Nelson said to him, “Look, you've obviously got the wrong man and the wrong place” and closed the door. The next day there again was a knock at the door. Upon opening it, once again there stood the same Japanese man with that same lorry but this time it was full of brake pads. He thrust his clipboard under Nelson's nose, yelling, “You sign! You sign!”
Mr Mandela was getting a bit annoyed by this point, so he said to the Japanese man: “Look, go away! You've got the wrong man. They are not mine, I don't want them!” Then he slammed the door.
The following day, Nelson was resting, and late in the afternoon he heard a knock on the door again. On opening the door there was the same little Japanese man thrusting a clipboard under his nose, shouting, “You sign! You sign!” Behind him this time were TWO very large trucks full of car parts. Now Nelson lost his cool completely and yelled at the Japanese man: “Look, I don't want these! Do you understand? You have the wrong place and you must have the wrong name! Who are you supposed to deliver these to?”
The Japanese man looked very puzzled and somewhat hurt. He consulted his clipboard and said: (in your best Japanese accent) “You not Nissan Main Dealer?” (groan!)
Over the past 14 years it hasn’t always been easy to find us. The Baptist Church arrived in Finchampstead in 1840 thanks to people in Wokingham who felt that a chapel should be built in the village. In those days it was just a hall with a place at the rear to stable a horse – the one the preacher arrived on each Sunday – which was demolished in the 1970’s to allow for a small extension. The major post war growth of Finchampstead has been north of the village so in 1996 we relocated our Sunday morning service (and then later, also our Coffee and Muffins mornings) to the California Ratepayers Hall. Then in October 1997 we relocated once more into the then newly built Waverley School. We are extremely grateful to both of these for being so accommodating over the years.
Now we are on the threshold of moving into our own building in Gorse Ride. It is an exciting time for us and over the next couple of months we expect to see the Coffee Shop up and running and the Library and Children’s Centre installed and functioning. The sports hall and other rooms will become available for hire and we shall be using it on Sunday for our Church activities. We hope that many people will find it a useful meeting place – for all kinds of reasons. And we don’t expect to be moving again in the foreseeable future!
I trust that 2010 will be a good year for you and that you will come and see the new FBC Centre. Watch for news of the opening date.
Every blessing
Graham Robinson
