1900. 🇸🇭 Tristan’s Green-eyed Monster From The Depths.

 

🇸🇭 The postal service of Tristan Da Cunha will issue a set of 4 excellent stamps on 14 July 2021 which will be the second part of its ongoing series featuring species of Sharks. My favourite from this magnificent set, designed by Andrew Robinson, is the 70p value which depicts the spectacularly sinister Great lantern shark with its glowing green eyes. Fantastic stuff! These are the sort of stamps that could get children excited and interested in stamp collecting - that old Great lantern shark is just the monster to thrill younger people. A great issue lithographed by Cartor and perforated 13.5 with the all important production coordination being carried out by Creative Direction. Rating:- *****.

  Many thanks to Juliet Warner of Pobjoy Stamps for information about this issue.

Canada Post issued a se-tenant pair of self-adhesive stamps from booklets of 10 (5 se-tenant pairs) and 1 miniature sheet on 29 June 2021 to commemorate the centenary of the launch of the Canadian sailing vessel, the Bluenose. The issue was designed by Dennis Page and Oliver Hill and printed in lithography. The miniature sheet was also issued in an edition of 40000 with an overprint featuring the Capex 22 philatelic exhibition applied to the lower left of the sheet. Rating:- ****.

🇧🇩 There have been further new issues from the postal service of Bangladesh. The issues are mainly associated with the Birth Centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s founding father, although there is also an issue noting the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Each issue is made up of a single stamp. Rating:- ***.

1 March 2021 - Golden Jubilee of the Non-cooperation movement.

2 March 2021 -  60th anniversary of the first hoisting of the first national flag of Bangladesh.

3 March 2021 - 60th anniversary of the reading of the Manifesto of Independence.

10 April 2021 - 60th anniversary of the Declaration of the government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the proclamation of Independence.

2 May 2021 - Birth centenary of filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

19 May 2021 - The fight against COVID-19.

As June draws to a close, and the first half of 2021 disappears into history, here is the latest list of Commonwealth philatelic entities which are not yet known to have released, or have had released on their behalf, any postage stamps so far this year:-

Anguilla

Belize

Brunei Darussalam

Cameroon

Cayman Islands 

Turkish Republic Of Northern Cyprus 

Dominica

eSwatini

Ghana 

Jamaica 

Lesotho

Maldives

Montserrat

Nauru

Papua New Guinea

Pitcairn Islands

Rarotonga Cook Islands

Ross Dependency

Rwanda 

St Kitts

Saint Lucia

Samoa

Sierra Leone

Solomon Islands 

Tanzania 

Tokelau

Trinidad And Tobago

Turks And Caicos Islands

Uganda

Zambia

  Therefore stamps are yet to appear during 2021 which might be viewed as ‘official’ from 30 Commonwealth philatelic entities compared with 39 at the end of May, 41 at the end of April and 54 at the end of March. In all I presently include 88 Commonwealth philatelic entities in my list so 62.5% appear to have now issued postage stamps in one form or the other so far in 2021.

1899. 🇫🇰 The Settlements Of Falklands

🇫🇰 The postal service of Falkland Islands will issue 6 stamps on 14 July 2021 as the second part of its series depicting art works by Mike Peake. The set is titled ‘Settlements’ and the paintings depict views of the towns and villages of the territory. The issue was designed using photography by Chris Andrews Publications Ltd and printed in lithography by Cartor and the stamps are perforated 13 x 13.5. Another excellent set from Creative Direction. Thanks to Juliet Warner of Pobjoy Stamps for information about these stamps. Rating:- *****.

🇰🇪 A single stamp has been released recently by the postal service of Kenya which commemorates International Year of Indigenous Languages which actually took place in 2019. I can only assume that this is a severely delayed release though I do not presently know the precise date of issue. Rating:- **.

 🇺🇸 The latest paraphilatelic products from IGPC are as follows (all products are rated 0):-

Inscribed The Gambia - 

30 April 2021 - 95th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II (2 miniature sheets).

9 April 2021 - In Memory of The Duke of Edinburgh (1 miniature sheet).

30 April 2021 - 3rd Wedding anniversary of The Duke And Duchess of Sussex (2 miniature sheets)

7 May 2021 - Trains (1 miniature sheet).

26 May 2021 - Commemoration of Dorje Chang Buddha III (1 miniature sheet)

21 June 2021 - 2 issues (3 miniature sheets) (subjects - a. Chinese New Year, b. First Lady of The United States. 

Inscribed Grenada - 

17 June 2021 - 3 issues (6 miniature sheets) (subjects - a. Insects, b. Marine life and c. Meerkats).

Inscribed Grenada Carriacou And Petite Martinique - 

14 June 2021 - 1 issue  (2 miniature sheets) (subject - In memory of The Duke of Edinburgh).

Inscribed Guyana - 

21 June 2021 - 5 issues (10 miniature sheets) (subjects - a. Butterflies, b. Ducks, c.Jaguars, d. Hummingbirds, e. Land mammals).

Inscribed Saint Vincent And The Grenadines - 

21 June 2021 - 2 issues each made up of 2 miniature sheets (subjects - a. Reef fish and b. Crabs).

1898. 🇵🇰 Pakistan Commemorates Insulin Centenary.

 

🇵🇰 The postal service of Pakistan issued a single stamp on 24 June 2021 to commemorate the Centenary of the discovery of a way of extracting and producing the hormone insulin by the Canadian medical researchers, Frederick Banting and Charles Best. Banting was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for the discovery, as was Scotsman Professor John Macleod for his role in developing the preparation of the extract to enable it to be administered to humans. Since it became available for the treatment of diabetes mellitus it must have saved millions of lives. Of course Royal Mail will not be commemorating the anniversary of this tremendous piece of work even though a Briton played such an important role in making insulin available to the world but instead, as we know, it will be commemorating the 70th anniversary of a cartoon character, Dennis the Menace.

  The stamp was designed by Liaqat Ali and was lithographed by National Security Printing Company, Karachi and is perforated 13. Rating:- ****.

  There may be an underlying contemporary message as well on the stamp - the inscription reads, “Frederick Banting & Charles H. Best discovered INSULIN nearly 100 years ago and sold the patent for just 1$“. I suspect this is a tangential reference to the need for COVID-19 vaccine to be readily available to poorer as well as to the more wealthy countries and that one way of increasing worldwide availability would be for the pharmaceutical companies to make the patent for their vaccines freely available to all, thereby repeating Banting’s philanthropy and likewise saving millions of lives.

🇸🇬 Singapore Post will issue 6 interesting stamps on 1 July 2021 on the subject of Skyrise greenery in the city state. The colourful issue was designed by Wong Wui Kong and lithographed by Secura Singapore Pte and the stamps are perforated 13. Rating:- ***.

🇫🇷 🇬🇧 People may wonder why the English wanted to leave the EU and why the French were glad to see them go. These two stamps both issued in 2021 depicting idealised youth portraits probably explain everything - from La Poste we have Le Petit Prince and from Royal Mail we have Dennis The Menace. Compare the two and reach your own conclusions:-

1897. 🇬🇧 Royal Mail’s New Stamp Star Gnasher Bites Postmen.

 

🇮🇳 India Post issued a single stamp on 20 June 2021 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Shantikunj in the area of Gayatri Teerth in Haridwar. It is the headquarters of the spiritual and social organisation All World Gayatri Pariwar. Rating:- **.

  🇸🇴 I came across this interesting photograph on Twitter posted by a Mr Stuart Brown of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who is the United Kingdom’s most senior diplomat in the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, the former Somaliland Protectorate, which is seeking to gain international recognition as an independent state and as such to join The Commonwealth. The photograph shows him in front of a display in the privately owned Sarayan Museum in Hargeisa, capital of Somaliland, of enlarged photographs of postage stamps released during the period under which Somaliland was under British rule. 

  But at the bottom left there’s an interesting item which has been discussed here in previous Blogs - the bogus Queen Elizabeth II Machin Head 1p stamp with a surcharge applied in Somaliland shillins. I am fascinated that a photograph of it has found its way into this display of otherwise legal issues and clearly the curator of the museum when putting together a collection of photographs of the stamps issued during the period of British rule there must have come across the illustration of the stamp said to have been ‘issued’ in 1997 though at the time the Somaliland Republic did not have a postal service and still, 30 years after its unilateral Declaration of Independence, does not. But here it is - featured in a museum in Hargeisa with lots of legitimate stamps - gaining credibility as a genuine stamp issue which is the way falsities gain credibility as time goes by.

  Mr Brown’s tweet also includes a photograph of an old postbox in Hargeisa which dates back to the days of British rule.

  🇬🇧 Those who choose the subjects to be featured on Royal Mail stamps really should take more care. The upcoming issue due out on 1 July 2022 is to feature the comic character Dennis The Menace along with his charmless canine companion, Gnasher, who together have also appeared in television animated cartoon programmes. In one episode Gnasher is much admired for bringing fame to his local neighbourhood for holding the world record for BITING POSTMEN - his aggressive chasing of and assault on a postman is depicted vividly in one sequence and generally thought to be a cause of general hilarity. How does, I wonder, featuring this beast on a postage stamp square with Royal Mail’s annual campaign of dog awareness which is aimed at getting the public to take action to prevent their dogs from biting postmen?

1896. 🇬🇧 Troubled Child And Dangerous Dog Celebrated On New Royal Mail Issue.

 

  🇬🇧 An internet auction site dealer has the Royal Mail Dennis and Gnasher 70th anniversary retail booklet of 6 stamps (4 x Machin Head 1st Class rate definitives and 2 x 1st Class values from the new set) on sale ahead of the date of issue (1 July 2021). The 2 revealed stamp designs from a miniature sheet containing 4 different stamps are certainly bold and colourful.

  The 6 basic stamps and 4 stamp miniature sheet are also now publicised by Buckingham Covers in on line advertisements for its first day covers of the issue. The designs trace the cartoon characters through their 70 year history. They depict the adventures or misadventures of an appalling child who in real life would probably have an antisocial behaviour order issued against him and his dog which would probably appear on the Dangerous Dogs list. Whither British stamps? Rating:- *.

  Better quality illustrations and more information will be added when it becomes available.

🇸🇬 Singapore Post will issue what it terms a sheet of 5 My Stamps on the subject of Herbs and Spices on 21 June 2021. The stamps are small and to the left hand side of the sheet with larger, more colourful labels attached to!the stamps at the right. Why not just issue a set of 5 ordinary stamps? Rating:- **.

🇮🇲 The set of stamps to be issued by Isle Of Man Post Office to commemorate the Centenary of the Royal British Legion which I mentioned in Blog 1892 is to be released on 26 June 2021. The stamps were designed by Glazier Design and were lithographed by Lowe Martin and are perforated 13.