The Lagonda and the Didicoi: a true moral tale
- From: "brafield@xxxxxxxxxxx" <brafield@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 13 Jul 2006 13:59:25 -0700
My father's death last year has me recalling this. Almost fifty years
ago, my father took me on one of his occasional buying trips. He was a
farm manager, and used to buy machinery from a "didicoi" family in the
East Midlands of England. "Didicoi" is the term for a settled gypsy,
and not derogatory. (Didicois were rarely true Roma gypsies.) Anyway:
this extended family of numerous adults and countless kids, lived in a
settlement of caravans etc, in what must have been 40 or 50 acres of
scrap metal. You could find ANYTHING there --- buses, helicopter
frames, railway parts, trucks and trailers and tractors.
The chief chap, let's call him Hunt, did not read or write, but always
dealt straight and fair. When he named a price, that was the price. I
was about 10 or 11 on this occasion. Mr Hunt was talking to a London
car dealer who had spotted a vintage LAGONDA among the junk, had asked
to buy it, and the car was craned up onto one of Hunt's lorries to
transport it to the dealer's place in London.
At this point, the dealer got sticky, pointing out "extra damage" and
various defects in the Lagonda, and countered with a lower bid. I can't
truly remember, as my dad was holding me away from the "language" these
chaps were using! Anyway, let's say Hunt had asked 500 pounds. The
dealer said "No good, I'll give you 400." Hunt said "No, you can't
have it." The dealer then offered 450, and Hunt said "No the price was
500 and you're trying to do me."
The dealer eventually said "Okay, you can have your 500." But Hunt
said "No, I told you you're not having it." The dealer was nonplussed,
but Hunt told his sons to lift the Lagonda back off the lorry. Hunt
said the dealer was dishonest and was treating him like a fool. The
dealer then got generous and said "How about I bump it to 600 or so,
and we can be friends?" Hunt refused, and amazingly the dealer went up
(my father reported) to well over 1,000 pounds, cash in hand.
I'll never forget the next bit: Hunt said "Look, I named you a fair
price and you tried to cheat me. You are not having that car. You think
you are better than me because I'm a didicoi, but you're not better
than me. PUT IT IN THE CRUSHER, LADS." The Lagonda was crushed, in
front of the dealer's eyes, and Hunt finished by telling him "NOW GO
BACK TO LONDON AND LEARN SOME MANNERS."
Honour counts, eh?
.
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