Dear CHUMMY thief
You knicked my oil button from me at Wollaton park and probably the same person who knicked my chummy speedo and 2 oil gauges at stoneliegh few years ago
And you are probably the same person who goes round knicking all rare chummy bits and pieces out the boxes at Richard Edmonds auctions!
Please keep doing it because I want to catch you! When I do I will break your hands and expose you all over the Internet!
It's so sad I rarely get things knicked but when I do it's always chummy parts!

*******! (Edit) I said B.A.S.T.A.R.D!

I can sympathise, having lost the instrument panel light from my RP at a show some years ago.

I'm astonished that no-one saw anything; removing an oil button or speedo would take several minutes.

Location: Herefordshire, with an "E", not a "T"!

hi martin,

i think you may find greg is one of the stall holders. rather than it being removed from a car.

sorry to here its happened again greg,

i know there is an attitude from a number of people that stall holders rip people off with the prices that are charged. then the odd one slips something into there pocket when backs are turned. thinking nobody looses out from it.

the truth is, as a stall holder there is a massive amount of time, and very good prices paid for stock that is put out at stalls for people to view or even buy. its never given to you for free.

and trust me if you catch one of these people, i will be amoungst many stall holders who will see NOTHING wilst you beat the living c.r.a.p out of them.

tony (7 county austins).

Location: huncote on the pig

My brothers and I have stalls at both the spring and September Beaulieu autojumbles. sadly, over the years we have had a lot of (mainly small) stuff stolen off the stalls.

So now, with small items like switches, I wire a number of them together with a length of twisted bare wire in a daisy chain arrangement. Hopefully this makes it more difficult for these low life types to slip an item into their pocket or bag.

Stealing is always wrong, but I do get particularly annoyed about stealing stuff off our stalls, this is personal; we aren't Tesco, or some other multinational who can just regard these losses as "shrinkage"

Location: N W Kent

Hello Greg, you have my commiserations I too have had parts stolen including a nos 26VA carb. side-lights and yes an oil button (flange type).
I well remember seeing Tracey (Tony's partner) haring after a thief at Beaulieu autojumble - I have often wondered if he survived!
The saddest theft concerned the taking of an Alvis hare at Beaulieu which had been on the car since the 1920's.
Regards
Stuart

Location: Staffordshire - the creative county

Hi Stuart,

We didn't catch him, if I had I would have been in the same position as Greg. I would have kicked the s.h.i.t into him.

Don't really care about prison, the satisfaction will see you through.

Do remember I come from the part of Norfolk were we shoot thieves in the back as they run out of the house.

That man should have been given a medal.

Tony.

Ps, tracy missed you both Sunday, she didn't we to get a banana sandwich from

Location: HUNCOTE on the pig

At the Beaulieu National Rally about 10 years ago, I put a couple of late propshaft on the Clubs' Bring & Buy stall.
One was knackered and ticketed at just £5 with a full description of the condition. The other was really superb and priced at £30.00. I do not think I was over-charging for either really.
When I returned at the end of the day to collect my unsold items I was not surprised to find the knackered one still there and the good prop gone.
What I did not expect was that the good one sold for £5. The price tickets had been changed over by someone and the poor one had the £25 label on it..
That was a real bargain for some low life.
The result is that I no longer take anything there to sell.

I have corrected my previous post here. It should have said it "had the £30 label on it".

Hi Tony you should have let your 4 legged friend chase the thief, your present model doesn't look aggressive enough it seemed happy enough snoozing in the shade.

hi dave,

they say dogs are like there owners.

hes big, ulgle, but has a soft side.

just like me.

mind you he has just had a half an hour running round a field of long grass.

trust me you wont catch me doing that

he is our third boxer, we bought the first because we got burgled, and wanted a big ugly dog to put the scum off.

kind of fits in with this thread well.

tony

Location: huncote on the pig

annoyance and crims aside, they are not two words that normally would be seen sitting together.

but I see a whole new range of branded T-shirts and leisure wear.


I'm working on the logo.

Our milkman had a really good 4 legged friend, a mongrel which was a friendly model and could hold it's own against a whippet, however if he was in the milk float you soon learnt to keep well away. A bit of Jekyll and Hyde character.

My neighbour had his house broken into and the thief took a bunch of keys for his classic car collection - presumably intending to return later. We have a good idea of who the culprit was but no way of proving it. It has been costly and expensive replacing the door and ignition barrels in several cars.

Touch wood I have been lucky in my life seldom to have been the victim of theft but it must be a horrible feeling that someone has been in and taken your stuff.

The only thing that happened to me was when I was at music college. I left a two volume set of Bach 48 (preludes and fugues) on the piano when I went for lunch. When I returned, they had gone; never to be seen again! How anyone could study music from books that they had stolen is beyond me!

Many years ago I returned to my "frogeye" in a welsh carpark to find a longhaired "oik" trying to unscrew my nice racing mirror by turning it round and round,I said "the nut under the wing is probably turning" he bent down to put his hand under the wing and I brought both hands down hard on his head which smashed the mirror!,he ran off leaving a trail of blood,I hope it was him that got the seven years bad luck!.

Location: by the trent

Sadly this is a nationwide problem, the railway preservation movement has experienced some amazing thefts of non ferrous boiler fittings, a couple of tons new copper plate for a firebox and rails, all big heavy items, are some of the items stolen. At the end of the day vigilance by both the stall holders and genuine customers is the best solution to enable the culprit to be identified and ostracised.

I find it difficult to believe that a genuine Austin Seven enthusiast could even think of doing this. Every Sevener I've met, including some of the grumpy old farts, have been kind, caring people who are always willing to help.

With that in mind I think we can all help the stall holders like Greg and Tony by being particularly vigilant...and carrying a big stick!

Thank you Ivor,

I tried wiring down the nice bits one year at September beaulieu, after we had a spate of bits going missing the year before.

When it got busy, I noticed there are hands stretched out between people trying to pick things up. Trays moved about with a clatter a couple of times.

One person threw a switch panel back into the tray, not happy about that treatment of my stock either. Perhaps it was done through frustration, or because he didn't like my distrust of people.

Things need to work both ways, if the stall holders are trusting enough to put everything for you to view without restriction. Then the public has to respect the trust given to them.

Sadly there is always a bad apple. If it gets to bad the FEW traders with vintage stock that are left. Will end up like many others and be ebay only sellers.

you don't get the same chance to view on there. You just trust the Discription, accurate or not.

Tony.

Location: HUNCOTE on the pig

I'm a volunteer at a museum where we have several old vehicles. A carburettor once disappeared and horn bulbs are often targeted. We have to resort to devious means to prevent radiator caps 'walking'.

Its not just parts. Cars are being stolen from shows and no less than the Goodwood Revival car park last year.

Its depressing how low some people can sink.

Location: Farnham