COVER N. 257 - BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - BH Pošta

Postmark: Cazin 77220 24.04.2023

Posted on the 24th April; Received on the 23rd May 2023
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Bosnia and Herzegovina  

I had a puncture on the way to Sarajevo... I was stepping a bit more on the gas pedal because I wanted to arrive in time for the last Free Walking Tour of the day... suddenly, when exiting a bend, a hole in the asphalt.... bang... and pffffft.... the onomatopoeiae immediately translated to my brain as trouble....

Luckily the rented car had a spare tire, so after some sweat and a good swearing session, we were back on the road with a useless tire in  the rear seat, since installing the spare wheel on its compartment below the trunk on a Renault Clio takes at least a Masters Degree in Physics and a PhD in pictogram reading.

Anyway, huffing and puffing we managed to get to the walking tour meeting place just minutes after the session had began, so we didn't miss much of the initial explanation.

And it was an important one, because to this day I am still confused by the way Bosnia and Herzegovina is run as a state, since I don't think there is any other state in the world with a more complex configuration/ Government.

As far as I can understand, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a Federal state  comprising i) another fully fledged federation - the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;  ii) a republic - Republika Srpska and iii) a common territory, the District of Brčko,  under administration of both The Federation and the Republic, but entitled to equal rights as its administrators and with its own government.... Confused? so am I!

I won't go into any more details regarding the political organization  of the State, since to fully understand it is even more difficult than placing the spare tire in its compartment in a Renault Clio, but  it should be noted that it is unified under a tripartite  Presidency, in representation of the three main ethnic groups - Bosniaks (who is the dominant ethnic group in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbs (who dominate in the Republika Srpska) and Croats - held in rotation by a representative of  each of these communities for eight months throughout a 4 year period. 

Tensions in the region seem to be rising again, unfortunately, and I only hope that the holes in the walls that I saw when I was travelling through ancient Yugoslavia will keep reminding people that there is a much better way of solving any questions than making holes in walls, the more so, since many of the bullets that made those holes, had first passed through flesh....

This fact not withstanding, another of the eccentricities of  Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a very significant one for the main subject matter of this blog, is that it has three separate Postal Services, one for each of its composing administrative units: BH Pošta, operating in most of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Pošte Srpske, operating in the Republika Srpska,  and  Hrvatska pošta Mostar, catering for  Croat-majority areas in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Once again Eric made sure my list of countries and Postal Administrations keeps growing at a steady pace, and I was very please to receive this cover from Bosnia and Herzegovina, sent through BH Pošta.

Muito Obrigado Eric!

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Common Europa Issue of 1956, on 30NOV2005 BH Pošta issued the souvenir sheet (in both perforated and imperforated versions) comprising 4 stamps, denominated in Euros and Bosnian Marka, that can be seen on the cover. The stamps highlighted UE integration, with the flags of the European countries both EU members and non members, the common European  currency and a more locally centred event, the organization by Bosnia and Herzegovina of the XV European Chess Cup Finals in 1999, in the city of Bugojno.

The registred mail cover was sent from the city of Cazin, in the northwest corner of the Federation of  Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 COVER N. 256 - CZECH REPUBLIC  

Postmark: 80 let KF 00-15 Praha 1 13.05.2023

Posted on the 13th May; Received on the 19th May 2023
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A cover full of lovely creatures, celebrating the anniversary of a Philately club. Nice! Thanks a lot Ivan!

I think I have said it before here: I am not that fond of  zoos, even though I understand the pivotal  role they unfortunately play as a reserve for the conservation of endangered species. 

I know things have evolved a lot in later years, but I always remember seeing a chimpanzee locked in a jail many years ago in Lisbon zoo and thinking what kind of life the poor beast led, locked for ever in a naked cubicle, or the sad looking elephant who would ring the bell each time a coin would be dropped into his pit...

I also remember the horrific images of Prague's zoo, totally flooded in 2002, what led to the death of many of  its animals....

The bigger the beast, the more discomfort it causes me, of course... I can't help but put the image of the bell playing elephant in contrast with those we have all seen of  those magnificent beasts roaming free across the large African savannas...

but Zoos can also be the subject matter for beautiful stamps and this I cannot put at fault; on the contrary, I have to thank Ivan for the Very nice stamps he used on this cover, the main one being dedicated to the zoo of Plzeň (Pilsen).

- Animals have always been  a Philatelic favourite of many a thematic collector, and I am sure that the magnificent  four souvenir sheets issued yearly between 2016 and 2019 by the Czech Post, dedicated to the Czech Zoos, must have been highly regarded by this particular philatelic community.

The sheets are profusely illustrated and besides the actual four stamps they contained several vignettes occupying the margins with beautiful images of animals, such as can be seen on the 30 Koruna stamp on my cover, dedicated to the Pilzen Zoo, part of the second group issued on 06SEP2017, depicting an adult and an juvenile Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and a blue-spotted tree monitor (Varanus macrarei), a large monitor lizzard endemic to the island of Batanta, in Indonesia.

- The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)... the fastest living creature on Earth, capable of diving speeds in excess of 320 km/h is the subject of the 8 Koruna stamp on the upper left corner. it is part of a set of three (6,5: 8: 9 Koruna) issued on 15OCT2003, as the year's issue for the nature conservation series.

- Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths... how could someone like me who is marvelled by anything that can conquer gravity not be totally captivated by the ethereal lightness of their flight, the enormous beauty of their colours, the awe inspiring  discovery of their shapes?

In 2020 and 2021, Czech Post issued two definitive sets of two stamps each featuring butterflies. The 1 Koruna stamp on my cover is part of the 2021 set and is illustrated  with an image of an Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines), a member of the Pieridae family which can be found all over Europe. The companion stamp in this issue, with a face value of 23 Koruna,  was illustrated with the beautiful Peacock  butterfly (Aglais io).

I don't think I ever photographed an orange tip, but I did come across an European peacock, in Romania, once, who was quite willing to pose for a couple of shots.

The stamps are cancelled with a nice pictorial postmark, commemorative of the 80th anniversary of the KF00-15 Philatelic club. a thematic philately club, with the 00-15 registration number in the then Union of the Czechoslovakian  Philatelists, hence its designation. Congrats to them!

COVER N. 255 - HONDURAS  

Postmark: ???? Admon Tegucigalpa 28.02.2023

Posted on the 28h February; Received on the 14th May 2023
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Another cover from the international consortium Eric & Roland Inc., and another country in the list. Thank you so much, my friends, I'm at loss for words once again....

Honduras is the second largest country in Central America, right after Nicaragua, with whom it shares a terrestrial border in the south while also neighbouring El Salvador, to the west and Guatemala to the northwest.

Albeit being nothing short than a natural paradise on earth, in what regards scenic beauty and biodiversity, it has the reputation of being one of the most unsafe countries in the world, what I'm sure must be hindering its development. 

This should not be disconnected from the fact that Honduras is also one of the most inequalitarian countries in terms of income with 50% of the population living in poverty conditions (less than US$6.85/day) and almost 13% in extreme poverty (less than 2.15/day) as of 2019.

This sad state of affairs has to have its causes, and I'm sure that they are well known... in Honduras as elsewhere.... could not a race that is able to send a satellite to the stars and beyond find a damned way to eradicate at least extreme poverty once and for all... 

It is not a question of "isms", it is simply  a question of ethics and empathy, for heaven's sake....

Stamps, left to right

- 5 Lempira stamp, from a set of 4 (5; 10; 25 and 50 Lempira), dedicated to the Fortress of San Fernando de Omoa, built by the Spainsh between 1756 and 1775, in order to protect the interests of the Captaincy General of Guatemala (which included what is now Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, and the Mexican state of Chiapas) from Pirate activity in the region.

The stamp is illustrated with a photo of a sculpture of  the coat of arms of King Ferdinand VI of Spain, who reigned from 1746 until his death in 1759,  which is exhibited at the main gate of the fortress.

 - Three stamps from a set of eight, (4 x 5 and 4 x 10 Lempira), issued on 10APR2015, promoting the Government's action in the field of environment protection. From left to right, the legend reads We promote responsible mining for a better life; we promote  the production of renewable energy for a better life; we watch over and promote the conservation of protected areas for a better life.

- 5 Lempira stamp from a set of twelve (5 x 5; 4x10; 2 x15; 1x25 Lempira), promoting tourism.  

The image in the stamp is that of a girl cable sliding in Pico Bonito, La Ceiba, Atlántida, a National Park, in the northern, Atlantic., region of the country.

- 5 Lempira stamp from a set of seven (2 x 5; 3 x 10; 1 x 15; 1 x 25 Lempira)  issued on 15APR2016, celebrating the 80th anniversary Sociedad de Caballeros del Santo Entierro, (Society of the Knights of the Saint Burial) an organisation that, according to its own website was founded on the 16th February of 1933, (the 80th anniversary should thus have occurred in 2013) by the Priest Ramón Salgados, and is constituted by a society of catholic men who dedicate themselves to carrying out the celebrations of the Holly Week.

The stamp is illustrated with a photo of the images that are carried on the shoulders by these men in the Holly Week procession.

- 3 Lempira stamp, part of a set of five (1x 3; 1x 5; 1x 14 ; souvenir sheet with 2 x20 Lempira) issued on 27MAY2010 on the occasion of the world soccer cup, held in South Africa, in which the Honduran National Team participated and which was won by Spain.

The stamp is illustrated with a photo of  Mbombela Stadium, in the South African Province of  Mpumalanga, where Honduras had its first game of the tournament when it lost to Chile by 0-1.

Besides the flags of the two contriees, the stamp also exhibits the logos of the Championship and of  Ficohsa, an Honduran Bank, which I presume was the main sponsor of the Honduran team.

- 2 Lempira stamp part of a set of 10 (1 x 2; 2 x 5; 1 x 8; 3 x 10; 1 x 15; 1 x 25; 1 x 50 Lempira) celebrating the 60th anniversary of ENEE Empresa Nacional de Energia Eléctrica (National Electric Power Company).

The stamp is illustrated by an image of what I presume is a dam under construction, with the legend Patuco II. This is the name of a Mega Hydroelectric  power project that, from what I gathered, is not yet accomplished and which is also involved in controversy given, on the one hand,  the potential impacts on an UNESCO WHS area and , on the other, for being at the root of a switch of allegiance of Honduras from Taiwan to China, because of the former failing to financially back the project.

With the exception of this last stamp, which is meant for domestic mail, all the other stamps are labelled Airmail, either in text or by the presence of a small aircraft pictogram.

Unfortunately, the postmark is not that clear, but it seems to contain a pictorial element on top, which i could not decipher.

COVER N. 254 - CHINA  

Postmark: ? 08.02.2023

Posted on the 20h April; Received on the 18th May 2023
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One of the advantages of being out in the open with this blog of mine  is that once in a while I get mail from a fellow collector somewhere on  another spot of our ellipsoid, asking for a swap.

That's what happened with Ruinan, who contacted me from China and from whom I got this envelope graced with 4 nice stamps, as Chinese stamps usually are. Thank you so much Ruinan.

If one looks at the date on the postmark though, it is easy to conclude that the ride wasn't easy, since the journey between China and Portugal took three and a half months to conclude, which, judging from other mail I got from the same country is not that typical.

The reason for this is clear though when one looks at the stamped "Surface" indication on the cover that was applied by the Chinese post office, even though Ruinan tells me that the amount of postage he used was correct for air mail... 

In the end it got here, that's what matters, and with this little curio embedded, so...all end well that ends well.

Stamps, left to right:

- 80 renminbi fēn stamp, part of a 6 stamp set (3 x80 fen ; 3x 1.20 yuan) dedicated to ancient philosophers, issued on 07OCT2019. The stamp is illustrated with the effigy of philosopher  Wang Shouren (1472 - 1529).

- 1,20 yuan stamp, part of an eight 1,20 Yuan stamp set issued in two sheets of 4X2 on19MAY2013 dedicated to  Chinese old towns.

The image on the stamp is from Tangjiawan Town, located on the West bank of the Pearl River estuary, quite close to Macau.

I find these old town Chinese stamps with their line and colour paintings  really a thing of beauty.

- 1,50 stamps part of  a four (2x1,20 + 2 x1,50 Yuan) stamp set issued on 30MAR2017, dedicated to Chinese classic literature. 

The work invoked by the images on the stamps is "Journey to the west" or Xi Yóu Ji,  a classic novel written in the 16th century, in the Ming Dinasty,  probably by Wu Cheng'en.

Quoting directly from Wikipedia, on the subject of the 100 chapter novel: "(it) is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who traveled to the "Western Regions" (Central Asia and India) to obtain Buddhist sūtras (sacred texts) and returned after many trials and much suffering."

COVER N. 253 - PORTUGAL  

Postmark: (FDC Postmark) CTT LISBOA Vultos da História e da Cultura 20.04.2023

Posted on the 20h April; Received on the 11th May 2023
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All through one's lifetime we get to know all sorts of people. Many, the large majority, will not cause any lasting impression once the confluence of being, of occupying a common space for a given time, for any given reason, ceases to exist. 

A few, however, will accompany you forever, and this often without the need for anything more substantial than the simple memory of their presence,  the quality of their transit through one's life, the sequels of their impact on your cosmovision and your relation with the world about you.

Teachers are always good candidates to this superior status. In fact, given the nature of the relation we establish with them, if not for anything for the simple fact that for a period in one's  life you will be intellectually  nurtured by their generous transmission of knowledge, it is easy to understand that some will definitively be tattooed in that place of one's brain where we keep our personal and intangible treasures.

Urbano Tavares Rodrigues was my  French Literature teacher for a couple of years at Lisbon Classic University.

More than 40 years ago he introduced me to Zola, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Choderlos de Laclos, Stendhal to name a few..., 

But more, much more than the immense knowledge Urbano had of French Literature second only to his love for disseminating it amongst us, his students, it is the gentleness of his figure, the lightness of his presence, his gentlemanish way of crossing one's path that has endured and which I will always remember.

His life was one of  hardship, as someone who had his teaching and journalistic career interrupted in his own country due to the brutal prosecution of the political police, during the dictatorship years. He was beaten, imprisoned, and eventually had to go to exile in France, where he teached Portuguese Literature at the Universities  of Montpelier, Aix-en-Provence and Paris (Sorbone).

Upon returning to Portugal he would only be allowed to teach again after the overthrow of the Dictatorship in 1974.

I am sure the circumstances of life, all the prosecution and hardship he endured have probably had an impact on him, still the Urbano I remember was as captivating a man as the fox in the famous Saint-Exupéry's book that I am sure he must have mentioned in his always interesting classes...

Acknowledging the value of his contribution to Portuguese culture in general and literature in particular as a writer, teacher, journalist, theatre and literary critic, CTT, the Portuguese postal service included Urbano Tavares Rodrigues (1923-2013) in the latest of its stamp sets dedicated to Relevant  Personalities in  Portuguese History and Culture, issued on 20APR2023.

And I could not let go the opportunity for this humble but sincere homage: "It was a pleasure seeing you again, Professor!"

COVER N. 252 - FRANCE  

Postmark: Service des Oblitérations Philatéliques 24-Boulazac 27.04.2023

Posted on the 27h April; Received on the 11th May 2023
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France and India united by the will to explore the earth from above, gathering information for the advancement of science and bettering the living conditions of us all.... That's what satellites should be sent to space for... even if this legitimate and proficuous purpose cannot even compare to that of a Satellite ... of love, such as the one Lou Reed used to sing about....

Thank you Roland for this very interesting cover with a joint France-India issue.

50 Years of India-France Space Co-Operation was the motto for this joint issue, which, on the French side, comprised the two stamps on the cover with 0,76 and 1,20 € denominations, which began to circulate on 13APR2015.

The 0,76 € stamp is dedicated to the Saral (Satellite with ARgos and ALtiKa) Satellite, which was launched on the 25th February 2013, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, in Sriharikota, in the State of Andhra Pradesh, India. 

According to the potted notes in Wikipedia,  the aim of the SARAL mission is to "perform altimetric measurements designed to study ocean circulation and sea surface elevation" with a view to  the mapping of sea surface height (SSH).

To accomplish its task, the satellite relies on two main pieces of French developed equipment: the ARGOS Advanced-Data Collection System (A-DCS) for collecting the information obtained from ocean buoys and  the Ka-band altimeter (ALtiKa), which, as the name implies, is the first altimeter operating in the Ka-band, a "portion of the microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum defined as frequencies in the range 26.5–40 gigahertz (GHz)" also according to Wikipedia.

The 1,20 stamp features the Megha-Tropiques satellite, launched on the 12 October 2011, from the same launching site as the Saral.

The aim of its mission, which was completed in April 2022,  was to "study the water cycle in the tropical atmosphere in the context of climate change".

Out of curiosity, I went and checked the Indian counterpart of the joint emission and yes it mirrors the composition and layout of the French Stamps, having been issued on the 10APR2015

COVER N. 251 - EAST TIMOR  

Postmark: Correios Dili Timor Leste 14.04.2023

Posted on the 14h April; Received on the 11th May 2023
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Wow! East Timor... The moment I saw where the stamp on the letter came from, I felt someone had avenged the young kid I once was who would never complete a collection of trading cards because some of them were so rare that unless you were really lucky, the investment needed in order to enter the realm of positive probability was way beyond your pocket money capabilities.

Again I have to thank Eric for such an incredible addition to my collection. Thank you so much, ou, melhor ainda, Muito Obrigado, Eric. Fiquei sem palavras....

East Timor, an example that conflict leads nowhere...the path to independence was hard and bloody... the will of a people was trampled on by a cruel and sanguinary invasion... what for?  Perhaps the finest hour of UN's current Secretary General António Guterres... the last breath of the Portuguese empire and the first new sovereign state of the 21st century...

East Timor thrives today on the earnings it gets from oil and gas, but it had to start from zero, its territory having been neglected  first by us, the Portuguese, then fallen prey to the scorched earth policy of the occupant Indonesia... not an easy task lies ahead, the more so since many of the wounds of the recent past must be far from healed, so deep were the cuts...

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity with the aim of raising awareness at worldwide level to the need to conserve and promote biodiversity.

Drawing attention to this need Timor-Leste, East Timor,  issued a six stamp set on 28NOV2010 (2x 50 cents/centavos; 2 x 75 cents/centavos;  2x 1Dollar - the official currency of East Timor being the US Dollar, there are coins denominated in centavos, each centavo equalling one American cent) each of them featuring  a reptile or an amphibian of its fauna.

The 75 centavos stamp on my cover is illustrated with the image of a Varanus timorensis - Timor Monitor , a large monitor lizard that I would think is endemic to Timor, although, and strangely enough I could not find any information about the species on the internet.

The postmark indicates that the letter was mailed from the country's capital, Dili.

 COVER N. 250 - MOROCCO  

Postmark: Marrrakesh CTD 19.04.2023

Posted on the 18th April; Received on the 4th May 2023
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Self-sent covers are a pleasure to receive, because either they look like the prodigal son has come home, when, after a good while, you receive back on your letterbox a cover that you carefully prepared and sent away for postmarking and returning, or, better than that, they are evidence that you had been away somewhere.

One of my last travels abroad was to Morocco. But this time, contrary to what we usually do, my wife and I, we let ourselves be seduced by not having to book transportation, accommodation, organising the day, what to see, what to eat, in a word (or a bunch of them): think or care about anything other than paying the bill to the travel agent.

BIG MISTAKE!

Yes, we had been on organised tours before, but we had never spent so much time inside a bus travelling around a country and actually visiting almost nothing, except for a larger than normal choice of  arts and crafts shops where the main aim is selling the tourist something. Not that this is wrong in principle, it’s just a question of balance as it should not be the main aim of an organised trip that is supposed to introduce a country to you....

The real interesting places we did not visit, because they were either closed by the time we arrived or they had nothing to sell....

Anyway, this fact notwithstanding, Morocco was a discovery for me and I may go there in the future to see what I didn't this time, but when and if we go, we'll do it on our own... that’s for sure!

Before departing to Casablanca, I had of course prepared some letters to send to some friends.

Now, letters to be sent, and especially to be sent to cover collectors, should respect some minimal qualitative criteria.

One of them is they shall not be sent without at least one stamp and the other is that it should be manually cancelled.

And here my troubles began. The tour schedule contemplated no free days at all. I would only have a free partial afternoon in the last day in Marrakech. So how the heck would I be able to buy stamps and post the letters?

So I was always keeping an eye whenever the bus stopped to see if we were going past a post office so that at least I could buy some stamps, thinking that If I got the stamps I could, in the evening, prepare the letters and the very next day, at another post office, deposit them and ask for them to be manually cancelled.

Well the first 5 days or so of the tour went by without me seeing a post office of sorts...until, on the 6th day, (and I was already believing that on the 7th, I, like God, would be entitled to rest....) in Marrakech, while following the guide on route to the Musée National du Tissage et du Tapis Dar Si Said (one of the few interesting visits we did) we passed by a Post Office. I immediately told the guide, that I needed 5 minutes to go inside and buy some stamps, and with his permission, I did just that. Luckily there was only one person at the counter and he was already paying, so it really was a fast operation. The problem was that the only stamps available were the current domestic and international definitives with the photograph of King Mohammed VI...not the most interesting stamp for a cover, but I bought some, anyway, since I had some postcards to send and maybe I would still find something more interesting for the covers.

Unfortunately the rest of the tour days passed and I did not pass through any opened post office again. On the last day, the day I finally had some free time in the afternoon, I went past a large post office in Jemaa el-Fna square, probably the central station in Marrakech, but it was already closed for the day.

I finally gave in to the idea that I would not be sending any covers from Morocco this time. I had sent the postcards, so at least, I would get mine, but I was a bit sad about it.

The next day we went  to the airport. Upon arrival at the terminal for check in, I saw the Post Maroc logo right beside that of the Al Barid Bank, (which I understand is a bank ran  by Post Maroc) above a counter  in one end of the terminal. I asked the lady at the counter if I they sold stamps and she confirmed she did. Exultant, I bought what she had, in the form of self-adhesive stamps, opened my bag, took off the letters, affixed the stamps and asked the lady to manually cancel them....

She looked at me and shook her head…. “We just sell stamps, we do not process the mail. just go to the other end of the terminal and drop the letters in the letterbox....”

this I did...

The stamp is part of a set of eight self-adhesive stamps issued on 21FRB2020, dedicated to Moroccan traditional dances and music. 

Unfortunately, after using the stamps and since I was in a hurry to get to the check, in I threw away the backing paper, not realising that it contained probably an explanation of the images on each stamp.

The machine cancelation is not what I wanted, but at least it is very clean and clear  and confirms that from the airport, the cover was sent to the central processing facility  - Centre de Traitement et de Distribution - at Marrakesh, from where she eventually flew to my letterbox.

COVER N. 249 - CYPRUS  

Postmark: No postmark 26APR23

Posted on ?; Received on the 8th May 2023

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Alex, the wanderer, again surprised me with a cover from the easternmost country of the European Union.

Thanks a great lot, Alex!

It has happened to me also. In Cyprus, it seems that the notion of postmarking a letter or a postcard is vaguely accessory.

When I was there last year, but two of the letters and postcards I sent were cancelled, and only because I expressively requested it at the post office, so it came as no surprise to receive this nice cover from Alex without any postmark on it.

This time the envelope did not even have the fluorescent orange bar code that is now omnipresent in circulated mail, so in spite of my being sure that the envelope did effectively travel from the easternmost country of the EU to the westernmost, I have no means to prove it 😀!

This may, in time, be remedied, though, because Alex has asked me to return the cover so that it travels again to the origin in order to get properly cancelled....

Now this makes for a nice story too.... and as I type the cover is on its way to Alex. let's see how this ends. 😀

On 09JUL2028, Cyprus post issued a 0,64€ stamp celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Orthodox Interparliamentary Assembly.

Quoting directly from the organization's website:

"A main objective of the IAO is to develop a multilevel political and cultural activity to promote the Orthodox heritage and its contribution to the global dialogue for peaceful coexistence among peoples." 

"The IAO was established at the initiative of the Hellenic Parliament, in Halkidiki, Greece, in November 1993. The Assembly consists of Orthodox Christian Members of Parliament, represented either as a national delegation or individually. Moreover, countries with an Orthodox Church, but no elected Orthodox MPs, can also participate as observers."

"Apart from Cyprus, delegations from the Parliaments of the following countries participate in the IAO: Greece, Russia, Albania, Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Estonia, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovakia, Czechia, Finland, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine participate in the IAO. Occasionally, MPs from Egypt, Ethiopia, Argentina, Australia, United States, Canada, Congo, Mozambique, Uganda, Sudan and Chile also participate."

- As a way to help finance the Refugee Fund created by the Cypriot Government to deal with the problems caused by the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974, a special "Refugee Stamp" was created in 1971, with a value of 10 mils, that was thereafter obligatorily applied to every object to be posted.

From 1984 the refugee stamp started to be denominated in Euro with a value of 1 cent and, from 1989 on, it has become an yearly issue, always with the same design but with a different background colour. Staring in 2008 it's face value was increased to the current 2 cents.

The 2020 stamp on my cover was issued on 18FEB2021.

If i knew where the cover had been posted, I am sure I would let you also know... 😀 

COVER N. 248 - AUSTRIA  

Postmark: Leobersdorf 2544  26APR23

Posted on the 26th April; Received on the 5th May 2023

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Austria and a simple, clean and nice cover with two interesting stamps. Thanks a lot Manfred.

Stamps Left to right:

- Austria, we all know it, is a land of music. Well, many other places are lands of music, to the point of ... everywhere being a land of music, since Music, in itself, is as omnipresent as humanity. In fact, they have always gone hand in hand... but much the  same way I think of watches when someone mentions Switzerland, music immediately springs to mind when someone utters Austria, and especially Salzburg.....

Did I mention Salzburg? again, prompted by association, I instantly picture the opening scene of  the Sound of Music, on one side of the brain, and recall the greatness of Wolfgang Amadeus on the other. 

Drop a nice image of a puppet Papageno on it and.... I have to stop writing for a while, because I have to go on youtube to look for a good clip of the Finale of the Magic Flute... and I find one, ...with a special taste, coming from the National Opera House of Lviv, with Oksana Lyniv at the helm .

In 2013, Salzburg's Puppet Theatre - Salzburger Marionetten Theater - celebrated its first centenary. To mark the occasion Österreichische Post, issued on 27FEB2013 the single 0,62 € stamp with the image of Papageno that graces my cover. 

Out of curiosity I visited the Marionette Theatre website and the Magic Flute is on stage this coming Saturday, the 20th... so hurry up... there are still tickets available...

- Austria Post has the habit of issuing stamp series that run through the years. One such series is dedicated to Austrian wine regions. Having started in 2012 with the stamp on the cover, issued on 19OCT2012, highlighting the Lower Austria Wine district, the series was still running in 2022 and probably continuing this year, sometime in the future.

The stamp features the image of a glass of Grüner Veltliner wine, over the image of the corresponding grapes, this cast being characteristic of the northeast region of the country.

The letter was posted in Leobersdorf, a small town of about 5000 inhabitants located in the same Lower Austria region.

 COVER N. 247 - SURINAME  

Postmark: Paramaribo PBM Suriname 03.04.2023

Posted on the 3d April; Received on the 5th May 2023
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More of Eric's surprises...  this time once again from Suriname. the small state in South America where 60% of the population speaks Dutch... I wonder if there are any windmills and clogs and Gouda cheese there too....

One thing is certain, I'm sure that they must have a much larger variety of seashells in Suriname than on the weather beaten sandflats braving the northern sea, on this side of the ocean.... 

So it comes as no surprise and, from my humble point of view, it is hopefully expected, that stamps from a country which I would think must have quite an interesting and diverse maritime fauna, should showcase this diversity.

So instead of having a couple of triangles of Gouda, I'll have a couple of triangles of seashels

The stamps on the cover are part of a 10 stamp strip issued on 02FEB2022, featuring images of seashells that I presumed could be found in Suriname's coastal waters and reefs. But...

The 17 SRD stamp has a photo of a Bullia sendersi, a marine gastropode mollusc that is native to the waters of Kenya and Mozambique, from what I read, so my theory about the shells on the stamps being endemic, or, at least, occurring in Suriname went down the drain....

The 19 SRD stamp features an image of a Cantharus undosus. Again, according to the World Register of Marine Species, it has an Indo-Pacific distribution, so it shouldn't be occurring in Suriname either...

At least the Postmark is endemic, I'm sure 😀: Paramaribo, the place where the cover was postmarked is the country's largest city and its capital.

COVER N. 246 - MOROCCO  

Postmark: Barid Al-Maghrib - Dima Maghrib 20-12-2022 / Meknes 26.04.2023

Posted on the 26th April; Received on the 5th May 2023
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Pierre is also a frequent contributor of unexpected items for my blog, which day by day is steadily growing with  a little help from my friends.

Merci Bien Pierre, pour ce chouette pli!

I've spent 10 days in Morocco very recently, but I was on an organised tour (big mistake....) so I did not have the time to go to the post office and do things the proper way (more on that for a later post), so receiving a nice and proper FDC from Morocco, more that makes up for the inconvenience.

Dina Maghrib - Morocco Forever - reads the legend on the flag with a lion, an allegory for Morocco's national soccer team,  "Atlas Lions".

I really do not care about soccer at all. And it is one of those themes that I'd rather not go into, because much, very much, of what I would have to say, would be far for being uplifting, optimistic, positive,...

But, being Portuguese, I can understand  the impact a good performance of a national team can have on the country's self-esteem, given the absurd place the game occupies in the habits and aspirations of a population that bows to two creeds: God and soccer (and not always by that particular order....).

Of course, in Morocco, God may answer by a different name than the One here revered, but I feel that soccer occupies the same space in the collective imagination of its people as in that of my own.

During last world soccer championship, Morocco had a brilliant performance, having risen to the 4th place in the final classification after beating the Portuguese team in the quarter finals.

I said I wouldn't go there, but I can't evade it. Just to show the level of idiocy and “irreflectiveness” soccer can impart on soccer alienated human beings, I will tell a little story.

I was watching the news on TV, on the day or days after the defeat of our team by Morocco's.

As usual, soccer was all over the news and an earthquake or a nuclear explosion could have happened somewhere and still that would not scratch the news alignment and time distribution.

A soccer specialised journalist, a true scientist in the unfathomable ways of the sphere, as we have so many, everyday, on tv, was interviewing someone. I can't remeber if it was our national coach or anyone else, but it was someone directly connected to the team.

"How do you feel after losing to a team such as that?"

I couldn't stand it! The level of supremacism, racism, stupidity such a question implied was absolutely staggering!

"A team such as that? " a team that goes on to the final selection of a world championship, and ends up qualifying in the 4th place? The question coming from a national whose team has only once earned an European championship, and most of the times wins nothing in spite of having a plethora of first grade artists in the team (or could this also be one of the reasons...?) made me quite uncomfortable...

Anyway... My  belated congratulations to Morocco and its team... a team "such as that", may well be champion one day!

The performance of Morocco's national team gave rise to absolute hysteria on the streets (much the same as it happened here when our team won the European championship) and on the wake of the team's last game, which took place on the 17th December, the celebratory  9 Dirham stamp that can be seen on my FDC was promptly issued on the 20th.

Should the Lions have won, I would bet on an overprinted legend: “Champions”.

COVER N. 245 - UNITED NATIONS - VIENNA  

Postmark: Wien Vereinte Nationnen 14(?)0  - 17.04.23 

Posted on the 17th April; Received on the 2nd May 2023
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Another of Eric's suprise envelopes. This time from The Vienna Office of the United Nations.

Thanks a lot, Eric.

A funding member violates the Charter, and presides over the Security Council...all at the same time...

It really takes a lot of nerve.... but some people do have it, don't they, Mr. Lavrov?

How on hell will we ever be able to reform the UN?

In the meantime, let's just look at the beautiful images on the stamps. They are soothing and relaxing... a far cry from those that come out of the Ukraine these days....

The four stamps on the cover belong to a set of eight, (3x0,15; 3x0,20; 0,55 and 0, 75€) issued on 24OCT2003, dedicated to World Heritage Sites in the USA. 

Of note is the fact that the 0,55 and 0,75€ stamps are identical to one of f the 0,15 € and another 0,20 €, although the colour of the green frame around the image is slightly different.

The three 0,15 € stamps on the cover feature images of :

- Olympic National Park - This park, located on the Olympic Pensinsula in the state of Washington, on the Northwest corner of the USA, bordering British Columbia in Canada,   gets its name from Mount Olympus.

The park was inscribed in the WHS list in 1981 and a full description of the raguments that led to its classification can be found here.

Think of Sequoias and Ansel Adams and Alex Honnold’s absolutely incredible free climb solo ascent of El Capitan... Yosemite National Park is located in Sierra Nevada, in the state of California, and is probably one of the most famous Parks in the world.

It was inscribed in the WHS list in 1984, and its entry on UNESCO's site can be checked  here.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park extends over an area of 2,114.15 km2, spread across the states of North Carolina and Tennessee in the southeast of the US, encompassing several ranges of the Appalachian Mountain chain.

It made it to the list in 1983 and its entry in the UNESCO site can be consulted here.

The Everglades....alligators and fast moving airboats.... Located on the southernmost tip of the Florida Peninsula, the Everglades National park, due to its inherent characteristics, is a site of outstanding importance in terms of biodiversity associated with wetlands.

It was inscribed in the WHS list in 1979, and its entry on UNESCO's site can be checked here.

The Postmark, indicates that the cover was mailed from Vienna as expected 😀.

COVER N. 244 - British Overseas Territories - Gibraltar 

Postmark: Royal Gibraltar Post Office - Main Office - 30.03.2023 

Posted on the 30th March; Received on the 2nd May 2023
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I have said here that some people should be Honoris Causa members of my humble blog, for all the care and attention they contribute in the form of sundry covers from the most unexpected places. 

Eric is another such case. I've lost track of how many times I wrote him just to say  "Thank You" for yet another outstanding addition to my herbarium of letters.

Although he is geographically much closer to me that his family name would lead me to believe, we have never met and we’ve exchanged but some short email messages. This hasn't kept him from making sure that my list of countries and territories keeps growing at a steady pace, many a time due to his overgenerous contributions. 

Such incredible generosity humbles me and I do try to reciprocate as often as possible, but it isn't easy to be at the same level....

This last batch of covers bearing his ... aura?  (for some of them don't even have sender information) is as diverse as it could be and all great additions as usual, Again, all I can say is  "Muito Obrigado, Eric!"

Gibraltar... the Rock, the place where you have to wait for the traffic light to turn green to cross an airport's runway, if you want to go to town.... right in front of Algeciras, with the larger than life statue of larger than life Paco de Lucia next to the port, turning his back on his Majesty's subjects while filling the city with the unforgettable fire of his incomparable "rasgueados" .... 

Irrespective of who is right, (and I won't go there, since it seems the question  is a really complex affair) the notion of "Overseas Territories" in the 21st century, for me, a citizen of what was once an empire also, sounds awkward, to say the least.... mainly because it'll will never cease to be paired with the notion of "Empire" itself .... 

This reminds me  that the term "Imperial", in the southern half of the Portuguese rectangle, has quite a different connotation, not even being an adjective, but a noun.

Maybe one day, the Prime-ministers of both monarchies may come to a definitive agreement over a couple of Portuguese cold and bubbling "Imperiais", for such is the name we give to a well drafted half-pint on any bar, tavern or restaurant in town!

Cheers!

Stamps, left to right:

- The theme of the 1882 EUROPA stamp issues was "Historic Events"

Gibraltar issued two stamps on 11JUN1982 (14 and 17 p) highlighting the role of the Rock in the building up of Operation Torch, the invasion of the then French North Africa.

The one on my cover evokes the episode of the meeting of Generals Henri Giraud and Dwight Eisenhower in Gibraltar, when the former was invited by the latter to be the commander of the French troops for the operation, something Giraud refused at first, because he thought that the operation should be commanded by a Frenchman (himself).

This notwithstanding, after the assassination of the appointed commander, General Darlan,  Giraud would  assume this role,  effectively becoming the Commander of the French Forces in North Africa.

The companion stamp is illustrated with what looks like spitfires and probably hurricanes, highlighting the strategic role of Gibraltar not only for Operation Torch, bus also has a sentinel guarding the entry of the Mediterranean.

- Winston Churchill needs no introducing.

Celebrating the 75th anniversary of VE Day, the 8th May, on 25MAR2020, Gibraltar Post issued a five stamp and one souvenir sheet set, evocative of the date.

The 4£ souvenir sheet can be seen on my cover  with a photography of Winston making his famous V sign to the crowd from a balcony in Whitehall, on the 8th May 1945. Little did he know that coming the next elections....

Winston Churchil is also featured on another stamp on the cover, part of a five stamp set (22; 64; 70 and 80 p) issued on 20MAR2015, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Churchill's death. 

Winston here is depicted inspecting what looks like Willys jeeps on a port...  a photo related with the invasion of France, I would say, but I'm just guessing.

The last stamp - 19 p - on the cover is part of the 1983 EUROPA issue, themed on "Great Achivements of Human Genious", which saw the light of day on 21MAY1983.

It depicts the "water catchment slopes" that from 1903 to 1991 insured that rain falling on the sand slopes on the east side of the promontory, covered with corrugated iron sheets, would be collected  so as to supply water to the inhabitants since no other sources of the precious liquid were at the time available. In 1991, desalinisation plants began to operate and the area has been renaturalised, restoring the old habitats.

The companion stamp on this two stamp set was used by Eric on another covr he had sent me before, and can be seen here.

The letter was registered, hence the high postage and the "registered" sticker.

COVER N. 243 - CROATIA

Postmark: Hrvasta Posta P5121 26.04.23 

Posted on the 26th April; Received on the 3rd May 2023
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Nikola could not have been more kind, when I asked him for a stamp swap and promptly sent me the 2021 Europa  Croatian stamps I was looking for.

To do so, he also carefully composed an envelope with some nice art Croatian art stamps and sent it my way. 

Thank you so much Nikola!

Unfortunately, one of the stamps came off during transit, so the cover only exhibits two of the three stamps that constitute the set on  Croatian Painters, issued on 12OCT1994 by Hrvasta Posta (Croatian Post)

The stamp on the left is illustrated with a still life by Marino Tartaglia (1894 – 1984), a painter and a teacher at Zagreb's Academy of Fine Arts whose works show an evolution from the figurative to the abstract, probably reflecting the influences of his crossing of the Modernist period in Italy and France.

The fact that he is a well respected painter in his home country can be also inferred from the fact that his works are featured on stamps both of Yugoslavia and Croatia.

The stamp on the right end corner bears a reproduction of a painting by Milan Steiner (1894-1918).

Unfortunately Steiner lived a rather short life. It always makes you wonder when you see works of great quality, made by artists who sadly passed away in the prime of their years, what would they be producing later in their lives, had  the grim reaper chosen to go cut elsewhere...

He graduated from the Transitional Advanced School of Arts and Crafts (today’s Academy of Fine Arts) just two years before his unfortunate demise and as such he only publicly exhibited his work once, in the graduation exhibition of the works of the academy students. A sad story, but a very fine modernist artist, judging from the images I've seen of his work on the internet.

Steiner was a victim of the Spanish Flu, at the tender age of 26, in 1918, much as our great Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, who was also only 30 years old... 

I cannot find any indication of provenience in the postmark other than code P5121, which probably makes some geographic sense...

COVER N. 242 - LATVIA

Postmark: RIGA - 5?   LV-1057 - Date illegible 

Posted on ?; Received on the 2nd May 2023
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I am seriously thinking about having a column on the side of my blog, identifying friends that are as part of this blog as I am, such is their contribution to my aim of having as many postal administrations and origins represented as possible.

They are silent partners to these pages... but for them, how on earth would I be able to add some of the more exotic locations that so frequently drop in  leter form into my mailbox?

Alex, is one such case, and on top of that he reminds me of the lyrics of Sandy Denny's beautiful song "Listen"... in fact it's almost as if he was "a traveller by trade", since it looks like  he's always on the move, visiting post offices in the most unexpected places.

Thank you so much, Alex. I really appreciate your kind attention and care.

This time, I got a cover from him, from Latvia,  although the ride must not have been easy, judging from the wrinkled envelope  corner.... rain along the way, probably.

Latvia, once again stamps conjure to evoke times, good times.... 

I visited Riga once, quite a few years ago. To this day I still have the memory of an outstanding soup my wife and I would always have at the self-service restaurant where we always dinned, not far from the centre ... an esplanade, a blanket on the knees, sipping mulled wine, my first visit to an Eastern Europe  Orthodox temple ... all that and the gentle, immensely elegant sound of a  dulcimer masterfully played by a young lady who filled the late afternoon air with the beautiful intermezzo from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana.... an avenue full of outstanding Art Nouveau buildings in need of restoration, the museum of soviet occupation full of sad stories, like occupations always entail....

as far as I can tell, using deepl translator, the legends on the souvenir sheet, comprising two 1 € stamps, issued on 15JUN2021, featuring one the flag and the other the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Latvia, read :

100 (years) Latvian Flag and Coat of Arms 

15 June 1921 - the Constituent Assembly of the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia legislated on the flag and coat of arms of the Republic of Latvia. 

On the flag, the dark red stripes represent the vital fluid of all those that died fighting for the country, flanking the pure white stripe of peace... I'm sure that the difference in proportion between the two can also be symbolically read...

As it is usually the case with heraldry, the coat of arms would take a full blog page to describe, so I'd rather let Wikipedia do the work for me... all it takes is to click  here.

Alex mailed the letter from the Capital,  whose name if one of the few things that is clearly readable on the postmark.

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. 241 - PORTUGAL

Postmark: Filatelia 2675 - Odivelas -  24.04.2023 

Posted on the 24th April; Received on the 27th April 2023
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It is rather nice to see that whenever I receive any ordered products from the philatelic section of the Portuguese Post, they are mailed back inside envelopes with actual stamps on top of the "postage paid" pre-printed marking  of the official CTT envelopes.

This time, the kind people at the philately office went even further and sent me some airmail stickers I had asked for in a rather nice cover through Correio Azul (Blue mail - next day delivery - the 25th was an holiday here), as the corresponding sticker indicates. So let me revert to my precious mother tongue to express my most sincere

Muito Obrigado!

 

I quite like the CTT logo. The Postal service in Portugal just completed 500 years of existence in 2020, and has such, throughout its long operational life, many have been the changes . Still, for me and as far as I can remember, the image of the Correios, Telégrafos e Telefones, as the service was named when I was a lad, long before its privatisation and its re-designation as CTT  Correios de Portugal, S.A., has always been and will always be, that of the valiant postilion galloping and blowing his horn.

The original image of a postilion of the logo, created by the Portuguese painter Jaime Martins Barata, from which the current one derives, was selected in 1953, and slighty modified in 1964 and 1983.  In 2004 it would receive a more profound updating (the logo on the envelope corresponds to this version)  followed by another slight revision in 2015. 

I have to say that the very modernist logo of  1935 was a smasher too.... 

Wasn't it?

Here's the Postilion logo evolution in its 1953; 1964; 1983;  2004 and 2015 guises.

               

By way of disclaimer, I shall say that the logos were copied from available references (mostly from here) on the internet, so I expect them to fully respect the originals.

The 0,86€ stamp on the cover is part of the 1st group of  definitive stamps themed on Portuguese numismatics,  comprising 5 stamps (053; 0,78; 0,86; 0,91; 2 €) issued on 03AUG2020.

Although CTT's Philatelic service is based in Lisbon, the postmark is from Odivelas, a city that is part of Lisbon's Metropolitan Area.