I must be getting old, or the number of hours in the day have been reduced, but it only seems a few weeks ago since we celebrated our 300th sale last year! That was a monster for us but the effort was rewarded in a great final result.

The quest for good material particularly British Commonwealth goes on, and I seem to recall last year commenting how difficult it was to secure top material, this year has been no deferent. In fact it has been tougher because prices in Europe and America have soared making buying at reasonable percentages of catalogue very difficult. Unfortunately the Stanley Gibbons catalogue has not helped the UK dealers, the percentage increase in annual prices is barely 5%, the market has moved on probably by 10%, 15% and even 20% in many places. The Scott catalogue in the USA have shown huge rises, again making it more difficult for us to import material. Add importation and freight charges and any benefits are quickly wiped out.

Out of the gloom though there often appears a shining light - and a huge beacon has shone in our direction this year. A large percentage of the sale has been contributed by one of our loyal vendors in the USA. Three considerable consignments have swelled this sale, all GB and CW, with some hefty single items and collections. A heart felt thank you to him and all our regular contributors, without them our job would be even more difficult than it is!

So despite my moaning we have still been able to offer you about 5000 lots heavily weighted in British commonwealth. The first session on Saturday at 10.30am has the world covers and foreign singles, followed by Great Britain at 1.00pm. The world collections (almost 1000)are strong in CW and French Colonies and this session commences at 3.00pm.

On Sunday 18th we can offer over 2700 British Commonwealth sets and singles and we are starting at 10.30am. As our regulars know we have moved from our normal venue at the Maltings to Hiams Social Club at Prickwillow just outside of Ely. A map is in the catalogue and on the website if required. We hope the new roof on the Maltings will not take too long to repair and we anticipate going back there in due course.

So what has happened in sleepy Ely this year - well the main news is the population will increase by at least one! Our Casse is expecting a (boy or girl!) in August; she seems to be blooming at the moment so we all wish her continued good health and much happiness when here baby arrives. I think everything else probably pales into insignificance!!

As always a big thank you to all our purchasers and vendors - we only survive because of you and for that we are always thankful. Let's hope there are plenty of lots for everyone. For any help with accommodation or other general enquiries Mandy and Cas will be pleased to help you.

I hope you enjoy the auction - have fun.

Bob Carr