Ideas for future stamps - a reply from Royal Mail

A few days ago, we wrote to Royal Mail to suggest some ideas for future commemorative stamps.

You can read our suggestions here. Royal Mail has sent a response very quickly, and here is what they have to say (in a slightly abridged form): "Thank you very much for taking the tiume to compile and share such a thoughtful and wide-ranging set of suggestions for the Special Stamp Programme. We know a great deal of research and consideration has gone into these proposals, and we are particularly interested to see the variety of ideas you have put forward.

"it is always encouraging to receive suggestions that look beyond the obvious subjects and consider different aspects of British life and identity.

"As you will appreciate, selecting subjects for the Special Stamp Programme involves balancing a number of factors...whiole a theme may be intersting, historically significant or culturally important, it must also be capable of working successfully as a stamp issue. This includes considering whether the subject can be rpresetned through a strong and visually engaging set of stamp designs, whether any intellectual property rights, permissions or licensing considerations can be addressed, and whether the theme is likely to have broad appeal for customers and collectors, meeting commercial goals and targets.

"Not every worthwhile idea is suitable for development as a stamp issue, and sometimes themes that appear straightforward can present practical challenges... "That said, we value the thought and care that has gone into these suggestions and for taking the time to share these ideas with us. You have proposed some interesting and thought-provoking subjects. Please be assured these will be carefully considered as part of our long-term planning process." We wouldn't have expected anything apart from a letter thanking us, and I suppose now we will just have to wait patiently to see if any of our ideas are taken forward. I know my dad will be gutted if Royal Mail pass up the opportunity to use the 2030 Christmas issue to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. Of all the ideas we put forward, I would hope that Royal Mail could finally create an issue on either endangered crafts or the languages of Britain.

What was really good is that Royal Mail used three first class stamps on the envelope, all from the recent Moths series. They didn't need to do that and it was a really nice touch.