Had a run in with a real beauty of a genuine Rigby last month whilst in London. It occurred in The East End when my wife and I rocked up to a B&B and sat for a nice cup of tea with the owner.
She asked what I did for a job and told her the I engrave jewellery, knives, guns etc. She then related that her family had once been involved in the gun trade.
"Did your mob have a gun shop or something" I asked? She told me they not only had a few gun shops but they manufactured as well.
At this point I still only knew her by her first name, so of course the next question was what her surname was. " Rigby " was the reply. I almost fell off the lounge.
Then I thought it must be a gee up, as my daughter had booked it for us. But no, it was true. In a city of what, 7.5 million? I got to stay with a direct descendant of the founder of one of the great names in gun making.
We looked at family albums, brought her up to speed on the latest news regarding the Rigby guns, and know that the family still own a castle in Scotland that was purchased during the golden times.
So as I was lucky enough to find out through one of the greatest coincidences of my life, some Rigby's were in London all the time.
It was a very good, and most interesting, B&B.