British Paralympic Winners, Ghana definitives, New Nigeria and Sri Lanka.

 A report in The Daily Telegraph of 7th July 2011 has clarified just what Royal Mail are doing with the Paralympic gold medalists miniature sheet which is designed to show every British gold medal winner at the Games. With approximately 50 gold medal winners likely they are not going to present collectors with a sheet for each winner as they intend to do with the winners at the preceding Olympic Games but to take photographs of groups of Paralympic winners. A merciful release for collectors then who will only have to buy one miniature sheet instead of 40 or 50. A good solution I think. I have recently obtained the new Ghana definitive stamps, which I have previously mentioned, and now illustrate all 10 values below. They were issued on 28 February 2012 and printed in lithography by Enschede.

I previously also mentioned the Ghana 2010 Football World Cup set of 8 stamps and a miniature sheet which depict Ghanaian football players and I have now also obtained those items and depict 2 more values from the set. Also to be released next week are sets of stamps in sheetlets of 4 and miniature sheet format to commemorate the RMS Titanic disaster centenary and the drafting of the proclamation of the emancipation of slaves by Abraham Lincoln, a former president of the United States. There will also be sets on the subjects of "birds of Africa" (4 stamps in a sheetlet and 1 miniature sheet), "parrots of Africa" (6 stamps in a sheetlet and 1 miniature sheet) and the 75th anniversary of the Hindenburg disaster (4 triangular stamps in a sheetlet and 1 miniature sheet). These sets seem to have no relevance or if so, only tangentally, to Ghana and so will not find their way into my collection. There will also be a set of 4 WWF stamps issued in sheetlets of 8 or 16 which depict the Bohor reedbuck.

Also just arrived are some more Nigerian items from 2012. There is a miniature sheet for the Phila Africa philatelic exhibition, previously mentioned, held between the 31 January and 3 February 2012 at Abuja. Rather late, like Ghana, Nigeria has sent out a set of 3 stamps for the 2010 Football World Cup, I do not know when they were issued although the imprint on the stamps says 2009.

There is also a further miniature sheet which appears to have accompanied the set issued on 30 March 2011 on the theme of the province of Benue. Both the Benue and the Phila Africa sheets are imperforate.

Finally, to Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Post Office's philatelic website is chaotic but I have gleaned some information from it of the country's issues so far in 2012.  The issues which it mentions and sometimes gives the date of issue of, and occasionally illustrates, are as follows:- Guardstoneat Rathanaprasadeya; 21 March 2012, Legends of Sri Lankan cinema, 6 stamps and a miniature sheet which combines all values; 10 March, Peony stamp; 20 March, Sustainable energy; 1 April, 50th anniversary of the Asia-Pacific Postal Union:-

22 February, Centenary of Scouting in Sri Lanka; 9 February, 25th anniversary of the Institute of Ship Brokers, 1 stamp; 10 April, Sinhala Hindu new year, 4 stamps as depicted below:-