New member from Fiordland, New Zealand

My name is Neil and I've collected stamps since childhood, when my mother gave me her old collection. Since then I have gone through periods where I have been very keen and spells where other things took priority. My current keen period has lasted for at least the last seven years and it has been interesting to note the apparent recent increase in interest in philately during the pandemic. My early interests were fairly broad and I collected almost anything, but soon I started to focus on GB and to a lesser extent British Commonwealth. Over the years I have specialized in a few areas, notably Machins which I have collected since the mid seventies, and more recently Queen Victoria line-engraved issues. I moved from the UK to New Zealand just over 15 years ago and have just recently started to learn a lot more about the stamps of my new home country.
I guess I had better own up and admit that I joined this forum by accident when I misread the results of a Google search for a forum with a similar name. However there was enough to arouse my interest so I decided to stay.

I look forward to corresponding with you all soon

Neil