The 200th Anniversary of the Guernsey Press and Star

 

Date of Issue : 31 July 2013

Guernsey Post has released a new series of six stamps. The stamps mark two hundred years of the Guernsey Press.They show headlines from the past two centuries - including the Occupation, Liberation, and the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the throne.

 

 

Pair one features the inaugural issue of the publication in June 1813 (40p stamp) and the front page of the 200th year edition in 2013 (63p stamp). The second pair commemorates two British monarchs who have celebrated Diamond Jubilees during the Press’ lifetime.

The Guernsey Evening Press was published in 1897, the same year Queen Victoria celebrated 60 years on the throne. The celebration was marked in a special supplement of The Star (53p stamp) which illustrated drawings and descriptions of the day.The 71p stamps shows how The Press celebrated the occasion of Her Majesty the Queen’s Coronation in June 1953.

The last pair highlights the summer of 1940.That year, the occupation of the Channel Islands began and The Press fell under the Nazi control. The front page of The Press was devoted to the ‘Orders of the Commandant’ which has been illustrated on the 55p stamp.

When the island was liberated in 1945, The Press ran a triumphant headline and illustration (79p stamp). Liberation Day is celebrated on the 9th of May since and the edition holds the record for the highest single day’s circulation in the newspaper’s history selling 17,585 papers.

Dating back to 1813, The Press as it is known locally has become an integral part of island life and along with the postal service, has worked diligently to keep islanders in touch and up-to-date. The two institutions have enjoyed strong links over the years and in the early 20th century they were located across the road from each other in Smith Street, St Peter Port. A pipeline - still thought to exist - ran between them and special tubes carrying telegrams were propelled through it, landing in the editor's tray for the evening paper.

Press Clippings

Birth anniversary of Munshi Prem Chand

31st July was the Birth anniversary of great Hindi writer Munshi Prem Chand . Three-day Lamhi festival was inaugurated at Cultural Complex, Chowkaghat, Varanasi  on Tuesday. During the three-day festival organised by Regional Cultural Centre events including different plays based on the novels and stories of Premchand, folk music programme, puppet show, and several other literary and cultural events will be presented at Lamhi village (native place of Premchand) as well as Cultural Complex simultaneously.

: Ashwani Dubey – Gorakhpur

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Club News…

 

Hi !

I have just published August issue of Rainbow Stamp News on Blog. It can be viewed at following link :

http://rainbowstampnews.blogspot.in/2013/07/rainbow-august-2013.html

If you find any problem in viewing please also try following links….

http://rainbowstampnews.blogspot.in/  ( For Indian Readers )

http://rainbowstampnews.blogspot.com  ( For Overseas Readers )

 

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Birth of Prince George VII

 

Date of Issue : 21 August 2013

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had a very special delivery last week - and now the arrival of their son Prince George is to be commemorated with STG1 ($A1.68) stamps.

Isle of Man Post Office is to become the first postal administration to mark the third in line to the throne's birth as they release a sheet of eight stamps congratulating William and Kate.

With the inscription "We could not be happier", as the Duke said upon the birth of his son on Monday, the sheet includes four stamps showing the proud father and four of a smiling Kate.

A gold-foil special postmark with the words "It's A Boy" will be used to cancel the stamps when the postal tribute is released on August 21 with a limited numbered edition of 500.

 

New German stamp

Help for the Flood Victims with a  “Flood Relief 2013″

 

A new commemorative postage stamp by German post “Flood Relief 2013″ is destined to bring help to the people who were victims of the recent flood. It has a nominal value of 58 cents, with a premium of 42 cents.

German Finance Minister Dr. Wolfgang Schauble resolved as part of providing immediate assistance to the citizens affected by the flooding to issue a commemorative stamp with a premium. The immense scale of the flood disaster and the related need to provide help swiftly and with no red tape prompted the decision to bring out the commemorative.

The proceeds will go straight to helping the people affected in the various different regions in line with the slogan for commemorative postage stamps that feature the “+”: “Do good, and help – with stamps”.

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New stamps on pets and birds

 

Date of Issue : 23 July 2013

As part of the Pets series, Latvijas Pasts has released two new stamps depicting the most popular pet in Latvia – the cat.

The new stamps and first-day cover depict cats and kittens of various breeds and colors. The denomination of the stamps is LVL 0.35 (EUR 0.50) and LVL 0.98 (EUR 1.39), corresponding to the cost of mailing a registered letter within Latvia. The stamps have been designed by the artist Agita Paegle, illustrator of more than 20 children’s books.

The cat (Felis silvestris catus), also known as the domestic cat, is a small, carnivorous mammal that was domesticated more than 9,500 years ago. The cat is one of the most popular pets in the world. According to a survey conducted in Latvia in 2011, 71% of people have selected the cat as their pet, and only 47% have chosen the dog.

Owls on New Thai stamps

Thai post issued a set of new postage stamps featuring owls.Owls are a group of birds known for their distinct calls, nocturnal habits and silent flight. Owls are familiar to many people because they are often depicted in various ways in popular culture. They rank on par with bats and spiders as the most celebrated of Halloween creatures.

Owls belong to a group of birds that includes about 205 species. These species are sorted into two basic groups, the barn owls and the true owls. Barn owls have a heart-shaped face, long legs and powerful talons. Barn owls are medium-sized birds. There are 16 species of barn owls, including the greater sooty owl, Australasian grass owl, ashy-faced owl, barn owl and Sulawesi owl.

True owls are more diverse than barn owls, with nearly 190 species in about 23 genera. Some better known true owls include screech owls, horned owls and saw-whet owls.

True owls vary in size from the tiny elf owl to the bulky Eurasian eagle owl. True owls have a round facial disc, a short tail and a large head. Their color is muted (consisting of mostly brown, rust, gray, white and black) and their pattern is mottled, helping to conceal them from both predators and prey.

Owls feed on a wide variety of prey. Their main food source consists of small mammals such as mice, squirrels, voles and rabbits. Owls swallow small prey whole. They must tear larger prey into small pieces before swallowing. They later regurgitate pellets of indigestible material such as bone, fur and feathers.

Most owls hunt at night and in doing so avoid competition with daytime avian hunters such as hawks and eagles. Although nocturnal feeding is the norm for most owls, some species such as burrowing owls and short-eared owls feed during the day. Still other species, such as pygmy owls, feed at dusk or dawn.

Owls are depicted in cave paintings in France that date back 15,000 to 20,000 years. Owls also appear in Egyptian hieroglyphics. They have held a variety of symbolic roles in culture and have represented misfortune, death, prosperity, and wisdom.

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New Special Cover..

 

Kerala Postal Circle of India Post released a special cover (KL-5/203) on 09-07-2013 on the auspicious Golden Jubilee Celebration Central Tuber Crops Research Institute at Thiruvananthapuram.

The Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), a constituent Institute under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) established in 1963 is the only research organization in the world dedicated to the research on topical tuber crops.  Over the past 50 years, the Institute has released 47 improved verities of tuber crops, standardized agro-techniques including viable multiple cropping system, eco-friendly protection packages, value added products and post harvesting machinery.  They have been successfully transferred to farmers through front line extension efforts.  The special cover commemorates the Golden Jubilee (1963-2013) of this institution.

- Sreejesh Krishnan – Trivandrum

New stamp from India to be released on 7 August

 

KERALA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

India Post will release a commemorative stamp on Kerala Legislative Assembly on August 2013.

 

The evolution of Kerala Legislative Assembly begins with the formation of a Legislative Council in the princely state of Travancore in 1888. This was the first Native Legislature in Indian sub continent, outside British India. The Legislative Council of Travancore had undergone many changes by years. By the meantime people’s participation in the Assembly was widely sought. All those efforts led to the formation of one more representative body, namely the Sri Moolam Popular Assembly of Travancore. This Assembly of the representatives of the landholders and merchants, aimed at giving the people an opportunity of bringing to the notice of Government their requirements, wishes or grievances on the one hand, and on the other, to make the policy and measures of Government better known to the people so that all possible grounds of misconception may be removed. That was on October 1, 1904. Though the popular assembly contained representatives of tax- payers, it finally became a people’s representatives body. Political awareness and people agitations were aggressive and the authorities were forced to include peoples representatives into the popular assembly.

On May 1, 1905, a regulation was issued to grant to the people the privilege of electing members to the Assembly. Of the 100 members, 77 were to be elected and 23 nominated, for a tenure of 1 year. The right to vote was given to persons who paid on their account an annual land revenue of not less than Rs. 50 or whose net income was not less than Rs. 2000 and to graduates of a recognized University, with not less than 10 years standing and having their residence in the taluk. The membership of the popular assembly increased year by year and finally in 1921 elected representatives gained the majority. By that time the house had 50 members of which 28 were elected and the rest nominated. By this time the princely stated of Cochin also formed a Legislative Council(1925), with 30 elected and 15 nominated representatives. Malabar District of Madras Province under the British rule, had representatives in Madras Legislative Assembly from 1920's.

After India’s independence responsible governments were formed in Travancore and Cochin. In 1949 the merger of Travancore and Cochin as Travancore-Cochin, formed the first Legislative Assembly, the Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly composed of 178 members of the Legislative bodies of Travancore and Cochin. The Malabar region had representatives in the Madras Legislative Assembly.

: Sreejesh Krishnan : email :  sreejesh.nt@gmail.com

Special Cover on AIR Chennai

India Radio (AIR) Chennai, which was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of composite Madras State C. Rajagopalachary on 16th June 1938, has completed 75 years of existence. It is one of the oldest radio stations in the country. AIR Chennai celebrated its platinum jubilee this year. To mark the occasion, a special cover was released on 23rd July 2013 at Chennai. Release of the special cover coincide with the celebration of 86 years since electricity crackled through the capacitors and amplifiers of the Indian Broadcasting Company’s Bombay transmitter station on July 23, 1927, bringing to life the first radio station in Bombay.

Courtesy : Indian Philately Digest , CG Bhaskar – SIPA, Chennai

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Andy Murray on new British stamps

 

 

Date of Issue : 8 August 2013

This new issue from Royal Mail will mark the English victory Andy Murray in tennis at Wimbledon with a four stamps issued on August 8, which shows the tennis player to win the cup, and he throws it at various stages. This victory against Novak Djokovic is the first men's singles title for a British tennis player since Fred Perry in 1936.

The Miniature Sheet comprises two First Class and two £1.28 stamps featuring dramatic images from this classic final, including the moment when Murray kissed the famous trophy in celebration.

It also includes the official device of the Wimbledon Championships in its border, and represents the first in a new series of Special Stamp issues to honour most successful sportsmen and women.

The stamp designs :

First Class Stamp (Top left)
Andy Murray kisses the Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles trophy in triumph. First presented by the All England Club in 1887, Murray is the first British player to hold this coveted trophy since Fred Perry lifted it in 1936, an incredible 77 years ago.

£1.28 Stamp (Top right)
Murray steps up to return the ball with the absolute concentration and determination that characterised this famous win. In the entire match he made just 21 unforced errors, compared to the 40 that were made by world number one Djokovic.

First Class Stamp (Bottom left)
Andy Murray serves during the final set of his Gentlemen’s Singles final victory over Novak Djokovic. His consistent serving was crucial to his victory, as he won 72% of the points from his massive first service, compared to just 59% for Djokovic.

£1.28 Stamp (Bottom right)
The winner of the 2013 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles holds the famous trophy aloft, to the delight of an entire nation. It was all a far cry from the heartbreak of the 2012 final, and as Murray himself said: “Hopefully we can do it all again next year.”

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New Stamps from USPS..

 

Date of Issue : 8 August , 2013 

US Postal Service will issue 12 different Forever stamps “Made in America: Building a Nation” in five panes with different pictorial margins on 8 August .

“The Made in America: Building a Nation stamps honor the courageous workers who helped build the United States.” With those words, the Postal People announced an ambitious program offering 12 different stamps featured in five different pictorial margin panes.

In the top row are an airplane maker, a derrick man on the Empire State Building, a millinery apprentice, and a man on a hoisting ball on the Empire State Building. In the middle row are a linotyper in a publishing house, a welder on the Empire State Building, a coal miner, and riveters on the Empire State Building. In the bottom row are a powerhouse mechanic, a railroad track walker, a textile worker, and a man guiding a beam on the Empire State Building.

The five different sheets each have a different selvage photograph: two with Empire State Building iron workers, another with a General Electric worker measuring the bearings in a huge casting, the fourth uses the same image of the coal miner that appears in the stamp pane, and the final margin depicts a female welder.

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Birth of a Prince stamp from Australia

 

Date of Issue : 22 July 2013

Instant stamp from Australia Post

This instant stamp sheetlet from Australia Post celebrates the birth of a Prince to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on 22 July at 4.24pm BST. The newest member of the Royal Family was introduced to the world the next day on the steps of the hospital, with his proud parents. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have since named their son George Alexander Louis.

The stamp features an image of the Royal couple leaving St Mary's Hospital Paddington with their newly-born son. The birth of a future monarch is always a highly anticipated event and the child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who will be third in line to the throne after Prince Charles and Prince William, was no exception.

A notice of the birth was attached to an ornate easel in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, with the media officially informed. There were royal gun salutes across London heralding the new arrival.

 

Headline News

Date of Issue : 23 July 2013

Australia Post issued a set of four stamps and a mini sheet featuring news headlines. This stamp issue features key events across the 20th century, which became headline news in Australian papers.

Sydney's Dancing Man would go on to symbolise the joy that comes with an end to war, and in 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin held television viewers captive when they became the first men to set foot on the moon.

Darwin was devastated on Christmas morning in 1974 when it was hit by Cyclone Tracy. The stories of heroism and survival were felt around the country. And until 1983 the New York Yacht Club had successfully defended the America's Cup. John Bertrand and the crew of Australia II changed that by defeating Liberty in the seventh and final race of the series.

Maxi Cards

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Tributes to Kargil War Heroes…

 

 

Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated on 26 July every year in honour of the Kargil War's Heroes. Philatelic Tributes to the great heroes who sacrificed their life in the war !!

New Delhi: As the nation marked the 14th anniversary of the Kargil war on Friday, Defence Minister A K Antony and the chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force paid tributes to the martyrs at Amar Jawan Jyoti here.A candlelight tribute was also paid to martyrs on the eve of the Kargil Vijay Divas in Jammu and Kashmir's Drass sector.

To commemorate the heroism displayed by the soldiers who laid down their lives during the Indo-Pak war in Kargil in 1999, a number of events have been planned all across the country. Special functions will also be held at Kargil and Drass in Jammu and Kashmir, the war theatre where Indian soldiers fought bravely and laid down their lives to safeguard our motherland.

The Kargil war, which began in May 1999, lasted more than two months before Pakistan soldiers withdrew from the mountain tops they had occupied overlooking the Srinagar-Leh highway.
In the battle with Pakistani forces, the Army nearly lost 500 officers, soldiers and jawans, many of whom were posthumously felicitated with gallantry awards.

A special Cover was issued in Tiruchirapalli on Kargil War hero Major Saravanan on 26 July 2008.

 

New stamps from Malaysia

Malaysian Salads

Pos Malaysia issued a set of four stamps on 25 July, 2013 featuring traditional Malaysian salads. The stamps illustrate Pegaga, Kacang botor, Petai and Pucuk gajus.

Pegaga (Centella asiatica) grows in tropical swampy areas. The stems are slender, creeping stolons, green to reddish-green in color, connecting plants to each other. It has long-stalked, green, reniform leaves with rounded apices which have smooth texture with palmately netted veins. The rootstock consists of rhizomes, growing vertically down. They are creamish in color and covered with root hairs. In Malay cuisine the leaves of this plant are used forulam, a type of Malay salad.

Kacang botor (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) is a tropical legume plant native to New Guinea. It grows abundantly in hot, humid equatorial countries. This bean has been called the “one species supermarket” because practically all of the plant is edible. The beans are used as a vegetable, but the other parts (leaves, flowers, and tuberous roots) are also edible. The flavor of the beans has a similarity to asparagus.

 

Date of Issue : 25 July 2013

Petai (Parkia speciosa) is a plant bearing long, flat edible beans with bright green seeds the size and shape of plump almonds which have a rather peculiar smell, similar (but stronger) to the Shiitake mushroom, characterized by some as being similar to natural gas. They are best when combined with other strongly flavored foods such as garlic, chili peppers, dried shrimp or shrimp paste. In Malaysia, petai also commonly served with sambal, or mixed with dried shrimp, chili peppers, red onions, belacan (shrimp paste), soy sauce and prawn.

Pucuk gajus (Anacardium occidentale) are cashew leaf shoots that are used in many traditional Malaysian dishes.Nasi ulam, for instance. Nasi ulam in Malaysia consist of cold cooked rice that is mixed with shredded herbs such as daun kaduk (wild betelnut leaf), pucuk gajus, onions etc.

 

 

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Wedding Customs…

 

Date of Issue : 23 July 2013

A set of special stamps on “Chinese and Western Wedding Customs” have been issued by Hongkong Post.

“As I have held thy hand, so I shall grow old with thee.” Marriage is a lifelong promise between a man and a woman. It is also an important event in a couple’s life. Throughout time and across cultures, nuptial ties are formed at marriage ceremonies. Apart from bringing sweet and memorable moments for the bride and groom, a wedding is a joyful occasion shared with family and friends. Influenced by culture, traditions and the way of life, marital customs vary in different societies. In Hong Kong where the East meets the West, weddings are characterized by a blend of traditional Chinese etiquette and Western customs. This set of stamps introduces the wedding culture of Hong Kong from various perspectives, highlighting the harmonious mix of Chinese and Western elements.

In this stamp issue, red and gold, popular colours for Chinese celebrations are used in three of the stamps to emphasize the cheerful bustle of Chinese weddings. White and pink, being the symbol of purity, are the main colours of the other three stamps in which the feeling of romance associated with Western weddings permeates.

An auspicious colour in Chinese tradition, bright red is employed for the stamp sheetlet to highlight the Chinese red lanterns and dragon-phoenix bangles on the left, and the crystal chandelier and wedding rings on the right. A couple in Chinese wedding costume and another in Western wedding attire are juxtaposed to show the harmonious integration and coexistence of Chinese and Western wedding customs in Hong Kong. The contrast is delightful.

$1.40 – The newlyweds, in traditional Chinese wedding dress, perform their bows as part of the ceremony. The dragon and phoenix embroidery on the bridal dress symbolizes nobility, auspiciousness and a blessed union. Forming a backdrop are a “double-happiness” paper-cutting and two big red lanterns, adding to the joyous atmosphere.

$1.80 – Their hearts filled with love for each other, the groom, in his tuxedo, and the bride, in her wedding gown, exchange their vows. The wedding rings on their fingers are tokens of enduring love and faithfulness.

$2.40 – “Gift Presentation” in traditional Chinese wedding etiquette is very much like a betrothal ceremony. On the day of “Gift Presentation”, the groom’s family will pay a visit to the bride’s family, bringing gift money, bridal cakes, coconuts, tea leaves, etc. to make a formal marital pledge.

$2.50 – Cutting a cake at a wedding is a Western tradition. The new couple shares the cake with their family and friends who partake in the joyful celebrations and share the happiness of the bride and groom.

$3 – The red background with dragon and phoenix motifs suggests auspiciousness and joyfulness in Chinese weddings. The couple, in gold silhouette, has drunk their nuptial wine: now they will never part.

$5 – Western weddings are usually held in a church or a garden. Decorations are mainly in white. An archway adorned with roses and wedding bells lend solemnity and a touch of sweetness to the occasion.

Club News

Saudi 2013

The Saudi Arabia Philatelic Society is going to organize Saudi 2013 - 29th FIAP Asian International Stamp Exhibition. The Exhibition will be held at Kingdom Shopping Mall, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 11 - 16 December 2013. It will be a 6-day General Asian International Stamp exhibition and will includes Traditional, Postal History, Youth, Literature and Modern Philately classes.

Website : http://www.saudi2013.com/

The last date of submitting entry form is 30th July 2013.

Mr Umesh Kakkeri is the National Commissioner for this exhibition. He may be contacted at : Email: umesh_kakkeri@hotmail.com (M) +919969571767

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New Stamps from Poland

 

 

Date of Issue : 30 July 2013

Polish Post will issue two colorful stamps on Cycling Race on 30th July . This is a beautiful set of stamps in Rainbow color and collectible item for those collecting on Sports. On 18th July , a stamp on National Regional Products was issued featuring Strawberry. This is a nice item on “ Fruit ” theme.

Cycling Race

 

Date of Issue : 18 July 2013

Polish Regional Products

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New Permanent Pictorial Cancellation..

 

 

Kempegowda Tower 23 JUly 2013

A new pictorial cancellation  on famous Kempegowda Tower of Bangalore  was released on 23 July 2013  from Basavangudi  Head Post Office, Bangalore .

Veena Srinivas, Postmaster General (BD) with Arundhaty Ghosh, PMG (SK), Hilda Abraham, Chief Post Master General and Prakash K, DPS Headquarters, at the introduction of pictorial cancellation and release of Special Cover on KempeGowda Tower, at GPO, in Bangalore on Tuesday 23rd July 2013

 

: Jagannathmani – Bangalore : email :  jagannath_mani7@yahoo.co.in

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Marianne –The symbol of France…

 

French post issued a bloc of stamps representing symbols of French republic depicted on stamps during the period of the existence of Vth Republic. The bloc depicts 12 Mariannes of the French Republic in black-and-white issued from the year 1959:

1959 Marianne the Nef;

1960 Marianne by Decaris;

1961 Marianne by Cocteau;

1962 Gallic rooster;

1967 Marianne by Cheffer;

1971 Marianne by Bequet;

1977 Sabine by Gandon;

1982 Liberty by Gandon;

1989 Marianne of Bicentennial (by Briat);

1997 Marianne of 14 of July (by Luquet);

2005 Marianne of the French people (by Lamouche);

2008 Marianne of Europe (by Beaujard).

Marianne is a national emblem of France and an allegory of Liberty and Reason. She symbolises the “Triumph of the Republic”. Her profile stands out on the official seal of the country, is engraved on French euro coins and appears on French postage stamps.

Marianne is one of the most prominent symbols of the French Republic. Marianne represents the state and values of France, differently from another French cultural symbol, the Coq gaulois (Gallic rooster) which represents France as a nation and its history, land, culture, and variety of sport disciplines in their combative forms.

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New Europa Stamps..

 

  Date of Issue : 6 July 2013

Here are some recent Europa 2013 issues. This year’s Europa theme is Postal Vehicles. The stamp and sheetlet issued by Isle of Man are very nice with special design of postal vehicles  on the sheetlet. The other recent stamps are from Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serb post) and Norway.

Complete Europa 2013 issues could be seen at Europa Stamps .

Isle of Man

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serb post)

 

Date of Issue : 12 July 2013

Norway

 

Date of Issue : 10 June 2013

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