Welcome! The Edinburgh Philatelic Society was formed in 1927 and we celebrated our 75th anniversary in 2002. We have met in several different venues over the years, but we currently meet in                              St John's Church Hall,                              West End,                              Edinburgh,  at the corner of Princes' Street and Lothian Road. Entry to the hall is from Lothian Road. We meet on alternate tuesdays (see the syllabus below); the Hall is open from 7.00pm and the meeting begins at 7.30pm. If you are a member of another philatelic society and you are visiting Edinburgh during our season, why not call in and visit us? Our logo. Our  logo is based upon the "Brunswick Star", an experimental cancellation used in Edinburgh from 1863 to 1871. The name refers to a decoration from the Hanoverian Order of Brunswick, but no-one seems to know who gave it this name, or when! The number in the logo is the Post Office number issued to Edinburgh in 1844. The image below shows a Brunswick Star used on cover.                                         Syllabus 2008 /2009 September 23rd Presidential Display Bill Torrance October 7th Society Visit Kirkaldy S & PC October 21st Cyprus & East Indies Foulford & Jackson November 4th Clyde Coast PO's and Piers Alfred Thorp November 18th Faroe Islands Keith Robinson December 2nd Stamp Shows Bob Catto December 16th  New Acquisitions or ten sheets Members' evening January 13th The Committee entertains Committee Members January 27th Uganda, Old and New David Easson February 10th The Letter "T" (St. John's) Members evening February 24th Norway Dr. Brian Dow March 10th Minerals, Gems and Ores Ken Gibb March 24th Society Visit Alba S.G. April 7th Gibraltar Ken Norris April 21st AGM, & "Swan song" Bill Torrance   Exchange Packet We have a thriving exchange packet which is sent out fortnightly throughout the year. The packet  secretary is always looking for new books for the packet. If you have any that you would like us to circulate, please contact the packet secretary by e-mail. You can contact him at                                    bob.catto@blueyonder.co.uk   EDINBURGH PHILATELIC SOCIETY OPEN DAY   St John's Hall, Saturday, 6 September 2008, 14.00 - 16.30   Having had a successful Open Day in 2006, the Committee has decided that we should repeat the event this year, following much the same pattern as two years ago.  The aim is to encourage interested members of the public to come and see what stamp collecting is all about and perhaps develop their interest further.  At the same time we want to give an opportunity to those of our own members who do not normally attend the Tuesday evening meetings, to come and meet their colleagues.  Collectors from other societies in the Edinburgh area will also be welcome.   The central part of our afternoon will be a display of material illustrating various aspects of stamp collecting.  This will be shown in two halves, from 14.00 to 15.00 and from 15.30 to 16.30, and each half will consist of four displays, totalling eight in all.  The aspects we plan to show are UK Stamps (both modern and older), Foreign Stamps, Thematic Stamps, Postmarks, Aerophilately and Postcards.  We will also run a series of stalls where visitors can buy stamps, ask questions, find out about albums and other tools of the hobby, get an introduction to stamp collecting and its educational advantages, and have a free cup of tea.   The Committee is going to need your assistance to run this event, and to make it a success.  We need people to help set up the hall for our visitors, starting at 13.00 on the Saturday, and also to help take it down at 16.30.  We need people to act as stewards and guides during the time it is open to the public, and to help at the various stalls.    As well as helping on the day we need you to spread the word before hand about the event, and persuade people to come along.  We will have posters to distribute to organisations and places where likely visitors might be found.  Obviously we want to encourage youngsters to take part, but we are also targeting the over fifties.   The sub-committee who are organising the Open Day are Bob and Irene Catto and Bill Robertson.  If you can offer specialist help prior to the day, for example photocopying, car transport  (especially for the disabled),  distributing posters,  contact with the media,  please get in touch with any members of the Committee - Bill Robertson, on 0131 445 1405, will usually be available.   The next issue of EPS News will come out at the beginning of August, with the latest information - just to get you all psyched-up, ready for the Open Day.                                                                                       Bob, Irene and Bill