A strange breed of fish

The British News.Telegraph quotes George Orwell (1984, Animal Farm) as having once described stamp collectors as: "a strange, silent, fish-like breed, of all ages, but only of the male sex; women, apparently, fail to see the peculiar charm of gumming bits of coloured paper into albums."

In the article, Paul Fraser, chairman of Stanley Gibbons, says he feels that "the age of the childhood stamp collection may be drawing to a close, squeezed out by other interests."

He points out it takes time for children to learn how to put together a stamp collection and that children have lots of other options now. He added that they needed help from their parents and that this was not always forthcoming.

"Parents used to spend a lot more time with their children, and they don't have time now," he said.

But Britain's stamp issuer, Royal Mail, said more children than ever were signing up to collect its products.

To read the entire article, click here.