Tuesday 29 October 2024

New Wales Country definitives 14 November 2024, but airmail stamps to end

As well as the 2024 Christmas stamps Royal Mail have also put on their website for pre-order two new Wales Country definitives with the profile of King Charles III.

Queen Elizabeth II Wales 2nd class definitive

As standing order customers will know from their advance notice, the Wales Definitive has been billed at a value of £2.50, leading some to think that it is erroneously an airmail stamp at the pre-October 7th rate.  But of course the sum of the 2nd class and 1st class is now £2.50, and it is these two values which are being issued on 14 November, the King's birthday.

The stamps can be seen here.

In accordance with Royal Mail’s environmental policy, all existing stock of definitive and country definitive stamps featuring the portrait of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II are being issued to exhaustion, and new Definitive stamps with the King Charles III portrait will be issued according to supply and demand.

The Welsh 1st and 2nd Class Definitive stamps will be available for the first time featuring the King’s silhouette. 

The stamp designs featuring Welsh national symbols have been retained from previous country definitive designs. The Welsh Dragon has been forged from Welsh steel, whilst the Leek has been carved from Welsh sycamore. 

Country Definitives will now be limited to 1st and 2nd Class NVIs and no longer include international values.

The 39 x 30 mm self-adhesive stamps are printed in sheets of 25 by Cartor Security Printers in lithography.

When they will be available generally in Post Office branches is anyone's guess!  Please send your reports.



Christmas Cathedrals 2024 set and miniature sheet (etc) - 5 November 2024

Now that Royal Mail have put the 2024 Christmas stamps on their website for pre-ordering, it makes me - once again - question whether I need to post details of new issues here at all.  But they do provide us with more technical details than they put on their website, so for everybody's benefit I shall continue.

The details will appear here on the date of issue but in the meantime you can see the products here.


Products

First Day Covers (2), Presentation Pack, Retail Books (2), Collector Sheet, Postcards (6).



Sunday 27 October 2024

Royal Mail 2025 Stamp Programme - any guesses?

Before we get to the Christmas stamp issue, I thought it worth prompting our readers to make some suggestions for the 2025 programme.

You know the basics of the programme, whatever the specific subjects.  There is likely to be at least one music set ....

at least one television/film set, 

Christmas of course (a non-secular subject), and some blatant thematic sets with no commemorative worth.


Suggestions by email only please to ian@norphil.co.uk, only one per person unless I prompt you for clarification or expansion.

Results and comparison with the actual programme in due course.  The exercise ends when the programme is announced - please don't leak it if you see the calendar in a post office, it won't be published here.


Saturday 26 October 2024

Late arrival in the Machin collection.

It's 18 months since the King Charles definitives were issued, but as we know Royal Mail printers produced an enormous number of 2nd and 1st class Machin definitives such that they are still being sold now, and are certainly still being provided in the SwapOut scheme.  

But there is still room for discoveries and I am indebted to CB for sending this picture of a massive shift of the iridescent layer on a 1st class booklet stamp.  So large is the shift that it is impossible to establish whether this is from a book of 8 MEIL or book of four, MFIL.

UPDATE: Thanks to HJF & DG I can confirm that this is a MFIL/M22L stamp with barcode date 14.03.22 based on interpretation of the barcode.

1st class Machin booklet stamp with 2mm left shift and slight downward shift of the iridescent printing.

The email reminded me that I had been given an identical stamp (on cover) by a relative.  Unfortunately neither example is postmarked so we don't know where the stamps were used.  

Second example of a 1st class Machin booklet stamp with 2mm left shift and slight downward shift of the iridescent printing.

If you do get stamped mail - and Christmas is coming - it's still worth looking for oddities like this.  Whilst not valuable it is interesting, especially if you can include a photograph in your collection which shows the error more clearly.

I don't recall seeing anything as prominent as this on the barcoded stamps before.



Sunday 13 October 2024

More new King Charles definitive booklets, and sheet printings.

We reported 2024 reprints of the Counter Sheet definitive stamps in February when the 1st and 2nd class sheets were found in Post Offices.  Other sheet printings have been announced by Royal Mail, and booklets have been found locally.

The 1st class was reprinted on 170/1/2024 and the 2nd class on 18/01/24.  Not previously mentioned here were reprints of the 1st class Large on 01/03/24 and the 2nd class Large on 04/03/2024.  There were further reprints of the 1st class on 12/03/2024 and the 2nd class on 13/03/24.

The 2nd class booklet of 8 stamps was reported in May of this year and we have just received the 1st class M24L booklet of 8, both with source code MEIL.

2nd class King Charles III definitive booklet reprint 2024 - MEIL M24L
2nd class King Charles III definitive booklet reprint 2024 single - MEIL M24L


1st class King Charles III definitive booklet single 2024 reprint - MEIL M24L


1st class King Charles III definitive booklet single 2024 reprint showing cylinder number C1.

Country Definitives

Several collectors have reported (mainly in the new tariff post) that Royal Mail Philatelic will be charging them for new Welsh Country Definitives on 14 November.  Of course I know about these but because of Royal Mail's stupid embargo system, I am not supposed to be writing about them or showing the images until the end of this month.

Well, imagine the current 2nd and 1st class Wales stamps with the head of King Charles instead of Queen Elizabeth.  There, that's not difficult.   

There will be no airmail rate stamp.  The new pair of stamps have a value of £2.50 - unfortunately the cost to send an airmail letter will be £2.80.


Friday 11 October 2024

NBIT for the Axe? After spending £millions, Post Office Ltd may outsource latest in-house project.

The much-criticised Capture computer system was developed in-house by Post Office. The Horizon system was developed by ICL/Fujitsu.  The New Branch Information Technology system was being developed in-house, and is running way over budget - and is unlikely to be available for several years, during which Post Office Ltd will have to continue to use Fujitsu to maintain Horizon.

According to Computer Weekly:

As things stand, the Post Office contract with IT supplier Fujitsu to support Horizon ends in March 2025, and if that’s not extended, the consequences could be catastrophic for the branch network. Even Fujitsu is cautious about continuing, and has said it will only do so if convinced the Post Office has a viable replacement plan in place.

The Post Office has asked for a five-year extension, with a three-year break point. The full five years could see up to £180m of additional taxpayer money go to the IT supplier.

According to witnesses at the public inquiry into the Post Office scandal, the two companies have yet to agree a new contract, with less than six months to go.

Former Post Office chief transformation officer Chris Brocklesby told the inquiry that, if everything went according to plan, the earliest the Horizon replacement – dubbed New Branch IT (NBIT) – would begin roll-out is June 2026, with Horizon finally switched off at the end of 2028.

But according to another CW report today 

The “writing is on the wall” for the Post Office’s plan to build its New Branch IT (NBIT) system in-house, as it considers dumping it in favour of an off-the-shelf electronic point of sale (EPOS) alternative.

A source said the Post Office looks set to U-turn on its current plan to replace the controversial Horizon IT system with in-house developed software and either switch to an off-the-shelf system from a supplier or bring Horizon in-house.

The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said the Post Office is considering a contract with EPOS platform provider Escher, the supplier of the Riposte middleware that was previously used in early versions of the Horizon system. There is also support within the Post Office IT department for bringing the existing and controversial Horizon system in-house. The source said a decision has not been made yet, but it appears “the writing is on the wall” for the in-house NBIT software, which is expected to be dumped.

This follows an admission by recently installed Post Office chairman Nigel Railton, during his appearance at the Post Office scandal public inquiry this week, that the company’s decision to build the new system in-house was one of two reasons the project was “set up to fail”.

Railton told the inquiry: “One was the decision ‘to get off Horizon’, which is different to building a system for the future, and the second was the decision to build in-house.” He said there are many “horror stories” of people trying to build systems in-house, adding: “I think, based on my experience, that this was always set up to fail in the first place.”

-----

A recent internal Post Office document sent to staff by acting CEO Neil Brocklehurst revealed that changes to the NBIT programme are being considered. “While the strategic review is ongoing, and informed by other discussions with the board and stakeholders, we have taken the opportunity to review our current approach to our delivery of new technology, to make sure it will deliver what postmasters need in the most effective way possible,” it said.

“This means from next week we will start reassessing and reprioritising the NBIT programme. This does not mean we will be stopping everything. Critical investment in Horizon’s infrastructure will continue and, importantly, we will be moving forward with the installation of new technology into branches over the next 12 months,” the document said.

According to the source, the NBIT team has been told to hold off building any more features until a decision is made on whether to continue with the current in-house project.

Watch this space or follow Computer Weekly.


Monday 7 October 2024

October slogan and other interesting postmarks and postal markings

With everybody having sent all their cards in the third week of September (send a card slogan), slogans reverted to the default and stayed that way into October.

Thank you to RW and JH for sending early examples of the British Heart Foundation slogan in the two formats,  Home Counties North 01-10-2024 and Sheffield Mail Centre 04/10/2024.

British Heart Foundation slogan from Home Counties North 01-10-2024
 

British Heart Foundation slogan from Sheffield Mail Centre 04/10/2024


UPDATE 16 October.  Thanks to DW for the first new slogan this month, for World Menopause Awareness Day.

World Menopause
Awareness Day
18 October

Let's talk and share experiences
to make a real difference

 

Menopause Awareness Day slogan Edinburgh Mail Centre 14-10-2024


Other postmarks, postal markings etc.

UPDATE 23 October:  SS in Canada has sent another Exeter packet stamp, and unlike the last ones this one has the postcode EX2 7XX at the foot.

Exeter Mail Centre packet stamp with postcode EX2 7XX 8 OCT 2024


Thanks to JF for providing this cover which has stamps cancelled with the wavy line handstamp instead of by a pen.  This was sent to India from Bath, Somerset, so well done to the people in Bath or Bristol's Mail Centre for getting these cancelled.  India is in Zone 1 for which the postage is £4.20 for 100g, so it is overpaid by 80p or more than three of these stamps. (The next weight step costs £7.05.)

Wavy line handstamp on airmail letter from Bath (or Bristol Mail Centre) 2024.




We should get a Movember slogan this month, so if you receive or come across that or any other interesting postal markings from any period or place, please send them to the email address in the top right of this blog.  Thank you.

 

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


Thursday 3 October 2024

Music Giants X - The Who - blockbuster issue 17 October 2024.

Royal Mail's latest musical extravaganza features the 1960s rock band The Who, which really is my generation.  Formed in 1964, they celebrate their 60th anniversary this year (like Porridge).

Royal Mail's write-up 

Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon formed The Who in 1964. Within five years, they went from performing club shows to headlining the Woodstock festival and becoming the biggest box-office draw in the world. The group changed the way rock music was presented live and produced records that were often intelligent and challenging in content while pushing technological boundaries – both on the stage and in the studio.

The band embraced different genres of music, from proto-punk to soft rock, mock opera to rock opera, and heavy rock to orchestrated rock. They produced songs that spoke for the disaffected youth and, as The Who themselves grew older, the middle-aged. Pete Townshend, as chief songwriter, became the voice of his generation. Along their 60-year journey, The Who lost Keith Moon (in 1978) and John Entwistle (in 2002), but Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend continue to thrill audiences with some of the best rock music ever written. 

They also support a host of charities, for which they have raised millions of pounds in funding over the years. There has never been another band quite like The Who. Having sold over 100 million records worldwide, and now celebrating their 60th anniversary, the group are among the most innovative and influential bands of the rock and roll era. 

Set of 8 stamps celebrating the 60th anniversary of rock band The Who, issued 17 October 2024.

The set consists of 4 x 1st class stamps and 4 x £2 stamps which, as many have said, do not satisfy any particular postage rate.

The stamps - album covers.

1st Class: My Generation
Released in the UK in December 1965 and reaching number five in the charts, My Generation is one of the best debut albums.
in history. Mixing cover versions with original material, the record highlights The Who’s unique song writing and performing abilities, not least on its title track and lead single – a rallying call to the disaffected youth of Britain.
 
1st Class: Tommy
The Who’s career-making double album, 1969’s Tommy was a tour de force that peaked at number two in the UK and redrew the boundaries of what could be achieved in rock music. Centred on a narrative that has since been adapted for stage and screen, it included the transatlantic hit ‘Pinball Wizard’ and continues to enthrall audiences around the world.
 
1st Class: Who’s Next
Following Tommy was never going to be easy, but The Who managed it with Who’s Next, which topped the UK charts in 1971. Featuring songs such as ‘Baba O’Riley’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’, it proved the group could deliver anthems outside of a conceptual framework and made The Who one of the first bands capable of filling stadium venues.
 
1st Class: Quadrophenia
Telling the story of Jimmy, a mod seeking his place in the world in the mid- 1960s, Quadrophenia continued Pete Townshend’s exploration of spiritual fulfilment. Issued in late 1973 and reaching number two on both sides of the Atlantic, the double album featured a complex narrative that proved to be difficult to perform live, even for The Who.
 
£2.00: Who Are You
Released at the height of the punk era in Aug 78, Who Are You picked up where The Who By Numbers left off, its title track railing against the machinations of the music business. An ailing Keith Moon died three weeks after the album’s release, just as it peaked at number 6 in the UK charts.
 
£2.00: Face Dances
The Who’s first album with new recruits Kenney Jones (drums) and John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick (keyboards), Face Dances was released in March 1981 and heralded the band’s biggest UK tour for many years. Lead single ‘You Better You Bet’ took the group into the UK top ten for the first time since the mid- 1970s, helping its parent album hit number two.
 
£2.00: Endless Wire
Having paid tribute to bassist John Entwistle on the song ‘Old Red Wine’, written and recorded for the 2004 compilation Then and Now, Townshend and Daltrey, with Pino Palladino (bass) and Zak Starkey (drums), released The Who’s 11th album, Endless Wire, in October 2006. Based on a story by Townshend, it was hailed by critics as a return to form.
 
£2.00: WHO
In no hurry to return to the studio, The Who issued WHO 13 years after Endless Wire, in December 2019. Reaching number three in the UK, the album proved that Pete Townshend had become the ultimate cross- generational spokesman and revealed Roger Daltrey to be the epitome of a rock god, helping to steer the group’s survival through the ages.

Miniature sheet

The ms also contains a mix of 1st class and £2 stamps.  To use the latter as basic letter rate stamps, 20p more is required for international surface mail outside Europe, and 50p for international airmail; or 10p for an inland large letter under 100g.

The above paragraph was written in August before the new postage rates were announced.  So here's a rewrite:

The ms also contains a mix of 1st class and £2 stamps.  To use the latter as basic letter rate stamps, 60p (ie two stamps) more is required for international surface mail outside Europe, and 80p (at least 3 stamps) for international airmail.

Miniature sheet of 4 stamps celebrating the 60th anniversary of rock band The Who, issued 17 October 2024.
1st class: The Who in 1968; The Who at the Marquee Club in 1967; £2 The Who at Kings Hall, Belle Vue, Manchester 1973; The Who c.1965.

 

Technical details & acknowledgements

The design reverts to the 'Album Covers' style last used for the Paul McCartney issue in 2021.  The 38 x 31mm gummed stamps are printed in litho in sheets of 48 by Cartor Security Printers, perforated 14½ x 14.  
On the 192 x 74mm self-adhesive(?) miniature sheet the 60 x 30 mm stamps are also printed by CSP in litho, perforated 14½.  The stamps are designed by Royal Mail based on an original design by Studio Dempsey. 
Acknowledgements: The Who album covers © 2024 YEARHOUR 2017 LLP under license from Bravado International Group Limited. All rights reserved.    The Who pictured in 1968 © Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo; The Who at the Marquee Club, London, in March 1967, photo © Ray Stevenson; The Who at Kings Hall, Belle Vue, Manchester, during the Quadrophenia tour in November 1973 © David Warner Ellis/Redferns/Getty Images; The Who pictured in c.1965 © Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo; border image: The Who memorabilia © Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo. 2024 YEARHOUR 2017 LLP

Prestige Stamp Book

This 24-book is written by music photographer and writer Matt Kent.  Panes 1 & 2 (the sheet stamps) are on gummed paper; Panes 3 & 4 (miniature sheet and definitives) are self-adhesive.  The defnitive pane contains just two x £2 definitives, and three labels.

The Who Prestige Stamp Book Cover


The Who Prestige Stamp Book

Collectors Sheet

Unusually in recent times this is gummed as the self-adhesive format was not possible because the die-cutter was not available for the 'Album Covers' format.  So the same as the sheet stamps (although the phosphor may turn out to be different: time will tell).

The Who Collectors Sheet issued 17 October 2024

Not a Retail booklet

No retail booklets have been issued since the introduction of barcoded definitives due to the change of size and difficulty accommodating the mix.  Royal Mail are now pleased to be able to introduce these again produce something similar for this issue with 4 x 1st Class The Who stamps in a specially designed stamp booklet. 

The book features a graphic background of The Who roundel or ‘target’ and includes the 4 x 1st Class album cover stamps of: My Generation, Tommy, Who’s Next and Quadrophenia in a folded book.
Print: these self-adhesive booklets are printed in gravure (presumably by the Walsall end of Cartor Security Printers) and so make 4 different stamps.

Retail booklet of 4 x 1st class The Who stamps, printed gravure on self-adhesive paper, issued 17 October 2024.

UPDATE 11 October.

A spokesman for Royal Mail has confirmed that this product is not considered as a Retail Book and that that term was only used to describe its format and size.

"These are planned only for the Music issues at this time, by extension then they are for the fan bases and are in response to those fans loving the option of having mint stamps for postage within their basket of collectibles.  It’s also a low price product for the fan collector. It isn’t a substitute for the Retail Booklets or Retail Booklet focused stamp collectors.  It will not be distributed by Post Office Ltd nor Royal Mail Retail."

In my view even if some supermarkets resist this type of product, with a barcode and a simple A5 point of sale card Royal Mail could have sold to people doing their grocery or greetings card shopping.  The demographic that still sends cards are exactly the people who would have enjoyed The Who.

I know the Philatelic team at Royal Mail were disappointed that Retail or Commemorative Booklets were not accommodated when the barcoded stamps were issued as "the rationale behind them is as valid today as it was then in terms of taking stamps to a non-stamp collecting audience". 

Maybe next year? 

Products

Set of 8 stamps, miniature sheet, presentation pack, first day covers (2), stamp cards (13), press sheet of 8 miniature sheets, collectors sheet, prestige stamp book, limited edition prestige stamp book, retail booklet,  fan sheets (2), medal covers (2), platinum stamp set, framed products.

Fans of the US television forensic crime series CSI will know that four tracks from The Who have been used as the theme tunes since the middle of series 1.   The original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation used Who Are You;  CSI: Miami used Won't Get Fooled Again;  CSI:NY - Baba O'Riley; CSI: Cyber - I Can See For Miles; and CSI: Vegas - Who Are You