30 September 2015

People Who Care


Parcel received by John (the UK). This piece of mail is one of the best surprises I have received by post lately. Not only because of the content (I loved it!), but also because of the thoughtfulness of the sender.

Some months ago, I posted four stamps belonging to this set. I wrote: "I would not mind to receive the rest, but I am not sure if they are still available."  And then John stuck on this letter exactly the eight stamps I had not previously received.


Mail can warm your heart.

29 September 2015

Neither Rain nor Snow

«The corroded motto over the portico said 'NEITHER RAIN NOR SNOW NOR GLOM OF NIT CAN STAY THESE MESENGERS ABOT THIER DUTY' and in more spacious days that may have been the case, but recently someone had found it necessary to nail up an addendum which read:
DONT ARSK US ABOUT:
rocks
troll's with sticks
All sorts of dragons
Mrs Cake
Huje green things with teeth
Any kinds of black dogs with orange eyebrows
Rains of spaniel's.
fog.
Mrs Cake
'Oh,' he said. 'The Royal Mail.'

'The Post Office,' corrected Vimes. 'My granddad said that once you could post a letter there and it'd be delivered within a month, without fail. You didn't have to give it to a passing dwarf and hope the little bugger wouldn't eat it before...'»

Terry Pratchett, Men At Arms

28 September 2015

Make Time for New Adventures


Postcard sent by Mim (the USA).

I love it. I find it perfectly matched with the title of this blog, don't you?

It arrived inside this funny envelope:

27 September 2015

Netherlands & Suriname Folk Costumes

I thought that I have not any stamp to share about the Sunday Stamps- II: Folk and National costumes. But then I received this stamp from the Netherlands:


Every year the Dutch Post issues a set of stamps entitled Grenzeloos ('Border Free'), dedicated to celebrate the ties between the Netherlands and other country. In 2010 it was Suriname.

The stamps are presented in sets of six, and there are three different sheets. Every sheet highlight a different topic. In this case, there are agriculture, regional costumes and architecture. So, as you can see, additional information is added in the margin (Here you can see the three sheets).

One of the stamps shows the koto, a traditional Creole dress. There are different theories about the origin of these dresses. One plausible explanation is that they date from the time of slavery and women wore it to make themselves unattractive to the advances of the plantation owner. The stamp that I received shows the angisa, the Suriname headscarf. The patterns and the folding of the angisa contain social and even political messages.


The koto and the angisa are presented in contrast to the traditional Dutch costume. I have also received some stamps about the regional folk costumes in the Netherlands, issued in 2013:


26 September 2015

Bocksbeutel



Mail art call arrived from Germany. More information here

25 September 2015

Tea on the Mailbox


Tea-postcard (I mean... really full of delicious tea!) sent by Ania (Hungary). What a wonderful mail idea!


23 September 2015

Little Red Riding Hood Variations


Another whimsical illustration from The Jolly Postman book sent by Bryon (the USA). And this one is showing a favourite character of fairy tales. Well, her granny. Well, not exactly.

But this Little Red Riding Hood is not the only who has landed on my mailbox lately. I have got two more versions:


Postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands). This little girl lives in Efteling.



Ângela (Portugal) drew this sweet mail carrier on her latest envelope. How cool is it?

22 September 2015

21 September 2015

A Pink Smile


Postcard sent to Szöszi (Hungary), for the Mail a Smile project. It is supposed to say Jobbulást kívánok (='Get well'), but I missed a j. I hope she like it anyway!

20 September 2015

Phones on Stamps

Sunday Stamps - II suggests today Technology/Industry. Since I read this post in Nog meer post! I wanted to post some stamps featuring... phones.


Spanish stamp issued on January 9, 2012. It belongs to the series of Civic values in society, which that year included three stamps: No pollution; Respecting speed; and the one I uploaded Getting distracted at the driving wheel.The stamp bears two messages: Careful when driving! and, on the screen, Lose the call, not your life!


Japanese stamp issued on August 26, 1997, with the occasion of the opening of Okinawa-Luzon-Hong Kong Submarine Cable.


Stamp issued in the Netherlands on October 9, 1990, about the National Alarm Number.



This one, also Dutch, was issued on May 19, 1981 to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Postal and Telegraph Services.The designer is Rene van Raalte.


The following stamps were issued by Oman Post in December 19, 2010. It is a set of nine stamps designed by children who won the competitions Telecommunications with colours. Sometimes the phones are small... but I am sure you will find them on each stamp!










Update (02/10/2015): I have just received this one from the USA!

19 September 2015

Dear Valued Postal Customer

Bryon (the USA) wanted to sent me this...


... just to see if it arrive, you know:


And it did. But, for some reason, the USPS considered it was not travelling safe enough and put it in this envelope:


And apologized (For what? I think it is complete, isn't it?):


I love these mail additions. And I love my postmaster writing a letter to me. Even a standard one.


Wait... 202 billion pieces of mail each year? That is... Well, that is a lot.

18 September 2015

Special Postmarks

When I wrote this post, I remember some special postmarks received...




Can you read this one?
Dog Awareness Week 2015. Help us reduce dog attacks on postal workers. Get advice and tips at royalmail.com/dogawareness 
Do you have a dog? Had you ever faced this problem?




17 September 2015

Polish Lighthouses on Stamps


This postcard was sent by Ania (Poland). It does not include the name of the lighthouse, but I think it is List Ost (in Sylt, Germany).

The back of the postcard was full of lighthouses too!



These stamps belong to http://philatelynews.com/lighthouses-of-poland/ issued on June 19, 2015. The stamps features the lighthouses of Świnoujście, Kikut (the highest light on Poland’s coast), Jastarnia, Gdansk and Rozewie. They also appeared on this postcard, which brought me two more lighthouses of the set.


16 September 2015

More Lighthouses on Postcards

I think I can officially declare the Lighthouses Month. It seems I do not receive but lighthouses! (Which makes me extremely happy, of course!).



Postcard sent by Mim (the USA). Currituck Beach Light is located in North Carolina.




Postcard was sent by Laura (the UK). It shows a light in Harbour Arm (Margate, the UK). It dates from 1875.

15 September 2015

How Many Lighthouses Fit on a Postcard?



Four lighthouses in North Carolina (the USA), sent by Mim: Currituck Beach Light, Bodie Island Light, Cape Hatteras Light (it also appeared in yesterday's post) and Ocracoke Light.




Postcard sent by Eutrapèlia (the USA). It shows five lighthouses of Casco Bay (Maine, the USA). Clockwise from top left: Spring Point Ledge Light; Cape Elizabeth Lights; Ram Island Ledge Light; Portland Breakwater (Bug) Light; Portland Head Light.



Fifteen lighthouses (+2 stamps!) on this postcard sent by Ania (Poland). Almost all the lighthouses in the country!

The sender asked me which type of lighthouses I like the most. That's a very difficult question! The last time I answered how my dreamed lighthouse would be, I received this.



And 24 lighthouses on a postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands). I think I recognise most of them!

14 September 2015

Vintage Lighthouses on Postcards


Vintage postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands). It shows the lighthouse of Ploumanac'h in France. It was sent by the first time in June 19, 1970. The postmark was quite interesting, so the sender decided not to cover it with other stamp and send the postard inside an envelope:




It arrived along with another vintage postcard showing Girdle Ness Lighthouse in Aberdeen (Scotland, the UK). It was sent on June 27, 1974. Even if the message written was quite short, I always think that old postcards have something special...




The third postcard was sent by Mim (the USA). It shows the tallest lighthouse in the USA, Cape Hatteras (in North Carolina). I do not know the year of the picture; the back of the postcard is not written. But the picture was taken prior to its relocation in 1999 (due to erosion of the shore).