COVER N. 407-  ALBANIA

Postmark: Zyra Postare 9 Tiranë 02.02.2024

Posted on the 2nd February; Received on the 8th February 2024

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The relentless Phantom has gone to the Balkans this time....to the land of the many bunkers, on an impossible mission, (almost... but he, the Ghost who Walks, the Phantom, will always prevail....) and I have proof of it....Danke Sehr, Alex!

Alex used a one stamp souvenir sheet on this cover that is a bit intriguing in nature.

In fact it is part of an issue which also included two individual stamps, which I believe were meant to be the Albanian CEPT/EUROPA issue for 2005, as attested by the CEPT logo on the sheet frame.

And this is where it all gets a bit confusing:

- the theme for the 2005 common issue was "Gastronomy", which the stamp cannot relate to at all;

- the legend on the stamp says it commemorates the 50t anniversary of the first EUROPA issue - 1956-2006, the stamp having been issued in 2005;

- The stamp is illustrated with a reproduction of George Seurat's magnificent "la Voltigeuse", while the frame of the stamp is dominated by the figure of a clown. This would be perfect for the 2002 common issue, which was themed on "The circus".

Anyway, be it as it may, the cover makes a very nice addition to my collection and I couldn't be more thankful to Alex.

The Postmark hails from the capital, Tirana, from Post Office n 9, which Alex tells me was the only one he could find  willing to post the 300 covers + the Phantom had under his belt...

COVER N. 406 -  SOUTH AFRICA

Postmark: N/A

Posted on ?; Received on the 1st February 2024

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Another mystery.....

Thank you, whoever it was who sent me this cover from the country where the two oceans come together, all for Good Hope....

I have a suspicion, in fact I have two suspicions, but I'll refrain from outing them here, for they can be absolutely wrong....

And so I'll go directly to the stamps, which fall under my theme of choice: all things aviation.

South Africa Post Office issued a minisheet on 28APR2021 with 10 "Standard Postage" stamps, celebrating the centenary of the South African Air Force, which was established on the 1st February 1920, equipped with aircraft donated by the United Kingdom from the vast surplus inventory issued out of the First World War.

The stamps are pretty informative in that they contain a small legend indicating the period of usage of the aircraft depicted on each stamp, which are also well identified.

On the cover we have 5 of the 10 stamps and, from left to right, top to bottom, we have:

 - Hawker Hurricane IIB, used by the SAAF for the duration of the 2nd World War, between 1939 and 1945.

- Mirage IIICZ, operated between 1963 and 1990,  and from 1966  in the context of what become known as the Border war or the Namibia independence war, a conflict which involved Namibia, Angola, Zambia and South Africa.

De Haviland DH9 - one of the workhorses of  many an air force after the end of WW1, the DH.9 light bomber was a development of the DH4, itself one of the most mass produced aircraft of the first world conflict with over 6,250 aircraft of the type having been produced.

C-130B Hercules, still in service with the SAAF, with whom it began to operate in 1963.

Atlas Oryx - a South African development of the  Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma, which became operational with the SAAF in 1986 band is still in the current inventory.

POSTCARD N.131 - GAMBIA

Postcard sent on the 20th January 2024; received on the 2nd February 2024

Postcard image: Reproduction of a Portuguese stamp with Portuguese Explorer Alexandre Serpa PInto 
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The Portuguese  were the first westerners to try to set up a colony on the margins of the Gambia river, in the 15th century,  during the days of Henry the Navigator, the main instigator of  the epic Portuguese maritime expansion.

As such, to see a Portuguese explorer, although from the 19th century, on a postcard mailed form The Gambia, does not seem to be totally out of place, although I concede that the connection isn't very evident 😀.

All this notwithstanding, I couldn't be more happy to be able to add this particular maxicard to my collection, something which I found out was only possible due to the generous help of an international consortium for which I Have again to thank Eric and Wilhelm. Many thanks to both of them!

Gambia is the smallest country of Continental Africa, occupying an 11,300 square kilometres strip along both sides of the river from where it gets its name.

Although small in size, the region saw many of its inhabitants falling prey to the infamous slave trade which provided the Americas the workforce needed for the  sugar and cotton plantations, some 3 million persons having been forcibly  captured and sent away to a strange land to work under brutal conditions, in the course of a period of almost 300 years.

Today, Gambia's economy rests heavily in agriculture,  cotton and peanuts being the main crops, but fishing and tourism are also two important contributors to the nation's GDP formation.

The British, to whom trade rights in the region were sold by the Portuguese in the 16th century,   were the colonial power from whom Gambia got its independence in 1965.

Stamps,  Left to Right:

The Milon's Swallowtail (Graphium milon) graces the 5 Dalasi stamp, of whih a pair can be seen on the card. It was issued on 14JAN2003, as part of a 4 stamp  set dedicated to butterflies

The Milon's Swallowtail (Graphium milon) is a member of the Papilionidae family and is endemic to the Sunda Islands in tha Malay archipelago.

The 7 Dalasi stamp with a detail from Rembrandt's "The anatomy lesson" is part of a minisheet celebrating the 200 years of the Rijksmuseum, issued on 15JAN2001.

The souvenir sheet with an 18 Dalasi stamp featuring a Great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) was issued on 28OCT1991 as part of an issue dedicated to fish wich included another one stamp souvenir sheet and 10 individual stamps

The 1 Dalasi break-van stamp is part of a 9 x 1D stamp minisheet issued on 12SEP1991, entitled "The world of caboose". The full issue included another two 9 stamp minisheets plus two 1 stamp souvenir sheets, in the typical fashion of the agency producing these stamps for the country....

The Viking longboat 15 Dalasi stamp is part of an issue dedicated to ships, dated of 15OCT1998, comprising four individual stamps, two minisheets of 9 stamps each and two one stamp souvenir sheets. 

The postmark indicates that the card was mailed from Bakau, a city on the outskirts of the country's capital Banjul, on the atlantic coast.

POSTCARD N.130 - UKRAINE

Postcard sent on the 28th December 2023; received on the 30th January 2024

Postcard image: Antonov AN-225 MRIYA - City of Heroes. Hostomel
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The largest cargo aircraft in the world, originally conceived to  piggiback carry the Buran space shuttle in the 80s of last century and then reconverted as a cargo aircraft capable of transporting gigantic packages, such as wind turbine blades or train locomotives.

Further to its enormous size - a 88,4 m wingspan and a total length of 84 m - its unique six engine configuration made it an absolutely unmistakable sight, wherever it went, always drawing on the attention of aircraft spotters all across the world, eager to include its picture in their collection. 

First flown in 1988, the one of a kind, mastodontic, Antonov AN-225 MRYA (Dream) would be destroyed by the Russian agressors in the early days of the invasion of Ukraine, in its usual base, the Antonov Airport, in Hostomel.

Ukraine authorities have vowed to rebuild the "Dream", but more pressing priorities are still ahead, so it is not clear when such an iconic aircraft will again cruse the skies

While visiting Ukraine just before the year's end, the Phantom sent me this postcard illustrated with quite eloquent before and after images of  the AN-225. Thanks a lot, Alex!

The 4 stamps on the back of the postcard are the single stamp issue of 26JUL2023 dedicated o the Ukrainian Security Services, illustrated with a soldier and what looks like a MI-17 helicopter.

The tariff T stamp on the face of the postcard is part of the definitive series with coats of arms of Ukrainian cities - Komarno, in this case - and was issued on 01DEC2021.

The postmark indicates that the postcard was sent from Nerubayske, Odessa.

COVER N. 405 -  FRANCE

Postmark: Nouvel An Chinois 1er Jour Année du Dragon 26.01.2024

Posted on the 26th January; Received on the 31st January 2024

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Happy new year for all the Dragons out there.....one cannot fail to notice the flaming (quite an adequate adjective, uh?) increase in postage that this FDC from France exhibits in the form of an 8% rise in the price of the humble paper rectangle....

BUT, 8 % is kid stuff, if we consider the obnoxious 14%  increase that the Portuguese operator - CTT - has put in force for the current year for European postage (13% rest of the world; 6.5% domestic)...Inflation in Portugal in 2023 was 4.3% so a full 10% jump above defies justification in my humble opinion, to say the least....

Anyway, guess I'll have to be a bit more parsimonious with my sendings.... this is but an hobby, not an end by itself, and a I will always treat it as such.

Anyway, please excuse my rant, but I really feel that I, as a consumer, have again been hit in the purse… and it does hurt a bit!

Merci Roland, en plus, le timbre est fort joli!

As I've mentioned before, I'm not a believer in astrology. On the other hand, Dragons, being powerful and almost unbeatable creatures, can be seen as  dangerously close in nature to despots and dictators, so, in our current state of affairs, let's hope the creature that is said to inspire the year does not inspire some  mortals more than they have already been unfortunately inspired......

La Poste issued two stamps on 26JAN2004 celebrating the Chinese New Year, dedicated to the Dragon. The 1,96 €, (up to 20g international) is seen on the cover, while the 1,29€ (up to 20g, domestic) is similar in design, although with an different dragon image over a blue background.

The First day Postmark was issued in the French capital, the beautiful city of Paris.

COVER N. 402/403/404 - SRI LANKA

Postmark: Headquarters P. O. Colombo Mail 23.01.24

Posted on the 23rd January; Received on the 1st February 2024

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I have said it before, Ravindra is fast becoming a very common name here on my blog, so many are the beautiful covers he has been sending me to my greatest pleasure. Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravindra!

This time, I was absolutely amazed to open my letterbox and find not one but three envelopes with the great bird Sri Lankan issue of 2021.  

Given that the covers are all intimately related I'll include  them all on a single post.

The issue, which began to circulate on 09OCT2021, is dedicated to Endemic Birds of Sri Lanka,  and it comprises 6 individual 25 Rupee stamps, which were also issued as one stamp souvenir sheets.

Ravindra made sure I had them all (in doubles 😀), and for that I am gratefully thankful, for this really makes for an interesting addition to my collection.

Ravindra kindly included in one of the covers a little booklet with the release notes, which luckily are bilingual and which I'll quote directly from to identify the birds depicted in the stamps, (which I presume is fair usage) using the image on its front page as reference. As so, left to right, top to bottom:

Sri Lankan Swallow - Cecnopis hyperythra

These birds live in the wet and dry zones of the lowlands, but they are not found in Jaffna or the surrounding islands. They can be seen on elevations up to 1,500 metres.

Sri Lanka Spoted Winged Thrush - Geokichla spiloptera

They can be found across the island in all geographical areas. They also live in elevations up to 2,000 metres. They can also be seen spread across the dry zone. The Sri Lanka Spot Winged Thrush prefers the forests in the low country wet zone.

Sri lanka Woodshrike - Tephrodornis affinis

The Woodshrike can be easily seen in the dry zone of the low country but can also be found in hilly areas of about 1200 metres. It is scarce to find the bird in the wet zone. They do not like heavy forests and can be seen on scrub as well as large trees.

Sri Lanka Crimson Fronted Barbet - Psilopogon rubricapillus

Can be seen in both the wet and dry zone. They can be seen in mountain areas, up to 1,300 metres of elevation. They prefer to stay in home gardens that have tall trees, and a striking feature is that they also live in urban surroundings.

Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill - Ocyceros gingalensis

These birds live in wet and dry zones of the low country. Although they live in both zones, they are more frequently found in the wet zone. They prefer to live in the riverine forests on the dry zone and forests with large trees in the wet zone.

Sri lanka Geater Flameback -  Chrysocolaptes striklandi

Can be found in all parts of the country but can be seen mainly in mountain areas in the wet zone.

As usual with Ravindra's covers, the Postmark indicates expedition through the PO Headquarters of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital.

COVER N. 401 - BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES - GIBRALTAR

Postmark: Royal Gibraltar Post Office Main office 19.01.24

Posted on the 19th January; Received on the 31st January 2024

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Almost one year ago I received a cover from Gibraltar sent by one of the usual suspects on this blog - Muito Obrigado, Eric! - which had a couple of stamps dedicated to the man that led the UK through a war that would shape the world for the next sixty or so years... and I put it that way because I feel that ever since the last turn of the century, world order has been reshaping itself, adapting, changing…

Where this will lead us it is still a mystery, but, once again, mouldy winds are blowing, hate as a weapon is on the rise, demagogy, populism... and I am not talking about one of those black and white news films produced by Rivus Pathé,  or any other agency, that would run before the day feature film at the local theatre, when I was a lad, but about of what I see every day on TV....

Lest we forget... a phrase coined by Kippling which  could be seen in memorials... poems... remembrance writings ever since the first world war...

have we forgotten?....

Yesterday, Mr Postman delivered this great Gibraltar cover, again courtesy of the Flying Dutchman, which contains the companion set to the above souvenir sheet  on cover 244, issued on 25MAR2020 in celebration of the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

The stamps, illustrated with period photographs highlighting all the main branches of the British military forces - Navy, Army and Air Force - also carry each a Letter which, when aligned in sequence, form the phrase V E DAY.

The stamps are cancelled with the postmark of the main Post Office at Gibraltar.