387. Tuvalu In Space.

  For no obvious reason, a sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet were issued by Tuvalu on 24 March 2014. These garish items merely depict the sun and its various planets and the issue is not connected with Tuvalu nor any important international anniversary linked to Tuvalu. They seem to be pieces of sticky paper with pictures depicting a randomly chosen subject printed on them. I imagine stamp collectors all over the world will be contacting their dealers feverishly desperate to buy these products. Or perhaps not.

I have a better illustration of the miniature sheet which was issued by Maldives to commemorate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the 2 countries as mentioned in Blog 304:-

  Also now illustrated below are the final issues of 2013 and the first issue of 2014 from Sri Lanka as mentioned in Blogs 360 and 364:-

  12 January 2014 - Thai Pongal Farmers' Festival (the accompanying miniature sheet was depicted in Blog 365).

  19 December 2013 - Dharmadasa Walpola;

   December 2013 - Ven. Baddegama Wimalawansa Nyaka Thero:-

   December 2013 - Sri Lanka Administrative Servce:-

There are also new issues from Brunei Darussalam  - 

   2014 - ? 23 February - 30th National Day - 4 se-tenant stamps, 1 x $30 miniature sheet and 1 booklet containing a se-tenant strip of all 4 values:-

  2014 - Butterflies of Brunei (4th issue) - se-tenant strip of 3 values:-

  The first issue of 2014 from Mauritius was released on 28 March on the subject of wildlife of the island and consisted of 3 stamps designed by Mauritius Post and lithographed by BDT International:-

  Meanwhile collectors who have a lot of money and nothing useful to spend it on will be rushing out to purchase the latest Stamperija products which have the name of the unfortunate Solomon Islands printed on them. This miscellany is purported to have been issued on 22 November 2013  and comprises 9 sheetlets each containing 4 different "stamps" and "9 miniature sheets". Each sheetlet and miniature sheet unit depicts a different subject none of which seem to have any discernible relevance to the country whose name appears on them. For the record the subjects are:-

  Brazilian football players:-

   400th anniversary of the founding of the Russian Romanov dynasty:-

  Bees and flowers, the Concorde aircraft, Australian motorcycles, 40th anniversary of Pablo Picasso, Bicentenary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi, American impressionist paintings and Foreign high speed trains:-

  This is probably the last issue of "stamps" for 2013 with the Solomon Islands' name printed on them and so a total of 505 "stamps" and 112 "miniature sheets" were issued for this territory making a grand total of 617 philatelic items which places Solomon Islands in the number 2 spot in the list of "Greediest Commonwealth stamp issuing territories of 2013" (not too far behind Mozambique with its grand total of 659 items). I hope that the Solomon Islands postal administration is proud of what Stamperija has achieved on its behalf and pleased with what the company has done for the international philatelic reputation of the country.

386. Commemoration.

  In Blog 382 I dealt with Royal Mail's first set of stamps on the subject of the centenary of the First World War to be issued in July 2014 and also mentioned my own grandfather, Dick White, and his part in the war and that I thought I could make my own personal commemoration of him at the time of this notable anniversary by having a portrait of him used on a Royal Mail Smiler stamp label. I ordered 20 of the Union Flag stamps with his portrait in the uniform of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment placed in a circular label attached to the stamps and I must say that I find the result to be very pleasing. The stamps are presented in a sheet of 20 stamps which consists of 2 panes of 10 stamps and labels (illustrated above and below) and I shall be proud to use the stamps on letters to friends and relatives in this centenary year.

  Postal rates in Australia will rise on 31 March 2014 with the domestic rate moving from 60c to 70c - a shocking 17% increase. To soften the blow, 2 non-denominated stamps were released on 24 March 2014 which are available to pensioners and disabled people and will enable them to buy domestic rate stamps for 60c until 2017 (Australia Post estimates that 5.7 million people will benefit from the concession). These items are sold to collectors in a pack of 5 (3 of the kangaroo design and 2 of the map design) at a price of $3.95. Australia Post expects the postage rate increase to help it to offset a $147 million loss experienced by its domestic mail business in the 2012/13 financial year (in 2011/12 the loss had been $114 million). 

  Collectors who buy this pack will of course be making the biggest contribution to helping Australia Post claw back some money in the face of financial losses since the face value of the 5 stamps is only $3 or even if charged at a face value of 70c each the grand total is only $3.50 but Australia Post is making collectors pay $3.95 to obtain 5 stamps although there are only 2 different stamps in the pack (collectors must buy 5 stamps to obtain two). We collectors of Australian stamps must think of ourselves as philanthropists - a continual source of income to a failing postal service.

  The concession stamps were designed by John White and lithographed by R A Print:-

  The programme of new issues for 2014 from The Turkish Republic Of Northern Cyprus is:-

  6 January 2014 - 50th anniversary of the postal service of the Republic of Northern Cyprus - 3 stamps:-

  27 January 2014 - 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Education College - 1 stamp:-

  17 February 2014 - FIFA World Cup Competition, Brazil - 2 stamps:-

  10 March 2014 - "The only witness was the Cumbez..." - 4 stamps:-

  23 May 2014 - Europa - "National musical instruments" - 2 stamps;

  4 July 2014 - Surcharged stamps (Beneficial insects and World Environment Day) - 2 stamps;

  19 September 2014 - Fruit tree flowers - 4 stamps;

  17 November 2014 - Traditional production 4 stamps.

  Gibraltar issued a set of 5 stamps on 20 March 2014 which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Red Arrows, the RAF flying display team. The set was designed by Stephen Perera from photographs by Rich Andrews and was lithographed by Lowe Martin. The face value of the stamps is £4.38p and since the subject of the issue does not appear to have any direct relevance to Gibraltar I shall not bother to add it to my collection of Gibraltar stamps. This issue joins the Chinese New Year issue on my list of Gibraltar "Footnote issues".

385. Commonwealth New Issues.

  Pakistan's first stamp issue of 2014 was released on 12 March and was the latest stamp to appear in its "Men of Letters" series. The stamp commemorates Habib Jalib and was designed by Adil Salahuddin and lithographed by Pakistan Security Printing Corporation of Karachi. Jalib was born on 28 March 1928 and became a revolutionary poet and left wing activist and politician.

  A stamp was then issued on 20 March 2014 which commemorated the late Air Commodore (R) M M Alam. This stamp was also designed by Adil Salahuddin and lithographed by Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (depicted above). Muhammad Mahmoud Alam was a Pakistan Air Force fighter pilot and one star general who was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat (the Star of Courage) for his actions during the Indo-Pakistan War in which he shot down 5 Indian aircraft in the space of 1 minute. He died on 18 March 2013 aged 77.

  Malta issued a set of 4 stamps on 28 March 2014 titled "Maritime Malta Series II" and designed by Cedric Galea Pirotta and lithographed by Printex:-

  I highlighted the first 2 issues of the year to appear from Tuvalu in Blog 383 and apparently the third issue of 2014 will be a set to be released on 24 March on the subject of "Space" and the next issue after that will feature "Vegetables" and will be released on 23 April.

  The next issue from Guernsey will be a set of 6 stamps depicting musical instruments which will be released on 8 May 2014. The stamps and a miniature sheet were designed by The Potting Shed and lithographed by Lowe Martin. The 55p and 63p represent Guernsey's participation for 2014 in the annual EUROPA omnibus:-

  And then a set of 6 stamps will be issued on 28 May 2014 which have a floral theme - the 50th anniversary of "Britain In Bloom". The stamps were designed by Andrew Robinson and lithographed by BDT International:-

  Guernsey Post will issue a second set of 6 stamps on 28 May 2014 but with the inscription "Alderney" which depict scenes from a recently produced final panel for the Bayeux Tapestry. The stamps and 1 miniature sheet are designed by Bridget Yabsley and lithographed by Cartor. The miniature sheet has been produced on 100% combed cotton thread:-

  Ireland's An Post issued a single stamp on 20 March 2014 to commemorate the 90th birth anniversary of the playwright, Brendan Behan. The stamp was designed by Conor and David and lithographed by Irish Security Stamp Printing Ltd:-

  Cyprus issued the 2014 Refugee Relief stamp on 12 March in the usual design but with a "2014" inscription:-

  Meanwhile, yet another issue to mention from Grenada Grenadines which has been released in 2014 (precise date not known) on the subject of rocks and minerals:-

  The New York-based philatelic agency responsible for the above Grenada Grenadines items has certainly been busy recently as detailed in Blogs 384, 383, 381 and 379 and now I have illustrations of recent philatelic items it has produced in the name of Tanzania (I do not yet know the dates of issue) -

  2014 - Sunbirds of Africa (strangely, South American toucans are depicted in the borders of the sheetlet) 1 Sheetlet of 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet. I'm not sure how many of these species are actually found in Tanzania - certainly the one depicted on the miniature sheet stamp, the Nile Valley Sunbird, is NOT a species which is found in Tanzania. What is the point of showing species which do not appear in Tanzania when the country apparently has 1108 species within its borders which could be depicted?

  2014 - Reptiles of Africa - 1 sheetlet of 4 stamps and 1 m.s.:-

  2014 - Breeds of domestic dogs - 2 sheetlets each of 4 different stamps and 2 miniature sheets:-

  Below are illustrated the excellent set of 6 stamps and 1 miniature sheet issued by Hong Kong China on 20 February 2014 which depict Chinese dinosaurs and which were designed by Keith Yip and Tong Wai-pang and lithographed by Enschede:-

  On 24 March 2014 Australia Post will issue a set of 7 gummed stamps, a se-tenant coil strip of 4 x 70c stamps and booklets of 10 x 70c and 20 x 70c stamps (which produces just 4 different stamps) making a total of 15 different new stamps all of which are on the subject of Floral Emblems of Australia's States and Territories. The stamps were designed by Jo Mure and lithographed by McKellar Renown:-

Gummed set of 7.

Coil strip of 4 x 70c.

Booklet of 10 x 70c.

  The latest Stamperija products with the name of Mozambique printed on them are said to have been issued on 25 September 2013 and take the form of 15 sheetlets each of 4 different "stamps" and 15 miniature sheets, each subissue on a different subject which are:-

  Chinese trains:-

  Steam trains; Fire engines; Post Impressionist paintings, Russian Art:-

  Minerals; Lighthouses and shells, Ancient Egypt; Reptiles; Chess In Art; Butterflies; Whales; Owls; Primates and African Fauna.

  This may well be the last "issue" of 2013 with Mozambique's name  inscribed on it to emanate from this agency during 2013 which means that in all 538 "stamps" and 121 "miniature sheets" making a grand total of 659 philatelic items were issued with the Mozambique Post Office's approval during 2013. Not one of these things will find its way into my Mozambique collection. 

  Actually, this is the smallest total of philatelic items produced for Mozambique in several years but it still places Mozambique in the number 1 spot in the list of greediest Commonwealth postal administrations of 2013. Perhaps they could boost their new issues figures back up again by touring the world's philatelic exhibitions with a "Post And Go" machine in tow and cash in on that source of inflated philatelic income as the Jersey Post Office is now attempting to do even though there is not a Post And Go machine available for use by the general public in Jeresy itself. Or perhaps, Jersey could just give up producing its own stamps and let Stamperija loose on Jersey collectors and then it could share its machine with Mozambique and everyone would be happy (except the collectors).