COVER N.170 - AUSTRIA

Postmark: Sollenau 2601 - 04.10.22  
Posted on the 4th October; received on the 13th October 2022
__________________________________________________________________________________

A simple envelope with the right tariff stamp... that's all it takes for a letter to journey from here to there.  It has been like that for ages... harbingers of good, bad, so and so news, letters go where voice can no longer be heard, where words can no longer be perceived, where distance is but an address. 

Not much of a secret, I know, but we never really think much about what we take for granted until that sad moment when what there is,... is no longer...

Thanks a lot Manfred!

To make sure that children "Leg Godt", what translates into Play Well in English was the idea that drove Ole Kirk Christiansen into inventing a wood block system that would allow children to replicate the universe around them in 3 D while at the same time developing skills such as tri-dimensional perception, fine movement coordination, planning, and I'm sure a whole lot of others. 

History has it that the system was invented in 1932, and I'm sure that Mr. Christiansen would be absolutely bewildered if he were to see who is a substantial part of the brand's customers these days.... I've seen children of 40+ proudly getting out of the supermarket or toy store clutching their prized new 1000 + parts Lego box under the arm... "oh yes, Nice isn't it? I bought it for my soon that is about to be born...."

I still remember when I was given a basic set of Lego by my grandmother, when I was 5 or 6 years old. Although I quite liked the concept, I found it quite frustrating, because whatever I tried to create, the pretty limited number of parts I had meant that I could never go past the basic house or two-wheeled cart... Little did I know that by 10, I'd be even more frustrated with Meccano, for exactly the same reason... 

Celebrating the 90th anniversary of the creation of the famous plastic building blocks Österreichische Post issued on 14SEP2022 a single 1.20 € stamp illustrated with the image of a LEGO Ferris wheel, which Manfred used on my cover.

The Postmark tells us that the letter was mailed from Sollenau, a city located some 36 km south of Vienna.