COVER N.182 - UKRAINE

Postmark: unpostmarked
Posted on the 10th November, received on the 24th November 2022
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Expect the unexpected ... Yesterday, on my usual anxious check on the letterbox upon arriving home after a day at work I was surprised by what these days can only be regarded as an uncommon combination: in all glory and perfect convivial harmony, a letter and a postcard were waiting for me to pick them up, both gestures of friendship, both gestures of civility, both significant expressions of  humanity, in their simplicity and almost negligible material value.

The letter came from Ukraine; the postcard from Russia. And I couldn't be happier for having received both.

A letter, stamped and duly circulated arrives at its destination in about a fortnight after expedition. 

at first sight this could be a definition for normality; as it stands, it is an expression of the utmost resilience;  a story of relentless courage; an indication that no matter what and who the circumstances cowardly  throw against you some people will never give up, when certain that they stand on the right side of history.

I, as I type in the comfort of my room, with access to such luxuries as running water, full time electricity, heating if need be, cannot even try to imagine what it is like to live in Kiev or any Ukrainian town for that matter, in the harshest conditions and always in fear that another strike of a murderous missile or drone may impinge death on the rubble they leave behind...

and yet,... Someone, amidst all this civilisational aberration, took the time to carefully compose a beautiful envelope with  gorgeous stamps, take it to the post office and mailed it... as if ... just another perfect day like the ones Lou Reed immortalised 

Thank you so much, Basil. I'm truly moved by what your beautiful cover signifies. Slava Ukraini!

I hope that soon the little miracle that happened inside my mailbox may transcend it... now,  wouldn't that be a grand Christmas Carol?

As far as I can infer from the online catalogue sources I consulted, the envelope Basi used was meant to be a FDC for a stamp of the set of 4 issued on 21MAY2021to celebrate traditional embroidery. The embroidery motiv of the envelope is typical of  the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Stamps. left to right

- The Theme for the Europa Issue of 2019 was "National Birds", Ukraine issued two Letter Z (International, up to 50 g) stamps, beautifully illustrated, one (on the cover) with a pair of nesting storks (Cicconia cicconia) and the other with a thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia).

Incidentally, given the fact that the letters V and Z are now associated with the markings on the vehicles of the aggressors,  Ukrposhta, the Ukranian Post, has stopped using these letter as stamp denominations.

- On 18AUG2017, Ukrposhta issued a set of four 4 Hryvnia  stamps dedicated to medical and melliferous plants (a second 4 stamp set would also be issued the following year), again beautifully illustrated as it is the norm with Ukraine stamps.

The stamp on the cover is dedicated to the  greater celandine (Chelidonium majus), which is Portugal is known as Erva-andorinha,  (swallow grass) certainly by way of a popular derivation of its scientific name, given that chelidon in Greek means swallow and also due to the fact that it begins to flourish when the swallows begin to arrive in their migration, in spring.

Although toxic, it has several medicinal uses mainly for skin, liver and gallbladder ailments.

The vignette on the edge of the stamp is part of the frame of the minisheet containing 9 stamps, in which the stamps were presented.

- Tradition is again at the core of the U tariff stamp illustrated witha Pysanka Easter egg, painted in the traditional fashion of the Lviv area.

The stamp is part of a set of two definitives issued on 27SEP22, the one on my cover with U denomination and its companion, illustrated with an egg painted with a motif typical of the Vinnytsia region.

- The  7th definitive stamp issue  of Ukrposhta, comprised some 20 stamps issued between 2007 and 2011, themed on traditional handmade household items . The  1,50  Hryvnia stamp on cover features an ornamented tile and its rather difficult to say when it was issued since there were several printing runs of these definitive stamps. The first iteration of this 1,50 Hryvnia stamp dates of 25MAR2009.

Unfortunately, no postmark was applied to the stamps, but I cannot complain about it since it is nothing short of a miracle that in the current state of affairs,