Post by sogier on Jan 3, 2024 9:30:38 GMT
Well, what to say? My name is Stephen, or you can use Steve (I really don't mind either way) and I've been a keen stamp collector for about 60 years. (Hard to believe I still draw breath, right? ...but somewhat miraculously I still somehow continue to do so.)
I live in a largeish country town/small city in South Australia. For those of you who are geographically challenged, that's a state in the south of Australia. If you're severely geographically challenged, Australia is somewhere east of Wyoming and west of Idaho. Living in a rural area means that the lovely people at my local post office don't understand how to get in new issues for philatelists, so that can be a bit frustrating. There are, however, a couple of wonderful ladies who do their best to fulfill my philatelic needs, so I mustn't complain. I do tend to place orders with the philatelic bureau in Melbourne.
I collect stamps, to be honest not just stamps, but primarily stamps. Not sure whether that's a statement or a confession. So I guess your next question would be, 'What stamps do you collect?' The easy answer would be everything, but while more or less true, it's not entirely accurate.
I prefer to collect stamps in mint condition because I'm a bit OCD (those who know me would say VERY OCD, but don't listen to them) and so if I collect used stamps I want them to be nice, neat circular date stamps with all the stamps in a set having the postmark in the same corner. I'm not into wavy lines, advertising, blotches, blobs, tar brush, Sharpie, pen or obliterations so complete that you can barely make out what is on the stamp. So you see, for me, mint is definitely the way to go.
There are several 'countries' that I collect: Aland (up to 2000); Andorra [French and Spanish] (up to (2000); Australia (but not necessarily everything); Australian Territories (Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island) (but not necessarily everything); Faroe Islands (up to 2000); Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man (up to about 1990); Great Britain (but not necessarily everything); British East Africa/KUT/East Africa; Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika/Tanzania (up to about 1990); South Africa and Homelands (Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, Venda); South West Africa; Papua New Guinea, and Zanzibar (mint and used). For most of these places (especially those in the Commonwealth) my collection starts from the reign of Queen Elisabeth II, but I find it hard to say no to earlier material that I like. I also collect various stamps from basically any other country, if they take my fancy.
And then there are the thematics (or topicals if you insist)... Well, the main one is Mushrooms and Fungi (including Lichens), but there are also: Flora and Fauna; Rocks, Minerals and Gemstones; Prehistoric Animals and Fossils; Musical Instruments; Joint Issues; Art; Handicrafts, Textiles and Ceramics; Traditional Costumes; Maps; Coins and Banknotes on stamps, and stamps issued on 13 March (we share a birthday - includes FDCs as they are sort of a birth certificate, yes, I know I'm weird).
What else do you want to know? My favourite colour is red. My star sign is Pisces and I was born in the year of the Goat/Sheep/Ram. I have worked in about 10 different countries on 4 continents, but nowhere in the Americas. I vacillate between being a monarchist and a republican, which probably proves that I'm indecisive (well my collecting habits told you that!). Politically, I tend to lean to the left (some might say far left, but I would disagree, though the word socialist doesn't send me into paroxysms of despair and loathing). I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm not that keen on most meat. I don't have a great preference for pronouns, so you can use whatever makes you feel most comfortable. Having said that I mostly use I and me, though sometimes us and we. My favourite sports are diving, ice skating and gymnastics, but I choose not to participate in these myself as I usually end up inadvertently injuring someone when I do. Too much sharing? Well, you probably stopped reading after the first paragraph, so you'll never know. If you did get this far, Well done! Now you also know that I also talk too much.
I live in a largeish country town/small city in South Australia. For those of you who are geographically challenged, that's a state in the south of Australia. If you're severely geographically challenged, Australia is somewhere east of Wyoming and west of Idaho. Living in a rural area means that the lovely people at my local post office don't understand how to get in new issues for philatelists, so that can be a bit frustrating. There are, however, a couple of wonderful ladies who do their best to fulfill my philatelic needs, so I mustn't complain. I do tend to place orders with the philatelic bureau in Melbourne.
I collect stamps, to be honest not just stamps, but primarily stamps. Not sure whether that's a statement or a confession. So I guess your next question would be, 'What stamps do you collect?' The easy answer would be everything, but while more or less true, it's not entirely accurate.
I prefer to collect stamps in mint condition because I'm a bit OCD (those who know me would say VERY OCD, but don't listen to them) and so if I collect used stamps I want them to be nice, neat circular date stamps with all the stamps in a set having the postmark in the same corner. I'm not into wavy lines, advertising, blotches, blobs, tar brush, Sharpie, pen or obliterations so complete that you can barely make out what is on the stamp. So you see, for me, mint is definitely the way to go.
There are several 'countries' that I collect: Aland (up to 2000); Andorra [French and Spanish] (up to (2000); Australia (but not necessarily everything); Australian Territories (Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island) (but not necessarily everything); Faroe Islands (up to 2000); Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man (up to about 1990); Great Britain (but not necessarily everything); British East Africa/KUT/East Africa; Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika/Tanzania (up to about 1990); South Africa and Homelands (Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, Venda); South West Africa; Papua New Guinea, and Zanzibar (mint and used). For most of these places (especially those in the Commonwealth) my collection starts from the reign of Queen Elisabeth II, but I find it hard to say no to earlier material that I like. I also collect various stamps from basically any other country, if they take my fancy.
And then there are the thematics (or topicals if you insist)... Well, the main one is Mushrooms and Fungi (including Lichens), but there are also: Flora and Fauna; Rocks, Minerals and Gemstones; Prehistoric Animals and Fossils; Musical Instruments; Joint Issues; Art; Handicrafts, Textiles and Ceramics; Traditional Costumes; Maps; Coins and Banknotes on stamps, and stamps issued on 13 March (we share a birthday - includes FDCs as they are sort of a birth certificate, yes, I know I'm weird).
What else do you want to know? My favourite colour is red. My star sign is Pisces and I was born in the year of the Goat/Sheep/Ram. I have worked in about 10 different countries on 4 continents, but nowhere in the Americas. I vacillate between being a monarchist and a republican, which probably proves that I'm indecisive (well my collecting habits told you that!). Politically, I tend to lean to the left (some might say far left, but I would disagree, though the word socialist doesn't send me into paroxysms of despair and loathing). I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm not that keen on most meat. I don't have a great preference for pronouns, so you can use whatever makes you feel most comfortable. Having said that I mostly use I and me, though sometimes us and we. My favourite sports are diving, ice skating and gymnastics, but I choose not to participate in these myself as I usually end up inadvertently injuring someone when I do. Too much sharing? Well, you probably stopped reading after the first paragraph, so you'll never know. If you did get this far, Well done! Now you also know that I also talk too much.