Royal Mail golden stamps 21 #London2012

It was down to the last day of competition, GB Paralympics weren't going to give the Royal Mail any break in producing stamps.

There were only two chances of GB athletes taking medals on this last day both of them over 26 miles and 385 yards. First away were the men's T54 marathon and GB's hope had already won gold in the 800m 1500m and 5000m. But David Weir was in the lead group all the way and once again was ready when the race came around the Victoria Monument for a final push up The Mall pulling away from Marcel Hug SWI and Kurt Fearnley AUS to make if the full four golds.

 Next up was Shelly Woods who finished in a group of four. But didn't manage to add to the golds but did come away with a silver.

So GB end the Games with 34 Golds 43 Silver and 43 Gold medals for 120 in total.

All that is left is the Rugby and seven-a-side football medal matches then the closing ceremony will bring to a close a marvelous summer of sport.

So sport by sport in the Paralympics GB won

Archery 1 gold, 1 silver
Athletics 11 gold 7 silver 11 bronze
Boccia 1 solver 1 bronze
Cycling 8 gold 9 silver 5 bronze
Equestrian 5 gold 5 silver 1 bronze
Football 5-a-side 5th
Football 7-a-side 7th
Goalball women made the quarter-final
Judo 1 silver 1 bronze
Powerlifting 1 bronze
Rowing 1 gold
Sailing 1 gold 1 bronze
Shooting 1 silver 2 bronze
Sitting volleyball neither team progressed on their debut
Swimming 7 gold  16 silver 16 bronze
Table Tennis 1 silver 3 bronze
Wheelchair basketball 4th
Wheelchair fencing best of 8th in the men's team foil
Wheelchair rugby 5th
Wheelchair tennis 1 silver 1 bronze

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 20 #London2012

It was the final full day of activity in the Paralympics though there is some action tomorrow, but our GB Paralympians weren't letting the Royal Mail rest as there was more gold in the offing.

First up at Brands Hatch David Stone (keeping up the look a like train looks like David Millar) got on his Tricycle in the T1-2 Road Race, he's lost his time time title the other day but was determined to hold on to his other title from Beijing. He ended up taking on Giorgio Farroni of Italy in a sprint finish taking the gold by 7 seconds.

It is hard to think that tomorrow it will all be over for another four years. There are six medal events tomorrow. The 7-a-side football, wheelchair rugby and four categories in the marathon. There are still two chances for GB medals David Weir in the men's T54 and Shelly Woods in the women's T54.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 19 #London2012

Targets reached for the team, but there is no stopping them. There were yet more medals but only one of them gold today for Paralympics GB meaning more for the Royal Mail to do to keep producing those stamps but a light day.

Early on today was an gold in the morning session in the F51/52/53 women's discus. Josie Pearson threw a F51 world Record of 6.58m in the third round; her third of the competition. She didn't throw any further in the final three rounds but she didn't need to securing GB's 32nd gold. As it was a mixed classification event it was decided on points not distance, but none of the other categories broke their world record even once so gold was coming to team GB

It wasn't the only UK athlete to win gold today. Jason Smyth from Eglington, Derry won his second gold of the Games defending his T13 200m title for Ireland and smashing the world record in the process. His time of 21.05secs for someone who is partially sighted is impressive, he was 0.9 seconds clear of silver medalist Labzin from Russia.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 16 #London2012

It is another day at the Paralympics and the golds just keep on coming to keep the Royal Mail stamp designers busy.

The first gold of the day took the total for the Paralympic Games to 20, or two bullseyes for the winner of number 20. It wasn't a tense matter of would Britain win gold in the compound archery final at the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich, but which one would win gold. Defending champion Dani Brown was up against Mel Clarke. It came down to the last arrow with Clarke needing a 10 to wrest the title from her British team mate, but she shot a seven her worst of the final to leave Brown as the champion once more. It is still an improvement for Clarke who took bronze in Beijing. She'll get her gold post box in Lothersdale, Yorkshire.

The Lancastrians didn't have to wait long for a bit of roses balance. The next gold was over to the pool in the women's 100m backstroke S8 where Heather Frederiksen (a bit of a Becky Adlington lookalike) took gold in 1:17.00, ahead of hotly tipped American Jessica Long. It was a defense of the title she won in Beijing, though in the other three events she medaled at in Beijing, Long had won gold. Frederiksen had been an able bodied swimmer before an accident in an open water event caused her a nervous disorder. She'll bring a gold post box to Leigh.

Where else would the next one come from but over at Greenwich Park in the Dressage and Sophie Christiansen in Grade 1A became a triple gold medalist with her freestyle dressage. Another gold post box for Sophie heading to Maidenhead.

Then in the Olympic Stadium David Weir stepped up for the second of his gold medals in the men's 1500m T54. He played in very well strategically, always sitting in the top three but ready to take it on from the bell and from that point he was never headed.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 12 #London2012

Sorry for not doing this yesterday on the second day of the Paralympics but I was seeing Games Makers, the Paralympic Agitos hanging from Tower Bridge and watched some of the coverage on the big screen at Potters Field next to City Hall after I had a job interview.

So day two saw two more golds.

First up was the first Paralympic stamp for Wales and a gold post box in for Tredegar in Blaenau Gwent because of Mark Colbourne's win in the men's C1 individual pursuit.

The athletics started in the Olympic Stadium and there was gold from the start with Hannah Cockcroft finishing 10m clear of the field in a new paralympic record of 18.06 secs. Halifax will get a gold post box to celebrate the winner of the women's T34 100m. (Is there still any gold paint left in Yorkshire?)

Don't go looking for their stamps yet though as they are not being released until 3 September, i.e. Monday.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 11 #London2012

Yes I am just going to keep the numbers progressing, the Paralympics are still part of London 2012 and the Royal Mail are issuing 2 stamp mini-sheets for each of the Gold Medalists in GB Paralympics team over the next 11 days we didn't have to wait very long for the Gold rush to resume.

First up was Sarah Storey in the women's C5 individual pursuit at the velodrome. If you missed her in qualifying in the morning she captured her opponent not once but twice on the way to a new world record which would have put her in good standing with the top women cyclists with both hands. She captured again in the final. So she will be the 30th stamp issued by the Royal Mail for the Games but the first for the Paralympics, and will have a gold post box in Manchester. It is her third Paralympic gold in cycling (after 2 in Beijing) to add to her five in swimming (Barcelona and Atlanta) before an ear infection caused her to get out of the pool and unto her bike for fitness only to find she was competitive there too.

Next up it was in the pool where after a number of silvers Jonathan Fox took the first gold in the pool in the men's S7 100m backstroke. It was an upgrade from his silver in Beijing and although not as fast as his world record time in qualification it was enough to fend off the opposition. There will be a gold post box for him in Plymouth tomorrow as well as this stamp.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 10 #London2012

As we wait for the Games to close the Royal Mail have one final stamp to add to the 28 they have already released in the last couple of weeks.

There was one final gold to lift the total to 29. In the boxing ring a medal would soon be bound up the Metropolitan line, the oldest line of the Olympic city's underground network, to Watford. In the newest of the men's Olympic boxing disciplines Anthony Joshua beat the defending champion (who now over three Games have all three colours of medal) to take the the Super Heavy Weight Gold.

The range of stamps has been proving popular especially in the areas where the winners come from with many local post offices selling out within hours of them going on sale in certain locations.

Royal Mail fail Team GB & NI #London2012

I mean it is not like I have already successfully ordered 25 of these, and received my first batches of them.

But it appears that between gold number 25 and 26-28 we have been cast out of the United Kingdom by the Royal Mail at least...

Uodate: I tired again this morning and this fault appears to be rectified.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 9 #London2012

It is hard to believe that there are now less than 24 hours of these Olympics left. But after another day with a lack of gold the penultimate day of competition saw Team GB extending their success. So after the first stamps issued on a Sunday by the Royal Mail last week there will be more tomorrow.

First up just as many may have been sitting down to breakfast the last day at Eton Dorney saw yet another gold medal on that stretch of water. It may only have come over the last 200m and therefore the last 10% of the other four golds there, but then Ed McKeever is a sprinter in his kayak. It is another Bradford that gets a golden post box, though not this time the one in Yorkshire, but Bradford-on-Avon.

Then every Saturday you watch athletics in the Olympic stadium one thing happens. Mo Farrah wins gold. By winning the 5,000m to add to the 10,000m he joins the likes of HannesKolehmainen (1912), Emil Zátopek (1952), Vladimir Kuts (1956), Lasse Virén (1972 & 1976), Miruts Yifter (1980) and Kenenisa Bekele (2008) in doing one of what is the hardest double of the Games.

There was more to come as in the boxing ring we saw a little bit of history in the first time that Team GB faced Ireland in a gold medal match in 100 years of the sport at the Olympics. It was the Brit Luke Campbell who came out victorious at bantamweight to take the GB medal taking the tally to 28. His gold post box will appear in Hull.

We have two gold medal boxing matches tomorrow, the women's modern pentathlon and the men's mountain bike. Dare we dream of being the 5th nation since the First World War to end the 30 club of Gold medals in one Games joining USA, USSR/Russia, China and (East) Germany.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 8 #London2012

So Team GB decided to give the Royal Mail stamp designers a day off after a busy week yesterday.

But they had them called back into action today.

First up over at Greenwich Park Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro were back on the top step of the podium in the individual dressage. Well ok Valegro's hooves were firmly planted on the ground. But in an event we have never medaled in before we come away both golds.

Then it was across the river into the ExCeL for a little bit of history. The first ever medal in women's boxing went to the hosts so Nicola Adams enters Olympic history as the first female winner in her sport as well as being Team GB's 24th gold of these home Games. Another golden post box for Yorkshire as this one will appear in Leeds.

At 10:32 PM after a long day of fighting from 10amin the morning the Royal Mail ended up having to add one more. Jade Jones took Gold in the -57kg women's taekwondo. Wales will gain another gold post box in the village of Flint in North Wales.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 7 #London2012

Today was the day that Team GB not only equaled their best* Olympic performance in modern times, but soared past it. It was a Tremendous Tuesday. So those folks at the Royal Mail have had their work cut out for them once again with four more stamps to produce and ship.

First up in and around Hyde Park there was the men's triathlon where the hot favourites were the Bradford Brownlee brothers (adding to Yorkshire's top ten position in the medal table). They were both in the lead group in the water, stayed ahead at the start of the cycling and then formed a trio with Javier Gomez in the run. But the elder brother Alistair was the first to cross the line by the Serpentine.

If you had signed up for the Royal Mail First Day Covers you're twentieth was free, so the one you will be receiving will be for Team Dressage. Carl Hester on Uthopia, Laura Bechtolsheimer on Minstral Horjis were sitting on the best and third best scores with all the German's completed before Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro came in and rode the best test of the day to secure another historic gold as Britain's first ever medal in dressage. So a gold post office will appear on one of the smallest of the British Isles of Sark for Hester, Apney St. Peter the adopted home in Gloucestershire of Bechtolsheimer, maybe the London borough of Enfield will try and claim a golden post box for Dujardin as that was where she was born as opposed to Newent Glos. where she is based.

At this point the GB medal table read 20 12 12, I don't think anyone would have guessed that at any point we would have read the  year in the number of golds and silvers.

Just over an hour later it was the turn of Laura Trott to get her second gold of these Games. She won three of the six disciplines of the Omnium the most important being in the last the 500m time trail where she had to win and come three places higher than Sarah Hammer (USA). That was exactly what she did, she is the first British women cyclist to win two golds at one Games.

Within an hour the velodrome awarded the next gold, sadly not in her last race to Vicky Pendleton who had to settle for silver, but for Sir Chris Hoy making him the British Olympian with the most gold medals taking his sixth in the Keirin, despite being passed in the last lap by the German Levy.

* Ok only second best after 58 in London 1908 but things were a little different then in the early days....and no I don't think we can match that number.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 6 #London2012

No five day week for the Royal Mail stamp design team as Team GB continue to bring on the Gold rush.

Over at Greenwich Park our show jumping team of Nick Skelton, Scott Brash, Ben Maher and Peter Charles were taken to a jump off by the Dutch team, but they had three clear rounds in  the jump off while the Dutch had three fences down between two riders so they couldn't discard both.

The gold paint will be out for post boxes in Peebles (Scott Brash), Alton (Peter Charles),  of Bishops Stortford (Ben Maher) and Alcester (Nick Skelton)

 The second stamp is for someone who already has a share of one. But this one is on his own. Some thought that when he was picked instead of Sir Chris Hoy who was looking to defend three golds from Beijing that they were stopping a legend. But Jason Kenny has he second gold from these Games in individual sprint to go with the team one, his third overall and going with the silver in this event four years ago behind only Hoy. So Bolton will get a second golden post box.

We talked about this team being Team GB's greatest team. Well with six more days of competition they are one short of the target from Beijing with three very good shouts in the cycling tomorrow with Hoy in the Keirin, Victoria Pendeton in the women's sprint and Laura Trott leading the Omnium after day 1.There are also the Brownlees in the triathlon, Robbie Grabenz in the high jump plus the chance of more horsey gold in the Team Dressage. So we are close to nut just equaling Beijing but zooming past that total.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 5 #London2012

Well no rest for the Royal Mail again today, although with only 2 stamps to produce it has been a little bit of a breather after yesterday's magnificent six.

First up is the man who if he didn't get his own stamp it would be a great shock. But in making history as the most successful Olympic sailor Ben Ainslie with his fourth gold earns his stamp. They often say that you don't have to lead until the final line is in sight. Well this year that is just what Ben did never leading the regatta always chasing Jonas Hogh-Christiansen, until today in the medal race and he took he on head to head and it appears that that is the kind of medal race that Ben relishes and never comes out second in. The village of Restronguet in Cornwall will see their post box turn gold tomorrow in their most famous son's hounour

The other stamp is to celebrate the first winner of a men's singles final match at Wimbledon since 1936. Just 4 weeks after he lost on the same court after being the first British man to make a Wimbledon final he faced the same opponent. This time he won the first set, as well as the second and third against the same opponent. So Andy Murray now has the Olympic Gold part all he needs are the slams for a Golden career slam. Dunblane will have a golden post box.

Will there be more tomorrow? Well we have the track cycling sprints so the chances are high.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 4 #London2012

The Royal Mail have another busy day and night ahead of them, and they will be making history in the process. This history making comes from the fact that the stamps that follow will be the first to be issued on a Sunday by the first country to issue postage stamps 172 years ago.

But it is also the busiest day they will have.

Things finished off at Eton Dorney with two more gold as Team GB topped the medals at the lake.

First up when the men in the fours which is hardly a surprise as no other country has won this particular gold since a certain five time Olympic Gold medalist moved to that crew. So Alex Gregory, Pete Reed, Tom James and Andrew Triggs Hodge add their names to that line of champions.


Post boxes will be painted gold in Cheltenham (for Alex),  Seattle (Pete), Wrexham (Tom) and Silsden near Andrew's home in Hebden.


Then later on in the women's lightweight double sculls Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking added to the fact that GB women wait 36 years to get gold at the rowing lake and then three come along at one.

For Katherine a post box goes gold in Stockton-on-Tees while the wombles of Wimbledon better not find discarded gold paint tins once Sophie's is painted, just down the road from where Andy Murray and Laura Robson will be trying to earn their own golden stamps and letter boxes for Dunblane and Wimbledon in the men's singles and mixed doubles.


Then it was over to the Velodrome for yet another gold. Joanne Roswell becomes British first Alopecia gold medalist since Duncan Goodhew in the pool at Moscow, along with Dani King and Laura Trott in the women's pursuit. And yes, the Team GB cyclists won that in yet another world record.

Then in the Olympic stadium we had a golden night as first Jessica Ennis became our third multi-event women's Olympic champion after Denise Lewis 2000 and Mary Peters 1972 (Pentathlon). It was a second new British record in two days for Jess having taking the women's 100m hurdle record at the start of Day 1. So Sheffield adds to the golden post boxes in Yorkshire.

Nobody was really talking about us taking gold in the men's long jump. Don't know why Greg Rutherford has the season's best distance coming in. But the Milton Keynes jumper leaped for 8.31m just 4cm short of the British record to be the first British long jump Olympic champion since Lynn Davies.

Then as a distance runner myself in a past life I couldn't be happier for the third gold in an hour within site of the Olympic flame when Mo Farah became the first British man since it was introduced in 1912 to win the 10,000m. Isleworth where he trained and went to school after escaping Somalia as a boy will get his golden post box.

 

Today we won gold in the events of Sir Steve Redgrave, Dame Mary Peters and Lynn Davies,so three of the seven British greats who passed the baton figuratively in the Opening Ceremony seem to have done so in golden terms as well tonight.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 3 #London2012

 Another three gold today so the Royal Mail were busy again, and were probably relieved that Rebecca Adlington didn't give them a late Friday night.

I'm not saying that appearing on a stamp was the added incentive that Katherine Grainger needed to turn silver into gold, but along with Anna Watkins this makes a welcome addition to the philatelists' collections.

It means that Aberdeen will get a SECOND golden post box to honour Grainger, the other was for Tim Baillee yesterday, and one in Leek, Staffordshire for Anna.

Of course next we have Geraint Thomas and Ed Clancy helping to defend their Olympic title which they won with fellow stamp appearing Bradley Wiggins along with Steven Burke and Peter Kennaugh. So Wales and the Isle of Man will get golden post boxes for Thomas and Kennaugh in Cardiff and Douglas, Clancy's hometown of Huddlesfield and Burke's of Burnley mean one for each of the Roses as well.

And finally Victoria Pendleton gets another Gold stamp for the ladies in the keirin. Stotfold in Bedfordshire should be getting a gold post box for Victoria's acheivement.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps 2 #London2012

Day six sees the Royal Mail being busy. Three more golds today means 50% more work than yesterday as the next stamps had to be designed, printed and distributed, plus post boxes selected from a paint job, especially as three of them may have come out of the blue.

First up are Etienne Stott and Tim Baillee for their gold in a British 1-2 in the C2 slalom. Golden post boxes in their honour will appear tomorrow a second north of Hadrian's wall at Aberdeen for Baillee and one in Bedford for Stott.

Then we have Peter Wilson for shooting, who will have his golden post box will be in Sherbourne, North Dorset.

Number five of these Games is the man with five golds Sir Chris Hoy, along with Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes for the team sprint in the cycling. Their golden post boxes will appear in Edinburgh (Hoy), Bolton (Kenny) and Manchester (Hindes).

Talking of post boxes, here is the one in Chorley in honour of Bradley Wiggins.

Royal Mail Golden Stamps #London2012

As promised the Royal Mail are issue stamps and commemorative First Day Covers for any British Olympian who wins gold at London 2012.

90 Royal Mail vehicles are heading off tonight to over 500 post offices so that the stamps will be on sale by lunchtime tomorrow. Or you can order a First Day Cover stamped with the address of the Olympic Stadium, with a date of issue the day after any win.

So here are the stamps to honour Helen Glover and Heather Stanning

and Bradley Wiggins

c

Also in Chorley, Bradley Wiggins home town, Lossiemouth for Heather Stanning and Penzance for Helen Glover the Royal Mail will be painting a post box gold in honour of the occasion.


My order is in for the first two first day covers.