I'm just not so young as you two, that's all. I run out of steam more quickly."

"Then just grab a chair and sit down when you feel tired Bob. Don't overdo yourself. There's no need for that. Let me drive you home tonight."

"Thanks."

"Will six-thirty on Wednesday be all right?"

"Sure."

Cheques for another £487.50 arrived Tuesday morning. Bob, Craig, Luke, Ray, Diane and Alan made trains, exchanging places every hour or so. Lori worked with them when she wasn't answering the telephone. When the five o'clock quitting-time came they had started the third run of a hundred train sets.

"You've done really well," said Craig. "I think that you know all you need to know about making trains now. What do you think Bob?"

"Yes I agree. You've all learned very quickly."

"It's easy, except for the painting. That's difficult."

"Yes, but don't worry, Diane. When we move to the new shop painting trains will be done using the track-system. Tomorrow go to the new shop. Jean and Frank will be coming here."

"What about Tiger and Nobby?"

"Ken says they don't need to work here. You're here to learn, of course, but also because we need train sets. So I'll see you at lunchtime tomorrow then."

They left just as Bert drove the big van into the yard. Bob helped him load the trains then rode to the new shop. It was closed so Bert parked the van and said he'd get someone to help him move the extra trains to the storage room tomorrow.

"How do you get home if Gerry isn't here Bert?"

"I catch the bus."

"Oh, of course."

They walked to the bus stop where Bob said goodbye. As he walked up the hill to his house he was glad that this would be an evening without work.

Jean and Frank spent Wednesday and Thursday learning how to make trains and carriages. Wednesday afternoon Lori told Bob that no more cheques had arrived and that June's income was £52,968.75.

"I don't think there'll be any more. The expenses for June come to £8,796.71. That includes the salaries, your journeys to find new shops, the new equipment we ordered, the rent, telephone, electricity and so on. The net is £44,172.04. You and Ken took out £35,000. So there should be £9,172.04, plus what we started the month with, in the bank."

"Once I've deposited the cheques we received this week, that is."

"What are we going to pay Nobby and Tiger?"

"£125 a week. We'll probably increase their salaries once they become fully productive. Ken or I will tell you when to do that. Do you think that everyone's content with what we pay them?"

"Yes, I think so. You'll give the others £175 a week soon?"

"I'll talk to Ken but I think we should start that next week. I'll see what he says and let you know."

"Okay. Do Craig and I get an increase anytime?"

"Probably. You've both been doing excellent work."

"So you'll talk to Ken about that too?"

"Yes Lori. I will."

As they worked that evening Bob talked to Ken about the June earnings and then about the pay they were giving to the employees.

"I think we should increase their salaries Ken. This is what I suggest. Pay new workers £125 a week for the first two weeks. Then increase it to £175, like we did with Luke and Jose and the others. But increase it again to £200 a week after the first two months and keep it there. We could give a bonus at Christmas if we want to."

"All right. I don't mind that."

"I think we should also increase Lori and Craig's salaries, Lori's especially. I couldn't do all the stuff she's doing."

"I couldn't do all this if it wasn't for Craig," said Ken. "What do you think we should pay them?"

"They're getting £200 a week now so I think we should increase it to £250. They deserve it."

"Okay. What's all that add up to each week?"

"Well, if you keep everybody we'll have thirteen employees. If, to simplify it, eleven of them earn the maximum £200 and Craig and Lori earn £250 it would be £2,700 per week, or about £11,000 a month."

"And the other expenses are about £5,000 a month."

"Yes about that. As long as we weren't setting up another bench."

"Then we'd have to earn £16,000 a month before we make a profit."

"Yes. Of course we won't get so much from each sale with the wholesaler taking his cut but with more shops selling we should be okay."

"Yes I think so."

"We'll tell them about the new wages on Friday and they'd be effective immediately?"

"Starting next week, okay."

They finished the new bench at eight fifteen, locked the Centre and went to the pub to celebrate. Bob had two pints, Ken had two double whiskies then drove Bob home.

There was a phone call from Dave Posser about nine-thirty Thursday morning asking to speak to Ken or Bob. Lori fetched Bob who was in the middle of sanding the ends of the train chimneys.

"Hello Dave. You have some news for us?"

"Hello Bob. The new catalogue was sent out on Monday and we have a few orders for you."

"A few? How many?"

"Six," said Dave.

"Six!"

"That's right. It'll probably go up each week. Most sales start slowly unless there's been some advertising before hand. So we'll buy fifty of each set. Can you deliver them today?"

"Just fifty! Yes of course. I'll bring them to you this afternoon."

"Can you make it this morning? We have to send them north and our inter-warehouse lorries leave in the afternoon."

"Okay. I'll leave now."

Bob told Lori what had happened then went to the shop and told Craig. They had just put fifty train sets in one of the small vans when Lori came out with a list of requests.

"Can you deliver these too Bob? They're all between here and Basingstoke with most being around Southampton. You don't have to go far out of your way."

"How many shops Lori?"

"Seven, and they'll all take ten of each."

"Did you tell them that we have a wholesaler now and that they should call them?"

"Yes. I've sent a letter to everyone saying that and I reminded those that called. Actually we've had calls from nineteen retailers. I told them to call We-Have-It Wholesalers and asked them if they had received my letter. They had and most said they would call the wholesaler from now on. But six said they'd rather have us deliver if we could. Three of those are on this list. I've marked them with a question mark so that you know who they are."

Craig overheard this and took the trolley back into the shop coming back with another hundred train sets.

"I've brought more in case you need them Bob."

"Thanks Craig."

He drove to the new shop and told Ken what had happened. They collected a hundred and fifty village and farm sets and put them in the van with the trains.

"We'll have to decide if we want to deliver to the retailers who said they're rather we delivered to them Ken."

"Yes. It could be a problem if we did that, others might want the same."

"Yes. Well, I'm off now. I'll check with you when I get back."

Dave must have told the gate he was coming because the guard jumped in the van as soon as Bob pulled up and showed him where the delivery doors were. The receiver did all the work and gave him a receipt when he had finished. There was a note from Dave fastened to it. "The cheque for these will be in the mail to you in forty business-days. Thanks. David Posser."

Bob stopped for lunch at a small restaurant near the warehouse, having a roast-beef roll and a coffee. He then drove towards Southampton. At the shops Lori had added a question mark he asked the manager or owner why they preferred Wooden Toys to deliver. They all said that they liked the smiles and cheerfulness of the man delivering.

"Was it Gerry or Bert?" asked Bob.

"It didn't matter," said one. "Both were very pleasant. It's nice to see a delivery man with a grin on his face." It was nice to hear them say that but it wasn't a good enough reason to continue delivering the toys themselves. The best reason for them to deliver would be that they wouldn't have to give thirty percent to the wholesaler to deliver them. However they'd have to pay Bert and Gerry's salaries and rent the vans. Since two thirds of the retailers Lori spoke to then actually did call the wholesaler there'd be fewer shops for them to cater to. They'd have to estimate the costs of each way before they could make a rational decision.

Bob was back at four o'clock and stopped at the new shop to speak to Ken. The hall looked a bit crowded with the two benches and nine people. He wondered what it would look like if they had fourteen people or another bench and six or seven more working on them.

He took Ken to the office and told him what the retailers had said.

"It's nice to hear what they say about Bert and Gerry. They'd probably say that about you too, if you were doing the deliveries."

"Maybe, but we have to decide whether or not to do it ourselves Ken. As I see it, a third of the retailers prefer us to deliver but they're spread all over the place. If we did deliver to them we'd have to pay Bert and Gerry's wages and rent the vans. I think that it would be better if we had them working in the shop."

"It would be nice to get more money but it's more important to find good helpers," said Ken.

"Okay then, we'll have Bert and Gerry work in the shop. I'll tell Lori that we're not going to deliver any more and she'll have to tell the retailers."

"Okay. Then we can return two of the vans. Which two, that's the question now. The two small ones I think. Surely we'll soon get bigger orders from the wholesaler."

"Yes, of course we will Ken, Dave said that sales grow slowly unless there's some advertising."

"That costs a lot of money."

"I know and I don't want to advertise until we have to," said Bob. "I'd like to see how they sell by word of mouth. That's actually what's already happening; we didn't advertise."

"You had a booth at the conference."

"Yes, I suppose that's advertising. Maybe I should look for something like that and do it again. There must be a conference in London now and again. I'll ask Leo if knows when there'll be one. Have you told Lori and Craig about the wage increases?"

"Yes. I told them about theirs after lunch. They were very pleased. Then I told them about the wages the others would be getting but said they weren't to tell anyone because I wanted to announce it at the party. They were happy that the others would be getting more too. Now about tomorrow. Mary's got everything organised. She expects us about twelve-thirty. If you and I drive and if Frank can drive and Gerry takes Bert on his bike we can get everyone there in one trip."

"I told Lori I'll take her home afterwards and collect the new computer. I can take others at the same time too."

"All right. We'll work out the return trip in the afternoon. Can you ask Frank about driving tomorrow?"

"Sure."

Frank said he'd take Ray, Luke and Jose, since they normally rode with him, and that he could squeeze in another person. "I'm looking forward to it! Jose has told me it'll be a great picnic!"

It would have been a great picnic if it hadn't rained. Not continuously but enough to force everyone indoors several times. Craig swam but nobody else wanted to. He tried to organise a cricket match, formed two teams of seven and had started a game on the soggy lawn when it began raining again. So they spent most of the afternoon indoors. Lori, Diane, Jean and Luke helped Mary in the kitchen and discussed cooking. Luke explained how he cooked honey dampers in a frying pan on a camp fire in Africa then Jean said she could show them how to make Zapekanka if Mary had the ingredients. She had everything except the sour cream for the topping so they made a butter-sugar custard to cover the cheesecake, doubled the receipt and spent an hour making enough for everybody to eat after their steak and chips. The frozen chips were warmed in the kitchen oven and Ken cooked the steaks on the barbecue in the garage. Craig, Bert and Gerry watched and drank beer as he worked. They saw the barrel sander he was building and he explained how it worked. Jose taught Frank, Tiger and Nobby how to play poker and Alan spent much of the time teaching Ray to use his PDA, an Apple Message Pad that his American uncle had sent him for Christmas.

They crowded into the living room to eat the steaks, chips and salads. The custard was an immediate hit, especially when ice cream was added. They had drunk beer and soft drinks until now but at the end of the meal Ken opened four bottles of champagne. He, then Bob, toasted Lori and Craig and wished them a long, happy marriage.

"When is it to be?" asked Diane.

"Not for a year or so," replied Lori.

"You've just rented a flat haven't you?" Jean asked.

"Yes, and you're all invited to a party there as soon as we have got it organised."

"When will that be Lori?" asked Nobby.

"What do you think Craig, in two weeks?"

"Better make it three, there's all the painting and the kitchen to do."

"Okay. Then we'll aim for Saturday, August, err. . . "

"August 10th" said Alan, who had his Message Pad in his hand.

"Okay, August 10th, unless we have to make it later."

"And do we have a party at the end of the month too?" asked Nobby. Everyone looked at Ken and he looked at Lori. "Will we meet the target Lori?" She nodded her head. "Yes we will."

"Right" said Ken. "Just choose the pub and let us know."

"This is a great place to work," exclaimed Nobby. "Parties every two or three weeks! Alf won't half be mad when I tell him!"

"There's one more announcement. It's about your wages. We are doing very well. The toys you make are of excellent quality and we're selling lots of them. So we are changing the pay scale. This is how it'll work. New workers will be paid £125 a week for their first two weeks. Then we'll increase it to £175 for the next two months. Then we'll increase it to £200 a week. In addition we may give a bonus at Christmas but that depends on year's sales."

"Whoopee!" cried Diane.

"So Luke and I get £200 a week Ken?"

"Starting on Monday, yes."

"Wow, great. Thanks."

"Craig and Lori are paid to a different scale because they are, effectively, on the management side. That's why I'm not discussing their salary. Okay?"

Diane stood up, raised her glass and proposed a toast to Ken, Bob, Craig and Lori. Everyone rose, refilled their glasses and drank. Afterwards they stood talking to each other about the raise and what they would do with the extra.

There was a sudden flash of lightning then a loud thunderclap. Everyone stopped talking and looked out the window.

"I think that we should go home now," said Lori. "It looks as if the rain will be much worse soon. Thanks again, Mary, Ken and Bob, for a wonderful, wonderful, engagement party."

A fierce rainstorm hit the house then it suddenly stopped. Everyone grabbed their coats and rushed to the cars. Mary was left with all the tidying but she said she didn't mind. After dropping Luke and Jose at their homes Bob drove Lori to the shop where she'd ordered the computer. On the way Lori told him that they'd also have to buy the word-processor and spreadsheet programs and asked if she could buy one of the new printers.

"Sure," said Bob. They put the boxes on the back seat and Bob drove Lori home. Afterwards he drove to the Centre and put the computer and other boxes in the office. 'I'll have a nice lazy evening,' thought Bob as he drove home. 'No need to cook and it's not five o'clock yet. I'll have Ron's favourite drink, a glass of rum and coke. I'm sure the coke I bought for Christmas is in the cupboard.' That brought Claire to mind and he wondered how she and her husband were and how they were passing the time. Immediately following he thought about Maria and that it was only three more weeks before they'd be together again. He hoped she still felt the same way about him as he felt about her. He hoped there was a Friday letter waiting for him but when he opened the door there was nothing on the mat.

**Chapter 33 We-Have-It**

The parlour workshop was busy Saturday morning as Ken, Bob and Jack removed the routers, saws and sanders. They used one of the small vans to take them to the Centre where Ken and Bob installed them on the new bench. Jack hung the new exhaust ducts and fluorescent lights from the ceiling then mounted the heater fans under the bench. After a quick lunch at the Crown they fastened the rails to the supports then made and hung the plastic covers. They stopped at four and Ken and Bob agreed to meet at nine on Sunday to set the heater-fan temperature and the fan air-flow rate. Jack was glad when they said they wouldn't need him, his construction work had been arduous.

Bob walked home, had a bath, put on one of the nice sweaters that Regina gave him several years ago and sat in his chair. He had half an hour to relax before going to the pub and quickly fell asleep. He woke at six-thirty, hurriedly donned his mackintosh and almost ran to the Crown.

"Late again," laughed Joe. "Been moving more chairs?"

"Nope. I've been moving and installing the equipment from your milking parlour. It's in the new shop now," said Bob as he put his pint on the table and sat down.

"I saw you when you were putting it in the van. What'll you do with the parlour now?"

"We'll use it to develop ways to produce new toys, a research and development place."

"I thought you were going to do that in your own shop."

"Well, I'll design them there but we'd use your place to try out the jigs we'd need."

"You don't need that much space to do that surely."

"No we don't, but we agreed to rent the building so we'll keep it and put it to use."

"Would you like me to find someone else to use it Bob?"

"Hadn't thought about that. It's unlikely that we'll use it to make toys there in the future, it's much easier if everyone's in the same shop. There's room for another bench in the hall if we needed more workspace. But I don't know what Ken might want to use the shop for. I'll ask him and let you know."

"You have two benches in the hall now Bob?" asked Jane.

"Yes. We made the second this week. Jack helped us install the stuff from the old shop today."

"What's happening with your wholesaler?" asked Rose.

"He called for fifty of each set this week."

"I hope he sells more than that!"

"So do we."

"Mor' drinks anyone?" asked Jack.

Joe handed him his glass, "I'll have one."

"Not for me thanks," said Bob.

"Girls?"

"I'll have another," said Rose.

"Nothing for me Jack."

Jack returned with the drinks and the menu on a tray. They chose their meals and Jack placed the order with Len.

"You know we're having an adults' dance this week?' asked Jane. "I hope you'll come."

"We will," said Rose, as Jack returned. "Won't we Jack?"

"Aye if I must, but I ain't much of a dancer."

"Then you should come to the dance lessons," said Jane. "Seven to nine Wednesdays evenings, in the big hall."

"I didn't know you had started any classes," said Rose.

"This is the first one. We have four more starting the following week and we'll add others once we get suggestions and teachers. You said you might teach bird carving didn't you Bob?"

"Yes but not this year. I should have time to do that after Christmas."

"I'll remember to ask you then. Do you think Ken would be interested in teaching something?"

"Don't know. I'll ask him but he's even busier than I am so I don't expect he would."

"How about you Jack?"

"Nay, too busy."

"Are you too busy to print some letter head and cards with our new address on for us Jack?"

"I'd rather not Bob."

"Try the print shop in Big End," said Rose. "They have a good reputation."

"You mean Printer's Delight?"

"Yes that's right."

"Okay. Thanks."

"Reminds me Bob, here's my bill," and Jack handed Bob an envelope.

"Right. Pay you at the end of the month?"

"Aye."

"We'll have a longer holiday this Christmas Jack," laughed Rose, "with all the money you're bringing in!"

"You'll close t'shop Rose?"

"Yes. It'll be nice to have Christmas away for a change. I could do with a rest from cooking."

"Oh Bob, before you came I told everyone that the BBC is broadcasting the Small End documentary tomorrow night," said Jane. "Did you know about that?"

"No. What time?"

"At eight."

"I'll watch it."

"If you don't fall asleep first," added Joe.

When he got home he phoned Regina and Sam. He told Regina to watch the BBC documentary on Sunday for he'd be in it and they would include something about his company.

"Can you record it for me?" he asked.

"I'll try but ask Sam, he's got better equipment."

Unfortunately no one picked up the phone at Sam's house so he left a message about the show and asked him to record it. He hoped that one of them would do it although he didn't know what he would do with the tape because he didn't have a machine to play it on. 'I'll have to buy one of those when I buy a microwave.'

Sunday morning Ken and Bob worked on the new line, setting the routers' positions in their jigs and adjusting the heater and exhaust fans' flow-rate. It didn't take long and, since it was only ten thirty, they made a hundred pin-holders for the painting line.

"That's it," said Ken. "I'll fine-tune everything on Monday."

"Joe asked me what we were going to do with the old shop last night Ken. When I told him I would be designing new toys there he asked why I wouldn't do that in my own shop. I told him I might and he said he'd look for another tenant if we wanted. What do you think we should do? Do you have other plans for the place?"

"None that I can think of. This place is much better. Lots of room to move about in. It's a good idea, ask him to look for someone else. We'll pay the rent until he finds someone."

"All right. And Jane asked if you'd like to teach a course at the Community Centre."

"No way. Mary would kill me if I agreed to do that. Next year, maybe in the summer or fall, but not now."

"I told her the same thing when she asked me. I don't want more work right now. Oh she said the BBC's running the Small End episode tonight. Did you know that?"

"Yes, Mary told me. At eight, I think. I meant to tell you in case you hadn't heard. Let's hope they do a good job on Small End Wooden Toys!"

"Yes."

Whilst waiting for the show that evening Bob wrote to Maria. He told her what he had been doing during the week and that June's income had been pretty good but didn't tell her the amount. Then he asked about her activities, saying that he hadn't got a reply to his last letter and hoped that she was all right. He didn't include a poem for he couldn't think of anything to write about. He signed the letter 'with love from.' Then he went to the cupboard and poured a glass of port, turned on the television and sat back to watch the show.

He enjoyed what they had done, how they covered the village and what the committees had done and, especially, the way they had presented the Wooden Toy's development. He called Jane after it had finished to ask her what she thought of the program.

"They did a good job explaining what we're doing in Small End. I especially liked their shots of the village, the streets, houses and the new development areas."

"What did you think about the Community Centre part?"

"It wasn't long enough. It should have shown more of the inside I think. They did a good job on Wooden Toys though. What did you think?"

"It covered all the most important things. The sequence showing my shop then the milking parlour and ending in the new shop was excellent. Brief, but complete. They demonstrated our growth in about four minutes."

"Yes, however I didn't think they emphasised the wooden aspect. They should have done that at the end."

"I was concentrating on what they were filming and hardly heard the narration. They spent a lot of time showing our employees. They'll like that. We'll, I think you and your committee have done a great job on everything. Did you record the show?"

"Yes I did. Do you want a copy?"

"No, Regina or Sam should have one for me. But thanks, if they didn't make it I'll ask for a copy."

"Okay. 'Bye Bob."

"'Bye Jane."

Monday morning Bob worked in the shop, mostly doing odd jobs, fetching the wood, brushing the needles on the used pin-holders to remove dried paint, screwing hooks on the front and back of the trains and carriages and helping with the gluing. There were so many things to do and time went quickly but he made time to call his bank and speak to Mrs. Pringle. She arranged to see him at one o'clock. He told Ken during the tea break that he'd be driving to Big End at lunchtime to go to his bank and he'd order the new stationary.

"We could both go," Ken said, "and take the vans. I'll use one to drive us back."

"Okay, I'll tell Lori to call the garage and let them know we're coming. She's probably got a list of things for us to buy as well."

"I know we're running out of train hooks."

They drove the vans to The End Garage and walked into to Charles' office.

"Hello boys. Your girl, Lori, tells me you want to return the two small vans. What's up? Only delivering big loads now?"

"Something like that Charles. A wholesaler will deliver for us the future. Yes, we want to return the vans but not both right now, we need one to get back home."

"One of my boys would take you back if you like."

"Thanks, we'd like that. We have to do some shopping first, though. Could he take us in about half-an-hour?"

"Sure. I'll have the paperwork done by then. You know, I'm rather glad you're returning them. We're having a lot of requests for short-term rentals and don't have enough vans to fill all of them so we are losing customers."

"You get more money from short-term rentals too, I suppose."

"Yes, that's right."

"Then you won't charge us any extra for not giving you a month's notice will you Charles?"

"Oh Bob. I almost guessed you'd say that. Okay, I won't. You take one of them, do your shopping and someone will take you home when you bring it here. Just give me the mileage on the clock before you leave. Are they full?"

"No. We forgot to do that."

"Well, fill the van you take and I'll have someone look after the other one. We'll add the petrol cost to the bill."

"Thanks Charles."

Since it was nearly one o'clock they drove to Bob's bank first. Mrs. Pringle had everything arranged.

"No one I've dealt with has paid-off their mortgage in one month! You must be doing very well!"

"We are, Mrs. Pringle, we are. Thanks to you for helping."

"My pleasure. And come back to me if you ever need to do it again."

"I will, Mrs. Pringle, but I hope I never do."

They drove to Printer's Delight where Bob explained what they wanted and the young man said that they'd be ready Friday. Their last stop was at the lumber yard where they bought the screw-hooks. Lori had nothing else on her list. Leon was not there so they had no news about the developments at Small End. They bought a roll and a coffee at a deli, filled the van with petrol and returned to Charles' garage. He was standing outside.

"Hi. Let me just check it and we can sign the papers." He looked around the outside and into the back, turned the key and checked the petrol gauge.

"It's fine, just like the other. So let's sign the papers and we're done. I'll be sending you a cheque for the days you haven't used. Neil'll drive you to Small End." However, instead of returning to the office he walked them to a Rover parked in the back lot.

"What do you think of this?" he asked.

"Whose is it?" asked Bob.

"Mine," said Charles. "Do you like it?"

"Love the looks. How much does it cost?"

"I bought it second-hand. I don't know what you'd pay if you bought one. You can't have this but I can help you find a used one."

"New ones are very expensive Bob," said Ken, "and you already have a car."

"Yes, I know, but this one looks a lot nicer."

"Ah, hah! There you go; you're beginning to think how you can spend your money. I told you that would happen," said Ken.

"Just interested, that's all."

"Come and see me if you want one like that," said Charles.

"I might do that but don't hold your breath. I can't buy a car right now."

There was a letter from Maria waiting for him when he got home that afternoon. He took it to the kitchen, put the kettle on for a cup of tea, sat in a chair and opened it. Two pages. Maria wrote that she was busy arranging trips and working overtime several nights that week. 'Everybody wants a holiday' she wrote and added, 'Organising complex trips is more interesting than handling simple ones. I'm looking forward to seeing you. Less than a month now. Are you looking forward to it? You told me you're very busy, do you have time to think of me? Love to you, Maria'.

Bob sat there and dreamed. How nice it would be if he and Maria could be on holiday all the time. It didn't matter where, just being with her was all that mattered. They could be in Small End or in Lagos; six months here and six months there. That would be wonderful. He wondered how much money it would take to do that and if it would interest Maria. Maybe, in less than a year, he'd be able to retire and do what he wanted.

Bob stopped at Joe's farm on the way to work Tuesday morning. Jane was in the kitchen and he told her that Ken wouldn't have the time to teach this year. "He says he might, sometime next year."

"Did he say what he'd do with the parlour?" she asked.

"Yes. He doesn't plan to use it and we like Joe's idea of looking for someone to rent it. I prefer to use my shop if I'm designing new toys. So could you see if you could find someone to rent it? We'll continue to pay the rent until you do."

"Sure. I'll tell the committee about it, they might know of someone. There's lots of people moving here. Most are looking for jobs but some have small businesses. I'll put a notice on the community board saying that there's a workshop to rent. In fact I think we should have a separate notice board especially for that kind of information."

"Rose might not like that. You'd be taking business away from her."

"Well I'll speak to her about it. She might not mind though, it can't be a big money-generator."

Two young women were leaving the Centre's office when Bob arrived. Ken told him that they'd seen the BBC documentary and had hoped there would be jobs there. Ken told them there weren't and he took their names and phone numbers in case some one left.

"Salisbury Boxes phoned, our pasteboards are ready. Can you collect them? Bert or Gerry could do it but I'd rather they kept working, they're in the rotation-sequence."

"Sure, I'd be glad to. Anything else you need?"

"Talk to Lori, she might know of something."

He found Lori in the shop doing the odd-job stuff he had been doing yesterday morning.

"No, it's just the boxes we need."

"No deliveries to make?"

"No. I guess everyone's calling We-have-it."

"So you're not getting any phone calls asking for toys?"

"No, not now. None."

"Ah, well, we'll find out what's happening when Dave Posser calls. See you later then."

It felt a little strange driving to Salisbury in a big empty van. He enjoyed its faster pick up and also the fact that he didn't have to be constantly thinking about where the next shop was.

"Hello Bob. Glad to see you again. I didn't know who'd be collecting the pasteboards. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine Bill. How are you and Dan?"

"Great. Lots of work here. You must be getting a lot too, judging from the number of boxes you are buying."

"Yes we're doing well. Did you see us on TV?"

"No, but I heard about it. A BBC production on Sunday evening, wasn't it? Dan asked me if I saw it yesterday. He said it was interesting to find out how you had started and developed so quickly. Ken must be quite a go getter. Dan said that he was the one who explained how the production line worked."

"Yes. It's all due to Ken. I would still be selling directly to a few shops if he hadn't turned up."

"Well I expect you'll be selling to lots more now; people all over England will have seen it and will want to buy them. You'll need a lot more vans."

"No, a wholesaler delivers now. He has hundreds of vans."

"Oh good. Well, I'll help you load. Are you backed to the loading door?"

"Yes."

Twenty minutes later Bob had signed the receipts and was back in the drivers seat. 'I'll have lunch in the river pub,' he decided. He found it, ordered fish and chips and ate them slowly, taking his time and enjoying the rest. He drove back to Small End, thinking it was a good life when there wasn't a lot of work to do or deadlines to meet.

During supper he remembered the signs he was going to make for the new workshop. 'Plywood would be best, painted white with black.' After washing the dishes and tidying the kitchen he found some thick ply, cut it to size and coated each piece with outdoor white and left them to dry.

Dave Posser called first thing Wednesday morning and asked for five hundred of each set. He told Lori that several retailers had said their customers had found out about the toys because they'd seen the BBC show.

"Most of the others would have come from your retailers. From now on I expect we'll be getting a lot of requests. The BBC production was a big bonus for you. I hope you've got plenty in stock."

"We have," said Lori. "About four thousand of each."

"Okay. That should be enough. Can you deliver before noon?"

"Yes. They'll be there."

Lori told Ken and Bob what Dave had said. Bob told them he'd drive and Lori and Craig helped him load the van.

The trip to We-Have-It was pleasant for it was another fine summer's day. The guard recognised the van and let him in. He reversed into one of the bays and a man unloaded the toys and gave him the signed receipt. He moved his van to the side of the yard then walked to Dave's office. Dave was on the phone but beckoned him in and pointed to a chair. A minute later he hung-up.

"Were you expecting that?" asked Dave.

"An order for five hundred of each? No, although I suppose something like that was likely to happen sometime."

"It'll continue for a week or two I expect. After that it'll depend on word of mouth. Unless you're on TV again. That was a bit of luck, wasn't it?"

"Yes it certainly was. Want to have lunch with me to celebrate?"

"No I can't Bob. Too busy. Maybe in a month's time, after the holiday season; things will be easier then."

"Yes, same with me. It's the tourists who mostly buy the toys. When they've gone sales drop off."

"Same for gifts, china, clocks and so on. Oh, excuse me, I'll have to take that," and he picked up the phone.

Bob got up, smiled, waved his hand and left the office. Another chance to have a pub lunch. Now I wonder if there's a pub by a river near Basingstoke. He drove around and asked a couple of people. One suggested Old Basing but Bob didn't find one. So he chose a nice-looking road house, one that had room for his van and ordered a curry.

He helped pack boxes when he returned, cooked a salmon steak for supper then bathed, put on a nice shirt and a tie and, at seven, walked over to the Community Centre and joined about a dozen people who were standing at the back of the hall. He knew three or four but simply smiled at them. About five past seven one of the ladies in the group walked to the stage, turned around and said, "Hello everyone. My name is Jenny Painter. I'm your dance teacher. I've taught dancing for several years and am glad to do it again in Small End. The first thing I have to do is find out how well you already dance and I can best do that by watching you. We'll start with a waltz. I see we have eleven people. Can you all choose a partner and I'll dance with whoever's not got one. Two women dancing together is fine. I see we only have three men. Now don't worry if you don't know anybody, you'll quickly get to know each other as we dance. That's one of the reasons dancing's so popular."

She pressed a button on the tape machine and the sounds of Victor Sylvester's ballroom orchestra playing a slow waltz filled the room. One of the ladies walked to Bob and asked him if he would dance with her.

"I'd love to. Thanks for asking. But I don't dance very well."

"Nor do I. That's why I'm here. My name is Sue. What's yours?"

"Bob. Bob Barns."

"Aren't you one of the owners of Small End Wooden Toys? I saw you on the BBC documentary Sunday."

"Yes I am. What did you think of the show?"

"What you were doing in the shop was very interesting but so were the shots of the village. My husband works with one of the construction companies and we've just moved here so I don't know much about Small End."

Jenny and her partner moved towards them and she said, "you're both doing quite well. Can you show me some other steps?"

"No, sorry, Jenny. What we're doing is about all I know," said Bob.

"Okay," and she danced her partner to another couple and watched them until the music finished. "Okay. Now crowd around and watch me. There are a couple of turns only two of you are using so the rest of us will learn them. We'll learn the first one now. Bob, would you be my partner? Okay, now watch us, then try doing the steps by yourself. And do rise-and-fall with the beat, many of you didn't do that very well."

The two hours passed quickly, much quicker than Bob had thought they would and he decided to return next week. 'I'll go to the Saturday adult dances too,' he told himself, as he walked back to his house. 'I wonder if Maria likes dancing, I hope she does.'

Bob spent much of Thursday helping in the shop and thinking about how he'd spend his time once the shop was mostly running itself. He'd like to do the deliveries to We-Have-It. He'd spend the rest of the time in his workshop, designing and making new toys, and, perhaps, taking more holidays. With Maria, if she could take the time. This kept his mind busy, for he really didn't like working in a factory, which is what the shop had become now. Thinking about the future rather than the present helped the time to pass more quickly.

Diane told Ken and Bob as they were all eating lunch in the tea room that all the newcomers would like to go to the pub everyone went to last time. "Everybody said the place was great. Could we go there?"

"For sure," replied Ken. "I was just thinking that everybody had forgotten about the month's lunches."

"Not me," said Luke.

"Then, Lori, book a table for us, please."

"All right, but it's likely to rain tomorrow and if it does we won't be on the patio like we were last time. I'll book it for one o'clock, not twelve-thirty like before. We had to rush to get there at twelve thirty and that spoiled it a bit."

After lunch Lori told Bob that she'd finished copying all the data from the old computer to the new one. "Now you can learn how to use a computer."

"I'll do that at home, Lori, not here."

"Then I'll number each plug and socket. Plug one goes into socket one, and so on. That way you can't make any mistakes. Most of the plugs will only fit into their own socket anyway, so you won't have any troubles."

"Thanks."

"I'll bring you some of my old games. Play those and you'll quickly become used to what the computer can do and how to handle the mouse."

"What do I do if anything goes wrong?"

"Don't worry about that. Tell me if it happens, I'll tell you what to do then."

"All right."

He drove his car to the shop Friday morning, ready to take a group to the pub and so he could carry the computer and the washing home afterwards. He expected to spend the morning working in the shop but Dave Posser phoned as he was asking Lori how many toys they had in stock.

"I need another load of toys," Dave told Lori. "A thousand farm sets, eight hundred village and six hundred trains. Can you get them to me by lunch time?" She told him they could and repeated the numbers to Bob. He hung up the overall he'd just put on and they loaded the van. Bob set off, driving as quickly as he could but rain slowed the traffic and it was twelve-thirty before he got back to Small End. Lori, Craig and Alan were standing at the door.

"We were getting worried Bob. Everything okay?" said Alan.

"Sorry, I couldn't drive any faster. The roads were a slippery and everyone was going slower. I'll just get the overalls then we can go."

"You don't have to do that Bob," said Lori. "Ken's taken them."

"Oh, I hope Mary doesn't mind. Okay, climb in and we'll be off."

On the way Lori gave him a small bundle of floppy disks and the computer's instruction manual.

"Start with the disk I've labelled '1.' It's the easiest game and it's fun. You know how to insert it, just push it into the slot on the front of the computer after the computer is on. Don't push it in before or the computer won't start. Okay?"

"Yes. Thanks Lori. I can't do it this weekend. Maybe next. I'll let you know when I've started."

"All right. Have fun when you can. That's what we do, isn't it, Craig?" He smiled back at her and said, "Yes."

They sat at a large rectangular table in a corner of the pub's biggest room, Ken at one end and Bob at the other. The place was packed and it was much noisier than when they were on the patio. Talking was difficult but they enjoyed themselves. Switching places now and then allowed them to talk to their friends but there was a general feeling that they should go to another place next month. Afterwards Bob took Alan home then drove Lori and Craig to their apartment. When they arrived at the door Lori said, "Don't come in Bob, the place is in a mess. The kitchen cupboards are on the floor and half the walls have still to be painted. Wait 'till we have the party."

Their stationery was ready at Printer's Delight. Bob returned to Small End and put the package on Lori's desk, collected the old computer and drove home, wondering where to keep it. 'I'll put it in Sam's room. Don't have to keep that for storage any more.'

Washing, cleaning, tidying and a bit of gardening filled Saturday morning. After lunch Bob took the stencils to his workshop and marked the letters for three notices on a sheet of plywood. The largest, stating Small End Wooden Toys was for the front of the building. the next was to designate the visitor's parking space and the last directed deliveries to the back of the building. He cut out the letters with his jigsaw then glued them into place on the ply he'd painted white. He'd paint them tomorrow.

After a mug of tea Bob bathed, put on a white shirt, a red tie and his blazer and went to the pub. Rose and Jack were there, dressed rather smartly, sitting at their usual table.

"So you're going to the dance too," laughed Bob, as he put his pint on the table. "Where's Joe and Jane?"

"Still getting dressed, I imagine," replied Rose. "Jane phoned me just before I left to say that Joe had only just come in and would have to shower so they'd be late."

"Why didn't she come on ahead?"

"Ah, she told me she couldn't, she wanted to be sure Joe put on something decent."

"I didn't know the dance was a big social occasion," said Bob.

"But you dressed up for it so you must have guessed what it'd be like. Joe's usual pub clothes aren't what most people would go to a dance in. Here they are."

Jane joined them at the table and Joe, dressed in tie and jacket, ordered the drinks. He carried them to the table and was about to put them down when Jack said, "Nay, sorry, this seat's fer Mr. Joe Smith."

Everybody burst out laughing and Joe grinned sheepishly.

"Thanks. Just what I needed. And who are you lot anyway?"

They laughed again. Bob looked around the pub to see if there were other people dressed as if they would be going to a dance. A group of six looked as if they might and he pointed discreetly towards them. "Looks as if they're going. Anyone know them?" Nobody did.

"Probably new-comers. Let's hope so, dancing's a good way to integrate," said Jane.

"I helped 'integrate' some on Wednesday," said Bob. "I went to the dance lesson and danced with three or four women who are new to the village."

"What was it like? Was the instructor any good?" asked Jane.

"I liked it and she was very good. We learned two new waltz steps and she said we would be working on the quickstep next Wednesday. Oh, and how to rise and fall."

"Rise and fall? Wot's that? Fall on t'floor an' rise up?" asked Jack.

"No, you dope. You do it standing up."

"I know what you mean," said Rose "but we don't do it."

"I don't know wot you mean," said Jack.

"Don't worry Jack," said Rose. "I'll do it and you do what I'm doing. It's easy, once you know how."

"Hey let's order and eat or we'll be late," said Joe.

They weren't late but there were already about forty people in the hall when they arrived. It turned out that Jenny Painter was in charge of the evening for she climbed onto the stage, held up her hand, welcomed everybody and introduced herself. She told them that the cafeteria would be open for an hour at nine for light refreshments then she introduced her husband, a middle-aged man, saying he would be operating the sound system. He waved, moved to the side of the stage and, a moment later, the sounds of a large dance band filled the air.

"Jenny's a great find," said Jane. "She was the first to volunteer." She turned to Joe and said, "Well, let's dance."

Rose looked at Bob. "Who are you going to dance with if I dance with Jack?"

"You go ahead. I'm going to look around and see if there's anyone from the dance class. I'll dance with them."

"Okay. Come on Jack. It's a long time since we've danced."

"And don't forget the rise and fall," called Bob, as they moved away.

It didn't take long to find two of the ladies from the class. Bob danced with both and rejoined his friends afterwards. They had found enough chairs and were sitting on the side of the hall.

"Tired out?" he asked.

"Nay, but I can't tango," said Jack.

"Nor me," said Joe.

"All we do is the waltz, quickstep and foxtrot," said Rose.

"Then you'd all better go to the dance lessons," said Jane. "I'd go if I could get Joe to go."

"I'm too tired during the week," he replied.

"So am I," said Jack.

"Well I seemed to have more energy at the end of the lessons than I did at the beginning," Bob said. "I don't know why. Oh there's a foxtrot. Do you mind if I ask Jane to dance with me Joe?"

"Of course not."

"Shall we?" So they danced. Bob sat at the table until Rose was free then he danced with her.

"How about a rest and a coffee everyone?" said Jane.

"Good idea," said Joe. "I'm ready for a rest. Let's go," and they joined several others in the cafeteria.

"When do we actually become members of the Centre?" Rose asked Jane. "Surely there must be a membership fee."

"Yes there is. We thought that the first month should be free, a gift to everyone who's helped, but we'll make an announcement next week about membership."

"Do we pay for lessons?"

"Some will be free, dancing lessons, for one, but there'll be a fee for some of the others, like cooking or woodwork. We'll have to have extra cleaning done for those. We'll see what happens and adjust the membership and lesson fees as we go along. Shall we go back to the hall?"

"I'd rather not Jane," said Joe.

"All right, you've done well Joe," Jane said. "Shall we go to the next dance?"

"Yes, I enjoyed this. It's nice not to think about the farm for a while."

"I'd like to go home too," said Jack.

"Oh okay. I'm pretty tired too. Are you going to stay Bob?"

"No. That's enough. But it was fun."

So they walked home, saying goodbye to Bob as he turned into his garden.

**Chapter 34 Money**

Bob gave the letters their first coat of black paint on Sunday morning then did a bit of hoeing. He walked along the river path in the afternoon and stopped at the river pub for a pint. He was sipping it and thinking about the dance when Ronald Teller tapped his shoulder.

"Hello Bob. How are you?"

"Why, hello Ron. I'm fine. How are you? Take a seat."

Ron sat and put his binoculars and a rum and coke on the table.

"You're birding again?" Bob asked.

"Yes. Nothing very interesting. Wrong time of day really but I'm beginning to like this walk and have been here twice since I saw you on the path. Usually it's first thing in the morning though. You out for a walk?"

"Yes."

"I saw you on television last Sunday. You've had a busy year, growing from a one person shop to one having twelve employees! It is twelve, isn't it?"

"Thirteen actually. Plus Ken and myself. Yes, it's been a busy year, or rather, six months. It feels like a lot longer than six months though."

"Did you go to the dance last night? I thought about it but watched television instead."

"I did and I enjoyed it. I also went to the dance lesson on Wednesday; in the evening and enjoyed that too. Do you like dancing?"

"Sort of. I used to, when my wife was alive, but I haven't danced since then. My interest is bird watching almost exclusively now. I'll be teaching that at the Centre starting next Tuesday. Why don't you come along?"

"One course is enough for me right now Ron. Maybe I'll have more time after Christmas."

"Okay. It's an enjoyable hobby once you get started. Well I'm off now. Three more places to try before going home. Cheers Bob."

"'Bye Ron."

Bob finished his drink, returned his mug to the bar, went to the toilet then continued along the path. He crossed the fields and visited his parent's grave before walking home. As he made the last part of his journey he started thinking about Ron's suggestion. He didn't think he wanted to look for birds even if he did have the time to do it. Wood carving would be his first hobby choice. But not toys any more, just birds. Then, maybe, he could do both, carve and watch birds. Not that he could carve birds from just seeing them, he'd have to work from photographs. So he might have to carry a camera too. 'That's something to think about. It might be a good combination, especially if he got a camera that would connect to the computer. He could print his own pictures and then carve a bird from a photo he'd taken.'

Bob wrote to Maria after supper telling her that the BBC documentary had increased interest in the toys and they expected this month's sales would be better than last. He asked her about her week and hoped she wasn't too tired. 'Won't guiding the Lake District tour make you tired though?' he asked, hoping it wouldn't.

Then he rang Regina and asked how she and Roy were doing. "He's fine. He's reading about Paris to get ready for our trip right now. We all watched the BBC show. I liked seeing Small End and our house. And you and the workshops. I had no idea you had become so big."

"But I told you about it the last time I called."

"I didn't think you would be in charge of a dozen employees. Nor that you were making toys in the old Community Centre. Don't you get tired?"

"Yes I do, but things will slow down soon, I hope. Did you tape the show?"

"I tried to but couldn't get the machine to work. We use it so little I'd forgotten what buttons to push. Bernard never uses it so he couldn't help."

"Well never mind. I can get a copy from Sam or Jane Smith, Joe's wife. Joe's the farmer. You must remember him."

"Yes of course I do. He's your best friend isn't he?"

"Yes but I see much less of him now."

Then he called Sam. Sam had taped the show and was considerably impressed by what he had seen.

"The girls loved it and want to come and see the workshop."

"Come anytime. If you come during the day I can show you what everyone's doing."

"Well we'll visit after the camping trip. I'll let you know the dates."

"Okay." It would be nice to show them first hand what was happening.

He put the signs and a shovel in the boot of his car Monday morning and drove to the workshop arriving just as Craig and Lori were pushing their bicycles through the front door.

"I didn't know you cycled to work," he said.

"We don't, usually, but it's such a nice day we thought we would today," replied Craig.

"Where will you put them?"

"In the wood-storage room."

"I see. When you've done that can you help me install these signs Craig? We'll need a piece of wood to mount them on."

Craig dug the holes and tamped the dirt back in as Bob held the posts in place. Ken arrived soon after the signs had been erected and they walked inside together. Lori was waiting for them in the office.

"Dave Posser has just called. He wants another three thousand, a thousand of each. Can you deliver them Bob?"

"Yes. Glad to."

"Okay, and he thinks that he'll want more this week. We're okay at the moment but we'll run short soon if he asks for a lot more."

"How many do we have?" asked Ken.

"We'll have about two thousand of each after this delivery."

"Then I'll try and speed-up the line," he replied. "We can make a thousand a day if we work hard. Even more, if they're trains."

"Have you finished the barrel sander?" asked Bob.

"No. I couldn't get it to work well enough and Mary hates me spending my weekends in the garage. She wants to go and see Larry again. I've said we'll go there next weekend so the sander will have to wait."

"Well I'll get back as soon as I can from the delivery and give a hand. Can you help me load the boxes Craig?"

Ten minutes later he was on his way. With no tea break he was back by twelve and helped wherever he could for the rest of the day.

There was a letter from Maria waiting for him. She wrote that she was really looking forward to the Lake District tour. 'Anything to get away from answering the phone and all the desk work!' The letter was signed 'with much love from Maria.'

There was no call from Dave Tuesday morning and Bob spent the day in the shop. He was glad when five o'clock came and, being too tired to cook for himself, he ate in the Crown, siting at the bar and talking to Len about the number of new people coming to live in Small End. Len was happy about the growth of course, Bob was less so, preferring the slower pace of the times gone bye. After supper and his second pint he walked slowly up the hill to his home and was fast asleep in bed by nine o'clock.

Dave Posser called again early on Friday. "I need another 1,000 of each," he told Lori. "I'm sure it's people who've seen the BBC documentary and the rush will die down soon. Once it does I'll only order on Fridays. It's easier for you and makes it easier for our accounting department if I do that."

Lori told Ken about his call and he asked her how many they had in inventory. "With what we've added since Monday, and after taking off this order we'll have about five thousand, about two thousand farms and villages and a thousand trains. I could go and count them if you like but I think that's what we've got."

Bob delivered the toys and when he returned Ken took him into the office and shut the door.

"I've just had a call from John Barker, the president of Great Toys. They want to buy our company and he's asked us to visit and talk about it."

"Buy us? Take over the company?"

"Yes. Actually he said they really only wanted to buy the name of the company. It's a good job we registered it!"

"They just want to buy the name?"

"Yes, that's right."

"What would we do if they bought that? I don't want to start again under a different one."

"Well we wouldn't have to. They'd actually buy the company and close this shop. They'd make our toys in their London factory. They'd pay us five hundred thousand pounds."

"The name and company is worth much more than a half a million Ken. We can make that in less than a year at the rate we're going."

"Yes we can, right now. But, remember, we said that wooden toys might just be a fad and that people might not want to buy them one day. If no one wanted wooden toys the company wouldn't be worth anything."

"Well I'm not selling the company if they're going to close this shop. To sell and put everybody out of work is not fair. I'm willing to take a gamble on us continuing. How about you?"

"I agree. I'd like us to continue. But not forever. I'm sure we'll be selling fewer toys before long. Then we should sell, perhaps."

"When does he want an answer?"

"I can phone him now and tell him we're not interested."

"Okay. Let's get it over with."

Ken picked up the phone and dialled his number.

"No. Sorry. We're not willing to sell." He listened to the reply, put his hand over the mouthpiece then spoke to Bob.

"He's asked us to visit and talk about it. I think he will offer us more money. Do we still say no?"

"Yes."

"Sorry, John. We still don't want to sell so we won't come to talk about it. Maybe in a year or two. Oh. Okay. I understand," and Ken hung up the phone.

"He said that they probably wouldn't want to buy us in a year or two."

"Yes, I guess he wouldn't if our sales went down."

There was a knock on the door and Lori poked her head in.

"Excuse me, but everybody said they'd work over lunchtime if we're going to be short of toys. I didn't know what to tell them. Do you want them to?"

"No Lori. If you say we'll be fine for a while there's no need. Come in, there's something we want to tell you." She came in and sat on her desk facing them.

"We've just had an offer from the president of Great Toys. He wants to buy the company. We said no, we aren't interested in selling."

"Didn't he offer enough?"

"He offered half a million pounds. Which isn't enough we think."

"No, it surely isn't," she replied, "not with what we're making now."

"The worst part of it Lori," said Bob, "was that he only wanted to buy the name. He would close the factory and make our toys in his London factory. I hated that part of it most."

"I guess we both hated that part of it," added Ken.

"Well I'm glad you told me. It would be terrible to find out that our jobs were gone. Everybody likes working here and would hate to look for another job after working here. They wouldn't find one as good as this."

"We'll never close the factory unless it starts making a loss," Bob said, "so don't worry about it. You'll know how we are doing financially before we do. We'd talk to everybody before making that kind of a decision, wouldn't we, Ken?"

"Oh yes. We'd do that."

"Will you tell everybody about the offer Ken?" asked Lori.

"What do you think Bob?"

"Sure. We've just said we'll talk about things like that with them. Tell them at lunchtime."

Halfway through lunch Ken asked everybody to listen and he told that about the call from John Barker. Everybody except Lori and Craig was shocked but they quickly recovered when Ken and Bob told them they wouldn't be selling. They answered questions afterwards and continued until everybody was satisfied. Bob noticed that Craig didn't ask any questions, he guessed that Lori had earlier told him what had happened.

Thursday was another busy day for everyone as they worked hard to increase the inventory. They made about a thousand farms and began making villages on Friday. Dave Posser called again and asked for another thousand farms a thousand villages and five hundred trains. Bob delivered them, returned to the shop and everybody decided to work until five o'clock. Early closing on Friday afternoons, they agreed, was stopped for now. At the end of the afternoon Lori said they had, roughly, three thousand farms, two thousand villages and seventeen hundred trains. She said she'd pin a list of what they'd got on the door and keep it up-to-date. Bob thanked her, for he was getting worried about how big Dave's orders might soon become. Lori also told him that she had ordered twenty thousand boxes and they should be ready to pick-up sometime next week. "Do you want to collect them?" she asked, well knowing he'd answer "Yes."

He sat with Ken in the office after everyone had left telling him he wanted to discuss money.

"We are going to have a problem next week; there won't be enough money in the bank to pay everyone's salaries. Lori's told me we've only got about £1,780. We'll have to put some more in or hope that we start receiving money from the July retailers, the ones that we've delivered to. Trouble is, it'll take a week for me to get another mortgage, although they might be quicker this time."

"I can look after next week Bob. I can lend the company £2,500 from my savings, £5,000, if needed. It'll take only one day to transfer since the business bank is also my bank. But let's wait until Wednesday before doing that; we might have some cheques by then. Did Lori tell you how much we'll get from the sets we sold ourselves?"

"Yes she did. £27,989."

"Well I bet some of it comes in soon. Not everyone waits until the fifteenth to pay."

"Yes, that's right. All right. That was my biggest worry but there's another one. Dave bought the first lot July 18th and that means that We-Have-It doesn't have to pay us until September 12th. We wouldn't get that until September 13th or 14th. So it's going to be tight for several weeks."

"What are our weekly expenses these days?"

"June's was just over £8,750. With more people working for us and using more materials I estimated that July's would be about £16,000. Our August expenses would be about the same. More, if we work overtime."

"We might have to do that, thanks to the BBC, but we can manage, it's only the salaries we have to cover each week, almost all of the rest doesn't have to be paid until the end of the month."

"I know, but I don't want to borrow more money."

"Ah don't worry Bob. Think of September—it'll start rolling in then."

"I guess so. Lori added up what we'll get from We-Have-It; it'll be £91,212 and fifty pence!"

"I guessed it must be over a seventy five. Minus our expenses we should net quite a bit more than fifty thousand. Let's hope these sales continue. Hey, look at the time! I must be off. We're driving to Manchester tonight. I hope the traffic isn't bad. You'll be in on Monday?"

"Yes. Have a good weekend Ken."

"You too."

**Chapter 35 Maria and Sally**

Maria's letter was waiting for Bob when he opened the door. She was very interested in the Small End episode, saying that BBC documentaries were sometimes broadcast in Portugal and she would keep an eye open for it. And, yes, she was still tired and that guiding the tour would also be tiring 'but your presence will invigorate me.' Bob didn't quite know what to make of that but he was happy she had said it.

He drove to Big End Saturday morning and took five hundred pounds from his savings account. He hoped it would be enough for his holiday, that, plus his credit card. He bought groceries and some frozen shrimp, planning to make a shrimp stir-fry, Thai-style, with noodles for supper. He added a couple of kippers to have for breakfast on Sunday. Once home he hoed, tidied the garden and hung his clothes on the line, hoping it wouldn't rain. Unfortunately, as he sat down for lunch, the rain began so he hurried out, collected the damp washing and draped it over the living room furniture. Since he didn't feel like walking in the rain nor reading or watching television in a room full of drying clothes he decided to try the computer.

Plugging in the cables was simple, Lori's numbers made it fool-proof. He turned the machine on, sat in a chair and watched the screen. Mysterious numbers and instructions came and went and he waited. After nothing had happened for two or three minutes he found diskette number one and pushed it into the slot. Nothing happened. Then he remembered that Lori had put the diskettes in with the label showing on top so he pressed the eject button, removed the disk and reversed it. This time some coloured squares appeared on the screen with several labelled boxes on top. One of them said 'instructions' so he moved the mouse, just as he'd seen Lori do, and pressed it's left-hand button. The screen changed and a description of the game and what one had to do appeared. He read everything carefully and eventually found he could move the text upwards and he was able to read what was previously hidden below the bottom of the screen. Five minutes later he had won his first computer game. Ten minutes later he started losing them, as the moves became more difficult to do. An hour later he stopped, having scored the maximum number of points and been told he was a 'champion.'

'Well, that's enjoyable,' he thought. 'I'll try the next one,' and he continued playing until four o'clock. It was getting dark in the room for the rain was still falling and his eyes were tired. 'I'd better stop and have my bath. Playing games on the computer's fun but I'd better ask Lori to show me how to type a letter or I'll be playing all day.' He had his bath, dressed, collected the alarm clock from his bedroom then went to the living room. The clothes weren't dry so he moved those covering his easy chair to the kitchen and sat down with the computer manual in his hands. 'Time to read a little and find out what else I can do.' He set the clock for five-forty five, just in case he fell asleep.

The alarm woke him. His forefinger was between pages five and six; reading about computers, he learned, was not the most exciting thing to do. He put on his mackintosh and just as he was about to pick up the umbrella remembered to switch on the railway light. It was still raining as he walked down to the pub.

"Hello Joe. I'm here first tonight!" Bob said, when Joe joined him.

"Didn't fall asleep then?"

"I did, actually, but I had the alarm on and it woke me. I've been playing with a computer this afternoon. What do you think of that?"

"Did you like it?" asked Joe.

"Yes. It was fun. I'm the Golden Squares champion!"

"What's Golden Squares?"

"A computer game Lori gave me. She said I should play lots of games so I can get familiar with the mouse and how a computer works."

"You can play with our mice," said Jack as he joined them. "There's plenty in t'new houses."

"They've come from the fields Jack. You're building on their habitat," said Joe.

"Where are the girls?" asked Bob.

"Not coming tonight. They've gone to Big End to see a movie" said Joe. "It's a girl's night out, Jane told me. They've gone with Jenny Painter. She's quite an organiser."

"She's a nice woman. I danced with her."

"Yes, you told us. What's happened to Maria?" asked Joe, with a smile.

"What do you mean? Nothing's happened to her, I'll be seeing her in a week's time."

"Oh yes, that's right. Your holiday."

"Yes."

"It's time I 'ad one." said Jack.

"And me," Joe said, "but I can't, not for another three months."

They talked about the work on the farm and the work that Jack was doing then Bob told them how busy they were in the shop. They each had a third pint after their supper then slowly walked home under their umbrellas. As he approached his house Bob was glad he'd turned the light on, it made the place inviting. He turned it off as he entered and was fast asleep in his bed ten minutes later.

It was still raining Sunday morning and Bob tried to sleep late. The problem was, he couldn't. He could sleep easily in the evening and at night but felt he had to get up when the sun rose. He arose, dressed, put the washing away, warmed his kippers in some water in the frying pan and ate them with two slices of buttered toast. With nothing else except tidying and dusting to do he spent most of the day on the computer, stopping for a late coffee, then a late lunch, and finally stopping altogether to make his supper at six. Playing games had quickly became addictive.

He told Maria about his computer in his letter that evening. He knew she used computers at work and she would understand what he was talking about. He also told her about the week and how much he was looking forward to their holiday. 'I'll drive to the hotel on Sunday and be there when you register the people from England. With much love, Bob.'

Monday morning was bright and sunny and Bob almost thought about taking a walk before going to work but knew it would be another busy day and that he should save his energy. He arrived early and was putting the milk into the fridge when Ken arrived.

"Hi Ken. How was your weekend? Was the traffic bad?"

"Hi Bob. No, not going, although it was coming back last night."

"How was everybody?"

"They're all fine. Larry's three now, his birthday was last week. So we had a second birthday party for him, his first was with some playmates. A simple party, we just had cup cakes and ice cream. Mary gave him our presents. He's growing so fast, runs about and talks so much. Mary told me she wants us to visit more often; every two months isn't enough she said. I half agreed but said she might have to go alone if we have to work on the weekends. She was a bit angry when I said that."

"It might not get that bad Ken. We can ask them if they'd work in the evenings instead of Saturdays if we had to. Also you don't have to be here. Craig and I can handle it."

"Yes, but working evenings isn't good as we know. We couldn't do it more than twice a week and they'd make fewer in the evenings than if they worked on Saturdays because they'd be tired. Ah, well, we'll see what happens."

Lori walked in and sat down.

"Hello Lori," said Bob. "Had a good weekend?"

"Yes. Bought some furniture and did a bit more painting but there's still a lot to do."

"Will it be ready for your party? It's this Saturday isn't it?"

"Yes. It'll be all right. The bedroom walls and the trim haven't been painted and there's still a lot to do in the kitchen but Craig says he'll have it done by Saturday."

"Good. Everyone wants to see it."

Ken stood up, "I've been thinking about what we've got Lori. We need to make villages today don't we?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Is Craig in the shop?"

"I think so."

After he had left Bob told Lori that he had started using the computer.

"I've beaten your score on the first two games Lori and I'm playing the third and fourth games now."

"Good for you Bob. Did you have any trouble?"

"Nope, apart from understanding the manual. It's hard to learn that way."

"I find that too. It's easiest to just use the machine and learn as you go along. Has it frozen on you yet?"

"Frozen?"

"Yes. Stopped working and you can't make it work no matter what you do with the mouse or the keyboard?"

"No not yet. Will it do that?"

"It does sometimes. If it does press the Alt, Control and Delete keys at the same time. That'll usually let you correct the trouble. I'll write that down for you. If that doesn't work press the start button on the computer and hold it down. It'll shut down the machine and it should be okay next time you start it. But use the Alt, Control and Delete keys before you do that. Okay?"

"I think so. Thanks Lori. Can I write letters on it, the way it is now?"

"Sure. Do you want to do that already?"

"Not immediately, not until after the holidays."

"Okay. We'll talk about it then."

They made villages that day, nine hundred of them. At the end of the day Lori's list read; farms 3,000, villages 2,900, trains 1,700.

Tuesday they made more villages, this time about one thousand. At the end of the day Ken told Bob that they should have enough for Dave's Friday call.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, Ken couldn't decide which it was when first told about it, Dave called early Wednesday morning.

"Sorry to do this since I said we'd order on Fridays in future but we need more toys. Can you deliver 2,000 village, the same number of farm sets and 1,200 trains today? There have been many more orders for your stuff."

"Yes," Lori replied. "They'll be there by lunch time. Thanks Dave."

"We'll have to meet sometime, Lori. Why don't you bring them?"

"Ah, that's not my job, but I might, for a change, one day."

"Good. I'll take you to lunch if you come later in the year, in the fall."

"I'll think about it. Should I bring my fiancé?"

"Oh, err, yes, if you like."

"All right. Thanks for asking. 'Bye Dave."

"'Bye Lori."

The phone rang again. This time it was Salisbury Boxes; their order was ready. Lori went to the shop and told Ken and Bob about the calls and that they had received £2,608 from their July deliveries.

"That's a big relief," said Bob. "I thought we'd have to put more money in the bank this week. Okay I'll drive to Basingstoke and Salisbury."

They loaded the van and, as Bob was climbing into the driver's seat, Lori told him that Dave had asked if she could deliver the toys sometime. "He's said he'd buy me lunch if I did that in the fall."

"I asked him if I could buy him lunch and he said he'd be too busy until October so that's when he meant, I guess," said Bob.

"I'm not sure he still wanted me to deliver when I asked if I could bring my fiancé!"

"Ah well, it might make a nice change for you and Craig to do a delivery. Remind me in October will you?"

"Yes I will. Thanks."

They made trains that day, adding another 1,200 to the inventory. Bob got back to the shop at two and helped. At the end of the day the inventory read 1,000 farms, 1,900 villages and 1,700 trains. Bob crossed his fingers and wondered how many Dave would ask for on Friday.

Thursday they made another 900 farms. Another £2,380 arrived and £16,649 more on Friday. Dave called to ask for fifteen hundred farms, fifteen hundred villages and a thousand trains. They loaded the van and Bob took all the cheques. "I'll deliver then go to Big End and deposit the cheques. I'll be back as soon as I can." He didn't stop for coffee, there wasn't much traffic and he was served immediately at the bank so he got back to the shop by one and spent the afternoon helping them make more villages.

At a shortened tea break, cut down, with everybody's agreement, to five minutes, Ken stood up and told them that they probably wouldn't have enough inventory to fill next week's orders.

"You can see the list on the stock-room door. By the time we finish today we'll have about 400 farms, 1,300 villages and 700 trains. We can add around a thousand each day but if our wholesaler calls for more on Wednesday next week we'll probably not have enough for him on Friday. Can any of you work overtime tomorrow?"

"We'd pay double for those who can," added Bob.

Most people nodded their heads but Diane said she couldn't, she was taking her Mum to visit her brother. Then Alan said he couldn't but didn't give a reason. Everybody else said they could and agreed to be at the shop at nine and work until four.

"Thanks' everybody. Thank you very much," said Ken.

"But what about your party Lori?" asked Diane. "I'm taking Mum early just so I could be back to go to that."

"Do you mind if we postpone it Diane? Everybody?" said Lori. "We'll all be pretty tired tomorrow evening and I'd rather have it when we have more energy. Does anybody mind?"

"No, we think you're right. We'll all be tired," said Bert. "Let's have it when the rush has finished. Okay everyone?"

"Sure," "Yes," "That's best," "Good," were the replies.

Ken then said, "Pick up your cheques for this week's work as usual tonight. We'll add the overtime pay to your next-week's cheque." Everyone got up, washed their mugs and returned to work.

"Lori, could you make a note to pay everyone who comes tomorrow twice their daily rate for the day," said Bob.

"Yes, I will. You don't mind my postponing the party."

"No, no, of course not. It'll be nice, whenever you have it."

"You'll be on holiday next week, won't you Bob?"

"Yes. I thought about cancelling it but I'll lose all the money I paid for if I do. And my friend will be there too."

"A girl friend?"

"Yes."

"What's her name?"

"Maria."

"Maria. Is she English?"

"No, Portuguese. But she's only a friend Lori. We're not engaged or anything like that. She's guiding the group."

"Oh. Well, I hope you both have a good time."

"Thanks, I hope we will, too."

He got up at six on Saturday, put his clothes in the washer and ate breakfast. Then, as soon as the machine stopped, he hung the clothes on the line. According to the radio it wasn't going to rain this weekend and they should be dry by the evening. He drove his car to the workshop so it would be ready to collect the overalls at the end of the day and walked into the office. Ken was there, sitting at his desk and looking at some of Lori's lists.

"Hello Bob. You're early."

"Not as early as you Ken. Is there something wrong?"

"No, just checking how many we'd made of each toy in the last fortnight. I hope we can keep producing them this fast.

"I don't think we will because I'll be on holiday for the next two weeks. I won't be here Monday."

"Oh damn. I'd forgotten all about that. We need everyone's help. Can you cancel? No, that's not fair. No. You go, we'll manage."

"I thought about cancelling Ken."

"Yes, of course, you would, but I'm glad you didn't. Maria will be there won't she?"

"Yes."

"When do you come back?"

"I was going to return August 19th but I'll come home Thursday 15th and will be in on Friday."

"Would you? So you will be able to drive to Basingstoke that Friday."

"Sure. Oh, I told Lori that she could deliver to the warehouse sometime. We had talked about her going in the fall but she could do it next week, if you like. She'd probably be the best person to go."

"Yes. Okay I'll ask her."

"What about phoning those two young women who asked for a job a couple of weeks ago. You still have their names and phone numbers?"

"They should be in here, somewhere." He opened his centre drawer and searched through a mess of papers.

"Yep. Here it is. I'll call them right now and see if they can work for a couple of weeks. They could move wood, wrap and box the toys, do the simple things. It'll all help."

There was no reply from the first number but the woman who answered the second call said she would love to work.

"How about your friend? I called her but there's no reply."

"She's on holiday with her boyfriend."

"When does she come back?"

"Next weekend."

"Okay. Well can you be here at nine on Monday?

"Yes. Oh, what's the pay?"

"£125 a week."

"Okay. Thanks."

"Well, Bob, that's a help, and if she's any good we might not need her friend."

"Depends on how many toys Dave wants, I guess."

"Yes, everything does. Come to think of it, my holiday and the factory's holiday is only three weeks away."

"We won't be the first company to have a holiday. I'll tell Dave to call me at home and I can deliver that week. That's if we have enough stock. If not, they'll have to wait."

"I guess so." Ken stood up, "let's go and get the benches ready."

They made 900 farms that day. After work had finished Bob and Ken sat in the office and planned the work for next week.

"We can make two thousand farms and another two thousand villages by Friday morning if we work hard Bob. That'd give us 3,300 of each."

"We already have 700 trains so that's probably the best plan. Trains are less popular too."

"Okay that's what we'll do, though, if Dave calls on Wednesday we'll be short on Friday."

"I don't know whether to call you each evening to find out how things are."

"No don't do that Bob. Try and forget about us. A holiday's no good if you worry about work all the time. I know because that's what I did until my doctor told me to stop."

"All right, but I won't be able to stop thinking a bit about you and the work."

"Yes, it was the same for me."

Bob drove home with the overalls and put the first load into his washer before having a quick bath and changing. He put his dried clothes in the bedroom and hung the damp overalls on the line. Then he put the rest of the overalls in the washer and walked to the pub for supper.

His friends were already sitting at the table, discussing the need for Community Centre volunteers. It reminded Bob of Ronald Teller and he asked how many were in his group. "His name sheet listed eight people, six women and two men. It's a good beginning," said Jane.

"Jenny Painter had eleven at her first class but dancing 's more popular I suppose," said Bob. "Oh, how was your girl's night out?"

"A good movie; I'm glad we went, aren't you Rose?"

"Yes. We must do it again."

"Good job Jenny drove," said Joe. "I think that Jane had had a drink or two afterwards!"

"We all did. We had to keep up with you lot!"

"Err, yes. We had a drink or two, too."

"Or three?"

"Enough about last Saturday," said Joe, changing the subject a little too obviously. "Let's order some food."

They did that and had another drink. Bob got up to leave first, reminding them he wouldn't be there next Saturday. Joe told him to have a good time with Maria. Everyone grinned, including Bob.

He hung the last load of overalls on the line and felt the others. They were still rather wet. As he was doing that the door to the Community Centre opened and the blare from some guitars and drums hit his ears. 'Must be the youth dance again. I hope they don't wake me like they did last time.' The noise broke through his dreams at eleven and he got up and shut the window, went back to bed and slept until six.

Bob ate toast and jam for breakfast, nothing more, having decided not to eat the kippers for their odour might cling to him throughout the day. He poured the last of the milk down the sink, removed the overalls from the line and put them on the back seat of his car. They were still damp but they would dry before Monday morning. He drove to the workshop and hung them on the pegs in the cloakroom then returned home. It was not yet seven o'clock.

After checking that his shop and shed doors were locked he did a quick dust over the furniture then put his suitcase on the bed and filled it with the clothes he thought he'd need for the holiday. He'd put his blazer on the back seat of the car so it wouldn't crease. Then he walked around the house, checking that all the windows were closed and the kitchen door locked. He stopped at the front door and thought through everything again. Had he forgotten something? He couldn't think of anything but decided that he'd make a list of things to do before going on a holiday and things he should take when he returned. It'd save a lot of last-minute worrying.

'It'll take me about six hours to get to the hotel if there aren't any traffic jams,' he told himself as he drove through the village. 'Registration doesn't start until four so I've plenty of time.'

Bob didn't hurry but he did follow the faster A and M roads, stopping at Coventry, just before joining the M6, where he had a coffee and a short rest. The traffic hadn't been heavy and it should be even lighter once he was on the M6. He'd be early at this rate but he didn't mind. It'd be nice to see Maria before she became busy looking after the other participants.

He arrived around three and parked near the front doors. It was a big hotel, situated midway between Braithwaite and Keswick. Maria was sitting at a desk to one side of the lobby reading some papers. She looked up when he entered and waved to him.

"Hi Bob." She stood up and kissed his cheek. "It's nice to see you. Has it been a tiring journey?"

"Hi Maria." He felt for her hand and squeezed it but did not dare kiss her back in the hotel lobby. "No, not really. I was thinking of you all the way."

"Oh yes? I bet! Sit down. I'll give you your key and a name tag. You are in the room next to mine. Remember, I won't be able to see much of you during the tour; I have to look after everybody. Even during the night," and she looked at him.

"That's too bad. We still have next week together?"

"Oh yes, I wouldn't let the agency change that. We won't stay in this hotel though, I've booked another, a quieter one, for us."

"Good. Where's your assistant? Didn't you tell me you'd have one?"

"I do. Her name's Polly Kitt. She lives near Gatwick but knows this district very well. She has helped me before and will be with us all the time. She'll be the one to take the group back to the airport when they leave. She's shopping right now."

"Oh. Will the group be doing a lot of that?"

"No. It's not a shopping trip. There are two free afternoons when people can do that if they wish. Polly will be the bus guide and tell us about the places we're going to visit and what we're going to do at each one. You'll meet her at supper. Ah, there's another couple coming over. We'll talk more later. Supper's at six-thirty in one of the hotel's restaurants. They'll show you where to go. Here's your key Bob. Oh, can you move your car to the parking lot at the back of the hotel?"

"I'll do that now."

He drove the Vauxhall to the rear lot, collected his suitcase, blazer and mackintosh and entered the building by a back door. His room was on the second floor, en suite and had a double bed. He could see trees and rolling fields out of the window then a range of hills. It was a very comfortable room with two easy chairs and a large television. He unpacked, had a shower and changed his shirt. He decided that it was too warm to wear a coat so put on a light sweater, locked the door and walked down the stairs to the main floor. Maria was busy, talking to a group of people and didn't see him as he walked to the entrance and down the steps. He strolled around the big garden at the side of the hotel, admiring the flowers and bushes and the benches near two pools. He sat on one for a while just staring at the hills in the distance thinking that it would be nice to have a garden like this then stood up and walked back to the lobby. Maria saw him coming in and waved but, as she was talking to another lady, he didn't approach but went to the bar and ordered a bitter. He carried it to one of the soft leather arm chairs and sank into the seat. There were a dozen people drinking there but he didn't feel like asking if the couple near him were with the group. Time to do that later.

At six-thirty a man entered the room and said, "If there are any tour-group members here will you please follow me." Bob and about eight other people stood and the man took them to the group's dining room where about twenty other people were already seated. Bob found a seat at a table with seven others. As he was about to introduce himself Maria clinked on a glass and began to speak. First she introduced Polly, saying that she would be the one who would tell them about the places they would be visiting, then told them that they would have a short meeting after dinner each day to describe the next day's activities and to answer any questions. "I'll take you there after dinner tonight." With that she sat down and waiters came to each table delivering menus and asking if anybody would like to order a drink. Nobody wanted one and Bob wondered if he was sitting with an abstemious group. He looked at the menu and ordered a salad and poached salmon then he asked if he could have a glass of white wine. Several others also then chose a wine. Someone on another table asked Maria if they had to pay for the wine and she said, loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Sorry, drinks aren't included in this tour. You'll have to pay for them. The waiters will ask you for the money at the end of each meal."

Dinner passed easily since the Portuguese guests wanted to practice their English and they livened up each table. Bob told one of them near him that he was in Lagos in January and a lady from Yorkshire on the other side of the table said she and her husband were there at that time as well. That led into a discussion of holidays and the places they had visited. The meal was eaten and coffee served long before they had run out of conversation topics.

The meeting room was at the end of their dining room's corridor. Maria led them there and after they were seated asked everyone to state their names, say where they came from and why they had chosen this holiday. Bob didn't want to say that he had booked it because Maria was leading so he said he just wanted to see more of England. When he said he was from Small End he noticed that one of the ladies looked at him with interest and he wondered if she knew the name of the village from buying their company's toys. Maria then gave everybody a map of the area and Polly took over.

"Our hotel is marked with a cross on the map. So we will start from there every day. Can you find it? Okay. Now tomorrow we're travelling south to Windermere Lake. We'll go along its shore to Newby Bridge, then west and up to Coniston Water, then home. I'll not tell you about the interesting places we'll see until tomorrow, that way it'll be fresh in your mind. We'll stop for coffee or tea and at places to take photographs. Lunch is at a nice lodge and there will be time to take a short walk as well if you want to. You should wear your heavy shoes and take a mackintosh because there's a chance it'll rain tomorrow. Are there any questions?"

"What if we don't want to walk?"

"You can stay in the lodge or in their garden. When we stop for walks if we are not at a lodge or hotel then you can sit in the bus or on one of the benches near where we park. The walks will only last twenty minutes or so."

"So we'll be gone all day tomorrow?"

"Yes. We'll return here for lunch only on Wednesday and Saturday. Will that be a problem?"

"No. Just wondering."

"We'll eat our lunch in a restaurant or a lodge every day except Thursday, when we'll have a packed lunch. On that day we'll be in a very picturesque spot and some of you might want to take a longer walk over the lunch hour. You can take the packed lunch with you and eat it during your walk if you wish."

"If we have something else we want to do on one of the days what do we do?"

"Just tell Maria or me that you'll not be with us the night before."

"All right. Thanks."

"If there are no more questions," Maria said, "then the rest of the night is yours. If there's any emergency and you need to contact us my room is number 204 and Polly's room number is 206. We'll start at nine o'clock tomorrow so please be in the lobby at that time. Thank you and good night everybody."

Most of them left the room but several walked to the front to talk to Maria or Polly. Bob sat in his chair for a few minutes watching them then went to the bar where he joined one of the couples who had been at his table. He ordered a beer and talked for a few minutes then went to his room.

Fifteen minutes later Maria knocked on his door. He opened it and she came in closed the door and wrapped her arms around him.

"At last," she said as soon as he stopped kissing her. "It's been a long day for both of us, all that travelling, and, for me, looking after the group as well. I'm so tired."

"Too tired to come to bed Maria?"

"No, not too tired to do that. Just for a short while, but I can't stay. I have to be in my room in case I'm needed. It'll be different next week."

"Then you have half an hour now?"

"Maybe an hour," and with that Bob and Maria kissed and began undressing each other.

The hour became an hour and a half, then two. Finally Maria forced herself to get up, put on some clothes and leave. Bob stayed in bed while she dressed, watching and admiring. He fell asleep five minutes after the door closed.

The week passed quickly and Bob enjoyed every day. He particularly liked the talks about Arthur Ransome, Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth, remembering the times he read Swallows and Amazons and Winter Holiday and learned Wordsworth's poem describing the daffodils at school, or when he read Potter's Peter Rabbit stories to the children. They were wonderful writers.

And it was exciting to see Ullswater, the lake where Donald Campbell won the water speed record in 1955. He was fifteen that year and he remembered reading about Campbell and his boat in the newspaper and hearing descriptions of the runs on the radio. And to see Hill Top farm where Beatrix Potter lived and Coniston where Ransome had sailed. He liked everything except the Kendal Mint cake he was given before one of the short walks. However the food he liked most were the Cumberland sausages and ate them whenever they were on the menu. He enjoyed the local beers and drank them with his lunches. They had two lake cruises that made a nice change from the bus rides. The more interesting cruise was a trip in a steam yacht but it was the engine that interested him more than the shore line.

There was a final dinner at the hotel Saturday night. Afterwards Maria told those who were flying back to Portugal to have their bags, properly labelled, outside their bedroom doors by six thirty and that they had to be on the bus by eight. "Please be on time for the bus must leave then to get to Gatwick on time. I'm sure you don't want to miss your flight." The others, who had joined them at the hotel, were reminded to check out by eleven. Maria then said goodbye to everyone; "I'll say it now, because Polly will be taking you back to Gatwick, but I'll be here until eleven tomorrow in case anyone has problems." With that she sat down. A man rose and said how much he had enjoyed the tour and that he'd come back for a longer holiday next year with his brother's family and thanked Maria and Polly. A woman then said she'd had a very interesting time and thanked them "for a lovely week." Everyone started clapping and the meeting was over. "Don't forget to put your bags out by six-thirty if you're on the flight," cried Polly as people left. Maria stayed, talking to three couples as Bob stood up and left the room. He wondered, as he climbed the stairs to the second floor, if Maria would knock on his door that night but she didn't.

Sunday morning was a grey day. It should have been a bright sunny one, for that was how Bob was feeling. He had a slow bath then went to breakfast. There was hardly anyone from the group in the restaurant. The Gatwick group was already on its way to the airport and other participants had left early for most of them had some distance to drive. He didn't see Maria, perhaps she was in the hotel office or telephoning Lagos. Eleven o'clock came at last and Bob checked out but remained sitting in an easy chair in the lobby. At eleven fifteen he saw Maria as she came out of the office that was behind the reception counter.

"Hello Bob. Sorry I'm late but I had to discuss alternative dates for an extra tour next year. The agency thinks we'll need one. I'm all finished now. I'll just get my bag," and she started climbing the stairs.

"Can I help?" called Bob.

"No, thanks. I'll be back in five minutes. I'll join you in the car."

She was there ten minutes later. He put her bag in the boot and smiled at her. "Where do we go?" he asked.

"To the east coast. I've never been there. To a place called Filey, just south of Scarborough. A woman in the agency told me about a nice sea-front lodge. But first, stop at the next lay by, it's time we had a kiss and a cuddle."

That's what they did then they drove for an hour before stopping for lunch. They arrived at the lodge four hours later, checked in and went to bed, getting up for dinner at eight thirty.

Monday they arose just in time for a late breakfast then walked bare-footed along the sandy beach, paddling in and out of the water. During a fish-and-chip lunch they discussed what they would do for the rest of the week.

"I'd like to know more about this part of England Bob. We can walk along the coast and drive to the villages but I'd also like to know something about its history. For instance, my friend told me that there were many shipwrecks here. Why was that?"

"Let's go to the maritime museum and ask them."

"All right. I like museums. It would be a good way to start."

Tuesday they drove and walked, both in the morning and in the afternoon. Over supper they were discussing what they should do the next day when Bob suddenly remembered his promise to Sally. "Oh. Maria, I promised Sally that I'd take you to see her if I could. Would you mind?"

"No of course not. We must do that, it's more important than sightseeing. We can come here another time. She in a place near Boston, isn't she?"

"Yes. Boston's south of here and it's also on the way to Gatwick. I'll phone Sally and tell her we're coming. Oh, no, I can't, it's eight forty-five. She'll be asleep. I'll phone tomorrow, she won't mind. I bet she wouldn't even mind if we just popped in without giving her any notice."

"She's your mother's sister, right?"

"Yes," and Bob told her about the times the family used to visit when he was growing up.

After supper they told the receptionist that they had changed their plans and would be leaving the next day.

"There's nothing wrong is there?"

"Oh, no. This is a nice place and we hope to come back again in the future. We've just remembered that there's someone we must visit."

"Will you stay with them or can I find a hotel for you?"

"Do you know of a nice place near Boston?"

"I can look and I'll make list. We can make the reservation for you, once you choose the place you like."

"Thanks. How long will it take to drive to Boston?" asked Maria.

"Near to four hours I think."

"Oh, that long. Then we'll have to start early Bob or we won't have much of the afternoon left for a visit."

"Yes. Thank you for your help. Goodnight."

"Goodnight sir, madam."

They checked out after a quick breakfast, collecting the list of hotels the receptionist had left for them but did not make a reservation. They were on the road by eight thirty. It took them two hours to get to the Humber Bridge and they stopped for coffee at Barton. Bob found a telephone and called Sally.

"Hello Bob. It's nice to hear from you. Please tell me you are coming to see me!"

"Yes I am Sally. This afternoon, if that's all right. And Maria's with me. You said you wanted to meet her."

"Good. Yes, come along. You'll have to see me in my bed, I don't get up these days, it's too difficult. Can you come about two-thirty? That would be the best time for me."

"Yes Sally. Two-thirty. We'll be there. 'Bye for now."

"'Bye Bob."

He told Maria what Sally had said. "We'll have enough time to get there. We'll have lunch in Boston then drive to where she's staying. She said she'd be in bed because it's too difficult for her to get out."

"What did you say was the matter with her?"

"She has emphysema and I don't think she can live much longer, it's pretty bad. She uses oxygen all the time now."

"I know about emphysema. Quite a few people in Portugal suffer from it."

The lady at the front desk of Sally's residence recognised Bob as he walked up to her. "Hello Mr. Barns. Come to see Sally?"

"Yes. How is she?"

"Not very well. She sleeps most of the time now. Her brain's bright, it's just her body; her lungs, mostly, that's letting her down. Is this Mrs. Barns?"

"No. This is my friend, Maria Schroeder. Maria this is Elizabeth." They smiled then Elizabeth said, "she'll be awake now, I expect. Why don't you go to her room and see?"

"Yes, we will. Thank you."

Sally was expecting them when they knocked. Her shoulders were supported by four pillows. Bob crossed over and kissed her on her cheek then turned and said, "Sally, this is Maria."

They smiled at each other and Maria walked over and shook Sally's hand, lifting it slightly from the bed as she did so.

"Hello Maria. I've been so looking forward to seeing you. Bob's told me a lot about you but he never told me that you were so pretty!"

"Hello Sally. You don't mind me calling you that?"

Maria shook her head. "Not at all. Give me a kiss would you Maria?" Maria did that and Sally sighed. "You know I had hoped to see both of you many times. From what Bob said he's very fond of you and I wanted to see how you felt about him but I don't think I'll live long enough to find out by myself. So, tell me, are you going to get married?"

"Oh Sally," said Bob. "You shouldn't have asked that. I don't know what to say."

"Nor do I Sally," added Maria. "We haven't talked about that. We're just good friends."

"And I want us to be good friends for a long while Sally," added Bob, "but I'm not sure that we should marry."

"My first marriage ended badly," said Maria. "I don't want another experience like that, although I'm sure Bob isn't at all like my former husband."

"Bob's a good man, Maria, and he'd make a very good husband. I know, for my sister, Betty, told me that many times."

"Now, stop Sally," said Bob. "Don't try and make us marry! We'll do that if we both want to but we're not ready to discuss it. We came to talk to you, about you, not us."

"Well you can see how I am and you know that I'm not going to get any better. So there's nothing to say about me. It's you two and your future I'm interested in. All right then, tell me about this holiday you've been having, what have you been doing?"

So Bob and Maria told her about the tour and about how Maria guided tours in Europe and in England. Maria then told her about her job and her apartment in Lagos. Bob started to tell Sally that he had booked to go there for a month in February but her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

They sat and watched her for a few minutes then a nurse entered.

"Hello. Oh, she's asleep now. That's what she always does. Half an hour is all she can manage. She'll sleep until we wake her up for supper. You can come back after her supper if you wish."

Bob looked at Maria then said, "Yes, we'll do that. What time would be best?"

"She'll be finished by six-thirty. Shall I'll tell her that you're coming then?"

"Yes, please," and they left the room, shutting the door quietly. Bob drove Maria to see Sally's old home and they parked in the road nearby and walked along the paths where he and his uncle used to go and he told her more about their times together.

"Okay, enough about those times Maria. I know where there's a hotel near here. Let's check in."

They decided to have supper after seeing Sally and had a drink in the bar before heading out. Sally was again propped up in her bed when they arrived. She seemed alert and they talked about Bob's factory for a while then she began to nod.

"Sally," said Bob, "I think you're falling asleep. Do you want us to go?"

"I think so Bob. I can't stay awake much longer. Give me a kiss and a hug, and you too, Maria."

"We won't be able to visit tomorrow, Sally. I have to take Maria to the airport. I'll try and come back in a couple of weeks."

"That would be nice. I'll expect you then. Goodbye Bob. Goodbye Maria."

"'Bye Sally," and they left the room.

Supper was rather quiet. Both felt that Sally wouldn't live much longer. In bed Bob brought up the subject of getting married.

"I had thought about asking you to marry me several times Maria but I don't know if that's what I really want to do. I like it the way we are and I'm afraid that being married might spoil things. Although I'd like it if we could see each other more often."

"It's the same for me Bob. I really don't want to get married. I think I know a way we can see each other more often. I can leave the agency and become a freelance guide and a trip organiser. Two weeks ago I phoned two companies that I have organised joint tours with to check and they told me they frequently have to hire extra guides. However it's a very uneven life, a friend who does it warned me. You earn lots of money some years and little in others. She says one has to save money when you get it to keep you going when it's bad but I can do that. What do you think?"

"How would being a freelance guide help us to see each other more often?"

"I could come to England more frequently. I could come when I don't have any other work, for instance, or chose tours which go to England. Or you could come and visit me when I wasn't working or join the tour I would be running. There'd be all sorts of ways."

"I see, but don't do it just yet. Think about it some more. Contact others who do it and more agencies. Make sure you know all the pros and cons."

"Yes, okay, I'll not decide until we see each other again."

"In February?"

"Yes. I should know what to do by then."

"Okay."

They made love, fell asleep, woke and made love again. Then slept until they had to get up if Maria was going to catch her plane.

They said goodbye at Gatwick at two thirty, promising to write to each other each week. Bob spent the time while driving home thinking of his time with Maria and about Sally. Saying goodbye to both of them made him feel a little sad. As he turned into his driveway he realised he hadn't thought about work the whole time he had been away. He almost decided to call Ken to find out if things were all right but he decided to leave it until tomorrow. He had his supper in the Crown for he had no milk and didn't want to warm a pot pie. He didn't want to end a lovely holiday that way.

**Chapter 36 Money and a mystery**

Bob was in the workshop at eight Friday, unable to wait until the others came. He wanted to check the records and find out what had happened.

He looked at the sheets pinned to the notice board. They had made two thousand farms and villages and twelve hundred trains the first week he'd been away and had already made the same number of farms and villages this week. So they achieved their goal. Good. Then he looked at the We-Have-It order list. Dave had ordered on the Friday, not during the week, and wanted 2,500 farms, 2,500 villages and 1,200 trains. 'I wonder who delivered them, I hope it was Lori,' thought Bob. 'Wait a minute, Dave would have ordered the sets early Friday morning and they wouldn't have had 1,200 trains then, if Ken made the farms and villages from Monday to Thursday.' Bob looked at the list for the previous week. 'Yes, we only had 500 trains from the previous week. So what did they do? Oh. They didn't work on the Saturday. Why not? Dave's order was the biggest we'd ever received and we have to build the inventory. We'll be in trouble if he orders that many this week. Let's see, yes, we've 2,800 farms, the same number of villages and 1,200 trains. So they didn't deliver the rest of the trains. A back order of 500. Hmm. I wonder how Ken feels about that.'

He left the office and walked into the shop. Nothing different here. Still only two sanders per bench. He checked the lists on the stock room door. Just the same as in the office. He walked back to the office, opened the safe and took out the accounts books. They had received all the rest of the money, £21,351.50 for the pre-We-Have-It deliveries. The July's gross was £27,989 and the month's expenses were £23,362.67. So they had paid all the July expenses with our own deliveries. That means all the money we get from We-Have-It for the month is profit. Finally he checked how much money they should have in the bank, discovering it should be around £7,850, once they'd taken off bank charges and other expenses not yet recorded. They'd need about £5,000 for this week' s salaries and supplies, although the supplies wouldn't be paid until the end of the month. Then they wouldn't have enough to pay the staff the following week. So we'll have to put some more money in. Bob was wishing he hadn't already paid off his mortgage when Ken walked in.

"Hello Bob. Did you have a nice holiday?"

"Yes, lovely, Ken. I'll tell you about it later. How did it go here?"

"We were busy and we didn't have enough trains last week. I told Dave I could deliver all he wanted in the afternoon but he said the trucks couldn't wait. He said we wouldn't be the first manufacturer to run short. We'll be able to deliver all they want today, I hope. He also said that sales will slow down now the summer's nearly over."

"Is that why you didn't work last Saturday?"

"Yes, partly, but also because everyone seemed tired on the Monday when we did work Saturday. We made our daily quota that day but it isn't good to work when everybody's tired; too likely to have an accident, for one thing."

"I've been looking at the books Ken. We're going to be short of money next week. I'll have to take out another mortgage."

"Yes, I think so. We'll be short until mid-September, Lori tells me, when the money from We-Have-It comes in. But you don't have to take out a mortgage yet. I'll sell some more stock and put in £15,000. I'll do that today and we'll have it next week. It should last three weeks and give you time to arrange for a mortgage. In fact, if we are careful, we won't need anything from you because of the money from We-Have-It."

"That's nice of you. Thanks, but I'd better tell the bank I'm going to need one, just in case. Say, the cost of taking out a mortgage, can I charge that to the business?"

"Yes. Of course. I'll take the brokerage costs too, but they won't be much. Oh, hello Lori, hello Craig."

"Hello Ken. Hello Bob. So you're back already. I thought you were on holiday until Monday."

"Hi. Yes, I'm back, I couldn't keep away. How's your apartment? All finished?"

"Just about," said Craig. "We can have the party anytime now. How was your holiday?"

"Excellent. Do you know the Lake District? There's lots to see; beautiful scenery, lots of nice places to walk and many interesting stories about the people who used to live there. If you haven't been there it might be a good place for a honeymoon."

"Have you been having a honeymoon Bob?" asked Lori.

"Sort of. But, no, Maria and I didn't get married."

"Will you go there again if you do get married?"

"Maybe, but there are lots of other places to visit. I've just been looking at the lists and talking to Ken. You've all been working hard."

"Yes we have," answered Craig. "I'm glad we're not working tomorrow."

"We'll try not to work on the weekends again," Ken said. "Last time was an emergency but working six days a week is too much. Well, I'm going to check the shop. Coming, Craig?" and they walked out of the office.

"We're making trains today?" Bob asked Lori.

"Yes. We now keep to the routine, first four days we make farms and villages and we make trains on Fridays."

"Okay. Tell me, who delivered the sets last week?"

"I did."

"I guess you were too busy to take Craig. Did you go for lunch with Dave?"

"No. I went to the office to see him. I think he's a nice man but he was very busy. The telephone kept ringing. We might go to lunch one day. He'll probably call us soon. Do you want to deliver today? Oh, there's another twenty thousand boxes to collect from Salisbury. We need that many every three weeks now."

"I'd like to drive for a bit. It'd give me time to switch my thoughts back to the business. But maybe you'd like to deliver?"

"No. There's a lot of paperwork to do. I can see you've looked at the expenses and income accounts," and she pointed to the books on the desk.

"Yes. It seems Ken and I will have to put more money in the bank next week. Ken's said he'll do that and I'll add mine when I get a new mortgage."

"I see. I told Ken last Friday we'd need more and I was going to remind him today. Have you already discussed it?"

"Yes. He's going to add £15,000 next week and I'll do the same in three weeks. That should cover us until the money from We-Have-It arrives."

"Yes it should. Okay, one less thing to worry about."

"You worry as much as I do Lori."

"I can't help it. I look after the books and can see what's going to happen. Ken doesn't seem to worry about money as much as I do, I don't know why."

"I guess he's used to the way money flows in and out of a company."

"I suppose so."

The phone rang and Lori picked up the handset, listened for a while and wrote '2,000 farms, 2,000 villages, 1,000 trains' on a piece of paper and handed it to Bob. Then she said, "That's less than last week, Dave. Do you expect sales to go down much more in the future?" Bob couldn't hear what he replied. "Yes, we can deliver some of the back-order, 200. Okay? We'll deliver the rest as soon as we can." She listened for a few moments then said, "All right. Yes. 'Bye then," and hung up the phone.

"He thinks sales will go down until November then they'll pick up, maybe a lot, when people start buying gifts for Christmas. And he'd like the rest of the trains as soon as possible."

"Tell Ken about the trains Lori. He might have to change the order we make things next week. Well, we guessed demand would go down for a while. It'll help us build up our stock."

"Ah, yes. I forgot to tell you Ken has asked us to work on Monday even though it's a national holiday. He says he'll give us double pay for the day and everyone agreed to do it. Did he tell you about that?"

"No, he must have forgotten. It's okay with me, I'm ready to get back to work. I'll load the van now, can you help?"

"Sure."

Bob told Ken he was delivering and waved 'Hello' to everybody before leaving. He didn't stop to talk to Dave at the warehouse but drove to Salisbury, collected the pasteboard, bought some sandwiches which he ate as he was driving back and arrived at the shop just before the afternoon tea break began. Craig helped him unload then they joined the others and he snacked on biscuits. He was introduced to the new girl and she told him that she wished she could work here all the time. Everybody asked about his holiday and he described some of it. He asked if anyone had already been to the Lake District. Gerry said he had and Frank said he would be passing through on his way to Carlisle in his holidays. "We'll spend a couple of nights there after seeing my Mum."

"You were going to tell us what we would be paid during the holidays. Have you decided yet?" asked Diane.

"No, sorry," said Ken. "Bob and I'll decide tonight and let you know on Monday. Okay?"

"All right."

It was good to be back with everybody thought Bob, as they all headed back to the shop. It's a bit like being in a large family.

After work Bob and Ken sat down in the office to discuss the holiday pay.

"We have to pay their normal rate Bob."

"I guessed so. Then I'll tell Lori to add it to everybody's pay cheques next week and they'll have it before the holiday."

"So did you spend all the time in the Lake District?" asked Ken.

"No. We drove to Filey and stayed there three nights then we went to Boston to see Sally. She's confined to bed now and I don't suppose she'll live much longer."

Ken said he was sorry then said, "Something strange happened last Thursday. Two men called in about eleven o'clock and asked if they could look around. I didn't quite know what to say and had said 'yes' before thinking that I probably shouldn't let people do that. Well, anyway, we walked along one of the benches and I showed them what we were doing. They seemed interested but they mostly talked to the employees. They asked how they liked working there, things like that. After a while I began to think that they were representatives from some union but that changed when they asked me to lunch with them. We went to the Crown and they treated me. Eventually I asked them what they thought about the shop and they said they were very pleased that they had come. I couldn't get any more information from them. What do you think they wanted Bob?"

"You're sure they weren't union reps? Not that I'd mind. I don't think our lot would want to pay union dues for nothing. It's unlikely a union could improve their pay or working conditions."

"No. They were too polite, I think, to be from a union. One of them had an American accent. Do you think they could have come from Great Toys? Though they didn't say anything about buying the company."

"Maybe they are from another company, one who'd want to buy this one and continue running it here. That could be why they were talking to the employees; they wanted to know what kind of people we had working for us."

"Ah yes, that could be it. I suppose they'll contact us if they decide to do that. If they offered a half-a-million would you sell it?"

"I don't know. No. Hmm, actually, Ken, I think I would like to sell. It would give me all the money I'd need for holidays and, although I like working with everybody here and with you, I think I'd like to go back to the way I was before we started this business. Only, this time, I wouldn't make toys, I'd just carve birds."

"Oh. Wouldn't you soon get tired of that, after these exciting times?"

"I don't think so. I know Maria now and I'd like to spend more time with her."

"Well, you know, I wouldn't mind selling either. I've had my fun, starting and getting the place going. I don't really want to manage a factory each day. I've done that already. Well we'll have to wait and see what happens. We could phone Great Toys if we really wanted to sell."

"No, not to them, they'll close the place. Let's see what these two want. They might offer the same or more and keep the factory here. Why would they visit otherwise?"

"Okay, we'll wait and see what happens."

"But I'm only willing to sell if they keep running it here."

"Yes, that would have to be part of the agreement."

"Okay."

Bob collected the overalls as they went out. "This extra one must be for the new girl. How did she work out?"

"Fine. We might ask her to continue when the holiday's over. You'll have to do that if you think it's necessary. Lori has her phone number."

"Okay."

"Put the overalls in my car and I'll drive you home Bob."

"Good. Thanks."

Ken helped Bob carry the overalls to the kitchen then wished him a nice weekend as he went out the door. 'Yes,' thought Bob, 'I'm still on holiday. What shall I do for the last two days?'

**Chapter 37 The men**

The idea came to him that evening as he was climbing the stairs on the way to bed. Why not use some of the money he'd eventually get to have a bathroom put in upstairs? It didn't seem necessary in the past but he'd probably be using it two or three times each night as he got older. He would never have spent five or six thousand pounds on such a luxury a year ago but it didn't seem too much these days. He didn't need three bedrooms now, in fact he only needed one. Maybe he should change the whole upstairs and have one big bedroom with an ensuite. But no, he'd need a spare bedroom. He'd design the bathroom and have Jack install it. The downstairs bathroom could become a small toilet and the kitchen or the lounge could be enlarged. That's what he'd do during the rest of his holiday, he'd redesign the house.

Thinking about this kept him awake for a couple of hours and he slept late, waking at eight. He checked the front door, picked up the milk then thought about what groceries he needed and made a list as he was eating his porridge.

After breakfast he washed the overalls, dusted and cleaned the house. Then he put his dirty clothes in the machine, picked up his shopping list and walked to the village grocery. They had all he needed and he'd not have to drive to Big End. He'd spend the day drafting, once he'd finished the gardening.

Back home Bob cut the grass, tidied his overgrown vegetable patch and squeezed the overalls onto the line. He'd wash his clothes later. He found the tape measure and carried it and a pad of paper upstairs. He measured each room carefully and the thickness of each wall then did the same for the ground floor, putting a small circle where the toilet waste pipe ran. Jack would need that to know where the upstairs toilet should be positioned.

After coffee he made several sketches, making the bathroom different sizes and putting the bath in different positions. He'd show them to Jack tonight and see what he'd say.

Bob went for a walk in the afternoon. Once home he collected the overalls and used his car to take them to the workshop. He had a bath, drew two good plans, folded them and put them in his pocket. He walked to the Crown and was the first to arrive.

Joe and Jane joined him a few minutes later and Bob told them about his holidays and repeated some of it when Jack and Rose sat down.

"And how have things been here? What have I missed?" Bob asked

"We missed you at the dance lessons," said Rose. "We need more men. Ask Ken if he'd come Bob."

"I will, but he'd also bring Mary if he came."

"That's all right. And we've started charging membership and lesson fees now," added Jane. "A hundred pounds a year for adults and fifty for anyone under twenty. Free for those under ten."

"What's the fee for dancing lessons?"

"Nothing this year. It's one that might bring in more members, that's why it's free now."

"How's the farm doing Joe?" asked Bob.

"It's turning out pretty well. The rain and sun have been just right most of the year."

"So we might have two holidays this winter," added Jane.

"So might we," said Rose. "Jack's bringing in lots of money."

"Oh Jack," Bob said, "I'm thinking of moving my bathroom upstairs, putting it in one of the spare bedrooms. Do you think you can do that for me?"

"Nay, Bob. Not now, maybe in t'winter."

"That's okay, I should have money by then. Here are some plans I've drawn," and he pulled them out of his pocket. "Can you look at them sometime and tell me what you think? There's no hurry."

"Aye. Nex' Saturday okay?"

"Yes. Thanks."

Most of Sunday Bob alternated between playing games on his computer and redesigning his house. He told Maria about changing the house layout in his letter. 'I'll need your help to decorate it. We could buy new furniture, new curtains, new lots of things. Would you help me choose them?' hoping she'd say 'Yes' in her reply.

Ken was in the shop working on the exhaust duct above the sanders when Bob arrived Monday morning.

"Oh, when did you put the new sanders in?"

"Sunday morning."

"Why didn't you ask me to help?"

"You were still on holiday, remember? It didn't take long. I estimate we'll make an extra hundred sets a day now, using these. The coarse sander will double the speed whenever it's used."

"You'll certainly be ready for your holiday Ken."

"You're right about that!"

"We're making trains today?"

"Yes that way we can give Dave what he ordered."

"Good."

At lunch Lori and Craig announced that their apartment was all finished. "We'd like to have the celebration party this Friday evening. Since it's our month-end lunch we'd have all the afternoon to make snacks for you."

"I can't come if you have it then," said Frank. "I'm leaving immediately after lunch. We're driving north, on our holiday trip."

"Me too," said Bert. "We've booked a week in a Cornwall resort and it start's on Friday."

"Then we'll have to postpone it again."

"I've an idea," said Ken. "Why don't we combine your party and the month-end celebration. Bob and I'll give you, err, two hundred pounds and you could order some take out for the lunch."

"Oh that's nice Ken. Thanks. We could do that. What do you think Craig?"

"Sure, that'd be fine. What does everybody else think?"

"It's a nice idea. A double-party is a great way to start a holiday!"

"Then that's what we'll do. Thanks again Ken and Bob," said Lori.

At the end of the day Bob asked Ken how the two sanders affected the speed of making trains.

"We did make about a hundred more trains using them. I haven't checked what it might do when making the villages or farms. We've got about 2,500 trains now Bob. That should be enough for Dave."

Tuesday and Wednesday they made farms, adding nearly three thousand to their stock. Even though he felt tired Bob went to the dancing lessons Wednesday evening. He could see what Jane had said, this time Jenny's husband was the only man there beside himself.

Thursday morning, just after tea, Sam Barns, Lilly, Jane and Bess walked through the front door and into the office. Lori asked if she could help them and Sam explained that he was Bob's son and asked if his Dad was there.

"Yes he is. Can I fetch him for you?"

"Yes please."

"Do you think we could see what everyone's doing?' asked Jane.

"I'm sure you could," said Lori. "I'll get some safety glasses and tell your grandfather you're here. Just a minute." She went to the shop, collected the glasses from the box near the door, told Bob what had happened and they both went to the office.

"Hello Sam. Hi Lilly. Hi Jane and Bess! Give me a hug you two," and Bob bent over. "You've grown so much since Christmas!" He stood up. "Are you just visiting for the day Sam?"

"Not quite. I get three weeks holiday now so we're having an extra camping trip this year. We're staying near the New Forest. Got there Tuesday, settled in yesterday and are here today."

"That's great, I'll be able to visit you there. You want to see the workshop?" he said, looking at the girls.

"Yes please, Grandpa."

"Okay. Come with me," and he took all of them to the door in the corridor and opened it wide. "Here it is. Put on your glasses now. The shop's a bit bigger than the one I have in my back yard isn't it?"

"Wow, it's immense," said Lilly.

"Can we go closer and see what everybody's doing Grandpa?" asked Bess.

"Of course. But first you must say hello to Ken, my partner. He's the man who's just started walking towards us. Ken this is Sam, my son, and his wife, Lilly. And my two granddaughters, Jane and Bess."

"Hello. It's nice to see you. Are you going to look around?"

"Yes please," answered Bess.

"Then you'd both better hold my hands and come with me and I'll tell you what everybody's doing."

Ken took them slowly along the line and Bob followed with Sam and Lilly. They said 'hello' to everybody as they passed by. Everyone smiled and several answered questions the girls asked. After walking along both lines Bob took them to see the wood room, the tea room then the storage room.

"I did not know it was as big as this Dad, even though I saw it on the television."

"It might have to be made even bigger for we'd add another bench if needed. At the moment it's just about right. If we make different toys then we'll probably add another. Seen enough? If so, do you want to have lunch at the Crown?"

"Yes please, Grandpa."

"Okay. I'll just tell Ken what we're doing."

They had fish and chips and Bob had the curry but only drank a lemonade. When Sam asked him if he'd stopped drinking he laughed and said, "No. But I'll be working on the line this afternoon and I don't want an accident. When can I visit your campsite? How about Saturday or Sunday?"

"That's no good Dad. We're leaving on Saturday. We have to get everything ready for school."

"Then it'll have to be tonight or tomorrow night. How about tonight? I've got a party tomorrow lunchtime."

"Yes, that'd be good," said Lilly. "We'll be packing Friday."

"What's the party Dad?"

"We have one at the end of each month to celebrate a good production. It's fun for everybody."

"I wish we had one at work! That's a great idea."

"Suggest it to your boss and see what he says. Right, sketch a map of where your campsite is."

"Come for supper Grandpa. We're having hot dogs, done on the grill."

"We'll have sausages as well," added Lilly.

"Can you come about six Dad?"

"Sure."

"Good."

"I must go back to work now," said Bob.

"All right. Time to go girls."

They made just over fifteen hundred villages that day. Bob checked the stock list before leaving; they had about 3,800 farms, 2,300 villages and 2,500 trains.

The tents at Sam's campsite were pitched in open areas among trees that boarded a small field dotted with swings, roundabouts and slides. A big sandpit sat on one corner. Many children were playing there but Bess and Jane were at the tent, helping their mother put things on a picnic table.

"Perfect timing Dad," called Sam. "The food's just cooked. Do you want a beer?"

"Yes, that'd be nice. Thanks."

He stayed for about an hour and the girls showed him around the place.

"We like it here Grandpa. There's lots to do," said Bess.

"Is it better to have a holiday here than go to Snowdon?" Bob asked.

"That was good too. I'll have to tell everybody about what we did there when I go back to school. But it's easier to make friends at this camp."

"Yes even boyfriends," said Jane.

"Yes. We both have a boyfriend Grandpa."

Bob didn't say anything even though he thought it was a bit early for the girls to think about boys. He thought that didn't happen until they were fifteen or sixteen but supposed it was different these days.

At nine that night he had a phone call. It was Ken.

"I've just found out what the two men who visited this shop were interested in Bob. Me. They want to hire me! They have a factory in Manchester that has made luxury wooden office furniture for a hundred years or more and they want to expand. They want me to help them do that and manage it's growth. In fact they want to triple its size."

"Don't they have their own people to handle all that? Why do they want you?"

"The owner is retiring next year and doesn't want to oversee the change and his two sons, the men who visited, are very progressive. They want their employees to like their job, to be like ours are. They saw how our people behaved when they watched the BBC show but they don't know how to achieve the same result. They came to see first-hand if everybody was always like that. And to see me I suppose."

"Do they want me as well?"

"No Bob. Just me."

"Good. I don't want to move to Manchester. Are you interested?"

"I think I am. But it will mean so many changes. We'll have to talk about it tomorrow."

"There won't be much time to do that tomorrow Ken. Someone has to drive to We-Have-It and we've the lunch and party as well."

"We can we discuss it afterwards. All right? I've told them I'm on a cruise for the next two weeks and won't give them my decision until I return. I want to know what you think about it before I leave on Sunday."

"Okay. Let's talk after the party. I'm glad you phoned me, it's a lot to think about."

Bob slumped in his chair after hanging up. 'If Ken moves what's going to happen? I don't want to run the shop. Craig and Lori could do it, I suppose. I'd have to pay them more but I could afford it. And Ken's share of the company, what he going to do with that? Will he keep it or sell? And who is he going to sell it to? I'm not going to agree if he said Great Toys. I suppose I could buy it, over time, with my share of the profits. But I don't want to do that; I just want my holidays and an easy retirement. Oh dear, what a mess.'

He slept poorly, waking every half-hour and thinking about the future for an hour or so before drifting back to sleep. He was glad when sunlight brightened the room. He got up, had a bath and put on comfortable clothes. He'd drive to We-Have-It, that is, if Dave called, and take his time. He didn't want to return and start working in the shop. He just wanted to think.

He drove the car to work Friday morning, ready to take three or four to Lori's party at noon. All the employees were excited, laughing as they put on their overalls and talking about what they would be doing for their holidays. Lori was quieter, probably thinking about the party she and Craig were about to give. Ken and Bob had their thoughts elsewhere and were very quiet, hardly speaking. Bob was glad when Dave called and made his order and happier after he had loaded the van and was driving away. What was going to happen if Ken said yes.

He avoided the motorway and drove along the back roads to Basingstoke, stopping once to let a herd of cows pass as they were driven from one field to another. The wide verge where he was parked and the peaceful view over the wooded slopes and fields would be a good place to picnic with Maria though he wouldn't have time to spend doing that if he had a workshop to oversee.

He moved his van to the side of We-Have-It's parking lot after delivering the load and went into Dave's office. "Hello Dave. I've just dropped off the toys. I thought I'd let you know we've included the last three hundred trains this time. So you have all you ordered now. Here's the list of what I've delivered," and Bob handed it to him. "2,000 farm, 2,000 village and 1,500 train sets. You phoned for 1,000 train sets earlier."

"Hello Bob. Yes, I did. Good. Thanks for telling me though I'd know what you'd delivered before the end of the day, I get a copies of all delivery receipts so I know what's happening. What's happened to Lori?"

"She's busy in the office and in the factory."

"She's a good woman. You're lucky to have her working for you."

"Yes we know. And she's looking forward to her lunch with you later this year."

"Oh good. Maybe I can persuade her to come and work for me. I'm looking for a good secretary."

"Don't you dare Dave. I'll not let her do the deliveries if you're going to do that!"

"Just kidding Bob."

"I want to tell you that we're on holiday next week. The workshop will be closed. Call me if you want more stock, here's my card."

"You've just been on holiday haven't you Bob?" asked Dave.

"Yes I have, but no one else has yet. That's why we're closing the workshop. It's just for one week."

"What do you have in stock right now?"

"Nearly two thousand farms, a thousand villages and probably over a thousand trains." Dave made a note. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind. I'll phone you if we need some, which we almost certainly will. I'll phone before nine thirty all right?"

"Yes. Thanks."

Bob was a bit more cheerful on his drive back. Ken hadn't yet decided to go and perhaps he wouldn't. If he did something would work out. It always did. He arrived just after twelve as they were packing up. He saw that Lori had updated the stock lists and checked them; they now had 1,800 farms, 1,000 villages and 1,200 trains, just about what he'd told Dave.

Lori and Craig, Diane and Jean crammed into Bob's car and were the first to leave. When they got to Lori's apartment she told them what they'd do. "We'll put the trays of snacks in the oven to warm and take all the beer out of the fridge and put it in the cooler. Then we must reload the fridge with more beer. That's about all, everything else had been done."

As soon as everyone had arrived, been shown around the place and had a drink in their hands Lori shouted out that there were three menus and some paper on the corner table.

"Look at the menus, choose what you want to eat and write it on the paper. Make sure you put it on the paper headed by the restaurant that provides what you want or you won't get it. When that's done we'll order the food. So if you're hungry you better do it now. I'll place the order in ten minutes."

The food was ordered fifteen minutes later and it arrived just as they had finished the last of the snacks. By two o'clock some people were saying goodbye and others started to clean up and wash the dishes. Ken and Bob stayed until the end and helped Lori and Craig finish tidying up.

"Was two hundred pounds enough Lori?" asked Bob.

"Oh yes. There's about forty pounds left. Here it is, and thanks."

"No, no, you keep it."

"Yes, it's yours," said Ken. "It was a great party; much better than the ones we have in a pub."

"Thanks."

"Well, have a good holiday," said Bob. "What are you going to do?"

"Just take a couple of day trips, I think," said Craig. "We're saving money for the wedding now."

Ken asked Bob if he'd come to his home to discuss the man's proposal as the left the apartment so Bob followed him there. He didn't see Mary when they went in and Ken said she was playing bridge with some friends. They went into Ken's study to talk.

"Have a scotch Bob?"

"Yes please."

They sat in the same chairs they used when Bob first visited the house. Ken put the bottle and soda siphon on the table beside him.

"Let me tell you a bit more about the offer Bob. The company's called Goodner's, you may know the name."

"I don't think so. Was it a good offer Ken?"

"Yes. Very good I think. They'd give me a three-year contract, pay me £200,000 a year, although half of that would be in five-year options. They'd pay for the move, give me a car and make me the CEO. And I'd be on the board of course."

"Sounds as if you want the job Ken."

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I do. And Mary wants me to take it. Manchester's only seventy miles from Nottingham where James lives. We could get there in a couple of hours, less if we bought a house in the right place."

"Are you going to tell them you've decided today?"

"No. I said I'd let them know what I want to do when I came back from my holidays. I'd have to visit them first and talk to their father. I want to see if the chemistry is right before finally deciding. But I'd like to say yes. So the issue now is, what do you think about me doing this?"

"I'm not happy about what will happen to the workshop Ken. I'm happy for you. And for me, I think, as long as I don't have to be the one to run the place. Maybe Craig and Lori can run it and you and I can just be the owners, although I don't really want to be an absentee owner because one of us should keep an eye on the place and you're too far away to do that. But I guess things will work out, somehow."

"I hoped you'd feel that way. Look, I know that this is a big change. Think about it while I'm away and see if you can come up with a better way of running things, one you'll benefit from too. For instance, if I do agree to move do you know anyone who might want to buy the company, one who'll keep it in Small End?"

"I don't know anyone who'd want to do that. If I could find someone would we sell for half a million?"

"Sure. We know it's making more than that each year right now but we also know it might collapse anytime. The selling price doesn't matter that much to me, I already have a pension and the new job."

"I had enough money before all this started," said Bob, "but it's nice to have a bit more. Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds would be fine for me. Okay, I'll think about who might want to buy it but I won't say anything to anybody until you've decided. You'll keep it quiet too?"

"Yes, only Mary knows right now. Okay. How about another drink?"

"No thanks Ken. Well that's simplified the situation for me, knowing what you're likely to do."

"Yes, I suppose so. Do you want to stay for supper? Mary will be home soon."

"No thanks. I think I'll leave now. I'd like to think about what you've told me. Say 'Hello' to Mary for me. I hope you both have a good holiday."

Maria's letter was waiting for him when he walked in. She'd be glad to help him decorate his renovated house because, she wrote, 'Effective December 31st I'll be a freelance agent!' Her agency said they would make her their first choice when they wanted tours to be researched and also be a guide for them when they needed someone. 'So I'm not afraid of failing now. Two other agencies know I'll be freelancing and will hire me, as I told you. So I can come over when you're ready.'

That's wonderful, Bob thought. He wrote to her after supper, describing all the things he thought they might do when she had more time. He didn't mention Ken or that he might not have as much time in the future as he had earlier expected and signed off, 'with all my love, Bob.'

He tidied the garden Saturday morning, cleaned the house, did his washing and shopped, both in the village and in Big End, posting his letter at the main office. He had lunch in a pub at Big End and sat in his lounge most of the afternoon. He bathed at five, put on his blazer and some smart trousers then went to the Crown.

After everyone had caught up on the local gossip Joe said, "I've found a man who wants to rent the milking parlour Bob. He called me today and said he'd like to take it tomorrow."

"What's he want it for?" asked Bob.

"He sells evestroughs. None of the builders put them on so he goes to the new owners as soon as they've moved in and offers to install them."

"Oh, well that's good news for both of us. But we've still got a few things in there. I'll come around tomorrow and get them."

"Okay. You'll give me the keys when you've finished?"

"I'll give you mine. Ken will give you his when he returns from his holidays. He'll be back in two weeks."

"That'll be all right."

"Is everyone going to the dance tonight?" asked Jane.

"Nay," said Jack, "too tired."

"I'm going though," said Rose.

"And you Bob?"

"Yes."

"Then we'd better leave now, it's nearly eight."

"You go. I have to talk to Jack first." He looked at him, "About the sketches I gave you."

After the others had left Bob asked Jack what he thought about his drawings.

"Looks okay but I gotta know which walls are load-bearing before estimatin'. Need to check 'em."

"Okay, but not tomorrow. There's no hurry," replied Bob.

"Right."

Bob only stayed for an hour at the dance. He found it hard to make conversation because he kept thinking about what would happen to the company once Ken moved away. But he slept well; knowing that he had another week of holidays ahead of him may have contributed to that.

**Chapter 38 Goodners**

Bob drove the car to the milking parlour early on Sunday and collected the equipment they had left in the shop. He put his own tools on the front seat and on the floor; items belonging to the company he put in the boot and on the back seat. There wasn't a lot to take, most of it had been moved over earlier. Joe walked in as he was taking a last walk round.

"You've forgotten the notice board Bob."

"Oh, hello Joe. We don't need it. Already have all we want. Do you see anything else I should take?"

"I'll look around. You'll phone the telephone and electrical suppliers?"

"Yes, I'll do it tomorrow."

Not seeing anything else to remove Bob locked the doors and gave his keys to Joe. "Come in for coffee Bob?"

"I don't think so Joe. Maybe sometime next week. I've a lot to think about. I'll tell you about them when they're sorted."

He phoned Regina in the evening. They talked about her holiday in Paris and then he told her that Sam and his family had visited. "It would be nice if you could bring Roy to see the factory this year." He didn't tell her that they might not have it next year. She said that Roy had seen the place on television and they might like to come one weekend but he gathered from her tone that they probably wouldn't make the trip.

He began his extra week of holidays on Monday by setting a pattern he followed each day. He arose as late as he could, between seven and eight, not being able to stay in bed any later. He had a lazy breakfast usually with the kitchen door and window wide open so he could hear the birds. He gardened or did a bit of housework, had a coffee and a couple of biscuits then went to his shop. He thought he would carve another bird but couldn't get started, his mind kept drifting when he tried to picture a bird within the block of wood in his hands. He pottered around, dusting, rearranging and sharpening his tools. Sometimes he thought about Maria and what they might do if they did sell the workshop, sometimes it was about being an owner-manager and how often he would have to be at the factory. Other times he revised his ideas about how his remodelled house would look. When he felt like it he played games on his computer and thought about learning to touch-type. By Wednesday he had given up the idea of carving a bird and went for a walk each morning, waiting until after 9:30 in case Dave Posser phoned. He walked again in the afternoon, usually in the opposite direction, tracing paths he hadn't used since childhood, remembering the boys he used to play with. Only Joe still lived in the village, all the rest of his friends had moved, to London or the midlands, two to Canada, one to Australia. Thinking of them made him wonder what his life would have been had he emigrated.

He cooked different meals for supper each day, Thai, then a curry he made from curry powder and some lamb. He grilled salmon and fried tilapia. Once he had sausages. He ate broccoli and cauliflower from his garden and finished all his carrots. In the evenings he read or watched television.

Wednesday Bob went to the dance lessons and tried to learn the samba. Thursday was back to the usual routine. Dave phoned Friday morning and asked for fifteen hundred farms, fifteen hundred villages and a thousand trains.

"I know you won't have all the villages, we'll take what you have, but can you complete the order the following Friday? Together with the ones we'll order then?"

"Yes, we'll make villages first thing next week."

He loaded the van and took the sets to Basingstoke then stopped at the road house for lunch. Maria's weekly letter was on the door mat when Bob returned. She asked him if he could send her a sketch of the way the house would look after being remodelled. He started to do that after supper but quickly realised he had to know what walls Jack could remove before drawing a plan for her. He thought about calling Jack but realised he would be too tired on a Friday evening. He'd ask Jack on Saturday if he could check the house Sunday.

Jack came Sunday afternoon and banged on some of the walls. Two were load-bearing and he noted that on his plan of the house and on Bob's.

"You must leave this un," and he pointed to the one running through the centre of the house, "it'd be very expensive to move. But this 'en's easy. Make another drawin' with that in mind an' I'll give you a quote."

"I'll do that. Thanks Jack."

He wrote to Maria but said he'd have to send her a sketch next week. 'There's a wall we'll be removing and I'm going to have a toilet downstairs where the bathroom presently is.' He told her that he had a nice relaxing holiday but he was looking forward to returning to work. 'I thought it might have been better if I took that holiday when you will be in England with the church tour but I know we wouldn't see much of each other whilst that was on. Can you take some days off after it is over?' He signed off, 'with all my love, Bob.'

It was easy to run the shop, Craig or Lori did almost all the work. The electric bell kept everybody on time. He helped wherever he could and made the odd decision. He told Craig they should make villages on Monday, "so we will have enough to complete Dave's last order." With the extra sanders they made 1,500 villages on the two lines that day. They made another 1,500 on Tuesday, the same number of farms on Wednesday and 1,500 trains Thursday. By the time Dave called Friday morning they had 1,800 farms,3,000 villages and 1,200 trains. He wanted another fifteen hundred farms and villages but only five hundred trains. Bob delivered them, together with the five hundred village sets they hadn't been able to deliver the week before. The receipt he was given had a note from Dave attached. "Hi Bob. Please come and see me Dave."

"Hello Bob. I have something for you," said Dave, as Bob walked into the office. "Here's your first cheque. It's for your first delivery. You remember, fifty of each set on July 18th?"

"Yes, I remember that." He looked at the cheque. It was for £937.50. "Thanks. I'm glad you also listed the items and number you bought. That'll make it easy for Lori to check against her lists."

"We'll normally send the cheques by mail and that'll add another day or two to when you get them. You'll soon be receiving much bigger ones Bob."

"I'm glad, we certainly need them, we're short of money at the moment. Is it a good day for me to take you to lunch?"

"No, not yet, but soon."

Bob gave the cheque to Lori when he returned and she added the details into her computer and also wrote the amount in the account's book. "I still copy important figures to my hand-written records in case something goes wrong with the computer," she told Bob. "Most companies buy an extra hard drive to make a copy but I prefer to do this." Then she returned the cheque to him. "I suspect you'll want to deposit it."

"Yes. How are we doing on our expenses for August Lori?"

"I'll finish paying them today. With the salaries they came to £21,386.18."

"And how much is left after paying all the bills? I'm worried that we'll soon be out of money."

"It'll be about £5,000 for the month's wood, paint, pasteboard and other costs. But they won't be paid until the end of the month. Without paying for them we'll have about £7,500."

"So I shouldn't need to get another mortgage because we'll be getting money from We-Have-It. When's their next cheque coming Lori?"

"Just a minute. Ah, here it is. They'll pay us £9,375 September 18th, £15,450 September 20th, £18,750 September 23rd and another £18,750 September 25th . A total of, hem, £62,262.50, once we've added in the cheque we have now."

"Ah, that's more like it! It's unbelievable, isn't it?"

He walked to his chair and sat down. No need to worry about paying the bills now they were getting money from We-Have-It. He was glad the money worries were over. Now all he had to worry about was what he'd do if Ken left. He tried to forget that and turned his mind to thinking about how much stock they had. He learned they had enough to satisfy Dave when Lori told him they'd have about 1,800 farms, 1,000 villages and 1,200 trains at the end of the day.

Maria's letter arrived that morning. She said she had to return with the group on the Sunday. 'Could you come and stay at the hotel on Saturday night? We'll be in the King's Head in Salisbury. I'll call you Monday evening to find out if you can come.' He put down her letter, phoned the hotel and booked a room, one with a double bed. He gave them his credit card number and said he'd be there before six o'clock.

He drove to Big End Saturday morning, deposited the cheque and did his shopping. He called in to see Jenny. She told him she'd had a good summer and was ready for a holiday. Susan would be managing the shop the following Sunday to Tuesday and she was going to London with a friend. He asked her if she had seen the BBC documentary of Small End but she hadn't so he told her how they had expanded. Then he asked her how well We-Have-It Wholesalers orders were handled. "Do you get the toys on time?"

"Oh yes. I now get quite a lot of my stock from them. I think they'll soon be including stock from Africa. That'll be interesting; people like wooden carvings. Could you make them?"

"I used to carve birds but they take a long time. I might do that again one day."

At supper he told his friends that he wouldn't be joining them next Saturday night. "I'll be in Salisbury. Maria's guiding a group and they'll be there."

"It's getting serious then?" said Jane.

"Yes, I think so."

No one asked him if he was thinking of getting married, sensing it might be too early to raise that subject.

The fortnightly teenagers' dance was held that night. The noise they made when leaving woke him. He didn't bother to shut the window, knowing it wouldn't last long. Then he suddenly thought about having double-glazed windows installed when renovating. They would cut down the noise and the house would be warmer. 'I'll ask Jack to put them in. And he should check the attic, it might need more insulation.'

He tidied the garden and the house Sunday morning and was planning on going for a long walk in the afternoon when Ken phoned, asking if he could come over to talk about the offer from Goodners. "Come as soon as you like," Bob told Ken and he was there fifteen minutes later.

"Hi Bob. No, nothing to drink, thanks. Bob, I told you earlier that I wanted to visit Goodners to see how compatible we are. I was a bit leery of the two men when they visited the shop, mostly because I didn't know why they'd come and I thought I might still feel that way. Also I wanted to meet their father. If we get along all right I'm going to take the job. So I want to visit them next week."

"I see. When will you go?"

"Tuesday. Mary has lots to do tomorrow but wants to come with me. We'll stay at James' place."

"Do Goodners know you're coming?"

"Yes, I phoned them this morning. I didn't think you'd mind me doing that."

"No of course not. Will you stay all week?"

"Oh no. We'll be back Wednesday evening and I'll be at work on Thursday. I'll tell you what I've decided then."

"All right."

They talked a little about the shop after that but that wasn't the most important thing to think about right then. Ken didn't stay long and left for home saying he had to help Mary. Bob didn't take his walk but sat in his chair wrapped inside his uncertain future.

The first thing Ken did when he entered the office Monday morning was look at the stock list. Lori watched him then took out the account books and showed him the August expenses and income. Bob sat at his desk while she was doing this then said "You can have your £15,000 back in a couple of weeks Ken."

"Ah that's good. I may be needing it. I'm glad things have been going so well. Everyone had a good holiday?"

"We did," Lori said, "and everyone else said they did as well."

"I'm glad. The only thing against our cruise was the amount of food one was tempted to eat. I must have put on five pounds! Ah, Lori, I'll be away tomorrow and Wednesday. Mary and I are going to visit James."

"All right Ken."

Bob thought that the conversation was a little strained and was glad when everyone else came in and he started working. He wished Ken 'good luck' when he left at five. Ken said 'thanks' in return; there wasn't much more he could add.

Wednesday evening the dancing class members were taught a few steps of the tango. Bob found it a difficult dance and decided it wouldn't be one he'd use. Not unless Maria wanted him to dance it. Ken phoned him shortly after he returned home to tell him that he would be taking the job and asked Bob to meet him at eight in the office to discuss the next steps.

"I've signed a contract Bob and I start early November. So we've got just over a month to find a buyer for the company. Can you ask your friends and see if they know of anybody who might be interested? I'll ask mine too, of course."

"I don't think my friends will know of anybody but I'll ask. We should ask Simon and Arthur, they're more likely to know of someone who has that kind of money."

"Yes, of course. I'll phone them tonight."

"I'll tell Len, he'll let everybody in the village know. It'll be a big piece of gossip for him. But if we can't find anyone we'll have to think about other ways of finding a buyer. Perhaps using a business broker."

"We'll have to agree on the price before we tell everyone it's for sale. Are you still okay with half a million pounds?"

"Yes. I'd be happy to let it go for that. Provided it stays in Small End, although that's becoming a little less important now. If we can't find a buyer I'm thinking we might have to sell to Great Toys."

"If they still want it. All right. Let's see if we can find someone."

Ken called at nine that night to say that neither Simon nor Arthur wanted to buy the company. "They'll talk to some of their friends and clients. Some of them might be interested."

"Did you tell them what we are earning, our net profit?"

"Yes, I had to. I gave them our current position and what we expected to make in future. They were interested in that but cautious, as one would expect. Anyone who bought the company would want to inspect the books, our past sales, talk to We-Have-It and so on. But none of that should cause us any problems."

"Did you tell them that we're not sure sales will continue at this rate in the future."

"I mentioned it. I don't know what they thought about that."

"All right. We'll have to tell Lori and Craig about this soon."

"Let's tell them last thing tomorrow and then tell everybody else first thing on Monday."

"All right."

A postcard from Ken and Mary was waiting on the mat when he arrived home. Mary wrote that they were enjoying their cruise and Ken added, 'you and Maria would enjoy this!' 'Only if we sell the business,' thought Bob as he read it.

When Dave called he asked for the same number of toys as he had last week. After they were loaded Lori reminded Bob that there was another load of pasteboard to collect. He drove to Basingstoke where Dave gave him a cheque for £9,375. "I know you are short so I asked accounting to give it to me."

"Thanks' Dave. That's much appreciated. It'll be an extra-good lunch we'll have when you're ready." Then he drove to Salisbury to collect the pasteboards. He ate his lunch at a deli in the city then drove back to the shop. He worked there the rest of the afternoon and joined Ken, Lori and Craig in the office after everyone else had left.

"We have something to tell you, Lori, Craig," said Ken. "I've been offered a job in Manchester and I've accepted it. I will be the CEO of Goodners. I want the job because I have been asked to double its size, something that intrigues me. And Mary wants me to take the job because we'll be nearer to James and Larry."

"Oh! Well, congratulations Ken," said Lori.

"Yes, congratulations. But what's going to happen here?" asked Craig.

"I'll run the shop," Bob said, "but we're putting it up for sale."

"Oh dear. I hope the buyer is as nice to work for as you two," said Lori. She sat down in her chair. "Is it easy to find a buyer?"

"Don't know," said Ken. "First time I've ever done it."

"And we're not going to sell to Great Toys if we can help it," Bob added. "We want the factory to stay here."

"They offered half a million pounds, didn't they?"

"Yes."

"So would you sell for that price to someone if they'd keep the factory here?"

"Yes we would," said Ken. "Bob doesn't really want to run the factory. He wants to retire again."

"Well we can try to help," said Lori. "We'll talk to the people we know, "but we don't know anyone who has that kind of money though someone might know of another person who'd be interested. When will you tell the staff about this?"

"First thing Monday morning. We thought you should both know about it before we told them."

"Yes, thanks. They'll be a little upset, I expect."

"I'll tell them not to worry; we will try to find someone who will run the shop the way it's run now."

**Chapter 39 Up for sale**

Bob waited until ten o'clock on Saturday morning then drove to the bank and deposited the cheque from We-Have-It. Afterwards he walked to his favourite coffee shop, had a coffee then drove to Salisbury and parked the car at the back of the King's Head. The receptionist told him that his room wouldn't be ready until three so he sat in the lobby wondering what to do when Maria's group arrived. She saw him as soon as they entered, waved, then went to the receptionist to collect a set of room keys. She handed them to the group members and they disappeared, some taking the stairs, others using the lift. Bob went over as soon as everyone had gone and kissed her.

"You know, I can't get my room until three. You're lucky."

"Ah, I arranged for the tour group rooms to be ready by eleven thirty. They clean them first if I insist on it. We need the rooms because some want to change before lunch; I'm taking them to the cathedral at two."

"What time will you be free?"

"We can have lunch together as soon as I've shown them where they'll be eating but we can't eat dinner together because there's a farewell dinner tonight. Just let me know your room number when you have it."

"Yes, I will."

"All right, Then we'll meet here in about half an hour?"

"Okay."

He walked along the main street then went to the cathedral. It was an impressive building, one he'd taken the family to see many years ago, but there was not enough time for him to visit now. He walked back to the hotel and found Maria waiting for him.

"Let's find a restaurant," she said, "I'm tired of eating in hotels."

They chose a small café hidden in one of the side roads, one probably none of the tour members would find. They both chose one of the several salad and sandwiches offered and drank coffee. Maria described the tour and some of the members reactions. Bob told her about Ken's decision and that they would sell the company if a reasonable offer came. They returned to the hotel at one forty five and Bob watched them gather and leave. He then got up, planning to take another walk when the receptionist beckoned him to the desk. She gave him his room key and asked if he wanted help with his luggage. 'No thanks,' he said and collected it from the car. In his room he unpacked then wondered how he should spend the rest of the afternoon, finally deciding to walk the city streets and see if there were any interesting movies. He found one that had a four o'clock showing and joined the few waiting for the ticket counter to open. It felt very strange going to a movie. He tried to remember when he last did that and eventually thought it was when he was on a holiday with Betty. He had supper in a Thai restaurant then walked back to the hotel to see if the group had finished their dinner. They hadn't but he caught Maria's eye and pointed in the direction of the hotel bar. She nodded and joined him there half an hour later.

They had a drink and talked about how life could be if he sold the company and had enough money to live in Portugal for half the year. Twice they were interrupted by a couple who were on the tour and wanted to tell Maria how much they had enjoyed it and who then asked questions about the flight home. They were very interested when she introduced Bob and told them he was 'a special friend.'

At ten o'clock Maria decided that they didn't have to stay up any longer. "If anyone want's me they'll have to come to my room," she said.

"Then I'll join you there," Bob said.

"You bet. Give me ten minutes. Don't undress, I'd like to do that and that way you'll have your clothes for the morning."

"Do I bring my pyjamas?"

"You didn't need them before so why use them now?"

"In case anyone wants to see you."

"I'll not let them into the room if they do. No one has wanted to see me at night on this trip so we'll take a chance."

Bob dressed at six the next morning, returned to his room, showered and took his bag to the car before eating breakfast. He wondered what the maid would think of an un-slept-in bed but reasoned she'd be used to it. He read the Sunday Times in the lounge until he saw Maria putting her group on the bus then quickly joined her.

"I don't know when we'll see each other again," he said. "If I can I'll arrange a trip to Portugal before Christmas."

"How about us going to Paris for Christmas?" asked Maria.

"Oh! I've never had a Christmas away from the children. Let me think about that."

"Okay. We must go now or we'll miss the plane." She kissed him on his cheek, "Love you Bob."

"Love you too, Maria."

Bob checked out and drove to Small End thinking about all the things they might do in the future. Endless possibilities if only they could sell the company.

Monday morning Ken put a notice on the cloakroom door asking everyone to go to the tea room for a meeting at nine o'clock. When they were all there Bob told them that they had decided to sell the company and then told them why they were doing so. They were, as Lori had predicted, a little upset. Bob continued and said he'd run the company after Ken had left and that he'd try to run it exactly as Ken had done.

"But what happens when you've sold it?" asked Diane. "Will they run it the same way?"

"We hope so."

"Will we still have a reward lunch and a half day each month?"

"And our pay, will that go down?"

"We don't know any of those answers yet. We will try to have them written in the agreement but they might not want to do everything the way we have."

"Then we'll form a union," exclaimed Ray.

"Not yet," countered Jean. "I don't like unions. Don't do that until you have to."

"No. Let's not do that," Brian said, "we might not want to go on strike when they call for one and I certainly don't want to pay their dues."

Lori spoke up. "Craig and I were told about this on Friday and I said we would ask everyone we know if they knew anybody who might buy it. I suggest you do the same. That way we might find someone who is compatible with our way of working."

"How much are you selling it for?" Alan asked.

"Half-a- million pounds," answered Bob.

"Wow! Who knows anyone with that kind of money?" he asked. No one raised their hands. "I'll talk to my Dad and see if he knows anybody but I don't think he would."

"Try not to worry about me leaving the company," said Ken. "It'll be a change but if Bob runs the shop it won't be much different from the way it is now."

"And I'll be relying on Craig and Lori," added Bob, "with them doing most of the organising you won't notice any difference."

"That's true," Diane said. "Well, let's start now or we won't get anything done before it's tea time."

Dave's cheque for £15,450 for the August 2nd toys arrived with the mail. Lori showed it to Bob and Ken then put it in the safe.

"After the next cheque arrives there'll be enough to pay back your loan Ken" said Bob. "Fifteen thousand plus the interest."

"I don't want the interest Bob. I probably made more by selling when I did because the stocks I sold went down in price this last month."

"Oh, good. Ken, I'm going to tell Joe that we're selling the company, it's about time he knew."

"Jack too, I guess. I'll call him tonight. Maybe he'll buy it!"

"I don't think he'd be able to do that Ken. Though maybe he could, by paying it off, like a mortgage, using the money that comes from We-Have-It. Lori, how much will we get this week?"

Lori checked her computer and said, "We'll get two lots this week unless the mail's late. £37,500, if we get both."

"Then we should be able to cover the expenses and start getting back the money we originally put in. That'd be nice."

Bob walked to Joe's farm after the shop closed and he found him in one of the greenhouses roto-tilling compost into the beds. As soon as he saw Bob he stopped the machine and sat on a bench. He looked tired.

"Hello Bob. Did you have a good time last weekend?"

"Yes, thanks Joe. Is that some of the compost you make from our sawdust?"

"About half is, the rest is old manure from Ben Jackson's farm. He lets me have it each year. You must have something important to tell me. Are you and Maria engaged?"

"No, Joe, no, but I do have something to tell you. We're selling the company."

"Selling it? Why are you doing that? I thought you were making lots of money and would keep it forever."

"We are making lots of money but Ken's accepted a job in Manchester and I don't want to run the company without him. I want an easier life. I came to let you know about it and to ask if you'd know anyone who might like to buy it. Would you, for instance?"

"No thanks Bob. Like you, I want an easier life. And I don't want to spend most of my time indoors. Hey, I know a couple of farmers who invest in various things; they might be interested. How much do you want for it?"

"Half-a- million pounds. It sounds a lot but it makes more than that each year. At the moment, that is, it might not do that next year if people stop wanting to buy wooden toys."

"Half-a-million, eh. Okay, I'll pass the word around. You'd better tell Len, he'll let everyone in the village know about it."

"I plan to. I'll tell him next."

"You'll be telling Jack?"

"Ken's doing that and I bet he'll ask if he wants to buy his house but that's only a guess. Ken hasn't said anything to me about that."

"All right. I'll let you know if any of my friends are interested."

Len was very interested to hear that they were selling the company and he promised to let everybody know about it. A villager came to the counter right then and Bob quickly downed his drink and left; he didn't want to be part of the discussion. It would be better if Len told everyone first, there would be fewer questions for him to answer that way.

After tea Tuesday morning Ken and Bob moved to the office and talked about how they would manage the change if they couldn't find a buyer.

"Would you buy my share Bob? By instalments? So much every month, or every year if you like?"

"You wouldn't prefer to remain an absentee owner?"

"I'd rather not. I'd only worry about how well the company was doing and I'd probably keep phoning you to find out. I'd rather sell and move on."

"I'll buy it if that's what you want Ken. I feel all this is due to you and I'm very grateful to be a part of it. So I'll do whatever you want. I'll buy it and pay you off as soon as I can. That is, if we don't get anyone who might buy it first. Lori, did you find anyone who might be interested?"

"No not yet. I've talked to my Dad and to my uncles. They're unhappy that you're selling but they couldn't buy it. But you said that people could buy the company in instalments? I'll have to tell them that, it might make a difference. Would it include all the toys we've already made?"

"I suppose so," said Bob.

"You know that could be worth a lot of money," said Ken. "Maybe it's value should be added to the sale cost."

"Did Great Toys offer include the stock?" asked Bob.

"Didn't ask. Probably."

"Then we should include it in the price too, although we have much more stock now than we had then."

"I guess so. Okay."

"So I'll tell them that the price includes the stock and that the company can be bought by instalments," said Lori.

"Well we hadn't really thought about it being bought by instalments. We'd have to have some kind of guarantee that they'd pay all the money and not walk away if things went badly."

"I see. All right. Then if anyone seems interested I'll tell them all that."

Bob got up, went to the notice board then asked "How are we doing on production Lori? I don't see yesterday's totals."

"Ah sorry Bob, I haven't put them up yet. I'll do it now." She took the hand-written list she kept went to the notice board and changed the date and the totals. "We have 4,800 farms, 2,500 villages and 2,200 trains."

"So we won't have to worry about filling any request now since Dave's orders are going down."

"I don't think so," she replied.

"Are you going to keep the same routine as before Ken? Two days of farms, two of villages and one of trains?"

"Sure."

"And making fifteen hundred of each day?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I could design some new toys if you like and we now have time to make them. Customers used to ask if we have different ones."

"They still do," added Lori. "Dave asked again two or three weeks ago about that and I've had two calls from clients we used to deliver to. They asked if we had already started making different kinds."

"We could do that but I'd rather not set up a new bench," said Ken. "It's better not to have an unknown product thrown into the pot when we're selling. If the company doesn't sell then I'll help you set up a new bench if you decide to make new ones Bob. That would have to be over the Christmas holidays. Can we leave it until then?"

"Yes, okay."

**Chapter 40 Lori and Craig**

Bob was sitting at his desk when Lori walked in first thing on Wednesday morning. She said 'Hello' then asked if she could talk to him and Ken as soon as everyone had started work.

"You have some news? Have you found anyone?"

"Possibly, but can I wait until Ken comes in before I tell you?"

"Sure. Is Craig in the shop? He'll look after everything."

"Yes, he'll probably be in the storage room. We've doubled the wood order and he's not sure it'll all fit in the racks. We expect it to be delivered this morning."

"I think that was Ken who just arrived, it sounded like him going into the shop. I'll fetch him."

"No, I'll go," said Lori. "I want to have a word with Craig too."

Two minutes later she returned with Ken and Craig. She asked Ken to sit down and once he was seated said, "Craig and I want to buy the workshop. We had a big conference with my parents and uncles last night and everyone agreed to lend us the money. Not all of it but perhaps enough to suit you. We've put our offer on paper and everyone has signed it."

"Wow!" exclaimed Bob, "you've come up with half-a-million pounds?"

"No, not exactly. My dad and his brothers will mortgage their houses and use some of their savings. We think we'll have at least three hundred thousand pounds. We may have more because they've only estimated how much they could get on a mortgage and they've done that conservatively. What we would like to do is to buy the company, using the money we can get from my family, then pay the rest in instalments. We'd pay it off as quickly as we could of course."

"Let me see if I understand this Lori," said Bob. "Let's say you give us quarter of a million pounds. You would then owe another quarter million. Would you pay interest on that?"

"Yes, of course, and we'd pay ten percent on what we owe. We've written that in the offer."

"You'd pay us from the money you receive from the sales?"

"Only from the sales after the date we bought it. The money from We-Have-It that comes before the date of sale would go to you. But we would own all the stock that's in the stock rooms here at the date of sale. That's what you said yesterday."

"Right, we said that. And who gets paid first, us or your relatives?"

"You. You'd be paid first. They said they can carry their mortgages. It'll be hard for two of them but I'm sure we can pay them back within a year."

"What do you think about this Ken? I like it very much."

"I like it too. It's almost too good! You know how to run the shop, Craig, and you know how the company operates, Lori. And you'd probably keep employing everyone. Yes. I'd like the idea. Let us read what you've written to be sure we understand what you're offering."

"We'd want our lawyer look at it too," added Bob. "Do you have a lawyer?"

"Yes, my Dad's lawyer would represent us I'm sure."

"You know you might be buying a company that could collapse in a year or so?"

"We've talked a lot about that," said Craig. "We plan to make other toys as soon as we've settled down."

"And other wooden items as well, under a different trade name," added Lori. "Things like condiment holders for kitchens or nameplates for gardens and houses. But we wouldn't do that until next Spring."

"Well you've certainly thought about things," said Bob. "You'll do very well I bet. Let me see the offer."

"I've two copies, one for each of you. I've an extra one for your lawyer if you decide to go ahead. Craig and I'll go to the shop and work there until you've discussed this. Let's go Craig." Lori stood up and they both left the office.

Five minutes later Bob said, "It looks okay to me. How about you?"

"Yes, it's just as Lori said. Then we accept it?"

"Yes. Unless Arthur finds something wrong," said Bob.

"Let's take it to him. I'll call and see if he has time to see us today."

"Mr. Glane has no appointments between eleven and two" Jennifer told Ken when he called. "Do you want to see him during those hours?"

"Yes. Let's make it at eleven. Thanks."

Ken went to the shop and told Craig and Lori that they liked what was written and that he and Bob would take it to their lawyer that morning. "We'll leave immediately and be back after lunch. You're in charge until then. You might as well get used to it!"

On their way to Southampton Ken and Bob discussed some of the details that we not included in the offer.

"What date should we sell Bob?"

"I'd leave it as late as possible. Might as well get the income from the toys we've made as long as possible. How about making it November 1st?"

"That's okay with me but we're planning to leave for Manchester before then if we've found a place to live. I've agreed to start work the first week of November."

"That's no problem. You can leave as soon as you like. Craig and I can run the shop. In fact I'd let Craig run it and just turn up as a consultant. That'll be fun!"

"He'll want you to design new toys for him if you were a consultant."

"I wouldn't mind doing that if he asked."

"Should we put that into the contract, that you'd be a consultant for a year or two, paid at such-and-such a rate?"

"No thanks. No, I don't want to do that nor do I want to tie them down in any way."

"Bob, about my house. I've talked to a couple of real estate agents. They're willing to sell it for me but they think I should lower the price if I want to sell it this time of the year. They both thought it would likely get around a hundred and seventy five hundred in the Spring but doubted if it would get that now. When I told Mary that she said I should offer it to you. She said that you liked it when you saw it. What do you think? Are you interested in buying it?"

"It's a lovely place Ken but it's too big for one person I think."

"Yes, but you might live there with Maria sometime. Look, think about it. I haven't listed it yet. Let me know before Monday. And I'll drop the price by ten thousand to sell it right now. I'd take a mortgage from you 'cos I know you and that you'll be getting lots from the company over the next two months, money from the toys we've already sold."

"It's an thought. I do like the house. As a matter of fact, I've been planning to renovate my house this winter. I'll think about it and let you know Monday."

"Good."

"So you've found a buyer," said Arthur. "That's wonderful. I was tempted to buy it when you told me about how much it generates but I couldn't run the company, I was also afraid that the market for wooden toys might collapse. That was what my contacts also thought when I told them it was for sale. They didn't want to take the risk even though the profits were amounts people dream of. You know, you've done very well. And all within six months!"

"We've been very lucky, both in the number of toys we're been selling and in finding a couple of employees who can run the workshop and manage the company. They can raise enough to give us half as a deposit and we're willing to loan them the rest. Here's what they propose. As far as we can see it looks okay. We want to know what you think of it."

"I'll take a quick look now but I'll want longer to think through each clause. I can do that after you've left if no one needs to see me. I'll call you tonight to tell you if there's anything you should change. Let me read it now. Hum, I don't see a date-of-sale. When do you want to sell?"

"November 1st is good for us Arthur," said Ken. "It's a Friday. However, we usually get an order from We-Have-It on Fridays so we want to sell the company after we've received that order. That way the money from that sale comes to us."

"That would be a bit awkward to arrange. I'd suggest a way around that. Why not call the wholesaler on Thursday, October 31st and get the order then. That way you'd get the order and the money. That way the company can sell on November 1st with no complications. It would be simpler and better I think."

"Yes. We could do that. I'll tell him we want to do that the week before we sell."

"You should have your auditor check the books a week or two before the sale to be sure there's no inconsistencies."

"Yes, you're right. Lori would want that too although she's the one who has been keeping them. Doing that would also help us deal with Inland Revenue too."

"Okay. Leave this copy with me and I'll call you tonight Ken. Will you call Bob or should I?"

"Come to supper tonight Bob," said Ken, "and we'll hear what you have to say together. I've got a speakerphone. And you'll be able to look over the rest of the house at the same time. Can you do that?"

"Yes, sure, Ken. Thanks. Mary won't mind?"

"No, I'll call her from here if I can. Arthur?"

"Sure. As soon as we're finished."

"What time can you call us?' Ken asked. "Would eight o'clock be okay?"

"Yes, that'd be fine."

There was lots to talk about over lunch and on the drive back to the shop. "Mary says we'll have to have chops from the freezer because that's all there is. She's glad you're coming Bob, because she knows you like the house and thinks you should be the one to buy it."

Once back at the workshop they asked Lori and Craig to come to the office and they told them that they would sell the company to them if their lawyer didn't find anything wrong with the offer. They also explained what they had decided about the sale date and that the income from the last week's order would go to them. Lori and Craig thought that was fair and agreed.

"Our lawyer will call us tonight to let us know if there's anything else we should discuss with you or change before signing. All he'll do, I imagine, is turn your proposal into a legal contract," said Bob. "He'll need the name of your lawyer sometime, too."

"And we'll have to have the books audited by our accountant before the sale too," said Ken.

"Yes. We had thought of that and were going to ask you to have it done if you didn't suggest it. That way I know I'm in the clear and that my records are correct," said Lori.

"Well, we'll tell you what he says tomorrow. Don't say anything to anyone here until everything's totally settled, please."

"No, of course not," said Lori. "You know, I'm so happy about this. Thank you!"

"We're very lucky people," said Craig.

"Well don't celebrate until you know what our lawyer says."

"Do you think I should tell my Dad and uncles about it when we get home?"

"I'd suggest you just say we're thinking very positively about it," said Bob. "It's better not to tell them you've bought it until everyone's signed the contract."

"All right. But I can't help smiling!"

"Me too," said Craig.

"Oh, another cheque arrived this morning," said Lori. "It's the July 29th one, £18,750. It's in the safe."

"Good. Then I'll write a cheque for your £15,000 Ken," said Bob. "Do you mind if I post-date it to next week to let this one clear. How about making it next Friday?"

"That's fine."

The only shop that sold flowers in Small End was the newsagent. It never carried many but Bob found three bunches which, when combined, would make an attractive group. He bought them and had them gift-wrapped. Once home he carefully unwrapped them, selected the best for Mary and rearranged them with some wooden stems from his garden and put them in a bucket filled with water. The rest he put in Betty's best vase and placed it in the living room. 'The last time I've had flowers in this room must have been ones from Betty's funeral,' he thought.

Ken had asked him to come at six-thirty so Bob had a bath and dressed in a white shirt, his best grey trousers and a pullover. He sat in his lounge and thought through the day's happenings. He was very glad that Lori and Craig would be buying the company. It solved so many of the problems that had been bothering him. He hoped that nothing would go wrong with their financing and that Lori's father and her uncles could get their mortgages. He began thinking about Ken's suggestion that he should buy their house. It was such a nice place, a house he could never have afforded in the past. It was exciting to think about it but it was scary too; it was too big a house for one person and, although he might be able to buy it, it would cost much more to run than his present home. He'd have to ask Ken what the taxes were, how much it cost to heat, their water and sewage costs, all that kind of thing. He'd have money coming in as Lori and Craig paid the rest of what they owed but would it be enough to cover what he'd have to pay Ken? Would there be enough to run it and also pay for his holidays? Holidays came first, not the house. Or did they? Then it struck him; if he bought Ken's house he could sell his house. Maybe he'd have plenty and could buy the house and have holidays. He looked at the clock and realised he was going to be late so he grabbed the flowers from the bucket, wrapped them in the gift paper, put the wet bottom in a plastic bag and ran to the car.

Ken opened the door when he arrived. "Hello, Bob. I was beginning to think you had forgotten about supper. Did you fall asleep?"

"No. I was wondering if I could afford to buy your house. We must talk about what it costs you each year. These are for Mary. Can I give them to her?"

"Sure, she's in the kitchen. Come to the study after seeing her, I'll be there."

"Thank you Bob," said Mary. "These are nice. Can you put them in the sink for now, I'll put them in a vase when I've finished here."

"You don't mind showing me the rest of the house later? I could come back if you wanted more time to prepare."

"No, now would be fine. We'll do it after supper, no, after Arthur's call. You'd better join Ken now, he likes to have a drink with his guests before supper. I can't join you yet for I've still things to do."

It was scotch and water again for Bob when he joined Ken. This time the fire was lit and they sat looking at it while taking their first sips. Bob felt so comfortable and relaxed. If anything was going to persuade him to buy the house this was it. To have a study with a fireplace like this!

"Ken I'd love to buy the house but I don't know if I can afford to run it. I need to know how much you pay for heating, water , taxes and so on."

"I guessed you'd be asking about that and you should take this. I prepared it for the real estate agents. All the expenses are listed though they're last year's, of course. This year they should be about the same."

"Oh! You pay about three times what I pay in taxes. And your heating is nearly four times mine. Not much difference for water and sewage. All that would have to come from money I'd get from the company, or from the sale of my house, my pension wouldn't carry it."

"I'm sure you'll have enough, Bob, and still have plenty left over for holidays. Holidays—that's what this year's really been about, hasn't it?"

"Yes, being able to have a nice holiday each year. But to have a house like this and holidays too, I can't believe it's possible."

"It's been a good year for me too, helping to set up a company, solving interesting puzzles and then being offered a job near James' home. And having fun all the time too. We've enjoyed ourselves, haven't we?"

"Yes, I guess so. Most of the time. It's been exciting but worrying too. Just like the thought of buying this house, that's exciting and worrying."

"Maybe that's your nature Bob. Try to forget the worrying part and enjoy the exciting part. That's what I try to do. Ah, that's Mary's calling; it's time for supper."

Squash soup, with a touch of garlic and garam masala; lamb chops, with cauliflower, green beans, roast potatoes and mint sauce, and ice cream with a caramel covering, together with two glasses of wine made Bob full and happy.

"That was wonderful Mary. Thank you. With a meal like that I can't see myself refusing to buy this house! I very much enjoyed it."

"I'm glad Bob. I'll show you the upstairs after Arthur's call. We'd better go into the study now to hear it. Can you make the coffee Ken?"

"Of course."

They sat by the fire until Arthur's call came then moved nearer Ken's desk to hear what he said. "There's nothing I can see to worry about. Provided they can find the down payment. All you have to do is sign the sale agreement. It'll be ready to sign by ten. When do you want to come in?"

"I'd have to check with Lori and Craig about that. I'll call you tomorrow and set a time. All right?"

"Yes, that will be fine."

"Then, thanks, Arthur."

Ken went to a cupboard door and pulled out a bottle of cognac. "Let's have some of this with our coffee. To celebrate. Some for you Mary?"

Bob was already a little woozy from the scotch and wine but he accepted and they sat for a while, each thinking about the future while enjoying the fire that Ken brightened by adding another log. Then Mary told Bob she'd show him the upstairs part of the house.

"There are four bedrooms and an extra room that we use for storage," she said as they climbed the stairs. "All the doors are open. Go into any of them." Bob looked in each but didn't need to more than stand at the door and look. They were good-sized rooms, nicely furnished with pretty curtains.

"There's one bathroom here," and Mary opened the door. Bob walked in and saw that it had a big bath and a large storage cabinet.

"And the master bedroom's en suite. I'll show you that now."

It was the en suite that decided Bob; he'd buy the house. To have his own bathroom, with a bath and a separate shower. It would be like living in a luxury hotel.

"It's lovely Mary. I love the whole place, the upstairs, downstairs, the garden and the river. You must be very sad to be leaving here."

"I am a bit. We've put a lot into it. The garden, of course, but also the rooms, decorating them and buying suitable furniture. You know, if you buy it, you can have the curtains. They were made for these rooms and I don't suppose they'd fit another house."

"Then that decides it. I'll buy it." Bob said.

"Ken, did you hear that? Bob said he must buy the place!"

"You did? Wonderful. You've worked out that you can afford it?"

"No, but everything is so nice. I love the place. And Mary says the curtains are included."

"Didn't know curtains made such a difference," Ken said, smiling as he climbed the stairs.

"Well, it's not really them, it's the whole place. I'd love to live here."

"Then let's have another drink to celebrate that!"

"No. I daren't. I've got to drive home."

"You can stay here if you like," said Mary.

"That would be nice but I'd rather go home. You know, I'd like to save sleeping here until I'd bought it."

He drove home very carefully, parked the car, undressed and was falling asleep when he realised he'd left the paper with the cost of running the house in Ken's study. 'I'm sure he'll bring it in tomorrow,' was his last thought.

Lori and Craig were sitting in the office and they jumped up immediately when Bob walked in the room Thursday morning.

"We caught an early bus. Couldn't wait any longer. What did the lawyer say? Will you sell to us?" asked Lori.

"Wow, yes," said Bob, "yes, we will."

"Oh! That's marvellous. Can I give you a hug?"

"Sure." They hugged then Bob shook hands with Craig.

"Oh, so you've told them!" said Ken, as he walked in and saw everybody smiling. "Hi Lori, Craig. Yes, we'll sell the company to you. Did I see you giving Bob a hug, Lori? Are you going to give me one too?"

"Yes," and Lori ran to him and gave him a big hug. Ken and Craig then shook hands.

"Now it's not legal until we sign the contract," said Bob, "so we shouldn't say anything to the others until that's done."

"I've thought about when we should do that," said Ken. "Tomorrow's our reward lunch and half day. I've two suggestions. The first is, we could book one of the rooms at The Windlass Tree in Warmly. We could go there, tell everybody what we had decided, then go to the lawyers and sign the contract afterwards. And it would also be the treat we talked about having at Christmas because we won't be here for that."

"That would work, "said Bob, "if they have room for us."

"Well we can phone and ask. And the other idea is to tell everybody today and turn tomorrow into a holiday. We could go to the lawyer anytime on Friday then."

"They'd like the idea of a holiday but wouldn't like not having a lunch," said Craig.

"That's what I guessed. How about giving everybody a cheque for twenty five pounds instead of having a lunch this time."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure they'd like that the best!" said Lori.

"Then let's do that," Bob said. "We'll tell everybody about the sale during the tea break. Is that okay with you Lori, Craig?"

"Oh yes. I'd like everybody to know as soon as possible, although it'll be strange getting used to the idea!"

"Then I'll call Arthur and ask him if we can meet tomorrow at nine to sign the contract. We'll have to do it early because Dave might want more sets. Can you catch an earlier bus and be here at eight? I'll drive us to Southampton.

"Yes, we can do that," said Lori. "I must phone Dad. I told him I'd call as soon as I knew what you had decided."

"Sure, call him as soon as I've talked to Arthur."

Everyone was surprised with the news. No one had thought that Lori and Craig would want or be able to buy the company.

"It's not really us buying it," explained Lori. "My Dad and my uncles are putting up the money. Craig and I will be the formal owners but they'll have shares in it."

"What are you going to do when the company is sold Bob?" asked Diane.

"I'm going to retire again. Like I did four years ago, and have some holidays. I'm going to live in Ken's house too, for I'm buying it."

"That'll be very nice," Diane said. "It's a lovely home."

"And you can fish in the river there," added Craig. "Let me know if you want some tackle or want to know what baits to use."

"I will Craig."

"To celebrate everything we're going to change what we do this end of the month," said Ken. "We're making tomorrow a full-day holiday and, because we won't have a celebratory lunch we're giving everybody a cheque for twenty five pounds. You can have an extra good lunch with that, if you like. We'll have our Christmas celebratory lunch at the end of October because Craig and Lori will own the company from the first of November and because we won't be here at Christmas."

"Would you come if we invited you?" asked Lori.

"Oh yes, I would," said Ken.

"I would too, but I might not be here over Christmas. I might be in Paris."

"With Maria?" asked Diane.

"You know about her?"

"Yes. We all do. Will you be there with her?"

"If I go, yes, I will."

"Then we forgive you if you don't come."

There were lots to talk about as everyone went back to work. Most of it was about what they would do on Friday and how they would spend the extra money, but Jean said how nice it'd be that Craig and Lori would be running things.

Bob thought about telling Joe about the sale as he walked home that evening but decided to wait until the contract was signed just in case something went wrong.

There was a letter from Maria on the door mat. She wrote about Paris, saying she had done some research. 'The agency can get a good price at the Hôtel de Ville between Christmas and New Year's Eve. It is a central hotel and there are many places we could walk to from there. And it is near the bus and metro so we could easily explore the whole city. Have you decided what to do? Have you talked to the children about this?' She ended by saying 'I hope you say yes. Please tell me what you decide in your next letter so I can book the room. With much love, Maria.'

He couldn't decide what to do about Christmas without first talking to Regina and Sam. 'I'll tell them everything on Sunday, about selling the company and then discuss Christmas. He'd have to tell them about Maria when he explained the reason for the holiday, but it was time they knew he had a lady friend. He hoped they wouldn't mind.

**Chapter 41 Mortgages**

"Where is the money coming from to buy the company Lori?" asked Arthur.

"My Dad and my uncles will get mortgages on their houses and they are going to lend it to me."

"Have their mortgages been approved?"

"No. Not yet. All this has been so sudden. They only decided to do it Tuesday night."

"Do they already have mortgages?"

"My Dad doesn't. I don't know about the others."

"Then I don't think you should sign the contract until you know they can get the money," Arthur told Ken and Bob. "You could be making a big mistake if you do that."

"Oh, no. This is terrible," cried Lori. "What can we do?"

"First, ask your Dad and your uncles to find out if they can get mortgages. Tell me, what is each one hoping to get?"

"My uncles and my Dad each said they'd ask for seventy five thousand pounds when we talked about shares in the company. My Dad said he'd ask for more if he could get it."

"Do you think each of their houses are worth a hundred thousand pounds or more?"

"I suppose so but I don't know. They're all doing rather well and have big houses in nice districts."

"Well you may be all right. Provided they don't already have big mortgages on their houses."

"I don't think they could have otherwise they wouldn't have offered to loan that amount of money."

"Why did they decide to offer so much money to you Lori?"

"Well," and she looked at Bob and Ken, "I told them how much money the company was making each month. I had to do that to make them interested. They were eager to lend us, Craig and myself, the money after I told them that. We told them for seventy five thousand we'd give them five percent of the company. They all said they'd try and get more money for me if they could own more of the company but I said we won't sell more than twenty percent of it to anyone unless we have to. That's right, isn't it Craig?"

"I hope we don't ever sell more than twenty percent," said Craig, "but we might have to if sales drop badly."

"Then what I suggest is that they all go to their banks and apply for a mortgage," said Arthur. "Once you know how much you can get from everybody discuss it with Ken and Bob. If they think you have enough money then you can sign the contract."

"That'll take a week," said Bob, "at least that's how long it took for my bank to approve my mortgage. Well, I guess that's what we should do. We'll call and let you know what's happening Arthur."

They didn't have much to say to each other on the way back to Small End. Each was busy thinking what they'd do if the sale didn't materialise. They stopped at the workshop to find out how many sets Dave wanted. Bob pressed the answering machine button and they all heard Dave's voice say, "Hello. I hope you're all right. This is my second call. Can you deliver 1,500 farms, 1,500 villages and 500 trains today? But they must be here before one o'clock otherwise you can bring them in next week. Phone me and let me know what's happening."

Bob phoned and told Dave he was sorry they weren't there to take his call and that he'd get the sets there on time. He didn't say what they had been doing. Everyone helped him load the van and before he left Lori showed him another cheque.

"It's for £18,750. I'll put it in the safe with the others."

"Okay, I'll take them to the bank tomorrow. I hope your Dad and uncles can get their mortgages."

"I can put the cheques in the bank Bob," said Ken, "I'm driving Lori and Craig home."

"Okay, thanks."

"I'll take the overalls as well. It's our turn to wash them."

"Thanks. See you Monday then. 'Bye everyone."

The weekend was a miserable one as far as Bob was concerned. It drizzled both days and the forecast for the next week was more rain. The thought that they hadn't sold the company depressed him. On Saturday he did his house work, trudged down to the grocery and shopped. He fell asleep after lunch and almost decided not to go to the Crown for supper but guessed that talking to Joe and his friends might cheer him somewhat, not that he was going to say anything about the sale of the company. He wouldn't say anything to anybody until the contract had been signed. Too many people already knew about it and he hoped the employees didn't spread the word. He had a bath and put on a thick sweater as it was cold as well as rainy.

The rain and cold kept many people away from the Crown. The only village news was that there would not be a show this Christmas.

"No one seems to have the energy to give one. We don't have any plays or skits, and the schools want to do their own thing this year," explained Jane, "And you, Jack, and most of the other helpers are so busy we'll find it hard to get enough people to make sets. So we've decided not to have a show this Christmas but we'll have an extra big Spring show. We're trying to get a fun fair to come at the same time. Mr. Dunfield said we could put it in the field on the opposite side of the road from the Centre."

"So there won't be any tourist buses and my sales will be down," said Rose. "That's not good news."

"Ne'r mind," Jack said. "We'll be okay nex' year wiv all t'new people."

"There'll still be Christmas-Light's tours. They'll probably have supper at the Crown and some might call at the shop," said Jane.

Bob thought it would be a very noisy time for him in his house if they had a fun fair and if he was still living there because they couldn't sell the company but said nothing.

"Is anyone going to the dance with us?" asked Jane.

"Not me," Bob said, "I don't feel like it tonight."

"We're going," said Rose. "Come on Jack, finish your beer, it's almost eight."

Sunday afternoon he walked. His mackintosh, hat and an umbrella kept him mostly dry. He spent much of the time thinking about what he would say to the kids about Christmas but couldn't think of a comfortable way to say that he'd rather be with Maria than with them.

He called Regina first and asked about how she and everyone else were.

"We're all fine Dad. How about you? You don't sound too cheerful."

"It's the rain, I guess, Regina," and he bulldozed right into what he most wanted to talk about. "I've something to ask you. Do you mind if I don't come to stay over Christmas?"

"You don't want to visit us? Why ever not Dad?"

"I want to see all of you but a friend has asked me if I'd like to go to Paris between Christmas and the New Year. I'd like to say yes. Would you mind if I do?"

"A friend? What friend? And go to Paris? This is very unusual Dad. Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes. Regina. I'm okay. My friend is Maria. We've been together several times over the last few months. She lives in Lagos, Portugal. She's a tourist agent. I met her there when I had my holiday with Joe and Jane in February."

"She's your girl friend?"

"Lady friend. Yes, Regina. She is. And I want to be with her as often as I can. I hope you don't mind."

"No Dad, of course I don't mind. I've told Sam you should find someone nice several times. No, I'm glad. Mum would have wanted this for you. No, no, you go. Well, this is news. Have you told Sam yet?"

"No. I'll phone him next. So you don't mind if I'm not with you then? I can visit before or after Christmas, whenever you like."

"Oh we'll set that up nearer the time Dad. You know, I'll have to send you the brochures we collected when we were in Paris, but if Maria is a tourist agent then she probably doesn't need anything like that."

"You can send them to me; I'd like to look at them. Well, thanks, Regina. I'll phone Sam now and tell him about it. Will he mind if I tell him I've decided to go without talking to him about it first?"

"No he won't. Especially when you tell him you're going to be with your lady friend. And tell him to call me when you've finished. We'll have to plan a celebration!"

"No, don't do anything like that. But I'd like you both to meet her. I'll bring her to you when she's in next in England. 'Bye then Regina."

"'Bye Dad. Love you."

"I love you too."

Calling Sam was easy after that.

"That's good news Dad, about Maria, I mean. Yes, you can come any time. It's good to vary our routines I think."

"Thanks Sam. Well we'll talk next month. Regina wants you to call her when we've finished talking. She's talking about a celebration. Don't let her do that!"

"All right Dad. 'Bye then."

"'Bye Sam. Love you."

"Love you too Dad."

He wrote to Maria and told her to book the room. 'Regina and Sam think it's nice that I have a lady friend and they want to meet you. I've said I'd take you to see them the next time you're in England. I hope you don't mind me saying that. All my love, Bob.' He didn't mention the possible sale of the company, there wasn't much he could say until the money problem was clarified.

Lori asked Ken and Bob to stay in the office as everyone moved to the workshop Monday morning and told them that only one of her uncles had a mortgage.

"He owes about ten thousand pounds on it. But he has a big house, so it must be worth quite a bit. I'm sure he'll be able to increase his mortgage and get enough money."

"Has he been to the bank yet?"

"Yes, they all have. They should know if they can have the mortgage this week or next, at the latest."

When Lori left to check how much wood they had in stock Bob said, "You know Ken, I won't be able to buy your house if Lori doesn't get the money to buy the company. Do you want to list it with an estate agent?"

"No. Not yet. I'll give Lori a week. If she can't get the money I'll have to list. You know, you could use the money we'll make from our sales to buy the house. You can give me whatever you like and I'll take a mortgage for the rest."

"I couldn't do that Ken. I'd be worrying all the time about not having enough money."

Lori returned, put her notepad on the desk and opened the mail.

"There's another cheque from We-Have-It. £15,450.

"What was the date of that sale Lori?" asked Ken.

"August 2nd."

"So that's the first cheque from last month's sales. What did we get from them in July?"

"Umm, just a moment." She picked up the accounts book and read "£63,262.50. And from our own sales to retailers we got £27,950. Total is £91,212.50. Our expenses were £23,362.67. Net profit is £67,849.83. It's these figures that made me interested in buying the company and excited my Dad and uncles."

"Yes, we guessed that. How about all our sales for August. What will they add up to?"

'I know that, Ken. The net profit's £140,527.65. All of that should arrive before the end of October."

"See what I mean Bob? You can buy my house even if Lori can't come up with the money to buy the company. You'd have well over £100,000 by November 1st. And you'll have enough from the September and October sales to pay the rest of the money before Christmas. In the spring, or before, you could sell your house. If the Community Centre is going to hire a caretaker he's certainly going to be looking for a house and yours is right there."

"Yes, I guess you're right. Then I'll try to stop worrying about everything and I'll buy your place," and Bob stood up, crossed the floor to Ken's desk and shook his hands. Lori smiled at Bob. "You're buying a lovely house. One day we'll buy a house like that I hope."

The rest of the week was uneventful. Lori added up the September expenses on Friday and told them they amounted to £20,553.96. "Our September income was £97,750 so our net is £77,196.04."

"That's just about half of our August net," said Bob.

"We knew it would be like that Bob," Ken said. "Does it worry you Lori?"

"No. I know it varies a lot during the year. That's one of the reasons we want to make and sell other items. The gross is easily enough to pay our debts, that's why I don't worry."

"It'll increase as we get closer to Christmas," said Ken.

"Yes, I know."

Lori was very cheerful when she came in on Friday morning, exclaiming that two of her uncles had now been pre-approved for mortgages.

"They're not going to take them until they know if my Dad and Uncle Fred can get a mortgage."

"That's great news Lori!" said Bob.

"They'll likely find out early next week the banks said."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed," said Bob.

"So will I," she replied.

Dave called shortly afterwards and asked for 1,000 farms, 1,000 villages and 400 trains. The van was packed and Bob delivered them, again not calling in to see him; he feared the conversation would move to discuss Wooden Toys and he didn't want to discuss its future until everything was settled. Ken told him that another cheque had arrived when he returned.

"I'll deposit all the cheques tomorrow and deposit my £15,000 cheque as well."

"Okay. What's our inventory now?"

"About 6,800 farms, 6,000 villages and 2,800 trains."

"You know, with that number and the amount we'll build by Christmas we could close the factory for two weeks and have nothing to worry about. If Lori and Craig don't buy it I think that's what I'll do."

"Yes. It'd be safe enough. Unless there's lots of demand before then."

Maria's letter arrived that day and included a small brochure on Paris. 'I thought you might like to look at this. I've circled a few places I'd like to visit. Could you do the same so we can plan our days. And YES, the hotel has been booked. From December 22nd to Dec 29th. do you want to arrange your flight or should I do it? Tons of love, Maria.' Bob decided he would make his own arrangements. It was time he learned how to do some of these things himself. He would tell Maria that and ask her what time she was arriving and at what airport. Perhaps they could meet there.

**Chapter 42 Selling**

As he was dusting the house on Saturday Bob wondered what furniture he'd keep when he moved. Most of it had belonged to his parents, though he'd changed the bed when he and Betty moved in and they had added her dressing table and his easy chair. The question was, should he move all of it, some of it or none to the new house. With the money he would have if the company sold he could buy all new furniture and choose things that suited the larger rooms. It would be nice to have the kind of easy chairs that Ken and Mary had in the study and lounge. Maria would probably like to select the bedroom furniture. What would he want to keep? He was in his bedroom and looked around. The picture; it was one both he and his mother liked. She'd hung it on the wall above the headboard. He would hang it in his study. He looked again; the furniture was old and a bit shabby. There was nothing besides the picture he wanted to keep.

He went downstairs and collected his notepad and wrote 'My Bedroom.' and put 'Mum's picture.' next to it. Then he went to the spare room, looked at the little that was there and wrote 'Nothing.'

Half an hour later his list included 'Railway lamp, pictures and mantle clock from Sally, wooden lamp stand, my side table, hall rack, his Mum's sewing box.' That was all. He didn't want to keep anything else, it was either worn a little too badly or had no sentimental value. He sat down and looked at the list. Was that all? There must be things he'd miss if he sold or gave all the rest away but he couldn't think of anything. He had added a note at the bottom of the page 'keep most of the kitchen things and the best china.' He'd probably have to buy a set of better plates too. Oh yes, he'd forgotten the fish knives and forks Sally gave him.

He tore the page from the note book and fastened it to the front of the fridge with a magnet. He would add other items to it when they came to mind. No need to write down his tools and the garden implements; he'd take all of those.

After lunch he went for a walk. He wanted to tell Betty what had happened, how he was buying a new house. He would ask her if he should keep more of the things they had used. He didn't expect any answer of course but asking her might jog his memory. He stood by the tree for a while but nothing came to mind so he continued walking and tried to decide when he should put his house up for sale. Should he keep it to the Spring when it might sell quickly or should he put it up for sale now and ask a lower price? And what would it be worth? Twenty five thousand pounds? Yes, it'd certainly be worth that. Not fifty thousand for sure; you could buy a row house with two bathrooms and bigger rooms for that much. Somewhere in between he supposed. His house did have a large garden and a good workshop and a shed. But some people didn't want those things. Being next to the Community Centre might not be a good thing either. He'd let the real estate agent set the price.

He had a bath, dressed then walked to the Crown for supper. Rose was talking to Jack about how she'd dress the shop window for Christmas.

"Hello Bob. Joe and Jane won't be here tonight. They've gone to Howard's for the weekend. I've just been asking Jack about using all your toys in the window, having a village and the train set on one side and the farm with animals on the other. What do you think? Would it be too many wooden items? Jack thinks it would be and thinks I should show more of the china and jewellery."

"I think he's right. I wouldn't just show toys Rose. I'd put the things you sell most in the window, though it'd be nice if you did have a bit of the farm or village there as well."

"Christmas is still a long way off Rose," said Jack. "Let's eat, I'm hungry."

"All right. I'll have the curry."

"Roast beef," said Bob.

"An' me," said Jack.

Jack went to the bar, ordered the food and returned with two beers and a gin and tonic.

"Thanks Jack. How's business?"

"Busy. Can't do you 'til a'ter Christmas Bob."

"That's okay, there's no hurry and I may not need to make any changes after all. I'm going to buy Ken's house and sell mine. I probably shouldn't do anything before selling. People buying the place might want something different."

"Wot?" said Jack, "Ken's place? Ain't it too big fer you Bob."

"Not if Maria was there as well," said Rose. "Will she join you Bob?"

"I don't know. She might. For some of the year perhaps. I like the place very much and I can afford to buy it. I'd rather live there than in my current house if Maria came to stay with me. So I'm going to sell mine. What do you think it's worth Jack? You should know the value of houses around here."

"Abat thirty thousand. Could be more, 'cos you've a workshop; but maybe less, 'cos there's no garage."

"Ah, I'd thought it might be worth about that. And should I sell it now or in the spring?"

"Not now, no one's buyin' in t'winter."

"But there'll be a flood of houses for sale in the spring Jack, I'd have much more competition."

"Aye, but they're already competin'."

"That's a different market, they're new houses and much more expensive."

"Aye. S'right."

"What do you think it'll fetch at this time of the year?"

"Maybe twenty five."

"Hmm, I'd lose five thousand. Well I wouldn't want to keep it once I'm in Ken's house. It'd be another thing to worry about. I'd be afraid that someone's broken in or thrown stones and smashed the windows."

"Well, tell Len. 'e might find some 'en."

"Not yet. I'll think about it first. I'll tell Len next weekend if I decide to sell.

They talked about the dancing class next. No one wanted another drink and all felt tired so they paid for the food and walked home.

He pulled all the remaining vegetables Sunday morning, storing the cabbages and the broccoli in the shed. It was better to put them in there than in his workshop; he'd be heating the shop when he was working there.

In between the rain showers, luckily light ones, he dug the whole plot and raked it. It looked attractive. Ken's place would probably have a better soil, he thought, that is, if the river had been wider in the past. Mary certainly had nice flower beds. He would grow better vegetables there in all likelihood. That'd be nice.

He was too tired to walk in the afternoon. He looked at the carving knives and hand tools in his shop and made a mental note to start collecting boxes so he'd have something to hold them in when he moved to Ken's place. He'd use the van to move the few things he'd be taking. He wouldn't move as soon as Ken moved out because he might want to paint or change something first. And any carpets they left might need cleaning. It'd be nice if Maria could know what the rooms looked like before she came. He'd photograph each one and send her the pictures. She could suggest things he might buy or do even if she wasn't there.

After supper he wrote to Maria and told her that he would be buying Ken's house. 'I'll take some photographs when he's left to show you what it looks like. I'd like you to make suggestions about how I should furnish it. I have some ideas but I'd like yours too.' Then he told her he was going to book his flight because he wanted to learn how to do that. 'What airport are you landing in and when? I'd like to be there when you arrive. It's a long time to wait until Christmas, isn't it? Lots of love, Bob.'

The milk had not arrived Monday morning so Lori walked to the store to buy it for the tea break. When she returned Ken was in the shop and Bob was sitting at his desk and adding figures. He was wondering how much money he would have to buy new furniture and he was estimating how much the chairs and sofa he wanted would cost. Lori looked at him as he worked away. "Are you checking our expenses Bob?"

"No, I'm estimating what new furniture for Ken's house might cost."

"What are you doing with your old house?"

"I'm going to sell it. I don't know when though, now or in the spring. I'd get more for it in the spring."

"Oh. How much are you asking Bob?"

"Thirty thousand, but Jack says it'd only fetch about twenty five if I sold it now."

"You know, it'd be a good place for Craig and me to live, that is, if we do get enough money to buy Wooden Toys. Save us a lot of bus rides and it's close by. If there are things to do on the weekends or in the evenings we can easily get here. Can we look at it?"

"Of course. Anytime. Would you like to come tonight?"

"No, I wouldn't buy it if we didn't buy this place. I'd be a bit afraid that the new owners might change the way we work. If that happened we'd probably look for other jobs."

"Yes, of course. And you wouldn't want it if you weren't managing?"

"No, we'd not like to do less than we're doing now."

The next morning a very happy Lori and Craig were waiting for Ken and Bob. Ken arrived first and was told that the last two mortgages had been approved. He cheered and hugged Lori. Bob, when he came in shortly afterwards, was even more happy.

"Ah, that solves so many problems," Bob said. "I'll sleep a lot better from now on! I'm so glad," and he hugged both Lori and Craig.

"I'll phone Arthur and we'll see him today if he has time. Jose and Luke can be in charge while we are away."

Ken picked up the phone and called Arthur and Jennifer answered.

"Yes, he's free at twelve. Are you ready to sign the contract then?"

"Yes."

"Tell me, are there any changes from the way it was set up last time?"

"No, it's exactly the same."

"Then everything's ready for you. I guess you are all very pleased."

"Yes, we all are. Thanks Jennifer. See you at twelve."

Arthur stood up and smiled at them when they walked into his office.

"I'm glad that everything worked out. You have the money then Lori?"

"No, not yet. They want to see the signed agreement before taking out their mortgages. But each application has been approved. We'll have the two hundred and fifty thousand pounds when you want it."

"I'll need it the first of November."

"Yes. I know that and they know it too. They'll put all the money in my Dad's bank a couple of weeks before then and I'll transfer it to a business account that Craig and I'll set up. We'll do that in time to get a bank draft for you. I can let you have it October 31st, if you like."

"Yes, please do that. Er, Lori, you've got three uncles haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Then you'll have three hundred thousand pounds, won't you? What's the extra fifty thousand for?"

"To run the business until Craig and I start receiving income from the sales. That won't be until January."

"Ah, yes, I see. Good. Then I'll ask Jennifer to come in and witness the signatures."

They signed six copies, one for everybody and two for the lawyers. Then they left and Ken drove them to the Moat Manor for lunch. They drank a bottle of champagne in the bar first, then ate steaks and drank another bottle of wine. No one had dessert but they all had coffee. There was much talk about the future and, as they stood to go home, Lori said "Can we see your house tonight, Bob? If Craig and I like it I'd like to talk to Dad about lending me more money. You'd take a mortgage for the rest we'd owe you?"

"Yes of course, provided the down payment was big enough."

"Good. I couldn't ask him to lend me all of it. He'll be in a good mood when he hears we've signed the contract."

"What do you think about moving to Small End, Craig, now you've just painted your flat?"

"I like the idea. We should live in Small End once we own the company. Lori and I have already looked at some of the new houses but they are all too expensive. I never thought about buying your place until Lori talked about it last night."

"Well, we'll go and see it after work. I'll drive you back to Big End afterwards."

"And, Lori," said Ken, "we'll ask Simon to audit the company to be sure the books are okay. I'll phone him when we get back."

"Oh, good. I want everybody to be sure I've not made any mistakes. He'll do it before November 1st won't he?"

"I should think so."

Simon did not answer the phone when Ken called him but called back at four thirty.

"Yes, I can look at your books but not until next Monday. I'll come first thing and stay as long as needed. You'll have all the account books, bank statements, receipts and inventory figures right there for me to look at?"

"Yes. Lori will have everything you need."

Ken told Bob and Lori when Simon would come and what he'd need to see.

"The only thing I don't have," Lori replied, "is an exact count of the number of toys we have. I only have an estimate, though I know it won't be far wrong."

"Well I don't suppose he'll want the exact number. If he does we'll have one or two people help him count them. Don't worry about it."

After work Bob walked Lori and Craig to his house. They looked at his short driveway and the garden, then went into his workshop, shed and peered into the lean-to. Then he took them back to the front door so they could see how it looked as they entered that way.

"It's an old house. My parents owned it before me. And it's not very large. It has three bedrooms upstairs but the bathroom is on this floor. I planned to change it this winter and put the bathroom in one of the rooms upstairs and I have sketches and Jack can give an estimate about how much it'll cost to do that. You could borrow the plans if you want to look at them."

He took them through the lounge, showed them the bathroom and the kitchen then they climbed the stairs to look at the bedrooms.

"You said it'd be worth about twenty five thousand now Bob. Would you take that if we offered it?" asked Lori.

"Yes, to you, I would."

"What down payment would you want?"

"What could you give me?"

"I could probably get another five thousand from my Dad. Would that do?"

"Yes, that'd be fine. I'd take a mortgage for the rest."

"All right. Craig and I will talk about it tonight and, if we agree, we'll go and see my Dad. I'll let you know tomorrow what we decide."

"Fair enough. Take the plans for the changes I was thinking of doing, they might interest you. I'll drive you home when you're ready."

On the way back he wondered if Craig liked the house. He thought Lori did. Both knew how sensible it was to live close to the workshop but he didn't know if Craig liked living in an old house, or taking on one that needed renovating. Well, he'd find out tomorrow.

Lori told Bob their decision as soon as she and Craig walked in to the office Wednesday morning.

"We'd like to buy your house Bob. My Dad will lend me the extra five thousand but we can't take possession until January first. We have to give two month's notice before moving out of our flat. Will that be all right?"

"Oh yes, that'd be fine," and they shook hands.

"Driving home I thought you might prefer to live in a modern house Craig. You didn't say much when you were looking at it."

"Well, you're right, I'd much prefer that. There's a lot to do at your place and I'll probably be the one to do it. I'd much rather live in a house that doesn't need any work, especially now, because we'll be busy at work and I expect there'll be lots to worry about there."

"You don't have to do it Craig. We can hire Jack. We already talked about that."

"Yes we could hire him, if we weren't going to have to ration all the money we get. We've so many debts now, it's frightening."

"Yes, I know it is, but we'll pull through. We know that. We went over it very carefully many times."

"Yes. I know. So we'll buy your house Bob, though, if things do go well, we'll sell it in a couple of years and buy a new one."

"I agree with you about that," said Lori and gave him a kiss.

Bob went to the dancing class that evening. There were three new people, two of them men so he didn't feel so outnumbered. They had learned several new steps when he wasn't there and he stumbled a bit. His partners and Jenny took time to show him how they went but he sat out when they danced the tango.

Friday morning Dave ordered a thousand farms, the same number of villages but only three hundred trains. Bob delivered them then, after unloading, walked into Dave's office and sat in a chair until Dave had finished a phone call.

"I've some big news for you Dave. We've sold the company. You'll have someone else delivering as of November first."

"Oh, that's a big surprise! Who did you sell it to? Perhaps we're already doing business with them. Are they a big company?"

"We've sold to Lori and Craig so you do know them."

"Sold to them? How could they afford it? You must have asked a lot."

"Well, it's a long story. Why don't I tell you all about it over lunch. Can you take the time off today?"

"You bet. The answering machine can take over. Let's go. I'll take you to a seafood restaurant. I bet you'll like their food."

So, at last, Bob was able to buy a lunch for Dave. He reminded Dave he'd have to buy Lori a lunch next time he saw her. "Not if she has Craig with her too!" was his joking reply.

When Bob returned he learned that Ken had left at noon.

"Mary called him. Their Manchester real estate agent phoned to say he had two houses they should see this weekend because other people were also interested in renting them. So he and Mary have driven there."

"Okay. Ah, Lori, I told Dave that you and Craig had bought the company today and reminded him that he was to buy lunch for you when you delivered."

"What did he say about us buying the company?"

"He was very surprised. I didn't say anything more about it, you can tell him when you have lunch together."

"We will, both Craig and I'll go."

Before leaving Bob did a quick check of the inventory by counting the number of boxes on one shelf then multiplying by the number of shelves. He knew that would only be approximately right because the shelves were not all the same size, but, according to his count, they had 8,800 farms, 8,000 villages and 4,000 trains. It was the same figure that Lori had on her list so that was one more uncertainty he could dismiss. He wondered if Simon would live with that degree of approximation. He hoped so.

He decided to collect the overalls tomorrow morning as he drove to Big End. He'd wash them when he returned. That would be another thing he wouldn't have to do in the future.

Maria's letter said she'd arrive in Paris at the Charles de Gaulle at 14:45 on December 22nd and she would be catching the 13:00 flight home on Dec 29th, from the same airport. She added 'I'd love to help you furnish your new home.'

In Big End, after depositing the cheques, Bob went to Best Travel and asked one of their agents if she could find him a flight that went to Charles de Gaulle airport on December 22nd and arrived about two pm. She told him that an Air France flight would do that.

"I'd like to return on December 29th from the same airport, leaving about the same time. Can I do that?" Doing so would give him enough time to get to his own gate after Maria had left.

"Yes, there's an Air France flight that leaves at two fifteen. Would that be alright?"

"Yes."

"Do you want me to book the flights now?"

"Yes please," and he handed her his credit card.

He was surprised when she handed him the tickets. "Oh, Air France flies from Heathrow. I didn't expect that."

"Sorry, I didn't think to tell you which airport it uses. Will that be a bother?"

"No, I suppose not. I've not flown from there and I hear it's a very busy airport."

"Yes it is, but you'd have no difficulty if you gave yourself lots of time. You're driving to the airport?"

"Yes."

"Well give yourself an extra hour and you'll be fine."

He walked from the travel agent to Home and Holiday and caught Jenny as she was leaving the shop to buy the weekend paper.

"Hello, Jenny. How are you? Can you have coffee with me, I've something to tell you."

"Hello Bob. I can do that but it'll have to be a quick one. I can't leave Susan all by herself for long."

"Then let's go to the café."

Once they had sat down he told her that he had sold the company.

"I've sold it to Lori Turner. She and her fiancée, Craig Elton, will own it. Do you know either of them?"

"I know Lori. She sometimes buys things for gifts from us. How did she get enough money to buy your place?"

"Her Dad and uncles raised the money." He didn't bother to tell her about how the balance would be paid. "She's our office manager and knows everything about the company. And Craig can already manage the shop. They'll do business just the way we have always done. You shouldn't see any difference."

"It'll be a big change for you Bob. What are you going to do with all your spare time?"

He told her that he had bought Ken's house and that he had a girl friend who he'd like to see more frequently.

"She'll help me furnish the place and I hope we'll have some holidays together. But, mostly, I just want to relax. These past months have been too much for an old man like me."

"You're not old Bob. How old are you anyway?"

"I'm nearly fifty seven."

"That's not old. My aunt's eighty two. She lives by herself in a bungalow and walks a mile into town to get her shopping."

"Good for her. I hope to do the same when I'm that age but, right now, I'm ready for a rest."

"I'll miss you. Come in and see me sometimes Bob. I'll have to leave now, it needs two to run the shop these days. All the best Bob."

"Same to you Jenny."

As he walked back to the car Bob thought he should tell Leo about the change too so, after he had finished his shopping and had been given six strongly-constructed empty boxes by a man at the back of the supermarket, he drove to Twinner. Leo was as surprised as Jenny had been and asked the same questions.

"Well, I don't know either of them but if they're going to continue the way you've done I expect we'll meet sometime. Tell them I wish them luck."

"I will Leo. Thanks for all the suggestions you gave me, they helped me a lot. 'Bye."

"'Bye Bob. Enjoy your retirement."

He put half the overalls in the washing machine before heating a can of soup for lunch. After lunch he hung them on the line and loaded the machine again. He then took the boxes to his workshop and began filling them with tools. It took four boxes to hold all that he had on his shelves and in the drawers.

It was strange to see his shop with no hand tools and just the bench saw, sanding belt and drill press. He'd remove them tomorrow, the screws and bolts that held them to the bench would likely be difficult to undo so he rummaged through the boxes he'd just filled and took out the spanners he might need and a large screwdriver.

After tea and a bath he put his clothes in the washer then hung all he could next to the overalls. The rest he draped over the furniture in the lounge and kitchen. He had a nap in his chair until his alarm sounded at six and he remembered to turn on the railway lamp before heading to the Crown.

When he walked in Joe was telling Rose and Jack about his visit to Howard.

"They're getting married in the spring Bob. In May."

"That's nice. I hope they'll be very happy. Did you take them any of your pies Jane?"

"Of course. I always do. And I don't have any left for you to try Bob!"

"Have you heard what's been happening to me this past week?"

"You've married Maria." guessed Jane.

"No. It's a long story so maybe we should order before I tell you all about it."

Once they'd done that Bob reminded everybody that they were selling the company because Ken had accepted a job in Manchester. "Well Lori and Craig have bought it. Lori's Dad and her three uncles raised enough money for a big deposit. And Lori and Craig are going to buy my house. So all the worries I had have simply all disappeared!"

"Wow! You must be so relieved," said Jane.

"Yes, I certainly am. I still feel as though it's not really happening. It's almost too much to take in at once. It'll probably take a year to sink in."

"Great news," said Jack.

"Yes. Lets celebrate, the engagement and the sale of the company," said Bob. "I'll buy some champagne."

Len brought them a cold bottle and some flutes and they quickly brought him up-to-date. He was happy for Bob, shook his hands and wished him a happy retirement.

The red lamp welcomed him as he walked into his garden and he thought it'd look nice if he hung it over the door at Ken's house. He checked the washing before going in and decided to leave it on the line even though it felt dry. It didn't look as if it would rain that night and he was a little drunk. Drinking champagne twice in one week! This is a step up!

**Chapter 43 Sally**

Bob had a leisurely breakfast of kippers, toast and tea then walked over to his workshop, feeling the overalls as he crossed. Most of them were damp from the dew so he left them for the sun to dry. It took him an hour to unfasten the saw, drill and vices from the bench.

He passed Ron and his birding group as he walked along the river after lunch and waved to them. He didn't stop but he slowed down as he came toward Betty's tree and told her that he'd sold their house. 'Do you mind?' he asked. He didn't think she would. He asked the same question when he stopped at his parent's grave. Perhaps they would mind more than Betty; they had lived there much longer than she had.

Supper was a pot pie, easy to heat and eat. He phoned Regina afterwards. She was surprised to hear from him in the middle of the month.

"Hello Dad. Is there anything wrong?"

"No everything's good. I've lots of news for you," and he told her about selling the company, selling his house and buying Ken's house.

"There's room for everybody in the new house, Regina. Room for you, Bernard and Roy and Sam and his family at the same time. Although Roy would have to sleep in the storage room. I could put a camp bed there for him. Once we've furnished it you should all come and we'll have a family party. You should all stay for a week or, at least, a weekend. I'd like that."

"So would I. It'd be nice for Roy to spend time with his cousins. It sounds as though you'll have to buy a lot of new furniture."

"Yes, we'll have to."

"We being you and Maria?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to marry her Dad?"

"I don't think so. What do you think? Would you mind if I did or if I didn't?"

"You should do whatever you want Dad. I don't mind either way. And I'd have to see her before I could make any kind of judgement like that."

"You will, as soon as she comes here next."

Regina told him that Roy had joined the drama club at school and that he'd have to visit to see the play they'll be putting on in December and told him the date.

"Yes, I'll mark it on my calendar. Can I stay with you that night?"

"Of course Dad."

"Good. All right. I'll phone Sam now and tell him the news. 'Bye Regina."

"'Bye Dad."

Sam answered the phone and listened carefully as Bob told him what had been happening.

"I'm surprised you sold the company Dad. It looked like a very good business though I can understand you wanting more time to yourself. And moving to a new house too. It must be a big one if all of us can stay there at the same time. I'd enjoy that, all of us being together again."

"Yes, me too, though it might not be until the Easter holiday."

"You'll visit us when you come back from Paris?"

"Yes. I'll phone and we can decide when."

"All right. Don't work too hard! My love to you and Maria."

"My love to you too. 'Bye Sam."

"'Bye Dad."

Bob then wrote to Maria, telling her that he'd sold the company to Lori and Craig. 'They have been with us from the beginning. Lori looks after the office and the finances and she knows what the place is worth. Craig runs the shop when Ken and I aren't there. They'll be able to manage it just as well as we did and they'll do all right. So I've now got lots of time, or I will have starting in November when they take over. I'll tell you all the details when we meet. I've also booked my flights to Paris. I'll be waiting for you when you arrive.'

As he was getting up Bob thought that the week would be much like the last, everybody working hard, making plenty of toys, an order from Dave on Friday that he would deliver, but that was not to be.

It started with good news. Ken told him that he had rented one of the houses the agent had shown them.

"It's in Stockport, five miles from the factory. It's in a good location, we don't have to drive through Manchester to get to Nottingham. I've only taken it for three months because I hope to buy a place. That should give us enough time to find one."

"You've got it from November first?"

"Yes. It's furnished so we'll store our stuff until we find a suitable house. It's not very big, only two bedrooms, but that's all we need."

"Mary likes it?"

"Not much but it suits our needs and it's not for long."

Then Simon Delare arrived and more or less took over the office. By nine fifteen Simon was sitting at Bob's desk. He began by aligning the bank statements and Lori's account books. Then he checked each item against the expense and receipt slips she had filed. He joined the others for a short tea break when Bob told everyone what he was doing. Lori added, "Mr. Delare's making sure we're all right financially." At the end of the day he spoke to Bob and Ken and said, "Everything looks good so far except for your Unemployment Insurance contributions. They should be looked at by someone to see what has to be paid. I can do that if you wish."

"Oh, yes, please do that," said Bob.

"There's no rush and there's unlikely to be much to pay. I'll talk to Lori and Craig about it. They'll probably ask you to pay any amounts owing up until the date the company is sold."

"I see. All right."

"Apart from that, I'll probably be finished tomorrow."

Tuesday Simon checked items in the storage rooms and the tools on the benches, finishing with a cursory look into the cupboards in the tea room.

"You don't have anything to worry about," he told them, as Lori walked into the room. "I'll write a report and you'll get it early next week, with my invoice."

He looked at Lori and said, "You did an excellent job. I'm sure you'll look after everybody's interests until the debt is fully paid but I can check again when that's done, if you like."

"Lori," added Bob, "Simon told Ken and I that there might be some Unemployment Insurance contributions owing. He'll check that and let us know what he finds. Ken and I will pay the amount up to November first."

"All right Bob.""

"Thanks for doing this so promptly Simon," said Ken.

Then came the bad news. Bob was making his supper Wednesday evening, planning on having a bath and going to the dancing classes, when the phone rang. It was Lydia Pettish, the manager of Sally's residence. She told him that Sally died that morning.

"We had been expecting it as, I think, you must have. It was a peaceful death. The staff had just taken away her breakfast tray—she hadn't eaten anything—and were tucking her in when she died. She just drifted off, quietly and peacefully."

"Oh, dear. I wish I'd gone up to see her again. She told me that she wouldn't live much longer last time I saw her. What can I do? What arrangements must I make?"

"It's all been done. Sally arranged everything two months ago. The doctor saw her this afternoon and signed the death certificate. The undertaker came shortly afterwards and has taken her body. I've informed the minister and the funeral will be this Saturday. Will you be coming?"

"Oh, yes. What time will it be?"

"At twelve. She'll be buried alongside her husband."

"Then I'll drive up on Friday."

"Can you come here as soon as you arrive? I'd like you to clear her room. She told me she wanted you to do that and to take anything you wanted. The rest, she said, could be given to us or to a charity."

"All right. I'll be there."

He phoned his children immediately afterwards and told them that their great-aunt Sally had died. They knew of her but had only seen her a few times.

He did not go to the dancing classes but sat for a while recalling things they had talked about when he had visited her. He felt depressed and drank a glass of port hoping it would make him feel better but all it did was make him sleepy so he went to bed.

He told Ken and Lori Thursday morning that he'd be taking Friday off.

"Sally, my aunt, died yesterday and her funeral will be on Saturday. I'll be back Sunday, or even on Saturday, if there's nothing for me to do there."

"Can you deliver to Basingstoke on your way?" asked Lori.

"Well I could, it's on the way, but I'd rather not. I don't want to drive to a funeral in a delivery van. Can you deliver?" he asked Lori.

"Yes. I'll tell Dave I can't have lunch with him because we're short staffed. We can do that next time."

Bob left at nine on Friday, after the traffic has decreased. He didn't hurry and switched on the radio but hardly heard it. Most of the time he was reminiscing, thinking of the days he'd visited Sally and his uncle Brian. He stopped at a road house for lunch and arrived at the residence just as the afternoon tea was being cleared away. He knocked on the manager's door and entered. Lydia was expecting him and asked if he would like a cup, pointing to the tray. He was thirsty but refused, preferring to clear Sally's room first. He would relax later. So Lydia walked with him to her room.

The staff had already done most of the work. Sally's clothes had been folded and were placed with her shoes and slippers on the stripped bed. Beside them lay the two paintings and photographs, her purse, a vase and the remote control of the television that stood on a small table. A box held toiletry items, a hairbrush, two combs, some creams and a toothbrush.

"What should I do with the clothes and shoes?"

"If you don't want them we'll give them to the charity shop. You'll take the other items?"

"I'll take everything, but not the toiletry things. I'll take the hairbrush though. It looks like a new one."

"All right. Can you come to the office and sign a receipt for them once you've put them in your car. We'll be sending her final statement to her lawyer. He'll pay it."

Bob spent the night in the hotel he and Maria stayed in when they had visited Sally and he checked out after breakfast. There was no need to stay longer for there was little he could do; Sally had arranged everything.

There were sixty or more people at the funeral. Bob was surprised to see so many, presumably they were friends or from her bridge club or former patients. Lydia and one of the residence's nurses were there and David, the garage owner who looked after Sally's car joined him. He said, "I knew you were here as soon as I drove up because I saw Sally's Vauxhall parked near the gate."

Bob was standing at the grave after David and most of the others had left when a man approached and introduced himself.

"I'm Gilbert Radley, Sally's lawyer. You're Bob Barns, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Did Sally tell you about her will?"

"She said she was going to leave everything to me some months ago."

"That's what she did. You'll receive everything, everything except five thousand pounds which she's giving to this church. She's given me your address and telephone number. I can send you the cheques or deposit them in your bank account. It'll take several months before Inheritance Tax, probate and various other expenses have been sorted out but I'll be able to send portions during that time."

"How much do you think there will be Mr. Radley?"

"About £550,000 I'd guess, after everything's been paid."

"Wow. I never expected that much!"

"Her husband was a successful stock broker you know. Now, I'll be able to release £300,000 in about three weeks. The rest you'll receive over the next six months. Do you want me to transfer the money electronically to your bank account or send cheques to you by mail Mr. Barns?"

"Can you transfer the £300,000 electronically Mr. Radley. It would be safer that way. But could you send the rest of them by cheques. It'll be a lovely surprise opening them."

"All right, I'll do that. Please call me if you have any questions," and he gave Bob his card.

Bob drove home in a dream. He could pay for Ken's house easily now. And pay for the furniture and still have lots left for holidays. He could even buy a Rover if he wanted! But that, he decided, would not be sensible. 'I'll have to learn how to invest what money's left after setting up the house, not spend it.'

He parked his car and walked to the Crown for his supper but it was nearly eight and his friends had already left. He thought about telling Len about his inheritance but decided not to. He'd tell Ken, Maria and Joe but it wasn't something everybody had to know.

He told Maria that Sally had died when he wrote to her and that she'd left everything to him. 'I will have lots of money for holidays now, even after paying for Ken's house and furnishing it. Why don't you quit work completely and come and live with me? It would be wonderful if you'd did that. With tons of love, Bob.'

Ken asked if the weather had spoiled the funeral when he entered the office on Monday morning.

"No, why should it?"

"We had a lot of rain around noon and I thought the funeral might have been postponed. I'm glad it didn't affect you. Were there many people there?"

"Over fifty, I think. And Sally's lawyer was there. He spoke to me afterwards and guess what, Sally's left everything to me. I'll be able to discharge the mortgage on your house as soon as the money comes in. Tell Arthur to make sure I can do that."

"Okay, I will. I haven't spoken to him about selling my house to you yet. He'll need to know the down payment and details like making it repayable anytime."

"Well, we must have more than one hundred and fifty thousand in the bank now. Let's withdraw most of it then I could give you my half as the down payment. Oh, hello Lori, Craig."

"Hello Bob. Was the funeral all right? Did the rain affect you?" asked Lori.

"Ken just asked me the same thing. We didn't get any rain and it went as planned. Did you deliver the toys to Dave?"

"Yes. Driving was difficult much of the time and I had to drive very slowly."

"Did you let him buy your lunch?"

"Yes I did. I changed my mind about that, hoping the rain would be less in the afternoon. We talked about how Craig and I would run the company. He was very interested and said that he'd be able to sell our other products too. He wants to meet Craig. You'll come with me when we own the company won't you Craig?"

"Yes, and I'll buy the lunch this time. Not an expensive one though, we'll be very short of money our first year."

"Fish and chips Craig. He'll settle for that."

Bob checked the order: Dave wanted 500 farms, 600 villages and 300 trains and the stock at the end of Friday was 11,300 farms, 10,400 villages and 5,200 trains. He wondered if Ken would make more trains to equalise the quantities. They should be soon receiving bigger orders as retailers built their inventories ready for Christmas.

He worked in the shop most of the week. Tuesday a cheque for £33,000 arrived; it was the payment for their August 30th sale to We-Have-It.

Lori held up a bank draft for three hundred thousand pounds when she and Craig came into the office Wednesday morning.

"It's from my uncles and Dad," she told Bob and Ken. "We'll use it to open a new account. Then we can separate the transactions that relate to you from when you owned the company from those that relate to us when we take over."

"It'd be best if you opened it at NatWest Lori," said Bob.

"Yes. I thought that. They already know you and Small End Wooden Toys. You can tell them what's happening and that'll ease the transaction. Can we go there today and set it up?"

"Yes, of course. Phone the bank and ask for an appointment with Mr. Longman. We'll all go as soon as he can see us."

"I'll have Jose and Luke run the shop when we are away," said Ken. "You agree Craig?"

"Yes. That's what I'd do when I'm in charge."

Mr. Longman ushered them into his office at eleven and they sat down as soon as two more chairs had arrived. Bob then introduced Lori and Craig and explained why they'd come.

"The short story is we've sold our company to Lori and Craig. As of November first it'll be theirs. Lori will tell you what she wants to do now."

"We want to open a business account, Mr. Longman. We'll use it to run Small End Wooden Toys after November first. Bob and Ken also want to keep their account with you as well, that way we can deposit money into it easily."

"Selling your company? That's a surprise. Not many people sell their company a few months after they have opened it, and none, in my experience, sell it when it's clearly doing so well. I've kept an eye on your account, Mr. Barns, Mr. Smith. If you don't mind would you tell me why you are selling it?"

"I've accepted a job in Manchester that allows me to continue what I've found I like doing—setting up new factories," said Ken. "That kind of work is more interesting to me than running one."

"As for me," said Bob, "I want to retire again, now that I've money for holidays."

"I see. Then do you have some money with which I may open your account Miss Turner, Mr. Elton?"

"Yes, here," and Lori gave him the draft. He was clearly surprised to see such a large amount.

"Is this your father's signature?" he asked.

"Yes. He and my uncles are funding us."

"Well I know him. He's a very pleasant man although he doesn't bank with us. All right, let's do the paperwork."

After signing the needed application forms Lori told him that she would soon need a banker's draft for two hundred and fifty thousand pounds.

"It's for Mr. Arthur Glone, our lawyer," she said, "and it's the down payment for the company. May I have it on Wednesday?"

"Certainly."

After they had finished with Mr. Longman Bob deposited the latest cheque from We-Have-It and asked for a statement. He showed it to Ken, Lori and Craig.

"There's £186,544.28 in the account and your £15,000 cheque has been paid Ken, as well as all of the September expenses. So, at long last, we can withdraw some money and pay ourselves back."

In Ken's car on the way back to the shop Bob continued the conversation and suggested that they withdraw £150,000 and leave the rest to run the company.

"I'll need the money to give you the house deposit. We'll get another cheque for £33,000 tomorrow to add to the thirty six there'd be left in the bank after our withdrawal. We could take that out next week, once it's cleared, but I'm not in a hurry for it. And I must call Dave and tell him we want him to give the week's order on Thursday next week. You remember that we agreed the money from next week's production comes to us, Lori, Craig?"

"Yes. That's right," said Lori. "I can call him for you when we get back if you like."

"All right. Thanks."

They joined the others in the tea room for lunch. Afterwards Bob wrote a cheque for £73,500 and gave it to Ken.

"That's your forty nine percent, right?"

"Yes."

"I'll use £75,000 of my £76,500 and give it to Arthur next week as the down payment on your house. You've told him you're selling it to me?"

"Yes, although I couldn't tell him what you'd deposit you'd have. I'll phone him."

Simon's report arrived on Thursday. It stated that Lori's records were correct. He charged £475 and when Lori saw that she told Bob that if they had any children she hoped they'd become accountants.

Bob delivered Dave's order for 600 farms, 600 villages and 300 trains on Friday. He went into the office to bid Dave goodbye and was asked if they could have lunch together.

"It's a bit early for lunch isn't it Dave? It's only eleven o'clock."

"It's the last time you'll be delivering, Bob, and I want to thank you for letting us distribute your toys. I'd like to take you to the seafood restaurant we went to last time. And the company will pay for the lunch, so you can't say no!"

"Well, thank you. That would be very nice."

During lunch he told Dave that he was a little bit worried about the declining numbers of toys being ordered.

"They've been getting less and less since the end of August."

"But that's the same for all gift items Bob. The numbers will go up very soon. In fact they already have for you and we'll have to increase our order next week."

"Oh, good. I was a bit worried about Lori and Craig. I don't want the company to go bust as soon as they take it over."

"No. Don't worry about that. I predict it'll have it's biggest sales ever this Christmas. Also, if they make all the wooden items that Lori told me about, they'll survive, even if the number of toys they sell declines."

"Okay. Did Lori ask you to place next week's order on Thursday?"

"Yes she did. She also said that she and Craig would deliver it on Friday and wanted to have lunch with me but it would be fish and chips!"

"A bit different from this one, eh?"

"Yes. I'll ask them to bring me here next year, if everything's going well, as I expect it will."

At the end of the afternoon they had 13,700 farms, 12,800 villages and 6,400 trains in the stockroom. He mentioned the number to Ken and asked why he hadn't started making more trains.

"I didn't notice the numbers and continued the same way as always. I'll spend two days on trains next week. No, I'll talk to Craig and Lori about it. They should be making that kind of decision now."

There was a letter from Maria waiting for him when he opened the front door. She wrote that she was sad about Sally's death and very glad that she'd met her. Furnishing the new house would have to wait until the new year when she will be freelancing and she'd enjoy helping him do that. And, no, she would not stop working. She liked the job and having her own income and she thought he'd like coming with her when she researched tours for companies. 'You could be my assistant when I'm guiding a big tour. What do you think about that? With much love, Maria.'

He collected the overalls from the workshop Saturday morning on his way home from Big End with his shopping and five more empty boxes and spent the rest of the morning washing clothes, cleaning rooms and dusting furniture. After lunch he selected and wrapped the ornaments, pictures and photographs he would keep and boxed them. Since Maria was going to help him chose the new furniture he decided to take his bed and his armchair and the side table to hold his coffee mug. He'd need them until the new furniture arrived. Plus Sally's television, the kitchen table and two chairs. No, he'd take Betty's arm chair as well, Maria would need somewhere to sit when she came. The old stuff could be given away later. He'd leave his own television behind, it was an old one and might not last much longer. He checked the list of items to take that was fastened to the fridge. That was it. Lori could have what was left and the things she didn't want he'd take to a charity shop. If he moved to Ken's house early in December it would give Lori and Craig several weeks to move in.

He napped for an hour after an early afternoon tea break then bathed, put on his blazer and walked to the Crown to join his friends for supper. The only news was that the Community Centre committee was arguing about whether to have a Christmas party or a New Year's Eve dance. People with young children had said they wanted a party, those without wanted a dance. It would be either one or the other because there wasn't enough energy to organize both. Bob didn't express an opinion, he would be in Paris when either was held. After supper they all went to the dance. It was a happy, quiet and uneventful evening.

During breakfast on Sunday he thought about using Lori's list of their sales for August, September and October and writing down the dates they would be receiving cheques from We-Have-It. That way he'd know what money was coming in and when it would arrive. He took the clean overalls to the workshop then sat at his desk with her list. There was one more cheque for August then they'd get £97,750 during the November weeks and £73,300 through December. He'd get 51% of that and he wrote that figure at the bottom of the list. Then he added 51% of the £250,000 deposit they'd receive on Friday when Lori and Craig bought the company and, underneath that, added another 51% of the remaining £250,000 which he would receive when Lori could pay it. It totalled £342,235.50! And there would even be more, his share of what was left in the bank after paying all the expenses.

Bob copied the total onto the back of the paper and then added two more figures, the £550,000 he'd receive from Sally and £25,000 from selling his house. The total was now £917,235! He had guessed what the total might be but to actually calculate it confirmed his estimate. He was almost a millionaire! Most of it had come from Sally, of course, but a good chunk had come from Small End Wooden Toys. He took a new piece of paper and made another list that gave the dates the cheques should arrive, the amount of the cheque, a column showing how much Ken would receive and another one showing how much he'd receive. He'd give this to Ken before he left for Manchester.

During his afternoon walk he told Betty and his parents the latest happenings and his net worth. What would they have thought about that, had they still been alive, he wondered. He thought that they'd be very happy. In his letter to Maria he told her that he would move enough furniture to the new house so they'd have a bed and chairs to sit on and that they'd be busy when she arrived finding the new things they needed.

The next week began to take shape as Bob was walking to the shop Monday morning when he remembered he and Ken had said they might give everyone a bonus at Christmas. Even though they wouldn't then be the owners of the company they couldn't ignore their semi-promise, the staff had greatly contributed to their success. He waited until the tea break had ended then talked to Ken.

"I want to talk about the Christmas bonuses Ken but I'd rather not do it here, Lori or Craig might walk in."

"Let's go to the Crown then."

"No, not there. Let's go for a walk."

"Okay."

They crossed the road and walked around the playing field.

"I think we should give everybody five hundred pounds and more to Lori and Craig," Bob said.

"A thousand each sounds better to me. How much do you think we should give Lori and Craig?"

"How about two and a half?"

"All right, we can easily cover that."

"Ah, good. That makes me feel much better. You know, yesterday I added what I'll get when the company's sold and it's nearly three hundred and fifty thousand pounds. So I feel very indebted to everyone."

"Yes, so do I."

"Let's give them the cheques Thursday afternoon, before we leave."

"Okay. I'll buy some champagne and we'll have a hand-over ceremony," said Ken.

"Good idea. We'll do it at four o'clock?"

"Yes."

"We'll have to tell Lori and Craig we going to have a final meeting. We can just tell them we want to say goodbye to everybody."

"On Wednesday?"

"Yes. And Ken, I'd like to take you and Mary to dinner before you leave. What nights are you free?"

"Not Thursday, for sure."

"How about Wednesday? We could go to the Windlass Tree."

"That sounds nice. Let me just check with Mary first."

"All right."

Mary said she looked forward to dining out and Wednesday would be a good time. "I'll be ready for a restful evening by then!"

The August 30th sales cheque of £33,000 arrived Tuesday morning and, as Lori was showing it to Bob, she asked him if he could drive her to Big End and then to Southampton tomorrow, "I have to get the bank draft and take it to Mr. Glone."

"Yes, of course. I've got to do the same thing. I need one for the down payment on Ken's house."

Those transactions filled most of Wednesday morning. After the drafts had been given to Arthur, Bob told him that Lori would be buying his house on January 1st and asked him if he could look after the transfer.

"Not January first, I'm afraid. The office is closed. It'll have to be before or after."

"Oh, I didn't think of that," said Lori. "Can we buy it before Bob? The landlord will want ours on the first."

"Sure. What date would you like?"

"How about before Christmas? It would be nice to have Christmas there."

"That's fine with me. How about the beginning of December. Would that be okay?"

Lori looked at Arthur's calendar. "December the second is a Monday. That would be perfect. It'd give us plenty of time to make any simple changes and move our things in."

"Tell me the selling price and the deposit and I'll have Jennifer draw up the agreement right now," said Arthur.

They told him and drank a cup of coffee while it was being typed. As they were driving back to the workshop Bob told Lori that they would stop t four tomorrow, "We want to say goodbye to everybody."

"That's good. Everyone will want to say goodbye to you too."

"Think of all the things that have happened this year Lori. Hasn't it been great?"

"Yes, with a bit of worry thrown in to spice it up! We're lucky people, Craig and I, aren't we, to have such an opportunity and my Dad and his brothers willing to support us."

Bob's farewell dinner to Ken and Mary that evening began with drinks in the small lounge then moved to a table near the fire. Each had the chef's mushroom soup, Ken and Bob had the roast grouse and Mary ate prime ribs which she said were excellent. A bottle of cabernet suited everyone. Desserts, coffee and a liquor followed. Afterwards Ken handed Bob a set of keys.

"This is our spare set Bob. Arthur called me to say that he has your bank draft and suggested I give you the keys. It'll save you a trip to Southampton. I'll put all the others into the door mail box after we've locked up. Arthur said he'll send you the papers on Friday or you can collect them yourself. Phone Jennifer and tell her if you're going to collect them. The moving company will take our furniture Friday morning and we'll drive to Manchester once it's all gone."

"What about the electricity, gas and telephone?"

"I've phoned them. They'll read the meters and make the changes. Everything will be ready for you."

"When will you move in Bob?" asked Mary.

"Slowly, I guess, during November. Lori and Craig take my house the beginning of December. Maria has agreed to help me choose the furniture so I'll only move a few things, the bed, some chairs and so on."

"When will she be here? I'd like to meet her."

"Not until the new year. January, I hope. Maybe we'll drive up and see you then. Send me your phone number."

"I will we can't host you, our place is very small and the second bedroom will be filled with things from this house."

"No problem, there'll be plenty of hotels nearby. What do you want me to do with your share of the weekly cheques from We-Have-It, Ken? Send the cheques to you?"

"No. Just deposit them in my personal account. I'll keep it open for several months."

"All right. Here's the dates and what we'll be getting," and he gave Ken the list. "It looks nice, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does," and he handed it to Mary.

"It'll help us buy a really nice house Ken," she said.

Dave phoned Thursday morning and told Lori he wanted 1,200 farms, 1,500 villages and 700 trains. She was jubilant.

"I told you," said Dave. "Retailers are beginning to fill their shelves, getting ready for Christmas. However, I should also tell you that it'll be unusual if it goes up much between now and Christmas. It usually levels off by the end of November and it might even decrease, if items don't sell."

"Well, it's a good beginning to our ownership."

"You don't get the income from this order, I understand."

"That's right. I'm just guessing what next week's order will be."

"It'll be more, I bet. Who's going to deliver this lot?"

"I will, with Craig, so you'll meet him. We'll buy you a fish and chip lunch."

Bob waited until the end of lunch bell had rung to tell everybody that they would be ending work at four that day because there would be a short meeting. "We'll say 'goodbye' then."

"We're sad that you're going," said Diane.

"You don't have to feel sad for us," replied Ken, "it's what we both want to do. We'll miss all of you, of course, but you'll be fine with Lori and Craig running everything. You know that."

After everyone had found a seat at four Bob stood up, made a little speech saying how happy he and Ken had been while working with everybody. "And, although we won't be here at Christmas we did say we'd probably give you a bonus then. So, here it is," and Ken handed out envelopes with their cheques to everyone. As they were opening and expressing their surprise Ken opened the first of four bottles of champagne and Bob handed out the flutes.

"Here's to the company's health," called Ken.

"And to Lori and Craig's success," added Bob.

"And to a very happy future for everybody," Lori added. Everyone cheered, raised their glasses and drank.

When they were passing the bottles around for more Bob said, "As you know, as of tomorrow, Lori and Craig will be the owners of Small End Wooden Toys. So we'll now give them our keys." Bob gave his to Lori and Ken gave his to Craig.

"Thank you Bob and Ken," said Lori. "We'll do all we can to make the company a success. To celebrate the change of ownership, tomorrow will be a holiday for everybody. So here's another envelope for you, it's your paycheque for this week, from Monday to today. Craig and I will also pay you for tomorrow because we'll not be having our celebration lunch this month. It will be added to next week's paycheque. I hope that will be all right. Now, we will start on Monday as usual, at nine."

There were hugs and handshakes from everybody as they said goodbye. Diane and Jean also kissed Bob and Ken on leaving. Afterwards Ken retrieved the half-bottle of champagne he had hidden in the container at the bottom of the fridge and opened it to say farewell to Lori and Craig.

"I'm going to miss both of you very much," he said. "Let me know how you're doing, please. A short letter at Christmas would be nice, more often if you like."

"I'd like to write or call you if I run into difficulties," said Craig, "and thank you for the generous cheques you have given Lori and me. We appreciate it."

"You've both been so very helpful," said Bob.

"Call me any time you need help," said Ken, "anytime. Bob will let you know my phone number. We don't have it yet."

"I'll drop by each week to collect the We-Have-It cheques Lori," said Bob.

They walked out of the workshop. Lori locked the doors and Bob and Ken's ownership of Small End Wooden Toys ended.

**Chapter 44 Retired again**

Friday morning arrived. Bob lay in bed and didn't know what to do. He guessed that Lori and Craig would soon be loading the van but he couldn't offer to help. He couldn't help load Ken's furniture, their movers would do that. He couldn't even work in his own shop because he'd packed all the tools. He got up, dressed and went to the kitchen for breakfast.

It was a dreary day, windy, blowing intermittent traces of rain and walking would be miserable. He sat at the kitchen table feeling a bit depressed. 'This is ridiculous,' he told himself. 'This is what I wanted to do. I should be happy.' He stood up, washed the porridge bowl, made a pot of coffee and took it to his easy chair, gradually cheering up as remembered all the things he had to do. He picked up his pen and made a few notes.

Finishing his coffee he removed the list of items he'd take to Ken's house from the fridge door and walked once more through the house adding items as he went. He'd have to have enough drawers in the bedroom for Maria so he added Betty's dressing table to the list then added her end table. He would borrow the van from Lori to move them over and he might as well do it next week. He smiled as he worked his way through the house; it was surprising how having something to do, something to work towards, took depression away.

After lunch he walked to the village grocery shop and bought a steak. He'd grill that for supper in the oven. Perhaps the next one he cooked would be on a barbecue.

Ken called him at four o'clock. "We're leaving Bob. The movers have just left. I'll put the keys in the door mail box. Enjoy the place." Bob wished them a safe journey and hung up. Now, should he go over and look at the house or should he wait for tomorrow. The damp and dull day decided him, he'd wait.

Bob was up at six and breakfasted was eaten and cleared away by seven. The weather was no better than yesterday, dark clouds, squalls of rain and gusty winds but he couldn't wait any longer, he had to see his new house. He put his camera, the spare roll of film, his notepad, measuring tape, ruler, two pencils and an eraser in a carrier bag; all the tools he needed to draw a floor plan of the house.

He parked the car in front of Ken's garage and looked for the key on the set Ken had given him. There was nothing to fit the lock on the big door, just one to open the small one at the back. He entered that way, switched on the light and there, on the wooden bench, were two door openers. Of course, Ken had an automatic door opener. He pressed one of the buttons and the door lifted. 'Well, I'm certainly going to like that,' and he put one of the openers in his pocket.

He closed the door, crossed the flag stones to the back door of the house, found the key which opened it and went in. He didn't know this corridor for he'd always entered by the front door. There was a metal rod for hanging clothes on his right. It would be useful when entering from the garage or garden. He'd put a boot tray on the floor there he decided. There was a door just past it which he opened. It was a laundry room with water and electrical outlets waiting to be connected to machines. Two more things to buy. It would be nice to be able to dry clothes in a machine and not worry when it rained. He walked along the corridor to where it joined the hall. He knew the rest of the house. There was a powder room on his right, the kitchen and the dining room were facing him and Ken's study and the stairs were on his left. He walked to the front door, switched on the lights and collected the keys from the mail box. He turned and looked down the hall, past the kitchen, dining room, study, stairs and across the lounge, drawn by the rosy glow, lit by the light from the rising sun. It was shining on patches of the grey clouds that covered most of the sky. It drew him into the lounge and he walked to its windows and looked east. The river on that side of the garden was covered with choppy waves. They disappeared as the river curved right to run along the bottom of the garden where the water was sheltered by trees on the far side.

He turned and walked back to the kitchen, turning on all the lights as he entered. They had taken all the appliances. He rather expected that although he wouldn't take his when he sold his house. He'd buy new ones, maybe an Aga if Maria wanted one. That is, if there was enough room for one. He left the lights on and entered the dining room. Plenty of room here for all his family but he'd have to buy a big table. He was glad Mary had left the curtains, they made the empty room much more cheerful. He crossed the hall and went into Ken's study. It, too, was empty. Only the curtains remained but he could remember how Ken had furnished it and planned to arrange it in much the same way, two easy chairs and a small sofa set around the fireplace, a small desk and chair next to the window and a wall cabinet when he could keep his wine and liquor, glasses, books and two or three family photographs.

He climbed the stairs and visited each bedroom leaving the master until last. Mary must have cleaned the rug that they had left in one of the spare rooms because it looked so bright. He would move it into the master bedroom and use it until they had bought a new one. Then he went downstairs, out to his car and collected his bag. He would measure each room then photograph them from it's doorway.

It was eleven thirty before he'd finished. He thought about measuring the garage but decided to just photograph it. All he would do there was remove the bench and replace it with a smaller one. He'd have a bigger one in a workshop he planned to build in the garden. He took a photo of the house and garage from the road and used the last two shots to photograph the garden looking eastwards and then to the south-west. He locked the house and closed garage door, tested the garage opener to ensure it worked from inside his car, then drove home.

There he made a mug of coffee and sat in his easy chair looking at the sketches he had made. He'd redraw them using carbon paper to have a copy that he'd send to Maria. He'd send her a copy of the photographs too, as soon as they had been processed.

Bob took the two rolls of film to the Big End photographers after lunch ordering two prints of each, drove to the shopping centre where he looked in the windows of the hardware shop to see if they had any barbecues. He didn't see any, presumably they wouldn't display them until spring now. He entered a furniture shop and made his way to the easy chair section.

"No, I'm just looking," he told the assistant, "but I like this kind of chair. Do you have a two-seat sofa that goes with it?"

"The company supplies them and we can order one for you. All we have at the moment is this three-seater," and he pointed to it on the other side of the room. "Here is the manufacturer's brochure and my card. Please ask for me if you decide to buy."

After doing his shopping Bob drove home thinking about the study furniture. He liked what he had seen but he should look at more before deciding. He'd drive to Southampton and Bournemouth and visit their furniture shops next week. Once he'd found the nicest he'd order it.

"It's strange being retired again," he said, after sitting down with his pint in the Crown that evening. "There's too much time. Yesterday I didn't know how to fill it."

"Just give me a call when you feel like that Bob," said Joe. "I'll give you some work."

"No you don't. Bob's got to relearn how to retire," Jane told him. "You had three years of retirement before this year Bob, so you can soon discover how to fill your time."

"I suppose so, though I'll never make wooden toys again. I might carve birds but I think the next thing I'll do is make a workshop and a boat house then make a boat. Like the one we used to use Joe. Remember it?"

"Yes, I do. We had a good time. That was Dad's old clinker. I wonder what happened to it."

"He burned it when the tractor backed over it shortly after we were married Joe."

"We'd could all go fishin' agin', if it's big enouf," said Jack.

"Yes we could. I'll make it big enough for four. Not until next spring, though. I'll be too busy, or on holiday before then."

"See, Bob, now you've plenty to do," said Jane. "You won't have any spare time."

"I guess not. Say, what did the committee decide about Christmas? Are you going to have a party or a dance?"

"We're still arguing about it. The thinking now is that we should have both, a party for the children and a dance for the adults. I'll let you know what's been decided next week. We'll have to know by then otherwise there won't be enough time to get anything organised."

"Any plans for your holidays?" asked Bob.

"We booked two weeks in Spain," said Joe. "It's in February, it's the one we talked about taking."

"We're taking a ten day bus tour to Nice at the end of January," Rose said. "I've always wanted to go there. It'll be nice and warm."

"You're closing the shop then?"

"Yes. We won't miss much trade. Are you still going to Lagos Bob?"

"Yes, for a month, and to Paris for a week over Christmas." He immediately wished he hadn't said that, it was like saying he had enough money to go on holiday anytime he liked. Which was true, but not nice to say to people who couldn't do the same.

They had another round of drinks and talked about how the village was growing and the rumour that there would be another row of shops built the other side of the Post Office next summer. Then they left for home.

He redrew the floor plan of Ken's house Sunday morning, adding the length of each wall. Then he sketched the garden, guessing at its size and tried to visualise how it would look with a workshop and boathouse in one corner. He'd have to remove half of one of Mary's flower beds but that would be all right, he didn't want to spend a lot of time growing flowers.

It was still too miserable to go for a walk after lunch so he wrote to Maria, describing the house and telling her that he'd send the photos of the rooms next week. He asked her if she'd like an Aga and told her that he'd have to buy that or a stove this month and a refrigerator, because he'd be moving in before December, adding that he'd leave the ones he had in his old house for Lori and Craig. 'And do you want a dishwasher? There's room for one.'

As usual, he phoned Regina first that evening and told her that he now owned Ken's house and would be moving there later this month.

"I need a name for it, Regina. I can't keep calling it Ken's house. Do you have any ideas?"

"Not at the moment. I'll think about it. Are you coming to see the play that Roy's in? It's from December 11th to 14th."

"You bet. I'll stay for a night if I may, then visit Sam the next day. Can I tell you which day after I've called him?"

"Yes."

Sam suggested coming on the Saturday. When asked what the new house should be called he proposed 'Toymade.' Bob promptly vetoed that. He phoned Regina afterwards and told her that he'd come on Friday to see the play.

**Chapter 45 Moving in**

The mail dropped onto the mat as Bob was watching the morning television news show Monday morning. It was his electricity bill and Maria's letter. In it Maria said that she didn't want to come for a month in January. 'For one thing, we'll have been together for a week in December and you'll be here for a month in February, so we'll have seen a lot of each other. I want to be here when I start my freelancing, I don't want to miss any calls. The most I'd come would be for a week. We can choose the basics in that time and you could get the rest. I've already had a request to guide a tour in February and I've accepted. I've asked but they don't want to pay for an assistant. Too bad! Maybe you should join us and take the tour.'

Maria writing 'we'll have seen a lot of each other' troubled Bob. Was it just due to her wish to make a success of her freelancing career or did she only want to see him occasionally? He thought about writing and asking her but ruled against it. He didn't want to push her in a direction she didn't want to go. He'd have to see what happened over time. He'd have to find something that would keep him busy in Lagos when she wasn't there.

The phone rang. It was Lori who told him a cheque for £51,750 had arrived. "Thanks for letting me know, Lori. I'll collect it later." He wanted to spend this warm day at Ken's house, no, at his house, measuring the garden and thinking where he'd put a vegetable plot. He'd also have to rethink and maybe redraw the workshop he was going to build and integrate it with the boathouse. If he did that it would make more room for a vegetable plot. He made some sandwiches put them in a carrier bag with a plate, glass and an apple. One of the first things he should buy was a refrigerator, one with a bigger freezer than the one he already had. He'd measure the gap in the kitchen to find out what size he should buy.

Bob used the garage door opener and parked his car in the garage just to see how much room he'd have when it was parked there. Plenty. Then he measured the garden, noting the distances between the corners of the house and the garage to the corners of the lot. He marked where Mary's flower and shrub beds were and where he planned to build the boathouse and workshop.

He stopped at Wooden Toys on his way home. It was five thirty and everybody except Lori and Craig had gone home. Craig was cleaning the extractor filters and Lori was checking the stock room.

"Why, hello Bob. I'll just finish here then get you the cheque."

"Hello Lori. How has your first day been?"

"Great. Everybody was cheerful and we probably made fifty more farms than usual."

"You'll have to make more shelves then. And they'll have to go in the next room, there's not much room here."

"Yes. Craig's going to do that tomorrow night if the wood arrives. Leon wasn't sure they had what Craig wanted."

"Hello Bob," said Craig, as he entered the room." Enjoying your retirement?"

"Yes, thanks, Craig. It's strange not to be busy all day but I'll get used to it."

He took the cheque to the bank Tuesday morning, transferring money to his and to Ken's accounts, then visited the other, larger, Big End furniture shop. They had a comfortable easy chair in the rich brown-leather he liked but another, one that reclined and had an extending footrest, attracted him more. It would be nice to sit in that, put up his feet and look at the fire or the television or read. He collected brochures from the assistant then drove to Bournemouth and parked near to Tina's shop.

"Hello Tina. How are you?"

"Oh, Bob! Hello. Haven't seen you for a long time. Are you delivering here today?"

"No. It's a long story. Let me buy you lunch, some Thai, and I'll tell you what's happened."

Tina, since it was Tuesday and didn't expect much lunchtime traffic, closed the shop and they walked to the restaurant. There Bob told her about the many changes that had happened to him. Then he asked her about her business and what she'd been doing.

"The business is just the same; no big increases or drops in sales. I think I'm going to try selling my things through the internet. Tommy knows how to do that and he'll set it up."

"Tommy? Wasn't he your ex-boyfriend?"

"Yes, but we're together again. He's asked me to marry him but I don't think that would work so I said no. A bit like you and Maria I guess."

"Yes, it sounds like it."

After lunch Bob went to two of Bournemouth's furniture shops and one of the department stores. They carried the same lines as the shop in Big End but in one of them the reclining chair also rotated. He asked the price and if they could be obtained in all colours and fabrics. When told that they could he thanked the assistant and moved on to look at the writing desks, collecting a brochure that described them.

It was Guy Fawkes' night that Tuesday so, after supper, Bob walked to the park and across the playing field to where the bonfire had been burning for some time. Joe was pushing foil-wrapped potatoes into a bed of red embers and Jane was sitting at a table waiting for the first load to be cooked.

"We're selling the spuds this year. Fifty cents each, to raise money for the Centre. If you want one, Bob, you'd better buy a ticket."

He bought one then walked over to Jack who was standing by the fireworks and offered to help. "Nay, Bob," Jack said, "don't need no help, thanks. There's four o'us already."

His potato number was shouted in the middle of the firework display. It was too hot to eat but cooled quickly after he'd broken it in half. He remembered when Sam had burnt his mouth from eating his so long ago. Not Regina, she was always careful. The youngest children were given sparklers after the fireworks had finished and they ran around waving them. The crowd began to disperse and Bob and his friends decided to go to the Crown for a drink but when they opened the door it was so noisy and crowded that they changed their mind.

Bob drove to Big End Wednesday morning and talked to the assistant about the rotating chair he had seen in Bournemouth. He was told that they could also provide them and so Bob, wanting to trade locally, ordered two of them and the two-seater sofa, all in the rich brown leather. He gave them a deposit and they said it would be delivered by the end of the following week.

While driving back to Small End he decided to call the new house Rivermead, partly because it was on the river but also because years ago he had read a story about a couple who lived in a cottage called Rivermead and had envied their pleasant life. They had a boat and sailed along the Thames to go to the village pub. He could use the boat he'd make to go to the pub on the river-path or even go to the sea but he couldn't sail it either way, the river wasn't wide enough. 'I'll have to buy an outboard motor if I want to do that. Ken was right, it's easy to spend money once you have it.'

After lunch he placed the boxes holding his tools on the shelves in the garage and checked to see how the bench was fastened to the wall. 'It shouldn't be too hard to remove,' he thought.

Thursday he went to the Big End library and looked at several sailing and hobby magazines knowing that one of them should have a design for a boat that would be suitable but it took him an hour to find one that was big enough for four people and had a reinforced stern so it could take an outboard. It was sixteen feet long, probably four feet longer than the one he and Joe used so many years ago. The sketch in the magazine was complete, with measurements given, but the designer sold a much more detailed diagram with details about construction, the plan for a form upon which it could be built and a list of materials. Bob copied down his address and ordered the package that evening.

Maria's letter arrived Friday morning. 'It's a lovely house and it's so nice to have a river along two sides. But isn't it damp in the winter? I guess you'll find out soon. No, I wouldn't like to cook on an Aga, I've never used them. I'd prefer a conventional stove.' Reading that he decided to order the stove and refrigerator the next time he was in Big End.

His bank manager called him during his tea break that morning and told him that a money transfer of £300,000 had arrived. "Do you want the bank to put it in your savings account?"

"No, thanks. Put it in my checking account, please. I need quite a lot right now. I'll transfer what I don't need later. Can I draw from it today?"

Assured that he could Bob called Arthur to tell him that he wanted to discharge his mortgage. Jennifer answered his call and suggested he bring his cheque book today. "And if you're here before lunch we could start the process today."

He drove directly to Arthur's office. Jennifer told him that he should write a cheque for £175,336, payable to Mr. Glone's firm and leave it with her. "It's for the remaining principal and interest. Mr. Glone had to go out but he'll handle this when he returns. There'll be a few additional charges, not much, and he'll send you his invoice and the discharge papers once your cheque has cleared."

Bob drove to the appliance shop in Big End Saturday morning and spent over seven thousand pounds buying a large fridge, a modern, convection stove, a dishwasher, a washing machine, dryer and a microwave. They were very happy with his order and promised delivery and installation as soon as all of the appliances had arrived. He next collected his photographs and looked through them as he ate his lunch in the Fox. He shopped afterwards and collected more boxes, to hold clothes this time, and was home in time for a bath and a nap before supper.

At the Crown that night Jane told everyone what the committee had decided about the Christmas activities.

"We're having both events at the Centre, a big party for children who are under twelve on Saturday December 14th and a New Year's dance on Saturday December 28th. So most families will be happy. However, there's a catch, the New Year's Eve do is fancy dress. If you don't wear some kind of costume the entrance fee's doubled. So, how many want to go?"

"We'll go," answered Rose. "I've got my grandmother's dress and I'll wear that. And her hat too. What'll you wear, Jack?"

"Me apron?"

"Your carpenter's apron? No thanks! I'll make you a sheik with a sheet if you can't think of anything better."

"Nay, I'll think o' somat."

"How about you Bob," asked Rose. "What'll you wear?"

"I'll not be going Rose, I'll be in Paris. How about you Joe. What'll you wear?"

"I can put on my work clothes and carry a hay fork."

"Too dangerous," announced Jane. "We wouldn't let you in if you had one of those. And you're not wearing your old clothes either. If I have time I'll make something for both of us."

"I'll be sorry to miss this," said Bob, "I hope you have one next year."

"If this one's a success we probably will."

"Then I'll look for something to wear when I'm in Portugal."

He enclosed a labelled set of photographs when he wrote to Maria and told her he'd ordered the appliances and the furniture for his study. 'All the rest I've left until you come. I want my study arranged the way Ken had his, that's why I've ordered those. It should all arrive next week. I'm looking forward to December 22nd. Only six more weeks. Love, Bob."

**Chapter 46 Towards Christmas**

Those six weeks drifted by slowly. Bob trained himself to get up a few minutes later each day. The winter darkness and the many rainy days helped him not to feel he was just being lazy.

He made up for late starts by walking, sometimes tracing the footpaths that criss-crossed the fields and woods around Rivermead. He knew most of them, for the house was less than two miles from his former home. He walked every day, even when it rained, skipping only the very windy or stormy days.

He continued to live in his old home but went to Rivermead when deliveries were expected or when he had some work to do. Two days were spent removing Ken's old work bench from the garage and making a smaller one that better suited his needs. He hung up most of his tools but left his wood-carving tools packed in its moving box for he would not need them until he began carving birds. He placed his garden implements in Mary's small greenhouse.

Bob spent three days carefully drafting the boat house cum workshop. He decided to make one long structure, built upon a single bed of concrete. Jack told him that he'd have to obtain approval to make a building that large and which was adjacent to the river so he started the search to find out what he had to do and what application forms he needed by talking to people at the municipal office.

Once his new appliances had been connected he did his weekly washing in the new machine, revelling in the fact that it took the clothes dryer less than an hour to dry them. He even tried the dishwasher but he realised his two plates, a mug and a knife wasn't a real test. He would have to hold a party or save his dishes for a week or two to properly test the machine's capability.

He had a fire in the study the evening his chairs were delivered and watched a program on Sally's television. It was nice sitting there but it needed a rug he thought, and a larger television, one which should stand on a bench or table. He added them to his shopping list. It was exciting to be able to buy what he wanted without worrying about what it might cost.

He shopped, buying a rug, a television, a stand to hold it and a wall cabinet. He put his drinks and glasses into the cabinet the day following its delivery and added 'Port' to his shopping list. The bottles he had bought last Christmas were still nearly full or unopened. He measured the empty space on either side of the fireplace and made shelves to hold his books, a few of Betty's ornaments and photographs of his mother and father, Regina and Sam and his grandchildren.

Cheques arrived and were deposited. Money accumulated in his savings account and when a cheque for £100,000 arrived from Mr. Radley he asked his bank manager for a safe place to invest it. 'Unit trusts' were recommended, those supplied by the bank, of course. He bought a few. And a gold bracelet for Maria's Christmas present.

He phoned Ken one Sunday evening, telling him that toy sales had increased and asking him where he bought his firewood. Ken told him that he'd been to Germany ordering new equipment and was busy setting up the production lines. He said that Mary spent much of her time looking at houses that were for sale but they hadn't found any thing they liked yet. Both Bob and Ken had received an invitation to the Small End Wooden Toys' Christmas party. It was to be held on Friday, December 20th. Bob told him he would be going and Ken said he and Mary would also be there.

He lost interest in learning new dance steps when Maria, in one of her letters, told him she didn't dance much and he should not expect her to be able to follow all his steps but he continued taking the lessons until the classes ended mid December. Maria wrote, telling him she had booked her flight to England and would be arriving Friday, Jan 3rd and would be returning Sunday, Jan 12th. 'We'll be busy,' she wrote, 'choosing furniture for your house will take a lot of time but I'd like to visit Ken and Mary if we can.'

November 23rd Craig helped him load the van with his bed and the furniture he would take to Rivermead. He told Craig that he and Lori could use the house immediately and move in whenever they wanted and gave him a set of keys. He told the Post Office and his children that they should use the Rivermead address in future but that he would still have the same telephone number.

It was a warm but empty and a rather lonely home when he was living there by himself. He hoped it would become more cozy when it was filled with furniture. It was lovely to have an ensuite bathroom. Eating his meals in the lounge while watching the river and the birds was very pleasant. He borrowed a fishing rod from Craig and caught a small fish one morning but put it back in the river. A six inch fish was too small to eat. He twice raked the leaves and burned them. He redesigned the flower beds, making all of them smaller except the one he would use to grow vegetables. Thus the days went by and Christmas drew nearer.

Friday, December 13th he stayed with Regina and watched Roy perform in the school play. Bernard was more congenial towards him than he had been in the past; perhaps it was the money he now commanded or his new house. He left Christmas presents for them, a mohair scarf for Regina, a bottle of expensive scotch for Bernard and the latest computer game for Roy.

Saturday he stayed at Sam's house for the night, taking them out for dinner and leaving a GPS unit as Sam's Christmas present, a book token for a hundred pounds for Lilly and cheques of fifty pounds for Jane and for Bess. He thought that they'd know best what they would like to buy. Lilly was recovering from a bad cold but, luckily, he didn't catch it.

The Wooden Toys Christmas party was held in one of the large rooms in Big End's main hotel. It had been decorated by the hotel's staff and they also managed the bar. Lori footed the bill for the drinks and the buffet. Jose operated the record player and Luke was the MC. Bob made his way amongst everybody describing what he had been doing and asking about their Christmas plans and their families. Mary told Bob that she had found a suitable house and they had made an offer that morning but added that, if accepted, it wouldn't be theirs until February. "Do bring Maria to visit when she comes. I really want to meet her."

The Crown suppers continued and Bob drove to them each Saturday. He learned that the children's party was a resounding success. Joe and Jane would become pirates and Jack would turn into Napoleon at the New year's Eve dance. Jane and Rose made the costumes and promised to make one for Bob and Maria, if she was here, for the one next year. "That's if you haven't already bought one," Rose said.

December 22nd eventually arrived. The drive to Heathrow was easier and quicker than Bob had expected. After more than an hour's wait he boarded the plane and listened to the safety announcements in English and in French, trying to remember the few French words he'd learned at school. He spent most of the journey looking out the window at the clouds and thinking back through the past year. So much had happened and all of it because he had met Claire. What a year it had been. And what a difference it had made to his future!

###

A note from the author

I hope you enjoyed my first novel. Perhaps you might like _Sam's Dream_ , a short story.

A few years ago I wrote _Developing a Universal Religion._ This book explores how we think, how we solve practical problems, how moral problems arise and how we solve them. Along the way it summarises how the universe, stars, planets and life evolved. It ends with a wish that we might benefit by formulating a religion that looks forward rather then backwards and use that to guide the morality of a global civilization.

David Hockey
