COVER N. 427 - FRANCE

Postmark: 58 Camecy Nièvre 14.03.2024 

Posted on the  14th March; received on the 18th March 2024

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The sound of thunder in my letterbox as the chequered flag is finally lowered... well not the chequered flag, but the letterbox door, to reveal a large envelope with part of a great souvenir sheet on it, evocative of probably the most famous auto race in the world: les 24 heures du Mans.

Un grand Merci, Jean-Pierre pour ce jolie pli et pour tout ce qui était dedans...

- The brain child of L'Automobile Club de L'Ouest, Georges Durand, presumably the oldest still occurring  and most famous car race in history, saw the 33 racing cars participating in its first edition depart for a 24 hour endurance race on the 26 May 1923. The winners, André Lagache and René Léonard racing in a  Chenard & Walcker, would cross the line the next day, after completing 128 laps of the circuit implanted in the La Sarthe region, near the town of Le Mans, at the astounding average speed of  92 Km/h.

100 years later, and although some 3km shorter than the original, the circuit was lapped 342 times by the winning car, a Ferrari 499P, in the hands of  Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi, corresponding to 4,659.40 kilometres, at an average speed of 194.1 kilometres per hour. 

Car racing... I still remember watching on TV what was known as the Le Mans style Start, when all the drivers would run to their cars from the opposite side of the road.... very spectacular, but not the best solution from a safety standpoint.... and F1... the victory lap of the winners with their laurel wreathes around their shoulders.... not anymore... the laurel  leaves had so much dignity that they obfuscated the sponsor's logos on the driver's racing suits.....and it is money that makes the world go round.... not laurels....

On the occasion of the centenary of the most famous car race in the world, La Poste issued on 30MAY2023 a minisheet, comprising four 1,80 stamps. Two of them can be seen on this cover: one with the official starter holding the French Flag in front of  Chenard & Walcker Sport, winner of 1923 and a modern hypercar of today  (I couldn't find any specific car with the number 24 as the winner of the most recent races) and a round stamp with the official logo of the event.

- The stamp illustrated with "La crêpe" that most famous invention of the Bretagne region, was issues on 26MAY2003, as part of a set of 10 0,50€ stamps themed on products of the Frenbch regions.

- Marianne l'engagée, in 0,05€ form, part of the 20JUL2021 Marianne issue, completes the postage on this cover, sent from the city of Clamecy in the Region of Bourgogne Franche-Comté. 

COVER N. 426 - MALAYSIA

Postmark: Pusat Mel Kota Kinabalu Sabah 12.02.2024 

Posted on the  12th February; received on the 19th March 2024

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A rather full envelope from Malaysia, with plenty of stamps on its face. Terima kasih, Ka Ming!

The first time Ka wrote me,  the letter took about 3 and a half months to get to my doorstep, It seems things have improved quite noticeably because now it took just about a month and a week to travel the same distance, which is, of course, great news.

As in the first letter he sent me, Ka Ming made sure there were a lot of stamps on the envelope, something he asked me to also try to do in my response, but which I unfortunately find quite hard to  consummate since series with "small change" stamps is something of the past, in many places, Portugal Included. Anyway, I'll do my best, with domestic postage stamps, next time I write him.

Stamps Left to right

- "Traditional Carftwork of Malaysia", such was the theme chosen for a four stamp set (60 and 80 sen; 1 and 5 Ringgit) issued on 04DEC2019. The 80 sen stamp from this set on the cover is illustrated with a  Sarawak Vase, The origins of Sarawak pottery being traceable to Chinese  immigrant artisans, it seems.

- The Penang Funicular in Georgetown, Malaysia, started its operation in 1923. Over the years it has suffered natural adaptations in terms of its rolling stock, this being the theme chosen for the very beautiful set of three stamps (30 and 60 sen; 1.30 ringgit) issued on the occasion of the centenary of the infrastructure. It should also be noted that in 2010, the funicular suffered a major update with the introduction not only of new rolling stock but also of new tracks.

The stamps were issued on 22AUG2023 and the lesser value stamp, with the original funicular carriages can be seen on the cover.

- Invasive species are always a problem, because they conflict with local ones, sometimes overrunning them to a worrying degree. That is not to say that invasive species cannot be beautiful and attractive. In fact they usually are, this being the reason why they were once imported in the past.

This is the case of Ipomoea indica, Blue morning glory, which in my country goes by the name of Bons-dias, and which is believed to be a native of the Americas, from Florida to South America.

I once spent a full day in the coast of the Arrábida region, in a voluntary team, participating in  a cleaning operation of the  the local vegetation, during which we removed a lot, and I mean a lot, of this beautiful flowering plant of the Convolvulaceae family, which also includes the much beloved sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas).

there are two stamps with the same image of a blue morning glory on the cover. The one i the block of four (90 sen) was issued on 01JUL2010, as part of a definitive series themed on garden flowers.

The 40 sen version on the right corner,  is part of a 6 stamp set dedicated to flowers issued on 31DEC2007.

- The Green Imperial Pigeon (Ducula aenea) occurs in large parts of Asia,  "from Nepal, southern India and Sri Lanka eastwards to southern China, Indonesia and the Philippines"  as mentioned in Wikipedia. 

A member of the Columbidae family, this forest dweller is the subject of the beautiful 5 Ringgit stamp issued on 14MAY2005, part of an eight definitive stamp set themed on "Birds".

- It is believed that shadow play, a form of theatre that uses back lit puppets whose shadows are projected on a translucent screen, originated in China or India, somewhere in the 1st millennium BC. From then on it grew to be a much cherish tradition in various parts of the world, but especially in and around southeast Asia.

Malaysia, where shadow play is known as Wayang Kulit has this tradition deeply enrooted and one of its contemporary masters, both as performer and trainer of other performers, was Hamzah Awang Amat.

The Shadow Play Master, (1940-2001), was one of the Malaysian Art Laureates honoured on a three stamp set (50 and 60 sen; 130 Ringgit) stamp issued on  26SEP2023. 

The postmark indicates that the envelope was mailed from the city of Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the Malaysian State of Sabah, in the island of Borneo.

COVER N. 425 - FRANCE

Postmark:  Fête du Timbre - Voyage au fil de l'eau 69 - Oullins 09.03.2024 

Posted on the  9th; received on the 18th March 2024

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"La fête du Timbre" is a annual philatelic event organised by the "French Federation of the Philatelic Associations" in close coordination with the Postal Administration, highlighting the role of the stamp as a vehicle for socio-cultural promotion.

It has been taking place since 1937  and the theme chosen for the current year was "The pleasures of navigation" once again stressing the relevance of carbon neutral means of displacement as viable alternatives to fossil fuelled ones.

As such, if  the bicycle was last year's star of the show, this year all attention was focused on environmental friendly ways of navigating the waters, be it in rivers and lakes or in open seas.

Amidst the several products issued by La Poste for the occasion are, as usual, a single stamp souvenir sheet and a regular stamp.

Un énorme Merci à Eric, pour ce très joli envoi, qui m'a beaucoup plu. 

The souvenir sheet containing a 2,58€ stamp, is illustrated with several examples of leisure navigation means  in inner waters, like rivers and lakes, such as the paddle board  a canoe or an electric driven (presumably) tourist boat, under the approval glance of a kingfisher, while the 1,29 stamp highlights the classic of the classics of open water navigation, the sailling boat.

Both stamps are listed as officially issued on 11MAR24, but as La fête du Timbre took place on the 9th and 10th, the very nice First Day postmark, also graced with the image of a sailing boat, is dated of the 9th, having been issued at Oullins, one of the 85 cities participating in the event.

COVER N. 424 - CZECH REPUBLIC

Postmark:  Philip J. Currie 75 let Philovenator curriei Praha 1 13.03.2024 

Posted on the 13th March; received on the 18th March 2024

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The Phantom has agents.... only as such can he be everywhere anytime.... I now know this secret to be true, since I received a cover sent from Prague when the Ghost who walks was in Germany.... so much for his secret.... ahahahahaha... you can't escape Poirot....(heck... he was Belgium, wasn't he?... no problem, a lot of Portuguese guys also wear a moustache....)

Anyway, The Phantom pestered his kind mother asking her to go through the trouble of going to the Post Office while away, and all this to send a cover to a stranger. I'm very thankful to Mrs. Pilz for her kind and generous gesture. Hope it did not take too much of her time. Danke sehr!

The cover has a very nice pictorial cancellation, but one that raises a bit of a mystery...

The stamps first, though, left to right:

- The lovely 2 Koruna stamps are part of the "flowers" definitive series issued in the course of several years. this particular stamp dates of 27MAY2011.

- The 20 Koruna  Sagittarius  Stamps were issued on 08SEP1999 as part of the Zodiac themed definitives that were issued in several occasions in different years.

Now the postmark, and in it lies the mystery... Philip J. Currie is a well know Canadian palaeontologist, Wikipedia stating that he was one of the models for "palaeontologist Alan Grant in the film Jurassic Park."

He was also the leader of an important Canada-China dinosaur research project and he has to his credit the description of several dinosaur species new to science.

He his such a relevant name that he his name was given to one of these species, the Philovenator curriei, whose mug shot  features on the pictorial postmark.

I am sure that Mr Currie deserves all the accolades that he gets, but the  mystery to me is what is the connection with the Czech Republic, since I can't find a direct link between Mr. Currie and this particular country.

Anyway, the postmark is quite dandy and again a huge thanks to Mrs. Pilz for having gone out of her way to make sure I had it in my collection.

COVER N. 423 - INDIA

Postmark:  Architectural Delights Sidi Saiyad's Window 24.02.2024 

Posted on the 24th February; received on the 15th March 2024

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Two years ago, I received my first cover from India. The lovely envelope I then received from Piyush, was illustrated with an image of several temples and the legend "Chadram Yatra", which designates the four holy pilgrimage sites that any Hindu should visit at least once in a lifetime.

Investigating  a bit, I found out that the  images on the envelope and on the two stamps  on it  were not of the four temples of the Chardham Yatra in particualr, but of the 4 temples of the  Chota Chardam,  the four small abodes, a shorter pilgrimage circuit, but also one of deep meaning in Hinduist  tradition, which must be linked to the Chadram Yatra in some way, I presume, given that Badrinah is a relevant site for both circuits.

Now Piyush has again sent me a cover and he kindly and thoughtfully used the remaining two stamps on the set, namely those with images of the temples of Badrinath and Gangotri.

Thanks you so much Piyush, for making sure I have the complete set in two beautiful covers.

In order to complete postage  Piyush used another two different stamps, on the back of the cover

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, (1924 - 2108) was a politician who was the country's Prime-Minister on Three different occasions. (1996; 1998-99 and 1999-2004). On his passing away, he was honoured with the 200 Rupee stamp on the cover, issued on 25DEC2018.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920) was an Indian scholar and nationalist who fought for independence by promoting passive resistance to British rule, a strategy that would later be used to good effect by Gandhi, himself. His effigy graces the 100 Rupee stamp issued on MAR2016 included in a definitive set dedicated to the creators of India.

Of note also is the pictorial postmark, highlighting one "Architectural delight" as stated on it. The featured landmark is one of the marble windows of the Sidi Saiyad Mosque, in Ahmedabad, famous for their intricate laticework.

COVER N. 422 - GUYANA

Postmark:  G.P.O.C Guyana Georgetown Philatelic Bureau 03.01.2024 

Posted on the 3rd January; received on the 12th March 2024

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And yet a newcomer to the list of countries represented here in my blog. Again, thanks to the generous help of The Flying Dutchman.   Hartelijk dank voor de brief uit Guyana, Eric.

Guyana is not one of those countries we hear mentioned often in the news. The former British colony which gained independence in 1966, making it the only country in Southern America with English as its official language, (although most people speak Guyanese creole) was recently under the spotlight, though…

Oil... Guyana is rich in oil, which it has been using to speed up its development, making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world (although the distribution of the generated wealth does not seem to be on par with the double digit economic growth - 49% in 2020). 

Turns out much of that oil exists offshore in waters off the coast of Essequibo, an area that is roughly 2/3 of Guyana's territory and which has been disputed by its neighbour, Venezuela.

The sovereignty over Essequibo is now under analysis of the International Court of Justice, but a decision will probably take a long time to surface. Meanwhile, last year, Guyana held an auction for oil exploitation rights in the Essequibo region and this prompted Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s strongman,  to react, promoting a national referendum over the annexation of Essequibo and threatening to invade the region.

Things have since deescalated when Maduro and Guyana's President Mirfaan Ali met in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and agreed not to resource to force to settle the dispute, which should be solved according to international law... 

Let us see where this will lead, in the future....oil is such a powerful substance, even in these days of energetic transition....

Stamps, left to right:

- Soccer... the sport of sports some say, and a very popular theme all around the world, philatelically also, I guess, given the number of  existing soccer related issues ...

On the occasion of the FIFA World Cup 2006, held in Germany, Guyana issued, on 26SEP2006, a four stamp set (80; 100; 160; 300 Guyanese Dollars)  themed on the origins of the sport, which, it seems, can be traced back to some 2000 years ago, in China.

The 160 dollar stamp on the cover is illustrated with a drawing of Tsu Chu players, this being the designation of the original Chinese football game.

- The four 1.2 Dollar se-tenant stamp set with images of locomotives was issued on 03AUG1987. On the same date, the same four stamps were also issued in a souvenir sheet form with a vignette in the middle, showing what looks to be an early  train station...., These stamps were issued multiple times during the year, in other generic colours, namely, dull blue and maroon.

- Disney characters...a classic.... Issued on 24FEB1995, the Policeman Mickey is part of an eight 35 Dollar stamp set, issued in minisheet format, designated "Public Service Workers - Disney Characters at Work", which also included a 200 Dollar souvenir sheet featuring Horace as a politician....

- Flowering plants of Guyana was the theme to an interesting definitive series which ran for several years. The 1972 issue, dating of 19SEP1972, comprised six values, the 20 cent stamp being used on the cover. It is illustrated with the image of a Paphinia cristata, an orchid species that is endemic to northern South America.

The postmark hails from Guyana's Capital, Georgetown.

COVER N. 421 - PHILIPPINES

Postmark:  Sapang Palay Post Office --- (?) Ordinary Dispatching Section 20.02.2024 

Posted on the 2n February; received on the 8th March 2024

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Another country joins the fold: Philippnes.  An archipelago with more than 7000 islands, first touched by Europeans on Magalhães/Elcano circumnavigation in 1521. As a result, it would not only get its name from the then King of Spain (and episodically of Portugal to...), Filipe II, but would also become a Spanish colony for more than 300 years, until falling, in 1898, under United States domination in the wake of the Spanish-American War. 

This state of affairs would only be altered in 1935 when the islands become a self-governing commonwealth, although the second world war saw them being occupied by the Japanese in 1942. Finally, in 1946, the Republic of Philipines was formally established.

Maraming salamat, Marlon!

The beautiful air mail envelope is embellished with the following three stamps, left to right:

- Valentine's day needs no explanation, although it is something I only become aware of in the 80s I believe, since the tradition is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and as such only entered into our habits as globalisation (and commercial interests) started to step in.

Perhaps because of the American influence in Philippine culture, Valentine's day seems to be  a vastly celebrated holiday in the country. So much so that the National Postal operator PHLPost, yearly issues stamps on the occasion.

The two Valentine's day stamps on the cover are part of the 2022 set, an eight 12 peso stamp minisheet, issued on 10FEB2022. All the stamps are illustrated with stylised hearts such as the ones on the two stamps on the cover, which I understand also included moral boosting sentences that should be read against the COVID backdrop of 2022. As such the legend on the stamp on the left reads "Nagmamahal Pa Rin"(Still Loving), while that on the right states "Titibok Pa Rin sa Bayan" (Will Still Love the Country).

- The small 40 Peso stamp illustrated with an image of a Tasselled Leather-jacket (Chaetodermis penicilligerus), the unique member of its genus in the Monacanthidae family, with a vast distribution that encompasses the tropical areas of the  indian and pacific oceans, was issued on 18OCT2012, as part of the year's set for a marine biodiversity series of definitive stamps, which ran between 2010 and 2013.

The postmark informs us that the letter was mailed from Sapang Palay, an area of the city of San Jose del Monte, in  the province of Bulacan, in the outskirts of the Capital, Manila.

COVER N. 420 - SERBIA

Postmark: Niš 18111 01.03.2024 

Posted on the 1st March; received on the 8th March 2024

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Phantom, that restless wanderer, was in Serbia, it seems and he enrolled the help of a local collector to ship out a bunch of covers, so thanks a lot to Dejan and Alex, for this welcome addition to the collection.

- In an era when every bit of information is enconded in 0s and 1s, being as volatile as electrons are, the need to keep an everlasting memory of things is ever more relevant. National archives fulfil this mission and either in physic or in electronic form they make sure that the past will forever be available for present or future enquirers, be it researchers, students, legislators, lawyers, or any other user who might have the need to investigate it.

Acknowledging this necessity, the Education Ministry of  the People's Republic of Serbia, one of the six republics that integrated Yugoslavia, established the Historic Archive of Niš  on the 24th April 1948.

75 years past that date, the Archive maintains its function as a repository of memory and is Serbia's second most important such archive, after the Archive of Belgrade.

The building in which it is housed is located within the compound of the fortress of Niš, of Ottoman Turkish  origin, built in the early decades of the 18th century.

It's main entrance features on the stamp issued on 24APR2023 a part of a two 48 dinar stamp set dedicated to Niš historical buildings anniversaries. As such, the stamp celebrates the 75 years of existence of the Historic archives, its companion stamp being dedicated to the tercentenary of the fortress in which it is housed.

- The theme for the CEPT Europa common issue of 2011 was "Forests". The Serbian issue, dating of 05MAY2022, comprised two stamps (33 and 66 Dinar) with images of a conifer forest, a forest type which can easily be found in the country. the 66 dinar stamp was used on the cover.

Postage is completed with a 16 dinar franking label.

The stamps were cancelled in the city of Niš.

POSTCARD N.134 - SRI LANKA

Postcard sent on the 29th February, received on the  6th March 2024

Postcard image: Images of VeddHa People
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Ravindra keeps sending me these very interesting postcards from Sri Lanka, always graced with the incredibly diverse and attractive stamps.  I can't really say how much I like them. Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravindra!

This time he took me back to the origins of Sri Lanka with a postcard with images of members of what is believed to be the original inhabitants of the Island State: the Veddha people.

The Veddha minority, originally a hunter-gatherer ethnic group that lived in the forests, I read, is almost totally assimilated now, to the point of Britannica stating that Veddha as a separate community have ceased to exist in the 1970s. This, as in many other comparable cases,  will eventually result  in the  loss of their own original language(s), given that Sinhala has taken its(their) place. 

Originally Veddhas were hunter-gatherers and their origins in Sri Lanka can be traced to about 40.000 - 30.000 years ago. Animists and believers in the cult of the dead, Veddha - who now also profess Buddhism or Hinduism, as another sign of acculturation -  have seen their living grounds dramatically shrink over time, given the expansion of urban areas, and  the re-affectation of forest areas to industrial and agricultural uses, as it often has happened to other forest dwelling communities all over the globe.

Sri Lanka Post has issued quite a number of very interesting sets dedicated to the local fauna and flora, as I have been able to show here on this blog, thanks to the very welcome profusion of mail I have been getting from Ravindra.

For this postcard, Ravindra used four of the ten 125 Rupee stamps issued in minisheet form on 03FEB2020, celebrating World Wetlands Day, which is annually commemorated on that particular date.

The theme for the 2020 was "Wetlands and Biodiversity" this being inscribed on each stamp as a legend below the World Wetlands Day logo, illustrated with images of what I presume are local wetland flora species:

left to right; top to bottom:

- Mesua stylosa, a tree of the Calophyllaceae family, endemic to Sri Lanka and listed  as Critically Endangered, by IUCN. (don't think it is a wetland specific species, but I may be wrong.)

- Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea, a mangrove dweller that occurs from India to tropical Asia and the western Pacific. It is the sole species of its genus, in the Rubiaceae family.

- Bruguiera sexangula, the "upriver orange mangrove", a mangrove tree that can reach 30 m in height, occuring in Southeast Asia.

-  Sonneratia alba, another inhabitant of the mangrove areas. This white flowered tree is a member of the Lythraceae family, occurring in Africa and Asia.

- Claiming to be the "largest and most prominent educational institution in Sri Lanka", the Royal College of Colombo was founded in 1835, following the Eton School model, as the Colombo Academy, by  Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton, the Governor, between 1831 and 1837, of what was then the colony of Ceylon.

In 1881, following the approval of Queen Victoria, the Academy would be renamed the Royal College of Colombo, thus becoming the only School outside England to be granted the use of the Royal epithet in  its designation.

On the occasion of the 175th anniversary of its establishment, Sri Lanka Post issued, on 16JUL2010, the celebratory stamp that is also present of the postcard. 

As usual with Ravindra's mail, the postmark hails from the central Post Office at Columbus, Sri Lanka's economic capital .

COVER N. 419 - BULGARIA

Postmark: Sofia 1408 26.02.2024 

Posted on the 26th February; Received on the 5th March 2024

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The Phantom, that restless wanderer, was on a mission again in the Balkans, and I got word from him from the Capital of Bulgaria. Danke Sehr, Alex!

Alex is a persuasive guy, no doubt about it, (after all, who would say no to The Phantom????). I don't know how, but he always manages to convince the post offfice employees to have his stamps properly postmarked, in whatever corner of the world he goes to.

I have written here about my experience in Sofia, which was  far from easy given that I had some communication difficulties with the lady at the post office, since I did not speak a word of  Bulgarian. In the end, when I asked for a manual postmark, she just looked at me and replied "tomorrow" and I left a bit anxious, but whern I received the cover some days later, back at home, it was properly postmarked on the stamp, although not on the envelope as I had also requested.

Now Alex, this time, got  both the satmp and the envelope postmarked, but the postmark is upside dow, so I consider it a draw between my and his efforts😀.

Alex used a curious one 2 Lev stamp plus vignette souvenir sheet issued on 23AUG2021 in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Bulgarian Folklore Federation. I tried to find some information regarding this organisation but sadly to no avail.

The postmark was applied in Sofia, the Capital, but not in the same Post Office I visited, given the different code.

COVER N. 418 - ISRAEL

Postmark: Tel Aviv - Yafo 11.02.2024 

Posted on the 11th February; Received on the 4th March 2024

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A cover from Israel, as usual from Yair whom I thank for  having again used large interesting stamps on it.

Israel..., 

I don't really want to sound disrespectful, especially to Yair, who sent me this cover as  a token of  civility and understanding, as all exchanges between people who don't know each other but share a common interest inherently are. But, these days, I cannot mention Israel, without stating how deeply appalled I am for what is happening and has been happening in Gaza for months, now, with the world Olympically turning  its back on the sufferance of millions of people who are incarcerated in a no escape cage, being constantly told to move somewhere else, without access to the most basic humanitarian assistance or support,  due to the outrageous behaviour of the Israeli Government.

Those people, those defenceless women and children have rights! Please respect them as any of the rights of Israeli children should also be fully respected.

I may be quite wrong, but I do fear that what is happening now will be paid in blood when many of those children reach youth and adulthood....give them schools, education, hope, not martyrdom as a role model...

Make no mistake. I think that Hamas is but a bloody terrorist group  and what their mililitants did on the 7th October last year  bears no place in the definition of human, or mankind. For that, all the perpetrators should be brought to justice and punished.  But what the government of Israel is doing right now stands on the same level of absurdity and disrespect for human rights, and that should not go without consequences too, for those who knowingly and intentionally continue to order it.

This again is but my opinion and let me stress that I have no intention whatsoever of responding to an act of courtesy and civility with a disrespectful rant. It is not the case, and my words should not be read as such.

Stamps left to right:

- Gerberas are very beautiful members of the Asteraceae family. Being native to South America, Africa, Madagascar and Tropical Asia, they are today cultivated as cut flowers in many countries, mine included, cultivars now exceeding 80 varieties, I believe.

On 05FEB2013 Israel post issued a souvenir sheet with 10 stamps (2 strips of 5) featuring images of gerberas, from which the .30 shekel on my cover was taken. Other denominations included are .20; .40; .50;.60 and 1 Shekel. 

- Cacti of Israel was the theme for a 5 se-tenant 2.5 Shekel stamp strip issued on 15FEB2022. The stamp on the cover illustrated with an image of an  Opuntia ficus-indica is part of that set.

- As far as I could read in Wikipedia and other sources, Sukkot is a Jewish  religious festival that is celebrated every year in the beginning of the autumn season in remembrance of the 40 years of desert exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt. It is one of the three Pilgrim Festivals, during which male adult Israelites were required to go to the Temple in Jerusalem to make offerings  of their field produces, the other two being Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana.

On these festivals, animals would be offered in sacrifice, namely bulls, goats and lambs. This, I think, is the reason why the set of three stamps (2.6; 7.4 and 12  Shekels) issued on 13SET2022 dedicated to the three above mentioned  Israeli Festivals is illustrated with images of those particular animals. 

The 2,6 Shekel stamp, dedicated to the Sukkot Festival can be seen on the cover.

The postmark indicates postage at Tel-Aviv. 

COVER N. 417 - USA

Postmark: Farmers Market Los Angeles CA 90036-3109 12.02.2024 

Posted on the 12th February; Received on the 4th March 2024

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Thanks a lot Myron, for this beautiful cover with some nice aviation related stamps and such a striking postmark, that I couldn't resist looking up what the Farmers Market is on the internet. Hope you had a nice time visiting it :-).

I always associate  high roof wooden barns such as the one we see on the little stamp on the left upper corner of the cover, with America... it's probably a movie related thing, but even if the little stamp had not USA written on it I would have no doubts as to its origin... 

On 24JAN2021, USPS issued a four stamp definitive set with some very nice images of barns, associated to the seasons of the year.

The one on the cover is a Gambrel roofed barn, depicted on a nice summer day as the sun goes down on the horizon. Having no face value, its marked as Postcard tariff, same as the other three companion stamps on the set.

The remaining three stamps are part of a ten 37 cents stamp set issued on 29JUL2005, dedicated to "American advances in aviation". From left to right we have:

- Northrop YB-49 Flying wing, an experimental development of the YB 35 Flying wing bomber developed by Northrop just after the second world war,  with  eight Allison TG-180 (J35) turbojet engines in the place of the four original four Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, driving contra-rotating propellers, of the YB-35.

- Boeing B-29 Superfortress,  one of the most famous bombers of WW2, which had to its credit the dropping of the bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki...

- Consolidated PBY 5 Catalina, one of the most successful and perennial flying boats in the history of aviation, as attested by the fact that there is still a significant (for such old airframes)  number of them surviving in operational conditions to this day.

 COVER N. 416 - INDIA

Postmark: Illegible 05.02.2024 

Posted on the 5th February; Received on the 28th February 2024

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Second cover I received on the same day, stamped with a joint issue stamp, which is always an added motif of interest, the more so when the stamp is as beautiful on this letter I got from India. Thanks you so much, Keran!

Diplomatic relations between India and Mauritius date back to 1948, when Mauritius was still a British colony and India was just one year away from having obtained its independency from the same colonising power.

The relevance and justification for this fact is clearly centred on demographic reasons, given that 75% of the population of the Mauritius archipelago are of Indian ascendency, India being also a most relevant economic relation, providing 13% of the archipelago's imports, just after the 15% quota of the P.R. of China. (2019 data).

The very beautiful 25 Rupee one stamp souvenir sheet illustrated with images of the national birds of the two countries - the Indian p

Peacock for India and the Mauritius Kestrel, for Mauritius -  was issued on 02NOV2023 in both countries. 

As far as I could note, only the denomination is, of course, different in the Mauritius version.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was established in 2001 by China and Russia. Today it has nine full time members: P.R. China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,  Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan and Iran.

India joined the organisation at the same time as Pakistan, in June 2017.

India hosted the 2023 Heads of State SCO summit in July 2023, but chose to do it in virtual format, a move that was seen by some as a way to prevent diplomatic embarrassment, given the warrant impending on Vladimir Putin's by the International Criminal Court of the Hague.

On the occasion, India Post issued the 5 Rupee stamp on the cover  which is dominated by the SCO, logo over the three colours of the Indian Flag on the background.

COVER N. 415 - BANGLADESH

Postmark: Illegible 03.01.2024 (?)

Posted on the 3rd January (?); Received on the 28th February 2024

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"Bangladesh, Bangladesh, where so many people...". I can't forget it. Bangladesh had just come out as another flag in the political atlas and  there he was, the genius who had written "While my guitar  gently weeps" investing  all his strength, money and connections in an effort to call on the attention of the world to the suffering of millions of people in the newly created nation. This was the first and, withouth shadow of doubt, the most genuine of all the fund raising  concerts that have subsequently been organised all over the world, and for that  George Harrison and Ravi Shankar shall always be remembered (as well as for the beauty, mastery and mystery of their music).

The People's Republic of Bangladesh was declared in 1971, in the wake of an independence war with Pakistan which saw millions of civil Bengalis being killed and tortured in genocide.

Today, it seems, both countries have extended olive branches in each other's way, so let bygones be bygones, although not forgetting, since remembrance is the best tool for ensuring that errors from the past shall not be repeated.

A huge thanks to my friend The Phantom, for letting me add another country to the list! Danke Sehr, Alex!

Joint issues are a way of telling the world "hey, look, we are friends with each other" and for this, they, most times, are a good sign.

Maybe one day we'll see a joint issue Bangladesh-Pakistan (in truth i don't know it this has happened or not, but presumably...)but until that time comes, we can always enjoy the nice joint-issue from Bangladesh and Singapore commemorating the Golden Jubilee of Diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Both issues saw the light of day on the same date - 15NOV2022 - and the stamps feature the same basic design as can be seen in the two stamps (10 and 50 Taka) of the Bangladeshi version on the cover.

The 10 Taka stamp features an Oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis), a small passerine bird distributed  across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, while the 50 Taka stamp is illustrated with the image of  a Zebra dove (Geopelia striata), a member of the dove family occurring in Southeast Asia. Both birds are classified as Least Concern species in the IUCN lists.

Postage is completed with a 5 Taka definitive issued on 31AUG1988, as part of a "local motives" series, illustrated with an image of  Curzon Hall, located in the University of Dhaka, the capital of the country.

The postmark is sadly illegible.

POSTCARD N.133 - RUSSIA

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 3rd February, received on the  28 February 2024

Postcard image: Ilyushin 96
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On my previous post I have already identified the subject of the postcard that Julia so kindly sent me inside cover #414, but I could not let go without including a scan of the postcard itself , which is another quite interesting addition to my collection and for which I again thank Julia.

The image depicts one  Il 96 in the livery  used  for service with the presidential fleet of the Russian Federation, operated by Rossiya Airlines.

COVER N. 414 - RUSSIA

Postmark: Kaluga 03.02.2024

Posted on the 3rd February; Received on the 28th February 2024

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More mail from Julia, as usual featuring a nicely illustrated envelope and interesting stamps, mostly aviation related.Спасибо большое, Julia!

This time, the envelope and the usual postcard, which I will enclose in a subsequent post, is illustrated with an image of an Ilyushin 96, a four engine wide-body, which first flew in 1988, developed for long haul flights as a substitute and improvement over the previous Il 86, capable of accommodating 262 passengers in standard configuration.

According to Wikipedia, in civil usage, only 23 aircraft have been in operation, and other than Aeroflot and some lesser known Russian airlines, only Cubana de Aviación have used the type, whose main claim to fame is its usage as the presidential aircraft of  the Russian Federation.

- Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin (1894-1977) was an aircraft designer who has to his credit the conception of one of the most produced aircraft ever, the ground attack  Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik, famous for the havoc it created in German tank units, during the second world war.

After the war, Sergey Ilyushin would turn his drafting pen to the creation of civil aviation aircraft in the Design Bureau that bore his name and that in various corporate forms has subsisted until today.

On 23OCT2019, marking the 125th anniversary of the birth of Sergey Ilyushin, Ruspost issued a celebratory  minisheet comprising five 50 Ruble stamps, illustrated with Ilyushin aircraft and a vignette with Sergey Ilyushin's effigy with a line drawing of the Sturmovik in the background.

The vignette and the stamp featuring the Il-28, a twin engined medium bomber, extensively used by the countries of the Warsaw pact, and which was taken out of service in the 80s of lat century, due to obsolescence. 

- Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov (1919-2013) was the father of what I believe must be  the most produced assault rifle ever in the world, the ubiquitous AK-47 Kalashnikov, which although not having seen service in the second world war, since it only became operational in 1947, has been widely used in all parts of the world ever since, in regular and mercenary armies.

On 24OCT2014, Ruspost issued the 15 Ruble stamp which can be seen on the cover, honouring the memory of  Mikhail Kalashnikov.

- According to Wikipedia. Goodnight Little Ones (Spokoynoy nochi, malyshi!) is a children show that has been airing in Russian television since 1966. 

On 08DEC2023, Ruspost issued a four 20Ruble stamp set featuring heroes of the current iteration of the show, one of which can be seen on the cover. Of note is the fact that all the characters are depicted playing with their stamps or postcard collections.

The Postmark, as usual, hails from the city of Kaluga.