Kettering Stamp & Philatelic Society
Newsletter
Oct – Nov 2018 Issue 58
Dear Member Did you enjoy a lay in on Sunday 28th when the clocks went back or did you pack something extra into your day? There may even be a few of you retired types still running around on British summer time, oblivious to the constant ebb and flow of those in the fast lane.
Post Office Shares Crash In October it was announced that almost £120 million was wiped off the price of Royal Mail shares after a shock profit warning was issued to the market. This will affect the United Kingdom’s 140,000 postal workers many of whom were hoping to sell their shares now that the 5 year initial deadline has been reached since shares were issued. In 2013 all postmen and postwomen were awarded 613 shares when the company floated. This meant that staff own 8% of all shares making them the largest shareholder block. Shares that were worth £4.482 in 2013 are now worth £3.132. The Royal Mail which is partially state owned is highly unionised and has tough service obligations to meet is under increasing pressure from competitors such as Amazon which in just 10 years has become the world’s largest online retailer. One major problem is that Amazon is one of Royal mail’s largest corporate customers accounting for 6% or 60 million parcels a year. Analysts predict a time in the near future when Amazon could take charge of its own delivery system. Trials for drones to deliver items to customers are already underway.
October – Speakers Evening It was good to see so many turn up to the first night at our new venue in St Andrews Church hall. 17 members managed to negotiate the back streets of Kettering to arrive at a brightly lit and welcoming hall laid out with grown-up chairs and display boards. There was a short delay as we waited for the arrival of our two speakers and many of us used this time fruitfully drinking tea and eating biscuits. Eventually our speakers arrived and set up for the first of the evenings displays.Brian Denton on Evolution – It must be said that Brian had a style all-of-his-own as he spoke about his chosen subject. He started by announcing that current evidence on evolution is rubbish as no one can truly know about evolution. How could they as nobody was around to see how it started. He then provided his own evidence of what has occurred over the centuries by showing us a rough timeline of what creatures have evolved during that period. We have had many speakers to our club over the years and I must confess I thought that Brian’s talk would have been better suited to a school gathering than a traditional speakers evening as he talked about creatures that he couldn’t pronounce, a suspicious order of what came first and continents that just happened to pop-up. At times he would put questions out to the audience. More it seemed, to obtain an answer to what he wanted to discuss than for the purpose of participation. He gave us the one eyed dinosaur joke, ‘do you think he saw us’ and proclaimed that antelopes followed lions and tigers in the big scheme of things because they needed something to eat. As I sat and watched Brian I noticed that he had a simple easy manner that seemed to work with our members as he chuckled at his own humour and made statements on evolution that would have had Darwin turning in his grave. Brian concluded that animals are becoming extinct and that man is destroying the earth. Later, when I took a look at his display in close-up, I noticed that he had colourful cut-out pictures of evolutionary creatures, 1
reptiles and animals neatly laid out on black A4 sheets. To which he then displayed stamps and miniature sheets when the occasion arose. Most sheets also had delicately drawn pictures using bright coloured pens which added to the attractive overall effect. This was not so much a philatelic display as it was a long time hobby of a study in a way that Brian understands evolution and has done his best to display it for others to see. When I talked to other members about it, they seemed to have enjoyed his simple honest style and lack of boring detail that sometimes accompanies other displays. I don’t think any of us knew what to expect from the talk, but Brian gave a good account and made a refreshing change. During the break the raffle was drawn and the following members won prizes. 1st prize £8 club voucher went to John Williams, whilst Gordon Tregidgo won 2 nd prize of an £5 voucher. 3rd prize went to Janine Hughes. The attendance prize was won by Mick Skelton.
Evolution and Reptiles Terry Brooks on Barbados – Terry gave a short talk on two subjects. The first being about Barbados stamp issues. Although Barbados was a British Colony the British Post Office never supplied stamps to Barbados. To keep the cost of producing dies they shared this with Mauritius and Trinidad and brought the first stamps on sale on 15th April 1882. In July 1892 there was a shortage of ½ Penny stamps so the post office overprinted ½ penny on a surplus of 4 penny stamps and used these instead. In 1907 the post office brought out a two penny stamp that was overprinted in aid of the Kingston Relief Fund for victims of the 2
Jamaican Hurricane. There were also examples of Colour changes, perforations, extra frame lines and curved lines to entertain us.
Overprints on the 2d Stamp and Pictures of the Hurricane Aftermath Next Terry talked about the British Two Penny Blue which was issued only two days after the Penny Black on 8th May 1840. The Two Penny Blue was created by Charles Heath, who engraved the portrait of Queen Victoria on the master die for the Penny Black in January 1840. Over 6 million of these stamps were produced from plates 1 & 2 before the plates were destroyed in 1843. The early two penny blues were issued for use on packages weighing between ½ - 1 ounce. At a time when the average person struggled to pay penny postage it was used less and as a result produced in smaller quantities than the Penny Black. The first cancellation mark on a two penny blue plate 1 stamp was a Maltese cross. Early issues of the stamp looked similar to the Penny Black and are rare. Later issues of the Two Penny Blue had a white line added below the word ‘postage’ and above the word ‘two pence’. Terry had a fine display of stamps on 3
show. The most I have seen in one go outside of an exhibition. (My collection amounts to a minuscule 4 stamps) Terry believes that the best examples were from plate number 7 which had the clearest printing, with details clearly visible without the use of a magnifying glass. Printing continued until the last plate numbered 15.
Two Penny Blue Stamps
October Stamp Fair Another bright and early start for those that arrived to give access to the dealers and help set up. Eight dealers were present on the day as they lined the hall with tables groaning under the weight of stamps, covers, booklets and job lots of philatelic material. I arrived early enough to help take orders for tea and coffee and then help Jane Jenkinson in the canteen serving food and drinks to a busy crowd of customers. There were some concerns that the usual early crowd that we so often see did not materialise straight away. However things steadily picked up as the morning progressed and the dealers and club staff were soon busy. Once again the dealers all seemed happy with the fair and I was fortunate to be relieved at lunch to meet up with my family for the rest of the afternoon. During my absence Tony martin called the raffle and the following people won prizes. 1st prize of a stock book went to Jim Betts. 2nd prize was won by dealer John Halls who asked for the ‘mail by bike’ presentation pack to be given to the club. 3rd prize of assorted mini-sheets went to Janine and Rebecca Hughes. 4th prize of a rather nice post themed money box 4
was won by Tony Martin. As treasurer, it will give him somewhere else to stash club funds. The raffle raised £36.00 on the day and the good work done by Jane Jenkinson, Christine Sumpter and myself helped raise £48.65 toward the club. I would like to thank the dealers for attending on the day and to those members who helped to set-up, run and pack away on the day.
November Meeting – Members Evening Having found our way to St Andrews church hall last month it was a bit easier to get to on this particular chilly evening. 20 members and 1 visitor attended the evening. James Dickinson had a display of British Airgraph Mail, a subject I had never heard of before and which I hope to be able to write a short piece about in the next newsletter. James also brought along some Christmas themed Sheets, covers and presentation packs for sale. Richard Ley produced a display based on the history of cricket and Gordon Tregidgo had an assortment of stamp material for sale. Both Tony Martin and Gordon were available to talk to members on the subject of perforations. I missed most of what they had to say as I mingled with as many people as possible. Maybe one of them could do a write-up for the newsletter? During the evening the raffle was called and the following members won prizes. Stefan Quemard took 1 st prize of an £8 club voucher, whilst Ian Miles coolly took 2nd prize of a £5 voucher. David Webb gave a smile as he picked up 3 rd prize of the £3 voucher. The attendance prize was won by Sandy Toms who won a tube of Smarties and then selflessly gave them to her son Kevin.
Annual Dinner Fifteen members and family turned up to an enjoyable evening at the Zen Spice in Kettering on Friday 16 th November. Where, the discussion had little to do with stamps and more about current affairs and the cost of living. Everyone I saw had the buffet meal with most of us visiting the food selection more than once. Tony produced a tin of chocolates as the free raffle prize in a nail biting elimination contest where members drew numbers to remove another’s chance of winning. The prize ultimately went to Jill Wright and Paul who sensibly took it home to share with their family. By 10pm we were happy to disperse for another year as we made our journey home.
Other Information Please find attached your copy of the 2019 Kettering Stamp & Philatelic Society Annual Programme.
Stamp Events 10/11/18
Arbury Centre Campkin Rd Cambridge CB4 2LD
10am – 3pm Contact 01223 355004
24/11/18
Abbey Centre Northampton NN4 0RZ
10am – 4pm Contact 07957 158299
24/11/18
Holiday Inn Thorpe Wood Peterborough PE3 6SG
10am – 4pm Contact 01945 700594
25/11/18
Benn Hall Newbold Road Rugby CV21 2LN
10am – 3pm Contact 01455 642248
1/12/18
Abbey Centre Northampton NN4 0RZ
10am – 4pm Contact 07957 158299
1/12/18
St Marks Church Hall Bedford MK41 7UY
10am – 4pm Contact 01623 621143
7/12/18
Holiday Inn St Nicholas Circle Leicester LE1 5LX 5
9.30 – 3.30pm Contact 0116 2350441
12/1/19
Arbury Centre Campkin Rd Cambridge CB4 2LD
10am – 3pm Contact 01223 355004
12/1/19
Abbey Centre Northampton NN4 0RZ
10am – 4pm Contact 07957 158299
Future Club Meetings – What’s going on? 5th December – Members Christmas Evening Probably one of the most exciting evenings in the calender for those that have been well behaved through-out the year. Yes it’s the Xmas members evening, where we can relax and let our hair down (for those that have any left) and feel the love of all things good as we go bonking mad at bingo for huge cash prizes, tickle our tonsils with Tony’s tenacious teasers, expand our grey matter with Stefan’s quintessential quiz, or just expand your waistline at the bountiful buffet supplied by members who bring snacks and treats to share. Star raffle prize is a hamper big enough to feed a family of five during the festive season. If you have any items you can gift to the, bring-and-buy sale that would be welcome as these items will be offered for sale during the evening. Entrance is via the double doors on the opposite side to our normal entrance and festivities are in a separate room at the rear of our hall. 9th January 2019 - Registration & Members Evening - One Sheet Competition - Produce one sheet on any topic to be judged by members. Prizes are given for the winners. A Display and talk in the second half of the evening on the subject of Exploring the Horizon by Tony Martin. 2018 Christmas Stamp Issue Below is an image of the 2018 Christmas stamps currently on sale. Issued on 1 st November they consist of eight stamps, each depicting a festive scene revealing a different post. The retail price of the set is £9.55 and can be purchased at most large post offices or using the Royal Mail online shop www.shop.royalmail.com where they have all your favourite stamp issues. The catalogue code is MZ135. If anyone would like to purchase any stamps at the Royal Mail shop and don’t have access, then please get in touch with me and I will arrange to do it for you.
Club Website – www.my-stampclub.co.uk At the going down of the sun and in the morning – We shall remember them 24 Braemar Close Kettering NN15 5DD Tel: 01536 626028 - email:
[email protected] 6