Pentrace Roving Reporter Glenn Craig reports
from Portobello Rd prior to the London 2014 LWES Pen Show. With a
trained keen eye and olfactory senses that can find the scent of
elusive sulfur baked ebonite and modern celluloid at a thousand
paces… Glenn is on the hunt and this is his first report.
DAY 1
Hi all, I was fighting the huge crowds on Portobello
Road looking for pens.
So many people it was hard to see anything.
We ended up at the Admiral Vernon Gallery where Henry Simpole hangs
out on Saturdays.
He showed me some of his Conway Stewart
auction pens amongst many other pens. We agreed to meet at the
London Pen Show next Sunday.....if we can get away from our booths.
Another dealer that I have known for years is
Phyllis an ex pat New Yorker who has lived in London for a few
decades. She once told me she provided the Wahl pens for David
Shuchet to use in his Hercule Poirot series. She has a Saturday booth
about a block away from Henry Simpoles on the Portobello Road.
I next went searching for more pens but
somehow we got side tracked......... oh well!
Glenn was
thinking….”maybe replacements for piston washers?”
Look close, I see that famous sterling WES
ring on his pinkie!
One of many delicious sights on Portobello Rd.
Cheers for
today, Glenn Craig reporting from London
DAY 2
Started out late today. It took all
morning to read yesterday's Sunday Times all 2.4 pounds of it!
Looked for the Pen Shop on Regent St...... I think
it is gone?
I talked to a couple of friends of mine seated
on a bench on BondSt.
They sent me to the Mont Blanc
store.... very friendly doorman...... hmmn!
Then to Covent Garden bought this Parker
for 15 pounds ....probably paid too much .....oh well.
Maybe I will do better tomorrow....the pint I am having right
now is good though.
Cheery bye for today! Glenn
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