You will recall that in the January/February 2007 bulletin, we gave details of the new IFSCO classifications for many Scout and Guide issues from 2001 to now.  Our own website, with thanks to Randall Frank our webmaster and Bob Lee our new issue dealer, has each new issue graded from A to D, with A being the most acceptable issue.  The site www.sgsc.org.uk/newissue/newissue_a.htm shows the various issues together with miniature sheets in colour with their date of issue (when known) and classification.

With technology moving ahead at a great pace, I see from a report in the February 5th issue of Linn's Stamp News that our American sister club SOSSI (Scouts on Stamps Society International) has a new website designed for viewing on mobile phones.  The site at www.sossi.mobi began last December and includes brief information and illustrations of Scout and Guide stamps.  The stamps are listed by country and by date, and cacheted covers are also included.  This is the first stamp website world-wide for mobile phones and has been designed by our committee member Randall Frank.

Although Mafeking stamps in the Scouting world normally refer to the Warner Goodyear 1d and the Baden-Powell 3d blue print stamps, I do know that a number of our members also collect the overprinted stamps.  A recent find has been the British Bechuanaland (SG16) overprint with the serified type font instead of the sans-serif type font as normally used.  The first such variety came to the market in April 1970 and was sold as a normal stamp by Cavendish Auctions and made £14.00 (US$28, Euro 20).  This is only the second one to be recorded and both are dated April 1900.
This stamp was discovered in 2003 after having been submitted to the B.P.A. expertising committee as a normal used example of the 2/- overprinted stamp and a genuine certificate was issued.  As the stamps were overprinted in strips of six at a time, there must have been a further four examples of this stamp overprinted.  This example is for sale by Grosvenor Auctions of London on 18th May 2007 and has an estimated of £12,000-£14,000. (US$ 24,000 – 28,000, Euro 17,695-20,645).

I trust you are aware the Annual General Meeting of the Club is being held on Saturday 9th June at the North Richmond Scout Headquarters when the various positions on the committee come up for election.  As already mentioned Terry Simister has offered to take over as Editor from January 2008.  We are now looking for a new Treasurer and I do hope somebody living in the south of the country will offer to take on this important job.

Scout Smiler sheets are being offered for sale by the British Thematic Association at their Exhibition being held on 23-24 June at Carisbrooke Hall, 63 Seymour Street, London W2 2HF.  To celebrate the Centenary of Scouting, Royal Mail together with Thematica will produce a limited edition of only 250 of each of these sheets. They depict the 2½d, 4d and 1s 3d Scout Jamboree stamps of 1957, together with the 1st Class Union Jack definitive.  The 2½d and 4d sheets will be issued in conjunction with Thematica in June and the is 3d sheets will be issued in conjunction with Thematica II in November.  After June, Royal Mail have decided that they will no longer produce sheets in this format.  There are twenty first class stamps in the sheet which are valid for postage as well as twenty of each of the 1957 stamps which have been cancelled with the Thematica postmark dated 23rd June 2007.  The SGSC who are a group member Thematica will as usual be having a stand at this show and all members are welcome to attend.  Admission is free.

Many countries have now issued their centenary Scout stamps including those in Europe that took part in the 2007 Europa issue.  The U.K. stamps will be issued on 26th July (the day before the World Jamboree opens) and they will consist of six stamps with a total value of £3.29.  These have been printed by in sheets of 25 and 50 and were designed by The Work Room design group of London using illustrations by Gez Fry. These will be illustrated in the next issue of the Bulletin which is in fact the club's 50th Anniversary.  The Royal Mail will be selling First Day Covers at main Post Office branches about a week before the stamps are issued and Presentation Packs from the day of issue.  Two postmarks, which I do not consider very exciting, will be used by the Royal Mail, one from Tallents House, Edinburgh and the other from Brownsea Island, but no doubt more will be produced by other concerns who would have to pay for them.