Pastimes shop Bristol

I've only today learned that Andy Stevens passed away on 11 June 2025. Andy was the owner of a shop called Pastimes on Lower Park Row, Bristol, England. 

I decided to mark his passing with a blog post as a form of tribute.  

In over 40 years of visiting Pastimes, it remained unchanged, which was a very good thing. This small, unasuming shop was filled to the brim with a vast varity of collectables. Whilst mostly militaria, Andy always kept a small selection of Police badges and memorabilia. I've learnt that he opened the shop in 1972 so it had already been running almost a decade before I discovered it. 

This was one of the few remaining militaria shops unchanged since the 1980's. This was a shop where you could browse through boxes of random items. If you found something you liked you would simply ask Andy how much he wanted - from inexpensive to expensive. There was something to suite all pockets. It was somewhat of a timecapsule and even the exterior remained the same. 

In recent years when downsizing my collection which included militaria, I sold some to Andy, at a very reasonable price knowing he had to earn a living and I wanted to support the shop rather than sell everything on eBay. There were even a few small items which I had bought from his shop some 40 years earlier and re-sold them. 

Photo from Google street view taken 2023

I took this photograph in 2022, which may have been my last visit.

Pastimes in 2022

I can remember visiting his shop in the 1980's when British WW2 helmets were sold for around £6. This had risen to about £60 in 2022.

I managed to find a short video I took in 2011. At that time he still had a huge pile of books and magazines stacked on the floor at one end of the shop. All these had been removed when I visited in 2022 and that was the biggest change I'd seen in 40 years. It's a very short video which I've uploaded to Youtube. You can see Andy briefly at the back of the shop. 

Andy clearly shared a lifetime passion for collecting and he was one of the very few who retained a shop rather than migrate to an online store. In fact I don't think he ever had an online internet page to promote his shop. He sometimes advertised in the local press, but 'word-of-mouth' was probably most beneficial.

Update: I found a webpage which Andy had set up with some basic information on three pages:

Military Memorabilia in Bristol with Pastimes (A.H.Stevens)

New Observer 29 June 1984

Here's an online article from 2018 published by bristol247.com

RIP Andy.

New book for collectors of British Police helmets and Helmet Plates (2026)

 A new book has been recently published by Mike Brown "A Collector's Guide to The Traditional Helmets and Helmet Plates Of the English and Welsh Constabularies, Police Forces and Police Services During the Reign of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II 1952-2022".

I've recently recieved a copy of this book and would highly recommend it. Such books are 'few and far between'. This new book provides an excellent reference guide for collectors. It includes colour photographs of helmets, examples of their liners and helmet plates both front and back. Such a publication requires an enormous amount of work, which has been successfully brought together by the author Mike Brown. 

"This is a new self-published book for those interested in the helmets and helmet plates of the English and Welsh Police during the reign of HM Queen Elizabeth II. This book came about after 30 plus years of collecting and over 3 years of writing. It seeks to start to catalogue the helmets and helmet plates in use by the English and Welsh Police Services during the reign of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

It is divided into the 43 separate Police Services, or Constabularies, as they were at the time of the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II, with each section then sub-divided into the forces that were amalgamated to form them during her reign.

The book has over 260 pages, lavishly illustrated throughout with colour photographs.

Where possible other collectors, organisations, serving and retired officers have been contacted. Many have provided considerable knowledge, assistance and photographs. What is hoped though is that this book will promote debate and the further sharing of knowledge.

This is a very limited print production; the cost of the book is £42.00 plus P&P at £4.75 (UK 
mainland). It is available direct from the author with payment through PayPal. For further information and to order a copy please contact the author at mikebrowngy@gmail.com."

1971 Morris Minor Police Car For Sale (2026)

By co-incidence, I spotted another vintage Morris Minor Police car for sale. This went to auction on 11 April with a guide price of £3,000-£4,000 and sold for £3,654. 

Registration Number ELB77J. There doesn't seem to be information to identify the original Police Force who owned this vehicle. It has the classic two tone Police colours typical of this period. Interesting that the POLICE marking on the door appears small. Whilst there was some generic Police markings and livery, there was also variation over time and between different areas. The Bristol Constabulary Morris I prevoiusly covered has a rather 'over-sized' roof sign which I imagine made an already slow car even slower. 

Such a car like this is begging to be restored. It would be nice to see a complete strip down to bare metal and rebuild. However, such a project can easily run into tens of thousands of pounds and usually done for high-end sports of prestiege classics. Unfortunately this wouldn't be financially viable for most people. Imagine if you acid dipped the car and to your horror the body shell falls apart or is completely perferated. You might need to source a new body shell and lots more. It then ends up being a 'clone' with only the original registration number and other parts remaining. It would certainly make good Youtube or television viewing. 

"This Morris Minor 2-door saloon is believed by the vendor to be a genuine ex-Police car, with 51,521 miles showing on its odometer. Its latest MoT expired in 2019, and we're advised that recommissioning will be required. Previous and current V5Cs are the only paperwork we have with the car. It was first registered on 1st April 1971, and has been with its current keeper since 2022."

ex-Avon and Somerset Police Community Support Vehicle For Sale (2026)

Always interesting to see what becomes of ex-Police vehicles. This Fiat Ducato belonged to Avon & Somerset Constabulary and used as a community support vehicle. Typical of those seen at promotional public events and general PR work. Included here for general interest. 

This certainly has potential for the right person as either camper van or mobile office. However, the vehicle sits very low so I do wonder whether the ground clearence would be sufficient for use as a camper. I certainly doubt anyone would ever consider restoring it back to a former Police community support vehicle - unless this was done with the intention of being used in film/TV work.  

The starting bid for this is £3,9995 and the auction ends on Thursday 9 April. I believe it would cost around £50,000 to buy a similar new Fiat Ducato today so must have been an expensive purchase for Avon & Somerset back then. 

2004 Fiat Ducato ex-Police Community Support Vehicle

 

Here's a couple of photographs showing one of these vans operational in Bristol city centre in 2011. This one was registration No. WX53 PVL. 

The Chard and Ilminster News 6 October 2004

Somerset Constabulary vintage Velocette motorcycle For Sale (2026)

Another item worthy of inclusion here is this 1963 ex-Somerset Constabulary Velocette motorcycle.

At the time of writing, it's listed on eBay with a starting bid of £1,750.

Here's the current live link to eBay. I'll provide an update when the auction ends.

ex-Somerset Constabulary Velocette motorcycle

I managed to find these period photographs of an example which belonged to Somerset Constabulary. Probably among the first motorcycles to be used by Somerset Constabulary. I understand these were adopted widely by various other British Police Forces.

Somerset Constabulary Velocette motorcycle c. 1950's/60's

This next photograph appears in the publication Somerset Constabulary Centenary, which was published in 1956. A Velocette motorcycle can be seen on the far right. Cars from left to right are Ford Zypher Mk1, two Wolsley 6/80's and a Ford 100 E. 

Somerset Constabulary 'modern mobility' display 1956

Bristol Constabulary Morris 1000 For Sale (2026)

I felt this deserved to have it's own post rather than just listing it under my "eBay archive" section. 

I've previously included some information about these Bristol Constabulary 'panda cars' under my post "British Police Vehicles". These Morris 1000 panda cars were introduced to Bristol Constabulary in 1968, including the over-sized roof sign. I also included a photo of this particular vehicle, registration XHU 541H, which I believe is the only surviving example from Bristol. 

It sounds like it needs a fair bit of work to have it roadworthy again so probably a 'labour of love'. I really hope it finds a buyer who is able to bring it back to it's former glory and therefore preserved for the future. It seems to me there's much less money around in the UK for such projects, especially compared to countries like the USA. I've seen lots of videos from the US of vintage Police cars restored to a high standard. There's so few vintage Police cars still roadworthy in the UK that you see the same few being used on multiple British television dramas. 

After a starting price of £1,895 the auction closed with a winning bid of  £2,950 on 3 April. However, to my surprise after a few hours the vehicle was re-listed for another 10 days. Here's a link to the new listing.

Bristol Constabulary Morris 1000 panda car for sale

Update 5 April: The new listing was removed so that may be a result of negotiations with one of the bidders.