Royal Mail has released a special set of stamps to celebrate 150 years of the London Underground.

The first train ran along the Metropolitan Railway from Paddington Station to Farringdon Street exactly 150 years ago today. The network now has 270 stations and carries 1.2 billion passengers a year.

The new stamps illustrate the Tube’s history, from steam-powered trains to Art Deco stations and the modern Canary Wharf station. They’re available at UK Post Offices from today or at www.royalmail.com/underground.

If you’re looking to boost your stamp collection, 2012 is the year to do it!

Royal Mail is issuing some interesting new collections featuring London events and figures this year, starting with the Olympic “definitive”, or everyday stamps, which go on sale today.

Olympic and Paralympic Stamps
The new stamps feature the Olympic and Paralympic logos, as well as an image of the Queen’s head, and are set to brighten up millions of letters.

After the Games, Royal Mail will issue a set of Gold Medal stamps to honour all Team GB victories.

Diamond Jubilee Stamps
Royal Mail will celebrate the Diamond Jubilee with three new stamp sets:

• House of Windsor stamps featuring the five monarchs from the start of the 20th century, issued 2 Feb
• A miniature sheet with six portraits of the Queen taken from banknotes, coins and stamps issued during her reign, including a 1st class diamond blue definitive, which replaces the standard 1st class gold definitive during the Jubilee Year, issued 6 Feb
• A set of eight stamps featuring images of the Queen during the six decades of her reign, issued 31 May

More London Stamp News
That’s not all! Look out for special Charles Dickens stamps in June to mark the 200th anniversary of the author’s birth, and an upcoming collection on British Fashion Designers (hope there’ll be a few Londoners there too).

While you await these new collections, keep your inner philatelist occupied at the British Postal Museum & Archive, where you can see stamps from all over the world.

With exactly one month to go until the Royal Wedding, Royal Mail have announced a special set of stamps to commemorate the big day. The Mayor of London Boris Johnson also unveiled TfL’s Royal Wedding commemorative Oyster card design.

The stamps feature the official engagement portraits of Prince William and Kate Middleton taken by Mario Testino in November last year.

The Royal Wedding stamps will be available from all Post Office branches from 21 April. If you can’t wait till then, order online from 7 April or pre-order now by telephone on +44 (0)8457 641 641.

Around 750,000 royal wedding Oyster cards will be available from 21 April from all London Underground and London Overground stations, some National Rail ticket offices, as well as TfL Travel Information Centres, while stocks last.

For more information visit www.royalmail.com/royalwedding and http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets

Are you planning to get any Royal Wedding memorabilia? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Even the most dedicated of emailers could be persuaded revert to paper and ink missives with these supercute new stamps from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. The new stamps feature 10 former residents who have now been successfully rehomed.

Royal Mail commissioned the stamps to help celebrate Battersea Dogs and Cats Home’s 150th birthday this year.

The charity started as a home for lost and starving dogs in 1860. Then, in 1883, it began taking in cats as well, and remains true to its original aim to “never to turn away a dog or cat in need of help.”

Take a look at the video below to hear the stories of the 10 celebrity pets and their new owners:

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home takes in 12,000 animals every year, so if there’s room in your life for a furry friend, why not consider rehoming one? Or if you have a less than sympathetic landlord, there are lots of other ways to help the charity.

The stamps are available at all Post Offices and online at www.royalmail.com/stamps.