Hello, today in my PO Box I found these.. showing them first; some details and some thoughts follow......

The Royal mail says " a system that will revolutionize the way we charge for letters and packets" .. in plain English..... translated that means ....we have found a way to charge you more for your postage and sucker stamp collectors into buying more useless small piece of paper that we call stamps....................

well I for one was suckered in as I have them right .... and no doubt I will get a few used copies before too long

But seriously what do you think of these stickers.. I am not going to call them stamps because they are not stamps.. as I think of stamps. They are kids stickers.

Look at the top two stamps.. the 12p and 14p. These are new Machins. They have some style and presence and have been accepted over the years.. many years I might add, as being collectable. A design of merit, simplicity, balance and just plain old class.

Look at the next two "definitives" How ugly is the font on the 1st and 2nd denonimation values.... . Well to me it is ugly..... It detracts from the Queens head and it is poorly positioned from a design perspective as far as I am concerned.

Then, to really rub salt into the bad design wound, look at the two "Large" denomination stamps. Is this the worst design you have seen in a long time. I am thinking back on recent GB issues and while most are so bad it doesn't bare thinking about, these just go a step further and prove to me the Royal Mail has really lost the plot. These are not stamps. They are labels and poorly designed sticky labels at that.

And as for the the Royal mail publicity.. " a landmark decision means the price of postage will now be based not just on weight, but on size as well" like are they serious in thinking I am going to believe this marketing rubbish.. " a landmark decision" .. who wrote this verbage.. did I mean garbage.. they have to be so up themselves.. like really....... hey.. maybe size does matter after all

So what do I really think You tell me.. I would offer to give some of these away but who in their right mind would want them

What countries do you collect that have a sensible stamp issuing policy . What countries issue stamps that have a presence as stamps What countries issue stamps for use and not to raise revenue from the poor ( I mean as in financially broke) philatelist.

well no one can enter a competition on these three questions can the ha ha ha ha ..........

Yes, it is time to only collect stamps from the days when stamps were stamps Back to my GB George V.. now they were, and still are..STAMPS hey maybe I will show you some soon...

Write me your thoughts.. happy to be challenged if I get any stimulating thoughts I'll send you some GB GV.. Downey Heads.. email me cddstamps@gmail.com

Have a great weekend.. enjoy your stamps...............Michael