Away For A While

You may think it is strange that I live on the south coast of Spain and I am going on holiday for a while, for about a month actually. It is not that I need a holiday but my wife does, she can not stand the heat of mid summer for to long.

July and August are the hottest months here on the Costa Blanca, they are also the main months when we get invaded by swarms of holiday makers, so we thought why not take a trip to somewhere its a lot cooler and leave it to others to swelt in the heat and bake themselves to a crisp.

I will be back in about four to six weeks or so, until then if you order stamps from this blog or from my website I will not be able to complete the transaction until I return. By the way thanks to the people who ordered the pig booklets. I hope you are pleased with the deal.

Best wishes,

Roy

Thomas G. Current, Founder of the Great Britain Collectors Club, 1923-2013

I'd like to depart from our regular topic to say a few words in memory of Tom Current, who passed away on May 27. Tom was a leader and doer who contributed much to philately in general and GB philately in the US in particular. He was also a friend and mentor to me.

Tom was an avowed Anglophile who started collecting British stamps in 1970. He formed a GB study unit in his local stamp club, the Oregon Stamp Society, which facilitated the members learning about and acquiring GB stamps and postal history.

He noticed there was no organization in North America that was dedicated to GB philately. "Scandinavians were all over the place," he said, "but nothing for the Mother Country?" He started what was then called the Great Britain Correspondence Club because, in addition to writing a newsletter and creating publications, he corresponded eagerly with collectors around the world.

Because there was no published guide to GB stamps that was suitable for the beginning or intermediate collector, he rounded up a team of authors and produced the GBCC Handbook of British Philately for the Intermediate Collector. This 700-page work is still available to members of the GBCC. He authored or published several other publications as well.

Tom accomplished much in his life, but he was never pushy or aggressive. He always had a smile, a good word, and a self-effacing comment or two. When he wanted to get something done, however, he simply kept at it until it was complete.

I joined the GBCC soon after its formation and joined Tom's legion of correspondents and friends. I was, even then, specializing in Machins, and since Tom preferred pre-QEII philately, he asked me to write a regular column for the GBCC. We each independently decided to call it "Machin Mania;" each of us wrote a letter suggesting that title, and the two crossed in the mail.

The experience and encouragement he gave me led directly to my time as a columnist for Linn's Stamp News. When Linn's published a request for a GB columnist in 1992, I figuratively grabbed my good friend, David Alderfer (whom I had met through the GBCC), and applied for the job. As a team, we wrote a monthly column for 10 years. I retired from that effort, but David still contributes. I also wrote briefly for Scott Stamp Monthly until that publication was discontinued.

My association with Linn's and my continued efforts for GBCC in turn provided me with many wonderful experiences, opportunities and friendships. I owe Tom a debt that I was never able to repay. Certainly, though, he would not have thought about repayment for one second. A smile and a friendly wave would have been enough for him.

--Larry

Old Spot Pig Booklets

This has now been updated to show the corrected rates at the end of the post

This offer is just for readers of this blog

 I have just acquired a few copies of 

SG FB23 & 23B (50p) GLOUCESTER OLD SPOT PIG DECIMAL FOLDED MACHINE BOOKLETS

Incorrect rates and corrected rates

If you would like one of each, ( Incorrect rates and corrected rates) with a Gibbons catalogue value in the region of £21.50 the pair. Please email me, at GBMACHINS@LINEONE.NET .

The first few people who request these (while stock lasts) will be sent a reply email with my Paypal details in order to complete the transaction.  

Perforations on this type of booklet are always trimmed to a certain degree, these panes are what I will describe as average and slightly less than average hence the selling price of only £4.95 the pair / postage & packing worldwide is FREE . 

A CHEAP AND CHEERFUL METHOD OF ADDING THESE SORT AFTER BOOKLETS TO YOUR COLLECTION. 

Good Luck

I was asked to define the meaning of incorrect and corrected rates so here is the image of both. The booklet was originaly issued with the wrong rates on the inside cover. 

150 gr 30p and 200gr 37p. (top).

This was later corrected and re released with the corrected rates of 

150gr 29p and  200gr 36p (bottom)