[Paul de Souza]

I hope am not breaking the rules in giving a field report of my short visit to London. I did not have a chance to visit Kensington Church Street where Michael German is. Nor did I visit Michael Backmen in Hanover Street.

I did visit Gray’s Antique Market at Davies Street next Bond Street Station. Leon’s Militaria had none but Don Bayney Antiques in the Mews section, which specializes in Samurai swords, had two - a Madura keris with an ivory floral handle, and a Malay presentation keris to a British officer in a Malay sarong but with an ivory Madura floral hilt, similar to the first. There was a shop with lots of Middle East and Indian edged weapons in the Mews. I did spy a number of Bali blades without sheaths but it was closed.

I did visit the daily antique markets at different locations. At the Jubilee Market at Covent Garden on Monday I saw a Tumbuk Lada, though not a keris, at a booth selling silverware. At the Wednesday market at Camden Passage near Angel station (not Camden Town) there was a keris in a cabinet in a militaria shop but it was closed as I was early. At the Thursday antique market at Old Spitalfields, there was a militaria booth with two Malay keris; one without sheath and the other a blade with a missing ganja. Both had the Bugis jawa denam hilt firmly glued in the wrong direction.

At Portobello, there were a number of shops with mid-east and Indian weapons. One had a pedang without a sheath and another had 2 keris with Islamic inscriptions on the sheaths and hilts. The shop looked expensive and I did not ask for the price as I had no interest in them. There was a small Bali keris in a cabinet in one of the booths in an arcade.