I= Interviewer T = Ted Howitt
I Ted, we're sitting in your dining-room,
surrounded by a wonderful collection of
miniature coaches. When did you start
collecting them?
T Well, some of them date back to when I was
a child, and they were given to me as toys, so
... at the age of five or six. But the bulk of
them I've added er ... in the last ten, fifteen
years.
I Now, I can understand a child enjoying
playing with them, but why did you carry on,
and actually make this collection?
T Well, it's because of my family background,
erm... I'm the third generation in a family
coach business, so I've been ... lived with and
been brought up with coaches all my life.
Mmm. So you've got the real thing, and ...
and the miniatures as well?
I
T
I
That's right, yes.
How many miniatures do you think you've
got?
T
I haven't counted them for a long time, but
there must be at least five hundred, I should
think.
I
T
Which is your favourite?
Well, my favourite is probably what is also
the oldest, and that's a er... little tin-plate
double-decker bus, loosely based on a
London Transport double-decker of the
period.
I
And how old is that?
T Er... that would have been manufactured in
the... in the late thirties, early forties...
I -And...
T... I think.
1 And we've got it here. It's lovely. And it ...
and it ... it ... it winds up. Will you ... will
you...?
T Yes. It's...
I... do it for us?
T It's a clockwork. So, er ... winds up like
that.
I
Oh, it's marvellous. How long have you had
that? Did you have it as a child?
T Er... no, no. That one doesn't date from
that period. Erm... probably about ten
years I've had that one.
Hmm. Do you keep your collection all in
here? Is this the complete collection?
The bulk of it is here, but er... I have others
in other rooms of the house, and some
T
I
stored up in the attic, as well.
I Do many people collect miniature coaches?
Where ... where do you get your coaches
from? Where do you find them?
T-Yes, there are a surprisingly huge number of
people collect buses and coaches, and
erm ... there are specialist shops that sell
them. And then there's also a a network
of what are called swapmeets, where people
go
and trade in either current models or old
models. So there's no difficulty in finding ...
models at all.
Are they expensive? If I decided that I
wanted to collect ...?
T No, not necessarily. You can ... you can buy
contemporary models... anything from
about two ninety-nine upwards. And the
sky's the limit.
I Give me a figure.
T
>
***
Oh, some people pay thousands and
thousands for a specific model.
I Which do you think was your most
expensive?
T I don't really know. Erm... I've never paid
more than ... probably about fifty, sixty
pounds. I think, yes.
I
Have you got any very rare ones that people
would fight for?
T I've got some that have ... have become rare.
Weren't particularly rare when... when I
bought it. It's... there's no rhyme or reason,
but there... there is one that I bought
probably for seven or eight pounds which is
now worth about a hundred and eighty.
And that's quite good in ... sort of seven or
eight years. That's not bad.
I Would you ever ... would you ever sell it?
T No, I don't think so. Unless I had to. No.
I No.
T No. I'm too attached to them to sell them.
It's like the real ones.
I
Are there any that you would really like to
have that you haven't got, that you ... you
look for when you go to these swapmeets?
T There's a lot that I'm tempted by, but er...
no, no one specific model erm... financial
constraint is the ... is the problem, I'm
afraid. However, if a model appears of an
actual vehicle that I... that I own, then
financial constraint or not... no, I would
have to have it, I think.
I Well, I think they're all lovely. Thank you
very much, Ted.
T Thank you.


Answer the questions:Comprehension
check.
1 Where does she/he live? Who with?
2 What does she/he do for a living?
How big is her/his collection?
3
4 How long has she/he been collecting?
5. How many rooms of the house are taken up with the
collection?
6. What's her/his favourite piece?
7 How much has the collection cost?
8. Where do the pieces come from?
9 Is she/he in touch with other people who share the
same hobby?
10 What ambitions does she/he have?
When you have answered the questions find