COVER N. 440 - FRANCE

Postmark: Service des Oblitérations Philatéliques 24-Boulazac 09.04.24

Posted on the 9th April received on the 11th April 2024

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One of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, stamp issue of La Poste in 2023. Really a "crime" of good taste :-). Un grand Merci, Roland.

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.

Postage is completed with two  0,10 € stamps of the Marianne L'engagée set, issued on 09NOV2018.

POSTCARD N.137 - CZECH REPUBLIC

Postcard sent on the 2nd April, received on the 11th April 2024

Postcard image: Svatobor watchtower and lodge, near Sušice
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Michal hits me again with  a nice postcard from one of the many treasures in the Czech republic, the Šumava mountains. Děkuju mockrát, Michal!

Following the watchtower of  Polednik, featured in postcard #131, Michal now sent me a card illustrated with a view of the  Svatobor watchtower, located near the town of Sušice, from which in can be reached in about one hour, hiking. 

The stone tower is 31.6 metres high,  its observation platform being located at 26 m from ground level.

The original tower was built in 1898, but it fell to the ground in 1934  as a consequence of structural damages suffered due to a fire in 1905. Three months after its collapse, the now existing tower was completed.

The tariff E stamp Michal used, was issued on 30NOV2021 and it is illustrated with the image of one of the iconic religious symbols of Prague, the Infant Jesus of Prague,  a wooden statue of the Child Jesus, whose origin can be traced back to 556, which can be seen in the Discalced Carmelite Church of Our Lady of Victories located in the Malá Strana (the lesser town) area of the city.

The postmark hails from the city of Ceske Budejovice.

POSTCARD N.136 - POLAND

Postcard sent on the 29th March, received on the 10th April 2024

Postcard image: Kudowa-Zdroj
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Kudowa-Zdroj is a Polish city located in the southwest part o the country, right on the border with the Czech Republic, famous for the mineral waters that have been used since the 16th century with therapeutic aims, especially for heart and circulatory ailments.

I  got this very nice card from Kudowa-Zdroj without knowing who was its sender, and at first I thought it was again an under cover operation of my Secret Santa last year, but no...😀 so here's the correction:

The ghost who walks went through Poland in one of his usual forays into foreign territory and kindly dropped a postcard addressed to myself at one of the local post offices. So danke sehr herr Phantom! Next time please sign it off 😀😀👍

Several Spa centres are featured on the images on the card. From left to right we have: 

- Zameczek sanatorium, dating from the 18th century;

- Teatr "Pod Blacha", a covered promenade area built in 1902;

- Verde Montana Hotel, a quite recent facility, dating of 2008;

- The square in front of Zameczek sanatorium;

-  The Polonia Sanatorium, which I would think would also date of the 18th century.

- Safran, Crocus sp, one of my favorite flowers, is featured in the 20 grosz definitive stamp of the flowers and fruits series,  issued on 06JUL2016.

- The "Priorytetowy S" tariff stamp, issued on 18JUN2023, celebrates the 550 years of Przeworsk Basilica, or Collegiate Basilica of Holy Spirit, which like its adjacent monastery of the Order of the Holy Sepulchr, dates back to 1393.

A nice stampmark celebrating the 650 years of Kudowa-Zdroj is also included on the back of the postcard.

COVER N. 439 - SRI LANKA

Postmark: Headquarters P. O. Colombo Mail 02.04.2024 

Posted on the 2nd April received on the 10th April 2024

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The last (for the time being, that is) cover from Ravindra I had on the "to post" stash. I can't really say how much I like these great covers with terrific stmps that Ravindra keeps sending.  Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravindra!

As part of the commemorative issue of World Wetlands day 2020, of which I had already written about a propos postcard #134, Sri Lanka Post also issued a souvenir sheet containing four of the ten 15 rupee stamps in the said issue, which Ravindra used on this particular cover.

The stamps are illustrated with paintings of  

- Xylocarpus granatum, the cannonball mangrove, a common mangrove with a wide distribution in Africa, Asia, Australasia and the Pacific islands.

- Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea, another 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.

- 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.)

- Aegiceras corniculatum, commonly known as black mangrove, another "Least Concern" species, that occurs in  India, South East Asia to southern China, New Guinea and Australia.

Postage was completed with two 50 rupee stamps part of a 10 same price stamp issue dating of 02FRB224.

The waterfalls on the stamps on the cover are  (l to r):

- Asupini Ella Waterfall, located in Aranayaka, this 30 m high waterfall collects the waters comming from the two sides of the Raksawa Mountain dropping them into the Maha river.

. Devathura ella Waterfall. The Devathura waterfalls are a group of three waterfalls located in Nuwara. with a total height of about 10 meters.

Once again the Postmarks indicates that the letter was posted in Colombo, Sri Lanka's economic Capital.

COVER N. 438 - SRI LANKA

Postmark: Headquarters P. O. Colombo Mail 09.03.2024 

Posted on the 9th March; received ....

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Another of Ravindra's amazing covers, always laden with beautiful stamps. Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravindra!

This time, the cover is embellished with the remaining stamps of the  20 stamp sheet issued on 03MAR2020, highlighting species endangered by illegal trade, of which he had already kindly sent me half the set, on cover #335.

Stamps, left to right;  top to botom:_

Red Pencil Urchin (Heterocentrotus mammillatus)

A sea urchin from the Indo-Pacific region, with tubular spikes, rounded to triangular in cross section and up to 10 cm long, which are often collected as souvenirs...

Giant Snakehead (Channa ara)

A freshwater species of the Channidae family, occuring in Sri Lanka  primarily in deep pools in the Mahaweli River and its tributaries. 

Acavus haemastoma

Endemic to Sri lanka, this land snail of the Acavidae family has a stripped shell wich can reach 38–46 mm in diameter.

Henckelia moonii

A perennial, of the Gesneriaceae family, original from central Sri Lanka which produces oversized flowers in comparison to the size of the plant itself.

Dumbara Agama (Cophotis dumbara)

A critically endangered iguanian lizard endemic to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Ornamental Tarantula (Poecilotheria fasciata)

A member of the Theraphosidae (tarantulas) family, endemic to central Sri Lanka, whose females can grow up to 6 - 7 cm. The species is under pressure due to loos of habitat, pesticides and illegal trade.

Gunasekara's Shieldtail (Rhinophis gunasekarai)

A  non-venomous shield-tail snake, endemic to central Sri Lanka

Loxococcus rupicola

A critically endangered palm tree, due to habitat loss, which is the only species of  its genus, and endemic to Sri Lanka.

Common Thresher (Alopias vulpinus)

A shark with a worldwide distribution, but with "vulnerable" conservation status, so much so that it is a species which we share with Sri Lanka. 😀

Yellow Seahorse (Hippocampus kuda)

Another creature of "Vulnerable" IUCN conservation status. This rather large sea horse, which can grow up to 30 cm long - has a rather comprehensivce distribution: "Persian Gulf to Southeast Asia, Australia, Japan, and several Pacific islands including Hawaii, and is also found the eastern coast of Africa from Tanzania to South Africa, including the Indo-Pacific region ranging from the northwest Indian Ocean to the central areas of the Pacific Ocean. The majority of H. kuda populates the Chinese coast down to Australia" (in wikipedia)

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

 

50 years ago today, a carnation bloomed out of the barrel of a machinegun. 

I was 14 at the time and on that same day, as the military action successfully progressed and the people took to the streets, I realised I would not have to go to war... a thought that was becoming a rather present preoccupation, since at 17, in just three years time, I would have to "give my name to the military" as the act of registration for compulsory military service was named.

50 years after, I'm still haunted by the remembrance of the parade at  Lisbon's Praça do Comércio each year, on the 10th June, and the images of the young orphans, awkwardly dressed in their father's uniform, being presented with a medal, a posthumous medal,...

I owe it to those that made this possible! I owe it to those that resisted in times of oppression and tyranny, I owe it to those that gave all they could give, even life, so that I could today write these simple lines.

I now live in a country that in spite of its many contradictions and idiosyncrasies is ruled by the most righteous of the rules, the Rule of Law, thanks to them. I'll never forget it.

Obrigado!

After writing these notes, it came to my knowledge that France's President, Emanuel Macron, had published a note on YouTube which I cannot resist incorporating here, for all its meaning. Democracy is about this, Europe is about this: Respect, Solidarity, Common grounds in spite of differences.

Merci, la France; Merci, Président Macron.

COVER N. 436/437 - SOUTH KOREA

Postmark: First day of issue 22.03.2024 

Posted on the 22nd March; received on the  9th April 2024

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Two very nicely laid out FDCs from Korea, with four of the six 520 won se-tenant stamps that replicate the "Folding Screen of King Heonjong’s Wedding Celebration", issued on 20MAR2024.

 매우 감사합니다 Jung Min!

I, of course, know nothing about King Heonjong, so I hopped to Korea Post's website, where I learned that the scene depicted in the amazing silk screen, the royal wedding of King Heonjong to Queen Hyojeong, took place in 1844, during the Joseon Dinasty, Korea's longest and last.

One can but marvel at the amount of detail included in the painted silk panels of the screen, which, according to the issue notes, are painted in the traditional Cheonggoksansu technique. At a time when photography was still in its infancy, such immense amount of interesting detail is also an insight into the ways and uses of the time, what gives a totally new dimension to the already high value of the screen as an exceptional work of decorative art.

COVER N. 435 - BRASIL

Postmark: AC Central de S. Paulo SE/SPM 25.03.2024 

Posted on the 25th March; received on the 10th April 2024

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A large envelope with some nice stamps inside and some nice stamps outside... what's not to like?

Muito obrigado Luis! É sempre um prazer enorme receber  correspondência que sabemos ter aquele gostinho especial da língua que partilhamos. Um grande abraço! Resposta em breve.

I have written about it here before. Markets are one of those places that I cannot do without visiting when travelling abroad, for they tell a whole story about a country or at least a region in terms not only of the products being offered there to consumers, but also in the way things are organised, the shoppers, the sellers, the interactions between them both and with each other, the smells, the colours, the hustle and bustle, not forgetting the buildings themselves, often real works of functional art...

It is therefore not surprising at all that they should be considered for a philatelic issue, such as the one put out by Correios do Brasil on 07SEP2023, comprising five stamps of the same face value (2,45 Reais) dedicated to the Central Markets of Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Belo Horizonte, Goiânia and Manaus.

The first three I mentioned were used by Luis on this cover and I really like the beautiful watercolours of the illustrations.

From what I gathered on the internet, the Serra do Mar railway, operated by Serra Verde Express  is a 130 years old train service  between Curitiba and Morretes, that takes the traveller through  rather scenic expanses of preserved  Atlantic forest,  along a 110 km railway stretch, completed in about three hours.

 On 26JUL2016, Correios do Brasil issued a four 1º Porte de Carta tariff (Domestic, up to 20g)  se-tenant stamp set dedicated to the Serra do Mar railway. The photos on the stamps illustrate several landmarks of the railway such as the Murumbi range (on the stamp on the cover), the Carvalho and the Saint John Bridge viaducts, and the train compositions themselves. 

I believe that the A C initials in the postmark stand for Agência Central, although I still don't know what the SE/SPM initials refer to.

COVER N. 434 - CZECH REPUBLIC

Postmark: Rychnov nad Kněžnou 30.03.2024 

Posted on the 30th March; received on the 5th April 2024

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The Phantom flies Bata, it seems, but he does is in great style... a Lockheed Electra, proof that beauty is not a subject of gravity... provided you are not Amelia Earhart, who sadly lost her life in one of these, when trying to circumnavigate the globe.

Danke sehr, Alex. I really appreciate you going through the trouble of getting this cover for me.

Three siblings of the eight generation of a shoemaker family from the city of Zlin in what was then Czechoslovakia  would, in 1894, revolutionise the shoemaking industry, with the creation of a small 10 employee company that  in time would evolve into an immense industrial conglomerate, with interests in such diverse areas as  publishing or air and sea transport, but always solidly anchored in what was its initial area of activity: shoemaking.

Bata´s success (the initial 10 workers were already 600 by 1912)  can also be regarded as the result of a daring use of technologies and work organisation never before tested in shoemaking industry. An example of this can be seen in the fact that Bata, it seems, was first in introducing steam driven shoemaking machines, for instance.

On par with the attention to processes that allowed the company to grow, Bata's workforce also benefited from some measures of what is now called corporate social responsibility like housing, schools, access to health care, sports or leisure facilities, which in the corporate universe of the early 20th century was not that commonplace (and still isn’t, in many places….)

Due to the second world war and the geopolitical order that ensued from then on, the company went through various ups and downs, nationalisation, relocations, atc. But be it as it may, the company founded by Tomáš, Anna and Antonín Baťa still survives to this day, employing some 32,000 workers in 70 countries in the 5 continents,  its headquarters being located in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

Amongst its many innovative business approaches, Bata is also to be credited with the invention of business aviation when, in 1932, a Lockheed Electra painted in  the colours of the company was put to service to ferry  company executives and highly skilled workers to factories of the group in need of technical assistance or to send replacement parts for production line machinery.

This aircraft, which itself has an interesting operational history, having been used by the RAF and RCAF during the second world war, still survives today, in flying conditions after undergoing full restoration in the US,  being based at, Točná Airport, Prague.

On 04SEP2019,  Česká pošta  issued the two tariff E (Europe up to 50g)  self-adhesive stamps Alex used on this nice cover. One of them, printed in colour, depicts Electra OK-CTB flying (Bata also owned OK-CTA, which crashed in 1937, on which Jan Bata initiated a round the world business promotion flight, which he concluded in OK-CTB) while the other, in black and white, depicts presumably the same aircraft, one of its engines being started. 

The cover also includes a stamp mark from  Massarykova Chata, a winter and mountain sports lodge in  Deštne village, Czech Republic.

The postmark hails from Rychnov nad Kněžnou, a city in North-eastern Bohemia. 

COVER N. 433 - SINGAPORE

Postmark: "...llerton" Singapore 21.03.2024 

Posted on the 21st March; received on the 3rd April 2024

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Further to the postcard from Singapore, Ravindra also kindly sent me a cover with a joint issue, Singapore-SriLanka, both countries having established formal relations on the 27th of July 1970.

Coral reefs and mangroves, two delicate habitats that both countries enjoy and hopefully protect to the best of their possibilities.

The two 1.4 Dollar stamps, also issued in a souvenir sheet,  illustrated with beautiful photographs of a reef in Singapore and a mangrove swamp in Sri Lanka, saw the light of day on 27JUL2021.

Incidentally, and as a curious note, in 2021 there was also a joint Portugal-Sri Lanka issue.

Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravindra!

 POSTCARD N.135 - SINGAPORE

Postcard sent on the 21st March, received on the 3rd April 2024

Postcard image: Orchids grown in Singapore
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Orchids are my favourite flowers, albeit I do much prefer the wild type, not the also amazingly beautiful hybrids that we see in flower stands, which in spite of the unquestionable beauty always look a bit artificial to me.

Anyway collecting orchids is like collecting stamps... the more tye better, they say and there is even cross pollination between the two, since orchids are also a popular philatelic theme (and I have to admit being very happy whenever an orchid stamp crosses my way).

Ravindra was in Singapore and sent me a very nice orchid postcard, with... orchid stamps, what a nice surprise! Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravindra!

Ornamental orchids are a huge business, and either for business or pure enjoyment reasons there is a large worldwide community enthralled by the beauty of orchids, that is keen to share experiences and knowledge as a way of fostering knowledge, as expressed in the Mission statement of the World Orchid Conference Trust: "to encourage and improve the science, education, conservation, art, and practice of horticulture as related to the Orchidaceae..."

The 20th WOC conference took place in Singapore in 2011. On the occasion Singapore Post issued a five stamp set (1st local; 45; 65; 80 cent; 2 Dollars) each value being illustrated with a beautiful watercolour of a specific orchid. The "1st local" tariff stamp Ravindra used on this postcard showcases the Vanda Miss Joaquim, the national flower of Singapore, a naturally occurring hybrid, resulting from cross pollination between Papilionanthe teres (Vanda teres) and Papilionanthe hookeriana (Vanda hookeriana).

The pictoric postmark although quite nice is nor very clear and I can only read "...llerton", as the place of dispatch.

 COVER N. 432 - ICELAND

Postmark: Kópavogur Islandpóstur 14.03.2024 

Posted on the 14th March; received on the 30th March 2024

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Iceland, the land where trees were swapped by waterfalls, black crystal beaches, permanent white, lava blankets, aggressive vulcanoes... all of an immense beauty, but all of them a reminder that nature is the king, and we, Man, the subjects.

Takk fyrir, Steinunn.

On May 2020  Iceland Post informed that they would no longer issue stamps, in order to cut back expenses. Luckily they did not live to their word :-) and last year a four stamp set was issued to celebrate the 150 years of the first Iceland stamp.

Let's hope this is a recurring trend for I, for one, can always do with beautiful flora stamps as the ones on this cover, especially that  of the common seal (Phoca vituylina) issued on 28JAN2010 as part of a 2 stamp set (5 and 220 Króna) dedicated to Seals.

The 50g (I presume this to be used on domestic letters up to 50 grams) is a single stamp issue, dated of 29OCT2020, and it features a photograph of a mink (Mustela vison).

The postmark hails from the city of Kópavogur, Iceland's second most populated town, part of the greater Reykjavik region.

COVER N. 431 - JAPAN

Postmark: Tokyo Japan 06.03.2024 

Posted on the 6th March; received on the 26th March 2024

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An FDC from the Land of the Rising Sun, thanks to the good offices of a fellow member of the LCC.  Arigato Ban-No!

I read somewhere on the internet that the "My Journey" stamp series, now on its 9th iteration, try to mirror the point of view of a traveller visiting places in Japan, hence the depiction not only of landmarks from a given destination, but also habits, gastronomy, local products, etc.

For the two 2024 sets, comprising ten 63 Yen and  ten 84 Yen  self-adhesive stamps, both issued in minisheet form on 06MAR2024, the destination chosen for the journey was Shikoku Island, the smallest of the main four islands of the Japanese Archipelago, famous for being the place of a peregrination that takes the pilgrim on an 88 temple tour. 

Both stamps used by Ban-No feature bridge images, that on the 63 Yen stamp being the Iya Kazura Bridge,  while the Seto Oashi Bridge takes centre stage on the  84 Yen stamp. 

The  Iya Kazura Bridge is one of 13 vine suspension bridges that were once used by villagers to cross the Iya river valley . Of these only three survive today.

The Seto Oashi Bridge is in fact a double decked bridge system connecting the  Honshū and Shikoku islands, across five small islands along the way. Inaugurated in 1988, the bridge system has a total lenght of 13,1 km.

further to the First day postmark, depicting some traditional food from the Shikoku rfeghion, I prfesume, the cover carries a regular day postmark, issued at Tokyo.

 COVER N. 430 - GERMANY

Postmark: Wriezen 16269 19.03.2024 

Posted on the 19th March; received on the 26th March 2024

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A registered cover from Germany, with a bunch of nice stamps on it. Danke Sehr, Siegward.

A I write these lines news are that an attack has been launched from Iran against Israel in retaliation for Israel's attack in Syria....mad people rule the world, these days, it seems....better stick to stamps, at least on one of them  there is the face of someone  who won his place in immortality for noble and completely opposite reasons to those that may reserve some sad paragraphs in future history books to some current day leaders....

Stamps, Left to right, Top to bottom

- The first long distance train service in Germany began operation in April 1839 with the completion of the Leipzig-Dresden railway, a route that also include Germany's first railway tunnel.

Commemorating the 175th anniversary of this fact, Deutsche Post issued on 03APR2014 the 1,45€ stamp on the cover, which bears an illustration of a train passing over the Dresden-Trachau viaduct with the caption "175 jahre deutsche Ferneisenbahn Leipzig - Dresden" (175 years of the German long distance railway Leipzig - Dresden).

- Ludwig van Beethoven lived between 1770 and 1827. One cannot help but wonder how many more sublime pieces would have been written if.... but  we, Humanity, are so lucky to have all he left that asking for more would be pure gluttony, and this, we all know, is a deadly sin...:-)

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of the  author of what has become the European Union hymn, several postal administrations (not only European) have issued commemorative stamp emissions (and I'm pleased to acknowledge that Portugal also joined the chorus).

On 02JAN2020 Deutsche Post issued its homage to Beethoven in the form of a single 0,80 € stamp, also issued in souvenir sheet form.

- Culture is what is left after all the rubble has been cleared, for culture is what makes civilisations. Culture prevails no matter what. Art, in its many guises, is a liquid contributor to the culture of a group, a nation, a state, the whole humanity.

Vincent van Gogh, was born in a different country than that of Ludwig van Beethoven. For that, they are exponents of different national cultures, but, as we all know, they are much more than that; they both are inescapable  entries in the great history of Man.

Field of Poppies (1889), one of the artist's latest paintings, completed about one year before his sad demise in 1890, is currently preserved at Kunsthalle Bremen.

On 01JAN2020 deutsche Post issued the 1,55€ stamp on the cover illustrated with Van Gogh's painting, as part of the series "Treasures of German Museums"

- The  Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the city's tallest inhabited building, built upon a former warehouse, and one of the world's most acoustically advanced concert halls, opened to the public on the 12th January 2017. Marking the occasion, Deutsche Post issued on 02JAN2017 the 1,45€ stamp on the cover.

- According to a definition on LIGO's (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) homepage "Gravitational waves are 'ripples' in space-time caused by some of the most violent and energetic processes in the Universe", these having been predicted by the usual suspect, who goes by tye name of  Albert Einstein.

On 07DEC2017, Deutsche Post issued a two stamp set  (45 and 70 Euro cents) dedicated to Astrophysics. The companion to the Gravitational waves stamp on the cover is dedicated to the Gaia space observatory,  a spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency in 2013, tasked with the mission of completing the most extensive  space catalogue ever, comprising about 1 billion astronomical objects like stars, planets, comets, asteroids, quasars etc.

The postmark originated in the city of Wriezen, in the State of Brandenburg, near the border with Poland.

COVER N. 429 - GERMANY

Postmark: Scheinfeld 91443 19.03.2024 

Posted on the 19th March; received on the 22nd March 2024

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A request for help with getting a postmark..... that's one of the joys of being "exposed" here with my little blog: just as I every now and then ask people to help me with a stamp or a postmark, I also sporadically get the same type of requests from other collectors.

I always do my best to live up to their expectations. After all I'll be doing for others what I love to have others do for me and this is quite an axiomatic way of understanding our place in this ellipsoidal globe of ours....

What's more, Wolf-Peter's request came in a nice cartoon themed cover, so how could anyone say no?  😀

Children’s cartoons are a great way to introduce little ones to reading, since their characters they most times benefit from such popularity that they are multi-platform products. 

I remember when my daughters were  in their infancy I would coach them through the first letters with such classics as the three little pigs and the bad wolf, snow white and the 7 dwarves, Mickey, Donald, the cookie monster, road runner, Pepe le Pew, Asterix, just to name a few, since they knew the characters from TV so they felt connected to them and to what I was trying to pass on to them.

Of course I too had a good time reading or re-reading the stories so, all in all, it was a win-win situation, to put it using today's lingo.

I have never came across Pumuckl, the hero on the stamp on the left side of the cover, though.  Resorting to Wikipedia, I read it was the creation of German writer Ellis Kaut (1920-2015) and that it started as a radio series in 1961, Pumuckl being a Kobold ( a goblin) who can only be seen by the person he lives with, Eder, a carpenter.

The radio series grew very popular from its origins in the 60s of last century  and originated books, TV series, a musical and films.

The Smurfs (Schlumpfe in German or Schtroumpfs in the original Belgium French) are a totally different matter since even before my oldest daughter was born they were already a common household name here. In fact, I remeber my wife and I buying a huge stuffed strumpf to decorate the soon to be occupied baby's room. Later on, this would be joined by Susaninha, a little stuffed she strumpf my little daughter loved so much.....oh... I'm getting soft here.... 😀

Les Schtroumpfs were the brainchild of  Belgium author Pierre Culiford, (1928—1992), who signed his works as  Peyo. 

The two stamp set on the cover dedicated to children’s cartoons was issued by Deutsche Post on 01SEP2022

The Postmark hails from Scheinfeld, a city in the State of  Bavaria.

COVER N. 430 - FRANCE

Postmark:  Service des Oblitérations Philatéliques 24 - Boulazac - 21.03.2024 

Posted on the 21st March; received on the 25th March 2024

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Fast service on this last Cover I received from France, Posted in France on a Thursday an received at my place in Portugal on the very next Monday.... all that and no double obliteration on the stamps... Excellent service.

In turn, on the following day, I received a  cover I had sent to the S. Miguel, in the Azores, to get it cancelled with a commemorative postmark issued on the 13th September..... since I sent the cover at least a week before that date, one can say it took a while 😀. I had already completely forgotten about it.  In truth what really matters is that I got it back and it is now in my collection, but it is not the first time that philatelic mail from the Azores takes a bit of time to get back to me. Blame it on the anticyclone...😀

The Olympic Games of the XXXIII Olympiad will take place in Paris between 26 July and 11 August, this year. 

In a world so deeply troubled by outrageous conflicts that bring out the worst in Man in several places, like Sudan, Ukraine, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Mali, Central-African Republic,  Yemen; Somalia; Afghanistan (and I am surely forgetting some...) let's hope that participating athletes live up to the Games' motto of "Citius, Altius, Fortius", showing that human energies can be directed at much more positive things than inflicting pain and suffering on your next door neighbour.

Not that it has been issued recently, but the 1,30 € stamp featuring a kayakist is a harbinger of what is to be expected this year in letters from France: lots of sport and Olympic games related stamps, I presume.

This particular stamp was issued in 2019 as part of a 6 1,30€ stamp circular minisheet, dedicated to sports. Besides the Kayakist the set comprised stamps highlighting Volleyball, Soccer, Ring hockey; table tennis and adapted basketball.

The 0,66 € stamp illustrated with an image of the Chinese city of Nanking, was issued on 27MAR2016 and is part of a two stamp joint issue with China. The companion stamp o  the set, with a face value of 0,98 €, featured an iconic view of the city of lights, with Notre Dame Cathedral dead centre behind  the  "Pont de la Tournelle" and "Pont de L'Archevêché".

COVER N. 429 - CHINA

Postmark: ? 04.02.2024 

Posted on the 2nd February; received on the 19th March 2024

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Once again I receive a beautifully and carefully prepared airmail envelope from China, embellished not only with a full set of stamps but also with a most beautiful handwriting. 谢谢, Xu!

The Yangtzi River Delta Region is one of  China's most economically vibrant regions, being responsible for about 1/4 of the country's GDP.  

With the aim of maximizing its role as the country's top economic driver, the integrated development of the region was awarded national strategy status  in November 2018, under the framework of the Regional Integrated Development Plan for the Yangtze River Delta, aiming to  promote integrated regional development on the principles of “coordinated development”, “joint protection of a green environment”, “win win strategy of opening up”, and “sharing the fruits of development in people’s livelihood”

Five years after the decision its fruits seem to be ripping, with the region's GDP increasing at an average annual rate of 5.5% , Shangai being the locomotive pulling the development train.

On 01DEC2023, China Post issued  the set of four 1,20 Yuan stamps dedicated to the Regional Integrated Development Plan for the Yangtze River Delta, which can be seen on the cover.

From left to right, the illustration in the stamps highlight some strategic aims of the Plan, namely  "High-Level Collaboration Among Companies"; "Integration of Public Service Provisions"; "Science and Technology Industries" and "Protection of the Ecological Environment".

COVER N. 428 - BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES - PITCAIRN

Postmark: Pitcairn Islands Post Office 27.12.2023 

Posted on the 27th December 2023; received on the 18th March 2024

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Pitcairn islands… 

Lost in the pacific, its closest neighbour, French Polynesia, lying some 700 km to the West, Pitcairn Island, a volcanic stretch of land of with an area of about 5 km2, became a British colony in 1838. About a century later, the territory grew in size to reach the current 47 km2 with the annexation into the colony of three other deserted islands  Henderson, Ducie and Oeno.

Pitcairn is one of those places whose remoteness and isolation would probably prevent it spilling into everybody’s atlases, if truly extraordinary circumstances would not ensure it  becoming one of those name’s which sound at least familiar, even if why this is so may be open to perennial doubt.

Enter Marlon Brando (some three decades after Clark Gable, that is…) playing the role of Fletcher Christian, the young lieutenant who, in 1790, led the mutiny on Her Majesty’s Ship Bounty,  commanded by Captain William Bligh…. And in all truth who wouldn’t mutiny at the prospect of months and months of strict navy discipline at sea, after having tasted the sweet venom in Tahiti… paradise… of all places….

And so Pitcairn became a familiar name, but not always for the best of reasons…. Child abuse, incest.... the ways of tradition, it was argued.... but not all traditions are worth keeping, though....

Be it as it is, Pitcairn is not an easy place to live it. In 2021, it's total resident population numbered 47 people, and weather permitting there is a boat coming from New Zealand every fortnight, it seems.... Not the best place to forget something in your last trip to the supermarket....

Thanks a lot, Mr. Phantom, for letting me add this beautiful cover and another uncommon origin to my collection. Danke sehr Alex!

Lionfish  (Pterois sp.) are as beautiful as deadly and an ever growing nuissance due to its invasise character exponetiated by global warming. Themselves being top predators, because of their toxicity they have no known predators and reproduce rather constantly throughout the year, their distribution area having in later years expanded to include Southeast U.S. and Caribbean coastal waters, the coast of brazil and even the Mediterranean.

The solution seems to be a culinary one... for even if the spikes are deadly, the flesh is quite tasty, it is said, and as long as fishing them helps keep things in balance "under the sea", I have nothing against a good fillet of Lionfish "au Meunier"....

The beautiful souvenir sheet featuring three 2 NZ Dollars stamps graced with images of the Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans) was issued on 26FEB2015.

The very neat and clear postmark as issued at the only Post Office in town, I presume, located, also prsumably, in Adamstown, the only town in Pitcairn.