The gift that keeps on giving

Just what century does the Royal Mail live in? They made an announcement yesterday that they would be issuing a new set of stamps to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the National Portrait Gallery. It read...

"A new set of stamps from Royal Mail celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the National Portrait Gallery is set to bring back memories of some of the nation's most famous men and women."

Whilst I implore the idea of celebrating real British pioneers, who the fuck is gonna see 'em? 95% of the mail I receive are mailshots most of which invite me to either consolidate all my debts - a quick note to these loan sharks companies I don't find my current payments difficult as this is handled by a direct debit with my bank and not by some cash-or-your-TV-at-the-door system. I also am uninterested in extending the length of my loans beyond the expected lifespan of our solar system and I am definitely not interested in securing any of my terribly insecure loans by signing the rights to my home away if I so much as fail to answer a phonecall from you! - where the frig was I? Ahh yes, or it's for credit cards - a quick note to these people, thanks the kids love it when you send the sample ones. Virtually none of my mail has a stamp on it. It's all franked. If I ever buy stamps I get the bland, looks-like-a-paper-version-of-the-one-pence type.

Do you have to ask for these things? Does my local paper shop stock a wide assortment of stamps that I have failed to notice? Perhaps next time I'll ask I'll ask for 3 first class Churchill's, 2 first class Shakespeare's and a couple of second class Simon Le Bon's - yes there is a gag there but it is just too obvious for this heat.