Youth Philately in Scotland
The Association of Scottish Philatelic Societies (ASPS) 95th Annual Congress Stamp & Postcard Fair in Dunfermline
The Association of Scottish Philatelic Societies (ASPS) held its 95th Annual Congress Stamp & Postcard Fair in Dunfermline over two days in April. There were many stamp dealers, postcard dealers, auction houses etc attending, as well as a large selection of competition and display entries, including Junior competition entries. There was a large area set aside for children’s activities, including various tables of stamp-themed board games set up by Sandie Robb sponsored by StampIt. Lise Whittle provided other stamp activities and crafts for youngsters, and handed out Stamp Active albums, goody bags and Kidstamps leaflets. Numbers of young visitors was less than had been hoped, but those that came along thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and the family board games were a great success. The youngsters were able to choose from a large selection of stamps and other philatelic material to take home, and many adult members of the public and stall holders gave generous donations to StampIt. Some adults asked if they could take a Stamp Active album and some stamps for their young children/grandchildren who weren’t present on the day, so we feel that even more children will benefit.
Ayrshire Philatelic Society encouraging youngsters at local Antiques & Collectors Fair
Ayrshire Philatelic Society have begun to take a table at a local monthly Ayr Antiques & Collectors Fair in order to advertise their Society and hopefully gain some new members, and also provide free stamps and albums for youngsters. This was an idea started last year by their then-President Peter Smith who very sadly has since passed away, but the Society has continued with his initiative, and interest continues to grow. Various member of the Society help with the stand, and Stamp Active albums, leaflets and bags of stamps are available on the stall for any youngsters. Interest is gradually growing, and it is hoped that word will spread, the Society will gain new members, and that more people will bring youngsters along with them to the event.
Stamp Activities at Girlguiding Camp
Girlguiding Ayrshire South recently held their Annual County Camp at Nether Auchendrane Activity Centre near Alloway, Ayrshire. 59 Guides from across the county attended plus 17 adult Leaders. The theme for the weekend was FIFA WORLD CUP 2026. Lise Whittle was helping with the cooking at the event and was asked beforehand to provide a stamp related activity for the Guides. Lise prepared a countries treasure hunt where the Guides had to search the campsite for hidden cards which showed stamps from different countries that were taking part in the FIFA World Cup, and identify the country. Lise said “I made sure that some were easy to identify, and some were tricky, and although the name of the country is shown on most stamps, it isn’t always obvious which country it comes from due to language differences.” There was also a fact about each country which the Guides had to remember and repeat to the Leader after they had found the card. If they got the country and facts correct, they received either a point for their team, a bag of sweeties, or a single letter. When they had collected all the letters they were to rearrange the letters to work out what football-related word it spelt (it was PENALTY). When they had completed all the tasks they could each choose a Stamp Active album and bag of stamps to take back to their tent. Several Guides showed particular interest – one recognised a Polish stamp in her album and said she would like to collect Polish stamps as she has a family connection; another Guide was desperately looking for a brown horse like her own horse, and we had a group of Guides going through the loose stamps trying to help her – and yes, we found one! And a Rainbows leader has asked Lise to come and talk about stamps to her Rainbows.
