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Short stories - some fact some fiction.

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Let us start with a current one.  Not me! But.........

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That is desperately worrying and sad piece of social reality. I am very glad to hear its not about you! I am asuming you did not write. It reads like a very dark place. But its a very real one for lots of folk! Keep it up!

I am glad the SAPC has kept you busy and on your toes. Thank God and the Postmaster General for Philately. What would we be doing if we did not have our hobby? Seriously, this lock-down nonsense has had a devastating effect on the more elderly among us, particular those with no interests. Not only has the virus targetted and killed thousands of older people, but the effcts of self-isolation have driven some nuts and made other prematurely more senile and dementiaed. I know, my spirited and healthy 94-year old father-in-law has been very hard hit by the isolation and is no longer the man he was six months ago. As a young man I got arrested in SA for crimes against Apartheid - Ja, I was guilty and Sin and still proud of it - but now I am feeling the urge to defy the stupidity of the law again. The government and its scientific and medical advisers got it wrong. More old people are becoming senescent while younger ones are now dying because of postponed medical treatment. Time to stand up and resist this monstrous undemocratic emergency rule. Ja, I am a Cape Rebel again. "Waar's my perd, neef? Waar's Smuts hulle?" If only hey, to mount up and ride into the Richtersveld once more! (Sung to the tune of "Dream, Dream, Dream" by the Everly Brothers.)

You say that you assume I did not write it.  I did write it!  but about other people's experiences.  I have never smoked and only drink on social occasions which are few and far between nowadays! 

Witsieshoek.

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When I posted the article on 'Crash Covers'  under Great Britain I mentioned the Dan Pienaar crash at Kisumu.  Here I show a photostat of the P.O.W card that I once owned and the story that I recorded of the Helderberg crash.

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Are Philatelists becoming dinosaurs?

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Jamie

The question is being going on for too long. Currently there is a lot of interest in philately from areas of the world and topics that were unpopular years ago.

Modern stamps yes, there is very little interest from new or old philatelists. For this blame the greediness of the Postal Authorities in trying to milk philatelists with their c.t.o. stamps and unnecessary issues.

There is still avid interest in Postal History for all countries. The "History" part is here to stay for as long as there is history. Actually part of the perception that the hobby "dying" is the high prices and commissions at auctions, which keeps the new generations to get more active with the hobby. 

Who would think that China, India some Gulf States, South America would fetch the prices they get today at auctions. Having said that I think the UK and most European countries (due to the volume of material available) can enable anyone to start a collection with almost nothing. South Africa in general I am not too sure if it is a good investment, as the collapse of the rand keeps collectors away from the hobby. 

I don't view philately as a good way to save money or invest money. At present is like buying new cars in showrooms and expecting to sell them at a profit after you drive them away. Auctioneers fees are too high. Having said that though a knowledgeable collector can still achieve good results if he is selective. I am confident though  that one would not lose money in the long run. 

 

 

 

I am trying to bring new blood in - don't frighten them away.

We have started a website largely for the old blood who already collect but they haven't joined the SAPC in any numbers. Have we frightened them away? No, we've had people say "well-done", "excellent" and "thank you". But the bottom line is that the collectors we did this for and thought this would appeal to have been slow to join. What are we doing wrong? I suspect that in part their reluctance is to do with this being a website that requires a computer to log-in, an internet connection and hours spent at the computer screen. Its not what these old boys want or can do very well. The computer revolution probably happened on their periphery. What they want is a nice cosy traditional meeting with their life-long philatelic pals that is lot less challenging and demanding at this time of their lives. I am not going to stop doing this because they are chewing the cud. As you say in your "Today I Searched For Dinosaurs" this hobby has kept you alive, mentally, physically and spiritually. This web site is doing the same for me. So, if the dinosaurs won't join, I hope we can attract the next generation, the 40 - 60 year-olds! ("Eighty is the new seventy", apparently.) Every young person that I've seen attend a stamp show has backed out the door at tea-time. Don't delude yourself. For young people, there is no fun  in stuffy, elitist philatelic societies run by dinosaurs. But a website like this, well that is another matter. It may not be hip or cool - I certainly am not - but it is immediately accessible to them in way that they instinctively understand. It's the future of philately and postal history, such as it has one. Sadly, there are increasingly less and less people collecting stamps and covers. That trend will continue to its inevitable conclusion.

Jamie, I have just read your Crash Cover article. That is really an excellent piece of postal history writing. Wonderful. I think we will put it on the Home Page of the SAPC. Every South African philatelist should read it.

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