COVER N.157 -  DENMARK - FAROE ISLANDS

Postmark: Klaksvik Føroyar 16.08.22
Posted on 16th August; received on the 22th August 2022
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A kind soul! "I saw your blog and I send you this cover so that you may have another cover from the Faroe Islands"... Thank you so much Eric. A nicer gesture could not there be,.. the problem is how to reciprocate given that we roam on the same geographic unit.. I'll find a way, somehow someday, I'm sure!

And thank you also for the beautiful cards inside.

The theme of the 1987 EUROPA  issue was modern Architecture. In accordance to it, the Postal Services of the Faroe Islands issued on 06APR1987 the two stamp set (300 and 500 Faroese oyra) of which some multiples  that can be seen on my cover. The masters for the very beautiful in taglio printed stamps were engraved by master engraver  Czeslaw Slania and the images depict details of the Nordic House (Norðurlandahúsiðin Faroese) a cultural centre whose mission is to support and disseminate the Nordic and Faroese Cultures in the region. The amazing building, inaugurated in 1983,was conceived by Architects Ola Steen from Norway and  Kollbrún Ragnarsdóttir, from Iceland,.

On 19OCT1981, the Faroese  Post issued a 5 stamp definitive set  themed on "Ancient Documents". On my cover Eric used the 3 Faroese króna stamp, illustrated with the reproduction of part of  a page from a 1298 book, and the 5 Faroese króna stamp (illustrated with a 1553 seal)

The postmark tells us that the cover was sent from Klaksvik, the second largest city of the Archipelago, in the Island of Borðoy.

COVER N.81 - Faroe Islands

Postmark: Tórshavn 24.02.2022 FØROYAR
Posted on the 24th February; received on the  7th March
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Puffins... what's not to like about their stubby little bodies and pleasant faces with that most wonderful colourful beak? I only saw them once, from afar, in Ireland, flying, but today they came and paid me a visit, neatly glued onto the beautiful cover I got from the Faroe Islands, once again courtesy of Roland. Thank you so much, friend!

The Faroe Islands are one of those destinations that anyone with a soft spot for nature and wildlife photography has on the whish list (not always for the nicest of reasons... I can't forget the pictures on an old national geographic with a bay with the sea tinted blood red..), so adding them to my philatelic atlas fills me with great pleasure. While technically integrating  Denmark, the 18 islands that constitute the Faroe Archipelago enjoy strong administrative autonomy and are self-governed, with their own cabinet and Parliament (the Løgting). 

As it happens in quite a number of Island nations, total independence is strongly supported by a significant share of the population who would like to sever their ties with the Kingdom of Denmark, so one day, maybe,  the United Nations may get a new full standing member.

The two stamps on my cover, denominated at 27 and 17 Danish Krone, constitute the 2021 Europa set, issued on 26APR2021. They depict that most charming cousin of the seagull, the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica). 

A northern breeder, it can travel as south as my own country where it can be episodically seen offshore during the winter migration, from October to April.

Although puffin populations still add up to 11 million plus individuals, its global conservation status was downgraded in 2015 and is now classified "Vulnerable", due to a sharp decrease in numbers in later years as a result of "increased predation by gulls and skuas, the introduction of rats, cats, dogs, and foxes onto some islands used for nesting, contamination by toxic residues, drowning in fishing nets, declining food supplies, and climate change" (cf. wikipedia).

The very neat and clean postmark indicates that the cove´r was mailed from the city of Tórshavn, (Thor's harbour') the Faroese Capital, in the Island of Streymoy, with a population of about 19,000.