671. Sierra Leone's Ebola Heroes.

                                      

Eventually, even Stamperija must produce a philatelic item which is worthwhile, tasteful, interesting, relevant to the country whose name is printed on it and .... important. And likely to be used for postage on ordinary mail by the general public in the country in whose name it was released.

  That day has arrived seemingly. With a stated date of issue of 21 August 2015, a sheetlet of 8 stamps has been produced which is titled "Tribute to the Heroes in the Fight against Ebola Virus" and is inscribed "Sierra Leone". The excellent designs feature 8 medical doctors who played a role in combatting the recent terrible outbreak of the disease in Sierra Leone and other countries in West Africa. I presume these are people who would never have featured on stamps normally (much better to feature "celebrities" such as Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Diana, Princess of Wales not to mention Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker and Peppa Pig). Rating:- *****.

  So for once collectors can buy stamps featuring the truly commemorable and heroic - Dr. Olivetta Buck, Dr. Martin Maada Salta, Dr Godfrey A J George, Dr. Modupe Cole, Dr. S. Jimmy Rogers, Dr. Sheik Ulmar Kharo, Dr. Thomas Rogers and Dr. Victor Willoughby. Doubtless there were many non- medically qualified heroes involved in the struggle against the Ebola epidemic and it would be pleasing to see philatelic commemoration of some of them coming out from the Sierra Leone Post Office in time.

   Likewise, Sierra Leone received a lot of help from British volunteers, at least 2 of which developed the disease and were at some stage, very seriously ill. It would be pleasing to see such heroes, who helped save many lives, being commemorated on Royal Mail stamps - they are equally if not more deserving than Olympic medal winners, football players, science fiction film actors and Pink Floyd - perhaps Royal Mail could abandon its plans to commemorate the latter and replace them with Britain's own Ebola heroes. Or perhaps  they could be included in the "Humanitarians" set due in early 2016. Maybe that's the plan - not long to find out.

                               

                               

  Reverting to type, Stamperija has also produced more thematic philatelic products with the name of Sierra Leone printed on them - the usual 10 "sheetlets" each containing 4 different "stamps" along with 10 "miniature sheets". The subjects of some of these products are hilariously irrelevant to Sierra Leone - the list consists of Giant Pandas, Tigers, Prehistoric water creatures, Orchids, Seals, Shells, Snakes, Tropical fish, Whales and Waterbirds. The stated date of issue of this hotchpotch is 21 August 2015. Rating:- 0.

                                 

                              

                               

                            

  Singapore Post will issue a set of 4 stamps on 24 November 2015 which depict paintings in the Singapore National Gallery. This is a very attractive and interesting set. Rating:-  *****.

                                              

                                                 

 Singapore Post also issued a set of 2 stamps and 1 miniature sheet on 14 November 2015 as part of a joint issue with India Post. The subject of the issue is the official residences of the Presidents of the 2 countries.. Rating:- ***

                                          

                                                  

                                                 

  India Post issued 2 stamps and 1 miniature sheet on 14 November 2015 to commemorate Children's Day. Rating:-***

                                                  

                                                  

                                                   

  The 3 issues of The British Antarctic Territory which were mentioned in Blog 657 were all put on sale in the territory on 17 November 2015.

The latest release of philatelic products from the highly prolific New York-based philatelic agency, IGPC, has given collectors of Commonwealth stamps a huge list of thematic items to consider purchasing or not purchasing according to their tastes. Many of the subjects featured on these products, as usual, have little or no relevance to the countries whose names are printed on these items. Information about exact dates of issue is very patchy.

  Ghana - 2 November 2015 - Butterflies - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

                                           

                                            

  2 November 2015 - Edible mushrooms - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

                                                   

                                               

  25 November 2015 - Visit of Pope Francis to New York - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

                                      

                                     

  2 November 2015 - 150th death anniversary of former US President Abraham Lincoln - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.               

                                    

                                               

   25 November 2015 - Achievement of Queen Elizabeth II in becoming the longest reigning British monarch - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

                                 

                                 

   2 November 2015 - Wild cats of Africa - 1 sheetlet of 6 stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

                                 

                                 

  2015 - Christmas - 4 stamps. Rating:- 0

                                           

                                           

Grenada - 2015 - Visit of Pope Francis to New York - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

                                 

                                 

  2015 - Achievement of Queen Elizabeth II in becoming the longest reigning British monarch -1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- **.

                                 

                                 

   2015 - Chinese New Year (Year of the Monkey) - 12 stamps. Rating:- 0

                                         

                                        

  Grenada Grenadines - 2015 - Visit of Pope Francis to Washington - 1 sheetlet of 6 stamps. Rating:- 0

                             

     2015- Achievement of Queen Elizabeth II in becoming the longest reigning British monarch - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

                              

                               

   Guyana - 20 November 2015 - The Papacy of Benedict XVI - 1 sheetlet of 2 x 3 different stamps and 1 miniature

sheet. Rating:-0.

                              

                              

   Nevis - 2015 - 25th anniversary of the Hubble Telescope - 1 sheetlet of 12 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0. 

                                   

                                 

  2015 - Centenary of the First World War (The First Battle of Ypres) - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

                                               

                                             

   2 November 2015 - Christmas - 4 stamps. Rating:- 0.

                                              

                                               

  St. Vincent And The Grenadines - 25 November 2015 - Visit of Pope Francis to New York - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

                              

                              

  2015 - Christmas - 4 stamps. Rating:- 0

                                               

                                               

  Tanzania - 2015 - Birds of Tanzania - sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- **.

                             

                            

  - 2015 - Christmas 4 stamps Rating:- 0.

                                            

                                           

670. Stamperija Loses Uganda.

                                             

    In an online message posted today inviting the public to join the philatelic agency, Stamperija, at the Monacophil Stamp Exhibition in Monaco from "3 - 5 November" (a rather belated invitation then though elsewhere in the message the correct date of 3 - 5 December is given) the agency lists the territories which it intended to represent at the exhibition - the Commonwealth territories listed being Solomon Islands, Mozambique, Maldives, Namibia, Sierra Leone and "Uganda 2012 - 2014" - it seems that after a relatively short period as Uganda's agents the contract has been ended between the two parties and that Stamperija has lost Uganda as one of the countries which it can claim to represent.

  This would explain why Uganda has not issued any stamps so far during 2015 and indeed the last  philatelic products to have been put out by Stamperija were "issued" as long ago as 26 February 2014 when 80 stamps and 20 miniature sheets appeared under the umbrella titles of "domestic animals" and "bird spotting". Many of the creatures which appeared on these items had no direct relationship to Uganda.

  What is Posta Uganda's philatelic future to be? Is it doomed to return from the fire to the frying pan by allowing IGPC to recommence handling its stamp issues? Posta Uganda's website does state that it has an appointed philatelic agent in New York - IGPC - though I can't tell if this is up-to-date information - I fear it is.

                               

                               

  Guyana Post issued a pair of stamps on 14 October 2015 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of  The Bank of Guyana. The publicity for these stamps described them as "Revenue stamps" but the remainder of the text of the publicity in Guyana's local press suggests that these are indeed postage stamps and notably they are denominated in values which represent current postal rates. These are clearly real postage stamps issued with the intention of them being used on ordinary mail rather than being philatelic collectables put out by a foreign philatelic agency. Rating:- ***.

                                        

                                        

  Campost, the postal service of Cameroun, has issued a pair of stamps, date of issue not yet known, which depicts the Reunification Monument in the country's capital, Buea. A new issue from Cameroun is a rare event and this is an interesting pair of stamps. Rating:- ***.

                                        

                                        

  The South African Post Office has released 2 new issues:-

 - 9 October 2015 - World Post Day - 1 sheetlet of 5 different stamps. Rating:- ***.

                               

  - 27 October 2015 - Commemoration of Oliver Tambo - 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- ***.

                               

  Below, I depict the miniature sheet issued by Pos Malaysia on 17 November 2015 on the subject of Beaches and Islands of Malaysia along with a set of 4 stamps as mentioned in Blog 663:-

                              

669. Clouds Over The Falklands.

  The Falkland Islands postal administration will issue a set of 4 stamps on 9 December 2015 on the subject of "Clouds" over some wonderful Falkland Islands scenery. Another excellent issue from Pobjoy Stamps/Creative Direction. Rating:- *****.

                                                        

                                                        

  ZimPost, the Post Office of Zimbabwe, has issued a set of 4 bright and cheerful stamps on the subject of local handicrafts. The date of issue was 23 September 2015. Rating:- ****.

                                               

                                               

  Bhutan Post has released several new issues recently. These are:-

  2015  - 35th anniversary of the World Food Programme in Bhutan. - 1 sheetlet of 9 different stamps. Rating:- *****.

                                     

  October 2015  - Atsara of Bhutan - 1 sheetlet of 6 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Atsaras are clown-like figures who entertain the crowds at tshechus. Rating:-*****.

                                     

                                      

   October 2016 - Food of Bhutan - 1 sheetlet of 9 different stamps and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- *****.

                                     

                                   

         Cyprus Post will issue 3 stamps and 1 miniature sheet on 19 November 2015 to commemorate Christmas. The miniature sheet depicts an icon by Solomos Frangoulides which was part of a series produced by him between 1932 and 1934 while the 41c depicts the Madonna and Child in impress silver-gilt. The set was designed by Yiota Tsaklidou and Melanie Efstathiasou and lithographed by Giesecke and Devrient Matsoukis. Rating:- ****.

                                                     

                                                      

                                                       

                                       

  Various dealers are offering new Royal Mail Post And Go labels on E Bay. Firstly, there are the new Machin Head labels from the Fleet Air Arm Museum (FAAM) and RN Submarine Museum (RNSM) with new inscription and logos - one Collectors' Strip each - both of 6 different values each. See also Blog 646.

  Also on offer are the new Winter Fur and Feathers stamps from NCR kiosks in ordinary post offices in the Second Class mail designs but with 1st Class inscriptions printed on them in error. See also Blogs 645, 665 and 667.

668. Philatelic Collector's Year Of Monkey Philatelic Products.

  In Blog 666 I depicted a sheetlet of 2 stamps issued by Philatelic Collector Inc. with the name of Samoa printed on them which commemorates the lunar new year - The Year of the Monkey. I now depict other items from this "minibus" which Philatelic Collector Inc. has released with the names of Cook Islands, Aitutaki Cook Islands, Penrhyn Cook Islands, Niuafo'ou Tonga and Tonga printed on them. The date of issue is stated to have been 25 September 2015 and the items were printed in lithography by BDT International. Each sheetlet contains 1 design by Sophia Zhang as well as a work by a distinguished Chinese calligrapher. 

  Of course, there are no native species of monkey on any of these islands.

  Wikipedia states that 550 Chinese people live in Samoa and that there are 30000 in Samoa of mixed Samoan-Chinese descent due to the introduction of Chinese labourers to the islands during the period of German colonial rule. A census of 2001 suggested that Chinese made up 3-4% of the population of Tonga. Chinese people make up less than 0.9% of the population of Cook Islands. You can make up your own minds on the relevance of these philatelic products to these various territories.

      Tonga and Niuafo'ou Tonga - 1 sheetlet for each philatelic entity plus 1 additional sheetlet inscribed "Tonga". Each item contains 2 different stamps. The foldable $27.90 sheetlet has an area in to which a  personalisable label can be inserted and the whole can be folded into the shape of a sedan chair which in the past was the form of transport by which a bride was carried to her new husband's home. Rating:- 0.

                                         

                                         

                                               

  Cook Islands, Aitutaki Cook Islands and Penrhyn Cook Islands - 1 sheetlet for each philatelic entity. Each sheetlet contains 2 different "stamps". Rating:- 0.

                                    

                                              

                                            

IGPC has issued some Battle of Waterloo philatelic items additional to the sheetlet of four produced in the name of Antigua And Barbuda which I mentioned in Blog 667:-

  Antigua and Barbuda - 2015 - Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamps (depicted in Blog 667) and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.

                                 

  St. Kitts - 3 August 2015 - Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo - 1 sheetlet of 4 different stamp and 1 miniature sheet. Rating:- 0.