The Watch by Peter Gilkes


True stories are very often the hardest to believe. This is a one that I remember from my days as an accountant.

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Harry was an antique dealer with a shop and home in Dudley in Birmingham, in the West Midlands. An non-smoker and tea-totaller, his only vice was his motor car -- a white Rolls Royce. This he’ d drive while wearing a crumpled raincoat and carpet slippers.

The number plate of his 'roller’ was WBA2 and twice a month Harry would hire out himself and his car and drive a bride to the church, with two provisos: the wedding had to be a two -- Wedding Bells At 2 --and payment for his services had to be made out to his favourite charity whom he never told where he received the anonymous donations when he handed the cheques over each month.

Harry was an eccentric. In an effort to find 'valuable’ antiques to sell from his business premises, he used to put small adverts in selected newspapers offering to purchase old furniture and curiosities. One day he received a letter from a old dear who lived in Scotland. A long drive from the West Midlands, however Harry was used to travelling to meet his requirements and owned a second vehicle, a camper van that he used while driving long distances to view 'valuables.’

Arriving at this ladies house in Scotland she told him that her husband had died, and she was moving to a smaller house nearer her daughter. This could not accommodate the furniture that she and her husband had acquired over the years so she wanted to sell it. The furniture was old, but of no real value, and certainly not worth transporting back down south. This of course meant that Harry had to disappoint the dear old lady, which saddened him, but business was business. Apparently not too upset the lady enquired what she owed Harry for his trip up to see her; of course there was no charge. But being of 'old stock’ the lady was not prepared to accept this, and so insisted that he choose something small that he had seen in the house to take as payment.

After much debate Harry picked up an old watch that was not working and told her he would accept it as payment in full. This, she found acceptable, and Harry slipped the watch into his raincoat and made his way back to Dudley.

Another business 'habit’ Harry had, was to periodically clear old stock from his shop to make way for new, by loading his third vehicle, a large furniture van, and taking such contents to be auctioned. On such an occasion, some three months after his visit to Scotland, Harry had just about unloaded his van when he reached in his pocket and found the watch. This he thought was an ideal opportunity to off load it and so he put it in the auction along with the other items.

His furniture and other curiosities sold quite well, and he was rubbing his hands anxious to get away, but he had to wait until the last item, the watch, was auctioned. To his complete amazement the watch sold for 3,500 pounds. It turned out that purely by chance there were two 'watch’ experts in the auction room who knew the true value of this watch, and between them they pushed the price up, until one of them gave way.

That is the end of the tale, except to mention that Harry tried to reach the old Lady to share his good fortune (without success), and two days later a Customs & Excise officer visited his shop to check his bookkeeping records and make sure he had recorded the sale of the watch in his records. It just goes to show that the Government never seem to miss out on an opportunity to share our good fortune!

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