MAY 2008

The AGM is the manifestation of democracy at work. Those poor, unrecognised, unpaid, chaps who have laboured long into the dark nights to keep the Club on an even keel, can be thrown on the scrapheap by the whim of members who only turn up once a year. Fortunately, it was all a bad dream: none of this has happened!The existing committee members were all happy to be re-elected, and no-one else felt strongly that we shouldn't be, so it is possibly a case that the more things don't change, the more different they become.
One thing which has remained the same is the subscription, which stays at £10 for the year, a very modest £1 per meeting. The AGM approved the accounts for the last year.
The Members decided that to compete for the Clubs three trophies each year was an album too far, and so we will now compete for one trophy at a time, with next year's competition being for the John Winter Thematic Trophy.
The AGM over, Mr Hyde showed once again what Christies and Sotheby's have been missing. The success of the Club Auction will keep the Treasurer happy for a while!

APRIL 2008

The April Meeting saw the competition for the Club's three trophies; the Leonard Rimmer Trophy is awarded to the best display of stamps or philatelic material in an Open category. The sole exclusion is that entries must not form a Thematic collection. This year, the Trophy was won by Mr Stuttard with an exhibition of Postcards.
The John Winter Trophy is awarded to the best display of stamps or philatelic material forming a Thematic collection. This year, the Trophy was won by the Ven. C Bedford, with a display of the ornithological paintings and drawings of North American birds, by Audubon.
The third trophy is the Norman Barlow Cup, awarded for the best display of postage stamps from Great Britain, and was won this year by Mr Leather with an exhibition of twopence blue imperf line engraved stamps.

MARCH 2008

"It was the second-best thing I've ever done!" Mr Alan Rigby, our guest Speaker for the evening started his presentation with a tease. Our members were a little relieved to find out that Alan's achievement consisted of having driven the Flying Scotsman; engine 4472, which currently holds a number of records for steam locomotives, including that for the longest non-stop journey - across several hundred miles of Australia.
Strictly speaking, it was the train itself, not the engine, which formed the Flying Scotsman, but everyone now thinks only of the engine. Built originally by Sir Nigel Gresley for the North British Railway, it was taken over by the LNER at the railway grouping in 1922. 4472 entered private ownership in 1963, since when it has bankrupted at least two of its owners, before ending up safely in the Railway Museum at York.
Members were treated to an extensive deisplay of covers and related philatelic material, including autographs of all the private owners, with the exception of Pete Waterman, who is famous for not autographing anything! Mr Rigby then produced a fascinating array of photos, para-philatelica and mementos from the occasion when his prizewinning collection of St Kitts & Nevis stamps and postal history was awarded a Large Vermeil Medal at the international Philatex Exhibition in Washington.

FEBRUARY 2008

Our meeting this evening was one of those where we welcome a visiting Speaker. Mr Peter Rouke took us on a tour of Denmark - the main peninsula and some of the more than 400 off-islands - an area not as well known as, perhaps, it deserves.
Danish postal history started with the Thurn und Taxis postal service, which provided much of the letter carrying throughout the north of Europe for many generations. The earliest piece on display was a royal letter, referring to military movements, and dating from the 1750s. The Napoleonic period, and the period of French hegemony, saw many changes in Danish society, not least the displacement of beer-drinking by wine-drinking, and the increase of correspondence between Denmark and, surprise surprise, the Bordeaux region of France! Specifically Danish postal services started after the Congress of Vienna had redrawn many of Europe's boundaries, but the use of stamps started somewhat later, in 1851. These early, classic, stamps are a specialist's delight, with a plethora of paper, ink, watermark and perforation varieties. Royal portraits did not begin until 1904, and the 'wavy line' design began the following year. Still in issue, it is one of the world's longest lived designs. The German occupation during World War II saw meetings of Philatelic Societies used as covers (!) for clandestine activity. The exhibition of a genuine Danish mailbag, and a lady postman's uniform jacket rounded off the evening.

JANUARY 2008

As befitted the first meeting after New Year, the theme for members' displays this evening was 'Wine, Women or Song.' Notice the 'OR!'
The first presentation, from Mr Marten, had generously replaced the OR with AND, and we had a group of Austrian ladies, followed by some South African Wine, and the stirring choruses of the Twelve Days of Christmas from Great Britain. Mr Hyde introduced us to British Composers, the Canadian national anthem, recording artistes from the Isle of Man, cabaret chanteuses from La Belle France, and the odd Mozart opera. Mr Moss offered us a fashion show of Spanish ladies, and Mr Stuttard introduced a group of Spanish Dancers. Unfortunately the flamenco was confined to postcards only! The perils of drinking and driving were highlighted by Mr Kipps, and the evening's displays were rounded off in Olympian style by Mr Hoey's look at Greek goddesses, before transporting us to the Brazils for Carnival in Rio.
After which there wasn't much left to do but brew the tea.

DECEMBER 2007

This evening our members welcomed a delegation from Preston Phil. No, not an orchestra, but Preston Philatelic Society, who were visiting Southport to partake in an inter-club Quiz. Our member Mr Ralph Stuttard, safely ensconced behind his Chinese Walls, had prepared a very challenging series of questions, in no fewer than twelve rounds, to tax the brains of the two three-man teams. The visitors were represented by Messrs Dyer, Gatewood and Thompson, while the Southport team comprised Messrs Patterson, Moss and Thompson. The non-playing members of both Clubs were assured that the two Messrs Thompson were, in fact, separate and unrelated competitors!
There was something of the atmosphere of 'A Question of Sport' as teams battled with 'home' or 'away' questions, 'What happened next?' and 'Who am I describing?' but a profound knowledge of history - the postal variety - and geography - the postal variety - was essential for success. And in the end it was Our Team which emerged with the honours, though the final score of 49-40 concealed the fact that Their Team was in the lead for the first eight rounds! Anyhow, well done to both.

NOVEMBER 2007

Members were looking to entertain themselves with the theme for this meeting: Entertainment. The evening was opened by the Secretary, who had nothing to display but the first instalment of the Club History which has now been put up on the Club Website. As you are currently reading the Club Website, you only need to click HERE to see what was said!
Moving on to real philately, no fewer than nine members of the Club displayed items from their collections. We were treated to exhibitions of King Tut, the film Jungle Book, Miss World, folk art, Disney (of course!) and Snowy, the savage hound who accompanied Tintin on his detectorial quests. We learned about Mr Reginald Patterson, who managed to steal around 13,000 books from Hove library before being caught - did no one notice?
Our final treat was an exhibition of contracts between Columbia Pictures and George Formby for a range of films including South American George and Bell Bottom George - the philatelic connection, apart from it all being entertaining, was the 6d stamps used as receipts for the duty paid.

OCTOBER 2007
The guest speaker for this month's meeting was given a special welcome by President and Members, as he had been firstly Secretary, then Treasurer, of the Club between 1957 and 1962. Mr Arthur Roberts gave his most excellent presentation on the Postal History of Southport, commencing with the establishment of a foot post from Ormskirk, to connect with the Liverpool to Preston mail coach. Much of the surviving postal history from the early period comes from the correspondences of the Hesketh family, and Mr Roberts displayed a range of this material. By the 1880s, the post office had moved from what is now the Scarisbrick Hotel, to the Cambridge Hall - a Victorian wall mail box, still in use, being evidence of this and the 40 or so other wall and pillar boxes which were installed around the town by this period. Being a seaside resort, Southport featured greatly in the picture postcard boom of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods, but cards were still used for communication. A fascinating item from the time of Edward VII was written from Birkdale to Churchtown - postage 1/2d - by a lady who would have liked to visit her friend but could not afford the 2d return tram fare 'this week or next week, but possibly the week after.' Mr Roberts concluded by recounting the projected Blackpool to Southport aerial post, planned by Mr Graham White in 1910, and which would have been the UK's first air mail if the flight had not been called off due to bad weather.
The vote of thanks was proposed by the President and roundly echoed by all present.

SEPTEMBER 2007

The first meeting of the new season got off to an excellent start with a good attendance, which enabled the Treasurer to thank everyone for paying their subscriptions on time! 
A favourite theme for members' evenings comprises presentations based on one or two letters of the alphabet, which advance up and down the alphabet each year. This year, no fewer than nine members gave us presentations on the themes of "I" and "Q".
We were treated to some war-time correspondence from India, written by Mr Johnson's late father-in-law followed by a tour around Ireland and Italy. Mr Latto, Mr Kipps, Mr Patterson, Mr Parkin, Mr Hyde, Miss Taylor, Mr Moss and Mr Stuttard took us collectively to Queensland (and Tasmania!) Israel, Iraq (surely the ultimate in I and Q!) Iceland and Inverted Overprints, with, to add icing to our cake, a review of the Queen's Head, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria, Qatar, the Q'aiti State in Hadramaut, and especially for Scrabble players, Quatford Church.
Oh, yes, and to finish off with, we were treated to a display of an invisible postcard, the first we had never seen, of a creature which, we were reliably informed, masquerades as a Quagga.
The vote of thanks was proposed by our President, who had arrived from the other side of the world only an hour or so before the start of the meeting. Truly, stamp collecting is global!


JUNE 2007

COMPETITION NIGHT

The last meeting of our 2006-7 programme was held on Tuesday 5th June, and took the form of a Competition Evening. The Club possesses three fine trophies which have been donated by various members, over the years, for different classes of philatelic merit.

The Leonard Rimmer Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Club Open Competition, entries for which may feature any philatelic subject chosen by the competitor, with the single exception of 'Thematic' displays. 9 sheets are required. This year the Trophy was won by Mr C D Leather with an exhibition of 'The Stamps of India and Great Britain, of King George V and King George VI, overprinted for use in Bahrain.'

The John Winter Thematic Trophy is awarded to the winner whose exhibit best develops a Theme, according to a logical plan, and using the information supplied by any or all types of appropriate philatelic material. 12 sheets are required. This year's winner was Mr R Stuttard, who displayed an impressive collection of postcards featuring 'Churches of Southport.'

The Norman Barlow Cup is awarded to the winner of a display of postage stamps of Great Britain, excluding the independent issues of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, and Local issues. Either 9 or 12 sheets may be submitted. This Cup was not awarded this year.

Judging the entries is done on the basis of marks awarded for each of a number of individual points. For the Leonard Rimmer Trophy, Arrangement and Mounting, Condition of the Exhibit, Writing Up, and the display of Philatelic Knowledge are assessed; for the John Winter Thematic Trophy, the categories are Writing up, Development of Theme, and Condition of Stamps; and for the Norman Barlow Cup the categories judged are Arrangement and Mounting, Relative Condition of Stamps, Philatelic Knowledge, and Writing Up. Different degrees of importance are attached to each category, for each trophy.

The trophies are held by winning members for twelve months, and their names join the list of previous winners engraved on each trophy.

MAY 2007

The Annual General Meeting is one of those occasions when any or all of the Club Members can say exactly what they think about the way the Club is being run, but sometimes hold back in case they are elected to do the job next year! The outgoing committee can take a degree of pleasure in that they were re-elected en bloc, so to speak. Full details of the Club's officers can be found on the Contacts and Links page.

The other main business of the Meeting was to review and approve the Club's accounts for the year, and this was done. Because of a degree of uncertainty regarding the expected level of expenses, it was agreed by a considerable majority to increase the Annual Subscription from £8 to £10. This represents a cost per meeting of £1, and it was felt that this should not be a deterrent to existing or prospective members.

The AGM over, Members went into relaxed mode while Chairman Mike Hyde performed his annual magic as Hon Auctioneer, managing to dispose of unwanted material as though trained by "Bargain Hunt." As the proceeds of the Auction form an appreciable item on the balance sheet, Chairman Mike was enthusiastically encouraged by his potential victims, sorry, customers. A good time was had by all.

APRIL 2007

My Favourite Island is....well, it could be almost anywhere, and for almost any reason. Our members delved deep into the archives to inform and entertain on their own favourite bits of land.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland can be described as an island or two, and Mr Hyde reviewed the stamps of the past year - and with the current emphasis on sticky labels at post offices, this was the first time many members had seen most of the stamps! Moving partway across the Irish Sea, Mr Johnson offered us the Isle of Man, its fauna and flora, as they have appeared on the definitive sets of stamps. Mr Koller called forth the sympathies of all present at the devastation visited recently on the Solomon Islands, and showed numerous philatelic examples of indigenous eagles. Mr Parkin took us round the world to the Virgin Islands, whose patron saint is St Ursula who appears on many of the early stamps. We wondered, too, at the picturesquely named Sombrero Island, and Jost Van Dyck.
Mr Marten enthralled us with stories of life in paradise, aka the Seychelles, not minding the odd coup d'etat now and again, while Mr Kipps chose the worlds largest island, Australia, not because it is is favourite, but because his favourite themes appear on its stamps! Mr Stutthard familiarised us with a Royal Peculiar. Tabloids, look no further, it was Jersey. A topographical quiz entertained us until we realised that Bergerac's car did not feature greatly. Mr Thompson would have treated us to a presentation of stamps from that well known island, the Lake District, if they had ever issued any, but instead took us to that other famous island, the Gambia. Interpretation is everything!
Miss Taylor familiarised us so well with New Zealand, that it almost seemed like Old Zealand, and the Ven. Bedford, who had intended to show us the stamps of Easter Island contented himself and us with showing the Easter Stamps of the Cook Islands instead.
A fascinating tour round the philatelic and geographical world.

MARCH 2007

Fame existed before the internet, of course, and our members produced a series of short presentations on 'Famous for Five Minutes' though the meaning of five was interpreted quite widely.
Mr Parkin started us off with some fascinating items from the fringes of the Russian Empire, as it started to fall apart - stamps printed on the back of banknotes, or on German Military maps - from places such as Azerbaijan and North Ingerman Land, whose fame has spread...not very far. Mr Hyde reminded us that in the case of sportsmen and athletes fame was almost as fast moving as they themselves and Mr Koller claimed his own five minutes of fame as the only one of his family to collect stamps featuring Birds of Prey.
Miss Taylor offered us a curator's-eye view of art, featuring nationally famous painters from Rhodesia, Ulster, Cyprus, Russia and Albania, and Mr Stutthard responded with a selection of British stamps which, themselves, had become famous for errors of one sort or another. British stamps. Errors. Surely not?
Mr Latto investigated fame of a different sort, with early postal history from such little-known places as Ormiskirke, and Ormschurch. Somehow, Ormskirk will never seem the same. Mr Leather inverted the theme, with a review of the London Stock Exchange Forgeries of 1872, a case of Infamous for Five Minutes. Mr Moss treated us to some wonderful equines, and Mr Hoey rounded off the evening with a meditation on the nature of fame, featuring St Paul, Columbus, the White Rajah of Sarawak, and concluding with Chomsky the hero of linguistics, and a group of unpronounceable stars of Brazilian cinema.

FEBRUARY 2007

We were very privileged to welcome Graham Booth, and his Gold Medal winning collection of the Cayman Islands, to our February meeting. To set the scene for the philately, Graham gave us a verbal tour of the islands, noting that if the rise in sea levels continues at the current rate, the Cayman Islands will pass into history sometime around 2100AD, the current high point being no more than 50 feet above sea level. Returning to earlier days, when the Islands were a dependency of Jamaica, members were treated to accounts of the difficulties faced by islanders who were refused the establishment of a postal service until 1889, when Jamaican stamps were introduced. Much rare and spectacular material was shown, including postal history, from this early period which lasted until Caymanian stamps were introduced in 1901, halfpenny and penny only due to opposition from the Jamaica PO, and showing what was by then a posthumous portrait of Queen Victoria. Notwithstanding the opening of the Post Office, mail was still an unpredictable service, with all outgoing items sent to wherever the first available boat was going, for onward distribution.
Members were entertained by stories of Commissioner Hirst, the administrator of the Caymans who, on being refused permission to establish a police force, did so anyway, only to turn his policemen into auxiliary postmen when there were no constabulary duties to perform!
By the coming of commemorative stamps, sales of philatelic material reached a total of 70-80% of Government revenue due to foreign interest. The special War Stamps, issued to raise funds for the First World War, were expected to make £200, and in the event sold to the extent of £6,000.
Graham's collection includes large numbers of rare, very rare, probably unique, and certainly irreplaceable items including displays of Specimen stamps, Second World War mail, Censor marks, post war airmails, and issues of Queen Elizabeth II to the only visit made to the islands by Concorde.
The vote of thanks for a wonderful evening's philately was given by Colin Bedford.

JANUARY 2007

Our January Meeting featured displays, presentations and general entertainment from members, based on the theme of 'Red, White and Blue.'
Barry Moss opened proceedings with a selection of items including stamps sold in a cardboard packet from old cigarette machines, Readers' Digest promotional strips, window booklets, discounted Christmas stamps, and various pieces of ephemera from the Royal Mail's famous (or notorious!) Million Pound Booklet campaign.
Les Johnson followed a more strictly patriotic line, with material relating to the Royal British Legion,  Flanders Poppies, and the Paras - all red; followed by an account of the exploits of Major White VC, and a musical tribute from the US for the 'Father of the Blues.'
Brian Kipps presented a trio of Minis, red, white and blue, from the film 'The Italian Job' together with other motor related items featuring Ferraris (red, of course!) Stirling Moss, Nigel Mansell, and concluding with airmail stationery with its natty red and blue edging.
Chris Leather departed from his usual Penny Red Imperfs to offer the Penny Red stamps of the 20th Century; King Edward VII to King George VI, in their various perforation and watermark varieties.
The evening concluded with a wonderful tour d'horizon from Ralph Stutthard, wearing a remarkable Union Jack tie, and who displayed the most eclectic collection of materials seen by members in a very long time, the humorous connections of which defied this writer's best efforts to record!
The Club's appreciation was proposed by the Chairman, Mike Hyde.

DECEMBER 2006

Our second Guest Speaker of the season was Mr M Carroll, from the Garstang Stamp Club, who brought some truly amazing material to illustrate his presentation on the German Occupation of the Channel Islands. Mr Carroll opened his remarks with a question. How could a complete collection and exhibition be built around only eleven different stamps issued over a five year period? He then proceeded to show us, and we were all seriously impressed!
Starting with the build up to war and invasion, we were shown public notices dealing with the demilitarisation of the islands, the evacuation of military-aged men, and the 'correct' reception of the invaders. We were shown letters postmarked on the day of the invasion, and from a later period, when stocks of regular stamps were running low, the use of the GB bisects, with examples used on the first and last days.
The 'Arms' stamps of both Guernsey and Jersey were shown in imprint blocks and multiples. The Jersey 'views' were shown in their various printings, together with mise-en-train proofs and epreuves-de-luxe produced by the French Government Printing Works in Paris where the stamps were produced.
Ephemera of the period included civilian ID cards, permits to buy candles and use taps, and a comprehensive display of the labels from tins of food included in the Red Cross food parcels sent to the islands.
The presentation concluded with examples of Liberation covers, and a broad selection of letters and cards sent to and from members of the Liberating forces. A truly great collection.

NOVEMBER 2006

The Club's November meeting featured our first Guest Speaker of the season. Mr M W Everiss, from the Burnley Philatelic Society, gave an excellent presentation on the subject of the Russian Civil War, between 1918 and 1923.

Mr Everiss gave members a history of the events leading up to the conflict, and illustrated this with a map showing the areas controlled by both the Nationalist and Regional governments. Examples of the stamps and postal history from 1918 were shown, and these included a postcard sent back to the UK by a serving member of the British Intervention Force. Later issues from 1918 onwards comprised overprints on the stamps of General Denikin's army from South Russia, material from the Northern Army, including the Armies of West Russia, and White Russia. Mr Everiss concluded his presentation by showing stamps of the Refugee issue of 1920, and overprints and surcharges up to 1923.

All in all, a most interesting and excellent display of material from a very difficult and confusing period. The Club's thanks were proposed by our member, Colin Bedford.

OCTOBER 2006

The second meeting of the season featured the presentation to immediate past Secretary Les Johnson of an illustrated cover commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Victoria Cross. Les has an extensive collection of VC-related material, and the Club wished to offer a token of thanks for his good work over the past 49 years!

Postcard Pie was the theme for the Members' displays, led off with a widely travelled selection of cards shown by Graham Martin. We were treated to views of Ellis Island, the late lamented Twin Towers, various views of New York State, the Hudson Bridge, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut.
Brian Kipps took pole position with a collection of motoring cards, reminding us of such famous names as Wolseley, Morris, Austin, SS, Peugeot, Citroen, and VW. The style of the 1930s was evident on advertisements for the Madrid Motor Show, a race at Rheims, and the Monaco Grand Prix.
Ralph Stuttard brought us closer to home with a tour of Southport's attractions from the early years of the twentieth century, with Pleasureland, the Water Chute, Hiram Maxim's Flying Machine, the Helter Skelter and the Marine Lake.
Barry Moss moved slightly inland, with a selection of material relating to Ormskirk, including one or two explanations as to why Ormskirk Parish Church has both a tower and a steeple - the real answer being that the church was built first with a steeple and then a tower was added later to contain the bells from Burscough Priory!
Ian Koller took us on a whirlwind tour, in colour no less, of the area between Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope. We can now recognise at sight the Lion's Head, the Devil's Peak, Table Mountain, Simonstown, Vishoek, Rondebosch, Grote Schuur, and Paarl.
Judy Taylor offered us a cultural visit to Northumberland, following a trip she made to Seahouses, with a series of cards reproducing watercolour paintings by Barry Claughton of Alnwick, Craster, Wirkworth, Dunstanburgh, Bamburgh, Lindisfarne and Holy Island, and Berwick upon Tweed.

SEPTEMBER 2006

THE FIRST MEETING OF THE NEW SEASON

The theme of the first meeting of the new season was philatelic 'H' and 'R' - displays and presentations by members connected, however loosely, with those two letters of the alphabet. No fewer than eight members had retrieved items from the deepest recesses of their collections to make some fascinating displays.

Russia provided the source of Judy Taylor's display of paintings on stamps, a whole gallery of works on landscapes, portraits, the culture of mediaeval Russia, folk history, and much more.
Tom Latto took the High Road to New Zealand, with a look at the Health Camps and their Heroines, three ladies who played a great part in the public health programme of that country in the early years of the 20th Century. And by way of a bonus we were treated to a display of the stamps which commemorated the camps.
Les Johnson made sure nothing was lost by Registering all his items of postal history. As some of these were posted to and from Birkdale, and Southport, there was considerable local interest, especially in an item posted at the Royal Birkdale Golf Course temporary post office during the first playing there of the British Open Golf Championship.
Barry Moss described his material as 'Rubbish' an assessment which was not shared by the other members! Included were such notable 'H's as Holland and Helvetia, and such 'R's as Russia, Rumania, Road and Rail.
Chris Leather took matters literally, and presented a number of photographs to support the theory that all the check letter 'R's on the imperf Penny Reds were actually hand engraved from letter 'P's All this and not a 'Q' in sight!
Chris Barker offered us a chance to see a good range of the early definitives from Holland, also known as the Netherlands. The stamps ranged from the charming portrait issues of 1852 to the Art Deco designs of the 1930s
Brian Kipps was in motoring mode, with Racing issues featuring the Swedish GP of 1936, the Pan Am Road Race of 1948, the RAK1 Rocket car from Germany, the Roof of Africa Rally and the RAC Rally from the UK. He closed with an appropriate display of Road Safety from the United Nations.
Mike Hyde concluded the evening's presentation with a series of cultural Heritage stamps from UNESCO, featuring places of Renown throughout the world

JUNE 2006

COMPETITION NIGHT

The last meeting of our 2005-6 programme was held on Tuesday 6th June, and took the form of a Competition Evening. The Club possesses three fine trophies which have been donated by various members, over the years, for different classes of philatelic merit.

The Leonard Rimmer Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Club Open Competition, entries for which may feature any philatelic subject chosen by the competitor, with the single exception of 'Thematic' displays. 9 sheets are required. This year the Trophy was won by Mr T Latto with his presentation of "The Postal History Of Lancashire."

The John Winter Thematic Trophy is awarded to the winner whose exhibit best develops a Theme, according to a logical plan, and using the information supplied by any or all types of appropriate philatelic material. 12 sheets are required. This year's winner was Mr B Kipps who took us on a guided tour "Motoring through Monaco."

The Norman Barlow Cup is awarded to the winner of a display of postage stamps of Great Britain, excluding the independent issues of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, and Local issues. Either 9 or 12 sheets may be submitted. A study in black and red "The Imperforate Line Engraved Penny Stamps of Great Britain" by Mr C D Leather filled the Cup!

Judging the entries is done on the basis of marks awarded for each of a number of individual points. For the Leonard Rimmer Trophy, Arrangement and Mounting, Condition of the Exhibit, Writing Up, and the display of Philatelic Knowledge are assessed; for the John Winter Thematic Trophy, the categories are Writing up, Development of Theme, and Condition of Stamps; and for the Norman Barlow Cup the categories judged are Arrangement and Mounting, Relative Condition of Stamps, Philatelic Knowledge, and Writing Up. Different degrees of importance are attached to each category, for each trophy.

Four displays were entered for the Leonard Rimmer Trophy, four for the John Winter Thematic Trophy, and three for the Norman Barlow Cup, and all were of a high standard.

The trophies are held by winning members for twelve months, and their names join the list of previous winners engraved on each trophy.

SECRETARY RETIRES

The June 2006 meeting saw the retirement as Secretary of Mr L Y 'Les' Johnson who has held the position without interruption since 1960, having been Assistant Secretary for three years before that. A heartfelt vote of thanks was offered to Les for his unparalleled years of service to the Club. Les was teased about his forthcoming translation to the 'back benches' and responded by loosing an entire squadron of RAF planes into the John Winter Thematic Trophy competition!

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