XANTHE'S
STAMP MAGAZINE

Heidi (left) and Xanthe (right) interviewing PTS Chairman Simon Carson This was the fourth time I have been to a large stamp event at the Business Design Centre in London but only the third Stampex as my first time was for London 2022 International Stamp Exhibition. Things have changed in a short time, but some things stay the same. It is always reassuring to see friendly dealers and talk to people who know a lot about philately. I don't think that will ever change so long a

At Stampex, my sister Heidi and I met with Simon Carson, the chair of the Philatelic Traders Society (PTS). The PTS is a very important and influential organisation and one of the many things it does is organise Stampex. Simon very generously agreed to spend fifteen minutes talking to us about the PTS, Stampex and collecting generally. Heidi: What makes Stampex special compared to other stamp shows? Simon: Stampex is a very, very special stamp show because it's the sort of n

Another of my Stampex interviews was with Mark McShane. Mark is the manager of the Lundy Collectors Club - which is not all about stamps but certainly knows a lot about them! Xanthe: Could you tell me about the Lundy Collectors Club and what it does? Mark: The Lundy Collectors Club is a group of people who collect anything related to Lundy Island - it could be stamps but also coins, postcards, books, souvenirs and even porcelain. We're really just a meeting place for like

In the next few days I will be writing a lot about Stampex, which was held in London last week. During Stampex I was able to interview some very interesting people. The first of these is Susan Henderson, from the Stamp Active Network. Some of you will know about Stamp Active but, if you don't, it promotes stamp collecting for young people in the UK. Stamp Active also runs a club for young collectors, called Kidstamps. My sister Heidi and I caught up with Susan at the end of