NEWPORT AND GWENT PHILATELIC SOCIETY Newsletter 12 (November 1994)

Meetings

A last minute change meant that Neil Jones entertained members to extracts from his New Zealand collection on 28 September, while the Newport postal history evening was on 26 October. Apologies to all but I think that all members enjoyed both evenings. The rest of the season is as in your programmes. We have already been hosts to our friends from Cardiff: Diane Cannard with Finland red cross postcards, Shirley Baker with Las Malvinas and David Livingstone, Bill Hicks with some early Leominster postal history and Roger Williams with some philatelic souvenirs (an entertaining stories) from his visits abroad.

Federation Matters

The Federation AGM, once again held at Bridgend, provided an entertaining day for the four Newport members who attended. the morning was taken up by displays from up to two members from each society. For Newport, your secretary displayed Slovakia and Roy Bentley showed Libya.

The proposed list of members interests is now being revived. It will consist of a list of collecting areas for each club. The list will be completely anonymous. It will help members decide what material would be suitable for the exchange box, the autumn day and the Convention private treaty sale. Barry has offered to host the 1995 autumn day, which will be on 30 September. Make a note for your diary. Arrangements are already in hand for the 1995 Convention, to be held at Port Talbot from 10 am to 4pm on 6 May. Other details as for 1994.

The election of officers for 1994/5 resulted in Shirley Baker of Cardiff being the new chairman. Ivan Morgan is the vice-chairman. Other officers remain as last year but with the vice-president, treasurer and youth officer posts lying vacant. There was considerable heated debate about the proposed rule change and Newport's counter-proposal. In the end the West one and the rules now state that there is a permanent venue. We did our best to keep the spirit of the Federation in the rules but were out-voted. It became clear during the meeting that no-one had an up to date set of rules. This made voting on rule change somewhat difficult. I will circulate a full set as soon as I can get one. Members may wish to consider motions earlier than usual for next year's AGM.

Library

The following is a complete list of the library books, available on loan from Gwen (just phone : 856706 before meetings:

1. Stanley Gibbons Book of Stamps

2. SG Stamps of the World A-j & K-Z 1992/3

3. SG British Commonwealth 1989

4. Postal History of Swansea

5. SG Part 2 - Europe 1969

6. SG Part 3 - America, Asia & Africa 1967

7. SG Elizabethan - Commonwealth QE II 1981

8. Robson Lowe - North America (Canada)

10. Billigs Philatelic Handbook - GB & Europe - parts 1 & 2

11. Billigs Philatelic Handbook - Australia - parts 1, 2 & 3

12. SG GB Concise 1988

13. Michel - Germany 1985

14. Guide to USA 1988

15. Russian catalogue 1980

16. Themescene - parts 1 - 4

17. Faroe Islands 1975-88

18. Collect Post Office Cards 1981

19. Collect Benham Covers 1993

20. Watermark detector (Morley-Bright)

21. Uvitec lamp - for detecting phosphors etc

Newport is a member of the Association of British Philatelic Societies (APBS). The newsletter is always available at meetings and a spare is kept by the librarian.

Newport 50th

As you may know Newport (Mon) Philatelic society first met on 16 October 1947 at 221 Caerleon Road. That makes 1997 the start of our golden anniversary. We hope to organise a stamp fair (if not a Convention) and produce booklet to go with it. Nothing as comprehensive as the Swansea book but a souvenir of the 50 years showing the history of the club, a brief introduction to Newport and Gwent postal history and some views of old Newport (postcards). I will try to put this together from anecdotes from members and material from collections from the early days to the present. I also need information already published on the postal history of the area. The postal history workshop was a start. I now need more help.

Stamp fairs

Once again Cardiff organised a Saturday trip to Autumn Stampex. Roy Bentley and I went on the Sunday as there was a clash on Saturday with the first annual fair of the South Wales Postcard Club. Another clash of dates is promised on 3 December, when the usual Symes fair is in Cardiff on the same day of the Anne Scott fair in Bristol.

Stamp news

An update on Post Office vandalism: there is currently an experiment in St Albans, in which collectors can get philatelic mail delivered in a sealed polythene cover, thus protecting it from the weather and the postman. Let's hope that it is extended to Newport.

Quote ... unquote

"There is only physics, all the rest is stamp collecting." - Lord Rutherford

"Bloody Bognor. That's where we landed up. She'd booked this boring hotel in Bognor regis. It wa Sunday, everybody was dead or closed. I ended up going to a stamp fair." - Hunter Davies

"Lord Howe of Aberavon .... was born in the grimy steel town of Port Talbot." - The Times

John Perry

Hon Secretary