New issues -
🇬🇧 Royal Mail -
21 May 2026 - Castles - 8 stamps, 1 miniature sheet containing 4 different stamps and 1 Collectors sheet containing 8 different stamps and attached labels (price £15.60). Further details awaited. There is no reason for this expensive issue and the designs are lacking in originality. Very poor effort. Rating:- *.
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Post -
31 March 2026 - International Anti-corruption Day (2025) - 1 stamps and attached. Lithographed.
🇯🇪 Jersey Post -
8 May 2026 - EUROPA, 70th anniversary of Europa stamps - 2 stamps. Designed by Klaus Welp and Jersey Stamps and lithographed by bpost. Rating:-*.
With the terrible Castles issue there will also be a miniature sheet with 4 stamps according to my advice notice from RM
ReplyDeleteI know that Royal Mail usually tries to treat the 4 nations of the UK 'equally' but when it comes to castles, it really serves no one well to insist on having two from each constituent country - but at least the 'usual suspects' (esp. Windsor and Edinburgh ) have been avoided ... although I fear that they may appear (along with 'obvious' Welsh and Northern Irish examples) on the miniature sheet to which petemk refers above.
ReplyDelete(On the other hand, recent history suggests that there will be precious little connection between the stamps of the miniature sheet and the supposed subject of the issue.)
Warwick Castle is the only one that's memorable; otherwise the set is lazy and generic. The stamps fail to do justice to a unique aspect of British heritage and fail to capture the castles' importance and excitement.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why you suggest that Warwick is 'memorable'. It's privately owned and part of the Merlin Entertainments (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_Entertainments) which also owns Legoland, Tussauds, London Eye, etc.
DeleteOn he other hand Bamburgh is owned still by the Armstrong family, Raglan is owned by the Duke of Beaufort and managed by CADW, Pembroke is family owned and managed.
Dundrum, Dunluce, Stirling and Urguhart are owned or managed by state bodies or charities (National Trust etc) and whilst they all need to make money for their upkeep, they are part of a multi-million pound business empire producing profits for owners and investment funds.
I think the photos of Bamburgh Pembroke and Dunluce are much better.
I am told that the MS will be 'Royal Castles', 'but I do not think that there is one in Ulster. But I shall not give my view of what they look like lest I have my titles taken away...
ReplyDeleteLars, we really wouldn’t want any of your titles to be taken away!
DeleteIf "Royal" is the criterion, I suppose Hillsborough Castle might qualify for N.Ireland - in historical terms, at least - allied with Caernarfon, Windsor and Balmoral?
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