Midland Philatelic Federation

Midpex 2023 took place at the Warwickshire Event Centre on Saturday 1st July and proved to be a very popular day with both dealers and collectors alike.  After the constraints of 'covid' in 2021, the event passed off very smoothly, thanks to the hard work of the venue, and the MIDPEX 2023 committee.  Many Societies reported interested visitors, and the spacious layout allowed an unhindered circulation of all visitors, especially those with mobility issues.  The varied mix of dealers, coupled with the Society stands, give the event its unique attraction.  Thanks are also due to Cavendish Auctions Ltd. for sponsoring the event programme. 

Coventry Stamp and Postcard Club will move to holding their meetings in the afternoons in the new season beginning in September 2023.  The decision was take because of the aging membership and their reluctance to come out on some dark winter nights as well as an increase in speakers who would rather come in afternoons. The meetings will be held in the same venue as present as it is available on Tuesday afternoons. Meetings will commence at 2 pm and end by 4pm.

It is with great sadness that Evesham & District Philatelic Society has been wound up.  With deaths and illnesses membership was down to five members and it was not considered worth continuing.  The society assets will transfer to the Midland Philatelic Federation for safekeeping in case it is possible to resurrect things in the future. 

Click here to see the June 2023 edition of the New Midlander. The next issue will be in August 2023 so any news to Ken Flint as early in July as possible as he will be in Canada from July 29th 

An updated version of the MPF Speakers List is available here (May 2023).  Please provide any updates to the MPF General Secretary .

Click here to see the April 2023 edition of the New Midlander. The next issue will be in June 2023 so any news to Ken Flint by the last week in May 2023 please, especially society programmes and meeting reports.

Click here to see the February 2023 edition of the New Midlander. The next issue will be in April 2023 so any news to Ken Flint by the last week in march 2023 please, especially society programmes and meeting reports.

Copies of past New Midlanders are available here.

The Autumn 2022 MPF Convention was held on October 23rd at the Banbury Festival of Stamps, and included the MPF 2022 Individual 16-sheet competition.  Nick Bridgwater won Best-in-Show with a Large Gold medal for a display of  Pre-1840 Bristol Ship Letter Handstamps.  The full results of the individual 16-sheet competition are here,  

The Annual General Meeting of the MPF was held and John Davies has taken over from Bob Harper as President.  A new Treasurer is being actively sought.  The minutes of the MPF AGM are here.

Stratford-upon-Avon P.S. will be meeting on Wednesday afternoons in future, rather than in the evening. See here for their 2022-2023 programme.

Womborne and District P.S. have changed their meeting place and have a revised programme, with their first meeting being on the 17th March.  See here for their updated programme.

The Midland Philatelic Federation Autumn Convention and AGM was held at the Solihull Philatelic Society Stamp Fair on Saturday October 23rd 2021 at Lode Heath School, Lode Lane, Solihull B91 2HW.  The MPF Autumn Convention included ratification of committee positions, acceptance of the uninspected accounts, and a plea for new people to join the committee.  In particular the MPF requires a new Treasurer from Spring 2022.  See here for the minutes.

The results of the individual 16-sheet competition are here.  Best in Show was John Walker with "The American Civil War 1861-1865; Wallpaper covers of the Southern Confederacy". 

AMP Fairs have announced that their Nottingham Fair will re-commence on 7th December at the Nuthall Methodist Church (see here).  Flyers for the Great Barr and Knowle Fairs for 2021/22 are now available on the Midlands Stamp Fairs page.

With sadness it is announced that both Coleshill Philatelic & Postcard Club and South Birmingham Philatelic & Postcard Society have decided to close due to falling membership.  Shropshire Postal History Society is also closing due to falling membership.  Greater Nottingham Co-operative Philatelic Society and Rushden & District Stamp Club are both also believed to be dormant (if not please contact the MPF Secretary).

A Society Health Assessment is offered here as a potential way of identifying areas associated with the running of your society that might benefit from attention or action.  Suggestions for improvement to the Health Assessment are very welcome.

See here for a review of a successful Midpex 2021.  Midpex 2023 will next be held at the same venue on 1st July 2023.  Do please make a note for your diary.

Notification has been received that some Fairs are planning to restart after lockdown. Please see the Midland Stamp Fairs page.

it's good to hear that several local societies are now holding regular Zoom meetings. The advantage with these meetings are that anyone can attend - wherever they are! If your society is holding Zoom meetings would it be prepared to open an invitation to members of other philatelic societies and clubs across the Midlands Philatelic Federation? If your society would then please do let Steven Harrison know, and via the MPF website and email we can publicise it for you! Also if you or someone you know in your society is able / willing to give a PowerPoint presentation via Zoom I know there are several societies who would be interested to get in touch with you. Again, please do let Steven Harrison know if you could volunteer - it's a bit like the MPF speaker's list - but focused on Zoom and PowerPoint!

As you can see this front page has undergone some housekeeping ! Older entries can be seen here.

The pruning was in preparation for the move to 'New' Google sites, the results of which you can see here (the old 'Classic' Google sites will not be available later in 2021). As is usual with these things, in some areas the 'new' format unfortunately has less function than the old one.