COVER N. 238 - FRANCE

Postmark: Bureau Philatélique 31 - Toulouse Capitol 

Posted on the 7h April; Received on the 18th April 2023
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Another curious cover from Eric.... who keeps enriching my blog with his generous sendings… thanks a lot, Eric! This time the cover comes  from Toulouse... (Toulouse or not Toulouse, that is the question.....ok, lousy joke, I concede, but I couldn't escape it....)

I have fond memories of Toulouse, I spent a couple of days there quite a number of years ago, but I still retain the images of the great paintings on the walls of the Capitol, and the image of the beautiful  square by night.... also the driverless metro... I had ridden driverless trains before, but not over such a lengthy route....very modern and dandy... quite a contrast to the main set of stamps on the cover Eric sent me with a bunch of beautiful classic cars.

it is a pity that even of covers mailed from the Bureau Philatélique, the dreaded double cancellation is applied by overzealous machines.....(and operators.....)

On 09MAY2000 la Poste, on the occasion of the Philex Jeunes 2000 - a stamp show presumably, that took place at Annecy -  issued a minisheet comprising 10 stamps illustrated with images of classic cars, with a double denomination since it was the time of the transition to the new European currency. As such the stamps had a face value of 1 Franc / 0,15 € 

Half of this sheet is on my cover and it contains stamps featuring such automotive legends as the Bugatti 35, the Citroen traction Avant, the Renaul 4CV, the Simca Chambord and the Hispano-Suiza K6.... I'd be happy to go for a ride in any of these beautiful pieces of Ingeneering, but if I had to choose, I'd take the Traction avant.... and the bugatti...

the other commemorative stamp on the cover features a Rose de Mai -  Cabbage rose (Rosa x centifollia), and is part of  four 4 0,97 € stamp set designated " Fleurs de Grasse et de Mediterranée" (Flowers from Grasse and the Mediterranean), issued on 12JUN2000.

Eric completed the posting tariff with several Marianne stamps from differing issues (l to r):

0,05 - issue of 02OCT2006 - Marianne des Français.

0,01 - isue of 23JUL2018 - Marianne l'engagée

0,01 - issue of 15Jul2013 - Marianne et la Jeunesse 

0,01 - ssue of 17JUN2008 - Marianne et L'Europe

0,01 - ssue of 17JUN2008 - Marianne et L'Europe

Le capitole - Toulouse

COVER N. 236 - FINLAND

Postmark: Helsinki Hellsingfors 00100 - 08.04.2023 

Posted on the 8th April; Received on the 18th April 2023
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At first I thought I had to call on the help of Monsieur Hercule Poirot to help me with this one.

I knew it came from Finland, from the Capital city of  Helsinki, neatly stamped and posted,  but the fact is that I didn't know who the sender was, since it is not written on the envelope, and what's more, except for a piece of card to reinforce the envelope, it was completely empty,..

Could it be that it was from a postcrosser, sending me a postcard that he/she forgot to insert? That  was the closest I could get to any possible justification, but then I remembered I had recently received another cover from Finland and I went and compared the handwriting....

Yes, they looked quite the same...

Taking that for granted, since all letters should deserve an answer, I wrote a long letter to the sender of the original letter, thanking him for it and expressing my views on a couple of issues regarding the purpose and intent of my blog and so on and so forth.

I neatly stamped it, closed the envelope and took it the very next day to work, to go to the post office to dispatch it.

I was just about to do that, when I received a message from Alex, asking me if i had received his cover from Finland....?

What? wait a minute.... could it be......

Damn! Saved by the bell! Yes, Dear Alex, I did and i was just about to  attribute it to someone else 😀.

Nothing that would cause an international crisis, but  I am sure I was saved from having to explain a confusion that I and only I had created, due to my very poor forensic skills....

So, Thanks a bunch, Alex.... (only next time, please, don't forget to add the sender 😂)!

Anyway, a reply cover will go out soon, since no letter should go unanswered!

The 0,05 € auto-adhesive stamp, is part of a three even priced stamp set "ripples in water" issued in minisheet form on 24JAN2008.

The 0,10€ stamp is part of a 4 set stamp issued on 09MAY2017, dedicated to artic birds. The 4 stamps were also issued included in a souvenir sheet. 

The birds depicted were: 0,10€ - Long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis): 0,20€ - Velvet Scoter (Melanitta fusca); domestic (no facial value) - Brent goose (Branta bernicla); domestic (no facial value) - Barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis).

The auto-adhesive domestic tariff up, to 50g, stamp bearing the Finnish National Flag was issued on 06May2005, and it is the result of a design competition, won by Ville Tietäväinen, who conceived a stamp wherein the national flag is mirrored in the waters of one of the many Finnish lakes.

Siniristilippu, for such is the designation of the Finnish flag is composed by a blue cross over a white background, the former representing the lakes and the sky, and the latter standing for the ever present snow.

The neatly applied postmarks inform that the letter was posted in the Finnish Capital, Helsinki.

COVER N. 237 - USA

Postmark: Lexington MA 02420 - 05.04.2023 

Posted on the 5th April; Received on the 18th April 2023
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Another cover from the lot that was waiting my return from my holiday trip, this time hailing from the USA.

I wouldn't want to be as close to a tiger as to look it in the eye, but on this envelope, the gaze of not one but two examples of the magnificent feline do stare at me as if enquiring "why have we to be on stamps and labels, so that you remember to let us mind our own business and go find rugs and coats elsewhere...."

Thanks, Kurt. Every new tiger in the wild is a victory.

Today only 4000 individuals are believed to survive, 2500 having attained reproductive status, out of the 100.000 that inhabited forests across Asia in the beginning of the 20th century.

This impressive ascertainment clearly illustrates the impact of  human activity on natural habitats and their dwellers, and the pressing need to equate development and progress against sustainability and conservation.

We all know it: a system is as strong as the weakest of its links.... The Earth, Life, is a systemic equation: break the chain and sooner or later someone - everyone - will be impacted by this simple fact.

I am not a great fan of zoological gardens,  but  I do understand the role they unfortunately  play in conservation, these days. Still, I think that better than having magnificent animals imprisoned for life, no matter how good conditions are, is to let them live freely where they belong, just like we, animals too, are entitled to (yes, I know, we could argue about this too, but that's for another post...)

The largest stamp on the cover is a single issue first class auto-adhesive stamp, issued on 11SEP2011, with a facial value of 0.44 + 0.11 Dollars, themed on "Save vanishing species". It depicts the Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica). Classified as Endangered by the IUCN, the Siberian tiger is one of the six tiger populations still existent. its habitat is now restricted to Southeast Siberia.

Polinisators are essential to life. another proof of the systemic nature of our existance. Fruits are the result of the work of armies of generous and hardworking creatures that most times we tend to look at as nuissances, so much so that for yers we've developed chemical ways of killing them, so plentiful and "unnecessary" were they...

Some years ago i saw a documentary on TV. In it peasdants somhwere in china, took to polinisate pear flowers by hand, with a small brush, one by one, since polinisator insects in the region had but disapeared.... is this what we are aiming at

Blueberries, pears and grapes, all need bees, or wasps or butterflies, or any other bug that might do the work of a peasant hanging from a branch or perched atop a stepladder with a small brush....

The three self adhesive definitive stamps on the first row on the cover fruits are part of a series issued by the USPS dedicated to fruits, obviously, the blueberry 4 cent stamp having been issued on  09JAN2022; the red pear  on 17JAN2016, (although the particular stamp on the cover has a little 2017 legend on the bottom left corner, that should indicate that it is part of that year's print run,) and the grapes on 24FEB2017.

The  domestic "Forever" stamp alongside the tiger, is part of a 16 self adhesive stamp sheet themed on Marine Sanctuaries of the USA, issued on 05AUG2022,. It is illustrated with a picture from Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, located in lake Huron, in the State of Michigan. 

Further to the original Lexignton MS manual postmark, the cover was mechanically cancelled at Boston, the State capital, in the same day: the 5th of April.

COVER N. 235 - CROATIA

Postmark: ilegible 03.04.2023 

Posted on the 3rd April; Received on the 18th April 2023
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Lately I've been adding quite a few names to the list of countries and Postal Administrations represented in this blog and so I couldn't be more pleased to notice that in the stash of mail I had received during my time off in the beginning of the month, there was also a nice cover from Nikola, in Croatia, the first one I ever got from this beautiful country.

Thank you so much, Nikola!

I have spent some fine days in Croatia  some years ago and one of them was passed walking around in Plitvitce Lakes National Park, slowly building one of those memories that will last forever, for the place is  outstandingly beautiful, with waterfalls and emerald  lakes that look like they came out of some fantasy novel, popping out of everywhere.

The beauty of memories is that they can be revived; the more so if you happen to be one of those fellows that won't go on a holiday trip without the cumbersome and inconvenient weight of a backpack  full of camera gear that 9,5 out of 10 times you just won't use, much to the joy of your travelling companion who won't let go an opportunity to mock the aspiring Ansel Adams in you, as she shoots picture after picture with the unbearable lightness of the  250 grams of her cellphone....

But then there's weather, season, time of day, people... all the variables that during the summer months at well known places, usually get together to make sure that your unforgettable visit to an unforgettable place will be recorded in sub-par photos, either because the sun will be to high, or the sky will be dull blue, the light will be too harsh, there will be people everywhere, (doing much the same as you...)....

But you carry on, and next time you go somewhere in the summer, you'll be sure to carry all the heavy gear on your back... hoping for the best, knowing that frustration can also be a motivator to  do better next time... I've caught good photo opportunities during summer storms, for instance,.. but then, it is the wind... the rain... the fact that the tripod won't hold steady... while your companion shoots picture after picture of perfectly good vacation photographs with the unbearable lightness of a 250 g cellphone...

When I looked at the stamps on Nikola's letter, I immediately jumped to the computer to take a look at the pictures I took at Plitvice in 2017.... How can a guy spend the best part of a day in such a lovely place and return home with all but crappy pictures....well, I promise I'll do better next time.

On 10JUN2019 Hrvatska pošta issued a minisheet with four stamps, denominated two each at 3.10 and 8.8 Kuna, illustrated with photos of Plitvice national Park, celebrating the beauty and the importance this amazing place has, both in ecological and economical terms. Two of these stamps were used on my cover and given the fact that the 3.10 Kuna stamp is in souvenir sheet form, I suspect that the other three might have been likewise issued, but I'm just speculating.

The postmark on the stamp is illegible, unfortunately.

COVER N. 234 - MONTSERRAT

Postmark: Montserrat Postal Services  Brades 06.03.2023 

Posted on the 6th March; Received on the 18th April 2023
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A cover heralding tragedy,,, stamps and places can summon up all kinds of memories, ideas, facts... they can be a catalyst, a trigger, a spark that ignites our dormant ROM cells where we keep all of the useful and useless pieces of information we amass over the years.

I would probably never give it a thought, these days. Yes it was tragic, yes it was in the news at the time, but Montserrat it's not just the kind of place you think of now and then... and yet, the first thing I thought about upon noticing where the great letter Eric sent me came from, was a graphic one, full of  vivid images I saw ages ago on TV, when the capital of this British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean  was totally engulfed by the ashes of a volcano, like a sad modern day Pompey.

I read now that at the time, 1995, 19 people died. Plymouth, although still being  de jure the capital of the territory  had to be abandoned by its inhabitants and is now off-limits since it is well within the exclusion zone which was created for security reasons, encompassing more than half the island.

Still life goes on and  a new capital is being created in the Northwest coast of the Island, as well as a new port. A  new airport had also to be built from scratch, since the 1995 eruption also submerged the old one in ashes.

Although a member of the same West Indies Federation that I wrote about for te previous entry regarding a cover from Antigua and Barbuda,  unlike other territories therein included, Montserrat never became independent and, to this day, maintains its status of British Overseas Territory.

Tragedy, after tragedy

It is no secret that Norma Jean Baker lived her life like a candle in the wind, from her very beginning. Her entry into Encyclopaedia Britannica"  immediately informs us she was reared by12 successive sets of foster parents and, for a time, in an orphanage. Add to that 3 marriages later in life, success and failure, problems with addictions, miscarriages,  rumoured troubled affairs with the two most famous Kennedys, and the scene is set for the tragic finale that found her in bed, her life taken by an overdose of barbiturates, on the 4th August, 1962.

Still Marylyn Monroe is one of those persons that is greater than life itself and will live forever as a 20th century icon, well remembered in the inspired lines of a great song authored by another candidate to immortality.

On 13JUN1995, Montserrat issued a minisheet containing nine 1,15 Dollar stamps, all of them featuring images of Marilyn Monroe, presumably taken from some of the movies in which she starred, under the motto 100 Years of Movies (the first ever commercially exhibited  film was made by the Lumière brothers, in Lyon, in 1895).

The issue also comprised a souvenir sheet featuring a stamp with Marilyn and Elvis. even though they never did participate together in a film.

On 29DEC1967, Montserrat issued the sole set for the year, comprising 4 stamps celebrating  the fact that 1967 was declared the International Tourist year  by the United Nations General Assembly, drawing attention to the then emerging phenomenon of cultural tourism.

Two of these stamps denominated at 15 and 5 cents are present on my cover, featuring images of the Great Alps Waterfall and a sailing boat respectively.

Upon investigating the image of the waterfall, I discovered that it had been totally covered up by ashes from a volcanic eruption in September 2007... 😟

Tragedy, after tragedy…

The postmark carries the name of the now acting administrative capital of the territory, Brades,

COVER N. 233 - ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Postmark: Antigua and Barbuda General Post Office - All Saints Branch 01.03.2023; General Post Office 08.03.2023.

Posted on the 8th March; Received on the 18th April 2023
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"With a little help from my friends"... so goes the chorus in the immortal Beatles song made even more evergreen by the great Joe Cocker...

Upon inspecting the stash of diverse envelopes on my desk, I find myself whistling this line  time and time again...

Antigua and Barbuda... how the hell would I get a cover from such a remote place if not with a little help from my friend Eric, who keeps ensuring that my country list keeps on growing... Thank you so much, Eric. I have no words meaningful enough to express my gratitude.

The British Commonwealth of nations is in itself a study subject that would recommend that those that delve into its intricacies for the first time be sure to use some sort of Ariadne's thread, for "the road is long, with many a winding turn" ( pretty musical today, am I...)

So I went and checked Antigua and Barbuda, to learn that the islands, located in the confluence of the Atlantic and the Caribbean, were first colonised by the Spanish and the French, later to be followed by the British who founded a colony, its economy relying as usual on slave workforce to exploit sugarcane plantations. 

From 1671 to 1958, the islands integrated the British Leeward Federation, and then  up to 1962, the West Indies Federation, still under British sovereignty. In 1967 they became an Autonomous State although still associated with the UK, finally becoming fully independent in 1981. (And I've kept some intermediate steps out of the report... didn’t I tell you it was not a straight course?...)

The State's economy relies today much on the same crop that turned it into a colony... sugar, and of course also on what every Caribbean economies relies on... hordes of tourists longing for white sandy beaches and coconut trees, being dumped ashore from hugely polluting cruise ships.

Eric used some quite interesting stamps on this great letter:

From 1970 to 1974, the Antigua and Barbuda Postal Administration issued a series of annual stamp sets themed on military uniforms.

On my cover two such examples can be seen, both denominated at 1/2 cent: the stamp on the left, depicting a Battalion Company officer of the 25th foot, the King's own Borderers regiment, 1815, integrated the 1972 issue, which began to circulate on 01JUL1972, while the one on the right, part of the original 1970 issue, which started to circulate on 14DEC1970, bears the image of  a Drummer Boy, of the 4th King's Own Regiment, 1759, so the legends on the stamps inform us.

Identifying the starfish stamp took me some effort. In fact, probably due to the already mentioned rather complicated administrative evolution of the Territory/Autonomous State/Country, it was listed in Stampworld catalogue in a separate Barbuda section and not in  the Antigua and Barbuda folder.  This is also evident in the country's name on the stamps on the cover themselves: Antigua, Barbuda and even Redonda, echoing the administrative divisions of the country.

The 60 cent stamp is part of marine life set comprising 13 stamps issued on 15SEP1987, and the thorny starfish therein depicted goes by the scientific name of Echinaster echinophorus.

The souvenir sheet was issued by the island of Redonda, which is odd, since the island, I read, is deserted although being considered a dependency...a philatelic gimmick, in all due probability…

Anyway, the single stamp on the sheet commemorates the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II, and was issued on 10JAN1979, being illustrated with a family portrait of the monarch with prince Phillip, Princess Anne and the then Prince now King Charles III.

The Postmark bears no place identification other than the name of the State.

POSTCARD N.103 - GERMANY

Postcard sent on the 31st March, received on the 6th April 2023

Postcard image: Nördlingen - Die Runde Stadt im Ries - The round city in Ries - aerial view of Saint George church and "Daniel" Tower 
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It has been a while since I last received a postcard, so Alex's last surprise to land in my letterbox was even more welcomed than usual. The more so, since when I started to research the town depicted I realised that this is really an interesting place to visit.... I'll keep a note for it on my "places to visit" checklist. Thanks a lot, Alex!

As it turns out, Nördlingen is round because it sits within the roughly 1 km wide impact crater of a meteorite, something that is not readily perceived from ground level or even from the air. It seems that the settlers who founded it in medieval times just went about building houses according to the orography not realising that in fact they were following a contour line  that would impart their city a characteristic circular expansion area, something that is now clearly visible in any aerial view.

The gothic St. George church in the centre of town (and of my postcard), dates back to the 15th century and is one of the biggest in Southern Germany. Of note is the fact that the stone used for its construction is suevite, a melted rock originated by the meteorite impact.

Nördlingen is located in the Swabia region, in the Free State of Bavaria, and has approximately 20.600 inhabitants.

The 0,95€ stamp is part of the 2 stamp set (0,95€ and 2,70€) issued on 01MAR2021, of the series U-Bahn-Stationen (U-Bahn Stations). It depicts the Übserseequartier Station of the Hamburg U-Bahn.

The Postmark indicates that the card was mailed from Nördlingen 86720, which is actually the post code for Nördlingen's Post Office.

COVER N. 232 - NEW ZEALAND

Postmark: Whanganui NZ 13.03.2023 

Posted on the 13th March; Received on the 5th April 2023
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Half the globe at the very least! That's what the very clean and dandy cover I got from the antipodes of my own country had to travel to finally come to rest inside my mailbox.

Oh, how I would love to be on the return trip, myself...

New Zealand,.. The first time I ever saw a rugby match on TV, many, many years ago, I was absolutely mesmerised by the strange ritual that those guys wearing black jerseys and shorts  executed before kick-off (well, in those days, you really couldn't tell, because TV, at least here, only showed black, white and a nice range of greys in between...).

So much so, that I decided I would play rugby myself....a decision that was as fast abandoned as it was taken, when I realised that a pair of rugby shoes was way outside my mother's financial envelope....

So I turned to volleyball instead, but all through my volleyball career, which lasted  until I got out of high school to go to university, I would also have to deal with material frustration, since  I never laid my feet inside the much coveted  Onitsuka Tiger sneakers  all my colleagues had...

Come to think of it, the Tiger shoes were my second  great material disappointment.

The first had been an Action Man action figure that I also absolutely craved for when I was 6 or so, but never got, in spite of many conversations and written letters to the guy with the long white beard, when the time no nag him came... 

Some years ago, on Christmas Eve, when presents were passed around, I got a very finely wrapped box from both my daughters. Suspecting a pair of  room  shoes, due to the format of the box, something that I was indeed in need of at the time, I started to carefully unwrap the present, as I usually do. All of a sudden, a logo emerged from the wrapping that made me tear the paper as fast as I could:  Ta-dam! Lo and behold... an Action Man action figure! I couldn't be happier  and  the immense smile on the faces of Barbara and Marta was the perfect Christmas gift a father could ask for. Bloody brats! They always knew how to sugar-coat me  😀

As usual I digress, but that's just the way  words and memoirs intermingle, at least for me, sparked by the simple beauty of an envelope, dressed with carefully laid on stamps and addressed in a fine handwriting....

Thank you so much Wendy! 

Kupe, I read, was a Polynesian sailor and explorer, and the first human to set foot in New Zealand, during a  Polynesian diaspora the reasons for which are not yet fully ascertained by historians, Inter-tribal conflicts. need to find places to live due to volcanic eruptions in their places of origin, sheer exploration and expansion, all these are plausible reasons to justify Kupe's Journey,  although legend has it that the real reason was to follow and kill a giant octopus that was killing all the fish in his Hawaiki homeland. 

- On 05JUN2019, NZ Post issued a sheetlet with eight 1.30 NZ Dollar stamps celebrating the legend of Kupe the great Navigator.

Two of these stamps were used on the cover, and these depict Matawhaorua, Kupe's waka (a traditional Polynesian boat type) and Kupe's wife, Hine-te-Aparangi, who his credited with having first sighted Aotearoa,  the Mahori name for the land we came to know as New Zealand. "He aotearoa - a long white cloud!" she exclaimed, upon noticing a white cloud on the horizon, what would indicate that in all due probability, there would be land underneath it.

- On 24JUL1991, NZ Post issued a souvenir sheet with a pair of two stamps featuring images of Hector's Dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori). Further to the 80 and 45 Cent denominations, the stamps also included  a 5 cent  charity tax, the proceeds of which were transmitted to the  Children's Health Camps movement. 

The Health stamp tradition is also present in the last stamp on the cover.

- On 24JUN1998 NZ Post issued a souvenir sheet dedicated to the theme of  water safety for children, featuring 2 pairs of the 40 + 5 cent, which can be seen on the cover, and  of its 80 + 5 cent companion, which bore the image of a baby leaning to swim under supervision of an adult.

The neat postmark informs us that the letter was mailed from  Whanganui, a city with 42.6 thousand inhabitants on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. 

COVER N. 231 - FRANCE

Postmark: La Poste 39002A France 

Posted on the 26th March; Received on the 6th April 2023
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It's always great to return home to a letterbox full of interesting letters, after some days out travelling. Still, before I went away I hadn't managed to transform all the letters and postcards I had received into blog entries, and now the "still to be added" stash is getting bigger, so now that I'm back, I'll have to speed up to make do for the hiatus...

So without further ado....

I was rather thrilled to receive a large C5 envelope with a full minisheet dedicated to "Cape and Sword" adventure heroes that one way or the other have made their way into our collective imagination. The more so since the quality of the illustrations on the stamps themselves is quite fine.   

Thank you so much Jean for this truly appreciated addition to the collection, and also for the very interesting stamps inside. Response will be on its way soon.

D'Artagnan and his three friends were amongst my childhood heroes, even though I don't think I have ever read Alexandre Duma's original work, since what I remember reading when I was a wee lad was either adapted abridged versions or bande dessinées albums of this great classic. 

As to Sir Lancelot du Lac, I clearly remember crossing the path of his unfortunate triangle with Arthur and Guinevere in comic books, such as Hal Foster's Prince Valiant. (The connection would be much later rekindled with Stephen Lawson's and Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian sagas, but that was long past my days of wooden sword fencing with school-bench colleagues).

Cyrano de Bergerac ... I have to confess I haven't seen the movie with Depardieu, but I know that Cyrano was a guy with an outstanding nose, fast to draw his sword, who had conceived some sort of  space travelling device, so I'm sure that we were acquainted somehow, a long time ago.

3 out of six, such is the tally, then, for the remaining 3 characters on the minisheet are unbeknown to me, that is, Capitaine Fracasse, Le Bossu and Pardillan (even though  Fracasse does seem to ring a bell (even if very dim...)

Each stamp pictures the hero in colour against a monocolour background depicting what I presume are their particular foes, and  a small illustration in a contrasting colour, highlighting a pivotal incident in their personal story, such as the "One for all and all for one" oath for D'Artagnan or Lancelot participating in a tournament as champion of  Guinevere.

 This beautiful  minisheet was issued on 25OCT1997, and the six stamps were all  denominated at 3 Francs plus a charity 60 centimes surtax.

Contrary to what I think is the usual practice, the postmark does not contain  the name of the place where the letter was processed.

Even stranger is the fact that the back of the envelope  exhibits a postmark from Funchal, Madeira, what implies that the letter travelled though a rather atlantic route before it got to my letterbox.

COVER N. 230 - FINLAND

Postmark: Suomi - Finland  66º 33' 7'' North Napaphri - 96930 Artic Circle   

Posted on the 26th March; Received on the 4th April 2023

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Another blistering cold cover, this time from the deep north; from  across the Arctic Circle, as so informs the nice pictorial postmark, with a couple of reindeer crossing Finland's map where the arctic circle is superimposed, while on the circular section none other than its most famous inhabitant takes a peek over the date mark.

Thank you so much; Esko. 

When I was a lad Valentine's day was not a tradition that would in any way be celebrated or even acknowledged in my own country. not until the early 80's of last century. Them, all of a sudden, globalisation stepped in and marketing and commerce found a new expandable niche to extract the hard earned coins from the pocket of those afflicted by the love disease and nowadays it's just another  nonsensical and totally out of context "tradition" that is eagerly celebrated not only by the newer generations. more permeable to the global virus, but also by older people who should know better but who have been retro-infected all the same.... anyway, what sense does it make to celebrate Valentine's day or Halloween in the south of Europe? It's about as logical and expected as having the Brits celebrate the day of  Santo António or of Pedro or João, the other two saints that complete the Popular Saints triad celebrated throughout my country. Of course I'm talking about the popular and profane (i.e. commercial, mostly) dimension of the festivities, since the religious dimension of the equation is mostly off-limits for me, since not only am I an agnostic, as I also confess my ignorance regarding Christian theology and hagiology.

then there's that childish aura that...annoys me... pink and cuties..... hearts ... flowers...promises of eternal love....

Last year, 24 women died in my country, the victims of domestic violence. I wonder how many of those had been treated to a heart shaped box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers, come February the 14th.....

anyway, as usual I digress, such is the power of stamps and images....and Esko is certainly not to be blamed for me ranting a bit more than usual...

To celebrate Valentine's day Posti Finland issued on 18JAN2023 a set of five self-adhesive stamps with no indication of face value, meant for domestic use, themed on "close friends".  Further to the squirrel and dog pairs on my cover, the set comprised three more stamps, featuring a cat couple, a deer and a rabitt and three swans, somehow illustrating in an hyperbolic way the diversity reigning over matters of the heart...

COVER N. 229- FRANCE

Postmark: 58 Corbigny - Nievre 29-03.23   

Posted on the 29th March; Received on the 4th April 2023

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Mr. Postman brought me another cover laden with very interesting stamps from the Hexagon. Thank you so much Jean-Pierre, for another great addition to my collection.

- Louis Blériot (1872-1936) is a name that needs no introduction, for he was the man to blame for the Daily Express titling "Britain is no longer an Island", after his first successful aerial crossing of the English Channel or of la Manche (depending on which side of the crossing you  look at it...) on the 25th June 1909, just five and a half years after the 30 metre hop of  Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk,

The epic 36.3 minute flight over 36.6 km entitled him to collect the quite substantial £1,000 prize that  Daily Mail had on offer for whomever would successfully carry through  such a daring feat.

An accomplished engineer who had already proven his merits by creating the first successful headlamp for automobiles, he invested the profits he earned from that venture in his passion for aviation and conceived a number of aircraft of which the Type XI, the monoplane he used in the famous crossing, would be the most successful. Profiting from the publicity that the channel crossing brought about, the Type XI would be a great seller both to military and civilian aviators at worldwide level.

The stamp illustrated with the effigy of Louis Bleriot is part of a set of 2 stamps denominated at 0,50 Franc with a 0.10 Franc charity surtax, issued on 24JUNE1972. Although issued 100 years after Bleriot’s birth, the set also honours another famous Frenchmen,  photographer and inventor Edouard Belin (1876-1963).

- The Centre Nationale d'Études Spatiales, is the French Gocvernmnetal organisation tasked with the responsibility of developing and coordinating France's Space programme.

Established in 1961, The CNES would emerge as the leading European actor in the development of an European logistic capability in the field of space exploration with the Arianne family of rockets and the operation of the Kouru launching facilities of the Centre Spatiale Guyanais in French Guyana.

Nowadays the  CNES is a solid and active partner of  ESA, the European Space Agency, for which it was also one of the creation drivers.

The role of CNES is highlighted in the stamp issued on 125MAY1982, marking the 20th anniversary of the organisation. 

The stamp is illustrated with the image of the first of the Ariane rockets, aptly named Ariane I, with detailed drawings of the propulsion and payload sections, and also of the satellite Éole, a meteorological survey satellite launched on 16AUG1971 in a joint mission CNES/NASA.

- The UIT - Union Internationale des Telecomunications - was created in 1865 thus being the oldest international organisation still standing. Its forerunner was the International Telegraph Union which was established in Paris in 19865 with a view to the harmonisation of  cross-border procedures and equipment so as to guarantee the fastest possible transmissions over the international telegraph network,.

Nowadays the UIT is an agency of the United Nations and its sphere of action and regulation and increased manifold with all the developments in the field of communications that have come to light since Samuel Morse devised his telegraph code in 1835.

The logo of the UIT, a  morse telegraph key, the French Centre de Télécomunications de Pleumeur-Bodou, famous for having been the facility responsible for ensuring the first mondovision tv transmission via the telstar satellite, in 1962,  and a communications satellite, illustrate the 0,60 Franc stamp issued on 17MAY1965 to celebrate the centenary of the organisation. ~

- Charles de Gaulle Airport, locate just 23 km from the capital, in the commune of Roissy-en-France, was inaugurated on the 8th march 1974 and is the largest civil airport in France and the second biggest airport in Europe in terms of processed traffic, after London Heathrow.

To mark the opening of this most relevant infrastructure, La Poste issued on 16MAR1974 a stamp heralding the airport as a symbol of the supersonic future symbolised by the mythic Concorde that is seen on the stamp flying across the then existing single runway (now they are four). 

Ironically, if was from Paris - Charles de Gaulle Airport that the ill fated  Concorde AF 4590 flight of the 25th July 2000 took off, only to crash shortly after,  with the loss of all its occupants, thus marking the beginning of a path that would lead to the end of an era when, on the 27th June 2003, Air France Concorde F-BVFC flew commercially for the last time between Paris and New York, followed some months after by the last landings of British Airways  G-BOAG, G-BOAF G-BOAE at Heathrow, on the 24th October of the same year.

- The Féderation Française des Associations Philatéliques was established on the 5th June 1922 and today it comprises more than 600 associations, a clear indication of the resilience of the hobby, in spite of the changes in habits and interests that our societies have gone through in the era of the electronic revolution.

Honouring the institution on the occasion of its 70th congress, in 1997, that took place at Versailles between 15-17 may 1997  La Poste issued a 3 Franc stamp illustrated with an image of the Versailles Palace and comprising a vignette featuring the logo of the FFAP.

- Further to the above, the cover also includes a Marianne 4.40 Franc issued on 12JUL1993 as part of the Marianne du Bicentenaire series and a 0,20 Liberté from the definitive series issued on 04JAN1982.

COVER N. 228 - FRANCE

Postmark: Gustave Eiffel 1832-1923 1er Jour 23-03-2023 - 21 Dijon  

Posted on the 23rd March; Received on the 30th March 2023

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Paris wouldn't be Paris without its most recognisable sign: the quintessential wrought iron tower, towering (no word would make more sense, I guess) 324 metres high to the top of the antenna that sits on its apex, which bears the name of the master engineer who conceived it, Monsieur l'Ingénieur  Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, né Bonickhausen dit Eiffel. (1832-1923)

All the same, the Portuguese cities of Porto or Viana do Castelo, would lose quite an important part of their aura, if the bridges that Eiffel designed for each of them, would not  be there, the Maria Pia Bridge, over the Douro, for the former, and the Eiffel Bridge (what else?), over the Lima, for the latter.

Last, but certainly not least, my growing cover collection would be deprived of a very beautiful item if Eric hadn't again decided to surprise me with an outstanding piece, in the form of a first day of issue postmarked souvenir sheet containing the  very beautiful in-taglio printed 1,80 stamp, issued on 23-03-2023 to mark the centenary of the passing of Mr. Eiffel.

I really like the simple beauty of this stamp, featuring the effigy of Eiffel against a section of the arch on the sides of the tower base.

Of note is the fact that the postmark was issued at the city of Dijon, his birthplace. 

Thank you so much, Eric. Once again, your generosity humbles me. 

Other than the eponymous tower, Gustave Eiffel contribution to functional architecture, is well known for such famous creations as the Gabarit Viaduct (the red structural section on the souvenir sheet) , the inner structure of the Statue of Liberty, the already mentioned Portuguese bridges, and a host of other creations like  train and bus stations, churches, Lighthouses, Theatres, etc, in Europe and South America, mainly,  and I guess that having his name associated with engineering works that can be regarded as works of art by themselves, irrespectively of the purpose for wish they were build, does play an important part in this well deserved claim to fame.

I wonder if some of those works of art did not in some way at some point inhabited the small office Mr. Eiffel kept at the Palácio da Bolsa at Porto, where he worked during his stay in my country, and which I have had the opportunity to visit.

I will not elaborate about Eiffel's  career and immense contribution to the development of structure and bridge engineering, since Doctor Google will readily provide any reader with much more information than I can provide, but  I do think I have  a point when I say that one cannot but be marvelled  at the way his more well known master creations are woven together in elaborated (and scientifically calculated) lattice works,  clearly evocative of the industrial progress issued out of the industrial revolution that would characterise the transition from the  19th to the 20th centuries.

I look at all that Iron and I see future..... I read Jules Verne on those lattices, that somehow evoke monumental Mecanno creations, in the geometrical way the structures develop themselves, I can even see the foundations for such ground breaking artistic moments as the cubist inceptions of  Braque and Picasso.

This, for me, is the beauty of  Eiffel's genie, which I have had the pleasure of marvelling at, but also of actually using, for such is the beauty of functional art....