868. South Pacific Christmas.

  The postal service of Niue will issue a set of 4 Christmas stamps with an accompanying miniature sheet on 7 December 2016 which depicts entries in a design competition. The designs were placed in an overall design by Jonathan Gray and the stamps were lithographed by Collectables and Solutions Centre in Whanganui and perforated 14.5. A colourful and attractive issue, rating:- ****

  The Tokelau postal service will also issue a Christmas set on 7 December 2016 which is also made up of 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet. The issue was designed by Hannah Stancliffe-White and lithographed by Collectables and Solutions Centre in Whanganui and perforated 13.5. The designs are a little too whimsical for my taste. Rating:- ***.

  Hong Kong Post will release a set of 6 stamps and 1 miniature sheet on 6 December 2016 on the subject of the pencil drawings of Kong Kai-Ming. All of the art depicts Hong Kong townscapes. The issue was designed by Gideon Lai and printed in lithography and intaglio by Enschede and perforated 13.5. This seems to be an interesting and, as we would expect, a well produced issue. Rating:- ****.

  More philatelic products from Stamperija - this time another 10 "sheetlets" each containing 4 different "stamps" and 10 accompanying "miniature sheets" which are mainly, but not exclusively, on the subject of sport. The featured subjects are Golf champions, Formula 1 champions, Chess champions, Cricket, Judo champions, Rugby, Table tennis champions, Lionel Messi (footballer), Elvis Presley (US musician) and Mahatma Gandhi. The stated date of issue was 29 September 2016. The products are inscribed "Sierra Leone". Rating:- 0.

  Apart from the above stuff Stamperija also claims that Sierra Leone issued a sheetlet of 4 different stamps as an extremely belated Year of the Monkey issue on 29 September 2016 along with a sheetlet and miniature sheet to commemorate the China 2016 International Stamp Exhibition, Rating :- 0

867. PNG NaCl.

  Papua New Guinea Post issued an excellent and amusing set of 4 stamps and 2 miniature sheets on 28 October 2016 on the subject of Traditional salt making in PNG. The set was designed by Kim Kaupa and Salvatore Brere and lithographed by Southern Colour Print. This is an issue with local relevance, of unusual subject matter and which demonstrates an excellent sense of humour. Rating:- *****.

  Papua New Guinea Post also issued a set of stamps with accompanying miniature sheets on the subject of the local Tuna industry on 29 October 2016. The set is made up of 4 stamps featuring various tuna fish along with 2 miniature sheets designed by Kin Kaupa and lithographed by Southern Colour Print. This is another locally relevant set which commemorates an important industry in Papua New Guinea. Rating:- ****.

  In the last couple of months, new issues from the New York-based philatelic agency, IGPC, seem to have become rather few and far between. The agency has listed new stamps for sale - last month from Israel and this month from Bhutan - but nothing really new of the sort of products that are produced by the IGPC for its gaggle of client territories in the Caribbean, Africa and the Pacific areas. I wonder what's going on. One pair of items which does seem newly listed is stated to have been "issued" on 21 December 2015 - a year ago - with the name "Grenada Carriacou And Petite Martinique" printed on the items. The products are said to feature the subject "Art on the Front Lines - The WW1 Illustrations of Gerolamo Bartoletti". There is a sheetlet of 5 stamps and 1 single stamp miniature sheet and there is no attempt made in the stamp designs to explain why 2 minuscule Caribbean islands need to have such an issue released in their names. Rating:- 0.

  Pos Malaysia issued a set of 5 stamps on 21 November 2016 on the subject of "Places of worship" - a collection of mosques, temples and churches - which makes for an interesting and attractive issue. The issue is also pleasingly modestly priced. Rating:- ****.