I bought a pair of Japanese swords in the early Eighties. They are still next to my bed, of all places. In the late Nineties, I bought a Japanese fighting stick. It is always behind the bedroom door. I bought a German sling three years ago. It is on my dining table all the time. Now I am thinking about buying an American crossbow. I can imagine it by the front door. Slowly but surely, I am arming myself. And so are many others, as witnessed by the availability of toy weapons. Sorry, weapons past their prime. Apparently, we all feel increasingly insecure in this tottering world of ours, but we are still a bit shy when it comes to real weapons, as well as the licenses required for their legal acquisition. As ever, the criminals are way ahead of us all. Totting guns and rifles, they must be laughing their heads off at the rising popularity of toy weapons. Sorry, weapons whose prime is yet to return with a vengeance.