Hi, Guys
I've got a problem - and it's nothing to do with car restoration. In fact,
it started off as a flower border!
Outside my little rented cottage, there's a small patch of ground about
twice the size of a postage stamp on which I thought it would be nice to
have a minute rockery. I thought I'd call it my 'Standard Rockery' as this
year being the 75th Triumph anniversary will also see Christmas Day 1998 as
my dear Pa's 100th Birthday. Many of you know he worked for Standard
Triumph as well. Thus it seemed a good idea (to me anyway) to have a little
commemorative planting. Then I pondered what I was going to use to build my
rockery and it seemed sensible to pay a visit to the old factory site in
Coventry (now gone and covered with huge tin boxes masquerading as offices)
and fill the boot of my car with brickends from the old factory. In fact,
what I retrieved were brickends from the old Export Department where I used
to work and what I think was the dividing wall between Export and the
Gearbox Machine Shop. I'd have got a lot more brickends if some Security
guy hadn't chased me off the site for 'stealing property'! I suppose he had
a point, so I didn't argue but I failed to get a bootload.
Scene change to "Macartney Mansions" from where I write this, only to learn
my Landlord isn't too keen (in fact very UNkeen) for me to have a rockery
of flowers in the only place where I can put it.
Thus, I am faced with the dilemma of what I should do with a bootload of
purloined full and half bricks - smartly covered in genuine Triumph mud!
And then I had an idea - and the idea is this.
I'm going to offer these full and half bricks to the highest bidders,
together with a BMIHT Certificate of Authenticity, neatly encapsulated in
plastic and signed by me to attest the source and origin of the bricks.
For my own part, I'd be really happy to see them go to a Triumph Club where
many people can enjoy the novelty of holding a piece of real history - but
I know clubs are pretty short on funds at any time.
Anyway, what happens to these bricks is determined by who buys them - and
what they do with a piece of fired clay after that is their affair. As far
as the money is concerned, I intend to make it available in its entirety to
Fred Coultas (the Managing Director of BMIHT) with the request that the
funds are used to finance or contribute to the funding any project of his
choosing at the Centre to do ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY with Triumph. I think
Fred is likely to accede to this request because the Triumph 75th saw an
attendance at Gaydon which broke all previous records. Some of you may not
know that BMIHT (while being a consituent part of Rover) is a fully
registered Charity and therefore enjoys important tax advantages which its
status accords.
So, what to do with the bricks?
Landlord isn't at all keen at seeing them stacked up neatly under my
kitchen window, so whoever wants to own a piece of Triumph should send me
an E-Mail by Sunday June 14 saying whether they want a full or half brick
and how much they are prepared to pay for it. Postage incidentally will be
extra. Place your bid in your own currency and I'll use the prevailing
exchange rate on Monday June 15 to convert your offer into Sterling. I'll
then turn those names and offers into descending order and allocate either
a full or half brick (in line with the bidder's stated preference) and
respond individually to bidders who are lucky enough to enjoy owning a
piece of history.
On the payment method front, I'd much prefer incoming funds to be in a form
from which banks profit to the very minimal extent. They usually charge
about $12.00 a check here to process plus a commission as well. They don't
need this extra revenue from Triumph owners - BMIHT does, so this makes a
Credit Card number an ideal payment method. I can't cash credit cards
myself but BMIHT can, so this is your safeguard that I'm not going to
abscond with your cash.
Be assured, I'm looking for SENSIBLE offers and not just the commercial
value of a secondhand brick or half brick. Anything less than US$50.00 for
a half brick isn't going to motivate me all that much, so tell your spouses
the family will be eating mince for the next month or so.
It's up to you. If there are no bidders by the end of the weekend or the
offers are so small in value, I'll put the bricks in my mother's garden to
hold up an old wall. At least she and I will know a part of Triumph WAS
saved in the end. On the other hand, if there are so many offers that I run
out of hard core presently under my kitchen window, I'll happily risk being
arrested and go back to the old site and help myself to some more to meet
demand.
It's up to you. BMIHT still has a lot to do for Triumph - your
contributions could accelerate that work.
John Macartney
http://www.toolbox.ndirect.co.uk/plates GIVE YOUR TRIUMPH THE "COVENTRY
LOOK"
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