Bob of Small End (27 page)

“
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.”