Does the Post Office really hate stamp collectors?

I have just spent all day yesterday trying to get eight British stamps off three envelopes. Five British stamps of no particular consequence, but special commemorative issues, none the less. Three Olympic stamps and two Christmas stamps.

In the same postal delivery, there were two other letters from England, with the usual everyday definitive stamps. It always amazes me that the British Post Office manages to produce such drab stamps. The outline of the Queen is recognisable after a fashion, but for sheer lack of imagination these stamps are hard to beat. I guess it saves on design fees.

As if that were not enough, the Post Office has used the money that it has saved on design costs, and invested in purple crayons, like the ones that my grandson Bradley, uses to draw over his mum’s kitchen table. These purple crayons are then used to scrawl over the stamps to indicate that they have been used. “X marks the spot” is the training mantra here. Sometimes franking machines are used, but these are not favoured, as they are too neat. Much better to make the stamp totally unusable by anyone, including stamp collectors.

So it’s back to my failed attempt to soak these stamps off their envelopes. Normally stamps from any other country come off in about 30 minutes. These particular eight items of philatelic delight refused to budge one-tenth of a millimetre. My attempts included the use of cold water, then warm water and then hot water, all to no avail after twelve hours.

The Post Office has obviously used the remains of its savings on design costs (after the costs of purple crayons) to purchase special super glue, normally used to hold aircraft wings on to the body of a plane. Well, judging from my experience yesterday, it wouldn’t surprise me.

My efforts having been defeated, I have come to the conclusion that the Post Office hates stamp collectors. Well wouldn’t you? If you had to trudge around the streets all day, in all weathers, with your only outlet for frustration being to throw elastic bands on the ground (of which I was a major beneficiary during my time in Norwich), wouldn’t you hate stamp collectors, together with dog owners?

So today, I was off to the local Post Office in Thalwil to buy a set of commemorative stamps and what did I find? No – they didn’t have any. Perhaps commemorative stamps aren’t meant to be used. They are just meant to be bought and placed in the stamp collection.

By the way, if you are unaware of the significance of the Post Office and elastic bands, you might be amused by the following: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Mail_rubber_band.