1413. 🇳🇷 New Issue Mysteries Of Nauru.

  🇳🇷 Nauru Bulletin edition of 22 March 2019 has indicated that Nauru Post will issue a 'stamp and first day cover' to commemorate the State Visit of President Dr Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Nauru from 24 to 26 March 2019. A second article states that the date of issue of the stamp was 25 March 2019 and that "it (is) the sixth stamp to be released since Nauru Post was established in March 2018". In previous Blogs I have reported the issue of three previous stamps which suggests that Nauru Post has issued 2 other stamps of which I am not aware in the past 2 years. Furthermore I have only received the first of the 6 stamps from my new issue service and have not seen any of the other stamps being offered for sale on the internet or otherwise by any dealers. Harry Allen, which consumed CASCO some years ago, has been the agent for previous stamps of Nauru but is clearly out of touch with philatelic events in Nauru and as with the stamps of Saint Lucia from which it does not seem to have received any stamps for distribution for several years, is letting down new issue collectors of the two countries very badly. Its website for collectors appears to be non-existent and its prices for collectors are very high. If only some these territories would switch to the excellent Creative Direction/Pobjoy Stamps stable I suspect that publicity to collectors about them would improve considerably, designs of stamps would improve (no more reindeers and snow scenes from British Indian Ocean Territory) and collectors might actually be able to obtain stamps from the countries in which they are interested. Regardless, collectors have a task ahead of them to find out about and to obtain these six recent Nauruan stamps.

  🇨🇦 Canada Post issued a set of 5 self-adhesive stamps from a booklet of 10 (2 x 5 stamps) and 1 gummed miniature sheet on 27 March 2019 on the subject of Canadian aviators. This interesting set was designed by Ivan Novotny of Taylor Sprules Corporation. Rating:- ***.

1412. 🇸🇭 Tristan Da Cunha To Commemorate Its Lobster Industry.

  🇸🇭 The postal service of Tristan Da Cunha will commemorate its important lobster industry by issuing a set of 4 stamps on 10 April 2019. The designs by Bee Design are very eye-catching especially the colourful 35p value based on a photograph of lobster boats taken by Janine Lavarello. The other stamps also incorporate well chosen photographs in their designs, the photographers being Overstone Agencies and Sean Burns. The issue was lithographed by Cartor and is perforated 13.5. This is yet another highly attractive and interesting set from Creative Direction/Pobjoy Stamps. Rating:- *****.

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

  🇬🇬 Guernsey Post plans to issue approximately 66 strips of 'Visiting cruise ships' Post and Go  stamps - that is - strips of 6 different '50th anniversary of the Guernsey Old Car Club' stamps with an additional inscription "Welcome to + name of visiting cruise ship' from 4 April to October 2019. Preceding the first such stamp issue will be a strip of the 6 stamps which will be released on 1 April 2019 with the added inscription 'Bianvnu à Guernesi' (Guernsey French for 'Welcome to Guernsey'). These items will be dispensed by the desktop machine GG03 situated at the Guernsey Information Centre in St Peter Port but there will be no Cruise ship overprints from 3 to 13 May because GG03 will be taken to the International Stamp Fair in Essen where the added inscription 'Messe Essen/9 - 11 May 2019' will be applied.

  The Cruise ship stamps will be sold as complete sets to collectors who preorder or sets of strips totalling numbers in the high thirties will be sold as an alternative for the first visits of the various ships to port.

  The Essen Stamp Fair strip will also be sold from the Philatelic Bureau with the back office 'B' series code number.

    🇬🇧 Royal Mail will issue 6 stamps and 1 miniature sheet containing 4 additional all different stamps on 2 May 2019 to commemorate British engineering. Clearly this is a much more worthy subject than the seriously-misjudged Marvel comic characters set and the engineering and inventions featured on the stamps are of worldwide historic importance unlike a bunch of cartoon characters invented in The United States. Few countries in the world can match the brilliance and importance of the featured engineering achievements and the stamps serve as a timely reminder of what Britain has given to the world and why it will continue to flourish whether it is part of the European Union or not.

  The set is made up of 3 se-tenant pairs (1st Class (70p), £1.45p and £1.55p) and the featured subjects which are explained reasonably well by inscriptions on the stamps are:- Raspberry Pi microcomputer helps to teach programming, Falkirk Wheel rotating boat lift on Scottish Waterways, Three-way catalytic converter reduces pollutants in car emissions, Crossrail tunnels under London, Super-conducting magnet allows high quality imaging in MRI scanning and Synthetic bone graft material promotes new bone growth. All four stamps in the miniature sheet commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Harrier jump jet.

  Royal Mail is back to commemorating 'the best of British' - excellent! Rating:- *****. I will illustrate the set again when better quality illustrations are available.

1411. 🇭🇰 Hong Kong Post To Commemorate Hospital Centenary.

  🇭🇰 Hong Kong Post will issue a set of 4 stamps, 1 miniature sheet and 1 Prestige booklet costing HK$48 on 2 April 2019 to commemorate the Centenary of Pok Oi Hospital. This is a worthy anniversary to commemorate but Hong Kong Post appears to be issuing a booklet and miniature sheet and often other paraphernalia such as 'Heart Warming' stamps with almost every issue now and it's clear that much of what the Special Administrative Region is now releasing is excessive. I have given up buying Hong Kong Post stamp booklets completely and with the proliferation of issues have finally limited my new commemorative stamp collecting for this territory to stamps which commemorate important local events and anniversaries and not taking any general thematic stamp nonsense from the former colony. A pity as many of Hong Kong Post's stamps are still very well designed and produced but the postal administration has become too greedy as have so many previously respectable philatelic entities - the list is almost endless but collectors know which entities I mean. Rating:- ***.

  🇲🇹 MaltaPost issued a 37c Map of Malta stamp with an appropriately inscribed attached label to commemorate its participation in the Milanofil 2019 philatelic exhibition which took place from 22 to 23 March 2019. I assume that the date of issue coincided with the first day of the exhibition.

  🇬🇧 Royal Mail will issue a £4.20p retail stamp booklet on 4 April 2019 as part of its Birds of Prey issue. The booklet will contain 4 x 1st Class Machin Head definitives and 2 stamps from the Birds of Prey set - those featuring the Buzzard and the Hobby. The stamps are printed by gravure and are self-adhesive. Rating:- ****.

  🇳🇦 Publicity material has revealed the designs of many of the stamps due to be issued during 2019 by Nam Post, the postal service of Namibia. A set of 6 stamps was released on 19 March 2019 which depicted Whales. I have not yet seen the full set but three of the stamps are depicted below. The lovely designs are by Helge Denker. It is intended to issue a reprint of one of the values on 25 April 2019. Rating:- *****.

  Helge Denker has also designed the set of 4 stamps due to be issued on 25 April 2019 which features Cuckoos of Namibia. Another excellent set. Rating:- *****.

  The final set announced for 2019 is on the subject of Big cat species of Namibia and the three stamps are depicted below. The planned date of issue is 1 August 2019 and once more the set was designed by Helge Denker. Rating:- *****.

1410. 🇵🇸 Palestine Commemorates Stamp Centenary.

  🇬🇧 Shown below are better quality illustrations of Royal Mail's upcoming Birds of Prey issue due to be released on 4 April 2019. The issue was designed by Royal Mail Group Ltd based on original designs by GBH using photographs by Tim Flach. The issue was lithographed by International Security Printers and perforated 14 x 14.5. A lovely set. Rating:- *****.

  🇲🇲 I have not yet mentioned the set of 6 stamps which was issued by the postal service of Myanmar on 14 September 2017 on the subject of local musical instruments. A colourful set. Rating:- ****.

  🇵🇸 I do not collect the new issues of the states and territories of the Middle East and Gulf regions which were previously occupied territories, trust territories, mandated territories and protectorates of The United Kingdom but from time to time I add stamps to my collection which hark back to the days when their stamps qualified for inclusion in Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue 'Part 1'.

  One such interesting and relevant issue is a stamp and miniature sheet issued by The State Of Palestine to commemorate the Centenary of the first postage stamp issued in the territory under British occupation at the end of the First World War. The date of issue was originally intended to be 10 February 2018 but release was delayed until 15 January 2019.

  In the struggle with The Ottoman Empire which had allied itself with The German Empire against Great Britain and its allies during World War I the British had waged a campaign against the Turks across the Middle East. On 10 February 1918 a single postage stamp was issued for use in areas under British occupation - Palestine, Transjordan, Cilicia, northern Egypt and Syria. The stamp was printed in indigo-coloured ink by 'photo-lithography' by the Typographical Department of the Survey of Egypt sited at Giza and was inscribed 'E.E.F.' which stood for 'Egyptian Expeditionary Force'. The stamps were perforated by means of rouletting and were ungummed.

  A second value was issued on 16 February 1918 by surcharging the original 1 piastre value with a 5 mils value with a new shade of colour of the stamp itself - 'cobalt blue' instead of 'indigo'. A new shade of the 1 piastre was issued on 5 March 1918 in 'ultramarine' and on gummed paper.

  A very interesting new issue. Rating:- *****.