Mail Adventures

09 October 2016

World Post Day

World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9 October. The event was declared by the 1969 Universal Postal Congress in Tokyo as a means to mark the anniversary of the Universal Postal Union's (UPU) creation in 1874.

The purpose of World Post Day is to bring awareness to the Post's role in the everyday lives of people and businesses, as well as its contribution to global social and economic development. [...]

Although World Post Day is not guided by a particular theme, the UPU's latest poster design embodies the UPU's three strategic pillars: innovation, integration and inclusion.

08 October 2016

Sanquhar

1. The Post Office / 2. The 12th century castle /
3. The Toll Booth / 4. A view of the Town

I had written about the post office on this postcard: the oldest working post office in the world, as recognized by the Universal Postal Union and the Guinness Book of Records. It is located in Sanquhar, Scotland. So, I was more than happy to receive a postcard showing it, sent by John (the UK)! You can read on this John's blog post about his visit to that place.

As a bonus, this card was posted in a pillar box painted gold to celebrate Andy Murray's 2012 Olympic gold medal.

07 October 2016

I Visited a Beautiful Post Office

This is the main post office in the city of San Sebastián (Spain). It opened in 1909 as School of Arts, Library and City Museum.

The architect was Domingo Aguirrebengoa, and its more remarkable feature is the frieze made by Daniel Zuloaga, one of the innovators of art pottery in Spain. The School was closed in the forties, and the building was restored to become the post office, which still is.

I don't know for the rest of services, but it offers a poor philatelic service. After 40 minutes waiting for the right postal worker (it seemed that nobody else could sell stamps or commemorative postcards), I left empty-handed.

05 October 2016

Slower Than an E-mail

What do you do when you have a lot of things to tell someone, and you wish to do that in a nice way?

I think a letter book is a good idea. So I sent this one to Heleen (the Netherlands). I reused the packaging (it had contained some postcards bought online)...

And, actually, I also reused the notebook, because it had been given to me by... Heleen herself (like the first booklet I had sent her).

I wrote, drew, coloured, stuck and, in short, I had a very good time by doing these during some weeks!

Etc.

03 October 2016

1438

This is an envelope made of the first page of a calendar that shows two years: the Islamic year and the Gregorian year, solar-based. This is the kind of double calendars people have at home in Morocco. But, actually, the Islamic year is used only for religious festivities.

I sent it to Phillip (the USA) when 2016 started. I had almost forgotten it, but today some people is celebrating the Islamic New Year (1438), so this is a good day to publish it!

02 October 2016

Birds on a Stamp

Birds are a common theme for stamps in different countries. This one arrived a couple of weeks ago on a postcard (a bit damaged, alas), and it caught my eye immediately. I was issued on 7 October 1982, honouring Francis of Assisi, saint patron of animals and environment. See here the FDC.

More eye-catching birds. These stamps are called Colourful Celebrations. They are included on a sheet featuring digital designs of shapes, flowers and birds. The Mexican technique of papel picado ('pierced paper'), used in all kind of celebrations, is the inspiration. More information here.

More birds on stamps: Sunday Stamps-II.

01 October 2016

Reading Bears & Frogs

I don't know why, in my the album of Reading Animals, there are mostly postcards of frogs and bears...

John Rae from The Three Little Frogs (1924)
Sent by Bryon

Big bear and little bear sharing reading time
Illustration by Jackie Morris
From: John

Postcards of domesticated animals are not among my favourites. But I thought these reading...err... people could fit in that theme of Postcards for the Weekend...

29 September 2016

Men Also Love to Read

Rubber stamp sent by Eduard (Russia), on the back of this postcard:

The Decree On Land, by Valentin Serov

(My collection of postcards of reading men)

28 September 2016

Women Read Everywhere

Fire Opal (Grace Mutell), by Laura Coombs Hills
Sent by Bryon (the USA)

Reading by the Fire, by Ryan Conners
Sent by John (the UK)

Time Slipped Away..., by Carol Kudsen
Sent by John (the UK)

The Lady Elizabeth Murray with Dido, by Zoffany
Sent by Laura (the UK)

My baby should call any time, by Aciddream
Sent by John (the UK)

Portrait of a Lady,by Micah Williams
Sent by Bryon (the USA)

(My collection of postcards of reading women)

26 September 2016

United Nations Stamps

Another winner of this summer would be this envelope sent by FinnBadger (the USA), from UN territory in New York.

This was his second attempt to send me the World Poetry Day stamps. The first time he sent them to Morocco, but that letter never arrived (it wasn't returned neither - ?!). So I was really happy to get this, finally!

As the sender explains: The UN has 6 official languages, and each of the sheets features a poem written in each one: English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian and Arabic. The only other language to feature on the stamps is German (on the ones issued in Vienna).

I am sorry because the pictures I took are a bit blurry. But you can see the complete sheets in FinnBadger's post.

25 September 2016

Orange Bridge

Today's theme in Sunday Stamps-II is Orange and/or Yellow. This is my second entry today. Because I had already scheduled the oranges when I received this beauty:

It features the Magere Brug ('Skinny Bridge') over the river Amstel in the city centre of Amsterdam. This stamp was issued on 26 March 2012, and was presented by the Netherlands for the theme Visit... of Europa Stamps.

It arrived on the back of this matching postcard, sent by Heleen (the Netherlands). She had sent me two more postcards of this special bridge. I think I had never uploaded them.

Made of ontbijkoek

Oranges on Stamps

I could have add these stamps to my previous post of Sunday Stamps-II, dedicated to fruits and nuts. But I reserved them for the Orange and Yellow theme...

This is one of the four stamps issued by Royal Mail on 2 March 1977, dedicated to British Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry.

One more of the the Fun Fruit 'n' Veg Smilers sheet, issued by Royal Mail on 7 March 2006.

And these are not oranges as I thought, but its cousins, the kumquats. This is a commemorative stamp celebrating the Chinese New Year, issued on 22 January 2011, and designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland. Kumquats are eaten for luck and given as special gifts during the New Year celebrations. More information here.

23 September 2016

My Friend's Trips: And the Winner Is...

I truly appreciate every letter and postcard I get. But I should confess that, if I had to chose a winner among all the post I have got this summer, one of them will be this postcard from... Vietnam! It is the first piece of mail I have got from that country ever, thanks to two friends who were there on holidays.

The senders had a little adventure when sending the card: they bought it, and then the stamps (in a post office). But when they actually wanted to send it, from a different post office, they were told that the postage was not enough. Bad for them, because they had to pay more... But good for me, because I got more stamps!