2760. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 A Postmark It Is Then.

 

New issues -

🇵🇬 Post PNG Ltd (postal service of Papua New Guinea) -

‘Personalised stamps’ released officially by Post PNG Ltd - stamps with attached labels -

7 September 2023 - 48th anniversary of Independence 2 stamps. Printed digitally.

5 September 2025 - 49th anniversary of Independence - 2 stamps. Printed digitally.

The official nature of these issues is demonstrated by postings on the Post PNG Ltd Facebook page - 

September 2025 - it has been announced that postage stamps will be released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the granting of Independence to Papua New Guinea which falls on 16 September 2025. It is expected that there will be a royal visit to the country by King Charles III, King of Papua New Guinea. Designs of possible stamps have not yet been revealed.

Previous Facebook pages make reference to issues of recent years including the commemoration of the King’s late wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, Insects of Papua New Guinea and Nadzab Tomodachi Airport.

🇬🇧 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Royal Mail -

27 July 2025 - England Women’s Team’s victory in the European Women’s Football Championships - commemorative postmark.

  Amid a frenzy of English self-congratulation Royal Mail has announced that it will be using a special commemorative postmark to celebrate the second consecutive victory of the England Women’s Football Team in the European Women’s Football Championship. The postmark states, “It’s Home. Again./Champions of Europe 2025./England Women’s/Football Squad” which just about says all that needs to be said. First day of usage was 27 July 2025.

  A similar postmark was used for a limited period in 2022 when the England Women’s team first won the European Championship and it stated, “Congratulations England!/Women’s European/Football Championships/31 July 2022” and I suppose anyone interested in collecting the theme of Football on stamps would be delighted to an example of these postmarks to their collection (except perhaps anyone living in Spain, the national team of which was defeated by the English team in the final game of the Championships.

  Had Royal Mail decided to rush out a stamp to commemorate the women’s’ victory, I imagine it would have been a very popular issue sought after enthusiastically by the normally non-stamp collecting general public but those who are in charge of stamp issues at Royal Mail are generally keener on celebrating with a stamp issue important British national icons such as Peanuts, Star Trek and Batman, rather than pulling their fingers out and commemorating national events and anniversaries which have captured the national mood and imagination. So, a postmark it is then.

2175. 🇲🇺 Mauritius Commemorates Postal Anniversaries.

 

New issues.

🇲🇺 Mauritius Post -

8 October 2022 - 250th anniversary of the first postal service in Mauritius and 175th anniversary of the first postage stamps of Mauritius - 2 miniature sheets, both containing a single stamp. Rating:- *****.

🇧🇩 Bangladesh Post 

5 August 2022 - 73rd anniversary of the birth of Captain Sheikh Kamal, ‘Great Freedom Fighter Martyr’ - 1 stamp. Rating:- ***.

🇮🇳 India Post -

2022 - ‘My Stamp’ (personalised stamp) - Modi Enterprises (Commemoration of KK Modi) - 1 stamp issued in sheetlet of 12 identical stamps at a premium price).

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Post 

9 October 2022 - World Post Day - 1 stamp.Rating:- **.

🇧🇼 Botswana Post -

9 October 2022 - World Post Day, Bridges of Botswana - 4 stamps. Rating:- ****.

2101. 🇷🇼 CHOGM To Open In Rwanda But No Philatelic Commemoration?

 

Events.

  The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting opens in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, on 20 June 2022, bringing together senior politicians from the Commonwealth’s 54 member states. The meeting was originally due to take place in June 2020 but was delayed until June 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and then delayed again to this year for the same reason.  In Blog 1617, I related the history of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings and the stamps which were issued over the years by various postal administrations to commemorate the events. The most recent meeting held in London in 2018 was not associated with an accompanying commemorative stamp issue though Royal Mail grudgingly produced a slogan postmark for use on ordinary mail at the time (commonwealthstampsopinion.blogspot.com/2020/03/1617-commonwealth-day-2020.html).

 It seems unlikely also that there will be any postage stamps released by I Posta, the Rwandan postal service, because it has not issued any postage stamps since 15 November 2010 - almost 12 years, the longest period in modern times of not issuing a postage stamp of any country in the Commonwealth - and looking at the company’s internet site I could not find any reference to postal rates for ordinary mail in the country with the only postal services getting any mention being EMS (Express mail service) and parcel post. This is the case in a number of countries. The postal service of Samoa (expected to be the next CHOGM host country) for instance rarely releases stamps now after an unfortunate experience in dealing with a United States-based ‘philatelic agency’ and when it does the issue is usually a series of surcharges, some with high face values for use on parcels and express post.

  The Meeting’s chair will be Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s fourth President in office since 2000, who takes over the chair from the current holder of the position, Boris Johnson, the British prime minister. The theme of the meeting is ‘Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming’. The Prince of Wales will represent the current Head of The Commonwealth,  96 year old Queen Elizabeth II, at the meeting: the Prince himself has been elected previously by Commonwealth leaders to succeed his mother as the next Head of The Commonwealth.

  Ali Bongo, the President of Gabon, has made a number of announcements in the past year or so saying that he expects his country to be admitted to membership of The Commonwealth during the Kigali meeting and the government of Zimbabwe will be hoping to hear of progress in its application to rejoin the organisation after the downfall of Robert Mugabe who withdrew the country from Commonwealth membership.

  As it seems unlikely that there will be any philatelic commemoration of the event I have put a stamp design together on my I pad (in about 5 minutes, stamp design really isn’t that hard) (see the head of this Blog) and the Meeting’s emblem is featured along with a small cameo of President Kagame. And by the way, if you want a rare error, the ‘stamp’ below has an error of date. 

1970. 🇸🇬 Singapore Post Reveals Upcoming New Issues.

 

🇸🇬 Singapore Post has released details of its forthcoming issues up to the Chinese New Year issue (Year of the Tiger) which will be released on 7 January 2022 and includes 2 gummed stamps, a miniature sheet containing 2 tête beche pairs, a miniature sheet containing a single $10 stamp and a stamp to be dispensed from the SAM machine no. S796 in the General Post Office. There will also be a booklet of 10 of the 1st Local stamp in self-adhesive format. The issue was designed by Lim An-ling (stamps) and Andy Koh (‘Collectors sheet’) and the stamps were lithographed by Southern Colour Print while the Collectors sheet was lithographed with laser die-cut and gold hot stamping by Enschedé. The issue is perforated 14.5. Rating:- ***.

  The remaining issues of 2021 are:-

1 December 2021 - 75th anniversary of the Singapore Prison Service - 4 stamps. Designed by Wong Wui Kong and lithographed by Secura and perforated 13. Rating:- ***.

7 December 2021 - 50th anniversary of the Central Narcotics Bureau - 3 stamps. Designed by Wong Wui Kong and lithographed by Secura and perforated 13. Rating:- ***.

15 November 2021 - ‘Celebrating Women’ - 1 stamp. Designed by Agnes Tan and Casey Ng (Singapore Fashion Runway) and lithographed by Secura and perforated 13. Rating:- **.

🇬🇧 With thousands of politicians and ‘experts’ doing what they tell us we should not do - travel long distances and by air in particular - all arriving in Glasgow to attend the international meeting known as COP 26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Royal Mail has stepped up to the plate to commemorate what we are told is an event of existential importance not by issuing a commemorative stamp (well, it has been rather busy commemorating Batman and Wonder Woman and their colleagues) but by producing one of its slogan postmarks. I have not even read anywhere that Royal Mail will paint a Glaswegian postbox to commemorate the event which is a means it uses sometimes as a commemorative stamp substitute.

  To be fair to Royal Mail, looking back over other recent COP meetings which usually take place annually, I can not find a recent host country which has issued a stamp to commemorate its hosting of the conference. Still if it’s as important an event as the politicians and experts tell us then it is surprising that the British postal service has not recognised that this is one event that really is worth commemorating with a stamp issue.

1912. 🇲🇹 Malta Commemorates Tokyo Olympics.

 

  🇲🇹 MaltaPost issued a set of 3 stamps on 23 July 2021 to commemorate Malta’s participation in the troubled Tokyo Olympic Games. The rather bland stamps were designed by Aidan Caspar and lithographed by Printex and are perforated 14. Rating:- **.

  🇬🇧 The Post and Go kiosks located at the various Royal Navy museums (A002, A003, A004, A006 and A007) will dispense the Union Flag and Machin Head stamps with the additional inscription, ‘Black Tot Day 31st July 1970’ from 31 July to 31 August 2021 to commemorate the ending of the 300 year old traditional daily ration of rum given to sailors of the Royal Navy. The final day of the ration was called ‘Black Tot Day’ and was marked by sailors wearing black arm bands, a mock funeral for the rum ration and tots of rum being buried at sea. A light hearted commemorative I think.

  A postmark was used in Portsmouth on 31 July 1970 to commemorate the ending of the rum ration - it took the form of an oblong with the inscription in 4 lines:- “LAST ISSUE OF RUM/TO THE ROYAL NAVY/31 JULY 70/PORTSMOUTH”. An interesting little item to track down to match with the upcoming Post and Go stamps.

  🇧🇼 Botswana Post issued a pair of stamps and 1 circular miniature sheet containing the 2 stamps on 18 July 2021 recalling the period between December 1961 and July 1962 when Nelson Mandela, during his fight against Apartheid in South Africa, took refuge in a small house in the Lobatse township of Peleng in Bechuanaland which became Botswana in 1966.

  This interesting issue was designed by Onica Lekuntwane and the illustrator Itumeleng Motswetla. The issue was lithographed by Southern Colour Print. Rating:- *****.

1841. Commonwealth Day 2021.

 

  

  Commonwealth Day is being held this year in 2021 on 8 March. Last year’s celebrations were muted by the COVID-19 pandemic and for the same reason this year’s commemorations are virtual rather than taking place physically. Each year Commonwealth Day is given a theme but this year it will be the same as that of 2020 - “Delivering a Common Future - Connecting, Innovating, Transforming” which is also the theme of this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which was due to take place in Rwanda in 2020 but also had to be postponed and is planned to take place in Kigali in June this year but whether or not it can take place as a physical meeting under the present circumstances must be very doubtful. I detail the history of stamps which commemorate the various CHOGMs over the years in Blog 1617. As the Rwandan postal service has not issued any postage stamps now for more than ten years it did seem unlikely it would do so to commemorate the holding of CHOGM in the country though it is an important international event for the country’s President to host and he might have liked to have his national postal service commemorate the event philatelically. But the likelihood of any such stamps appearing seems even more diminished now with the ongoing pandemic. 

spoof ‘virtual’ overprint of 2018

  Of course Royal Mail did not feel it was an event worth commemorating when the last one was held in The United Kingdom in 2018 and the then prime minister Theresa May missed the opportunity of having her hosting of the meeting commemorated for all time on a stamp because her officials failed to press the idea on Royal Mail and to recognise the value of the postage stamp as a political statement. Sadly Royal Mail misses the opportunity to commemorate many significant events and people on its stamps such as its recent failure to commemorate the achievements in boosting the national mood during the present pandemic of the much loved Captain Sir Tom Moore.

 At the time of the conference Norvic Philatelics Blog did draw attention to an interesting and presumably scarce item which was provided by Royal Mail to those attending the conference. A special postbox was provided at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster and this could only be accessed by delegates for 3 of the 5 days of the conference. A special event postcard depicting key venues used during the CHOGM was provided to the delegates and the item received an exclusive handstamp. Norvic rightly mused why the postmark was not available for ordinary collectors to create an item to add to their collection.

  The postcards were produced by Clear Mapping Company and the company reported that they were given out to more than 2000 delegates and “The Royal Mail kindly provided a unique franking stamp for the occasion, so the delegates could send their postcards around the world for free. These have already reached far away destinations such as Cyprus, Jamaica and New Zealand!”. Norvic noted that the company had “already produced maps for Kigali, the venue for the next meeting late next year”. Ah! the best laid plans of mice and men.

 

  An important feature of Commonwealth Day is the role played by Queen Elizabeth II who is Head of The Commonwealth. This remarkable and dedicated woman who is a determined and devoted supporter  of The Commonwealth as an institution celebrates her 95th birthday on 21 April 2021 and as revealed in recent Blogs we know that a number of the postal administrations of Commonwealth members or their territories are planning, or have already issued, stamps to commemorate the Queen’s notable birthday. Issues have been released or are expected from Australia, New Zealand, Isle Of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Ascension Island, Bahamas, British Antarctic Territory, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands, Tristan Da Cunha and Grenada Carriacou And Petite Martinique. No doubt there will be numerous other issues over the coming few months.

  The Queen usually attends a celebratory service at Westminster Abbey on Commonwealth Day but as this is not possible this year she instead delivered a celebratory message by television on Sunday 7 March. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Countess of Wessex also participated by sharing their perspectives on the importance of Commonwealth links. The celebration also included readings, prayers and music from around The Commonwealth.

  The Queen’s role as Head of The Commonwealth was alluded to by Royal Mail on one of the panes from the ‘Prestige booklet’ it issued in 2016 to commemorate the Queen’s 90th birthday:-

    For the present at least The Queen remains Head of State of 16 Commonwealth nations - United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas, Antigua And Barbuda, Grenada, St Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent And The Grenadines, Belize, Papua And New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. The stamp issues of a large number of these are unfortunately managed by an exploitative philatelic agency which for a long time has seen the potential for financial gain by releasing stamps on behalf of its ‘client’ postal administrations with a royal theme and when it produces philatelic items celebrating The Queen usually fails to understand that it should portray her as Head of State of the respective country rather than as the British monarch.

  It is planned by the government of Barbados, not for the first time, that the country shall soon become a republic so the commemoration of that event will be a stamp issue for which collectors should look out perhaps later in the year. But Barbados will remain a member of The Commonwealth, one of 54, and hopefully take part in next year’s Commonwealth Day celebrations which, virus permitting, should be more normal.

  Next year too, will see the holding of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in England and that event surely will generate a special stamp issue on a Commonwealth theme from Royal Mail. Or perhaps not, doubtless there will be some 1970s veteran music performer or 1980s BBC television comedy programme or a new American science fiction movie featuring a few British actors on considerably lower rates of pay than the Americans appearing in the film, all of which will have precedence as a possible stamp issue with Royal Mail feeling it can make larger profits for them. 

  In the meantime, Happy Commonwealth Day!

Scenes from the 2021 Celebration:-