1 April 2008 New values and colours

The fourth is a 9p bright orange - very similar to the 2005 issue but this has a slightly lower set value.

Smiler sheet ellipses

The 29 September Glorious UK sheets do have ellipses in the perforations - so these are the first source of these stamps in Cartor printing with ellipses.

You'll need each of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales sheets (or, less costly, individual stamps if you can get them!)

20 September 2007 Uniforms

Several goodies in the British Army Uniforms booklet

1p crimson 2 band Enschede gravure

46p old gold

54p brown

1st regionals 2 band Enschede litho

Also on this day NI 1st 2 band and 2nd 1 band DLR gravure

An article for the Philatelic Bulletin

1967 brought to the public designs that made the Sixties so fresh and different to all that had gone before. One such design was the 4d Machin definitive issued in June, closely followed by others and since by every value but two in 1/2p stages to 201/2p then, with just two missing, every penny to 50p.

I was 14, adored pirate radio, wore long hair and ridiculously bright clothes. It's interesting that something so 'establishment' as a Post Office stamp should have inspired me so successfully in the face of such competition.

It was, indeed, an icon for a new generation.

New issues: March - June 2007

Just a quick summary for now - still need to check some earlier lists so there may be some additions yet to come.

27/3

16p pink

48p mauve

50p grey

54p brown

78p green

23/4
England
1st new pictorial DLR
1st crowned lion DLR

17/5
Wembley Miniature sheet
England pictorial 1st new crowned lion DLR
the four pictorial definitives now printed by DLR
2nd class DLR
78p Regional DLR

5/6
[return to proprtion]
6x1st gold s-a Walsall
12x1st gold s-a Walsall
12x2nd blue s-a Walsall
2nd blue gummed DLR
£1 mauve DLR
£1 ruby DLR

1 March - easily missed firsts

The A4 generic sheets of English and Wales 'pictorial' definitives printed by Cartor don't have elipses in the perforations. They are also the first self-adhesive country pictorial definitives. A bit pricey but you'll need them and kick yourself later for not getting them.

Return of design as it should be!

Well, a 40th anniversary was just what we needed and a whole bunch of new items for us collectors. So nice to see the BPB stuffed full of Machins once more so fears of their early demise have faded somewhat.
The Big News, though, has to be that we're rid of those ghastly fat digit PiPs!! Hooray! And it's very rare that I type Hooray in a web log. And Good Riddance, I say! Common sense and good design prevails, eh.
I have to say that I keep thinking 39p bright pink when I see the £1 ruby illustrations, although the real thing is better. Still, a darker shade would have suited the 40th more appropriately, in my view.
I suppose a new 4p in black was a bit much to expect. Maybe in 2017 for the 50th - or will the 1st gold be brought back to life for, what would it be, the third time by then? Nice to think the design might make it to 2017 (assuming the owner of the head does).
Goodness, that's something that had never occurred to me before.

40th Anniversary : 5 June 2007

A bit more Machin news beginning to appear at last - and rightly so with the 40th anniversary of the appearance of the 4d stamp way back in the Summer of Love days. I really shouldn't remember them as well as I do but that's another story!

More pics and news to come but there's a new £1 in ruby, the old violet one will officially go away but not before they stick it in a miniature sheet so that'll be another addition. I also have a feeling there'll be more too. Updates on some other recent issues to follow shortly. Just moved - that's my excuse, and I'm self-adhesiving to it.

Machins 2007

As the year grinds to an end, it is somewhat relieving to report that the December issue of Philatelic Bulletin does make mention of Machins. Twice. On 1 March we have a resurrection of the 5p. OK, it's never been away but this is centre stage stuff for the value now. The humble 5p, still in an uncertain shade of brown, lilac, purple that has forever dogged its existence, will be only the third Machin value on self-adhesive paper, in a pane of the World of Invention booklet. And for some reason it seems more important than the 42p and 68p books of 4 that were the first and second in 2002.

That it should have to share the event adjoined to the ugly fat 1st gold is a shame but there you go.

Rather prettier will be the other sheet in the booklet with 44p and 2nd Scottish stamps. Pity they didn't use the new Sctottish first but that's another story.

The other Machin mention was, of course, Mr Myall's article. I am beginning to think that the fellow is losing his marbles somewhat as he devotes most of the first paragraph to remarks about how PiP appears to have gone smoothly as judged from the queue in his local Post Office (which I suspect is a pleasant village one where people are patient and have time to chat). What he has included, though, but made little mention of, is a splendid-looking illustration that appears to accompany the blasted PiP presentation pack. I must get hold of one and try and ignore the ghastly designs of all but two of its contents.

Nice to see him make complimentary mention of both the new Smilers and the Poppy stamp in an article entitled 'Mainly Machins'. We seem to think alike there.

30 November: new Scottish 1st

That nearly slipped past me! I hadn't studied the illustrations terribly closely and had just assumed the one with the blue flag was the 2nd class we know about. Wrong. It's a new stamp, and a fine one too, with a quite different Saltire and a 1st class value. Only available in the miniature sheet with its sister the lion and a couple of long stamps which appear to me to have no purpose in life. Hope we see some more of the 1st flag, though.