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Sad News Ian Allan Birmingham is to close


Chrisjh
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This is common practice by councils as part of the drive to stop minors from obtaining dangerous items or substances. All shops that trade in designated items should train their staff to be aware of this.  The staff member selling the item is personally responsible for policing it at the till, and can, in theory, get a criminal record if caught out. Although this tends not to happen, and the shop is deemed in error.

 

Intelligent tills now can flag these items up for the staff, so it's not so much an issue. But if the system isn't updated for new products, the till staff need to be on the ball. 

 

It's these craft kits and similar items that can catch you out, as the offending item may be inside a box.

 

Rob

 

 

 

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10 hours ago, bart2day said:

I wonder if anyone knows whether Ian Allan in Waterloo has reopened since the pandemic? The Ian Allan website seems to be down and I found this worrying story online: https://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/news/18184395.ian-allan-book-model-shop-fined-thousands-selling-knife-teen/

 

I fancy that many model shops would not be able to survive that and the pandemic.

 

The sting operation was in July 2019 and the story itself is from January.  Ian Allan went into the pandemic trading normally; I can't speak for how it has fared since though.

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I tried to call them a couple of times on Friday, attempting to see if they had a book in stock (Plymouths Hidden Railways - if anyone knows the whereabouts of any copies please PM - Have tried twelveheads), and the phone kept ringing until it cut off.

 

Best Regards,

 

C. 

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13 minutes ago, dogbox321 said:

I tried to call them a couple of times on Friday, attempting to see if they had a book in stock (Plymouths Hidden Railways - if anyone knows the whereabouts of any copies please PM - Have tried twelveheads), and the phone kept ringing until it cut off.

 

Best Regards,

 

C. 

 

Seemingly you can order it from Waterstones.

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41 minutes ago, 'CHARD said:

 

Seemingly you can order it from Waterstones.

Or Amazon (used):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plymouths-Hidden-Railways-Paul-Burkhalter/dp/0906294924

 

EDIT

It's out of print so Waterstones probably wont get it, I have had problems with them where they say they can get something and after many weeks it doesn't turn up and I am informed "we can't get it!"

Edited by melmerby
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1 hour ago, dogbox321 said:

I tried to call them a couple of times on Friday, attempting to see if they had a book in stock (Plymouths Hidden Railways - if anyone knows the whereabouts of any copies please PM

 

Here you go:

https://www.titfield.co.uk/Books/West-Country-Railways.htm#4902

 

Why you want to buy a book from anywhere else eludes me ;)

 

Careful, you are about to buy lots of things you didn't even know you wanted.

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I was getting worried as well, phoned during the week and luckily got the manager.

He confirmed that the Ian Allan shop is due to re-open on Tuesday 7th July with reduced opening hours, 10.00 -17.00.

 

All the best

 

Ray

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4 hours ago, wainwright1 said:

I was getting worried as well, phoned during the week and luckily got the manager.

He confirmed that the Ian Allan shop is due to re-open on Tuesday 7th July with reduced opening hours, 10.00 -17.00.

 

All the best

 

Ray

 

Oh that is great news. Many thanks for sharing this.

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On 05/07/2020 at 01:25, Jim76 said:

Really? What a terrible thing to do by the council. As if any youth intent on stabbing someone would go to the bother of going to Ian Allan to buy a model kit containing presumably a craft knife. It is more like the council wanting to force them out. 

 

It's got nothing to do with the council wanting to force them out, it's about trading standards and the council making sure shops are following the law. Having once been in hospital and sat next to some poor lad who had had their face slashed with a stanley knife, I'm pretty sure a craft knife could easily do some pretty nasty damage if someone wanted to settle a score. It's also not just about knives, but other hazardous items like glues as well.  

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1 hour ago, knapper said:

 

It's got nothing to do with the council wanting to force them out, it's about trading standards and the council making sure shops are following the law. Having once been in hospital and sat next to some poor lad who had had their face slashed with a stanley knife, I'm pretty sure a craft knife could easily do some pretty nasty damage if someone wanted to settle a score. It's also not just about knives, but other hazardous items like glues as well.  

Fair enough - I just think that councils going about trying to entrap Ian Allen booksellers is a bit extreme and would be better focusing their resources elsewhere. Ian Allan seem like an easy target. My point was the type of person intent on stabbing someone is hardly going to go to an Ian Allan bookshop to buy a craft kit to obtain a knife. It might make more sense to target the local B&Q or hardware store.

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I agree it is harsh, and I have a lot of sympathy for retailers, but it's something they should be on top. They do target hardware shops as well, my guess is the area around Ian Allan was generally targeted that day and they tested lots of shops. It's highly unlikely they will have specifically targeted Ian Allen, unless people were reporting them.  Big retailers like B&Q are probably less of an issue than the small shops, as they are more likely to have systems in place to make sure people are challenged. Don't forget, children talk, if one finds they can buy a blade without a problem, their friends will soon find out.  Nothing against Ian Allen though, I don't think they were callously turning a blind eye, just got unlucky.    

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On 05/07/2020 at 11:01, Tim Dubya said:

 

Here you go:

https://www.titfield.co.uk/Books/West-Country-Railways.htm#4902

 

Why you want to buy a book from anywhere else eludes me ;)

 

Careful, you are about to buy lots of things you didn't even know you wanted.

I tried purchasing a book from here yesterday after your recommendation. I got a notification today that the payment had been refunded, nothing else, so I can only assume that the order has been cancelled. And much as I can understand that shops sell out of stock an explanation that this was the case would have been expected and courteous, to receive nothing other than a refund notification comes across as rude and as such I will not use them again and could not recommend them. 

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Have you checked your spam folder?  I have always had exemplary service from Simon /@Not Jeremy of this parish. Very sorry to hear about your experience but I'm sure there's an explanation as to why?

 

Cheers, Dubs.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, Tim Dubya said:

Have you checked your spam folder?  I have always had exemplary service from Simon /@Not Jeremy of this parish. Very sorry to hear about your experience but I'm sure there's an explanation as to why?

 

Cheers, Dubs.

 

 

Yes, there is nothing at all. 

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3 hours ago, Kris said:

I tried purchasing a book from here yesterday after your recommendation. I got a notification today that the payment had been refunded, nothing else, so I can only assume that the order has been cancelled. And much as I can understand that shops sell out of stock an explanation that this was the case would have been expected and courteous, to receive nothing other than a refund notification comes across as rude and as such I will not use them again and could not recommend them. 

If you search for title it links you to West Country Railways, where the title is not listed!

Seems like they haven't got either.

 

You could give these a call, I've had loads of railway books from them.

(I go in person, so haven't tried contacting them remotely.)

https://www.bookcasecarlisle.co.uk/

 

There's always the ones that go to model railway shows such as Bill Hudson

https://www.billhudsontransportbooks.co.uk/

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5 hours ago, Kris said:

Yes, there is nothing at all. 

 

Hi Kris

 

I don't understand that as I put a full message in with Paypal when I refunded your money this morning.

 

Apologies for the inconvenience, the book is now out of print and therefore unavailable, my website  showed it as being for sale owing to a stock discrepancy that I had not noticed.

 

Ie system says one in stock, reality is none in stock.

 

Result of bungled admin back at the old place,  just can't gt the staff y'know.....

 

Simon

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8 hours ago, Not Jeremy said:

 

Hi Kris

 

I don't understand that as I put a full message in with Paypal when I refunded your money this morning.

 

Apologies for the inconvenience, the book is now out of print and therefore unavailable, my website  showed it as being for sale owing to a stock discrepancy that I had not noticed.

 

Ie system says one in stock, reality is none in stock.

 

Result of bungled admin back at the old place,  just can't gt the staff y'know.....

 

Simon

Hi Simon. Thank you for replying. Below is the message that I got from PayPal. 

 

859649857_Screenshot2020-07-07at07_08_32.png.cfc3900751b1494c57ee911af589e576.png

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On 04/07/2020 at 22:26, bart2day said:

I wonder if anyone knows whether Ian Allan in Waterloo has reopened since the pandemic? The Ian Allan website seems to be down and I found this worrying story online: https://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/news/18184395.ian-allan-book-model-shop-fined-thousands-selling-knife-teen/

 

I fancy that many model shops would not be able to survive that and the pandemic.

 

A good way to prevent youth coming along and keeping modelling alive.

A load of rubbish saying yobs will buy modelling knives to do grave damage to others, John Wick can kill people with a ballpoint pen and I don't see them being a banned object.

It's an easy way out to blame the supplier instead of sorting the root of the problem out and arresting  the perpetrators.

 

Mike.

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2 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

... sorting the root of the problem out and arresting  the perpetrators.

 

The route of the problem is a deliberate and planned run down of youth services by this government, with massive cuts in funding to FE colleges over the years.  Secondary education is a farce and those of us working in the FE sector are left to pick up the pieces (again due to the lack of decent basic funding!).

 

Arresting kids will do nothing except disenfranchising them even further.

 

Cheers, Dubs

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On ‎05‎/‎07‎/‎2020 at 11:30, wainwright1 said:

I was getting worried as well, phoned during the week and luckily got the manager.

He confirmed that the Ian Allan shop is due to re-open on Tuesday 7th July with reduced opening hours, 10.00 -17.00.

 

All the best

 

Ray

Gah, curses! I work in Central London, an easy walk from Ian Allan, but I finish work at 17.00. Still, glad they're reopening, I was getting worried for a bit there.

 

12 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

A good way to prevent youth coming along and keeping modelling alive.

A load of rubbish saying yobs will buy modelling knives to do grave damage to others, John Wick can kill people with a ballpoint pen and I don't see them being a banned object.

It's an easy way out to blame the supplier instead of sorting the root of the problem out and arresting  the perpetrators.

 

Mike.

Well yes, but John Wick is a fictional character whose actions are dictated by a fight choreographer. On the other hand, it requires very little skill to injure someone with a modelling knife, and indeed I do so to myself by accident on a semi-regular basis.

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3 minutes ago, Tim Dubya said:

 

The route of the problem is a deliberate and planned run down of youth services by this government, with massive cuts in funding to FE colleges over the years.  Secondary education is a farce and those of us working in the FE sector are left to pick up the pieces (again due to the lack of decent basic funding!).

 

Arresting kids will do nothing except disenfranchising them even further.

 

Cheers, Dubs

 

1 minute ago, HonestTom said:

Gah, curses! I work in Central London, an easy walk from Ian Allan, but I finish work at 17.00. Still, glad they're reopening, I was getting worried for a bit there.

 

Well yes, but John Wick is a fictional character whose actions are dictated by a fight choreographer. On the other hand, it requires very little skill to injure someone with a modelling knife, and indeed I do so to myself by accident on a semi-regular basis.

 

My point is that everything is safe until it is weaponised, a gun can't kill anybody until someone pulls the trigger, it's not the fault of the inanimate object.

 

Mike.

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It is odd really.  I never had any money as a kid and I certainly never had access to 'youth services' or FE.  Still it never occurred to me to use a modelling knife to stab people - I was too busy correcting the  errors on my second-hand Mainline peak.

 

It is easy to blame government, councils, teachers but most personal morality begins within the family (which sadly many don't really have due to absent fathers).  

 

Anyway good to have IA back.  I used to love the stores in Birmingham and Manchester and always try to head to Waterloo whenever in London.  I might even buy a modelling knife from them.  Might come in handy if someone tries to mug me on the way home... (joking here obviously).

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1 hour ago, fezza said:

It is odd really.  I never had any money as a kid and I certainly never had access to 'youth services' or FE.  Still it never occurred to me to use a modelling knife to stab people - I was too busy correcting the  errors on my second-hand Mainline peak.

 

It is easy to blame government, councils, teachers but most personal morality begins within the family (which sadly many don't really have due to absent fathers).  

 

Anyway good to have IA back.  I used to love the stores in Birmingham and Manchester and always try to head to Waterloo whenever in London.  I might even buy a modelling knife from them.  Might come in handy if someone tries to mug me on the way home... (joking here obviously).

Exactly the same here, brought up in abject poverty, zero youth services, no one from my area had even heard of further education, never mind get the chance of it.  Careers officer at school only gave out the dole office address, nothing else.  I done odd jobs such as a very small paper round to try get some pocket money (my family couldnt give me any) so I could get some new stuff for my very second hand trainset.  Never once did I think of stabbing anyone, with a modelling knife or not.

 

Personal morality indeed begins at home, my father told me that if I wanted anything, I would have to work hard to get it, which is what I do to this day.  I wouldn't necessarily blame absent fathers - even kids with both parents are utter b******s, the fault lies solely with the parenting - or lack of, as a lot of the 'parents' these days were dragged up themselves.

 

Sorry for the OT post.

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