Bob of Small End

by David Hockey

  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 p
lace 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.”