3014. 🇬🇧 Royal Mail Football Season 1 Stamps.

 

New issues -

🇫🇯 Fiji Post - 

10 November 2026 - 65th anniversary of the first Fijians being recruited to serve in the British Army - 4 stamps. Designed by Timaima Williams (local artist) and lithographed. Rating:- *****.

This issue is interesting because of the involvement of the British High Commission in Suva in the launch of these stamps. Western nations in general, and the United Kingdom in particular, have largely ignored the potential of philatelic diplomacy while China in particular is especially good at promoting its interests and projecting a positive image of itself by its collaboration with small and poor nations especially in the Pacific and also Africa and by involving itself in joint issues or sponsorship of certain stamp releases. China has played an important role in Fijian issues of recent years and so this issue goes some way to restore a diplomatic balance. Hopefully the British government might pick up on this idea and seen the potential benefits of involving itself in philatelic diplomacy.

The launch ceremony in Suva -

2026 - Definitives, surcharges - 85c xxx on 63c in black, Not previously reported in this blog, I think. Rating:- ***. See Blog 2924.

🇬🇧 Royal Mail -

1  December 2026 - ‘Football, Season 1” - 8 stamps, presumably produced as 4 se-tenant pairs. These poor quality illustrations are the best I can do at present taking them from the illustrations for a sale of RM postcards on an internet auction site. There may be additional items. As this is titled ‘Season 1’ and only 4 English football teams are featured it seems to me that this must be the first issue of a prolonged annual series on football clubs to be released over a number of years.