Quote from Steve on March 26, 2021, 11:40 am

The South African Philately Club is back. Or rather, I'm back in the saddle again as the Editor of the South African Philately Club. I apologise for the interrupted service but I have been ill. Shortly after New Year I picked up what I thought was one of our typical Winter Flus that come around every year to knock off some 50,000 or so old folks without the country so much as pausing for thought, going into lock-down and or the economy flat-lining. It's a virus, I thought. There's nothing the doctor's can do. I will just tough it out, I thought.

Well, so much for being tough. Three months of wimpering later I am still not fully recovered. However, I have now managed to overcome my fatalistic lassitude and find enough energy to crawl back to my desk and and post Russell Boezak's wonderful display "The Union of South Africa's First Stamp - the 1910 'Opening of Parliament Commemorative'", as well as David Mordant's "Barred Oval Numeral Cancellers of the Cape of Good Hope", both of which were made available to me in December 2020. I'm so glad I did. Putting these displays up is the best medicine I've had in 3 months. Despite a low concrete sky weighing down so heavily outside, things are now looking up!

All of this highlights a problem that the South African Philately Club has. We are a small two-man band, not part of a well-funded and staffed philatelic federation. When we fall, there is no-one else to take-over. In large publications others can step in to briefly take over the day-to-day running of things when the editor of webmaster become ill. Perhaps with time we will be able to address this shortcoming. In the meantime, we, that is Jamie and I, are going to carry on where I left off before I became ill. We have some wonderful material lined up. Hopefully we will now be able to bring this you you on a more-or-less regular monthly basis.

As a flipside to our lack of infrastructure and support, the PFSA (Philatelic Federation of South Africa) has climbed  down from its conservative high hobby horse and made the long-overdue decision to issue a bi-monthly (every two months) on-line newsletter to supplement their flagship journal, The South African Philatelist. All who are interested in South African stamps will be able to receive a copy of STAMPS SA regardless of whether they are affiliated to the Federation or not. To get on their mailing list, see the PDF file below. STAMPS SA is a very welcome development, one we hope was inspired in small part by the unrestricted populism of the South African Philately Club. We wish its editor, Hugh Amoore RDPSA, good luck and especially good health.

We note that Hugh's first issue has a small feature on "The First Union Stamp of South Africa". Those who enjoy his tiny taster are invited to partake of the sumptious feast that is Rusell Boezak's presentation of this subject in the Display section of the South African Philately Club. According to an ex-Pretoria Philatelic Society expert and dealer now living in Germany, Russell's "display of Union of South Africa's first stamp, the 1910 Opening of Parliament Commemorative, is the best I've ever seen on this subject".  SEE RUSSELL's DISPLAY HERE.