Incoming Mail: What's On Yours ?

At this time of year, a lot of mail is sent.
It would be interesting to know what is on your mail.
Stamps, Christmas stamps specifically or Postage Labels, Meters?
Do they have nice cancels, black splodges?
Is care taken to make the cover attractive?
How many are graced with Christmas Seals?

Please show some of your incoming Christmas mail items.
I would be interested to know what adorns them.

I would be especially interested if anyone had the luck that I had, and today is a great example.

A tube of Gluestick will be winging it's way to the first member to tell me the connection between the 4 items of mail I received from the UK today ??!






At least some thoughtful worker at the sorting office was awake enough to handstamp 'Air Mail' on one of the envelopes when they saw there was no etiquette !
The brown envelope and one of the others got the Tag Codes too, and on Printed Paper packets it comes in sticker form.



So what's the connection ? Who wants that tube of Gluestick?
And is that a clue or not?

Come on Sherlock, get your pipe out and think!

Londonbus1....then show us what's on your mail !

None of them are cancelled.

Funny, in my part of the UK the Christmas stamps have been cancelled, but not the security stamps - as if they know they don't have to bother. Grr, 'cos I don't like used stamps that haven't been cancelled - neither one thing or another . . .

Indeed, the laser-readable strip proves the attached parcel/envelope has passed through the mail system, but it is the only proof.

Unfortunately, most of my incoming mail (with the exception of a few personal Christmas Cards) all contain meter based postage.

However, I did get an interesting parcel today with a Pitney Bowes Meter showing a new (apparently discounted) Priority Mail postage rate I had not seen before that is referred to as "Priority Mail ComBasPrice":



A web search reveals it to be a relatively new (within the past year) Priority Mail rate apparently restricted to commercial users utilizing IBI meter equipment.

Yet another sub-topic to collect.

A sampling from today's delivery:



But my favorite was this one:



Too bad I'm not a gluesticker!

Some junk, a couple of bills, and a couple of Christmas cards, Simpson's stamp is scraped but the flag and bell are unscathed.

I think this story goes along well with this thread ... and be sure to read the reader's comments at the end of the story, too, as their efforts result in a very much appreciated jesture by the recipients:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwau...2221254.html

Lots of bills in machine metered postage

And today they're one for two:

Whats on mine ? a LOT of uncancelled stamps from Canada and the USA..this seems to happen on envelopes with multiple stamps on them !

Seems like I'm not the only one with uncancelled stamps !

Nice to see your incoming mail. Most interesting.

But remember, in this season of goodwill, if you cannot bring yourself to use gluesticks, then send your unwanted and uncancelled stamps to those who do. Then at least they will have a second chance.

Whad'ya say?

Here is the complete opposite of what I received yesterday. Hot from the mailbox....

6 stamps on cover...with 6 [SIX] cancels !



And this is an example of the Danish cancels I've had. All similar.
From Sweden too the same. Beautiful.



I will write to RM to get someone to hop over to Scandinavia and get some tips.

Londonbus1.....Loves talking to a brick wall !

What a great Denmark stamp!

But you've no chance of getting Royal Mail to listen to anyone, Londonbus - for example they've just totally reorganise every aspect of their mail delivery system immediately before Christmas. So all is complete chaos.

Example: delivery workers are allowed an average of ONE MINUTE per home delivery for any signed object for or any packet that doesn't fit in the letter box. That's from leaving their van or trolley to returning to it. So if RM don't do common sense on something as basic as that, what hope is there that they'll cancel properly??

I like what they've done with the mammoth. Makes him look like he's climbing through some hilly terrain.

What a nice Denmark Christmas stamp. And earlier Rupert the bear in a balloon and the cat writing a letter on the Greetings stamp. I am just in a good mood I think. I like everything.

In the last week's mail, mostly metered mail . . .


But then some nice ones too, a striking stamp from Malta, some older Canadian from the local stamp club, they actually took the envelopes there to get them hand cancelled, not trusting the machines with the older stamps. . . . a US meter from a non stamp person, and a new Canada personalized train station stamp from Bee See, just in today. (See the Picture Postage thread for a close-up).

edit , oops forgot the pic.

I received three from Nova Scotia today including a nice CDS, first one
in ages.

Today, more junk, another christmas card and proof of auto insurance cards.