Gentlemen,

As you are probably aware, it has become a tradition for London to host an International Philatelic Exhibition at the start of every decade. In the past these Exhibitions have been largely underwritten by Royal Mail and philately has been highly appreciative of this support. The 2000 Exhibition was held at Earls Court and the present plan is for the 2010 event to be held at The Business Design Centre (BDC). It is understood that Royal Mail has agreed to guarantee circa £500,000 for the 2010 event to be called a “Festival of Stamps” as opposed to an International.

Fundamentally, it is almost unthinkable for a London International Philatelic Exhibition to take place without the participation of Royal Mail. It is unfortunate, therefore, that we have to say that, in our opinion, your generous financial backing is being used to hold the Exhibition in a totally unsuitable venue, the BDC, which we consider will result in Royal Mail receiving undeserved adverse publicity, not only from collectors, but also from dealers and postal administrations alike. It could also result in a calamitous public relations exercise for you, especially from other Postal Administrations. This latter point would indeed be a tragedy and the purpose of this letter is to respectfully request you to hold an enquiry on the whole concept and aim of the London 2010 Exhibition with participation from the existing BDC committee and a cross section of all interested philatelic parties.

Generally philatelic internationals incur an immense expense and commensurate financial waste in erecting thousands of exhibit frames which are then judged by over forty judges. It is also a fact that these frames are regarded as the least interesting part of any exhibition and are to a great extent ignored by the visiting public. These is also the cost of the commissioners who carry these exhibits. Both these bodies receive a more or less all expenses paid trip , including fares and hotels for themselves and their partners, plus pocket money for the judges. It is this ‘tradition’ that wrecks any financial budget and this has to be massively curtailed so that such Exhibitions can be held with lower stand costs, greater market participation and an eventual break even of profit.

The space at the BDC was ;sold out’ on a reserved basis in under three weeks. A list of those that are accepted is not available but it is believed that the representation is very similar to a National Stamp show with a sprinkling of international dealers and postal administrations. Compare this with our 2000 Exhibition, or with the Belgica 2006 Exhibition held in Brussels last month, and the difference is huge. Brussels was a youth international, but 85 dealers and 45 postal administrations took stands, including Royal Mail, with another 25 administrations being represented by agents. The exhibition space was probably at least five times the size of BDC.

It is not our wish to criticise the decisions of the present 2010 Committee; they have no doubt done what they considered best with the resources available. However, we consider that the present plans have to alter and that the venue has to change to something much larger and more suitable. Every venue will have drawbacks but, as an idea, ExCel in Docklands does have very affordable and excellent facilities.

Royal Mail remains the most important part of British philately with an enormous client base supporting the Edinburgh Philatelic Bureau. It is believed that philately contributes 10% of the annual profit of Royal Mail which over a decade amounts to a gargantuan figure. If it can be proven, even to your conservative accountants, that underwriting a revised and commercially viable 2010 Exhibition will be a profitable venture, even taking into account a ‘loss’ for cancelling the BDC, then surely this letter will have been worthwhile and the future of international and domestic philately will benefit immensely.

So far as Royal Mail is concerned, the hosting of such an event will have large public relations benefits when related to overseas postal administrations. Furthermore, if Royal Mail takes advantage of the special stamp issues that can be made for such an exhibition and adds a surcharge for the exhibition costs, as has been done previously, then an overall profit is almost guaranteed. Space should also be made for Her Majesty’s customary exhibit and some form of Royal Patronage. The London International has always been held in the highest esteem by philately worldwide, and with a revised Exhibition as outlined above, this fine reputation can continue.

Together we can host a highly successful exhibition as we have always done in the past; after all your slogan cancellations have described philately as “The Worlds Greatest Hobby”, let us keep it that way.

Respectfully submitted by the signatories hereunder.

(Over 130 members of the British and international stamp trade appended their agreement to this letter)

The MCC Web Site

Attending Stamp Fairs, such as our own at Dunchurch, is one of the pleasures of stamp collecting. Not only does it give you the chance to see items you are interested in but it is also an important social event. I have made many friends since starting this club and I know many of you have formed your own ‘groups’ within the club.
There are however many members who are unable to attend such events and find it difficult to search out information or buy goods and services. This is where the world wide web comes into its own (just look at the success of sites such as eBay!). I know there are some people who complain about some of the content on the web (quite rightly in my opinion) and have concerns about security (with all the security measures available now this should not be an issue), but overall this form of communication is now widely accepted as the 21st century’s most convenient form of commerce.

After many months of research I am pleased to tell you that the MCC’s web site now has an additional section - the MCC Shop. This section enables you to renew your membership, apply for membership or purchase the range of MCC accessories already on offer. All online purchases are quick, convenient, easy and safe thanks to the services of Secure Trading Ltd, our secure payment provider.

The MCC shop has now gone ‘live’, so why not have a look and see what is on offer!! Access to the information section of the site is completely open - i.e you do NOT have to log on and enter passwords etc. When you visit the MCC shop access is also open, until you reach the ‘checkout’ stage. Here you will have to register with your personal details, but this only needs to be done once. ALL information in this part of the site uses high levels of encryption providing protection not only for your card and account information but also the MCC itself.

Access to the shop is simplicity itself. Using the link on the home page will take you to an ‘MCC shop index’ page. Here you will be able to access the individual page of the shop that interests you directly. Alternatively you can choose another link which will take you to the home page of the shop itself. Here you can browse to your hearts content!! On the top left of the page is a list of categories, which is self explanatory. One of these is called Members offers - and it is just that. This section is for the use of members ONLY. Here YOU can offer whatever you like to collectors all over the world (so long as it is Philatelic!!). It is an opportunity for you to sell your surplus material whether it be individual items, accumulations, accessories etc. etc. For full details of this facility please contact the club.

Over the coming months and years the MCC shop will constantly change - visit it regularly - you never know what you will find on offer!!