756. Two New Post And Go Museum Sites.

  New Zealand Post will issue a sheetlet of 10 different stamps on 22 June 2016 to provide new values and some new designs for its Personalised Stamps. The stamps were designed by New Zealand Stamps and lithographed by Southern Colour Print, perforated 14. Rating:- **.

  The Royal Mail "Post and Go" extravaganza continues unabated. From 1 June 2016 two new kiosks will begin dispensing labels on both of the tiresomely familiar  Machin Head and Union Flag designs. Both kiosks will be situated at Royal Navy museums - at HMS Trincomalee in Hartlepool (kiosk A006) and at HMS Caroline in Belfast (kiosk A008) - and the labels will be dispensed with the inscription "Royal Navy". Just to double the cost to collectors, the labels will have the additional inscription "Battle of Jutland" which will be used only until 30 June 2016. 

  HMS Trincomalee was built in India due to a shortage of oak in Britain resulting from the Napoleonic Wars and launched in 1817 and on her maiden voyage visited St. Helena in 1819 where it took on board John Stokoe, a surgeon who attended the deposed French tyrant Bonaparte who was exiled there (I see the likely subject for a stamp issue from that island coming up in 2019). The ship was placed in reserve until 1845 and then served on the North American and West Indies station. While there the ship participated in quelling riots on Haiti and prevented an invasion of Cuba and served in the anti-slavery patrol. The ship then served off Newfoundland and Labrador and later as part of the Pacific Squadron off the American west coast. The ship ended its Royal Navy service as a training ship and was withdrawn from service in 1895 and sod for scrap in 1897 but its private buyer restored it and it remained in service until 1986 and it has now become the historic dockyard museum in Hartlepool.

  HMS Caroline is a decommissioned cruiser which was launched in 1914 and saw active service in the First World War. The ship served as an administrative centre in World War II and was finally decommissioned in 2011. The ship was a static headquarters and training ship for the Royal Naval Reserve based in Alexandra Dock in Belfast and is the last surviving ship of The Battle of Jutland.

  The Caroline was turned into a visitor attraction in time for the centenary of the Battle of Jutland.

  It is quite appropriate therefore that the "Post and Go" labels at the HMS Caroline site in particular should have The Battle of Jutland  additional inscription but isn't it time that these museum "Post and Gos" were printed on labels which have more interesting illustrations? - surely it can't be that much more expensive to produce individual designs for each site rather than the excruciatingly boring Machin Head and Union Jack designs - punters buying these labels might then feel as though they're getting value for money.

  IGPC, the USA-based philatelic agency has produced some more philatelic items with the names of various Commonwealth territories printed on them:-

  Ghana - 1 March 2016 - Commemoration of Muhammad Ali (US boxer) - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

  Grenada - 16 May 2016 - 90th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II (Queen of Grenada) - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- ***

  16 May 2016 - "NY 2016" Philatelic Exhibition, New York, USA - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

  Grenada Carriacou And Petite St. Martinique - 1 May 2016 - 50th anniversary of the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Terechkova becoming the first woman in space - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

  1 April 2016 - 90th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II (Queen of Grenada) - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- *.

  30 May 2016 - "NY 2016" Philatelic Exhibition, New York, USA - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

  St. Vincent And The Grenadines - 11 April 2016 - Achievement of Queen Elizabeth II in becoming the longest reigning British monarch (she is also the Queen of St. Vincent And The Grenadines) - 1 sheetlet of 3 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- **.

  Collectors of stamps of The Commonwealth have been spared any new items produced by the notorious Stamperija this week but I reproduce one of the products which has appeared, with the name of Niger printed on it, which is said to commemorate the 90th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. The design is incredibly appalling and includes monstrous depictions of The Queen which verge on being insulting.

Who buys this stuff? Is anyone out there prepared to admit to it?

712. IGPC Releases Banal "Klingon Khristmas" Stamps In The Name of Antigua And Barbuda.

  Philatelic products released by some foreign philatelic agencies seem to grow increasingly excessive and, even worse, banal. The US-based philatelic agency, IGPC, in its ever more desperate attempts to flog off stuff to anyone who will buy it, has announced proudly that it has put out a sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet on the subject of "A Very Klingon Khristmas" (sic) and the name of Antigua And Barbuda has been inscribed on the items. No doubt the people of the Caribbean island state are proud to have their country's name linked to these products.

  Presumably this is meant to be a Christmas set although the stated "date of issue" is a rather random  15 February 2016 which seems rather late to be used on 2015's Christmas mail and far too early for the 2016 Christmas posts. Rating:- 0.

  IGPC has also released a sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet on the subject of "The Women of Star Trek". These products have the name of Tuvalu printed on them and are stated to have been issued on 28 January 2016. No doubt the population of Tuvalu will be as keen as the people of Antigua And Barbuda to see their country's name associated with such philatelic gems. Rating:- 0. 

  Antigua And Barbuda has also benefitted from the release of 2 sheetlets, each of 3 different stamps, as well as 2 miniature sheets on the subject of "World Famous Paintings". The stated date of issue is 2 February 2016. Rating:- 0.

  In Blog 708 I mentioned a sheetlet from IGPC with the name of Guyana printed on it which contained 6 stamps on the subject of "First Stamps of the United Nations Member States" although the sheetlet did not include a design which featured the first stamp of British Guiana/ Guyana itself.

  As expected this first sheet represented the thin end of the wedge and many more such items are being sold by the philatelic agency. This is a very heavy month for items with the name of Grenada printed on them with several "First Stamps" sheetlets being put on sale. The stated dates of issue are 13 July 2015 (1 sheetlet Honduras to Iran) and 21 December 2015 and 8 such sheetlets have been released in all. Rating:- 0.

  Other products inscribed with the name of Grenada are:-

20 February 2016 - Commemoration of Muhahammad Ali and "the Rumble in the Jungle" - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

31 January 2016 - Commemoration of Elvis Presley - 4 miniature sheets. Rating:- 0.

21 December 2016 - Owls (Part 2) - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0. (See Blog 695).

21 December 2015 - Starfish (Part 2) - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0. (See Blog 695).

31 January 2016 - The Roman Catholic Church's Year Of Mercy - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

  Guyana - 13 July 2015 - First stamps of the United Nations member states - 7 sheetlets, each of 6 different stamps. The stamp depicted as the "First stamp" of "St. Vincent And The Grenadines" is actually the first stamp of "The Grenadines of St. Vincent" but you would not expect the people who design this stuff to understand the difference.  Rating:- 0.

21 December 2015 - First stamps of the United Nations member states - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps. Rating:- 0.

  St. Vincent And The Grenadines - 31 December 2015 - Birds - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- **.

28 January 2016 - Flowers and plants - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

28 January 2016 - Marine mammals - 1 sheetlet and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- **.

28 January 2016 - Minerals - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

28 January 2016 - Seashells - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

  Tuvalu - 28 January 2016 - Elvis Presley commemoration - 2 sheetlets. Rating:- 0.

28 January 2018 - Muhammad Ali commemoration - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps. Rating:- 0.

18 January 2016 - "The Olympic Champions" - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

28 January 2016 - The visits of Pope Francis to Africa - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.