🇧🇿 News of a rare event - a new issue from the Belize Postal Service. A pair of stamps was issued on 27 September 2017 to commemorate the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Belize and Mexico. The 25c value depicts the old bridge between Belize and its neighbour which was erected in 1964 and called "The Bridge of Friendship". The 60c depicts the new bridge between the 2 countries which was opened on 15 May 2013. The national flags of Mexico and Belize are depicted on both stamps.
The issue was designed by Andrew Robinson from original artwork by the Belizean artist, Kirkland Smith, and lithographed by Cartor. Rating:- *****.
🇯🇪 Belize, which has a population of about 366,000, has issued only 2 stamps during 2017 and issued none last year whereas, in contrast, Jersey Post which serves a population of about 100,000, has issued scores of stamps this year. And still they continue.
Thus Jersey Post finds it necessary to release 6 stamps and 2 miniature sheets on 3 November 2017 to commemorate the Platinum Wedding Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh.
The designs depict the usual range of photographs that have been done to death on stamp issues in recent years - no originality at all - and were lithographed by Enschede. This is an eminently boring issue which hardly does justice to the Royal couple. Oh, and the total face value is £11.22. Rating:- 0.
In the constant search for subjects which might yet attract the elderly who in Britain and its offshore islands make up the bulk of the stamp collecting population a big new area has come to prominence in the last couple of years or so on Royal Mail and offshore islands stamps. This area is NOSTALGIA - stamp designs which help elderly collectors to remember the pleasant days of the 1950s and 60s when they were young, life was altogether more innocent - superficially at least - and every young child had a stamp collection. Royal Mail has already mined the subject in a big way by depicting iconic old toys and "Ladybird" books on issues this year as well previously helping the same group of collectors relive their teenage years by depicting album covers of various now ancient music performers which they would have listened to in their adolescence.
And now it's Jersey Post's turn to have a crack at Nostalgia as a subject for a stamp issue. Jersey Post turns to the nostalgia of Christmas as it would be remembered by elderly collectors and its new stamps draw on 1950s and 1960s-style images of family Christmases spent by a roaring fire with the snow lying about outside all deep and crisp and even. There's mince pies, Christmas pudding making, carol singing, Christmas tree dressing with not a hint of Auntie getting drunk on sherry and everybody falling out with each other over a Christmas afternoon game of Monopoly.
In one respect the issue which depicts every Christmas cliche under the sun is rather dire but colourful and harmless and all rather silly. The set was designed from illustrations by Ruth Palmer and lithographed by Cartor. Rating:- ***.
The total face value is £5.59p.
🇬🇧 Dealers are now offering Post and Go stamps for sale on E Bay which are the Machin Head types with the additional inscription "Brighton" which as mentioned in Blog 1084 was where the Labour Party held its annual conference and where Royal Mail had a stand at which IAR kiosk M007 was situated and dispensing stamps for party delegates to buy and use on their mail. One imagines it was a slightly uncomfortable spot for Royal Mail to go to since the extreme socialist Labour Party leader has said that if Labour is eventually returned to power then it will renationalise Royal Mail along with numerous other industries.
The conference took place from 24 to 27 September 2017. The 1st Class rate stamp has a code of MA14 and the 2nd Class has a MA12 code. Rating:- **** (an interesting historical and Postal historical item).
🇻🇨 Only the self-proclaimed "World's Most Respected Philatelic Agency", IGPC, could come up with something as distasteful and inappropriate as the item depicted below which exhorts us to honour the "Memory of Hugh Hefner, editor in chief of Playboy Magazine" who died recently. The unpleasant "flyer" publicises a sheetlet issued by the agency in 2003 depicting this grubby man with the name of St. Vincent And The Grenadines printed on it.
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