1183. 🇲🇾 Malaysia Features Rivers On Long Stamps.

  🇲🇾 Pos Malaysia will issue 2 very long stamps and 1 even longer miniature sheet on 27 February 2018 on the subject of Rivers of Malaysia. The depicted rivers are the River Rajang in Sarawak, the Pahang River and the Kinabatangan River in Sabah. The miniature sheet is the longest sheet ever issued in Malaysia. This is a very interesting and attractive issue and I look forward to adding it to my collection. Rating:- *****.

  🇬🇾 The Guyana Post Office Corporation has announced that it intends to issue 4 stamps in a miniature sheet,on 22 March 2018 to commemorate the Centenary of the birth of the former President of Guyana, Cheddi Jagan. Jagan was prime minister of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964, prior to independence and was then the Guyana president from 1992 to 1997.

  The issue is being produced in cooperation with the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre and with the IGPC philatelic agency. Rating:- ***.

  🇮🇳 India Post issued a single stamp on 25 February 2018 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Auroville International Model Township in Puducherry (previously known as Pondicherry). Rating:- **.

  🇵🇬 Post PNG, the postal service of Papua New Guinea, is planning to release the following issues during 2018 though if previous form is anything to go by, the proposed dates of issue need to be taken with a pinch of salt-

February - 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook's first voyage

March - Pioneer arts series - the work of Joseph Bayagau

April - Birdpex - Rare birds

May - 40 years of co-operation with the European Union

May - Papua New Guinea coffee 

May - PNG faces - New Guinea Islands

June - International sports

June - 50th anniversary of the United Church

July - Team sports

July (improbably) - Christmas.

  🇲🇿 In Blog 1181 I depicted the 2012 AICEP/Lubrapex 2012 - Writers of the Portuguese language stamp from Correios Moçambique, the postal service of Mozambique, which has been offered for sale recently on E Bay, and mentioned that I also had the same stamp on cover in my collection but that the stamps varied considerably in their colours. I now depict them both below and it can be seen that the difference between the two is considerable.

1184. 🇬🇩🇬🇾🇵🇬 Numerous New Issues From IGPC.

  The Beijing- and New York-based philatelic agency, IGPC, which in the past has labelled itself, 'The world's most respected philatelic agents', has announced the release of a number of philatelic products with the names of some of its client postal administrations printed on them:-

  🇬🇩 Grenada - 1 January 2018 - Chinese New Year, Year of The Dog - a sheet of 20 se-tenant stamps depicting Chinese paintings of dogs or flowers. The people of Grenada must find these 'stamps' to be very perplexing as the inscriptions on the items are printed entirely in Mandarin and the only words in English are 'Grenada' and 'China' which even makes it difficult to know which of the two countries has actually issued the stamps. An 'issue' aimed entirely at the Chinese stamp market and not at all at those who wish to send a letter in Grenada. Rating:- 0.

 

  24 January 2018 - Visit of US President Trump to The People's Republic Of China - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp. Quite why the Grenada postal service would have a good reason to release such an issue is unexplained. Rating:- 0.

 

  🇬🇩 Grenada Carriacou And Petite Martinique - Birds of Prey:- the Broad-winged hawk (1 miniature sheet containing 4 different stamps), the Osprey (1 miniature sheet containing 4 different stamps) and the Barn Owl (1 miniature sheet containing 4 different stamps) - all 3 of these species are found in Grenada. Rating:- **.

  🇬🇾 Guyana - 24 January 2018 - Birds of Guyana - 2 miniature sheets, 1 containing 4 different stamps and 1 containing 3 different stamps. Rating:- **.

  26 December 2017 - 40th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, an American popular singer - 1 sheetlet containing 4 different stamps, 1 miniature sheet containing 3 different stamps and 4 single stamp miniature sheets. Rating:- 0.

  24 January 2018 - The Jaguarundi - 1 miniature sheet containing 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing 2 different stamps. Rating:- **.

  8 February 2018 - 65th anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Guyana chose to become a Republic in 1970 and so it seems bizarre that it should issue stamps to commemorate the coronation of a monarch whom it chose to remove as its Head of State. 4 miniature sheets (3 each of 2 different stamps and 1 with a single stamp). Rating:- 0.

  31 January 2018 - Engagement of Prince Henry of Wales and Meghan Markle. An attempt to cash in on the engagement of this popular royal couple even though Guyana chose to become a republic rather than retain the Prince's grandmother as its Head of State. Rating:- 0.

  26 December 2017 - Wildlife of the Galápagos Islands. It is unclear why Guyana would issue stamps on this subject which has nothing to do with the country. One sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 single stamp miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

  🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea - 15 February 2018 - 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook's first voyage - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing a single stamp. Rating:- ***.

1182. 🇨🇦 Illustrators' Work Featured On New Canada Post Issue.

  🇨🇦 Canada Post will issue 5 self-adhesive stamps sold in a booklet of 10 (2 x 5 different stamps) and 1 gummed miniature sheet on 5 April 2018 which will feature work by notable Canadian illustrators. 

  This interesting and colourful set was designed by Lime Design and lithographed by Lowe Martin. Rating:- *****.

  Previously Canada Post will have issued 2 self-adhesive stamps and 1 gummed miniature sheet on 1 March 2018 on the subject of the Lotus flower. The self-adhesive stamps come in 2 formats - from coils and from booklets (5 x 2 different stamps). This is another attractive issue and was designed by Eunike Nugroho. Rating:- *****.

  🇮🇳 India Post issued a single stamp on 23 February 2018 to commemorate the late Bommireddy Naji Reddy who was a notable Indian film producer and twice President of the Film Federation of India. The stamp design is rather dull and unimaginative sadly. Rating:- **.

  🇫🇯 Fiji Post issued a set of 4 stamps on 5 February 2018 to commemorate Fiji's Presidency of the United Nations Climate Change Conference which took place in Bonn from 6 to 17 November 2017. COP23, as it is known, was concluded with the 'Fiji Momentum For Implementation' which outlined the steps that needed to be taken in 2018 to make the previous Paris Agreement operational. Rating:- *****.