London 2010....an Overview And Pictures.

I went to the UK especially for the Festival and it was a holiday of a lifetime. I had 6 days in London, stayed with a South African Collector and it was all about stamps.
I was at Philatex on Wednesday 6th and part of Thursday, and while I was generally disappointed, the venue more than made up for it. The RHH will always hold a piece of my heart and love. I met the former owner of Bridger and Kay, Allan Leverton and he showed me some great Strike mail material that he designed and used during the 1971 Postal strike. I spent many nice hours in his very funny company. Still, he would not give me a price for the only sheet found with an inverted overprint !
There was not much Cinderella material on offer though I did add a couple of nice items to my British Stamp exhibition collection.
Also on the Thursday, I went to the Royal Philatelic Society for the first time and was hugely impressed. The Expert committee room discussion and show was an hour to remember forever, as was the afternoon Tea in such elite company !
On the Friday I went to two Exhibitions. The morning found me drooling over a Proof Penny Black sheet [with no corner letters] and Colour Trials of the £1 UPU at the BPMA Search Room. A tiny but totally unique Exhibition of some of Britains finest material. I was lost for words, so it was good I was not in company on this occasion. Whilst at the BPMA, I took the opportunity to peruse the NPS Library, quite superb it was too.
After a brief stop to see Postman's Park, opposite the former Postal Museum, [and under the guiding eyes of Sir Rowland Hill] I made my way to the Guildhall. In the Art Gallery a joint BPMA/Royal Collection Exhibition called Empire Mail: GV and the GPO, was just opening. It was quiet for a first Day so I was lucky that I had almost a personal showing of the Enschede Intaglio Printing press. The demo was only a practice run for the following 8 days so I considered myself lucky. they were printing blocks of 4 of the £1 UPU in deep blue on dampened thick paper. I got to hold and study a copy for a while but they were, sadly, not for sale !
The rest of the Exhibition was superb with some great items from the Royal Collection including the Tyrian Plum on cover, the only one in existence and some wonderful Post-related memorabilia. I could have stayed forever but as my legs began to give way, I went off in search of food.......

A trip to London, even a non Stamp-related one, just wouldn't be the same without a stop at the Charing Cross Collector's Market on a Saturday morning. So it was on May 8th, my host and I arose at the crack of dawn to visit this earlybird bourse and steal a few bargains. We were not disappointed.
It was exceptionally busy and one particular dealer was literally selling from his car Boot ! His albums were rolling on the floor and the site made for much amusement. The dealer had the last laugh though as he was easily the busiest in the Car Park ! I managed to haggle him down to £25 for a super Lundy Album which included some Herm pigeon posts ! I will make double that selling those items I don't need. This is Charing Cross Collectors Market. Not part of the Festival of Stamps, but truly the place to be on a Saturday Morning. My friend and I will be taking a table there in July so come along and say hello.
It was hardly surprising that I missed the opening of the International Exhibition at the BDC. By the time I arrived, the Biggest cover in the world was already on display and the stands were busy. In truth, I have to say it was very well presented, a lovely spacious layout and, apart from some of the exhibits, nice and bright.
It was very expensive and most of my money went to RM for pre-ordered items and the odd bits for me. I started a new collection on this holiday and I went off in search of items connected to the Festival. I found many and had mixed fortunes on some, it was a great day. I met many guys I had 'met' on the net, chatted to Glenn Morgan about the dearth of Cinderella material for the show and had some great experiences. In the evening I went for dinner in the company of other stamp collectors from an Internet Forum. I got home exhausted.
Sunday was much the same, this time I met a GB collector I had previously only spoken to online. I did not find much Cinderella stuff and that was a pity. What was on offer was grossly overpriced !
Still, on my way to the exit I watched a little TV as my soccer team, Chelsea, finally clinched the league title with an 8-0 win ! The day was perfect therefore !

On Friday 14th, after a four-day break with Mum, I found myself back at the BDC, this time working.
I volunteered to help out on the Stamp Active stand and had a most enjoyable and rewarding day in the company of great people and great collectors. There were not too many Kids about but it made for a another perfect day.
I left at the shows end, 6pm and made my way to Heathrow for the flight home, tired but totally stamp-satisfied. The only glitch here was that my camera failed me and I could not take one last Philatelic picture.....Terminal 5's famous see-through Post boxes !

Next time.

WEDNESDAY MAY 5TH, PHILATEX, RHH.

My first glimpse of the lovely Royal Horticultural Halls in almost 20 years !



For nic.....100+ dealers, they are there somewhere !






A nice young lady on the Gibbons stand gave me some chocolate !



...and some other goodies !



The pic below shows Allan Leverton relaxing at his stand. He was the one who set up a Strike Mail service in 1971 and I purchased from him many of the labels which I will post later. But those Inverted Overprints are still bugging me.......



The Flag on the table was salvaged by his elder brother during the D-Day landing from one of the boats. It has been on his table at every Stamp show he has done. Up the Brits !

Londonbus1.....Tomorrow, Friday !

THURSDAY MAY 6TH, ROYAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY

What better way to celebrate the 170th Birthday of the Penny Black than with a visit to the World's Oldest Philatelic Society, the Royal of London.
41 Devonshire Place is the home of the Society and the imposing Georgian Building is a fitting 'palace' for such an organization.



The Libraries are impressive.




And who recognizes this work of Art ??



There were lots of other bits to enjoy too...





Lots of familiar faces at the Tea table !! I just couldn't remember all the names !!

This day was also in the news for other events.
Namely........



....the General Election !

It was also the 10th Anniversary of the imposing London Eye. They advertised the event with this nice poster on the London Underground Stations.



I celebrated all these occasions with a hearty breakfast....in true English Style !



Yes, Thursday May 6th was definitely a day to remember.

Londonbus1

Londonbus,

You're having way too much fun. Love those photos of the events and surroundings. What will they do with those blocks of 4, £1 UPU in deep blue stamps you wanted so badly?

Londonbus,

Great hearing about London and I love all the photos.

Now regarding breakfast, did you eat that?

And, what's that black thing in the middle?

Glad you had a safe trip to and fro


-Larry

Michael, I am as are many others, quite envious of your adventure.




The artwork on which is based US Scott #292 $1.00 Western Cattle in Storm of the June 17, 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition.

Is that the original piece of artwork?

Marty

The "black thing in the middle" is a piece of black pudding. If you don't like the idea of eating blood, you won't like it. Personally, I love the stuff!

Very very nice pictures! Thanks London for sharing , the booths are impressive, reminds me of the same booths at Dusseldorf but with machines inside the booths and not stamps

But the best pic that really got me looking for more is that great breakfast! Good show London!

thanks jubilee, I was thinking what that black thing was too..
but really those are great beans!

Thanks for the comments guys!




They remain the property of the BPMA [British Postal Museum and Archive] who sponsored the Exhibition. It was hinted at while I was there, that members of the BPMA might benefit from this later, but no final decision has been made.
What a great item that would be for my London 2010 Collection !




Larry, I did indeed eat it. Only on a trip to the UK would I eat something like that...but it filled the hole for the rest of the day, I didn't worry about lunch. A new chain of Pub Restaurants has opened up in the UK and they are very good value for money. This was one of them. I ate there three times...the same !
As Jubilee said, Black Pudding is Blood, congealed Pigs Blood to be precise with spices and fat and one or two other bits. Delicious hot [fried] or cold in sandwiches, but frowned upon by many.




I understood that it was. It was in pride of place on the main Library wall and looked supremely attractive. I wanted to take it with me !!

Glad you liked the pics nic.
More to come later today from Postman's Park and the Big International Exhibition.

Londonbus1.....I cannot focus on work yet, mmmm!

oh london bus

speechless here---great report and great images. So glad you enjoyed the trip.

FRIDAY MAY 7TH: MUSEUMS, EXHIBITIONS AND A PARK !

Two of this days locations were in the Camera-not-allowed category, but the BPMA 'Treasures of the Archives' Exhibition and the Guildhall Art Gallery's 'Empire Mails: KGV and the GPO' Exhibition were true highlights of the trip for the wonderful material on show.
I wrote a bit about them in my initial post.
Here is a pic of the Guildhall Art Gallery, a very impressive building both from within and without.



I will post pics of some of the items when my scanning gets under way !
Sandwiched in between these two great exhibitions was a short visit to Postman's Park, not far from the Guildhall. This was talked about in an earlier thread and a request for pics was posted.
Here, that request is answered.

The park stands diagonally opposite the former Head Post Office and National Postal Museum on King Edward Street just around the corner from St.Paul's Cathedral. The portly statue of Sir Rowland Hill keeps watch on the very pretty and serene Park. I highly recommend a visit when in London. Take your packed lunch and sit by the lovely lawns and flowers, read the wall plaques and ponder.
A lovely place.




Sir Rowland [above] keeps an eye on the park [below]...there's even a post box if you have something to post.



The entrance is through the two Orange-brick pillars on the other side of the road, between the two buildings. The picture is taken from the Statue.

The Park.



















Well informed too!



I exited by the other side of the park and this was waiting for me..



Also on this day, I saw an Elephant ! So for Mr Spock, here is a pic !





Londonbus1....next up, The Market and the Big International.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY MAY 8TH-9TH, THE MARKET AND THE BIG EXHIBITION !

The first few hours of Saturday were spent at the Charing Cross Collectors Market/fair.
The sign says it all, my friend and host posing !













...and onto the BIG ONE !! [That's mine not Cjd's !]






The Royal Mail/BPMA stand was very impressive.....











More Stands !



Me with a rather large cover !! [From the German Inflation period]



Internet Stamp Buddies!




Londonbus1....Only a few more. Next: The working-Farewell Day.

Wow..sure looks like a great trip. My envy arises to near covetousness.

It's because of the elephant, isn't it?

-Allen