IN MY VIEW - Otto Hornung

The London Magnet.

... This year Stampex started on Wednesday February 23 and Philatex a day later. That means that philatelists could easily combine the two, especially those from abroad. Where else can you get two important first days one after the other? Two major exhibitions in London, that is the magnet ...

Also: Ken Lake and Alexander Kroo tributes.

(Read the entire column in the April 2005 Philatelic Exporter.)

GB COLUMN by James Skinner

Start slowly, finish strongly.

Unappealing appetisers: since time immemorial (or perhaps I should say 1924 – the date of Britain's first commemoratives!) there have always been complaints about individual stamp designs, but I cannot recall such universal disapproval for a programme as that engendered by the issues from Royal Mail in the first three months of this year. I have to concur that the overall standard of design has been below par and that there is little to find in these stamps to set the pulses racing ...

World Heritage Sites: The 47p values (pictured) are both particularly poorly executed, to my mind. The British value features Blenheim Palace, which appears as a tiny range of buildings, barely visible in the background espied across a murky lake which is overrun by wooden boardwalks.
Considering that John Vanbrugh’s Blenheim is widely considered as one of the gems of Baroque architecture, no aspect of which is discernible on this stamp, it has been shabbily treated, indeed.
The Australian design is only marginally better. It shows a close up of what I assume to be gum or eucalyptus trees, and without the caption, could have been a grove anywhere on the continent. This is barely representative of the Blue Mountains, a region of outstanding natural beauty ...

(Read the entire column in the April 2005 Philatelic Exporter.)

EUROPE by Albert Boerma

Austria's free magazine.

UNBELIEVABLE but true: the two magazines published by the Austrian collectors' federation (VOePhV) will merge and will be distributed free to members.
The seemingly impossible has been made possible thanks to a deal with the Austrian Post which is getting eight pages of its own in the centre of Die Briefmarke ...

Also: Take care on eBay; FIP not ready for 'one frames'; Belgian PM off the hook; Pierre Séguys dies at 83.

(Read the entire column in the April 2005 Philatelic Exporter.)

AUSTRALASIA by Glen Stephens

1901-1912 catalogue.

I HAVE said this before, nevertheless it is still true: Australia has the best and most detailed stamp catalogues of this country on Earth, in my view.
The Australian Commonwealth Specialists' Catalogue (ACSC) edited by Dr Geoff Kellow leads the world ...

(Read the entire column in the April 2005 Philatelic Exporter.)

POSTCARD WORLD by Liz McKernan

London stamp double header.

BECAUSE of adverse weather conditions I was unable to visit either Stampex or Philatex on their respective first days. However, I did get to London on the Friday and managed to visit both events comfortably.
I understand that in the past there have been suggestions for a shuttle bus between the two venues. My journey from the Royal Horticultural Hall in Victoria to the British Design Centre in Islington using the Underground took 45 minutes. A bus would probably have taken longer?
Although my rivals in the postcard world had attended both fairs on their opening days, I still managed to buy some useful items for my stock from the two regular Scandinavian dealers Goran Fredrikson from Sweden and Fyns Frimaerke Service of Denmark ...

Also: Yeovil moves; Priest, photographer, and postcard publisher; What is the real value of a postcard?; Retirements - Drene Brennan and Phyll Wood; Ken Lake.

(Read the entire column in the April 2005 Philatelic Exporter.)

NEW BOOKS by David Rennie

All reviewed in the April 2005 Philatelic Exporter.

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