Issue Date: Monday 14th November 2016
REASON & INSPIRATION
Hibernation is an extended period of deep sleep that allows animals to survive winter extremes. Reducing metabolic rate and lowering body temperature enables survival through cold periods when food is scarce or has little energy value. Hibernating species 
usually work hard to build up large fat reserves before they bed down, and subsist on this during their sleep. They might wake up at intervals to defecate or top up on food. Few British mammals hibernate during the winter – only the dormouse, hedgehog and the bat species.
British snakes also hibernate through the winter months. The grass snake is the UK’s largest snake, growing to 150cm in length and identifiable by its yellow or cream band behind the head and its delicate body markings. They live in a wide range of wetland habitats but also venture into gardens. Grass Snakes eat as much as possible before they go into hibernation to store up enough fat in their bodies to live off during their long winter sleep.
Technical Details:
Number of stamps:Four
Date of issue: 14th November 2016
Design: Osborne Ross
Illustrations: Chris Wormell
Acknowledgements: illustrations and sketches by Chris Wormell Card design © Royal Mail Group Ltd 2016
Printer: International Security Printers
Process: Gravure
Format: Landscape
Size: 56mm x 25mm
Perforations: Die-cut simulated
Phosphor: Bars as appropriate
Gum: Self-adhesive
As overprinted by Post & Go machine: Hedgehog As hedgehogs get ready to hibernate, their body temperature drops down to as low as 2°C, and after that they enter a period of deep sleep. They often use piles of dead leaves and vegetation in gardens as shelter, which means that they are particularly vulnerable when garden bonfires are lit.
As overprinted by Post & Go machine: Grass snake Like all reptiles, grass snakes are cold-blooded and rely on basking in the sun to remain active. As the days get shorter, there is insufficient sun, so they crawl under piles of vegetation or into cracks in banks. They emerge in early summer and can be found basking in the sun once again.
As overprinted by Post & Go machine:Dormouse Dormice can spend over half the year in hibernation. Indeed, their name might come from this trait, from the Latin word for sleep, dormire. They bed down in carefully constructed nests, woven from strands of honeysuckle bark and dried grass, for instance, well hidden in their woodland habitat.
As overprinted by Post & Go machine: Brown long-eared bat Bats rely on a constant source of insects to eat. As the supply of these dwindles in the autumn, they find special hibernation roosts, often returning to the same location year after year. Bats prefer to hibernate at very cold temperatures and are often found in caves and old mine shafts.
Royal Mail has issued Christmas stamps since 1966 and is therefore celebrating fifty years of Special Stamps this year.
Design: The Chase
Six stamps feature iconic album covers: The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn; Atom Heart Mother;The Dark Side Of The Moon; Wish You Were Here; Animals and The Endless River.
A further four stamps within a miniature sheet celebrate the live performances of the band. Arguably the most visually literate band of all time, as well as being one of the most successful, their live appearances were renowned. They were among the first groups to make extensive use of light shows and projection of films for their appearances, increasing in ambition over the decades.
Pink Floyd were formed when the founding trio of bassist Roger Waters, drummer Nick Mason and keyboardist Rick Wright were augmented by original guitarist Syd Barrett. In 1968, guitarist David Gilmour joined the band shortly before Barrett’s departure.
THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN (EMI Columbia, 1967)
Harvest, 1970)
With sales in excess of 40 million copies worldwide, The Dark Side Of The Moon remains in the Billboard chart in America over 40 years after its release, and has been entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-charting album. Created by Hipgnosis, with graphics by George Hardie of NTA, the prism device is a classic.
WISH YOU WERE HERE (EMI Harvest, 1975)
ANIMALS (EMI Harvest, 1977)
THE ENDLESS RIVER (Parlophone Warner, 2014)
While their studio work has always been important, Pink Floyd have been defined by their live performances. Their early shows in 1966 at London’s UFO Club married the use of pioneering liquid light effects that matched the psychedelic quality of the music itself.
1st Class – The Dark Side of the Moon Tour, 1973.
£1.52 The Division Bell Tour, 1994.
PRODUCT RANGE AT A GLANCE
Miniature Sheet: £6.04
Andrew Ross who designed the stamps was challenged to devise interactive stamps that particularly appealed to children and encouraged them to brighten up their letters and cards. He wanted to ‘push the envelope’ whilst working within the constraints of the technical requirements around postage stamps including the need for them to be easily read by Royal Mail’s sorting machines. He came up with the idea of engaging, friendly and fun animal characters that could ‘cling’ to the top or side of envelopes. He wanted to create a variety of shapes and colours to generate interest but was mindful that each character had to sit comfortably alongside each other and have a degree of consistency so that they clearly 
looked like they were part of a set.
Number of stamps: Six
First Day Covers: 
The six Special Stamps celebrate HRH The Queen’s birthday with three stamps focusing on Her Majesty’s family life, and three honouring The Queen’s official role.
The team undertook an initial recce of locations within the Palace and then conducted two half-day test shoots using the high density foam blocks that Ranald has as part of his kit. This ensured the shot could be composed as much as possible prior to the final shoot, which took about 25 minutes.
10 x First Class Stamps £6.40
immortal words and poetry. Having previously issued stamps that depict performances of his plays, a painting of the bard himself and the world famous Globe Theatre, for this set Royal Mail has opted to focus on selected quotes from plays and sonnets that have made him so famous and ensured an enduring popularity.
Stamps In Detail: 
New York City Subway
Central Park Zoo
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Number of stamps: 20
The New York Collector’s Strip – GB Version
Rates – 1st up to 100g, 1st Large up to 100g, Euro 20g/World 10g, Europe 100g, Worldwide up to 20g, Worldwide up to 100g. This product will feature the ‘World Stamp Show NY2016’ overprint and only be available from Tallents House by mail order. Price: £7.75 per strip Code: ZS044
PRODUCT RANGE AT A GLANCE
across the globe. These have been the favoured forms of mail transport for much of the past five centuries.In the 19th century, inviting contractors to tender for mail routes proved very effective, and they provided the transport and drivers that operated to strict demands of time. The availability of fairly reliable second-hand vehicles following the First World War pushed forward the creation of state-owned fleets, while advances in air travel meant that letters and parcels could be delivered even faster. Today, mail continues to be carried throughout the day and night by land, sea and air.
As overprinted by Post & Go machine: Falmouth packet ship, 1820s. The earliest packet ships were designed for speed rather than security and were subject to many hazards, including poor seas and the possibility of being attacked by pirates. Falmouth became an important port for ships sailing to the West Indies and the Mediterranean.
As overprinted by Post & Go machine: Travelling Post Office, 1890s . The first purpose-built Travelling Post Office (TPO), in which mail was sorted en route, ran on 20 January 1838. Many of the trains exchanged mail pouches without stopping via trackside bag exchange apparatus. The last exchange took place in 1971. Today, mail still travels in sealed train carriages.
As overprinted by Post & Go machine: Airmail, 1930s. The world’s first scheduled airmail service began on 9 September 1911. The use of airplanes for long-distance transport of mail increased significantly during the 1920s and 1930s. Originally intended for Imperial Airways’ European mail routes, HP 45 G-AAXE Hengist first flew on 8 December 1931.
As overprinted by Post & Go machine: Royal Mail Minivan, 1970s. Minivans were purchased in large numbers in the 1970s following the demise of the Morris Minor. They were ideal for smaller collection and delivery duties in towns, but low height and limited ground clearance made them less suitable for rural deliveries.
Stamps (3*1st & 3*1.52) separate sheets £6.45
1st Class Packetship: ‘Mail Packet off Eastbourne’ Oil on canvas by Capt Victor Howes, RN. Image courtesy of the BPMA
Price: £3.92 Code: MZ114
The alternative handstamp features a quote from Brian Tuke (who was appointed to the role of Master of the Posts in 1516) and London WC1 has been chosen as it is the location of the British Postal Museum & Archive/The Postal Museum
Royal Mail’s limited edition The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award’s Diamond Anniversary Commemorative Sheet goes on sale on 12 January 2016 celebrating 60 years since the scheme was first launched, which is the world’s leading youth achievement award.
