COVER N. 701 - SOUTH KOREA

Postmark:  Gwanghawamun Korea  20.03.2026  

Posted on the 20th March;  Received on the 14th April 2026

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A very neat letter from the Republic of South Korea completes a circuit that was initiated thanks to the precious help of LCCC manager Roland Montagne, so un grand merci, Roland, pour votre précieuse aide,  and 감사합니다, Park, 

Park used the two 270 won stamps issued on 28OCT2011 as a joint issue between South Korea and Australia, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Korea-Australia diplomatic ties, as can be read in the legend on the stamps.

 The beautifully illustrated stamps highlight traditional local instruments: for Korea we have the Haegeum, a string instrument akin  to a vertical fiddle, being stringed with two  silk strings which are played with a bow, while the Australian istrument depicted is the Didgeridoo, a wind instrument that is played "with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing" (wikipedia).

Postmark from the  Gwanghawamun Post Office, which handles all the mail of  Jongno-gu, which together with Jung-gu,  forms the city centre of Seoul.

POSTCARD N.221 - INDONESIA

Postcard sent on the 14th January; received on the 15th April 2026

Postcard image: Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta

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Better late than never, it is said, and in what concerns mail, I could not be more in favour. 

The path of  the restless wanderer, my friend The Phantom, led him through South East Asia, it seems, at some point in the beginning of the year, and three months later I get proof of this in the form of a nice postcard from Jakarta, Indonesia. As always Danke sehr, Alex. Truly appreciated!

Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country by population, and it is also the fourth most populous country in the world,  so large mosques must be quite common in the country to accommodate the religious needs of the population.

One such Mosque is the Istiqlal Mosque, located in Jakarta, the country's capital, which is the largest Islamic temple in all south east Asia and the 9th largest mosque in the world.

Its name "Istiqlal" signifies "Independence" in Arabic for it was built in celebration of Indonesia's independence. The temple opened in 1978 and can accommodate no less than 200,000 worshipers

Alex used three stamps from a set of 6 x 3000 Rupiah se-tenant stamps + 1x10,000 Rupiah single stamp, issued on  05NOV2018, dedicated to Flora and Fauna of Indonesia.

left to right , the stamps are illustrated with photographs of:

- Knobbed hornbill (Rhyticeros cassidix), a species of hornbill native to Indonesia, dwelling in evergreen forests up to an altitude of 1800 metres, in the islands of  Sulawesi, Buton, Lembeh, Togian and Muna. 

- Ursine tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus ursinus), a long-tailed, furry, bear-like mammal found only in tropical forests on the island of New Guinea (Indonesia).

- Celebes crested macaque (Macaca nigra), a critically endangered species endemic to the north tropical regions of the island of Sulawesi.

Postmark from Central Jakarta  (Jakarta Pusat).

POSTCARD N.220 - AUSTRIA

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 01th April (?); received on the 14th April 2026

Postcard image: A view of unidentified  fields

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Not much to say about this postcard I got from Emilia with a nice photograph of  some calm fields on an unidentified location, other than it looks like a good place for a hike, one of my activities of choice. 

Unfortunately it mush have had a rough ride while in trasit since it arrived  with a pretty nasty crease....

Anyway, Danke sehr, Emilia!

Emilia used a small, yet atractive in its formal simplicity, 1,25€, self-adhesive, stamp, issued os 02HAN2026 as part of a 3 three stamp set (2 x 1,25; 2 €) in the "Three and bush" definitive series started in 2025.

The tree that illustrates the stamp is the Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), a member of the  Rosaceae family, which can grow up to 20 m high and which can be found all across Europe. The berries it produces are edible and can be made into jam.

Postmark from the Capital, Wien.

POSTCARD N.219 - CROATIA

Postcard sent on the 07th April; received on the 14th April 2026

Postcard image: Night view of Vela Luka - Kurcula Island

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What a pleasant surprise. A friend and colleague of my wife's who has accompanied her relentless efforts to ensure I get a postcard or a letter posted from the local Post Office whenever she travels abroad for work reasons, was immensely kind and volunteered to send us this beautiful postcard fromCroatia, knowing that such a generous gesture would make us (well, me, for sure 😀) immensely Happy.

Muito obrigado, Francisca. Fiquei mesmo muito contente por ter recebido este bonito postal. 

Como as boas ações não devem ficar sem resposta, já vai outro postal de resposta a caminho também 😀

Vela Luka, which translates into "Big Harbour" is a port town on the Island of Korčula, one of the Croatian Islands in the Adriatic. The economy of the  town, as I could learn from wikipedia,  aside from the activities related to the sea and tourism, leans on the existence of a medical centre specialised in patient  rehabilitation and rheumatic disorders.

Francisca used a "C" tariff self-adhesive stamp,  part of a set of three, (Tariffs A/B/C) of the "Natural Beauty of Croatia" series, issued on 28JAN2020, illustrated with a photograph of Telašćica Nature Park.

This nature reserve is located in the central part of the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, in the south-eastern part of the island of Dugi Otok and was upgraded in protection status from Protected area in 1980 to Nature Park in 1988, in recognition of the importance of its "valuable flora and fauna, geological and geomorphological phenomena, versatile sea bottom life, and interesting archaeological heritage", as stated in the Park's official site. 

POSTCARD N.218 - UNITED KINGDOM

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 08th April; received on the 14th April 2026

Postcard image: The Red Arrows - reproduction of a stamp issued on 20JUN2024

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Oh the fumes.... the roar... the ballet like perfection of the 9 Hawks symmetrically aligned... Thanks a lot Hannah, I really like it!

The year was 1973. I was 13, then. The news on TV couldn't make me happier: The Red Arrows would be performing in Lisbon, over the Tagus near Belém.

I immediately put on a request with my father: Please, please daddy, please let’s go see them. Daddy said ok. we'll go.

Anticipation, anxiety.  I could hardly wait for it. 

Days later at school, during the break between two classes. Suddenly a glimpse of  red in the sky, getting bigger: the Red Arrows Gnats flying over my head, and then that  roar, I was bursting with enthusiasm. Tommorow as promised we'd go see the full performance.

Then the day came. I was ready to go. but then came lunch. and for some reason it took a lot of time for us four, my parents my sister and I, to leave home.

The day  was terribly hot, and even with the windows opened in our tiny Austin 850, I felt truly uncomfortable. The more so since everywhere I looked there were cars. all jammed up.  Everybody wanted to go the same direction but no one was moving an inch... the hour set for the performance was rapidily coming near, and still we did not move... and then it all went past and still we almost did not move... 

and then we returned home... 

and I cried a lot....

I would see the Red Arrows performing many years later at Montijo Air Base, already flying the Hawks, but I'll never forget the disappointment of that day when I spent most of  the afternoon sweating and crying, on the rear seat of that green Austin 850.

C. S. Lewis (1898 — 1963), was a prolific Irish author who is probably best remembered by his Chronicles of Narnia, comprising seven fantasy novels written between 1949 and 1954.

Celebrating the series,  British Mail issued on 22MAY2025 a set of 8 "1st Class" stamps each dedicated to one of the books in the saga (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was entitled to two stamps). 

The stamp on the left is illustrated with an image of "The Silver Chair", while the one on the right evokes "The Horse and His Boy"

POSTCARD N.217 - GERMANY

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 06th April; received on the 14th April 2026

Postcard image:The Ports of Dornumersiel/Westeraccumersiel

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Fishing trawlers  and the control tower of a port that was once two, so Ulla tells me. Vielen Dank, Ulla.

Dornumersiel and Westeraccumersiel are neighbouring communities separated by the waters of the Dornumersieler Tief, right on the western tip of the German North Sea coast.

These two towns used to have separate ports, but following storms that occurred in 1962,  and which I presume left behind a trail of destruction, both ports were merged, so Ulla tells me.

Judging by the image on the card, fishing boats (herring?) are probably the port's most important users.

The Waken Open Air Festival is the world's largest Heavy Metal Festival, which has been taking place since 1990, in the town of Waken, State of Schleswig-Holstein,in the north of the country.

The 2025 edition, which took place from 29 July till 2 August, was celebrated by Deutsche Post with a self-adhesive three stamp set (2 x 0.90 + 1.25 €) illustrated with what I presume to be the Festival's Logo, issued on 25JUL2025.

The mechanical postmark reads Briefzentrum 49, which locates the dispatch place  in the vicinity of  Osnabrück in the Sate of Lower Saxony.

COVER N. 700 - SRI LANKA

Postmark:  Headquarters P. O. Colombo Mail 24.03.2026  

Posted on the 24th March;  Received on the 13th April 2026

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While Sri Lanka commemorates the 75 years of its Air Force, I celebrate the 700th cover on my blog... all in one go. So the usual බෝහම ස්තුති goes out to Ravi, who kindly helped me get another nice aviation cover and stamp in my collection.

The Sri Lanka Air Force was established on the 2nd March 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force, drawing on the assistance and experience of the Royal Air Force.

According to SLAF's site, it's first aircraft were the trustworthy De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk trainers that arrived in Sri Lanka in 1950, what puzzles me a bit, since the same source says the upon inception (1951) SLAF had no aircraft...

Anyway, today, SLAF's inventory is quite a mixed bag, since it comprises aircraft of as diverse origins as China (Chengdu J-7, Hongdu JL-8, Harbin Y-12) USA (Beechcraft King Air,  Lockheed C-130,  Bell 206/212/412, Cessna 150), Russia (Antonov An-32, Mil Mi-24/Mi-17), Germany (Dornier 228) and Israel (Kfir C12).

Celebrating the 75th anniversary of its national Air Force, Sri Lanka Post issued on 02MAR2026 a 70 Rupee stamp, illustrated with a fly by over parading troops, of  aircraft that were historically part of the operational history of SLAF: Hunting Jet Provost; Douglas DC-3 Dakota; Westland Dragonfly; De Havilland Dove and De Haviland Chipmunk.

The stamps also bears the Badge of the Sri Lanka Air Force and the 75th anniversary logo.

A usual with Ravi's letters, this one bears the postmark of Colombo's Central Post Office.