The everyday blog of Richard Bartle.
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4:44pm on Saturday, 24th June, 2023:
Anecdote
Remember that bayonet I inherited from my grandfather via my dad? I sold it today to Colchester Militaria for £100. I could probably have got more for it if I'd sent it to auction, but it's not as if there are many people who buy these things anyway, especially as this one had a serrated edge and a cutting edge and so was perilously close to putting me in breach of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019.
The chap in the shop was very knowledgeable and up-front. The shop itself was a lock-up on an industrial estate with no windows, probably because if you have a place full of swords, axes and knives you don't want teenagers breaking into it and killing each other. There were other things there, too — uniforms, replica guns, even pieces of armour — and it was quite interesting from an historical perspective. He'd just received his first piece from Ukraine, but hadn't put it in the shop yet. His latest purchase before the bayonet was some artwork done by a British prisoner of war in a Japanese camp, that he'd paid £400 for. The paper was of a thick gauge, as if it had come out of a book, but the drawings looked very crisp and clear. I just hope there isn't someone going round all militaria shops in the UK selling things they'd "recently found" in the effects of a dead relative.
Afterwards, we went to Clacton Shopping Village. We'd never been before. It was rubbish. We shan't be going again.
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Copyright © 2023 Richard Bartle (richard@mud.co.uk).