I guess the summer months is when our collections are placed to one side to enjoy the weather and our holidays.  This also applies to your chairman who although has not been away recently, did in fact find plenty to keep him occupied.  Each summer we open our garden in aid of charities and this year we raised just over £1800 for the Red Cross and the National Garden Scheme, which supports the Macmillan Cancer Relief Fund.  Harvest was late due to the continuous wet weather for some two weeks, but this was finally finished the week before our annual Wood Badge Reunion at Gilwell Park.  There were a number of our members present at Gilwell including some from the International Badgers Club, which was formed in 1955, two years before the SGSC.  For those who have not heard of them, they are the club collecting Scout badges.

BIPEX (now called Picture Postcard Show), the annual national show held in London attracted the usual large number of visitors.  However I do not find many good cards coming up for sale these days.  The dealers seem to be ever increasing the prices for single or groups of scouts just standing to have their photographs taken.  Personally I do not collect these, so continue to try and purchase official and comedy cards, as well as those showing Baden-Powell.  The main problem is that most of the cards are now in collections and new ones rarely come to the market.

I was pleased when browsing through a recent issue of World Scouting News to read that our member No. 372, Dr. Bill Wells from Australia was one of the candidates standing for the World Scout Committee, which was held at the 35th World Conference in Durban, South Africa at the end of July.  It was during this conference that the United Kingdom was chosen as the host country for the 21st World Jamboree in 2007 which will also celebrate the centenary of the Scout Movement.  Hylands Park near Chelmsford in Essex is currently the named site, and is situated some 40 miles (64 k.m.) from London.

Having being initiated into the wonders of the internet earlier this year, I am now finding this most indispensable and my overseas postage bill has gone down considerably.  I have just received SOSSI Online Notes No.23 prepared by Keith Larson, the assistant web master of their Society.  This newsletter was sent to over seventy collectors, (including at least twelve of our members), and if you are on line and wish to receive their information contact Keith at who would be pleased to add your name to the list.  He mentions that the SOSSI web site http://www.sossi.org has had 14,450 visitors to its front page with an average count of 200 visits per week.  Frederick Lawrence attending the China '99 show reports that there were no Scout exhibits, but there were some Czech Scout Post pieces in an invited display.  At least some members to the show (over half a million), had a chance to see the SOSSI web site in the philatelic literature area.

Our Scout Stamp Exhibition SGSC 2000 being held on 20th and 21st May 2000 is going to plan and a sub-

A draft of our exhibition logo designed by   committee member Michael Harrington.

committee has been formed, and meets regularly.  On the Saturday evening at B.P.House we will be holding a Buffet meal with wine/soft drinks for all members and their partners.  We hope that this will be a chance for those present to relax in a friendly atmosphere and offer the chance for the U.K. members to meet and make friends with our overseas visitors away from the exhibition.  Tickets for the meal and drinks will be £20 each, and payment should be sent to Bob Lee (see enclosed separate sheet).  Can you help?  The frames for our exhibition needed to be collected from Falkirk in Scotland in March and need to be stored near London until the exhibition.  Does any member living near have the facility to store free of charge, the frames for two months before and up to a month after the exhibition?  The space required would perhaps be a lock up garage.  If you can help, please contact Bob Lee.  I have been asked the frame size and the number of sheets for each, and confirm that they hold 16 sheets and the maximum size is 295 x 225 mm (approximately 11½ x 8¾ inches).  The exhibit sheets must be numbered on the reverse, and the go across the frames in four rows of four sheets.  We are also investigating a special postmark for the event and further details will be given in the next bulletin.