Stamp collecting/using isn't just an old person's hobby

 Last week, there was a virtual stamp exhibition, Stampex, held over 3 days online. There were talks conducted over Zoom, and recorded. There were virtual booths with different dealers and auction houses, as well as those involved in promoting philately and/or educational videos on stamps/post. You could enter a booth and chat to the booth representatives or even the other visitors. Great fun. Topics included old stamps, forgeries even, plus newer stamps such as the recent Legend of King Arthur stamps issued by Royal Mail, and the upcoming Espresso stamps to be issued by the United States Postal Service (USPS). Materials of stamps was also mentioned, such as lace, fish, or even toilet paper (the Austrian postal service is to blame for two of them, and the Faroe Islands postal service for the fish). I was lucky to receive a Postcrossing postcard with this stamp from Thailand on for postage a few years ago. 

There were also exhibits, on mostly historical stamps. However, children took part in exhibits for their favourite things, and I must say these were rather impressive, on topics from space to golf to bears to hedgehogs. 

However, while leafing through a newspaper on Saturday, I came across advertisements: a checklist for retirement planning. I don't know how appreciative Guernsey Post and Stanley Gibbons are for being adverts either side of incontinence products! Yes, while retired people might have more time and money to spend on philately, children may be able to spend pocket money on packets of stamps bundled by Stanley Gibbons or WHSmiths, or perhaps in charity shops (I've found them in some Oxfam, RNLI and animal charity shops). 

On the other side, I've heard that stamp collecting is only for children, alongside having penpals.