We always expect at the busy Christmas period there will be oddities in the mail. No longer postmarks from Universal machines, but sometimes oddities of other sorts.
Of course the invalidation of the old Machin and country definitives has opened up more opportunities for Royal Mail Revenue Protection teams to show how they have been confused by management decisions and a lack of clear information.
It is obvious that they need huge posters in the mail centres that can be seen from the other side of the room: then maybe individual operators would not refer so much to the RP teams, and the RP teams wouldn't find so many occasions to get it wrong.
Of course some just can't be bothered, hence this one was delivered in December 2025 - no date sadly - but it was, without postal markings or surcharge. (And no, it wasn't hand delivered with the stamp just a decoration.)
This one, on the other hand.... if you don't follow the GB new issues blogs (mine and Commonwealth Stamps Opinion) you might be forgiven for not recognising that this is a recently issued stamp.
Sure, it looks a bit like the 5d one issued in 1970 but I doubt that anyone working as a postman now remembers that. No, this has the head of King Charles on it and was issued on 27 November 2025.
And here it is, used and processed through Birmingham Mail Centre on 18th(?) December 2025. Three weeks and it's surcharged as being 'No Longer Valid for Postage', surely the quickest invalidation of any British stamp! (My thanks to Not Bruce on Stampboards for this.)
If anybody has other examples of Christmas season madness, please email them to me for inclusion here.
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