We’d just like to say thank you to everyone who came to join us in celebrating the birth of Vespa and the launch of our new showroom on Saturday 4 July.
We’ll admit that when Piaggio asked if we would join in the worldwide celebrations for Vespa’s 80th birthday on Saturday 4 July, we were more than a little nervous. As regular visitors to our showroom will know there’s been a lot of building work going on. In the long term this will give us a showroom worthy of the Vespa brand and more space for spares, but it’s been hard work!
Birthday in Barnsley
When the call came from Vespa we were still in, how we put it, semi-organised chaos…. However, there’s only one chance to celebrate an 80th birthday and even if the showroom wouldn’t be fully completed it would be a nice opportunity to give a taste of things to come.
So, the entire team dug in deep and after a run to the supermarket for some snacks, sandwiches and drinks together with a run into town for some of Barnsley’s best pork pies we were ready. The biggest worry was that with only a few days notice, would anyone come?
Showroom surprise
Saturday morning arrived with the promise of good weather but as we put the finishing touches to the display of 80th Anniversary machines and arranging our stock of the latest SRGT 400 from Aprilia, there was sense of tension in the air. We needn’t have worried. With an advertised start time of 12:00, we’d left arranging some of the scooters from our own collection until the last minute. By 11:00, we had to pull down the shutters to keep the surprise from prying eyes and at 11:45 it was clear that we couldn’t keep you waiting any longer. To say we were overwhelmed is an understatement.
By a rough count around 130 of you called in, and the overwhelming majority were on scooters. Incredibly we had visitors from across Yorkshire and so far north as Newcastle, whilst others had made the trip from Lincolnshire and the Midlands. Honorary President of the Vespa Club of Britain, Robin Quartermain, popped in and the Veteran Vespa Club also made a strong appearance.
For the team it was great to see scooters that we’d supplied parts for during their rebuild, to greet established customers and to meet those we’d only spoken to in the electronic world.
VIP guest
Although we’d plenty of items on display, for many the day’s highlight was an inspection of the premises by the man himself, Ron Daley. Now aged 94, it’s fair to say that he was overwhelmed by the amount of interest shown in the shop; which is a far cry from the conditions he originally worked in.
Thanks from us all
Once again, we’d all like to say a most sincere thank you for coming to see us, we really enjoyed meeting you all. Your positive feedback on the new showroom was really appreciated and has given us fresh motivation to push things over the finish line and get the final touches in place. When will that be finished? We don’t have final date yet but we’re aiming for September, when the finished product should be ready to unveil. Here’s to the next open day…
