Post by Mia on Apr 19, 2024 20:31:31 GMT
It has been a while since I last wrote one of these. The main news to report is that the forum's presence on Facebook is no more - the page and the group have gone. I haven't been happy with the direction Meta has taken FB (and even Instagram) in, although it has been a while since I saw a paid for/sponsored post with link to an underhand website selling counterfeit stamps.
The postal service has returned to some sort of normality. Check Postcrossing's postal monitor (under explore) for details of any disruptions. Postal rates have gone up, and I wonder if Royal Mail are going to increase rates twice a year like the USPS does.
I should be looking to promote this forum more, and snail mail in general, but I know I can't do what Dinah (HLAS) or Renee (AZCS) can do publicly. The forum will turn 9 in July and it would be nice to enact some new ideas for the forum by then. Anyone for polls? This is your forum too, not just mine. I still want to keep this site free (no paid membership - money complicates things).
If you don't keep your received envelopes, specifically the stamps - I am occasionally looking for the bigger charities around the world accepting stamps as donations (and then they can sell on to dealers and the philatelic world). The UK has many charities doing this - they may research into cancer or other illnesses, provide nurses, hospices, fund equipment at hospitals, support services, humanitarian causes..... but I would like to find equivalents around the world. When I was a child in the UK, I remember watching Blue Peter. This television show for children would have fundraising campaigns, and one I remember is the saving of used stamps - these would be sent to the programme and the stamps sold by weight to dealers, with monies raised going to the charity chosen by the programme). I know of one charity has stopped collecting stamps because of barcodes.
A few of reminders:
While it is nice to share pictures of incoming/outgoing mail (here, Instagram or elsewhere), please please obscure the other person's address (in the UK, a postcode is nearly the same as showing the street name) - show your own address at your own risk, but please do not share that of others without their permission. I am still seeing people do this, and they don't seem to think it is a problem
Be careful also when using the quote button to reply, please do not quote someone else's postal address. I do see this still happening on other forums/comment sites. The quote-bracket-fairy may be out on occasion waving her magic wand.
If you are a new member, you may not immediately have access to all of the sections on the forum. This is because we want to try to keep this forum a secure and safe place for snailmailers, as some members have put their addresses in threads.
The postal service has returned to some sort of normality. Check Postcrossing's postal monitor (under explore) for details of any disruptions. Postal rates have gone up, and I wonder if Royal Mail are going to increase rates twice a year like the USPS does.
I should be looking to promote this forum more, and snail mail in general, but I know I can't do what Dinah (HLAS) or Renee (AZCS) can do publicly. The forum will turn 9 in July and it would be nice to enact some new ideas for the forum by then. Anyone for polls? This is your forum too, not just mine. I still want to keep this site free (no paid membership - money complicates things).
If you don't keep your received envelopes, specifically the stamps - I am occasionally looking for the bigger charities around the world accepting stamps as donations (and then they can sell on to dealers and the philatelic world). The UK has many charities doing this - they may research into cancer or other illnesses, provide nurses, hospices, fund equipment at hospitals, support services, humanitarian causes..... but I would like to find equivalents around the world. When I was a child in the UK, I remember watching Blue Peter. This television show for children would have fundraising campaigns, and one I remember is the saving of used stamps - these would be sent to the programme and the stamps sold by weight to dealers, with monies raised going to the charity chosen by the programme). I know of one charity has stopped collecting stamps because of barcodes.
A few of reminders:
While it is nice to share pictures of incoming/outgoing mail (here, Instagram or elsewhere), please please obscure the other person's address (in the UK, a postcode is nearly the same as showing the street name) - show your own address at your own risk, but please do not share that of others without their permission. I am still seeing people do this, and they don't seem to think it is a problem
Be careful also when using the quote button to reply, please do not quote someone else's postal address. I do see this still happening on other forums/comment sites. The quote-bracket-fairy may be out on occasion waving her magic wand.
If you are a new member, you may not immediately have access to all of the sections on the forum. This is because we want to try to keep this forum a secure and safe place for snailmailers, as some members have put their addresses in threads.