In schooldays, I used to deal with a philatelic shop at Golden Mile Tower basement, can't even remember the shop name now. I also ordered "grabbags" from US (yeah, also comic adverts). The stamps in those grabbags were mostly worthless as they were, but quite useless for filling up a thematic album. I wasn't that rich to deal with Stanley Gibbons though I did keep up with their magazines and catalogues.
Christmas (and birthday) cards were meant for long distance greetings in days without phones and e-mails. When China learned about it, Chinese also started doing it with CNY.
Gosh! I have also forgotten about the name of that shop at G Mile Tower basement, are they still there?? I used to frequent all the stamps exhibitions, browse through all the stamps shops in Singapore, that, I remember the shop owners faces, especially the one you mention...
I rattle off a few, & some are gone, Asia Philatelic ( Straits Tradg bldg the old one), Kenneth Fish ( Holland V I think), CS Tan ( Peninsular shopping), and that was this shop at the 3rd floor Shaw Center ( Orchard Rd)... Stanley Gibbons shop here...
I still can see my piles of Stans Gibs Mag, Stamp Mag, Linns...Commonwealth Catalogue..etc...now in the dumps of history..
Waiting in line outside the PO just to buy the FDC...that was really long time ago...so much so, I know quite a plenty of Post Office peopl, from General Post Office to.........
those were the days...when life was slow & easy & the post office was a fun place to visit...