Today, I opened the stamp fair at Claygate village hall, hosted by Kingston and District Philatelic Society (pictured below). Brian Sole and his team organised a magnificent display – with dealers and enthusiasts from the local area and further afield bringing together collections covering topics as diverse as the Olympics and hyperinflation in Weimar Germany.

The Society was set up in 1927, the same year as the first transatlantic telephone service was established. Eighty-four years on, it is marvellous to see that they are still going strong.