Newsletter 35 – January 2004

[as they had to] they stuck to the stamp and were easily removed. It is presumed that they used low value stamps.

[Information from Conquest of Diseases by David Masters, Published 1923]

Funfest 2004

The following report has been received from Rob Hunt

The City of Sails Youth Stamp Club participated in Funfest 2004 at Alexandra Park in Auckland during the January school holidays. It was 4 days of free fun and activities organised by the Child Development Foundation and sponsored by the Lion Foundation, Warehouse Stationery, the Trillian Trust and the Pelorus Trust.

They set up two Gazebos in which they displayed exhibits from their members, some stamps of special interest such as a Penny Black, and Lord of the Rings Posters from New Zealand Post.

Children aged 9-16 could participate in a Quiz based on the stamp displays. All 480 entrants received a Stamp Hunters Club packet of 50 stamps as a prize. Thirty of those who participated in the Quiz also won New Zealand First Day Cover packs that were donated by New Zealand Post.

Younger children visiting the stand were given small packets of stamps and catalogues made available through donations from Jenny Banfield, NuStamps, Len Jury Ltd and Philatelic Distributors Ltd. All visitors received a copy of Fun Philately and information about the City of Sails Youth Stamp Club and the Stamp Hunters Club and new stamp issue brochures and posters were also given away on behalf of New Zealand Post.

Another highlight on the stand was the big stamp covered Kiwi. Thousands of people, youngsters, teenagers, parents and grandparents stopped and stuck a 40c kiwi stamp on the kiwi. It did not matter if you were interested in stamps or not, it was just a fun thing to do, fitting in with the overall theme of FunFest.

The City of Sails Stamp Club anticipates a large turnout of new members at its February meeting.

Fun at the Club

Struggling for some ideas for next years stamp club programme? Here’s a few thoughts to get you going.

Alphabet evening
Members bring along a few pages starting with chosen letters of the alphabet. E.g. ABC or WPS. Prizes for most interesting and to anyone who can incorporate all 3 letters into a connected subject.

Treasure hunt
Chose 10 – 15 subjects, either simple such as: a spaceman; red rose; a mountain other than a NZ one; native in costume; electrical devise; stamp on a stamp; post box; multicoloured bird; farming; team sport; etc.

Perhaps make it more complicated, choose philatelic terms: perf 14; NZ & star watermark; colour shift; perfin; se-tenant strip; a meter; plate block; printing error; overprint; bi-lingual stamp.

Or go wacky: smallest stamp; largest; daft design; inappropriate design; most liked stamp; most disliked stamp; silly face; crazy hat; prehistoric; person on a stamp you most resemble Even try emotions: love; funny; like; dislike; thrilled; weird; ugly; pretty; tasteful, tasteless. Score a point each for correct choices, extra point for every country represented. This should sort out a winner or three. Give them all prizes.

Theme/ subject/country nights
This is where members are encouraged to bring a few pages or items from their collections / accumulations on a particular subject, theme or country. Pages do not have to be written up, individual items such as covers can be displayed, sets put into Hagner sheets. Members can say a few words on their choices or just put them up for display. No competition, no prizes. Here’s some ideas: military; remember when; most travelled cover; my favourite foreign country; advertising envelopes; health and safety; my favourite set of stamps; best New Zealand issue; out of my shoebox; from the back of a stock book; South America; postal stationery; Cinderella’s; King George V, food; my best buy; collecting my way. At these type of meetings, members have their memory jogged, so slot in an evening called What I meant to bring; or What I forgot to bring.

Quiz night
These are fun, should be kept simple, if possible educational. Best if answered in teams, then everyone feels they can take part and contribute. Mix novice members with the more knowledgeable. Put some work into visual questions, with multi choice answers. E.g. picture a watermark, a postmark or a stamp and give a choice of answers. One of the team members should know the answer, or at least it creates a discussion. There are a number of prepared quizzes and other programme ideas in the NZ Philatelic Federation Resource Kit held by your Society Secretary.

Trading night
Fit in a Bourse, Buy, Sell Trade evenings once or twice a year. Hold a stamp auction in conjunction with a silent display night. Perhaps hold small auctionettes of about 20 lots, in association with Theme evenings.

Worshop
Everyone loves to learn more about their hobby. Fit in workshops on basic subjects for new members: catalogues and philatelic publications (introduce the club library to new users); philatelic terms; preparing a 4 page club exhibit; cleaning stamps and covers; understanding papers and watermarks.

Round table discussions
If you can, vary the format of your meetings away from the rows of chairs and a head table. Assuming you have enough tables, place them in a rectangle or square. Have members sit around them, thus all are equal, no empty front row, no head table, no hecklers from the back row.

This format lends itself to general discussion evenings such as: what and why I collect, tales like My best find; what I always wanted to know but never knew when to ask; tips and help using the internet; etc. The meeting facilitator should ensure everyone gets an opportunity to have a say, ask or answer a question.

The Philatelic Youth Council has a number of educational philatelic video’s that they are willing to loan out to societies. Most are 20-30 minutes long. Some have some good advice on collecting and could be followed by a discussion session. Also available are some full-length movies based on stamp themes. Write to PYC, P 0 Box 2979, Auckland for a list.

Rob Hunt

New Zealand Post Programme 2004

New Zealand Post has indicated the following proposed stamp issuing programme for 2004.[Subject to change]

Hong Kong Stamp Exhibition [Rugby issue] – Miniature Sheet – Late January
Year of the Monkey Zoo Animals 28 January
Rugby Sevens Including a joint issue with Hong Kong – 28 February
150 Years of Parliament – 3 March
Historic Farm Equipment – 5 April
World of Wearable Art – 5 May
Garden Flowers [Second Issue]- June 2
Annual Scenic [Lord of the Rings Locations] – 7 July
Health – A Day at the Beach – 4 August
Sport and Leisure – 1 September
Christmas – 6 October
Ross Dependency 2004 – 3 November

Next newsletter [36 – Apr 2004]

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