POSTCARD N.175 - UKRAINE

Postcard sent on the 20th November 2024, received on the 30th January 2025.

Postcard image: Irpin, the City of Heroes.  The Central House of Culture 

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The Russian aggression on its neighbour drags on, in a relentless war of attrition that sadly brings to mind the ferocious lunacy of the western front of WW1...countless lives, sufferance, destruction, what for?

I read it on the news that V. Putin  is quoted as saying that that if  D. Trump (who would end it in 24 hours, both before and after his coming to office, of course...) had been in power in 2022, the war would never had started... How come, then? Would the so called Ukrainian Nazis need no denazification then? 

Anyway, today I got a rather battered postcard from Alex from the Ukraine which was hand dated of last August.

For some reason, not hard to understand, for the postmark hails from Slovyansk, in the Donbas region, a place that has suffered badly the burden of the despicable aggression, the cancellation is dated of the 20th November, 

Before arriving at my letterbox it also got some heavy rain on it, for it shows clear signs of having been affected by water, but this could and probably did happen very recently for a letter I had mailed myself three days ago also arrived totally destroyed by water. Blame it on the ongoing storms that have been affecting Europe, because of climate change, that Chinese hoax....

Thanks Alex. I'm very happy to have this postcard on my collection which again bears testimony to the resilience of the valiant Ukrainian civil servants that make the country go on, in spite of all the hardship impinged upon them. Heroes, all of them!

The photo on the postcard is that of the Central House of Culture in Irpin, built in 1954 and clearly an important military target such as all the civilian institutions and homes that the Russian have destroyed since the 25th February 2022, for it was heavily shelled by artillery fire on 17 March 2022, barely one month after the beginning of the invasion.

As far as I could read, in 2023, protective works were carried out in order to minimize the consequences of exposure to winter of the damaged areas of the building, and I hope that it may sometime in the near future be fully recuperated and us for its  peaceful purpose.

On 23JAN2022, just about one month from the start of the shameful Russian occupation, Ukrapost issued the "F" tariff stamp on the top right of the postcard, dedicated to the 2022 Benjing Winter Olympics.

The Ukraine participated on this olympiad with a team of 45 athletes, competing in 12 disciplines.

 Oleksandr Abramenko won the only Ukranian medal: silver in thye Men's aerials copetition in Freestyle skiing.

I cannot find any indication as to the lion's head on the stamp, which was also used on a comemorative coin issued by the Ukraine mint, but statues of guarding lions are quite common in China, so there's probably a connection here.

For three years starting in 2018, Ukraposta issued a series of 3 beautifully illustrated minisheets with stamps dedicated to the Alphabet, each stamp being illustrated with a letter and a an object presumably begining with this particualr character.

The eleven stamps on the 2020 minisheet, issued on 12SEP2020, had each a face value of 9 Ukrainian hryvnia. The stamp on the postcard is illsutrated with a pair of boots, чоботи in  Ukranian.

On 05JUL2019 Ukraposta issued a set of five 8 Ukrainian hryvnia in the series The Beauty and Greatness of Ukraine  dedicated to the Donetsk Region.  The stamp dedicated to the Stone tombs reserve, near the town of  Nazarivka, in the Mariupol region, a nature reserve established on April 5, 1927. Sadly the occupier installed a military base in the reserve, I read... not good news for conservation, I fear.

There are two postmarks 0on the card, One of  Slovyasnk and the one on the upper right corner which calims "Донбас - це Украіна" (Donbas is Ukraine).

POSTCARD N.174 - SRI LANKA

Postcard sent on the 20th January, received on the 28th January 2025.

Postcard image: The Lion's paws at Sigiriya 

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The entrance to the  royal palace of Sigiria, Sri Lanka's capital in the 5th century, and a current UNESCO World Heritage Site,  sitting atop what is known as the lion rock, was made through a stairway that penetrated the monumental head of a brick sculpted lion.

Today, all that remains of this huge sculpture are the lion's paws, the subject of this rather nice card Ravindra set me.  Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravi! I hope to see in loco one day, but uuntil that time comes, your nice postcards are a great apetiser... :-).

The Ancient city of Sigiriya, is one of the eight UNESCO declared World Heritage Sites, six of cultural and two of natural nature.

As I mentioned a propos cover #385, The top of the lion mountain was chosen by King Kashyapa on the late 5th century as the place to erect  Sri Lanka's capital, something that  could only be attributed to the facility in defending it from any ill intended creature, be it human or animal, since  the site is a huge rock massive, protruding from the forest below, which makes it quite difficult to reach or attack from below.

In fact, it turns out that  Kashyapa was a parricide and he build his palace on top of what is known as the Lion Mountain, so as to defend himself from the vengeance of his brother, who, nonetheless, succeeded in defeating him, Kashyapa committing suicide afterwards.

After this episode, the site was progressively abandoned, having served as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century.

The site was declared of WHS importance in 1982, UNESCO highlighting the fact that the frescoes existing on the site inaugurated a style which endured many centuries, and also that the poems inscribed on the rock walls bi visitors, known as Sigiri graffiti, are among the most ancient texts in Sinhalese language.

The 50 rupee stamp is part of a set of four  issued (2 x 50 + 2 x 110 rupee) on 15JUN2023, dedicated to the Sigiriya site, all illustrated with aerial views of it, and bearing the legends the legends “Sigiryia”, “World Heritage Sites Sri Lanka” as well as the UNESCO logo.

The 20 rupee stamp is part of a large set of butterfly themed stamps issued on 01DEC2022, and it depicts a Pale Ceylon line blue (Nacaduba sinhala), a member of the Lycaenidae family, endemic to Ceylon.

COVER N. 555 - FRANCE

Postmark: Nouvel An Chinois, Année du serpent Paris la Poste 1er Jour 19.01.2025

Posted on the 19th January; Received on the 22nd January 2025

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Recently, there was a comedy serial on Portuguese TV pretty well written, something which is not always (if not seldom) the case, given that humour goes hand in hand with intelligence and wit, therefore being a rather scarce commodity (proof of this being the legions of pretence and pretentious stand-up comedians that seem to sprout like mushrooms these days, sharing with their appreciative public the obvious lack of the few attributes I just mentioned...).

One of the lines that I will not forget was something which I had never heard before formulated as such, although it is possible that the script writers had stolen it from popular wisdom: "In life there are but two certainties: death and two cups of water for one of rice."

Well, true as it might be, I think that such a basilar axiom bears reformulation, for in life there are in fact but three certainties: death, two cups of water for one of rice and the fact that day one of the new year comes always after the last day of the year gone by... 

Proof of this is the very nice Chinese new year cover that I received today, and which now joins my collection allowing me to have covers for the last three years of this annual series. Un grand merci, Roland!

I rather like the colours and the image of the serpent on the stamp and the same goes to the very nice celebratory postmark.

Not being versed in the secrets of the Chinese Zodiac, I took a peep where I thought it would be obvious to look for some information and I landed on the South China Morning Post where I could read that… 

…"In many Western countries, snakes have long been associated with evil and temptation. However, in China, snakes hold a more complex and varied symbolism. They are simultaneously associated with harvest, procreation, spirituality, and good fortune, as well as cunning, evil, threat, and terror."

hmmm... I don't know about the first part of the sentence , but for the part beginning with cunning, I am sure that there are more than a few people out there on whom I think the sign would fit like a glove ...

The Chinese new year will begin on the 29th January. Celebrating this fact La Poste, continuing the series initiated in 2019, the year of the Pig, issued on 18JAN2025 the usual two stamps (domestic and international) on mini-sheets of 5 stamps each, dedicated to the theme. The international service stamp (2.10 €, what represents an increase of approximately 7% in the price of the service vis-à-vis last year's price of 1.96 €) was used on this cover, First Day postmarked in Paris.

COVER N. 554 - GEORGIA

Postmark: Georgia Tiblisi 15.01.2025

Posted on the 15th January; Received on the 22nd January 2025

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Georgia. The country which has been on the news quite often lately, because of the huge pro-democracy and pro-Europe demonstrations following political decisions by the government, whose legitimacy is also questioned, that were considered to tip the scales down to the side of its imperialist and bellicist neighbour...

Think of it as a confrontation between two of the country's children: Joseph Stalin and Khatia Buniatishvili... I, for one, know who I would vote for...

The Phantom was again on the march through the Caucasus, it seems, for a letter from him, postmarked from Georgia's Capital, Tiblisi,  dropped into my (rather humid, unfortunately) letterbox today. Danke sehr, Alex!

Again stamps open my eyes to the best man can produce. I had never heard of Lado Gudiashvili, I think. But a quick search on the internet yielded images of absolute beauty in a style that, to me, looks like an amalgamation of much of the best the 20th century had to offer on canvas, from Modigliani to Picasso, from Souza-Cardoso to Rivera.

Lado Gudiashvili (1896 - 1980) first studied painting in Georgia but as many an  aspiring painter of the early 20th century fulfilled the dream of going to Paris, where he arrived in 1919 and where he'd stay until 1926 perfecting his art, until his return to Georgia, then part of the Soviet Union.

There, confined within the official straightjacket of Social Realism, he developed a flair for fantasy and myths as a creative escape to the imposed norm.

In 1946, on request by the Catholicos patriarch, he started a set of frescoes  on the inside of a  church in Tiblisi, a commission which would be halted before being completed and which would grant him the expulsion from the Academy of Arts and the Union of Painters, in 1948, under the accusation of being a formalist...freedom of speech and creation at its best….

On 27JAN2020, Georgia Post issued the single 3 Lari stamp souvenir sheet, of which three were used on this cover. The stamp features a photograph of the painter with the legend Georgian Outstanding Figure below his name.

As a curious note, it should be noted that the stamp is labelled as a 2019 issue although it was only officially circulated as of January 2020…

COVER N. 553 - BRUNEI

Postmark: Bandar Seri Begawan Brunei Darussalam 04.11.2024

Posted on the 4th November 2024; Received on the 17th January 2025

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Another country joins the fold, again through the generous and kind action of one of the most active supporters of this humble blog, my friend the Flying Dutchman. I am truly indebted to you Eric for again making sure my letterbox is the opposite of a Pandora box... a constant source of pleasure and bewilderment. Muito Obrigado, Eric!

Brunei, a tiny but immensely rich state led by an absolute monarch under a mix of common and sharia law... the man that celebrated his 50th birthday with free for all  Michael Jackson concerts and at some point advocated death by stoning for homosexuals...

Oh this world of ours is a strange place and the problem is that it keeps getting stranger, as money more and more makes the world go round.....

Oil is the source of all the wealth for the tiny Sultanate, independent form the UK, the former colonial power, since 1984, occupying a tiny area of 5,765 km2 in the huge island of Borneo, which is mostly divided between Malasya and Indonesia. 

On a positive note, it should be acknowledged that the country ranks very high in the Human Development Index, with free or highly subsidised housing, health and education being provided to its citizens, what does indeed prove that some of the national wealth has been duly transferred too where it matters most.

UNESCO proclaimed 1979 as the International Year of the Child as a way to draw the attention of the world to the problems that children all over the planet are confronted with.... about time UNESCO does it again, I guess, though no one in the most powerful states in the world seem to give a damn about the UN these days....

Brunei, a member of the UN since the year of its independence, 1984, issued on 14JUN1979, a two stamp set (10 sen; 1 Dollar) celebrating this proclamation.

The one dollar stamp was used on this cover, being illustrated with the logo of the International Year and as in all its stamps, following the practice of the former colonial power, the effigy of its Monarch.

COVER N. 552 - TUNISIA

Postmark: Le Bardo 04.11.2024

Posted on the 4th November 2024; Received on the 15th January 2025

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It has been a while since I received a cover from Tunisia, so today I had the pleasant surprise of getting one in my letterbox. Un grand Merci, Mohamed.

A great and diverse collection of stamps on this nice cover, embellished with a Season's garland topped by some snow, something which one would not immediately associate with the northern African country, although, as far as I could read, the white flakes are not that an uncommon sight in the mountains of the Tunisian North West.

Left to right:

2003 was declared the National Year of the Book in Tunisia. Celebrating this fact, Poste Tunis on 23APR2023 issued a 390 milim stamp featuring an open book from which all sorts of characters emanate, in a clear allegory of the power of the humble book as a vector for culture and development.

On 21OCT2000 Tunis Poste issue a five stamp set (110; 200; 2 x 250; 500 milim) themed on Flowers. One of the 250 milim stamps, illustrated with a beautiful ceramic  vase graced with a bouquet of all the flowers that are represented in this particular issue, features on the cover. 

The desert Rose, is an amazing  barite or gypsum crystal and sand formation which is quite common in Tunisia around the area of the Chott el Djerid salt lake. Although fragile these formations if carefully protected from bumps and will last forever .

This peculiar formation was chosen to illustrate the 250 milim stamp issued on 29NOV1997, on the cover.

Raptors of Tunisia was the theme chosen for a four stamp set (2 x 0,75; 0,9 and 4 Dinar) issued on 26SEP2022. The 0,9 dinar stamp on the cover is illustrated with an image of a Barn Owl (Tyto alba), a species that is distributed in almost all the African with the exception of the Sahara desert and all Europe.

The last stamp on the cover features another common sight in the place where I live: the Red Admiral, Vanessa Atalanta, a butterfly species of the Nymphalidae family. which has a very wide distribution, for it can be found in North Africa, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and island regions of Hawaii, and the Caribbean.

The postmark indicates that the letter was mailed at Le Bardo a city in the metropolitan area of Tunis, the country's capital.

COVER N. 551 - SRI LANKA

Postmark: Headquarters P. O. Colombo Mail 30.12.2024

Posted on the 30th December 2024; Received on the 7th January 2025

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Ravindra sends me a curious cover with three different  World Post Day commemorative stamps issued by Sri Lanka Post. Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravi!.

The Universal Postal Union was created in 1874, in Bern, Switzerland, where it has been headquartered ever since, as the General Postal Union, with a view to harmonising international mail delivery. As of  1878 it changed its name to the current designation, Union Postale Universelle or Universal Postal Union, and in 1948 it became a body of the United Nations.

During its 1969 congress held in Japan, the Indian delegation proposed that the anniversary day for the Union - the 9th of October - should thenceforth be declared World Post Day. 

The proposal having been accepted, the 9th of October has become synonymous with celebrating postal services and their relevance, all over the world.

Celebrating this date, many postal administrations issue yearly or episodically commemorative World Post Day stamps and /or cancellations.

Sri Lanka is one such case and on the cover we have examples of the last three issues dedicated to the theme, each in the form of one 50 Rupee stamp,  issued on the 9th October 2022 (Post for planet); 2023 (Together for trust) and 2024 ("150 years of enabling communication and empowering peoples across nations”).

As usual the postmark hails from the P.O. Headquaters at Colombo.

POSTCARD N.173 - SWITZERLAND - UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION

Postcard sent on the 30th December, received on the 7th January 2025.

Postcard image: Voeux Bonne Année 2025 

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A very interesting postcard with best wishes for the year. Mon grand Merci, Roland!

As I read on its website, Philapostel is the most important philatelic association in France. Sadly the website does not have any historical notes on the association itself (or maybe I could not find them), but from what I also managed to infer, the Association congregates chapters in several French regions.

This year, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Union Postale Universelle, UPU, Philapostel issued this very nice "Happy New Year" postcard, which was kindly sent me by Roland from Berne, the Swiss Capital and also the location of the UPU Headquarters.

Of special note is the 90 cents UPU Service Stamp, issued on 09SEP2003, highlighting the commitment to the improvement of service quality in postal services, symbolised by a stamped envelope encircled by the letter Q. 

Since 1957, through an agreement with the Swiss Post, UPU has sporadically issued service stamps, the last issue dating of 2012.

The 1 Franc stamp, on its side, is part of the two Swiss Post two stamp Christmas issue of 1006, which began to circulate on 21NOV2006.

The mechanical postmark which strangely  failed to hit the satmps celebrates the 175th anniversary of Swiss Post, which was celebrated ion 2024.

POSTCARD N.172 - MEXICO 

Postcard sent on the 27th November, received on the 6th January 2025.

Postcard image: Queen angelfish of the Cozumel reefs 

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The Phantom rides on.... and we keep track of him not by his footsteps, for it is well known that phantoms do not leave any physical trace of their passage, but by cards and letters that drop by some time later.... that is the way of the ethereal dimension in which the Ghost that Walks moves.... indeed... he moves in a mysterious way...

Danke Sehr, Alex, and I hope you had a great time in Mexico.

Cozumel is an island in the Mexican caribbean, famous for its reefs, which make it a diver's paradise, judging by the colourful angelfish that takes the centre stage in the postcard.

The Queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris) is a typical dweller of the coral reefs bathed by the warm waters of  western Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico down to the lower tip of the Brazilian East coast., being an highly prized species for large aquaria, since it can grow up to 45 cm in length.

It is well known that armed violence is something which Mexico has been unfortunately obliged to fight. 

One of the latest strategies to this end is a campaign implemented by the Mexican Government, entitled "Si al desarme, Si a la paz", (Yes to disarmament, yes to peace),  through which people can anonymously exchange weapons for money in local centres where the necessary privacy conditions are granted to those willing to trade their firearms or ammunitions for money.

AS a way of raising awareness to the campaign, Correos de Mexico has issued on 05AUG2024 a three 15 Pesos stamp se-tenant strip themed on it. 

One of the stamps, illustrated with a photo of an army expert  handling a ammunition magazine which he has just taken out of a firearm, was used by Axel on this cover. The stamp also bears the coat of arms and the logo of Mexico city, as well as the slogan of the campaign.

The Postmark bears the location indication of Ventanilla, but I could not find any such place in the island of Cozumel.

COVER N. 550 - FRANCE

Postmark: Philatelie 39 Dole 28.12.2024

Posted on the 28th October; Received on the 3rd January 2025

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Par Toutatis.... No, I´m not afraid that the sky might fall over my head but a nice cover with the likes of two of my preferred heroes did fall onto my letterbox. Un grand Merci, Eric, pour cette jolie lettre.

I first met the hyperfamous Astérix and Obélix when I was 10 or 11 years old. 

A friend just about my age, the son of a French naval or air force officer that would spend the summer holidays in Santa Maria, Azores, where I lived, lent me some French comics books including one called "Le Bouclier Arverne", which would be my introduction to the famous pair of heroes.

I should here say that learning French was mandatory from the 5th grade on, when I was a kid and so, at the time, I was also getting my first notions of Baudelaire's mother tongue. As such, even though I could not read and understand everything in the books, the fact that they were graphic novels helped to put the captions in context and with the assistance of my father and an occasional foray into the dictionary I would understand if not the words the sense of most the plots.

But, this one was tough... "Bouclier", what the hell was that?....and "Arverne"?

This particular connection  would only become clear to me some years later, when I was introduced in school to the Roman empire and to historic figures like Vercingétorix and Julio Cesar.

Still the amazing quality of the drawings, the immensely funny names of the characters as well as their personal characterization, the tremendously creative foundations to the stories, like Panoramix’s magic potion, the continuous feud between Cétautomatix and Assurancetourix, the everlasting love between Monsieur et Madame Agecanonix, Obélix's crunch for beautiful Falbala, hooked me from the very beginning, as they have hooked millions of other kid and adults all over the world, the saga having been fully or partially translated into 112 languages, so far.

Astérix and Obélix, written by René Gosciny (1926-1977) and illustrated by Albert Uderzo (1927-2020), first saw the light of day in Journal Pilote, a weekly comics magazine which began to be published in 1959. 

The series which now numbers 40 volumes, was continued by Uderzo, acting both as writer and illustrator, after Gosciny's death, in 1977. After Uderzo's retirement in 2009, the series was taken over by a new writer/illustrator team made up of Jean-Yves Ferri  and Didier Conrad, but the last book published, dated of 2023, features the artwork of another illustrator: Fabcaro (Fabrice caro)

Celebrating the 65th anniversary of these true French Ambassadors, la Poste issued on 15OCT2024 a collector's series minisheet comprising 4 lettre verte (domestic up to 20g)  stamps illustrated with the three more important characters of the series: Astérix (who gets the honour of being featured on 2 stamps), Obélix and Panoramix, the Druid.

Two of these stamps were used on this cover which features a very nice postmark of the Philatelie Bureau of the city of Dole. On it, the coat of arms of the city is shown side by side with the bust of someone whom I think is Louis Pasteur, who was born in this city. 

On the back of the envelope, Eric included part of the backing frame  of the collector's sheet, and from looking at it, I realised that Astérix is only slighter older than my own self, for I too will be turning 65 this year...

Unfortunately, as usual, the French Post office chose to obliterate the stamps again with a totally unnecessary mechanical postmark....

COVER N. 549 - SOLOMON ISLANDS

Postmark: Solomon Islands - Use your 3 word address - Postage paid - 09.10.2024

Posted on the 9th October; Received on the 3rd January 2025

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And so I write 2025 for the first time on this blog and things couldn't have turned out any better for I do it adding another country to my list, this time the island state of the Solomon Islands, right across next door to Papua New Guinea, so named in honour of the wealthy King Solomon, for it is said that the Islands were believed to be the location of the rich biblical city of Ophir (all this courtesy of Wikipedia, for although  I knew who King Solomon was, I confess my ignorance as to the rest).

A former British Protectorate since the last decade of the 19th century, The 900 + islands archipelago became independent in 1978, although in  Constitutional Monarchy format, it's head of state remaining the British Monarch and the State becoming a member of the Commonwealth.

The history of the Solomon Islands has been permeated with political unrest ever since independence and to that one must add the ever growing concerns of the impact of climate change, mostly in what concerns the problems brought about by the rising sea level.

Although not a location often mentioned on the news, the Solomons were the location for one of the most famous battles of WW2, the first land offensive of the allied forces against the Japanese army: the Battle of Guadalcanal, which took place in and around the Island of the same name between August 1942 and January 1943.

As usual, exotic covers such as the one that this post is about have a well known suspect behind, even if the envelopes often come with no return address, as was the case.

But the cover spelled "Flying Dutchman" through all its pores, and all it took was a message to my friend Eric to ascertain its origin.

So Hartelijk dank nogmaals, Eric, and also Thanks a lot Marianne, for this great cover, that I'm really happy to include in my collection

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Guadalcanal Battle, ´the Postal Service of the Solomon Islands issued, on 07AUG1992 two souvenir sheets, themed on the said military campaign, one comprising five 30 cent stamps and a painting depicting American Grumman Wildcat aircraft operating at Henderson Field and another with ten 80 cent stamps and a painting entitled Night action off Savo island, showing a sea battle scene.

The 10 stamps of the latter were used on the cover and, from left to right top to bottom, they bear illustrations of: 

- Japanese Mitsubishi Zero (Zeke) fighter;

- Japanese Mitsubishi G4M Betty bomber;~

- Japanese destroyers of the Tokyo Express (the name given to the convoys of logistic support to the Japanese fleet)

- Japanese Heavy Cruiser Chockay

- Henderson field under construction and attack;

- US Heavy Cruiser Quincy;

- Australian Navy heavy Cruiser Canberra;

- U S Marines landing at Guadalcanal;

- Japanese aircraft Carrier Ryujo;

- US Marines Grumman  Wildcat fighters.

The Postmark is rather curious in that it contains no other local information than the country name - Solomon Islands -  and a curious instruction reminder - Use your 3 word address….

COVER N. 548 - ALGERIA

Postmark: With Gaza FDC 29.11.2024

Posted on the 29th November; Received on the 31st December 2024

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On the 7th October 2024, a brutal, horrific, inhuman, absolutely horrendous and despicable terrorist action was taken by militants of Hamas against citizens of the State of Israel, during which, as it is well known, more than  200 Israelis were cowardly captured and taken as hostages of the terrorist group, while more than 1200 other were brutally assassinated.

Not long after that, Israel invaded the Gaza strip and began a military operation that will forever be remembered as another horror mark in the history of mankind. The brutal, barbaric and totally disproportionate actions of the state of Israel continue to this day, having already caused a total of more than 44,000 deaths  on the Palestinian side, 70% of which being of women and children.

Meanwhile the western world, that so justifiably is concerned and supportive of  Ukraine against the horrendous Russian invasion, turns a blind eye on a conflict that has raised to the ground  a territory with 2 million people blocked within, with no escape possibility, condemned to try to survive in the harshest conditions with no access to the simplest commodities or means to answer the more elementary basic needs.

I read that Benjamin Netanyahu underwent prostate surgery this week.... I would invite him to a simple empathy exercise.... I'm sure there are citizens in Gaza who must need prostate surgery too.... would he be willing to exchange positions with any of them?

Hate fosters but hate.... 

How many of those children now suffering the unthinkable, like the Jewish people once suffered in ghettos, will grow up to be heralds of peace? How many of them will grow up to be Luther Kings, Gandhis, Mandelas? Or will many of them  grow up to be easily brainwashed to tie a flag around the head, and pull the trigger of an ak-47 or the safety pin of an explosive belt tied to their chest? 

The few still living hostages suffer horribly as do their families, uncertain of their fate, while hospitals, schools, playing grounds are erased, as if empty, as if all the people taking meagre shelter in them or the children playing soccer to ward off their fears were but shadows or some sort of invisible beings.

An eye for an eye,,,, a terrorist for hundreds of innocents...., while God supervises the actions... on both sides...

Pope Francis and António Guterres... theirs the loudest voices calling for reason while the despicable spectacle of "negotiations" for a cease fire between Hamas and Israel continues, as if either party was really interested in it....

The day will come when Palestinians and Israelis will live together in harmony. Their two States, might even one day share a Capital city... the first steps were, in time,  taken... a giant leap for Mankind in a simple handshake between Arafat and Rabin... both later eliminated by their own (the later for sure, the former, presumably...)

When that day comes, no map like the one on the cover will ever more be shown. The colour section will also show the boundary lines between two sovereign States - Israel and Palestine - with their differences, their idiosyncrasies but also with all that they share. If not anything more, (and I’m sure there is plenty) the human condition of their citizens. 

It doesn't take much... just will, reason and commitment for justice and Peace.... And it has been done before… but it takes a totally different kind of actor from both sides…reasonable, tolerant, democratic persons, minds that are really interested in making the most of their own differences, isn't that right, Maestro Barenboim, Doctor Said, Mr. Kaufman?

The Postal Administrations of Arab countries were invited to create a joint issue expressing solidarity with Palestine during the  27th session of the Council of Arab Ministers of Communications and Information, held on January 18, 2024 in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).

For this, and subject to the theme "With Gaza" a common stamp design competition was held, the Jordanian proposal having been chosen.

The selected project shows a child wearing the iconic Palestinian keffiyeh around the head, gazing anxiously through an explosion hole in the rubble through which a Palestinian flag and some white doves can be seen.

So far I could find information about this joint issue stamp having been released by  Syria, Jordan, Qatar, Algeria, Morocco, Oman and Tunisia, other Arabic countries being expected to follow suit. 

The Algeria issue, in the form of a single 120 Dinar stamp souvenir sheet, issued on 29NOV2024 was used on the First Day Cover that I received when the year was drawing to its end from Hoceine. Shukran, Hocine!

COVER N. 547 - CHINA

Postmark: Shangai (?) 01.12.2024

Posted on the 1st December; Received on the 30th December 2024

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And now for something completely different (and I do think that beginning a new year with a quote from Monty Python is thoroughly adequate....😀)... drum roll, please.....

The Asian International Stamp Exhibition 2024 took place in Shangai, China from the 29th November till the 3rd December 2024, subordinated to the theme "Stamps present Asian Culture". 

According to a reference in China news, some 69 countries and regions were represented in the event, the competition section of which numbered more than 1600 frame exhibits plus 48 philatelic literature pieces... hard times for the jury.....

Ravindra kindly sent me this rather umcommon piece  featuring a comemorative  mechanical stamp and cancellation, which bears the exhibition's logo. Thank you so much, Ravi!

Oh, and by the way:

Happy 2025 to all of you.... !