Dear Members of the Monte-Carlo Club,
I hope you and your loved ones are all well, and that you have had an enjoyable and restful summer despite the at times unbearable heat.
As we move into Autumn, I am excited to share with you news of club developments that have taken place since I last wrote to you all in Spring.
Dates for MonacoPhil 2024 NOT clashing with Thanksgiving
Firstly, we are delighted to announce that, by Sovereign Decree of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II, we can confirm the dates for MonacoPhil 2024, which will take place between 5ᵗʰ and 8ᵗʰ December 2024. We know that for our many American members, this will be wonderful news, allowing for a relaxed Thanksgiving Day weekend, followed by a fantastic show in Monte-Carlo. We have received many comments from our US contingent about the anxiety of the two dates clashing, and we are very pleased that in 2024, this will not be the case, and we look forward to welcoming all members who would have otherwise been unable to attend.
New venue a few steps away from Hotel de Paris and Hermitage
Additionally, we are equally excited to provide an update regarding our new venue in the heart of Monte-Carlo, at the One Monte-Carlo Conference and Exhibition Centre. We are finalising the contract, with an agreement to hold the trade show and the Far East Exhibition at the new venue, while the Great Rarities will continue to be held at the Museum of Stamps and Coins at Fontvieille. We are very pleased to have secured a new venue in a prime location, allowing for easy and frequent travel between the show and the hotels, as well as the other events taking place throughout MonacoPhil (see map attached). It is not only the most exclusive and elegant exhibition space in Monaco, but also boasts a 100 seats auditorium for our talks and events (let us know if you wish to do a presentation on a philatelic theme in the auditorium).
A great “Far East” Exhibition in preparation
Peter Cockburn FRPSL has kindly accepted to be the Commissioner for our exhibition on the theme “Far East”. If you wish to show some frames on that theme, please do not hesitate to liaise with him. We are also exploring the possibility for members to show a few frames outside the theme chosen for 2024. If you are interested in doing so, please contact Axel Kendrick at axel@monacophil.com.
New website for better information flow
Alongside this new venue, we are pleased to announce progress on the building of a new website for Club de Monte-Carlo and MonacoPhil at MonacoPhil.com. In addition to a public site displaying the schedule of events for MonacoPhil 2024 and other information about the show, there shall be a dedicated ‘members area’, exclusively for members of the Club de Monte-Carlo. We intend to make this the hub for all club events, exhibition material, news and an updated, easy-to-use online payments system for membership and bookings. This, we hope, will facilitate more Club activities in non-MonacoPhil years, and streamline the booking process for club dinners and Club-only events during the show. The new website will also provide us a subscription system, meaning that members will no longer have to send annual payment forms in order topay their membership dues.
Non-MonacoPhil events
Speaking of upcoming events, we are excited to remind you all of our upcoming Club dinner in Bangkok, at 7 pm on Monday, 27ᵗʰ November at Baan Suriyasai Restaurant. An elegant restaurant with its classic architecture showcasing the best in Thai fine dining, all members are cordially invited to join us. A contribution of €150 will be requested, with all proceeds going to the Club, thanks to the extremely generous sponsorship of Santpal and Ashoo Sinchawla. I look forward to catching up with you all during the Bangkok FIP show, where I am sure the Club will have a great presence. A “ladies only” event is also being prepared for the morning of 29ᵗʰ November. If any of the lady members are interested in participating, please email Rita Ariete at rariete@spink.com by 20ᵗʰ November. In addition to this, there will be a visit at Ashoo and Santpal's factory on 30ᵗʰ November at 10:30 am. The visit will include a tour of the office and a presentation on gemstone production, which will be a wonderful opportunity to get to know our local membership.
Other notable upcoming events include the forthcoming Prague philatelic exposition a week later, on 27-29ᵗʰ, at which I shall introduce the Club and where members exhibit rarities. I am glad to see that after the lunch I hosted in Essen, the dinner in Bangkok, the social life of the Club is vibrant. We are also looking at many other things to add to our calendar, including the return of the cruises in 2025 (Simon Martin-Redman is kindly selecting for us a great cruise in Europe and checking availabilities for a group) and some discovery week ends, organized by members showing fellow members the best of their
area.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome three new members who have been accepted into the Club over the past few months: Dr Prakob Chirakiti from Thailand, Mr Shiv Nair from the United Kingdom, and Mr Andreas Fahl from Germany.
As you can imagine, we have to manage many changes at the same time, including personnel changes in Monaco, including at the Societes des Bains de Mer, but the spirit is up and we hope to offer a great MonacoPhil event in a new, more prestigious venue, while keeping the spirit of our formidable
Club.
Every good wish,
Olivier D. Stocker, CFA, FRPSL
Club de Monte-Carlo President
Our new venue for the exhibition – a very fitting place for our stamp collections and for socializing in a refined environment
Our new venue in the proximity of hotels and the casino
New website under construction
Pictures of Baan Suriyasai – the elegantvenue for our forthcoming Club dinner in Bangkok
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