Heat sensitive Climate Change minisheet on cover from Finland

The three stamps in the climate change stamp sheet depict the dramatic effects of climate change that are expected in the near future if we allow the climate to continue getting warmer at the current rate. The particular focus of the stamps is the effect of climate change on Finnish weather conditions, nature and society. The stamps, which are designed by Timo Berry, are made with heat-pressed ink that will change color when touched with a finger. By touching the stamp with your finger, you can see what we can expect in Finland if the constant warming of the climate is not brought under control.

Here you can see how this minisheet looks like when you little bit warm it up. Minisheet is issued on 12.9.2018.


Thank you Kimmo!

Inter-Korean Summit on FDC from South Korea

From September 18 to 20, South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited North Korea and held approximately five hours of meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. During the summit, their third since April 2018, the two leaders issued a Pyongyang Joint Declaration pledging denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, improvements in inter-Korean relations, and confidence-building measures to ease military tension. Kim promised to visit Seoul "at an early date." This FDC is issued to commemorate this meeting, on 12.9.2018.


Thank you Park Choonjong!

Flags of the World Series: Christmas Island

The Territory of Christmas Island is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. Christmas Island is located in the Indian Ocean, around 350 kilometers south of Java and Sumatra and around 1,550 kilometers north-west of the closest point on the Australian mainland. It has an area of 135 square kilometers. Christmas Island had a population of 1,843 residents as of 2016. The main settlement is Flying Fish Cove. The first European to sight the island was Richard Rowe of the Thomas in 1615. The island was later named on Christmas Day 1643 by Captain William Mynors, but only settled in the late 19th century. Its geographic isolation and history of minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism among its flora and fauna, which is of interest to scientists and naturalists. The majority (63%) of the island is included in the Christmas Island National Park, which features several areas of primary monsoonal forest.

Two fantastic stamps on postcard: Christmas Boobook and Brown Goshawk, from set Bird Paintings by John Gerrard Keulemans, issued on 28.8.2018.


Thank you Megan!

Flags of the World Series: French Southern and Antarctic Lands - Kerguelen

The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (French: Terres australes et antarctiques françaises, TAAF) is an overseas territory of France. The territory has no permanent civilian population. Those resident consist of visiting military personnel, officials, scientific researchers and support staff. This postcard arrived from The Kerguelen Islands, also known as the Desolation Islands, a group of islands in the Antarctic constituting one of the two exposed parts of the Kerguelen Plateau, a large igneous province mostly submerged by the southern Indian Ocean.

Two nice postmarks and two beautiful stamps from minisheet Tuna Fishing, issued on 2.1.2017.


Thank you Catherine!

Flags of the World Series: Kiribati

Kiribati is a sovereign state in Micronesia in the central Pacific Ocean. The state comprises 32 atolls and reef islands and one raised coral island, Banaba. They have a total land area of 800 square kilometers and are dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometers. Their spread straddles both the equator and the 180th meridian, although the International Date Line goes round Kiribati and swings far to the east, almost reaching the 150°W meridian. This brings the Line Islands into the same day as the Kiribati Islands. Kiribati's easternmost islands, the southern Line Islands, south of Hawaii, have the most advanced time on Earth: UTC+14 hours.

Three fantastic stamps on postcard:
First one is from set Ships and Boats, issued on 5.10.2013.
Red Phalarope (from set International Stamp Exhibition SINGAPORE 2015), issued on 17.7.2015.
Greater Crested Tern (from set Birds), issued on 9.2.2008.


Thank you Denise!

Historic Postal Vehicles on cover from Austria

The design for this year’s issue from the “Historical postal vehicles” series, which has now been running for five years, shows a passenger mail coach at the top of the pass on the Tauern mountain road. In addition to the mail, the four-horse-drawn coach is also carrying passengers and their luggage, which is strapped to the roof. The coach appears to be traveling at high speed; the road looks to be exceptionally firm and well-used. The coachman, hidden beneath the protruding roof at the front of the carriage is barely visible. Issue Date: 24.08.2018


Thank you Wolfgang!

FDC The 50th Anniversary of the Republic of Singapore Air Force

The RSAF was set up on 1 September 1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command to undertake the critical role of air defence for Singapore, following the announcement of British forces withdrawal from the region. From its humble beginnings of two Cessna aircraft on lease, the RSAF has since become an advanced and capable air force, ready to respond to threats to national security and to place the defence of Singapore as its top priority. The theme of the RSAF’s golden jubilee celebrations – Our Home, Above All – represents the RSAF's commitment to be always ready and capable to defend Singapore, and its people, 50 years and beyond. Set of seven stamps is issued 1.9.2018.


Thank you Eddie!

Greece: Cover from Sárti

Sárti (Greek: Σάρτη) is a village in the Sinthonia municipality on the Sithonia peninsula, Greece. When I and Nina was there, we took opportunity to send postcards and covers to our friends, and also this one cover to ourselves, cause we don't had any from Greece. Greek post don't have real post offices in such small places. Instead, they have postman in some small room or desk at some store, where he comes in particular time of day, only few hours per day. You can't choose stamps. They usually have only one stamp for postcard, this boat stamp in upper right side (from set Tourism, issued on 8.8.2014.), they don't expect covers to be sent. So, when we sent covers, we payed 90 cents, boat stamp  is worth 80 cents, and postman first deliver mail to real post office, when he affix additional postage. And that's how we get this two stamps (on left side) from set The 175th Anniversary of the National Bank of Greece, issued on 30.3.2016.

Gaston on cover from Belgium

I received cover from Belgium, and stamp with Gaston is wonderful reminder on my childhood when comics was very popular. Gaston is a gag-a-day comic strip created in 1957 by the Belgian cartoonist André Franquin in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine Spirou. The series focuses on the everyday life of Gaston Lagaffe (whose surname means "the blunder"), a lazy and accident-prone office junior.
There's also a special cancellation on cover, but i don't know which occasion is commemorated.

Stamps on cover:
Wood Nuthatch (from set Birds of Buzin), issued on 12.9.1988.
Gaston - Youth Philately, issued on 10.10.1992.
Lily (from set Flowers), issued on 24.10.2016.

Thank you Jacques!

UN Geneva: 50th Anniversary of First UN Conference on Outer Space

In June 2018 the international community gathered in Vienna to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space with a dedicated event UNISPACE+50. It provided a great opportunity for the international community to convene and consider the future course of global space cooperation for the benefit of humankind. UN released stamps (on 20.6.2018.) for all 3 UN postal administrations dedicated to this event, and this cover was sent from UN Geneva.

Thank you Mirek!

Registered cover from USA

Another fine cover from USA arrived, and again ruined by Customs, with big ugly yellow tape, which i removed to save a cover, but you can see damage anyways. Stamps on cover:

Girl Scouts, issued on 12.3.1987.
Sea Surface Temperatures, issued on 22.4.2014.
Pears, issued on 23.3.2017.
Black Heritage:Richard Allen, issued on 2.2.2016.
Rosa Parks, issued on 4.2.2013.
Uncle Sam's Hat, issued on 18.2.2017.
Star-Spangled Banner, issued on 28.1.2014.
Star fruit, issued on 25.4.2008.
American Toleware, issued in 2007.
Snowflake, issued on 23.10.2015.

Inside cover was nice mint American stamps and several postcards. I asked my friend for some stamps, and Sally Ride ( first American woman to travel into space) was one of them. But i didn't expected to receive this small bundle with four Sally Ride stamps and fantastic patches dedicated to American space programs! This stamp was issued on 23.5.2018.

 Hear you can see this beautiful patches dedicated to important NASA missions and four stamp strip as well.

And there was more mint stamps in this cover:

The Art of Magic, issued on 7.8.2018.

Vintage Circus Posters (four of eight), issued on 5.5.2014.
Dragons, issued on 9.8.2018.
Scooby Doo, issued on 14.7.2014.
Pickup Trucks, issued on 15.7.2016.
Soda Fountain Favorites, issued on 30.6.2016.

Inside was also various postcards

Famous Indianapolis motor speedway and famous race Indianapolis 500.

Gordon Johncock is an American former racing driver, best known as a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the 1976 USAC Marlboro Championship Trail champion.

 NGC 1316 (also known as Fornax A) is a lenticular galaxy about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Fornax. It is a radio galaxy and at 1400 MHz is the fourth-brightest radio source in the sky.

Painting  by Margaret Keane, famous "big eyes" artist. The work was originally attributed to Keane's husband, Walter Keane. After their divorce in the 1960s, Margaret soon claimed credit, which was established after an in-court "paint-off" in Hawaii. A resurgence of interest in Margaret Keane's work followed the release of Tim Burton's 2014 biopic Big Eyes (nice movie by the way).

And this is comic book card by Robert Crumb, American cartoonist and musician. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American culture.


Thank you Charlotte!

Greece: Potamia

It's freezing outside today, and it's right time for one nice summer postcard! We received this card from Greek village Potamia on the island of Thasos. It is built in the valley at the foot of Mount Ipsario, and surrounded to the south and east by pine and sweet chestnut forests. Its coastal annexe is the holiday resort of Skala Potamias. Potamia was the birthplace of the Greek-born American sculptor Polygnotos Vagis, and a museum dedicated to his work exists in the village. Etymologically, the name of the village is derived from the streams that run through it.

Stamp on postcard is from set World Bee Day, issued on 20.5.2018.

We also received one more postcard from Greece, this time with nice street view.

It's a same stamp on this postcard, but this time without cancellation. 

Thank you Lana!

2018 FIFA World Cup Russia: Host city Volgograd

2018 FIFA World Cup Russia was played in 11 host cities and Volgograd was one of them. Volgograd Arena was built on the site of the Central stadium, at the foot of the Mamayev Kurgan war memorial.

Formerly known as Stalingrad, Volgograd extends alongside the Volga River and has 1 million residents. Modern Volgograd is an important manufacturing centre, with industries that include shipbuilding, oil refining and steel and aluminium production.Volgograd and the surrounding area saw some of the heaviest battles during World War II. The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in the war. The 85-metre “Motherland calling” statue is Volgograd’s landmark and can be seen from any point of the city.

Nice postmark and a lot of stamps on this postcard:
FIFA World Cup FIFA 2018 in Russia: Mordovia Arena, issued on 23.8.2017.
Four fauna stamps from set 5th Definitive Issue, issued on 29.8.2008.
Wolverine (from set of four), issued on 12.8.2004.


Thank you Zhenya!