The 2023/2024 season overall, has been very successful and there have been many positives. Attendances at our meetings in London are picking up again following the Covid hiatus and, as you will read from Bryan in his report, the Society continues to be in a very healthy financial position. Technology continues to play an important part in our activities going forward, which is evidenced by the continued success of our auctions as Nick S will confirm in his report.
Importantly, we completed the exercise of digitising our Journals back to 1975, all of which are available on our website, and are searchable. If you haven’t used this service, I recommend it to you as, from personal experience, I have found it incredibly helpful in researching some new collecting interests of mine. Feedback has been very positive.
Back in November, we held a Technology Review meeting with the full committee and our webmaster present. Consequently, we have a full programme of enhancements scheduled going forward, including the commencement of digitising our Bulletins, the introduction of a new on-line payment system called “Stripe” and a complete review and upgrade of the website. So, watch this space.
The one downside was the most unfortunate cancellation of our long weekend in Salisbury due to circumstances beyond our control. Essential refurbishment to the hotel was substantially delayed but not to disappoint our members, we did hold a very successful additional Members’ meeting on 20 April in replacement. We are looking at having more meetings in the provinces following the success of Alan Whittaker’s meeting in Chandlers Ford which he will be running again next year, and Gerald Marriner has agreed to run a similar one in Market Harborough next year. Thanks go to both Alan and Gerald for taking on this responsibility. It is great to meet members at these meetings who we do not usually see in London.
Finally, in this section, I would like to pay tribute to David Gurney who made the difficult decision to step down as our Editor after 25 years. His tenure was a tremendous achievement and one which is unlikely to be replicated. In addition, David has held many other positions on our committee including, of course, President. Our wholehearted thanks, David.
I am delighted that the transition from David to Nick Martin, our new Editor, has been seamless and it is gratifying that our well-respected Journal continues to be in such good hands. Feedback again has been very positive.
I would now like to move on to next year which will see our Society celebrate its 75th Anniversary. We officially started planning for this back in January this year and are continuing to hold updating meetings of the Full Committee every two months to keep on top of the planning. We begin on 9 January 2025 with an invitation to display to the RPSL fellows and members. We have made excellent progress with around 20 members agreeing to supply sufficient top class C.I. philately to fill 54 frames – that’s 864 sheets! A terrific spread of material across the ages will be on show and Nick Martin is pulling together, what I believe will be, an excellent commemorative brochure, a copy of which will be sent to every member of the Society.
We are also well in advance with our arrangements for our long weekend in Guernsey which takes place on the 11 – 13 April. We are fine tuning our plans with the hotel and are looking to make it a memorable event. We will be issuing the booking form early – probably in September – and the hotel will be accepting bookings without the need for a deposit. Early booking and the finalising of travel plans is recommended.
Bryan has progressed well with his Member Profiles project, and it is hoped that this will be completed in time for each member to receive a copy of the booklet with the March 2025 Journal.
Finally, the Society has agreed to support Europhilex 2025 by booking a two-hour slot for a meeting in Birmingham on Saturday 10 May 2025 between 13.00 -15.00, and we hope those members attending the show will stop by to see some displays. We will keep you fully advised of progress with all these events so please keep a close eye on the website for the latest news.
I would like to finish by thanking my team for all their hard work and commitment during the past twelve months. I emphasise the word team because without teamwork, this Society would not function as it does. We all work together in a collaborative way, there is good communication between us, and we are all pulling in the same direction to do our utmost for your Society which, I assure you, is not necessarily mirrored in other Societies. Next year, as we celebrate our 75th anniversary, will be very challenging. However, I am confident that we will go about our business in a professional manner to ensure that we continue to be successful in all that we do.
