Obviously the Army Museum (C/Mendez Nunez 1) will be a must for any SCW enthusiast. It opens 10 to 2.30, Tuesday to Sunday and contains a magnificent room dedicated to the Civil War. If it has a fault it is that there is not much to buy in the souvenir shop, and, like most Spanish museums, photos are not allowed.

The Naval Museum is not too far away from the Army Museum - if you come back down the hill to the Prado, and turn right onto the Paseo del Prado, after a short walk you will see a model galleon hanging above a door on a new-looking building. There's not a vast amount of SCW shown in here but there are nice models of some of the ships and the bookshop is surprisingly good.

I am told the Airforce Museum is open again, aRer being closed for quite some time for renovating. This is somewhere near tbe airport, so you would need to go by taxi or public transport.

For anyone hoping to buy any SCW books, badges or ephemera, the "Rastro" is a must. This takes place each Sunday from about 9 in the morning to maybe 2 or 3 in the afternoon. It's walkable from tbo Puerto del Sol, but you can get the Metro to La Latina, and follow tbe crowds from there. It's worth poking through the rubbish, you never know what may turn up. Even the antique shops in the area (which open Sunday mornings) are worth a look. Though they are almost always expensive, there's a chance of a bargain. Last time I was there, I got two Nationalist cloth divisional patches for a fraction of the amount you would pay in a militaria shop.

On the subject of militaria shops, there are two of these, the best being at the bottom of the Calle Arganzuela. Prices here are expensive, but you can haggle and the guy has always knocked me a bit off when I have bought a few items. I'm not sure whether he speaks English or not, though.

The other one is a bit further up the hill, on a corner, though I can't remember the name of the street. This is take-your-breath-away expensive, I might add. They had a good selection of "detentes" last time I was in there, but œ40 for a bit of embroidered cloth, no matter how elaborate, seemed a lot to me. Incidentally, if you find this place, the bar on the left of it was being used as a meeting place for the Madrid militaria collectors as the usual place has closed down. You will find the collectors easy to spot, lots of facial hair, military or aviation lapel badges and a smattering of flying jackets. Any women attached to the group usually look bored out of their minds. They are usually there around 10 o'clock to have breakfast. They buy books in English from me but whether any of them actually speak the language, I have no idea.

Also on a Sunday is a market in the Plaza Mayor, mainly for coins and stamps, but SCW medals can be had reasonably and sometimes badges turn up. A friend of mine got me a nice envelope addressed to a Legionario in the Fourth Bandera at Navalcarnero, and below this was written "or wherever he may be found."

Monday is a good day to go shopping as the museums are closed. If you start at the Puerto del Sol end of the Calle Mayor and walk down the left hand side of the street, you will come to Flandres, which sells current issue Spanish uniforms and badges - notbing for the SCW buff here, but it's an attractive window. If you cross the road and go back a bit, you will see a side street which leads to the Calle Arenal. About halfway down on the left is a bookshop which has a good military selection.

Going back to the Calle Mayor, the next militaria shop down from Flandres is called Bodas. Again, this is mostly current stuff, but there is a showcase at the back on the right which sometimes contains SCW stuff, though it's rarely cheap.

Next in succession is Villaverde - this is mostly Naval and Aviation stuff but there are often some nice Falange badges in the window. There are another couple of shops on this street which sell medals and coins but these are very expensive.

The last shop before the Calle Mayor narrows is Vicente Rodriguez and has a good selection of model soldiers and some Spanish kits. Also, though he specializes in modern badges, there is a showcase in the shop in the left, which often contains SCW badges. More or less opposite Vicente's shop is a side street, in which is a shop called "Soldiers" - this is for the "ruffy-tuffy" market mainly, T-shirts and combat kit and that sort of thing, though they sell books (mainly Blue Division, though) and you may f~ind the odd "gem~ in the showcase of badges at the back.

Madrid is a labyrinth and for those with time to spare, wandering the back streets may well be very rewarding, though if you find yourself in one of those streets where women grab your arm as you pass, your reward may be quite different to what you expected when you set out.

Finally, look out for branches of VIPS - these stores stay open until 2 in the morning and they stock remaindered books at a fraction of their original price. There are often amazing bargains to be had here if you have the patience to rummage through the piles.