Hi all, joined up yesterday and have been site hopping through the forums etc. Feel quite at home already.
Have been collecting/accumulating stamps for some 60 years now, main interests being GB and Canada, though nothing has ever been discarded. With great hindsight regret sold my GB and commonwealth collection in the 1960's to pay for driving lessons, got 90 UK pounds at the time. Have over the past few years managed to purchase most of the items except for the Commonwealth sets but slowly working on them.
Prefer the older pre 1960 stamps as they were (to me)works of art unlike the Photoshop type images on today's issues. But each to their own.
I have thousands of Machins on paper that came from a charity, so have lots of sorting to do!
As a quick question where in North America can I buy Blotting paper, Demy or half Demy size but at a cost comparative to that in the UK. It's what I always used when soaking off stamps.
Came to Canada 11 years ago from UK and gradually getting used to the rather chilly winters.
Sorry for the ramble.
Vic.
Glad to hear you feel at home. We're delighted to have you join us.
Re drying pages - there is a wonderful product called "desert magic" drying book. They are super handy for drying soaked stamps. Most large stamp supplies companies carry them.
Happy stampin!
Theresa in Florida
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"Just one more small collection, hun, really! LoL "
Welcome, Sheepshanks. Sounds like you're another youngster like me! My wife and I are "new" Canadians, too, and well know about the "rather chilly winters". Emigrated from New Mexico via Missouri in 1969. Lived for a couple of years in Ottawa, then moved to Vancouver for a couple of years, then to Prince George in the geographic centre of BC for 28 years, now back in Vancouver for the duration.
I don't collect GB as such, but my first exhibit, mounted at VANPEX 2006, was eight 16-sheet frames about Britain's wartime economy. Last year I mounted another eight-frame exhibit about the Battle of the Atlantic, which necessarily includes a good deal of British postal history. I'm not British (one of my great grandfathers fought in the American Revolution) but as a result of my philatelic interests, I feel kinda sorta British.
They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin 10 Aug 2014 10:55:50pm
re: New member in Manitoba
Welcome, Vic. Enjoy Stamporama. Glad to have you with us.
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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. -Edmund Burke"
ThePhilatelist Wish I was Engraved! 11 Aug 2014 12:27:49am
re: New member in Manitoba
Welcome aboard, sheepshanks!
I might get a few disapproving glares, but I often buy hardware-grade drying cloths. My local dollar-store sells a brand I like, two sheets (slightly larger than a letter-sized page) for a buck. They absorb water very nicely, and are perforated for aeration as well. I confess I don't know the material, but so far it has worked just fine!
If you are from the UK and with a user name like that you must like mutton recipes. I love any kind of lamb dish from roast leg of New Zealand lamb to shepherd's pie, and everything in between, including Irish Mulligan stew.
Theresa is right on with the Desert Magic, drying books. There is however an alternative that also uses blotter paper. It can be had at Amazon, and that is where I bought mine. They are called photo drying books and come in several sizes to accommodate different size photo enlargements. So you can get up to 19" x 24" size fairly cheaply. I'm sure that a large town with a photo supply store would carry them. If you can find them, they are about a third of the cost of Desert Magic.
Welcome to our clubhouse, play and feel at home here anytime.
I sorted a bunch of those a few months ago, and found a missing color error. I think it was the 1'6p printed in a dark and light blue. The Queen's portrait was just a tiny bit different, but the numerals of value were printed with only the light blue, and they were white!! the color of light blue was completely missing. Scott's lists it with a value of $100.00 mint, and blank for used. On eBay one sold for $265+. So keep an eye out for all the machins printed in two ink colors.
Sheepshanks,
Welcome aboard the good ship SOR. It appears that you are the very first person to join SOR from Manitoba, so that would make you a unique Manitoban. Congratulations on both events.
Mike
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"It's been three years now, since I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven't met yet..."
Thanks everyone for the greetings. Yes Ken, love lamb (rather than mutton) but here we can only buy New Zealand frozen at exorbitant prices but better than none at all.
Not sure about the drying book, doesn't seem to have a lot of space. 50 sheets of 18 x 23 inches blotting paper in UK 11.85 pounds ($21), 5 sheets Cosmos 24 x 38 $19.95 on Amazon.ca. heck of a difference.
Yes, it does appear that I have put both feet in my mouth, once again. When I checked the roster yesterday, no members showed as being from Manitoba, but today it seems there are half a dozen, dating back to 2006.
Sorry Vic, I didn't mean to get your hopes up to'o high. You are still unique to us, since you were the only member, from Manitoba, posting on the DB yesterday.
Mike
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"It's been three years now, since I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven't met yet..."