50 years ago today, a carnation bloomed out of the barrel of a machinegun. 

I was 14 at the time and on that same day, as the military action successfully progressed and the people took to the streets, I realised I would not have to go to war... a thought that was becoming a rather present preoccupation, since at 17, in just three years time, I would have to "give my name to the military" as the act of registration for compulsory military service was named.

50 years after, I'm still haunted by the remembrance of the parade at  Lisbon's Praça do Comércio each year, on the 10th June, and the images of the young orphans, awkwardly dressed in their father's uniform, being presented with a medal, a posthumous medal,...

I owe it to those that made this possible! I owe it to those that resisted in times of oppression and tyranny, I owe it to those that gave all they could give, even life, so that I could today write these simple lines.

I now live in a country that in spite of its many contradictions and idiosyncrasies is ruled by the most righteous of the rules, the Rule of Law, thanks to them. I'll never forget it.

Obrigado!

After writing these notes, it came to my knowledge that France's President, Emanuel Macron, had published a note on YouTube which I cannot resist incorporating here, for all its meaning. Democracy is about this, Europe is about this: Respect, Solidarity, Common grounds in spite of differences.

Merci, la France; Merci, Président Macron.

About a week without a working scanner, so I’ll revert to ranting, instead.

Peace, a Value for Humanity, so reads the legend used on the Portuguese stamps of this year’s EUROPA issue.

A very nice set of three stamps and three souvenir sheets as usual, one for mainland Portugal and another two for our Autonomous Regions of Madeira and Açores.

Image Credit: Facebook page of CTT Filatelia

But there’s something that….annoys me.

I know companies have to cover their costs and make money… such is the essence of the game, but I can’t help but feeling that  the issuing of EUROPA sets should almost be regarded as Public Service in what they intrinsically celebrate: the notion of an European Identity, a common ground for diverse and plural peoples and cultures, one of the most striking and uplifting ideas of modern history, a way of saying that utopia might one day come true, all in all A Value for Humanity…

... At 3 Euros a pop, for each souvenir sheet!

Usually CTT would issue the souvenir sheet with 2 stamps with the Europe 20g tariff, what made perfect sense.

If this practice had been followed this year, that would lead to a two stamp sheet with a price of 2,10 € but instead, CTT opted for a single stamp of a tariff that corresponds to nothing on their pricing table.  

The difference is that if the ancient practice would be followed, I'd be not only be able to mail 3 different friends with each complete set, thus helping out to  spread the ideia of Peace as a Value for Humanity  for much less than I now have to pay to mail just two other collectors....

This has happened before, and of course is but a way of increasing the philatelic desk revenues, which is debatable from our consumer side, but totally legitimate in what concerns the company’s management….but on this particular issue?  Especially regarding what it stands for, in the current international state of affairs?

Ethics, a Value for Humanity?

COVER N.190 - BRAZIL

Postmark: AC -Carmo da Cachoeira MG 29.11.2022

Posted on the 29th November; Received on the 20th December 2022
_________________________________________________________________________________

I'm always very happy to receive a cover coming from abroad that speaks my own language. On top of it, the envelope shows no less than 5 stamps, they too speaking the "romantic language of the Portuguese" as James Taylor once so fittingly proclaimed in is beautiful "only a dream in Rio" song.

So allow me to go back to what's really my own idiomatic second nature and say Muito Obrigado, José, pela magnífica carta que teve a gentileza de me enviar!

That said, why do I keep this blog in an idiom that is not my own, when there readily available and free tools that can help any potential reader, convert it to his/her idiom of choice?

I do think of this every once in a while.  The main reason, I think, is pretty obvious: English, as I often say, is modern day Esperanto, at least for the side of the world which I take for granted, the often referred to as the "West": Thus, using it (irrespectively of any less than optimal uses of  syntax and semantics in which I may incur, and for which I apologize) allows me to believe that more people will potentially waste some time reading the lines I drop into the main text box of the blog entry form (more on this later).

On the other hand it allows me to practice English as a second language, which is something that I am pretty keen to do because many were the times in my own personal and professional life that benefited from my being fluent in what I believe is the most used "exchange" idiom in the world in spite of not occupying the 1st place in the ranking of idioms with the most native speakers.

A third reason might be a more personal one: pleasure and knowing I can do it. I like to write even if I'm a lousy writer, So keeping a blog in a foreign language is a bit of challenge and everybody knows that the bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward when we overcome it.... (I know , I know, writing a couple of Lapaliçades in English is not such a great feat, but I do get a fair amount of pleasure and a feeling of accomplishment from it, trust me).

Now could this all be but a manifestation of pride? Vanity? One of the *cardinal* sins? a pure act of self-indulgence? Some sort of exhibitionism? After all, who gives a s**t about what I write or not? Who really cares?

And yet, as with any form of communication, writing presupposes that there is a recipient of the message at the end of the line, there, on the hidden face of my computer screen, that is, *you*, who have been kind (and stoic) enough to have reached this point of the text.

The question is: are you there? do you exist? or am I writing in a circular mode? am I the main recipient of what I write here? 

I check the blog statistics every once in a while, and these tell me that there are some "visitors" to these pages (which isn't a synonym of "readers" of these pages).

Further to that, some friends do actually tell me they have read or have visited or do visit regularly, and this type of feedback for me is much more relevant than the crudeness of stats based on click data.

I know how hard it is to retain one's attention on anything written of a screen, a constraint that leads to the  dictatorship of the short (or minimal, I should say) text. This, in turn, leads to semantic predation, with the number of words being used in conversation in spoken or written form decaying constantly. It seems to me that sustainability and biodiversity are notions that should also be applied to languages, We are loosing words by the thousands each year, So much so that sometimes I feel that we're progressing towards the Weissmuller speech norm, the ultimate tweet: "Me Tarzan; you Jane!". What more needs be said?

I will not follow the trend though. I'll keep writing using what words and what length of them I deem appropriate, assuming there is always someone, like you, who will be kind enough to reach the bottom of these blog entries, even if just to say "what a piece of rubbish".

All things considered  knowing why I do it, after writing almost 300 blog entries shouldn't worry me too much. as I enumerated above, there are sound reasons for doing it, and if the third reason I enunciated, - the manifestation of a cardinal sin - is the strongest of them (even If I will never admit it) then I'll be sure to take my lawyer along, come judgement day.

So, if you have reached this point, let me just offer my most sincere thanks for your attention, and this being the last entry for the year, let me also wish that 2023 may become your best year so far, and yet not as good as all those that are still to come, which I hope will be many!

Stamps left to right

- Domestic animals, pets, was the leitmotif chosen for the 2018 common theme stamp issue of the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal. 

The Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos, the Brazilian Postal Administration, took the challenge to the next level and decided it would promote an internal contest for its workers, asking them to provide photos of their pets for the creation of the stamps. The idea was a huge success, judging from the almost 1700 photos received, of which 30 were selected and then used in the 1,55€ stamps that feature in the mini-sheet issued on 06NOV2018. 

Cats. dogs, birds, fishes... sound proof that pet animals are as diverse as their owners, as the rabbit on my cover - named Orelhinha (little ear) the legend tells us - clearly illustrates.

- Bikes...there was a time when I thought they were a good idea,.. but I never took the plunge, the notion that the airbag is in fact your chest or that asphalt is but another coarser grade of sandpaper made me stay away from them, although for some years I chose the un-motorised version, a bicycle, of course, as my vehicle of choice for my daily comings and goings from home to work and vice-versa.

But, in spite of all that, one has to agree that riding a bike has to be a lot of fun and I do understand those that worship the 2 wheels, especially those that use it for long leisure travels, and I also confess that I am always in awe at the way  racing pilots handle the almost 300 BHP of their mounts in what looks to me like some sort of ballet as they roll from one side to te other, their knees even touching the asphalt (yes, the sandpaper) at incredible speeds...

On 29SEP2002, EBCT issued a mini-sheet containing 6 different 0,60 Real stamps dedicated to Motorbikes, of which a pair can be seen on my over.

The left stamp shows a Suzuki GXS - R1000, which was powered by a 999.8 cc 4 cylinder engine capable of producing 199BHP for a total weight without rider of 201 kg... 1 BPH per kilo... small wonder I am not that confident about ridding them....

On the background of the stamp there is the image of the very first Suzuki motorbike, or should I say powered bicycle...the Power Free as it was called available from 1952 had a  36cc engine with a maximum power of 1 horsepower at 4,000 rpm. I guess Suzuki rode a long way since then...

The right stamp is illustrated wit the image of a Triumph Daytona 955i centennial edition. 

This massive beast saw the light of day in 2002, with a production run of only 200 units. It was equipped with a 955 cc engine delivering almost 150 BHP and it weighed 191 kg. 

As it happens in all the other 5 stamps of the set, on the background of the image there's also a picture of the first  motorbike of the brand, in this case a Triumph, dating back to 1906, which was test driven by....a priest! 

Indeed, after manufacturing motorcycles since 1902 with parts from other manufacturers, Triumph Engineering conceived its first all in-house model in 1906 and asked Rev Basil H. Davies, a well known motor biking enthusiast of the day, who would write about motor biking under the pseudonym of Ixion, to test drive its product, which he did, achieving a total of 1279 miles, (about 2000 km) in six days without any major breakdowns.

This story only goes to prove that I am probably right being suspicious about motorbikes in general... inviting a priest to be your test driver isn't the best publicity stunt, I reckon...... 

- UCCLA - The Union of the Portuguese Language  Capital Cities was the brainchild of the then Lisbon Mayor, Nuno Kruz Abecasis, the institution having been created in 1985 with the aim of developing and implementing concrete actions with a view to sharing experiences and cooperation so as to improve mutual understanding. 

Besides Lisbon, the founding members were the  cities of  Bissau, Luanda, Macau, Maputo, Praia, Rio de Janeiro and São Tomé/Água Grande.

Brasilia as the Capital of Brazil would join in 1986.

In 1993, on the occasion of the Brasiliana World Philatelic Exhibition that took place in Rio de Janeiro, the postal administrations of the  members of the UCCLA  issued stamp sets celebrating their being part of the organization.

The Brazilian issue, which began to circulate on 30JUL1993. was a se-tenant two stamp set, with face values of 15,000 and 71,000 Cruzeiros (high inflation times, those were... hmmmm or should i say... these are....) depicting the current and the former capital cities of the country, that is Brasília and Rio de Janeiro.

The stamp dedicated to Brasilia highlights the modernist buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer which have given the Brazilian capital World Heritage status with the famous "Os Candangos" sculpture by Bruno Giorgi in the foreground.

The right-side stamp shows the image of  the no less iconic and also holder of World Heritage status “Christ the Redeemer” statue  spreading its arms over the beach of Copacabana, two images that are immediately associated with Rio de Janeiro.

The very large and clear postmarks indicate that the cover was mailed from the city of Carmo da Cachoeira in the state of Minas Gerais, in the Southeast of the country.

Operation TAAF 

a progress report on what happened to a souvenir sheet that was broken into 5 parts

Episode I - Iles Éparses 

Episode II - Crozet

Episode III - Iles Australes - St. Paul et Amsterdam

Episode IV - Iles Australes -  Kerguelen - Cover received on 14September 2022

Four down, one to go!

The day after I entered the  St. Paul and Amsterdam entry into my blog, I received the cover that journeyed from  the Island of Grande Terre, the largest in the Kerguelen archipelago, another of the territories that integrate the TAAF.

The archipelago, discovered in 1777 by  a French Naval Officer, Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec, from whom they got their name, is located in the Indian Ocean more or less midway between Africa and  Australia and  I believe it to be France's second southernmost territory, right after Terre Adélie.

The islands are totally devoid of human presence, but for the  staff of  Port aux Français, a permanent scientific base  and a Satellite tracking station, close to it in Grande Terre., also known as Desolation island (a quite graphic toponym...) . throughout the year anything from 45 to 100 people might be stationed in Port aux Français, supplies being brought in by ship, given that there is no landing strip available.

Similarly to Crozet and St. Paul et Amsterdam, Kerguelen also has its very interesting blog full of inside information on the islands and the day to day aspects of life and work of the members of the Scientific missions that occupy the Port aux Français Base. 

 

Further to the "Official" Port Aux Français Postmark, and the usual Coodinates stamp, M. le Gérant Postal included two other beautiful stamps.

This one I believe is the seal of  the telecom team of Mission 72, their motto being Lavoisier's famed Law: Nothing is lost, Nothing is created, everything is transformed. The image of an albatross with a walkie-takie dangling from its head and a small rubber stamp are the only drawings I can understand although there are a couple more items in the seal. The seal is handsigned by the members of the team, MM. Boris (le Gérant Postal, whom I thank for his attention and care), Jean-Sébastien and Axel, according to a photo in the aforementioned Kerguelen blog.

The other seal is probably the seal of Mission 72, mimicking a playing card with a penguin, of which there must be plenty on the islands...

The small rectangular stamp wirh the coordinates reads: 

Operation TAAF 

a progress report on what happened to a souvenir sheet that was broken into 5 parts

Episode I - Iles Éparses 

Episode II - Crozet

Episode III - Iles Australes - Cover received 13SEP22

Another piece of the souvenir sheet arrived yesterday... I'm making good progress! 😃

I confess that before I had started to prepare Operation TAFF, I had never heard of the Iles Australes - St. Paul et Amsterdam, so, as usual I went searching for information and what I always  suspect, seems to once again be true: it was a fellow countryman who first set his eyes on the tiny island of St. Paul, in 1559. The crew of the Nau S. Paulo, commanded by Rui Melo da Câmara, discovered it while on their way to India, on one of the many such ventures that took place after Vasco da Gama had proved the possibility of navigating from Lisbon to India in 1498.

Amsterdam was discovered by Elcano during the circumnavigation that Magellan started in 1519 and he finished  in 1522, exactly 500 years ago, but was christened after the name of the ship of a Dutch sailor - Anthony van Diemen - who sighted it in 1633 and gave it the name of his vessel - Nieuw Amsterdam.

The French took possession of the two Islands in 1843 and from then on, the two extinct Volcanoes erupting from the Indian Ocean have remained French territory, although both islands are only inhabited by scientists - 25 to 50 at most - who stay mostly at the  Martin de Viviès Base, in the Island of Amsterdam, although short study stays can also be made at St.Paul.

These islands are important biodiversity sanctuaries and harbour substantial colonies of seabirds and seals.

Monsieur  le Gérant Postale of the St.Paul and Amsterdam Islands, M. Christophe Bouchet, whom I most sincerely thank for his attention and care, was very generous with his stamps on my cover which took exactly 8 moths on its round trip from the very same desk I'm typing on right now, the return leg having started on the 18th March, and finished yesterday, that is to say  about a week short of a six month journey.

On the front of the cover we have no less that 4 different stamps: the regular Martin de Viviès - St. Paul - Ams. TAAF postmark, dated of 18-03-2022, plus The  stamp of Mission 73, comprising the outline of Amsterdam Island with what looks like an albatross, plus a western rockhoper penguin and a sea lion.

The second large stamp on the front of the cover is what I presume to be the stamp of the Mission's Doctor - Dr. Morgane David-Lefèvre - even though I could not find any mention to her  in the Amsterdam Blog (again, a very interesting resource). It comprises the outline of the Island and an albatross with a red cross badge on the wing.

and, as usual with TAAF covers the coordinates for the place  - Martin de Viviès - Long. 77º 32E; Lat. 37º 41S.

Monsieur le Gerent Postal also applied to large stamps on the back of the cover plus a sticker.

Left to right we have  a stamp of the local chapel - Notre Dame de l'Océan  (Our lady of the Ocean) with the outline of the island and the image of the chapel building;

A sticker evocative of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of Amsterdam Island, that is taking place this year;

and finally the Gérant Postal’s own "Tampon" with a western rockhoper penguin, an orca, a sea lion and M. le Gérant own signature.

All in all, a truly interesting addition to my collection. Again, thank you so much, M. le Gérant Postal des Illes de St. Paul et Amsterdam!

Operation TAAF 

a progress report on what happened to a souvenir sheet that was broken into 5 parts

Episode I - Iles Éparses 

Episode II - Crozet - cover received 09SEP22

"Surprise, surprise....".seemed to say my letterbox when I opened it today upon arriving from another day at the office.

"Now, look who's here..." said I to myself, while a large grin took hold of my lips.

Envelope #2 of the 5 valiant Operation TAAF letters had arrived. On it, the Stamp pertaining to "Les Iles Australes" on the piece of the TAFF Souvenir sheet that I'm trying to recomplete again shone with a carefuly applied cancelation on its lower left corner that reads Alfred Faure Crozet TAAF and the date of expedition: 10-5-2022.

Computation completed, the letter  took 4 months on the inward journey and three more months on the return leg, for a  total travel time of  7 months. 

Besides the regular postmark, the cover is embelished with 3 more "tampons", two of them being particularly nice: that of Monsieur le Gérant Postal de la Mission 59, David Gasnier, (whom I got the chance to put a face to a name by browsing the immensely interesting blog of the Crozet District ) which includes the image of an orca pushing a letter with its mouth  over the contour of the Possession Island with a radio anthena mast over the location of the Alfred Fauré station.

And that of Mission 59 itself, that comprises the outline of the Island divied in 4 sectors by a wind rose, each sector carrying an little icon related to the mission, I presume: an albatros; the altimetric contour of the island, pensguins and the base facilities.

the third tampon is the litlle square with the coordinates of the base: Long. 51º 52 E; Lat. 46º 26 S.

all in all a beautiful addition to the colection.

Mission 60 is now starting so I guess it is time to start preparing Operation TAFF 2.0.

Operation TAAF

Episode I - Iles Éparses  -  cover received 20JUL22

Uncommon and exotic  places are  a measure of where we stand. In fact what is exotic for me, is the everyday reality of someone else who lives there, but thinking and writing is, most of times, a self-centred exercise, and so I feel I will be excused if I elaborate on the theme from the point of view of my own navel.

These “outworldly” places have a bucketful of charm, we all know, the more so since we will most probably never touch their soil with our feet and all we can do is, more often than not, dream of going there.

Many of theses places are now fully independent countries, with citizens leading their normal everyday lives, what can be a harder proposition by what standards are available to me, since the constraints imposed by geography and weather, if also part of what makes them the source of infinite curiosity and traveller’s longing, are, usually, for the locals, the source of intimate hardship.

A few other places that immediately associate with the adjective "exotic" are what the UN acknowledges as non-self governing territories, corresponding to the definition of territories whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government, either because their population feels reluctant to embrace independence for fear of economic  hardship, or doesn’t even feel that urge, or does not have any deeply rooted sense of nationality, or there is more than one power claiming the territory, these being administered by a few UN member States, namely the UK, France, United States of America and New Zealand.

And then there are claims to territory, particularly in the Antarctic continent, where several powers have installed scientific bases to pursue scientific purposes but also to establish a round the clock presence in the area so as to substantiate their claim. 

These places generate all kinds of interest and rank high on the list of general public curiosity so it comes as no surprise that the closer you get to the top and bottom (another self-centred assertion, since my top can well be another men’s bottom, depending on where we stand on the ellipsoid  😊) the more desirable is the proof of being in contact with manifestations of human presence in those places, either collected  in person (sigh… sigh… when will I?) or by proxy, such as in the case I’m elaborating about.

The great white, the land where the sun never sets (or never rises…) Could there be any place more exotic, more uncommon for men to settle in and live? Could there be a place more desirable to receive a letter from?

So I set about trying to figure out what would it take to get my letterbox permeated by ice-cold mail, coming from the barren South….

France is one of the countries that has a firm grip on the southern icecap and also administers some other tiny territories located further south than the latitudes at which people usually dwell, these integrating what is known as TAAF - Terres Australes et Antartiques Françaises, which also comprise some deserted, but very important from a conservation standpoint, islands, off the coast of Madagascar.

And so a plan more cunning that any of Badlrick’s was born….

Internet to the rescue and I stumbled upon Jeff’s “My Stamp Stuff” blog, which I do recommend to anyone with an interest in these kind of philatelic yearnings, and also on the  Terres Australes et Antartiques Françaises website, both having plenty of very clear information and guidance on how to receive mail from the various territories that integrate the TAAF.

Next step… stamps. TAAF stamps are needed for this, since France’s stamps are not accepted on mail sent from the TAFF.

I also needed to know how much postage to use on the envelopes, but a swift exchange of emails with blogger Eric Contesse (Mon blog timbré) was instrumental in clarifying this.

Buying the stamps was a rather easy problem to fix since one can buy TAAF stamps directly from La Poste website. So I looked about and my eyes immediately fell on this block of 5 stamps, issued on 12JAN2021 to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the TAFF. “Now, this is perfect”, thought I, because each one of the stamps on the souvenir sheet is dedicated to one of the five constituent territories of the TAFF, so I could “disintegrate” the sheet to post mail from each of the locations in each stamp, and try to “reunite” the block later, with the stamps duly cancelled. 

  

The order was placed and some days later I had the miniature sheet delivered at my place.

From then on all went according to my cunning plan. The souvenir sheet was cut  in 5 irregular parts, each one containing one stamp, and self-addressed envelopes were prepared with the stamps glued duly glued on.

5 letters were also prepared to be sent to the postmasters at each of the territories, following the already mentioned guidance, each of them containing the relevant self-addressed pre-stamped envelope and a note to Mr. Postmaster, asking, and greatly thanking, him/her for the favour of cancelling the stamps and sending the letters back to me.

The letters were expedited on 13JAN2022. Now it was just a matter of waiting to see if the plan was really cunning or one of Baldrick’s and Black Adder’s usual disgraceful moments.

And so the sand steadily flowed from one glass to the other many, many times....

July the 20th 2022, that is to say, 6 months after posting the letters, the first circulated letter popped up in my letterbox.

Not unexpectedly it was the one that was sent from the less southern latitude, the one  coming from Europa, one of the Scattered Islands - Les Illes Éparses - located in the Mozambique Channel, in between Mozambique and Madagascar or  at Long. 40º 21E / Lat. 22º 21S, as informed by one of the locally applied stamps on the envelope. 

The cancellation dates of the 16th May, so it just took 2 months to get here, what is pretty good, I feel, considering the inward journey took double the time.

On the back of the envelope there is also the personal stamp of the Vaguemestre de Europa, which contains the outline of the Island and the image of a green turtle and of a frigate.

I was very happy to receive this first letter, proof that my plan was really cunning... right Baldrik?

more to come....

 Hopefully 😀!

 

One year has passed.

Simple realisation, but a truly meaningful one. The simple fact that I acknowledge it, means, first and foremost, that I am still breathing. Not that I ever felt or am at risk of anything, but the future is a closed box for everyone and so one never knows what is coming round the bend… thus anniversaries are for me always an occasion for introspection and for admitting the fleeting nature of all we  appreciate, study, write, read, see, love, because we ourselves are but shooting stars that shine bright for a while and then are gone.

I started this blog with an interest in stamps rekindled by surfing on the internet and discovering that in spite of email, there are still those that like to inspect their letterboxes daily in the hope that someone, somewhere might have sent him or her  an envelope graced with what is now an obscure object of desire: a stamp.

And I think I can say I was well succeeded. Making good use of the opportunities that technology provides us with, I came to the right places, met the right people and have now gathered  a very interesting collection of postal items that over the year have given me countless moments of happiness and what’s more, have decidedly contributed to enrich my general knowledge about the world we live in.

An this, for me, is the greatest benefit I can take from this rather pleasurable activity. Each and every cover or postcard I received in the past year has made me search for information on the whos, hows and whys of each stamp used to mail them to me. 

And I’ve learned a lot.

Some of a more pragmatical bend would say, “well, what good is that for? Who cares about a special purpose excavator in the alps, a Russian second world war pilot, an endangered coleopter, or an underground station?

Well, knowledge fosters understanding. Every bit of it, I solemnly believe. And stamps are knowledge spreaders, so they must also be vectors of understanding. 

Understanding is a competence that is inherent to our species. The problem is that we are able to rationally cancel it, leaving it in a dormant state while we actively promote other not so positively oriented competences of our amazing catalogue of competences and skills…

Knowledge helps counteract this. Knowledge fosters empathy. Learning about the other is fundamental to understand  our differences, the more so since they are all of cultural nature, given that we are all one single race, the single species of a genus.

One year past the starting day and I have received mail from almost 50 different countries, so I’ve investigated topics that are relevant to at least 50 different nationalities. How could I not be richer for this? How could this not be a relevant contribution to my everyday praxis as a human being? 

Now that a year has gone past, I can only say that I'm looking forward to the next year of covers and postcards in my mailbox, and I take this opportunity to again thank all of you who have sent me the lovely items  this blog is built upon. Without you, it woud all be empty pages...

Ah, and last but not least….

Thank you Mr. Postman!

You only need to be standing, in order to fall.... Monsieur de La Palice couldn't have put it better, I presume, but the fact was that I tripped on crossing a street, fell, tried to protect my face with my hand and made a mess of it. So much so, that on top of a nice purplish blue eye ,  I had a thumb completely displaced and in the aftermath of it I had to undergo hand surgery and am still recovering with the help of physiotherapy.

that is why I have not been updating my blog for the past month or so.

I now have regained the ability to do it and in the coming weeks i'll try to bring it up to date, with the few  nice covers and postcards I got in my letterbox in the meantime.

so... back to normal programming!😀

and a belated 

HAPPY NEW YEAR, to anyone reading this!

COVER N.55 - Canada

Postmark: Santa Claus North Pole - Canada
Posted on (?); received on the 24th November
__________________________________________________________________________________

He exists, after all... and I have a letter from him to prove it - well, from one of his elves, because I'm sure he can only answer the mail of big shots, like Presidents, Kings and so on, for protocol reasons, which are more than understandable.  It even has some handwriting from an elf.. Outstanding!

Sure the stamp is printed, and so is the postmark, but I'll keep it on my collection just the same. After all, someone was kind enough to read my letter to Santa and add some handwritten words to his standard reply.

As I said before, I'm not that fond of Christmas, but I just can't escape it and I confess I felt rather pleased to open my letter box and see this nice colourful envelope inside. 

Thank you so much Santa, you've made my day, and I hope all around the world your letters may kindle hope and longing, not for the thousandth Barbie or Action man but for that little three letter latin world that everybody understands but that sadly and strangely is so difficult to impart: Pax!

Is Santa Claus coming to my letterbox?

Do I believe in Santa? No, I don’t. I’m not even a true Xmas fan, I have to confess: being an agnostic, Xmas is much more of a cultural mark impinged on me, than something I feel as part of an inner spiritual cycle.

But then there’s tradition, and you just can’t escape it, having been born in a mostly catholic  country where people consider Xmas as The festivity of the year and fueled by ever aggressive marketing strip down shops of all they have on offer to ensure granddad gets his millionth pair of bedroom slippers, younger daughter her Barbie #125 and mom the cookbook she never asked for.

I remember once, when my daughters were of the right age to believe in Santa, I had them send a letter to Santa in the North Pole, and they did get an answer.

The received cover is long gone, but I could do with another for my collection, and since I read that Canada post would kindly send Letters on behalf of the man with the key to every toystore in the world, I decided to ask for one too…. Let’s see how this goes… 

 

 

Image credit: La Poste

On my recent trip to the Pyrenees I profited from the occasion to post to my own self covers with postmarks from both the Spanish and the French Andorran postal services, thus adding two more postal administrations to my cover collection.

When sorting out on the internet  what stamps to buy to this end on the eve of my descent into Andorra-La-Vella, I noticed the French Andorran  Post had issued this year a stamp that, the moment I noticed it, I knew I had to buy it, even though it is far from being a stamp that would fall into my “what makes a stamp great” criteria.

What caught my attention were the words on it: “Estany de Cabana Sorda”. This evoked in me the memory of what began as a gorgeous day I spent in Andorra, in 2015, that would end not in disaster, but in a fair bit of discomfort to put it mildly J.

My wife and I, we were looking forward to a not so difficult walk in the mountains and so we took on the suggestion of a pamphlet issued probably by the Andorran Tourist office that  proposed 4 or 5 hiking routes to explore in the Vall d’Incles, a most  wonderful and peaceful location, that I love and recommend to all.

So we decided to follow what was, If I remember correctly, the green path, that would take us from  the parking lot at the entrance to the Valley, up to a lake at 2290 metres high, in what was presented as an easy walk, fit for families with children and all.

So we started our hiking. I have to say, it was not that difficult in what regards the path and the type of soil on it, but it had a lot of steep  passages that made it harder than I was expecting for a path classified as easy.

On the way up, I remember passing by a family with a 8-10 year old child that was crying and saying he was tired and wanted to go back, but the parents kept pushing him forward…

Anyway, step after step we reached our goal: this beautiful little lake, enshrined by the mountains with a shelter on one side of it: Estany de Cabana Sorda, it was.

We stayed for a while to eat our sandwiches and enjoy the gorgeous views, but all of a sudden, clouds began to muster  and what were fluffy white rolls of cotton candy in the sky began to turn into menacing grey stacks of smoke.

We looked at each other and without needing to say a word, picked up our walking sticks and started the descent in haste. Just a couple of minutes into it and a big cold drop of water hit my bald head… we donned our waterproof jackets and accelerated our march.

BOOOOOOOOOOM ! the first thunder echoed in the valley. With it came the heavy downpour and thunder, more thunder. The biggest thunderstorm we had ever witnessed was taking place and we had no place to shelter, so we had to go as fast as we could down the path to the valley. Luckily the storm stayed  up high in the mountain, but the sheer noise of the thunders echoing in the valley is something I’ll never forget.

We  reached the safety of the road in the valley completely drenched  and were desperately yearning for a warm drink. There was a little café bar on the way, but we were so wet that we didn’t want to leave a pool of water under our feet in the bar, so we went on to the car and drove to Pas de la Casa, where we were staying, and where we finally had our invigorating cup of coffee at home, after a nice warm shower to get the blood running again.

This was a day to remember.  

And looking at the image on the stamp made me remember it all again.

So on par with being  tools to ensure a letter journeys form one point to another, stamps can also be the trigger to (now) pleasant memories, so much so, that the day after buying that Estany da Cabana Sorda Stamp, I was again on the parking lot at the beginning of the road at Vall d’Incles to start another hike with my wife… this time, though, we chose the Camí de l’Obac (the path of the shadow) so we would be sure the sky would not fall upon us….

Why do we collect?

I often pose this question to my inquiring self.  Depending of the phase I’m going through, I either try to rationalise it or let my innermost whims take over, that is to say I try to find an explanation I’m comfortable with, or just stamp the matter “closed” and carry on with my usual earthly business of living, in itself question enough to raise doubts and cares, without having to dwell into the metaphysics of human behaviour.

Curiosity?

Yes, but this would not explain why we’d want to keep things, once looked upon and analysed.

A sense of  possession?

Yes, this would explain the second part of the phrase above, but then again would also negate the question it tries to answer, since one can hoard, just for the pleasure of it…

Investment?

Some might do it with this purpose in mind. But I’m sure most collectors (the more so, since most of them won’t have the financial resources it takes to have a  collection of anything that might be looked upon as an investment) search for more immediate rewarding for their act of amassing  things than to see the value of their possessions raise in the course of decades of their lives.

A challenge?

To enjoy the sensation of overcoming the hurdles of trying to put together a series of things, some harder to find than others (and then to just file them on the cabinet, never caring to look at them again, unless someone sparks the opportunity to brag about it in a casual conversation…)

A pastime?

“Time passes slowly / up here on the mountains… “ stated the old Dylan song and yes, finding a way to fill up that time can be a daunting task for some people who retire from a active life and suddenly find themselves with too much time on their hands, not having developed in the course of those well worked years  other time demanding interests that would ensure them the continuation of a life free from constant checks at the wristwatch…

Educational  interest?

If one is into collecting for just more than possessing, this might be an important driver. I feel  it is so amongst many of the collectors that share blogs on the web about philately related themes (there are some pretty good examples on my links section of this blog, but many others exist).

A combination of several of these?

Probably, yes. Like the recipe for a well known delicacy, the contents of each of the ingredients varies according to the cook, but with more of a) and less of b), in the end it all boils down to the same time honoured dish.

The fact is that collecting, like any other activity strictly related to one individual in particular, is transitional….you can’t beat cell ageing….

But as  long as we find pleasure in having our little museum for ourselves, no matter what motivation lies behind it, provided we look upon it as an occupational  and motivational boost to our daily existence  and do not overburden others with it (be it financially, space or socially wise), I see no dangers in it, other than devoting time to think about it or write stream of thought conjectures such as  I’m doing right now.

Any opinions? The comments box is always open…

What makes a stamp great?

Several times I’ve posed myself this question in the last few weeks, ever since I started my blog.

Stamps, as objects of collection, have the obvious inherent quality of being desirable in spite of their physical features. That is to say, any stamp, as long as it fits the collector’s “terms of reference” is worthy of attention and potentially generator of the pleasure and contentment one feels whenever another item is added to one’s stash.

But, are they really all worth the same? (and I’m not talking about financial value, something that, for me, is not a concern, since my interest in stamps is not in any way linked with any type of investment or speculative objectives)

And the answer has got to be No!, they aren’t.

And I suppose the first item of my “What makes a stamp great” checklist is 

Theme

When I rekindled my long dormant interest in stamps, a side-effect of the current pandemic induced confinement periods, I started to peruse websites dedicated to philately, and I noticed my scrolling habits would most always lead me to articles dedicated to stamps themed on aviation, natural fauna and flora and regional costumes.

I had to make a terrible effort to concentrate on these three, though. I admit all types of transportation be it land, sea or air, can easily grab my attention, much the same as any natural scenic wonder or man built structure, like castles and bridges, not to mention the well  loved Lighthouses, to name but a few of the themes that would fit my interest bill.

But one has to draw a line somewhere, so I decided to concentrate on the three themes above mentioned, even if by themselves they are sufficiently open to admit a further need  for specialisation, for natural fauna, for instance has all the ingredients of a never ending story,…

A great stamp, can be quite simple, I believe.
image credit - CTT

Next box to tick?  I’d say

Type of image

Most stamps, whenever conceptually based on an image of something, resort to either photographs or drawings (and here, for the sake of facility of expression,  I include all types of media, like pen and ink, engravings, watercolour, etc).

And the choice here, for me, is also easy to make: Drawings!

Yes, I know, some stamps might have photos that are not only very good technically but which also may include a lot of interesting and contextualising information, but most of the times, I find, drawings are more enticing and adequate to the small size of the stamp.

Don’t get me wrong: I do love photography (in fact It’s another of the hobbies I dedicately pursue), but in my humble opinion, a nicely drawn stamp, especially if the drawing is accurate and real to life, as in scientific illustration, will 9 out of 10 times be nicer than a photograph based stamp.

(exceptions to the rule: even if photography-based, this is a great stamp, for me…)

image credit: CTT

Size

The dimension of a stamp might have a role in the path to greatness also.

The bigger the stamp the better? NO! I don’t think so. I  think stamps are, by definition, a form of miniature art. As such, drawn to conclusion by etymology, I suppose a biggish stamp is  something that somehow seems contra natura.

Stamps larger than, say, 6 cm in their longest dimension  are strange beings (of course, as in any other of the features I’ve mentioned, there are always exceptions to the rule…), and se-tenant stamps and souvenir sheets can of course be much wider or taller, but I’m  talking individual stamps, here.

(exceptions to the rule: even if larger that 6 cm, this is a great stamp, for me…)

image credit: CTT

Media

Every once in a while, a philatelic administration innovates with a never before seen media-based stamp. We’ve all seen or heard about stamps with music, scent, in gold, silver, with seeds, etc etc. The Portuguese CTT are quite adept of this trend and they’ve issued some really strange (and well regarded internationally) stamps such as the one recently issued to commemorate the 500^th anniversary of the Portuguese Post, which included a graphene circuit with a coded message with a poem by Portuguese Poet Miguel Torga, that could be transferred to one’s cell phone, or the set issued in  2016, dedicated to the Portuguese canning industry, which could be bought in a can, like a normal can of sardines….

Well, I have nothing against this, (and I do like the can idea) but more often than not, I can’t help but think that these are also  gimmicks to increase turnover from the philatelic section of the postal administration..

So for me a stamp… will be a piece of paper, preferably with lick-able glue on its back. 😉

 

(exceptions to the rule: there’s no way I cannot like this….)
Image credit: Conservas de Portugal

Format

Anything goes, here: square, round, lozenge, rectangular…. As long as the format contributes to the balance of the stamp, it really doesn’t matter.

So...

I’m sure there must be some more items that contribute to the opinion I make of a stamp, but I suppose these are those I consider first, so if a stamp is themed on one of my choice themes, shows a nice and accurate drawing, has a decent size and is made of that most wonderful of all media, paper, I’m pretty sure I’ll be looking at it with admiring eyes….

If you read this, do let me know what makes a stamp great, in your opinion, by dropping a line in the comments box. I’d love to hear other opinions on this.