Well I finally made it, a day late, but I made it!
I have been to the Association of Scottish Philatelic Societies' Congress in Perth today, aka "Scotex". My first show, so I can't compare it to any others, but I promised a "report" and some pics, so here it is!
This was also a bit of a road trip for me, a 2hr drive each way through the scenic Highlands, in my trusty (should that be "rusty"?) red VW van.
Arriving at the show, I was prepared for the overwhelmed feeling walking in. I was also prepared, thanks to the helpful advice of SCF members, with stamp tongs, a stiff folder, wads of cash, and the nearest exit to the cafe.
I wandered around to get my bearings and spent quite a bit of time looking at the exhibits, which took up nearly a quarter of the room.
The event was hosted jointly by the Glasgow Thematic Society and the Strathclyde Postcard Club, so they were well represented in the exhibits. I was really taken with the Junior section. It was great to see lots of entries. There were two Junior sections, the younger age-group submitting a single page, the older ones 4 pages. Some of the themes were uncannily familiar...
One for SiBurning -
The adults ones were pretty stunning, of course, but the amount of money they must have cost to put together is unthinkable. I liked an exhibit by a lady who had put together a story using a cartoon version of herself and a series of modern covers, including junk mail. It must have cost nothing, but it was funny and original and made me smile!
So - what did I buy? Well - surprisingly few stamps. I had given myself what was, for me, a fairly generous budget, but I found the prices higher than I expected, and spent only a few pounds on stamps. But I still used up most of my budget - some on a whole lot of 50p covers - irresistable. And quite a bit on a whole heap of Cinderellas, labels, BOB, revenues and the like.... No there is no hope for me...
I would have liked to have spent longer, I only had 4 hours there. I had just begun to really find my bearings and get into it when I had to leave. But I did have a nice chat with a lady and her husband over the 3p-a-stamp-in-aid-of-school-stampclub-funds box which we found in a corner. She collects topicals and we both had a long and enjoyable rummage, passing stamps to each other as we found them. We have exchanged contact details and I hope to do some trading with her in the future.
I'll share more of my purchases in other threads soon.
Roving Reporter Stampgal.
Posted 04/16/2011 3:46 pm
