My Collection & Obsession Part 1 : Royal Mail 1st Day Covers

Looking at the number of reviews featured here, I am sure some of you may think I am somewhat obsessed with beauty products while the truth is I haven’t been spending on makeup/skincare for quite some time now. Although I do have a collection of beauty products, that isn’t my obsession and it’s so easy not to spend on beauty products nowadays for so many reasons but I’ll save that for another day. My real obsession is with philately or to be more specific, 1st day covers from several countries in particular UK, Singapore, Australia, NZ and Hong Kong. Why these countries? If time permits in the next few weeks, I’ll tell you exactly why I chose those countries but let’s begin with my favourite 1st day cover country, UK.

In my opinion, UK produces some of the world’s best stamps ever and that hardly comes as a surprise in view that the very first adhesive postage stamp, the  Penny Black was produced there, issued on 1 May 1840. Why do I collect stamps? They are beautiful and tell me so much about a country’s heritage, traditions, culture, people, history and of course, they increase in value. I have been collecting UK 1st day covers since 1987 so yes, I do own hundreds of UK 1st day covers and these are just a few…..

Prince William & Catherine Middleton

The stamps feature the official engagement portraits taken by world renowned photographer Mario Testino. The formal image was taken in the Council Chamber of St. James’s Palace while the informal image shows the couple embracing in the Palace’s Cornwall Room.

Jane Austen 

One of my favourite classic authors when I was a teenager, Jane Austen’s characters from her novels are illustrated. My favourite Jane Austen novel was Mansfield Park published in 1814. Sometimes I wish people today spoke like the characters in a Jane Austen novel, fat hopes!

Mythical Creatures

From fairy tales and legends, mythical creatures such as giants, dragons, mermaids, pixies, unicorns and fairies are on these stamps. Wouldn’t it be nice to meet a mermaid or a fairy? Actually, I would rather meet a genie as long as he can grant me a few wishes.

Comics

Growing up in the 70s when most of you were probably not even born yet, there were few indulgences, I spent most of my weekends at home poring over books and comics. My constant companions were Bunty, Dandy and Beano. How many of you who grew up in the 70s can forget Dennis The Menace, The Bash Street Kids, Minnie The Minx from Beano and Beryl The Peril from Topper?

Doctor Who

11 actors have featured Doctor Who on tv from 1963-present day. I am not a fan of the series but it says something about the longevity of the series that it has survived so many decades.