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.... !