Author Archives: mwalsh

My only sister – and of course, my favourite sister! – has reminded me of the joy of receiving a letter in the mail. Before I expand on her recent letters, I want to share a little more about Susan, who resides with her husband in rural Alberta. Over the course of her many years living in the wild rose country, our communication has mostly been through the telephone plus, of course, cards at Christmas and birthdays. I consider her old school – that’s as far as I’ll go – when it comes to the Internet. She’s more comfortable picking up the phone than clicking on Outlook to send me an email. I was perfectly happy with the phone calls as it provided ample time to catch up; however, I often teased her about not keeping up with technology and the Internet. Well, she shocked me a few years back, when, out of nowhere, she sent a text to my phone. This proved to be another great opportunity to stay connected with my sister. Well, she surprised me again a few months ago, when I received from her a letter in the mail. At first, I thought it might be bad news that she only wanted to share on paper instead over the phone. Continue reading →

I received a pleasant “stamp” surprise while reading the newspapers at my in-laws over the Christmas holidays. It’s a morning routine to grab a cup of coffee and sit next to my father-in-law Tom as he hands over sections of the London Free Press and his hometown paper, the St. Thomas Times-Journal. Before I go on, I need to add that I worked as a reporter/editor at the Times-Journal (locally known as the T-J) in the late ’80s and early ’90s and it’s where I met my wife Karen. Whenever we’re home, I look forward to catching up on the local news. As Tom handed over the first few sections of the Free Press (he reads the sports section first!), I spent some time reading the first section consisting of local and national news. The next section I grabbed was “An Edition of NP” (National Post), eight pages covering national and international news. When I flipped over to page two I was so surprised by the content that I quickly flipped back to the cover page to confirm the article was indeed published in the National Post. Continue reading →

“The goal of a stamp show is to meet the needs of a diverse constituency.” That quote served as the basis for discussion at the recent “Summit on the Future of Philately” spearheaded by the American Philatelic Society (APS). In reviewing the report that came out of the summit, I’m happy to discover the participants deservingly gave a lot of attention to the topic: The future of stamp shows and dealers – How are we doing planning shows? The discussion certainly reveals America’s leading philatelists are not giving up on local and national stamp shows, even though some in the hobby feel the events are being crushed by online auctions and consumer-to-consumer e-commerce sites such as eBay and Amazon. They identified the need to “rebrand shows to something that may attract new collectors.” Continue reading →

The recent tribute paid to Peter Butler was a super way to cap off a wonderful year for Canada’s philatelic community. My wife, Karen, and I were honoured to be invited to attend the recent annual banquet of the Philatelic Specialists Society of Canada. It’s a wonderful evening of socializing with some of Canada’s – and beyond – premier philatelic specialists who are dedicated to expanding the knowledge and resources for our hobby. It’s also a great evening of expanding one’s own knowledge and this year’s keynote speaker – John Walsh of St. John’s, N.L., – lived up to the high expectations of providing an insightful and fun presentation on “Musings on a Life in Philately.” The emotional highlight of the evening, of course, was the incredible and well-deserving accolades paid to long-time philatelist Peter Butler. Continue reading →

By now you have read, or heard about, some of the suggestions from the task force looking into the long-term viability of Canada Post. What’s missing from the 102-page report is any real focus on philately. The closest the report gets to mentioning philately is the following reference in the executive summary: “Public opinion research focus groups indicate that even though Canadians recognize the ongoing shift to digital communications, they are emotionally attached to mail: personal letters, parcels from loved ones, greeting and holiday related cards are viewed with much affection, even nostalgia.” Continue reading →

I usually find myself chuckling as I’m listening to my favourite radio station during my 50-minute morning commute to my St. Catharines office. But I found myself annoyed one recent morning when the hosts were talking about collecting and hobbies. They talked about numerous things people collect, but when the male host mentioned stamps, his counterpart – a young woman likely in her 20s – quickly dismissed stamp collecting as a dead hobby. I was taken back by how contemptuous she was about stamps. It’so easy to dismiss her as being reflective of a generation that spends more time texting and snapchatting with next to no experience in mailing letters. If I had Bluetooth, I likely would have called into the radio show to give an important news flash that our hobby is alive and well. And yes, I know most philatelists have likely experienced similar comments from family, friends and the younger generation. But it doesn’t mean we have to accept it. Continue reading →

Canada Post’s Star Trek 50th Anniversary series is a hit with Canadian collectors as well as our friends south of the border. This was evident at the World Stamp Show hosted in New York City this past May. Canada Post’s Star Trek-themed display was captivating. While the booth dwarfed in size compared to its neighbour – the United States Postal Service (USPS) – the large image of the USS Enterprise, towering above the Canada Post display with its magnetic draw, made it difficult to resist. It was by far the most attractive display on the massive convention floor at the Javits Center, where the eight-day World Stamp Show drew tens of thousands of people from across the world. And the booth was buzzing with customers any time I was there, or even walking by. It was, indeed, a huge success for Canada Post. Continue reading →