INTRODUCTION

I have been collecting stamps, on and off, for around 40 years. I first started when I was at primary school by joining a stamp club run by one of the teachers. My interest held until my mid teens when other "normal" teenage pursuits took over and I put away my stamps. 

I recaptured my enthusiasm in my late 20’s and joined several local stamp clubs. I kept this up for about 8 years until I got to the point where new stamp supplies were becoming difficult and expensive to obtain.

Then about 3 years ago I discovered the internet, and what a revelation! I suddenly discovered a large world-wide community who were prepared to swap stamps and I could get stamps from other countries for just the small cost of sending packets of stamps through the mail. My collection exploded! The only problem I have is cataloguing and mounting the ever growing numbers of stamps I am receiving.