Bob of Small End

by David Hockey

  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 i
n 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 se
ts 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.”