Thank you so much Richard, for that story. It's the first thing I read this
morning and it started off my day with a warm feeling and a smile.
Laura G. (Nigel sends his best to Daffy)
>I had a rather eventful day on Saturday. In the morning, I went off to the
> TRGB Autojumble, to pick up a few non-essential cheap s/h parts - horrible day
> to be out, but plenty of people there (did you go Tim?). On the way back, I
> stalled at a junction - engine not fully warm yet, but I'd put the choke in
> prematurely - or it might have been damp, it was VERY rainy, and lots of
> puddles to drive through. Then, not thinking straight really, I managed to
> flood the engine. Not realising this, I kept trying to start it, and
> flattened the battery. During this, I had got my toolkit out of my boot to
> get a can of WD40, to spray the distributor, in case it was dampness
> preventing me from re-starting. Having flattened the battery, I popped across
> to the garage that I had conveniently stalled opposite, to ask for someone to
> give me a jump-start. No problem, I got a jump-start, Daffy started right
> away, so off I drove.
>
>What I didn't realise until 1/2 hour after I got home, was that when I drove
> off, my toolkit wasn't with me. BIG BIG disaster - all my spanner, sockets,
> screwdrivers, pliers, mole grips, hammer, EVERYTHING I need not just to work
> on Daffy, but my wifes car, and most DIY jobs around the house. That lot
> would cost probably well over 200 quid to replace, at a very rough guess.
>
>I got straight back in Daffy, and headed back to the garage. The woman running
> the shop had already been replaced and gone home, but she'd left a message
> that she'd seen something, so her replacement rang her and I talked to her.
> She had spotted right away that I had left the toolkit, and had popped to the
> workshop at the rear to see if I was still around. While walking back, she
> saw a little red car stop and pick up my toolkit. She took his number - top
> woman!!
>
>I drove straight to the police station (which is down a road called Pig
> Lane!!!), to discover it was closed on Saturdays, so I drove home and called
> the main police station in Huntingdon - it seems that our police reckon there
> must be less crime at weekend, and so they only need 3 police stations open in
> all of Cambridgeshire. Spoke to a rather unhelpful woman, who took the cars
> number, but said that she'd need to call around the various police lost
> property offices to see if it was handed in as a first move. Of course, since
> they were all closed at the weekend, she couldn't do anything until Monday. I
> pointed out that, by Monday, every one of my tools could have been sold at a
> car boot sale. Also, since all the police stations were closed, it was
> impossible that the toolkit could have been handed in to them. Wouldn't it be
> easier just to call they guy up - if he had handed it in he could tell us
> where, saving calling all the possible options, and if he hadn't, he would
> know the police were on to him before he tried to pass the stuff on, so giving
> him the opportunity to give me the toolkit back and keep his name clean. She
> did not appreciate being told how to do her job, and left me not knowing what
> she intended to do, and no faith she would do anything. She also wouln't give
> me her name.
>
>An hour later I get a call from another policeman, who did give his name as PC
> Ross Gentle. The previous woman had gone home and he had taken over. He had
> traced the car, and he was going to give the guy a call. Cambridgeshire
> Constabulary move up several notches in my estimation. 15 minutes later they
> move up several more notches, as he tells me that he has called the guy, who
> was very nice indeed, and was happy for the police to give me his name and
> number so I could call him up to arrange to collect the toolkit - he even
> offered to meet me 1/2-way, to save me a drive! Called the guy, arranged to
> meet at a supermarket about 3/4 of the way from me to him.
>
>It turns out he is a Herald driver, and had also been to TRGB. He had picked
> up the toolkit, tried to take it to the police but found (as we know) that
> they were closed, so went home to Houghton Regis near Dunstable (about an hour
> the way I drive), and tried to give it to the police there, who were also
> closed. He apologised profusely for making me drive so far to collect it from
> him, fought hard to refuse the bottle of wine I had bought him to thank him,
> and point blank refused to take any money for his extra petrol.
>
>So, Mr. Whittle, Herald driver of Houghton Regis, I would like to thank you
> publicly for being a true gentleman, and going above and beyond the call of
> duty to help a complete stranger. My view of this world is a little less
> jaded this morning, knowing that people such as you are still around.
>
>Richard and Daffy
>
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