Royal Mail muscling in on Post Office High Street business

Over the past few months we have seen he rapid expansion of Royal Mail parcel lockers and 'intelligent' post boxes.

The parcel lockers are being installed across the country, and many people have reported that their local postbox has been 'gift-wrapped in black plastic, prior to being converted to take parcels through a wider apperture. These also have solar panels on the top, would might make the siting of the attractive knitted box-toppers a thing of the past.

On our recent break I found examples of a topper in Louth (which I shall add to the 'slogan postmarks etc' post for October), but at Heath Road, Holmewood, five miles southeast of Chesterfield, I found not just a converted postbox but a new locker, about five metres from each other.

 

The locker was actually being installed when I pulled in to the layby to post a card. 

  

Job done, just have to close all these doors!

Just behind me when I took this photo was a recently converted postbox:

And to the left of that fast-food outlet you can see in the last picture, just a further 20 metres away, is a small post office.

Holmewood Post Office, Derbyshire

 

As recently as May this year, specialist property adviser Christie & Co reported the transfer of ownership:

Specialist business property adviser Christie & Co has announced the sale of Holmewood Post Office near Chesterfield, Derbyshire.

The business is a Mains post office which offers a variety of postal services to customers, as well as a small store stocking stationery equipment and convenience items. 

The store has been purchased by an established postmaster who already owns two post offices in the region and has plans to expand the convenience offering with a potential extension to the shop floor. 

Christie's said 

“The incoming owner has an excellent opportunity to extend the current building to the rear and offer a greater variety of convenience goods. Despite there being close competition on this front, the Post Office should continue to drive footfall into the store and therefore, providing that the offerings are competitively priced, there should be a rise in sales on the convenience side of the business."

I make no criticism of either Christie's or the previous owner, but I wonder if anybody knew then of Royal Mail's intention to provide facilities which will undoubtedly have an impact on the postal footfall to the business. 

Because according to Google maps, the postbox hadn't been converted in April:

Holmewood PO, Google maps April 2025, with knitted topper on postbox.

And this is not all.

Royal Mail owners IDS proudly proclaimed on 30 September.

IDS acquires stake in Collect+ to strengthen Royal Mail’s position as UK’s largest out of home parcel point network

International Distribution Services, owner of Royal Mail, has acquired a 49% stake in Collect+, marking a major milestone in the company’s multi-channel strategy to make collecting, sending and returning parcels as convenient as possible. Following the investment, almost 8,000 Collect+ convenience stores will feature  Royal Mail Shop branding.

The new high street brand will be a one stop destination for collecting, sending and returning parcels, selling Royal Mail postage at the shops for the first time and open during extended hours including evenings and weekends. Selling postage over the counter gives customers the option of paying when they get to the shop rather than doing so beforehand online. This service is now live in 500 shops and will be rolled out more widely in the coming months.

Royal Mail and Collect+ first partnered in May 2024 to meet rising consumer demand for convenient parcel drop-off and collection points. Since then, Royal Mail customers have been able to drop-off returns and pre-paid parcels at almost 8,000 Collect+ locations across the UK.

Last month, Vinted became Royal Mail’s first partner to offer its customers collection from the stores. More of Royal Mail’s retail partners will follow soon to offer collection to the shops under the new Royal Mail Shop brand.

The new Royal Mail Shop outlets will fulfil demand for face-to-face parcel services on the high street that are open for extended hours, including during evenings and weekends. They are part of Royal Mail’s rapidly expanded network of almost 24,000 Parcel Points - including 2,000 lockers, 11,500 Post Office branches, 1,200 Royal Mail Customer Service Points and 1,400 parcel postboxes – the largest multi-channel parcel network in the UK.

Sub-postmasters were quick to respond, with the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters calling the move a stab-in-the-back after the long association between Royal Mail and Post Office.  But there would seem to be little that can be done with the Competition and Marketing Authority so far silent on the matter.

I don't normally resort to using AI, but when you do a Google search an AI opinion almost always comes up.  This is what it says about collect+ effect on "post office" branches

Collect+ will have a direct, negative effect on Post Office branches by competing for parcel services, but the Royal Mail's investment in Collect+ will also lead to the rebranding of thousands of convenience stores as "Royal Mail Shops" offering similar services, including parcel drop-off and returns, potentially diverting business from traditional Post Office branches. Royal Mail will also now offer postage over the counter in these Royal Mail Shops and extended opening hours, further challenging Post Offices.   

It seems that the new Royal Mail Shops ex Collect+ will also "sell postage', but we know what that means - pay and drop.  After all, nobody wants to use multiple stamps to send their packages.   And with these shops you can use Royal Mail, Yodel, Amazon, UPS, eBay, DPD, FedEx, DHL, Parcel2Go, Inpost and others. 

Now I must get on and stamp some letters: got to make sure there's a reason for the Universal Service Obligation to send a letter anywhere in the country for 87p.  We have to use our post offices and support the sub-postmasters who have been under so much pressure for the last couple of decades.

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Sadly Royal Mail have no Monopoly on pointless stamps - 10 x 1st, issue date 16 October 2025

Like Marmite, you love it or hate it.  When I was a child we often played Monopoly in the family: my grandparents had (and I still have) an early Waddington's set with the metal pieces, marked 'Patent Applied For' - it was that new!

With the wide number of board, role-playing, and electronic games now available one might have expected Monopoly to have gone the way of Totopoly or PIT which, although they still exist, almost nobody has heard of.  

But current owners Hasbro have widened the Monopoly appeal by producing multiple special and local editions, encouraging people to buy - for example - the Norwich, Prague, Grenoble, Dresden, Riyadh, and New South Wales.  I'm sure many of these get played, for a while, but I wonder how many people in the UK play any Monopoly on a regular basis.

As you can see on Wikipedia, the game has a chequered history in the USA with the original inventor being paid only $500 by Parker Brothers.  I wonder how many £200s Royal Mail will collect!

Royal Mail write:

Monopoly, one of the nation’s favourite board games, turns 90 this year, and its enduring popularity shows no signs of diminishing. The ‘fast-dealing property trading game’ originated in the US, but after securing the European licence in the 1930s, John Waddington Limited of Leeds created a brand-new version of Monopoly. 

Featuring locations from around London, the game was transformed into a truly British icon, ensuring that family gatherings would never be the same again.

Today, the game is available in more than 100 countries worldwide and has been translated into  over 40 languages. With many different themed versions to choose from, Monopoly continues to  evolve and reinvent itself, as successive generations roll the dice, ‘pass GO’ and collect £200. 

The stamps - 10 x 1st class

Row 1: Collect £200; Old Kent Road, Pentonville Road, Whitehall, Free Parking and Vine Street//Row 2: Park Lane, Liverpool Street Station, Oxford Street and Regent Street, Coventry Street, Chance.

Monopoly Collector Sheet of 10 x 1st class stamps

Technical details and acknowledgements

Hat-trick design are responsible for adapting the original images of the board.  The MONOPOLY name and logo, the distinctive design of the game board, the four corner squares, the MR. MONOPOLY name and character, as well as each of the distinctive elements of the board, cards, and the playing pieces are trademarks of Hasbro for its property trading game and game equipment. © 1935, 2025 Hasbro.

The 41 x 30 mm stamps are printed by Cartor Security Printers in lithography with PVA gum, perf 14½ x 14, in two sheets of 50 (se-tenant strips of 5).

We've been given no details for the Collector Sheet but can assume that it is printed by the same printers but on self-adhesive paper making the stamps different.

Products Available

Set of 10, Collector sheet, first day cover, presentation pack, stamp cards, 50p coin cover with either UNC cupronickel & brass (£19.99), silver proof (£75), or gold proof (£1595) coins.  

There is also a framed version of both the set and the sheet, and a limited edition playing piece in the form of a silver plated King Charles postbox for £25.

 

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Postage Value of Older Stamps including Post and Go - October 2025 version.

This post brings previous tables up to date with the postage rates effective from 7 October 2025.

The tables are included primarily to explain the stamps used on cover, because they show that, for example, a stamp originally issued as a 30p Europe 20g stamp would later be valid for 100g and with a value of £1 in 2015 and £2.20 in 2023!

Remember that the International Rate stamps were all valid at the rates shown for inland postage, just as the 2nd, 1st, Large, Signed For, and Special Delivery stamps were all valid for inland services in addition to those shown and on international mail.

Now, of course, the old Machin and Country definitives without barcodes are no longer valid but the Post and Go stamps are as are the commemorative stamps, so the tables are still relevant for new use as well as for for Postal History purposes.

The E stamp was issued from January 1999-2004, and paid the Europe 20g rate.  This was 30p when issued and the cost but also the franking value increased periodically:

October 1999 (34p), April 2000 (36p), July 2001 (37p), May 2003 (38p), April 2004 (40p), April 2005 (42p), April 2006 (44p), April 2007 (48p).

Airmail Rates Table

	Europe 20g / E‡	World 10g	World 20g	World 40g
April 2009	56p	62p	90p	-
April 2010	70p	67p	97p	£1.46
April 2011	68p	76p	£1.10	£1.65
April 2012	87p		£1.28	£1.90
April 2013	88p		£1.28	£1.88
	E20/ W10	Europe 60g	World 20g	World 60g
April 2014	97p	£1.47	£1.28	£2.15
	E20/ W10	Europe 100g	World 20g	World 100g
April 2015	£1	£1.52	£1.33	£2.25
April 2016	£1.05	£1.52	£1.33	£2.25
April 2017	£1.17	£1.57	£1.40	£2.27
April 2018	£1.25	£1.55	£1.45	£2.25
April 2019	£1.35	£1.60	£1.55	£2.30
April 2020	£1.42	£1.68	£1.63	£2.42

	E20/ W10	Europe 100g	World 20g	World 100g	Europe Large 100g	World Large 100g
Sept 2020	£1.45	£1.70*	£1.70*	§	no NVI	no NVI
1 Jan 2021	£1.70	£1.70	£1.70	£2.55	£3.25	£4.20
4 Apr 2022	£1.85	£1.85	£1.85	£2.55	£3.25	£4.20
3 Apr 2023	£2.20				£3.25	£4.20
2 Apr 2024	£2.50				£3.25	£4.20
7 Oct 2024	£2.80				£3.25	£4.20
7 Apr 2025	£3.20				£3.50	£4.30
7 Oct 2025	£3.40				£3.50	£4.30

All definitive and country NVI stamps were invalidated on 31 July 2023;
Christmas and Commemorative stamps remain valid.

* With effect from 1 September 2020 a combined Euro 100g/World 20g Post & Go stamp was issued, priced at £1.70.
§ On the same date the World 100g stamp was replaced by two stamps: World 100g Zone 1-3 is sold for £2.50, and World 100g Zone 2 is £2.55.
 
On 1 January 2021 the pricing for all world zones was standardised, although that for large letters over 100g varied.   The Post and Go range was then consolidated to include airmail Large Letter stamps. 

Inland premium services

Note that some of the rates were in effect before the stamps were issued, and some new stamps were issued at old rates before tariff increases.

Stamps Issued ±    or Rates Effective	1st Signed For 100g	1st Large Signed For 100g	100g Special Delivery	500g Special Delivery
17 November 2009 ±	£1.14	£1.36	-	-
6 April 2010	£1.15	£1.40	-	-
26 October 2010 ±			£5.05	£5.50
20 April 2011	£1.23	£1.52	£5.45	£5.90
30 April 2012	£1.55	£1.85	£5.90	£6.35
2 April 2013 §	£1.70	£2.00	£6.22	£6.95
31 March 2014	£1.72	£2.03	£6.40	£7.15
30 March 2015	£1.73	£2.05	£6.45	£7.25
29 March 2016	£1.74	£2.06
27 March 2017	£1.75	£2.08
26 March 2018	£1.77	£2.11	£6.50	£7.30
25 March 2019	£1.90	£2.26	£6.60	£7.40
23 March 2020	£2.06	£2.45	£6.70	£7.50
1 January 2021	£2.25	£2.69	£6.85	£7.65
4 April 2022	£2.35	£2.85
3 April 2023	£2.60	£3.10

Special Delivery and Signed For stamps were invalidated on 31 July 2023.

 § Royal Mail Signed For stamps were issued 27 March 2013, replacing Recorded Signed For, but were sold at old rates until 2 April. 

 

** Compensation for Signed For was reduced from £50 to £20 on this date, and compensation for Special Delivery was increased from £50 to £750.

  

Inland basic letter rates

Comprehensive tables of postage rates have been published by the Great Britain Philatelic Society and are freely available.  These and the rest of a hugely comprehensive website have been put together using members' subscriptions, so if you agree it is worth paying to join.

 

 

Please let me know by email if you spot any errors or omissions in this blog post.  

(Now edited to remove details of values of some NVIs in 2024.)

 

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October postmark slogans and other interesting postal markings.

October starts (as September ended) with the unexpected slogan for the Rugby World Cup win by the Red Roses.   We still don't know the period of application, meanwhile here's an example of the slogan applied in October, thanks to Jon on Stampboards.

Women's Rugby World Cup slogan Southampton Portsmouth & IOW 01/10/2025.

The default British Heart Foundation slogan was back in use on 6 October; this one from Jubilee Mail Centre supplied by JH.

British Heart Foundation slogan Jubilee Mail Centre 06-10-2025

 

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Other postmarks and postal markings, etc

 

 

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Postboxes etc    Some postbox and locker pictures are shown in the post on Royal Mail's expansion into the high street.  Here are some more pictures from our holiday.

1. Standard George V postbox in Mansfield Market Place.  The box, like Mansfield sadly, is badly in needed of a make-over.  You can only keep adding layers of paint for so long.

2. Two boxes from Louth, Lincolnshire.  The one with the Magic Roundabout topper is outside Louth post office in Northgate.  Sadly Ermintrude had keeled over, but other characters were upright!  The other is on the corner of Mercer Row and Market Place

Magic Roundabout's Zebedee

3. Morrisons Supermarket, Banbury and 4. Newstead Abbey south of Mansfield.

How did we manage to fit in Lincolnshire, Nottingham/Derbyshire and Buckinghamshire in one?  Well we had to leave for a family occasion part way through, which took us to Buckinghamshire.  Unfortunately our return was marred by sitting for over five hours on the M1 near Lutterworth after a serious crash.   The incident was attended by at least two fire engines, 10 police vehicles, three ambulances and the helicopter, and two National Highways Traffic vehicles. Only two cars were involved and one person was taken to hospital.
I did get the chance to talk to the veteran driver of a 36 tonne Royal Mail articulated lorry behind us. He had a new tractor unit (although someone had already pranged it) with the Charles III logo.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Remember, slogan postmarks appearing in October will be added to this post, so check here before you spend time scanning and emailing.

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Temporary interruption to service

We're taking a break for a couple of weeks so there won't be anything added to the blog in that time, although I hope to be able to let appropriate comments through.

The next stamp issue after the Steam Locomotives is Monopoly on 16 October and details should be available a week before then, although all you standing order customers will get your advice notes around 16 September.  

 

Details can be posted as comments on the '2025 stamp programme' post. 

 

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All aboard! Steam Railways set of 6 and miniature sheet issued 25 September 2025

Stockton-on-Tees local publicity slogan used in 1964

Although railways have featured frequently on Royal Mail stamps, special postmarks and even local slogans, this is at last something worthy of commemoration - the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and steam locomotives in general. 

 For the new issue

"Royal Mail is proud to celebrate the evolution of British steam locomotives on the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which officially opened on September 27, 1825. This railway is historically significant as the world’s first public railway to use steam locomotives, revolutionizing transportation and industry in Britain and beyond.

"Central to the commemoration is Locomotion No.1, the pioneering steam engine built by George and Robert Stephenson. The first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line it symbolised the dawn of the railway age. The locomotive ran on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which connected coal mines near Shildon with the port at Stockton-on-Tees, facilitating more efficient coal transport and setting the stage for the rapid expansion of rail networks across the UK.

"This important anniversary is celebrated through a national campaign; Railway 200, which includes various events and educational initiatives celebrating the legacy of British railways and honours the technological innovation of steam locomotives whilst also highlighting their cultural and economic impact over two centuries."

The stamps

Set of 6 1st class stamps showing Steam Trains issued 25 September 2025.

The stamps show: Locomotion No 1, Rocket, City of Truro, Mallard, Duchess of Hamilton, Evening Star.

Miniature sheet 

The Miniature sheet commemorates the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line and features historic images of Locomotive No1 through the years, including photographs from its 100 and 150 year anniversaries. 

Miniature sheet of 4 1st class stamps showing the Stockton & Darlington Railway issued 25 September 2025.

The stamps on the miniature sheet are captioned: Opening of the S&DR, 1825; Locomotion No 1 at Darlington, c 1890; Centenary of the S&DR, 1925; Replica Locomotion No 1, 1975.

[People of a certain age and from a certain part of the country know a different S&DR, that is, the Slow and Dirty Somerset and Dorset (Joint) Railway, properly known as the SDJR.] 

Technical details and acknowledgement

The 60 x 30 mm stamps, designed by Steers McGillan Eves, are printed by Cartor Security Printers in Litho with conventional gum, in se-tenant vertical pairs, perforated 14½.  The MS is 192 x 74 mm containing stamps 41 x 30 mm.  

Acknowledgements: Locomotion No. 1, Stephenson’s Rocket replica, City of Truro, Duchess of Hamilton and Evening Star © Board of Trustees of the Science Museum; Mallard photo © Jamie Lorriman/Alamy Stock Photo; background illustrations by Dave Thompson © Royal Mail Group Ltd 2025; produced under licence by SCMG Enterprises Ltd; Railway Museum™.

Painting of the opening of the S&DR by John Dobbin, 1875, Borough Art Collection © Darlington Borough Council; Locomotion No. 1 at Darlington, c.1890, British Mirror postcard © Mary Evans Picture Library; centenary of the S&DR: photograph by an anonymous photographer, from Railway Building by Cecil J Allen © Mary Evans Picture Library; replica Locomotion No. 1, 1975 © Nigel
Menzies; background images: typography taken from a share certificate of the S&DR, Hopetown Darlington © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; engine and 11 wagons on the S&DR (detail) © The Institution of Mechanical Engineers/Mary Evans Picture Library; produced under licence by SCMG Enterprises Ltd; Railway Museum™; a special thank-you to Hopetown Darlington/Darlington Borough Council.

Products available

Set of 6 stamps, miniature sheet, first day covers (2), presentation pack, stamp cards, press sheet of 12 miniature sheets, £2 coin cover (MS), silver proof cover, gold proof cover, framed set and MS.

 

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All stamps are - or were - all valid for all services, inland and international.

A recent comment on the previous post asserted that it was not possible to use 2 x 1st class (£1.70) stamps to pay the international postcard or letter rate as the non-denominated (NVI) stamps were only to be used for the service mentioned.

This is totally incorrect as the following examples will demonstrate.  Of course many of these are old-style Machins but the same applies now to stamps and Post and Go stamps.

International Mail

£1.57, 5p and 1st class paying correct rate to Australia

World 20g, World 60g, Europe 20g and Machins airmail to Australia

Denominqted and 2 x 1st class to France

 

Postage on this expensive package to the USA includes a 1st class stamp

From a reader in Canada for the postmarks posts, the postage here is made of 4 recent 1st class stamps, an old 2nd class plus 50p

 

Likewise this one does precisely what was suggested in the other post, using very old 2 x 1st class stamps to (over-)pay the current £3.20 rate

Recent packet to Belarus used 1st class Large datamatrix Machin and denominated stamps

   

I don't have examples of  airmail stamps used inland, nor special delivery used on medium parcels sent by ordinary mail, but they do exist.  They are a way to get these higher value stamps fine used for collections.

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Parcel and tracked prices to increase again from October 2025.

Parent company International Distribution Services (IDS) announcing a return to profit for Royal Mail for the year ending 31 March 2025,  and maybe as a result of this there are no changes to basic letter prices for the second half of this year.

Royal Mail significantly improved its financial and operational performance, returning to an adjusted operating profit (excluding voluntary redundancy costs) of £12 million for the first time in three years, following significant losses in 2022-23 and 2023-24. This is in line with guidance and was achieved despite an increasingly competitive and challenging trading environment.

Not included in the announcement, nor anywhere else in the IDS Media Centre pages, but included on the Royal Mail website is a new 'Our Prices' leaflet (pdf) effective from 6 October 2025.  

No change to inland letter prices

The headline news for most of us is that basic Letter and Large Letter prices remain unchanged for both 2nd and 1st class.  Prices for Small Parcels show very modest increases of 10p and 9p for 1st and 2nd class, whilst Medium Parcels rise by 4% or under.  (New prices in bold, unchanged in italics.)

	1st		2nd
Letter	1.70	1.70	0.87	0.87
Large Letter – 100g	3.15	3.15	1.55	1.55
- 250g	3.60	3.60	2.00	2.00
- 500g	3.60	3.60	2.40	2.40
- 750g	3.60	3.60	2.70	2.70
Small Parcel 2kg	5.09	4.99	3.99*	3.90
Medium Parcel 2kg	7.45	6.99	6.49	6.29
- 10kg	9.35	8.99	8.19	7.89
- 20kg	14.25	13.69	12.25	11.89

Signed For prices for Letters and Large Letters remain similarly unchanged whilst parcels show small rises.  (* Thanks to everybody who pointed out the error; the fact that it wasn't in italics showed that there was a change, I just didn't finish editing it.)

Tracked 24/48 prices show small rises across the board with a basic Large Letter (up to 750g) prices increased by 15p, to £3.80 (24) and £2.95 (48), with the same increases for the Signature option.  Parcels show small rises.

Special Delivery up to 100g rise 5.7% from £8.75 to £9.25, up to 500g from 4% from £9.85 to £10.25.  Those who choose the 9 a.m. option see 28% increase from £38.95 to £49.95 for the basic 100g weight! 

International rates.  The basic worldwide letter and postcard rate rises from £3.20 to £3.40 (6.25%) airmail and from £3.10 to £3.30 for Economy (surface). Prices for airmail Large Letters and Parcels for all Zones remain unchanged, while Economy rates over 250g increase.    Economy Small Parcels rise by from 17% to over 30%.

The good news is that prices for all premium services (International Signed, International Tracked, and International Tracked and Signed) remain unchanged. 

New stamp

This means that there will be a new £3.40 stamp.  More details when we have them from Royal Mail - readers say that the stamp will be issued on 30 September, from their standing order advice notes.

UPDATE 8 September:

A new £3.40 definitive stamp, representing the new international postage rate for letters up to
100g, will be introduced by Royal Mail on 30 September 2025. The £3.40 stamp is printed in Dark
Green. The King’s effigy appears alongside a 2D barcode printed in matching colour alongside the
main body of the stamp, separated by a simulated perforation line.

King Charles III £3.40 definitive in dark green, to be issued 30 September 2025.

Royal Mail customers with a regular order for definitive stamp sets will receive this set as part of their
ongoing subscription.  There will also be an official first day cover and single-stamp presentation pack.

RM Product code DS2200 Dark Green: up to 100g all Europe & World Zones 

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September postmark slogans and other interesting postal markings.

September starts (as August ended) with the default British Heart Foundation slogan.  Las year we had Air Ambulances week and 'Thinking of You' week one of the regular exhortations from the greetings card industry to 'send a card'.

Here's an early example of the BHF slogan that we received at home. This is from Peterborough Mail Centre dated 02-09-2025

British Heart Foundation slogan from Peterborough Centre 02-09-2025

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As expected the slogan for Air Ambulance Week has now appeared.  Thanks to PC for this one from South East Anglia Mail Centre 06/09/2025.

Support your
Air Ambulance

Air Ambulance Week
September 9th - 15th

Support Your Air Ambulance slogan South East Anglia Mail Centre 06/09/2025

Update 18 September.   DW sent this copy of the other layout for the Air Ambulance from Inverness Mail Centre on the same date.

Support Your Air Ambulance slogan Inverness Mail Centre 06-09-2025

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Update 18 September.   As predicted the annual Send A Card campaign supporting the Greetings Card Industry has its slogan this week.  Here's an example from Peterborough on 16 September thanks to KH.

The slogan repeats the format from previous years.

Send A Card
Deliver A Smile for
Thinking of You Week
15th-22st September 2025

 

Thinking of You Week slogan used at Peterborough Mail Centre 16-09-2025

From SS in Canada, the other layout - not the best example - from Birmingham Mail Centre 16/09/2025. (?)

Thinking of You Week slogan used at Birmingham Mail Centre 16/09/2025

 

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Update 6 October.  Well done to the Red Roses for winning the Women's Rugby World Cup by beating Canada a week or so ago.  Royal Mail marked the win with a special slogan postmark, but I have no idea when it started or finished as their website is silent and the 29 September announcement on X provided no details.

The Women's Rugby World Cup.

Template for Women's Rugby World Cup slogan 28-09-2025.

I was surprised to find an example on my doormat when I got back from holiday - but no emails from any readers.  Surely someone must have one?  Here's the example from Tyneside NE/SR Mail Centre 29/09/2025.

Women's Rugby World Cup slogan Tyneside NE/SR 29/09/2025.

 

 So aside from any other examples, that's it for September (and it may have rolled into October.)

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Other postmarks and postal markings, etc

I haven't seen any news reports about this postbox repainted recently in Dartford, reported by Lars Tåders.  Let us know if you see any more - although as they are almost certainly unofficial I probably won't give them too much publicity.

I suppose commercial sponsorship of postboxes would be another way to make money but I don't think this will happen!

Other postmarks.

Thanks to JB for these two examples of postmarks from Lincoln.   The first is from the Delivery Office, and the second from Sincil Street post office.

Lincoln Delivery Office handstamp on a receipt 18 July 2025.

Sincil Street Lincoln B post office counter self-inking datestamp 22 July 2025.

 

This branch is interesting because it is not in Sincil Street!   Following consultation the branch was relocated to Unit 7, The Stonebow Centre, Silver Street, Lincoln, LN2 1DY in 2021.   It seems it has retained the same handstamp.   This may be because the shop relocated under the same ownership and the postmaster decided they didn't want to pay for a new datestamp with the new location's wording.

Sincil Street, Lincoln, Post Office in the Stonebow Centre Silver Sreet, not in Sincil St.
Image from Google Streetview

 

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Remember, slogan postmarks appearing in Sepember will be added to this post, so check here before you spend time scanning and emailing.

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