COVER N. 368 - FRANCE

Postmark: Santa Sleigh 33500 Libourne 2023

Posted on ? December; received on the 21st December 2023

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Having probably heard from Weihnachstmann how good I had been over the year, Père Noël also wrote me from France, although he chose to do so in English, sending his beautiful letter from quite an inclusive address: 1, Naughty or Nice Street.... now that's a neighbourhood where I would not mind moving to, since I think I would rather fit in the description...

Santa used a rather nice snow man "International" tariff pre-printed stamp, obliterated with a Postmark from the town of Santa-Sleigh, which everybody knows is somewhere up in the North Pole, although below the 90 degrees North parallel, it is represented by its sister city Libourne in France, post code 33500, which also features in the postmark.

The envelope is also embellished with the pre-printed Santa's office logo and stampmark, something which, I'm sure, ensures high speed transit in all the mail processing centres it goes through.

Inside the C5 envelope, I found the letter which Santa took the trouble writing me and also his quite appreciated gift: a join the dots and paint postcard.

Thanks a lot Santa!

COVER N. 367 - GERMANY

Postmark: Deutsche Post Himmelsthür Kinderweinachtspost 31137 06.12.2023

Posted on the 6th December; received on the 11th December 2023

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A truly Secret Santa....

First of all, let me say that I am sorry for being a little late and only now posting this wonderful cover that I got in the beginning of the month, but as I have said I just cannot keep up with the  mail delivery rhythm Mr. Postman has been showing lately

So I sincerely hope that Mr. Weihnachtsmann will not be mad at me and risk me from his list for next year present dropping....Entschuldigung Sie mir, bitte, llieber Weihnachtsmann.

Someone out there was truly generous and kind and talked to the old man in red with a beard, so that I could add this quite interesting cover to my collection...

Whoever it was, Thank you so much. I truly appreciated it and may all your life be as peaceful and joyful as we all wish Christmas would be.

Deutsche Post has direct connections  with the three main  Christmas Representatives, i.e, Father Christmas, Baby Jesus and Saint Nicolas, at seven different addresses, and it offers to facilitate the exchange of mail between children and any of these.

A very kind and generous friend put a little word for me with good Weihnachstmann and so I received this wonderful letter in recycled paper both for te contents and the envelope, which I believe was printed by the old man himself.

Not knowing who sent it, let me just wish my Secret Santa friend all the best for the Season and may Weihnachtsmann bring him joy and peace for the coming year.

Weihnachstmann used the Christmas 2023 stamp issue by Deutsche Post, issued on 02NOV2023, with a face value of 0,85 €, illustrated with two squirrels sharing an acorn.

To complete postage, he also used a 0,25 € stamp from the "flowers" definitive series initiated in 2005. The  stamp, illustrated with a  Mallow (Lavatera trimestris) , was initially issued on 02JUN2005.

The nice pictorial postmark featuring two children looking at an angel who watches from the 

Gates of Heaven (Himmelsthür), the name of the place from where the letter was posted by the kind old man.

a litttle Christmas tale

Weihnactsmann personal message

Weihnachstmann gift: 3 postcards

COVER N. 366 - THAILAND

Postmark: Thailand 2023 World Stamp Champioship  140th Thailand Post  30.11.10.2023

Posted on the 30th November; received on the 6th December 2023

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Some covers can be plebeian, some covers royal, BUT none as royal as the one Ravindra sent me from Thailand with no less than eight stamps illustrated with the members of the  Thai Royal Family....

Thanks a lot Ravidra, I appreciated it, even if I'm a diehard republican.  😀

King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua, King Vajiralongkorn, or Rama X was born on the 28th July 1952, and he accepted the throne of Thailand on the 1st December 2016, after a period of mourning for his father's death, which occurred on the 13th October of the same year. Although his coronation ceremonies were held much later, between 4 and 6 May, 2019,  the Thai government ruled that his reign had started on the day of his father's death.

King Rama X,  according to Wikipedia, is also the wealthiest Royal in the world and I do remember him being every now and then in the news for not the best of reasons, regarding his family life...

Monarchies...I confess to finding them awkward in our times. The right to rule, even if in an emblematic way, just because of a name, a lineage... on what grounds? 

The first period of article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights" . can someone outside of the lineage of any monarchy in the world run for the throne? Or is the right to be royal, a....right apart? 

Stamps:

Marking the occasion of  King Rama X's 69th anniversary, the 28th July 2021, Thai Post issued a two stamp set, which can be seen on this cover occupying positions 1 and 7, clockwise from the upper left corner of the envelope. 

The 10 baht stamp shows King Rama X on the second day of his coronation on a golden palanquin on which he was carried on a procession through Bangkok’s historic heart.

The 5 baht stamp shows the Royal family at the time of the coronation: Rama X, Queen Suthida and  two daughters and a son from the King's previous marriages.

The 10 baht stamps in positions 2 and 3 were issued on the birthday of King Rama X in 2015 and 2017 respectively;

Position 4 is occupied by a 3 baht stamp with a photo of the King Rama X's grandmother, Princess Srinagarindra (1900-1995), issued on the day of the 120th anniversary of her birth, 21st December 2020;

Position 5 holds a 9 baht stamp with a photo of Quen Sirikit (1932 - ), mother of King Rama X, celebrating her  87th birthday, issued on 30AUG2019;

Position 6 is also occupied by a 9 baht stamp celebrating Qeeen Sirikit's birthday, this time her 86th. Issued on 31AUG2018;

Finally, in position 8 there is a 10 baht stamp issued on 04MAY2019, on the occasion of the crowning of King Vajiralongkorn as King Rama X.

The stamp is illustrtaed with a portrait of the king with the Royal Thai Palace on the background.

The postmark if rather blotched, but  a clearer one on the back of the cover, allows me to perceive that it was issued on the occasion of  the Thailand World Stamp Championship, which took place in Bangkok from the 27th November to the 2nd December 2023. 

POSTCARD N.126 - THAILAND

Postcard sent on the 28th September; received on the 6th December 2023

Postcard image: Chiang Rai Province, Thailand: Upper left: The northernmost point; Upper right: Opium field; Lower left and right: Akha Hilltribe
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Another year is rapidly coming to its close and, sadly, I will not be able to finish posting my stock of 2023 postcards and covers send by friendly people all across the globe until the last page of the calendar is turned.

On the other hand I am happy that this is the case since this can also be seen as a measure of how busy my friend Mr. Postman has been dropping mail into my letterbox.

I've started this blog during the COVID pandemic, when things were much slower. Now that luckily we are back to normal, getting multiple covers and postcards on the letterbox is not that infrequent and my ability to post them all here without a rather large delay is simply non-existent. The thing got worse with my being off in the Camino de Santiago, since I could not recover the time I spent without posting during my very uplifting journey.

Anyway, today I have another great postcard to post, thanks to the courtesy and generosity of Ravindra.

Chiang Rai is Thailand’s northernmost province out of the twenty six into which the country is administratively divided with a population that includes several different ethnic groups, of which the more representative are the Akha.

Also the region is known to be traditionally linked to the production and trading of opium, although efforts have been made to replace this production with other cultures, like bananas, coffee, pineapple or coconuts.

This is what, in a nutshell, Ravindra's nice postcard clearly illustrates.

In it, clockwise from the left upper corner, we can see pictures of:

-  Amphoe Mae Sai, the northernmost point of Thailand, right on the border with Myanmar (probably with Burma, at the time the photo was taken, judging from the flag that is seen flying in the foreground).

- A field of Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy. Thanks to it millions of people have benefited from its pain killing properties through the administration of morphine extracted from its latex, while millions other have had their lives turned to absolute shit, for using the same latex in one of its natural or synthesised forms: opium, morphine or heroine.

- Members of the Akha hill tribe, in their traditional costumes, this being the most numerous of the several hill tribes that inhabit the region, also known for having none less than seven natural parks. 

Open on the four sides, but supporting an elaborate roof to provide shelter and shade to those meeting under it, the Sala, the traditional Thai Pavillion, was declared by the Thai government to be a national symbol of the country, on par with the elephant and the Golden shower flower, in 2001.

This distinctive landmark is also the main subject of a series of definitive stamps which began to circulate in 2017, with several yearly runs from then on, and of which two examples (10 and 30 baht) were used on this postcard.

Unfortunately, the celebratory postmark of the 140th anniversary of the Thai Postal Services is rather splodgy, 

POSTCARD N.125 - GERMANY

Postcard sent on the 27th November; received on the 6th December 2023

Postcard image: The Christmas market at Marienplatz, Munich
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Christmas time....that time of the year when you can't go out on the street without having to hear somewhere a loudspeaker filling the air with songs that register in your mind and will then accompany you for days..... how I.... yes, let me be frank... Hate it! I can't stand Wham's "Last Christmas" or Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas..." or any of the other hits of the Season....

Thankfully there's always Bach and the Christmas Oratorio.... just the trumpets in the first Choral of the first Cantata are enough to wear away the conversation about someone giving his heart  and the very next day getting it back....good for him or her, living without a heart is such a nuisance....

Anyway call me Scrooge as my daughters dis, but Christmas and I have a long difficult relation....

Still, Thanks a lot Alex, for the nice Munich Xmas market postcard. Be it as it may, Marienplatz is such a great place.

The most recent edition of the  Special Olympics World Games took place in Berlin between 17 and 25 June, 2023.

During the eight days of the Games, 6500 Athletes with intellectual disabilities competed in 26 different sport disciplines, Germany, the host, being also the country who collected more medals, with a total of 247, (79 gold; 72 Silver; 96 Bronze). China and the UK (119 and 103, total, respectively) came second and third in the final ranking.

As I understand it, the host for the next edition, to be held in 2027, is still not chosen, with two candidates still on the run for it: Jakarta (Indonesia) and Santiago (Chile).

On the occasion of the 2023 Games, Deutsche Post issued a the 0,95€ stamp Alex used, illustrated with the logo of the games, the bear, symbol of the city, present on its coat of arms, and the unmistakable silhouette of Berlin's Television Tower.

The stamp is obliterated with a nice pictorial postmark  of the Münchner Christkind Market - Munich's Christmas Market - and a regular Munich Post Office day mark is also present in the card.

COVER N. 365 - SAMOA

Postmark: Samoa Post, Salailua, Apia, Samoa 23.10.2023

Posted on the 23rd October; received on the 5th December 2023

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Another cover emerging from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, again courtesy of the Phantom.  Thanks a great lot Alex. Another country to the list!

When I first looked at the cover I thought that the souvenir sheet contained pictures of several types of snakes, but on closer inspection I realised that there is but one species in the four stamps, although the colour of the body and the markings on it vary immensely. Could it be that the snake is mimetic, or is the species so diverse?

Anyway, the Pacific Tree Boa is a species of boa that can be found in Melanesia and Polynesia, including, of course, the Independent State of Samoa. As all boas they are not venomous and kill they prey by constriction. The species is rather common and is IUCN classified as Least Concern.

The souvenir sheet containig four stamps (50 sene; 2; 2.7; 5 tala) was issued on 24FEB2015, by The Philatelic Collector Inc, the agency that, at the time, was authorised to issue Samoan stamps. This is probably not the case nowadays given the notice I've found on The Phillatelic Collector website, stating that they had ended their collaboration with the Samoan Post Office, which, in turn, clearly states on its website "Samoa Post has the exclusive right to printing of Samoan stamps."

Be it as it may, the fact is that the cover was accepted by the Samoan Post who aptly cancelled the stamps and circulated the cover.

The Postmark is a bit of a mystery too since it seems to have been issued at Salailua, a village on the Island of Savai'i, the largest of the Islands that constitute the State, but it also contains mention to Apia, the State's capital, located in  the neighbouring island of Upolu.

COVER N. 364 - POLAND

Postmark: Miasto Smoka (City of the Dragon) Orneta 09.11.2023

Posted on the 9th November; received on the 21st November 2023

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Puff, the magic dragon, meets Dino on this Polish cover, courtesy of Roman, whom I thank, as usual. Bardzo dziękuję, Roman!

Orneta is a town in northern Poland and the fact that its coat of arms is occupied by a flame thrower, can be traced to the a legend according to which, in ancient, ancient times, there lived a Dragon  in Orneta who would eat all living creatures he could set its eyes upon.

Eventually, the mean creature would be defeated by a brave knight, but its spirit would live on forever in the city's coat of arms, which can be seen on the beautiful pictorial postmark with which the stamps on the cover were cancelled.

On to the stamps:

It all seems so long time gone now and yet...

Just last weekend, one of my daughters phoned saying she was not feeling that well and that she probably had a cold... given that she was to be visit her grandparents I told her "you'd better do an auto-test, just in case".... Bang on... two stripes on  the tester window.

Now just three years ago this would be the sort of news we were all trying to avoid.... 

Today,  in spite of all the usual theory of conspiracy advocates that did and still do their best to negate science, massive vaccination has completely changed the way we deal with the virus, with no more mandatory confinements and the ability to live our lives as normally as we used to before the crisis erupted.

In some countries, Postal administrations were also in the front line trying to raise awareness to the vaccination effort, such as it happened in Poland and in Portugal also.

On 15JUL2021, Poczta Polska issued the 4.7 Zloty with the legend Ostatnia Prosta  #szczepimysie, which I believe translates into "The final stretch - #wevaccinate".

Well done..., says I, who have already gotten my yearly shot, last October.

Dinosaurs... every now and then the craze surfaces, triggered by a movie, a scientific finding, or a toy, as it was the case in the 90s with "Jurassic Park", or an exhibition here at the natural history museum at around the same time which was, at the time, the most visited exhibition in Portugal, ever....

On 25NOV2020, Polska Post issued a three stamp set themed on the prehistoric creatures, illustrated with side images of a particular member of  the order and of its skeleton.

The 3.30 Zloty stamp on the cover is dedicated to the Coelophysis, a small biped carnivore dinosaur that lived  215 to 208.5 million years ago in the territory of what is now the United States of America.

POSTCARD N.124 - NORTH MACEDONIA

Postcard sent on the 1st November; received on the 23rd November 2023

Postcard image: The National Archeological Museum of North Macedonia, in Skopje
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North Macedonia.... what's is a name?

It has been ages, literally, since Alexander the Great died, but his fame as a conqueror and empire maker lives on.... 

But the word "empire" today has not that positive a connotation as it had on Alexandre's days and ethnic and nationalistic pressure can create terrible strains on good neighbouring.

So much so that having a Macedonia on different sides of a border line, created a dispute that took almost three decades to solve, between the now called Republic of North Macedonia and the Hellenic Republic, finally settled by the Prespa agreement of 2018.

And I'm glad it all came to a peaceful end. After all, who would have liked to have his motherland called "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" for ever?

Macedonia today is a candidate to becoming a member of the UE, and just last week the European Council voted on opening up negotiations for the accession procedure so maybe this will help dissolve all the latent ethnic and geopolitical strains that the country has known since its independency.

Un grand Merci, Eric, for letting me add another country to the list .

The entrance to the National Archaeological Museum

The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Macedonia was established in 1944, in what was then Yugoslavia, and it seems that with the break up of Tito's country it transitioned  to the new Republic of North Macedonia, since the 44 Dinar stamp on the postcard was issued by the Post of North Macedonia on 17OCT019, celebrating its 75 years of existence.

What strikes me as strange is the fact that the only thing resembling an official website for the only symphonic orchestra in the country is a page on Belgrade's Philharmonic Orchestra website.

Anyway harps and double basses for them and may they play "the Ninth", loud and meaningfully,  for many years!

The postmark indicates that the postcard was mailed from Skopje, the country's capital.

COVER N. 363 - USA - Territories - Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Postmark: Rota MP 96951-9998 USPS 09.11.2023

Posted on the 9th November; received on the 22nd November 2023

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A cover travelling from quite a remote location landed on my letterbox, again courtesy of the Phantom. Thanks a lot Alex, I did not even knew where Rota was!

And so I went and did some investigation, for there's nothing worse than ignorance 😀.

Rota, a small piece of land  with a total area of 85.13 square kilometres, is the southernmost island of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, located in the Pacific, midway between Papua New Guinea and Japan.

It seems that the first westerners to land their sights on the  islands were the sailors aboard the Magalhães/Elcano circumnavigation fleet in the 16th century, and Elcano claimed them for his motherland, a state of affairs that would endure until 1899, when Spain, in the wake of its defeat in the Spanish-American war, lost Guam to the Unites States and  sold the Northern Marianas to Germany.... Those were the days..., who cared for those that were born there and had been there since immemorial times?

Come WW1 and the Marianas were invaded by the Japanese, who would  rule them under the umbrella of the League of Nations until themselves being defeated in the second great disaster of 39-45, when the archipelago became a Trust Territory of the United Nations under USA Adminstration. In 1975, following a referendum,  the territory became a  United States  Commonwealth, and  full American citizenship at birth was granted to the Chamorros (as I understand people born locally are called) in 1986 .

 "The longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere, the Mackinac extends from Mackinaw City at the south end to St. Ignace on the north side. Opened in 1957, the Mackinac Bridge cost nearly 100 million dollars and took over three years to complete. The sturdy five-mile bridge is designed to support 38,486 tons and can move up to 35 feet in high winds.

Thus read the official issue notes for the 4.9 USD stamp celebrating Mackinack bridge, issued on 03FEB2010, which can be seen gracing the cover, obliterated by a very clear red postmark from the island of Rota, in the Northern Marianas.

COVER N. 362 - KAZAKHSTAN

Postmark: Kazakshtan Aktobe 6 28.10.2023

Posted on the  28th October; received on the 22nd November 2023

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A nice Cover with interesting stamps from Kazakhstan, two of them aviation related. көп рақмет, Marat (and I hope I got it right...., so just in case, Thanks a lot, Marat!)

Without further ado, let's see what's in there:

- The Owl, the symbol of wisdom.... On 07JUN2001, (although the stamp carries a small 2000 on the lower right margin), Kazpost issued a three stamp set themed on Owls (30; 40; 50 Kazakhstani teńge)  which can, presumably, be found in the country. 

The 40 ténge stamp, on the cover, is illustrated with the image of a Long-eared Owl (Asio otus), a species with quite a global distribution, that encompasses most of Europe, Portugal included, Asia and North America.

 - On OCT2022, Kazpost issued an eight 400 teńge stamp set dedicated to forest pets. I would presume these to be some sort of comics characters, but I am really note sure about it. The pet on the stamp on the cover seems to be a little fox.

- On the very last day of 2002, 31DEC2002, Kazpost issued a two stamp set themed on aircraft, with 20 and 40 teńge denominations depicting an Ilyushin Il-86 and a the ill fated Tupolev Tu-144.

The Il-86 was the first wide-body aircraft produced by the then Soviet Union and the second such category aircraft to be propelled by 4 engines, after the Boeing B-747. It first flew in 1976. As usual it was used by the airlines of countries within the former soviet union sphere of influence, including  the flag carrier of Kazakhstan in its two iterations as Kazakhstan Airlines and Air Kazakhstan, although, at present, no civil operator uses the type, of which 3 aircraft continued to fly in 2020 with the Russian Air Force.

The Tupolev TU-144 was the Soviet Union's counterpart to the Concorde, and its maiden flight took place on the very last day of 1968, some two months before the Anglo-French design.

It was used commercially on the Moscow / Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan) route for only 55 flights after which the project was abandoned, following an accident in 1978 and the consequences of the oil crisis of the day, since the type was even more fuel-inefficient that its western counterpart. The immensely gluttonous aircraft had to fly full time with its afterburners on, contrary to the Concorde which only used them for take off (and what a sight that was, at dusk, in Lisbon Airport, where I saw it more than once).

- Kazakhstanskaya Pravda is a Russian language newspaper published in Kazakhstan, which saw its first issue on the 1st February 1920, when Kazakstan was part of the  Kirghiz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic.

Its 100th anniversary was commemorated by Kazpost with the issue of a quite small, simple, 100 teńge stamp, issued on 22JUN2020.

- The armoured ground cricket (Damalacantha vacca), featured on the 50 teńge stamp, is part of a four  stamp  set issued by Kazpost on 23MAY2022, dedicated to insects of Kazakhstan.

- Sapargali Begalin (1895 - 1983) was a Kazakh Poet. His memory was honoured by Kazpost with the 50 teńge stamp on the cover, issued on 04May2020 as part of a series devoted to Kazakh famous writers. As much as I tried, I could not translate the legend on the stamp, next to his photograph. 

The stamps are cancelled with a postmark from the city of Aktobe, in western Kazakhstan, with a current population of 560,820.

COVERS N. 360/361 - POLAND

Postmark: W przestworzach Warszawa 1 18.11.2023 /Gdansk 50 13.11.2023

Posted on the 13th November; received on the 21st November 2023

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Up, up and away, my beautiful, my beautiful balloon...

I was a kid in my very early teens when there would not be a day without this refrain from the fifth dimension's classic "Up, up and away" airing on the waves of radio station CSB 81 - Clube Asas do Atlântico.

Many years later I would finally have the opportunity of experimenting the incomparable lightness and calm of balloon flying, over the  fairy chimneys of Cappadocia, in Turkey, and the sight of dozens of balloons flying at sunrise over that surreal landscape, every now and then illuminated from within, like a Christmas ornament, as their pilots opened up the burner to get some altitude,  is something I will never forget.

Balloons, for their shape, the way they move and the disproportion between the envelope and the gondola, lend themselves quite well to  fantasy and fiction as Jules Verne so well put it on his Five Weeks in a Baloon, and I am quite sure I've have seen examples of  balloons being used in many a comics story and fantasy fiction book.

Roman knows I am partial to things that fly, so once again he surprised me with two official FDC with a set of four 3,90 Zloti stamps with marvellous fantasy illustrations of balloons, entitled W przestworzach  - In the Skies - which were issued by Poczta Polska on 18OCT2023.

Dziękuję bardzo, Roman!   

Nothing much to say about the stamps other than they are absolutely fictional and beautiful, and that I quite like them.

To post the FDCs Roma used a 20 g stamp for international service, issued on 03OCT2028,  dedicated to the Via Carpathia, a transnational road scheduled to open in 2025, linking Klaipėda, Lithuania to Thessaloniki in Greece. 

COVER N. 359 - FRANCE

Postmark: 89 Avallon Yonne 08.11.2023

Posted on the 8th November; received on the 14th November 2023

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Echoes of Poirot and luxury trains, this time, on a cover with two absolutely splendid philatelic pieces of art, all under the supervision of Marianne, l'engagée.

An absolute marvel. Pas de paroles pour dire combien j'aime ce bloc, Jean-Pierre, un énorme merci, et merci aussi pour les merveilleux timbres des TAFF!

In 1883, long before the days of low cost air travel, Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits established one of the most famous and, later on high keyed, train services that ever was: The Orient Express, which, when fully established, ensured the full crossing of the European continent between Paris and what was then Constantinople and is now Istanbul in about 3 days.

After the service interruption caused by the "war to end all wars", travel conditions in the  Orient Express would improve greatly with the introduction of sleeping cars and  a restaurant car, and by the 1930s, the service would be synonymous with luxury and social relevance and many were the royals and  the affluent who would be seduced by the possibility of doing what it took to  participate in a mundane conversation  with a sentence beginning by "one night, on the orient express...." 

The decadence of the service began with the second world war, when it was again interrupted. The geopolitical configuration that Europe was to know following the silencing of the guns and  the fact that two rather antagonistic blocks created new and almost insurmountable barriers to free circulation posed new constraints, both operational and political. Also, the evolution of air transport, new developments in train technology, namely  High Speed Train services, further complicated the operation environment for such a long distance route  and finally, in 1977 the direct Paris to Istanbul service came to an end.

Celebrating the 140th anniversary of the Orient Express, La Poste issued on 02OCT2023 the amazing souvenir sheet on the cover, containing one 1,80€ stamp, illustrated with an image of a steam locomotive pulling the Orient Express full speed ahead, while on the background the mountains are drawn to the shape of a sleeping face, an allegory for the  then innovating Wagons-Lits which allowed passengers their night rest in  most comfortable and luxurious conditions.

On the sheet, Paris the point of departure is on the left, symbolized by the Eiffel Tower, while the train is ridding towards its final destination, Istanbul, on the right, symbolised by the image of Agia Sophia, all the elements in the composition wrapped in blue and gold, quite evocative of  the stuff of dreams and class.

Illuminations are usually so intricate, colourful and downright beautiful, that I could not think of anything that would go any better on the side of the orient express souvenir sheet than the gorgeous 1,80€ stamp, of the series métiers d'art, issued on 02OCT2013, which can also be seen on the cover.

Iluminations are a thing of the past, I would think. No! The issue notes on the La Poste website even informed me that there is an European Higher Studies Institute of the Illuminations and Manuscripts at Angers and also that, in France, there are sixty artists officially recognised as experts in the field, whose skills and competence are called upon for such differing reasons as the restoration of documents or publicity campaigns...

The square stamp, a trademark of the series, is embellished with a beautifully illuminated E, which I presume stands for the Métier in question, that of the Enlumineur.

Postage was completed withr two 0,05€ stamps of the Marianne L'engagée set, issued on 20JUL2018

The Postmark indicates that the letter was mailled from Avallon, a town in the Yonne Department, of the Bourgogne Franche-Comté Region in central eastern France.

COVER N. 358 - TRANSNISTRIA

Postmark: Tiraspol (?) 09.10.2023

received on the 2nd November 2023

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Inside the great Ukrainian cover that I received from Matthias, was this uncirculated cover, postmarked from Tiraspol, I believe, in Transnistria, a province of Moldova that is also a Russophile secessionist Republic, as better explained here.

Thank you so much Matthias, quite an interesting piece.

Transnistria has its own postal services, or better yet,  further to the official  Moldovan postal services there is a  Transnistrian postal service, operating internally.

Since these cannot be used to mail corresponde abroad, Matthias got me a postmarked uncirculated cover with a stamp  from a three stamp set, issued on 22APR2023, themed on Russian space achievements. 

The Tarif B stamp is illustrated with an image of the Russian Salyut 7 space station, which stayed in orbit between 1982 and 1991.

COVER N. 357 - UKRAINE

Postmark: Odessa 16.10.2023

Posted on the 16th October; received on the 2nd November 2023

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Ukraine... 

The world has suddenly turned its eyes into another murderous conflict in the Mediterranean cul-de-sac (literally?) and the very next day the media almost leads us to believe that all is quiet in the eastern front.... unfortunately, that is not so!

The war rages on with no prospects of any eminent end... Ukraine enters its second harsh winter under the unjustified  and brutal aggression of its neighbour, and more suffering and hardship is the Christmas gift that many will again have under their tree this year.....

Tens of thousands of dead, hundreds of thousands of injured, countless displaced, localities raised to the ground, basic life support infrastructures destroyed, ecological disasters,..

Who will mend the wounds when it all finally comes to an end? 

Thank you so much Matthias, for  this cover sent from a city that is World Heritage. If only Peace, the Highest Value of Humanity,  was World Heritage too.....

Cultural identity cannot be destroyed easily, if at all. Ideas are not tangible; they linger in the minds of those that survive any form of oppression. And Cultural identity, as much as it is translated  into physical objects, is also an idea, the result of our upbringing in a given cultural context, which to a significant degree shapes the way we interpret and contribute to the world around us.

Hryhorii Skovoroda (1722-1794) was a philosopher, a poet, a musician and a teacher. Born in a village in what was then the Russian empire and is today Ukrainian territory, his legacy and origin are disputed by both sides of the present conflict.

In the place where he lived his final days and where he was buried, now called Skovorodynivka in his honour, located in the Kharkiv Oblast, a museum dedicated to his legacy was opened in 1972.

On the night of the 6th to the 7th May 2022, an artillery shell targeted the building, in another clear demonstration of the repeated claim by Kremlin authorities that Russia does not target civilian targets, setting it alight and destroying it. 

The collections it housed, however, survived because they had been removed as a precaution measure, should such a pointless deed occur.

Ideas cannot be set alight by artillery shells, nor determination. And the Ukrainian will rebuild their museum, but this will need funding, which the country is trying to find amidst other war induced pressing needs.

The souvenir sheet which Matthias used on the cover was issued by UkraPost on 22SEP2022

Under the legend "The Garden of Divine Songs (the title of a collection of poems by Skovoroda), on the occasion of  the 300th anniversary of the birth of Hryhorii Skovoroda" two stamps are included in it:

- a 45 hryvnia stamp, illustrated with a statue of the philosopher, which luckily survived on site the shelling that destroyed the building; 

- a 15 + 15 hryvnia stamp, depicting what is known as the fountain of unequal equality, a way of making clear a concept Skovoroda held dear and which in practical terms means, as I understood it, that we are but recipients of God's grace  and once full, once our capacity is attained, no matter how much grace the fountain with continue to pour, any that will fall upon us will overspill. Thus, we are all individuals that differ from one to another.

The 15 hryvnia surtax on this particular stamp is destined to the reconstruction fund of the Skovoroda museum.

Of note is also the envelope witch is illustrated with a rather unobvious hero of the Ukrainian war: Patron, a Jack Russell that to its credit has the detection of over 200 land mines and unexploded bombs, for which he was awarded by President Zelensky a medal for valour.

The canine hero was also honoured with an eight stamp set issued on 01AUG2022, the image on the envelope showing it dressed as a superhero, being taken to work by a member of the bomb disposal team.

The very nice pictorial postmark is illustrated with the coat of arms of the city of Odessa and  two of its landmarks: Vorontsov Lighthouse, and the obelisk of the monument to the unknown sailor. 

COVER N. 356 - LITHUANIA

Postmark: Kaišiadorys Letuva 01.11.2023

Posted on the 1st November; received on the 23rd November 2023

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My first cover from Lithuania Thanks you so much Leonardas!

The Lithuanian Hound is a hunting dog breed originated in Lithuania, dating back to the 16th century, used for hunting foxes, boars and hares.

The breed is considered to be rare and does not seem to attract any attention outside of its country of origin where they were almost extinct by the end of the Second World War. Due to the efforts of enthusiasts the breed slowly increased in numbers, but after the fall of the Soviet Union numbers dwindled again, with only 150 individuals existing by 1998. 

The Lithuanian hound is a medium sized dog, with a life expectancy of 12 to 14 years. 

Lietuvos Paštas issued the 1,50 € stamp on the cover, illustrated with a beautiful image of a Lithuanian hound on 29SEP2023.

The postmark hails from Kaišiadorys, a town in central Lithuania.

COVER N. 355 - FRANCE

Postmark: Premier Jour Maria Callas 1923-1977 08.11.2023

Posted on the 8th November; received on the 20th November 2023

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La Divina...

Probably the most famous opera singer there ever was, Maria Callas, born Kalogeropoulou, a family name which her father eventually changed to Callas, given the difficulty non-Greeks had  in correctly pronouncing it,  lived a life that would lend itself quite well to one of the dramatic operas which she sang, to the joy of her countless fans and admirers.

From her difficult relationship with her mother, to the rivalry with Renata Tebaldi, her failed marriage with Greek magnate Aristotle Onassis, who would divorce her to  marry  Jacky Kennedy,  everything about her had an aura of drama and tragedy that would eventually caught up with her in Paris, when her heart finally failed the score, at the quite young age of 53.

Still she will forever be remembered as the Diva of Divas, and a  name that could be evoked as a mark of distinction as I so well remember from my high school days, when my music education teacher would often let us know, bursting with pride, that he had been in the audience on that 27th March 1958 when la Divina played Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata, at São Carlos Theatre in Lisbon.

Now, I don't want to be crucified alive, but I will confess, on a personal note, that  I am not really a fan of Maria Callas timbre of voice. I cannot explain it but there's something about it that does not quite appeal to my musical buds, but on the other hand, I have to say that I find her photo on the stamp issued by La Poste to honour her on the centennial of her birth, absolutely marvellous.

Un grand Merci, Roland, for this beautiful cover.

On 13NOV2023, La Poste issued a 1,80€ stamp in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Birth of Maia Callas, illustrated with a stunning photo portrait by Jerald (Jerry) Tiffany and the legend "Maria Callas 1923-1977".

The stamp is cancelled with a First day postmark which is as simple and classy as the stamp itself, containing as its main graphic element the signature of the celebrated singer.

COVER N. 354 - GERMANY

Postmark: Garching B. München 108 85748  14.11.2023

Posted on the 14h November; received on the 20th November 2023

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There was a time when steps were being taken  in the right direction. It took a lot of courage, it took men of courage.

Men and Women of courage, the best of us, are often unsung heroes. They die in prison, by torture,  by fire, by poison. Some, on the other hand, due to circumstances that are often casuistic too, make it to the headlines and their actions can have a true exponential impact that transcends their immediate vicinity.

"Am abgrund der Deutschen Geshichte und unter der last der millionen ermordeten tat ich, was menschen tun, wenn die sprache versagt"

"Faced with the abyss of German history and the burden of the millions who had been murdered, I did what we humans do when words fail us". 

Thus wrote Willy Brandt in his memoirs, about his historical genuflexion in front of the Warsaw ghetto memorial, on a visit to Poland in 1970.

A Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a firm defender of reason against confrontation, an humanist, and Europeanist, the antithesis of the greyish characters which a strange cold wind seems to be breeding nowadays in all continents of this much abused planet, Herbert Frahm, who would pass on to history by the pseudonym he used while working as a journalist exiled in Sweden in WW2, -  Willy Brandt - was the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, from 1969 till 1974.

In his years in office he would become the father of what would become known as the Ostpolitik, the progressive normalisation of relations between West Germany and the Eastern block, which would eventually lead to that unforgettable day of the 9th November 1989 when, at long last, Checkpoint Charlie became but a tourist site in Berlin, the capital of the reunified Federal Republic of Germany.

Thanks a lot Alex. Great cover, and one to keep in the "lest we forget" folder of the collection.

On 03DEC2020, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Willy Brandt's visit to the Warsaw ghetto memorial Deutsche Post honoured Willy Bradt's memory and legacy with the souvenir sheet containing a 1,1 € stamp, which Alex used on this cover.

The stamp, a portion of the photograph that occupies the entire sheet, depicts Chancellor Brandt knelling in front of the flower wrath, with the legend 50 years of Willy Brandt's genuflection in Warsaw, while on the top of the sheet the  quote from his memoirs is also printed.

The very neat and clear postmark hails from Garching bei München a Bavarian city in the vicinity of Munich.