Regular readers and especially Post and Go collectors will be aware of the post from May 2019 which has had more comments and updates than any other by our loyal readers.
It seems as if the comment limit or text limit may have been reached. Recent comments appeared briefly, but then I found that some earlier comments had not been moderated through, and when I let them through, others dropped off the end.
Update: Thank you for comments and suggestions. There is far too much work involved in splitting off all the 2021 comments into this post; instead I have repeated those made from September onwards and added any which failed to make the cut. If I have omitted any please let me know.
A new post will be started in 2022.
UPDATE 7 November: An anonymous reader has sent a comment regarding the closure of WHS Local franchises and how this would impact on Post Offices. The contract was to end at the end of 2020.
As this is a 2019 story I think we would have found out by now had their been any impact on Post Offices and Post & Go. I'm not sure that the 'locals' (of which we had one in Dereham that had to close after only a short time being open, also not realising that the Crown Office sold WHS-branded postal packaging etc) had any post offices anyway. I've a link to the story on 'better retailing' if anybody wants it.
The May 2019 blogpost started from the premise that nothing was happening with no new P&G designs:
As readers will know there have been no new Post and Go stamps issued by Royal Mail, and none is in the programme for the current year.
And certainly from that point of view nothing has changed.
What we have had since 2019 are several postage rate changes and new 'values' of stamps which have slowly increased the total value of the collectors strip. So I'll start this post with a summary/index of other P&G posts.
Autumn Stampex 2019 - Postal Museum and digitally printed Mail by Air
Postal Museum Great Train Robbery Exhibition - unavailable from machines.
Poppy stamp at Military Museums; Mail by Rail
Official list of special P&G usage for Autumn 2019
May 2020: Open Value P&G guest article
September 2020: New tariff, Zones on P&G
September 2020: Zones in re-opening Museums
September 2020: Closed museum special issue for closed Stampex
October 2020: More re-opening museums
October 2020: Postal Museum re-opening again
November 2020: TPM: what actually happened
November 2020: Winter Greenery at PO Branches
December 2020, new tariff: P&G Implications
January 2021 new tariff - errors.
April 2021 - errors and museums
May 2021 - re-opening of Postal Museum
June 2021 - Explosions Gosport
July 2021 - errors and naval museums
Comments on the earlier post. Just in case they disappear because of action or inaction by me, the comments made on the 2019 post since August this year, mainly concerning branch closures and changes, are reproduced here:
I wonder if there is anyone out there who can help me get a little nearer to completing my collection of post & go stamps.
I collect 1st and 2nd class singles both Machin and pictorial from each kiosk in the country and I am in need of 2 * 1st class Machins from both kiosks k67 and k68 at Perth.
If they happen to be there I also need 2 * 2nd class Pictorials from k68.
Unfortunately Perth is not an office who replies to postal requests and these were not available when I last visited when the Perth stamp show was on probably in 2019.
To their credit many offices do respond to postal requests and seem interested in my collection.Brighton 11/10/21
K67 Machin R20YAL 1st CL18S 2nd
K67 Machin R19YAL 1st CL17S 2nd
K69 Working but just dispensing labels
Bournemouth (Seamoor Road) 12/10/21
Both Kiosks Out of ServiceApart from the Military Museums on 11/11/2021, do we know whether Poppies are going to appear in Post Office branches this year ?
Three Offices from 18 October 2021
584246 Solihull WHS
SSK67 machine not working properly
SSK68 1st class Machin MA19 - 2nd Machin CL17S
SSK69 1st class Machin MA16 - 2nd class ?? Machine had problems with 2nd class printer
SSK70 machine not working properly
422205 Coventry WHS
SSK67 1st class Machin R18YAL - 2nd class Machin CL16S
SSK68 1st class Machin R20YAL - 2nd class Machin CL19S
SSK69 1st class Machin R18YAL - 2nd class Machin CL18S
153641 Shrewsbury WHS
SSK 67 1st class Machin R20YAL - 2nd class Machin CL17S
SSK 68 1st class Machin R20YAL - 2nd class Machin CL19S
2nd class printer cuts randomly - sometimes cut bottom of stamp high, sometimes just trims sometimes normal
DP
I have now tried to reproduce the comments which have been posted since 19 October.
1. Chris 20 October 2021 0835: Post Office in Swindon have received this years Christmas Post & Go issue, though couldn't tell me what exact issue the Post Office are putting in their machines as the manager was away and the safe locked.
2. Malcolm 20 October 2021 1830: One office closure to report from the 4th December 2021.
Wigan 390460 will close, very short lived this branch having only opened on the 6th June 2019.
1. Anonymous 30 October 2021 0813: The Post Office consultations website now carries the details of the closure https://www.postofficeviews.co.uk/national-consultation-team/wigan-wn1-1ug/
3. Chris 22 October 2021 1034: Have now confirmed that Winter Greenery is being put in the Post Office machines on 02/11/2021. All the reels I have seen were R20YAL.
4. Anonymous (DP) 23 Oct 2021, 08:56: Three more from the West Midlands (22/10/21)
283242 Walsall
SSK67 1st class Machin R18YAL - 2nd class Machin CL18S
SSK68 1st class Machin MA16 - 2nd class Machin CL16S
554201 Harborne WHS
SSK67 1st class Machin MA19 - 2nd class Machin CL18S
SSK68 1st class Machin MA19 - 2nd class Machin CL18S
304618 Hereford WHS
SSK67 out of service
SSK68 1st class Machin R19YAL - 2nd class Machin CL18S
SSK69 1st class Machin R19YAL - 2nd class Machin CL18S
SSK70 1st class Machin R17YAL - 2nd class Machin CL18S
5. Trevor 23 Oct 2021 1848: Nailsea 19/10/2021
K67 Machin R17YAL 1st MA15 2nd
K68 Machin R17YAL 1st MA15 2nd
6. Anonymous 27 October 2021 0743: 27 October 2021
153641Shrewsbury WHS
SSK 67 1st class Machin R20YAL - 2nd class Machin CL17S
SSK 68 1st class Machin R20YAL - 2nd class Machin CL19S - 2nd class printer now cutting normally, still on CL19S
283242 Walsall
SSK67 1st class Machin R18YAL - 2nd class Machin CL18S
SSK68 1st class Machin MA16 - 2nd class Machin CL16S
304618 Hereford WHS
SSK67 Out of service
SSK68 1st class Machin R19YAL - 2nd class Machin CL18S
SSK69 1st class Machin R19YAL - 2nd class Machin CL18S
SSK70 1st class Machin R17YAL - 2nd class Machin CL18S
422205 Coventry WHS
SSK67 1st class Machin R18YAL - 2nd class Machin CL16S
SSK68 1st class Machin MA16 - 2nd class Machin CL17S
SSK69 1st class Machin R18YAL - 2nd class Machin CL18S
554201 Harborne WHS
SSK67 1st class Machin R19YAL - 2nd class Machin CL18S
SSK68 1st class Machin R19YAL - 2nd class Machin CL18S
7. Trevor 2 November 2021 2048: Winter Greenery R21YAL & CL21S on Ebay tonight
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/
I believe these are all the comments which dropped off the original 2019 post. My thanks to JG for pointing out that something was amiss before the email notifications of these disappeared forever.
Winter Greenery 2021
While some offices are using old stock, as Trevor pointed out above the 21-coded stock has already appeared on eBay. RW sent this image of the box label indicating that the new 2021-coded stamps should not be used before 2 November.
 |
| Winter Greenery Post and Go stamps box labels showing first day of sale as 2 November 2021. |
UPDATE 16 November: DP has sent this picture of the output from Leicester this week showing a couple of glitches in the printing, adding "The sessions between the strips were stamps for postage, both of which printed normally."
 |
| Post and Go Winter Greenery printing glitches from Leicester Post Office 15.11.2021 |
UPDATE 26 November: I should have included these earlier news snippets from IntelligentAR concerning the 'Lest We Forget' inscription to be used at military museums.
August 4, 2021 Remembrance Day at NMRN sites
Remembrance Day will be marked at all NMRN Sites with an underprint of ‘Lest we forget’ on both Union and Poppy stamps from Thursday November 11th until end of Tuesday 30th November 2021. The Poppy stamp will temporarily replace the Machin stamp during this time.
In the event, problems with the payment system prevented the machines from being operated normally, but rather than using the logic of 'the time has passed' somebody decided that 'Lest We Forget' and the Poppy stamps should still be used so that collectors would buy them, even if it was two weeks late.
UPDATE 24 November: My thanks to Malcolm and 'cfn' for information from the unofficial but only news site for Post and Go, that of Royal Mail's contractor IntelligentAR, concerning the military museum sites.
"IAR is pleased to announce that Worldpay have finally fixed some of the payment issues on Post & Go kiosks.
Accordingly, the delayed Poppy and Overprint will now be available on kiosks:
A003 FAAM
A004 Submarine Museum
A006 HMS Trincomalee
Dates: Friday 26th November until end Friday 10th December
When the remaining NMRM kiosks come on-line (A002 and A007) they will carry the current Flag and Machin with ‘Royal Navy’ overprint."
Lest We Forget images below from 'cfn', from machine A004 in the RN Submarine Museum. The Poppy is MA15 and the Flag MA19.
I should have added this image earlier, also supplied by cfn, of the A013 Mail Rail imprint on MA15 Poppy stamps.
 |
| MA15 Poppy Post & Go strip with Mail Rail imprint from machine A013 |
UPDATE 10 January 2022.
A new post for 2022 for all 2022 comments is here. Future comments here have been disabled; existing comments remain visible. The last was today.
Swindon 03/11/21
ReplyDeleteSSK67 1st class Winter Greenery R19YAL - 2nd class Winter Greenery CL20S
SSK68 1st class Winter Greenery R20YAL - 2nd class Winter Greenery CL20S
SSK69 1st class Winter Greenery R19YAL - 2nd class Winter Greenery CL20S
04/11/2021 - The main Postal Museum Post & Go machine has developed a technical fault and is currently not working. Information from staff state that it should be up and running early next week. For brief period once it works again Poppies will be put in the Machine. From 1st December, Winter Greenery will be added.
ReplyDeleteThis issue is caused by a Worldpay update overnight on the 3rd / 4th November, I understand it has knocked out all museum kiosks with the exception of A013 at Mail Rail.
DeleteAs you may be aware the pin pad in use on A013 is a more modern type so therefore works after the update I believe the solution is to change all the readers to the newer type.
Hopefully this can be achieved prior to the 11th November for the Remembrance overprint.
Update on Worldpay issue
DeleteA006 HMS TRinomalee
A009 Shakespeare and
A013 Mail Rail are fitted with newer type keypads so continue to work normally.
Pinpad update scheduled to take place at
Postal Museum A001 today 9th November
FAAM A003 and Submarine A004 10th November and
GWR A010 12th November
This will leave A002 NMRN and A007 Explosions to be fitted week commencing 15th November therefore Remembrance strips will be delayed from these kiosks will advise when live again.
Sorry for delay in updating this post the postal museum kiosk A001 is back in service the status of the NMRN, RNSM, FAAM and Explosions is not known but the Remembrance overprint will not go on until a unified date when all kiosks are working has been confirmed.
DeleteAnyone visiting NMRN should note the kiosk is now located in the Victory Gallery the last building on the left hand side.
The Lest we Forget Overprints go ahead from this Friday 26th November until the close on the 10th December but only at the following locations.
DeleteFleet Air Arm, HMS Trincomalee and RN Submarine.
The other two kiosks at NMRN and Explosions will be fixed shortly but will then continue with the normal Royal Navy overprint on Machin and Flag as is normal.
Having visited numerous Post Office SSK's in the London area I cannot find any yet that have R21YAL or CL21S. All are either R20YAL or older.
ReplyDeleteHas anybody come across any of the new print in the London area ?
I have tried a number of London offices as well and have not found any 21 date stock, I to would be grateful for any updates.
DeleteChris just a quick follow up to this did you find R18YAL anywhere on your travels
DeleteNo, the oldest I found was R19YAL.
DeleteCould anyone please confirm that this really is MA19 and not R19? Many thanks.
ReplyDelete584246 Solihull WHS
SSK68 1st class Machin MA19
Roll was changed from MA16 to R19YAL between purchases
ReplyDeleteDP
111244 Harlow, Essex (8th November 2021 visit)
ReplyDeleteSSK67 1st Class Machin MA16; Second Class Machin CL17S.
SSK68 1st Class Machin R20YAL; Second Class Machin CL17S.
Following my trip to Harlow yesterday, I tried 12 Eastcheap, City of London.
ReplyDelete030003
SSK67 1st Class Winter Greenery R20YAL
SSK67 2nd Class Winter Greenery CL20S
Other machines had engineer doing routine maintenance but assured me there were no Year 21 Winter Greenery. It appeared that they had plenty of stock of other types of coils and did not need further stocks of anything. Really helpful in the P&G Area and also on the counter (Counter K) who really put themselves out to find some cylinder numbers on booklets for me. Virtually no Machins with year 2021 many were 2019 and a few 2020.
Doug (Enfield)
Report received of the following in kiosks yesterday
DeleteGloucester 014523 MA16, R17YAL and R18YAL Poppies kiosks unknown and CL19S Greenery all kiosks
Chichester 263937 19 Greenery all 3 kiosks
Three offices from 9 November 2021
ReplyDelete100615 Chester WHS
SSK67 out of service
SSK68 1st Winter Greenery R20YAL, 2nd Machin CL18S
Office closes between 12pm and 1pm due to staffing
331434 St Helens
SSK67 1st Winter Greenery R20YAL, 2nd Winter Greenery CL20S
SSK68 1st Winter Greenery R20YAL, 2nd Winter Greenery CL20S
boxes had 2021 embargo date
390460 Wigan WHS
SSK67 1st Machin R18YAL, 2nd Machin CL17S
SSK68 1st Machin R20YAL, 2nd Machin CL17S
031005 Barnet, EN5 5UU
ReplyDeleteSSK67 1st Winter Greenery R21YAL
SSK67 2nd Winter Greenery CL21S
Two machines but second one busy and 'card only' transactions. Assured that same stamps had been loaded as in SSK67.
Doug (Enfield)
Exeter 13th Nov
ReplyDeleteSSK67 1st Winter Greenery R19YAL, 2nd Winter Greenery CL19S
SSK68 1st Winter Greenery R20YAL, 2nd Winter Greenery CL20S
SSK69 1st Winter Greenery R20YAL, 2nd Winter Greenery CL20S
SSK70 1st Poppy R17YAL, 2nd Winter Greenery CL20S
SSK71 1st Winter Greenery R20YAL, 2nd Winter Greenery CL20S
Some office updates over the last few days as follows
ReplyDeleteNottingham 555227 20 Greenery k67-k69, 19 Greenery k70 and k71
Bottesford 178227 k67 21 Greenery
Ashton 153424 19 Greenery only 1 kiosk in service
Sunderland 005343 1st Greenery R20YAL, 2nd Greenery CL21S
Lowestoft 559136 OOS
Has anyone access to either Perth or Belfast offices as these are not offices who respond to postal requests
One further update
DeleteBarnstaple 602519 20 Greenery
A couple of Post Offices 15/11/21
ReplyDelete341340 Creswell
SSK67 1st class Winter Greenery R19YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL19S
496217 Leicester WHS
SSK67 1st class Winter Greenery R21YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL21S
SSK68 1st class Winter Greenery R21YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL21S
SSK69 1st class Winter Greenery R21YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL21S
SSK70 1st class Winter Greenery R21YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL21S
DP
RN Submarine Museum 26/11/2021 - Poppy 'Lest We Forget' is MA15, Flag is MA19.
ReplyDeleteThe early Flags from the kiosk were undated it switched to MA19 around 12:00
ReplyDeleteEdinburgh Waverley Mall 26 Nov
ReplyDeleteSSK67 1st class Winter Greenery R20YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL20S
SSK68 1st class Winter Greenery R20YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL20S
SSK69 OOU
Edinburgh Frederick St 26 Nov
SSK67 OOU Staff shortages
SSK68 OOU Staff shortages
Edinburgh Frederick St 6
Dunfermline 27 Nov
ReplyDeleteSSK67 1st class Winter Greenery R21YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL21S
SSK68 1st class Winter Greenery R21YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL21S
Perth 27 Nov
SSK67 1st class Winter Greenery R20YAL, 2nd class Machin CL18S
SSK68 1st class Winter Greenery R20YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL20S
A couple of offices from Greater Manchester - 3 December 2021
ReplyDelete161432 Cheadle (WHSmith Local)
SSK67 1st class Winter Greenery R21YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL21S
310424 Oldham WHS
SSK67 1st class Winter Greenery R21YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL21S
SSK68 1st class Winter Greenery R21YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL21S
SSK69 1st class Winter Greenery R21YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL21S
DP
4 Offices around Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire– 9 December 2021
ReplyDelete403137 Summertown - Co-Op
SSK67 1st class Poppy R18YAL, 2nd class Machin CL19S
190548 Farringdon - McColls
SSK67 1st class Machin R18YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL19s
Note:- receipts don’t print correctly
447548 Swindon WHS
SSK69 1st class Winter Greenery R21YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL21S
460523 Cirencester WHS
SSK67 OOS
SSK68 1st class Winter Greenery R20YAL, 2nd class Winter Greenery CL20S
DP
Summertown 403137 unless changed in the last 24 hours the 2nd Machins are CL18S stock, they are misprinting whereas in a vertical stripe through the "a" of class and the "0" of 100 and the session number is not printing.
DeleteFaringdon 190548 has been like that since at least the early Summer also using the same stock.
When I visited yesterday (10:40am), Summertown was using 2nd class CL19S Machins and was printing normally.
DeleteDP
DP I must have misinterpreted the date you visited I purchased these at 0930 on Friday 10th and I include a scan of them here https://postimg.cc/r0rmNkr7
DeleteAs you can see they are CL18S with the vertical mis printing.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteBefore Malcolm's comment above, DP sent me an image of the CL19S 2nd class stock and satisfactory printing. The fault obviously occurred between 10.45 Thursday and 0930 Friday, AND the stock changed from 2019 to 2018 printings.
DeleteHe also wrote:
Faringdon’s receipt problem arises from the staff having used the wrong receipt roll, most likely the roll for the till which is single sided rather than the double sided rolls for the SSKs. WHSmiths have also been known to use the own rolls rather than the Post Office one.
Birmingham Pinfold St 13/12/21
ReplyDeleteJust kiosks 72,73 & 74 in use all dispensing R20YAL/CL20S Winter Greenery
167923 Haslemere
ReplyDeleteKiosk removed January 2021
DP
An update of the Postal Museum sorry a bit late.
ReplyDeleteAfter service on the 31st December the Winter Greenery was removed and as from the 1st January was replaced with Union Flag undated stock and MA15 2nd class Machin but without the Wish You Were Here overprint although this did continue on the 1st class as previously ending at close of play on the 2nd January.
The museum was then closed on its usual Monday and Tuesday reopening on Wednesday 5th with the Wish You Were Here overprint removed on the 1st class Machin so therefore a new variety of strip being the first time with the Europe and Worldwide Large strips had appeared without a commemorative overprint.
These strips for the first half hour of operation were MA13 stock which was then replaced with MA14 stock subsequently.
An update to Perth and Edinburgh above I wrote away during December for Greenery for my collection receiving a reply on the 5th January and Perth k68 is now CL17S Machin and Edinburgh k69 was still out of service.
Started a new 2022 blog post with this info Malcolm; can you send some pictures please?
DeleteAnd the 1st class which was inserted on 1 Jan was presumably MA13 which was still in use on 5th?