2876. Commonwealth Day 2026.

 

Commonwealth Day

The annual Commonwealth Day ‘celebrations’ take place this year on Monday 9 March (the event traditionally takes place on the second Monday of March).

Every year there is a new theme - in 2026 it is “Unlocking opportunities together for a prosperous Commonwealth”.  This year finds relative upheaval in The Commonwealth with Mauritius having broken off diplomatic relations with its Indian Ocean neighbour Maldives because the latter will not support the former’s attempt to take the British Indian Ocean Territory off the hands of the United Kingdom together with more than £30 billion. Though the hapless British prime minister, Starmer, has signed a treaty with Mauritius, its journey through the British Parliament has stalled and the corrupt Mauritius government,  badly in need of the British money to balance its budget, is threatening to take the United Kingdom to court over its failure to handover the money and the islands.

  Meanwhile, Starmer finds himself in more trouble because of his initial failure to support Trump in the Middle East War and Britain’s failure to take swift enough measures to help to defend former British protected states and present allies in the Gulf - Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait as well as the British Sovereign Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia which has implications for the security of Cyprus. What Trump hasn’t said about Starmer is anybody’s business.

  Elsewhere Pakistan is effectively at war with its neighbour Afghanistan though Guyana is looking safe from invasion by its neighbour Venezuala now that Trump has kidnapped the Venezuelan despot, Maduro, and removed him from office.

Regardless of all this, Happy Commonwealth Day!

New issues -

🇬🇧 Royal Mail -

27 March 2026 - Definitives in new values to cover increased overseas rates - 3 stamps, £3.60 (‘purple heather’), £3.80 (‘aqua green’) and £4.60 (‘sapphic blue’). Code - M26L MAIL. Rating:- ****. These stamps are described and illustrated in the always invaluable online Norvic Stamp Blog.

Meanwhile, if you feel that you have not already spent an adequate amount of money on Royal Mail products, you may wish to consider purchasing the latest little temptations recently added to the Royal Mail internet site. Or you may not.

2767. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 King Charles Makes His First Appearance On Scottish Definitives.

 

New Issues -

🇬🇧 Royal Mail  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Issues for Scotland -

14 August 2025 - Definitive stamps with the cameo head of  King Charles III included in the design - 2 stamps with barcodes. Self-adhesive. Designed by Tayburn from art by Anton Morris and Frank Pottinger. Lithographed by Cartor and perforated 15 x 14.5. Rating:- *****.

🇮🇳 India Post -

7 August 2025 - Birth centenary of MS Swaminathan, geneticist - 1 stamp. Rating:- ***.

🇧🇩 Bangladesh Post -

5 March 2025 - Commemoration of the July Mass Uprising - 1 miniature sheet containing 4 different stamps. Lithographed. Rating:- *****.

🇬🇬 Guernsey Post -

🇨🇶 Products inscribed ‘Sark’ - 

27 August - 80th anniversary of the liberation from occupation by Nazi German forces - 1 sheetlet containing all 8 stamps included in the basic set plus labels. See Blog 2764. Designed by Sue Daly and lithographed by Brebner Print. Sold in a pack for £17.50. Rating:- ***.

2520. 🇸🇭 Tristan Lifeboat Issue.

 

New issues -

🇸🇭 Tristan Da Cunha postal service - 

Bicentenary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution - 2 issues each of 4 stamps and both issued on -

1 July 2024 - Part 1 - Lifeboats and Part 2 - Tristan rescue boats. Designed by Andrew Robinson and lithographed by Cartor and perforated 13.5. Production coordinated by Creative Direction. Rating:- ******.

Thanks for information about this issue to Maxine Cannon of Isle Of Man Post Office Stamps and Coins.

Part 2 -

🇹🇷 Postal Service of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus -

24 June 2024 - European Football Championships - 2 stamps and Olympic Games, Paris - 2 stamps issued as a vertical se-tenant pair. Designed by GK Sönmezer and printed by Denker Basimevi. Rating:- **.

🇬🇧 Royal Mail -

Charlies (definitive stamps depicting King Charles III) - 2024 codes issued so far -

The following have appeared so far -

1. Stamps produced in sheets for sale at post office counters - 

2nd  M24L MAIL

1st  M24L MAIL

£2.50  M24L MAIL (new value)

2. Stamps from booklets -

2nd Class from booklets of 8   M24L MEIL

3. Stamps from Prestige booklets -

£2 from Red Arrows booklet   M24L MPIL

4. Stamps from Business sheets -

2nd Class   M24L MBIL

5. Other items - 

Charlies imprinted on pre-paid envelopes (postage paid impressions - PPIs) -

As can be seen from these two examples I received recently the shades of the ‘Holly green’ of these items appear to vary quite markedly. 

2471. 🇲🇹 Trains In Malta.

 

New issues.

🇲🇹 MaltaPost -

21 March 2024 - The Malta Railway - 4 stamps. Designed by Edgar Vella Photography courtesy of The Malta Railway Foundation and lithographed by Printex. Perforated 14. Rating:- ***.

🇬🇬 Guernsey Post -

Issues inscribed Alderney -

14 May 2024 - Tercentenary of Les Casquets Lighthouse - 6 stamps and 1 Prestige booklet. Further details and illustrations awaited.

🇬🇧 Royal Mail -

4 April 2024 - Bar coded Definitive, new value for International rate (letters worldwide), £2.50 ‘gooseberry green’ - 1 stamp. Rating:- **.

🇮🇳 India Post -

My Stamps, personalised stamps with attached labels usually produced in sheetlets of 12 and sold at a premium-

2024 - Promotion of ESAF Small Finance Bank - 1 stamp.

2024 - Commemoration of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj - 1 stamp.

2024 - 50th anniversary of Karnataka Sabhrama - 1 stamp.

🇬🇮 Royal Gibraltar Post Office -

April 2024 - Pre-release promotion of upcoming EUROPA issue on the theme of Underwater fauna and flora - further details awaited.

2461. 🇬🇧 Dinosaurs And Postal Rate Rises Next From Royal Mail.

 

New issues -

🇬🇧Royal Mail - 

12 March 2024 - The Age of Dinosaurs - 8 stamps (4x1st and 4x£2 in vertically se-tenant pairs so that each pair makes up a single image) and 1 miniature sheet containing 4 x 1st stamps). Further details awaited. Rating:- ****.

  The above poor quality illustrations are taken from an internet auction site where a seller is offering the 1st Class rate stamps only in complete sheets. This seller appears to advertise the 1st rate Royal Mail new issues like this on a regular basis before the embargo on publicising them imposed on most stamp dealers has been lifted.

  These are certainly beautifully illustrated items though why those who decide on Royal Mail’s new issue programme feel that yet another set on the subject of dinosaurs is necessary is not easy to understand.

  Anyone considering adding them to their collection will wish to note that Royal Mail has announced an increase in postal rates from 2 April 2024 when the 1st Class domestic letter rate increases from £1.25 to £1.35 and so it will be best to buy them in the first month after their issue to avoid paying the added sum of 10p per stamp. The 2nd Class domestic letter rate will also rise from 75p to 85p and other changes include a rise in the Large letter up to 100g rate from £1.95 to £2.10 and a rise in Worldwide letter rates from £2.20 to £2.50p. 

  Ian Billings’ indispensable Norvic Philatelic Blog has just produced a highly detailed summary of all the changes Royal Mail is making to its postal rates and points out that there will be a new £2.50 definitive stamp to address the change in Worldwide letter rate. The colour of the new stamp is described as Gooseberry Green which sounds like the rather twee name of a tiny Worcestershire hamlet with a village pond at the centre of it. The new stamp is an “insipid colour”which will liven up any item of mail winging its way across the oceans.

  As regards the Royal Mail King Charles III definitives, both the 2nd Class and 1st Class domestic rate stamps from counter sheets with code M24L MAIL are now on sale.

🇨🇦 Canada Post - 

1 March 2024 - Wild flowers - 2 self-adhesive stamps from booklets of 10 (5 of each design), 2 self-adhesive stamps from coils and 1 gummed miniature sheet containing both stamps. Designed by Andrew Perro from illustrations by Alain Massicote and lithographed by Lowe Martin. Rating:- *****.