Cover from Italy no. 14

Another great surprise from Giovanni, a variation on the theme of Inter Milan, Italy's football champion in the season 2009-2010 after this special postcard and this cover with a special postmark. The cover above with the commemorative Inter Milan stamp was sent on 7 August 2010 from Terracina, province of Latina, near Rome, with another special football postmark. Grazie mille, Giovanni!

Cover from Hong Kong no. 3

This is a lovely pictorial cover sent by Brian from Hong Kong, with a $2.40 stamp from a series called "Hong Kong in My Eyes". The stamp was drawn by TAN Ying-yun and is cancelled by the day of issue postmark, and sent on the official first day cover (21 October 2010). To complete the postage there is the definitive white-bellied sea eagle stamp as well.

Cover from Latvia no. 7

A great cover from Oleg in Riga, Latvia, with a 0.40 lat stamp issued on 5 August 2010, showing a steam engine used in the 1920-1930s, from a series of railway stamps. Another nice example is here. The other 0.15 lat bears the coat of arms of the spa town of Jurmala, issued in 2005. Thank you, Oleg!

Postcard from Russia no. 2

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A beautiful panoramic postcard received in September 2010 from Dalnerechensk, Russia, showing a vista of the city of Vladivostok, the capital of Primorsky Kray in Russian Far East on the Pacific Ocean, the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway. In 2010 Vladivostok celebrates the 150th anniversary of its founding, which is also commemorated by the 7.70 rouble stamp with the city's coat of arms (tiger on the rock). The other smaller stamp shows the coat of arms of the city of Yaroslavl (both issued on 27 August 2010), and the large 2 rouble stamp, issued in 2002, shows the portrait of admiral P. S. Nakhimov (1802-1855), who during the Crimean War defeated the Turkish fleet. The small hare definitive is part of the fifth issue of definitive stamps (2008). Thank you, Elena!

Cover from Philippines

A superb cover received in October 2010 from Manila, Philippines. With a complete series of stamps issued on 8 September 2010, celebrating 300 years of devotion to Our Lady of Penafrancia, the patroness of the Bicol Region, in the province of Camarines Sur. The festivities start the second Friday of September each year and are the largest Marian devotion in the country. The first two 7p stamps show the image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia from 1924 and 2009, the third stamp shows Our Lady of Peñafrancia Shrine, and the fourth stamp shows the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Peñafrancia in Naga City (each stamp has a print-run of 160,000 pieces). The souvenir sheet of 28 pesos(8,500 pieces issued) shows in black and white the Shrine in Naga City. Thank you very muchJohn Paul!

New Czech stamps - June 2010

After a pause... I am here with the new Czech stamps series, this time covering the month of June 2010.
On 16 June the Czech Post issued a really nice engraved stamp of 17 Kč commemorating the 700th anniversary of the succession of the Luxembourgs to the Czech throne. The stamp shows the married couple of John of Luxembourg and Elisabeth of Bohemia. As a result of their marriage, Jean of Luxembourg became king of Bohemia in 1310. The stamp is a joint issue with the Duchy of Luxembourg, was designed by Czech artist Karel Zeman and printed in Prague. Print-run 265,000 stamps.

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Two geographical stamps were issued on the same day in the "Beauties of Our Country" series. 12 Kč stamp dedicated to the town of Klatovy (in Plzeňský kraj in West Bohemia), known for its Baroque pharmacy, carnations, catacombs, and the Renaissance townhall with the Black Tower; and 14 Kč stamp of the town Štramberk in Moravskoslezský kraj, with historic centre and the Gothic tower called Trúba. Print-run of each stamp: 224,000.

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Always on 16 June, another geographical stamp, showing the landscape of the Protected Landscape Area of Žďárské vrchy (Žďárské Hills) approximately in the centre of the Czech Republic. Print-run: 1,500,000.

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16 June: an offset printed stamp of 21 Kč (overseas rate for postcards and light letters up to 20 grams) commemorating the 600th anniversary of the Old Town Astronomical Clock, one of the major sights of Prague. Print-run: 500,000.

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On 23 June the Czech Post issued this unplanned 10 Kč stamp to celebrate the victory of the Czech team at the World Ice Hockey Championship in Germany (ice hockey is one of the national passions). The player kissing the trophy looks a bit like Jaromír Jágr, the team's captain, but only remotely, as it is still not permitted to portray living people on Czech stamps (except the president). Print-run: 1,500,000

Postcard from Záhlinice, Czech Republic

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A postcard which I sent to myself on 4 May 2010 when visiting the neighbouring town of Hulín, to have our car repaired. At the local post-office I found this card of the village Záhlinice, which is part of Hulín. Záhlinice has some 370 inhabitants, a huge defunct brewery (closed in 1925) and a malting plant which is still in operation. There are also some large ponds between the village and my town.

The stamp used and hand-cancelled at the counter, the only 10 Kč commemorative available at the moment at the post-office, was issued on 24 March 2010, and is a reminder of the Vancouver Olympic Games and the gold medals won there, courtesy of speed-skater Martina Sáblíková.

Cover from Hong Kong no. 2

A nice cover sent from Hong Kong on 15 July 2010, the day of issue of the "Biodiversity" series of fauna photo stamps, presenting some living creatures endemic to Hong Kong. Here we have frog Liuixalus romeri, along with 10c white-bellied sea eagle to make up the necessary postage. Both stamps were cancelled by the day of issue postmark. Thank you, Brian!!

Cover from Jamaica no. 3

A registered cover from Jamaica received in July 2010, which in fact is the top side of a packet in which I received a nice Jamaican rum shot glass. The Jamaican registered sticker is accompanied by a Czech one used at Praha 120 Post Office, and a postmark saying BEZ CLA which means DUTY-FREE. The stamp that really draws the attention is the fantastic Bob Marley souvenir sheet issued on 31 July 1995 with a then pretty high nominal value of 100 Jamaican dollars. There were five more stamp issued in 1995, all of them commemorating the 50th anniversary of Bob Marley's birth. The two 40 dollar stamps were issued on 1 December 2002 and commemorate the 100th anniversary of PAHO (Pan American health Organisation). It is evident that there was one more stamp, but was torn off during the journey, but even without it this is a very nice artifact.

Cover from Macedonia no. 2

A lovely cover sent on 2 June 2010 from Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, by Ana. The souvenir sheet of 72 denars (1.17 euro) shows cornflower Centaurea grbavacensis and the 1 denar stamp Helichrysum zivojinii, both issued on 10 September 2008 in a series dedicated to Macedonian flowers. And there was a nice surprise in the envelope - a stamp related to my country, issued in 2009, in a series presenting various countries of the EU accompanied by a typical view or a person.

Thank you!

Postcard from Malaysia no. 3

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After Argentina this is another faraway place:) This great postcard arrived in September 2010 from the town of Tenom in Sabah, Malaysia, and shows the remains of an ancient volcano (hills of Bodgaya and Bohey Dulang islands) in Tun Sakaran Marine Park, one of the six national parks in the state of Sabah (Borneo).

The 30 sen square stamp has sweet potatoes (Ubi Keledek, Ipomoea batatas), from a series called "Tuber Plants" of four stamps (and a souvenir sheet), issued on 23 July 2009. The the other 30 sen stamps features Pteroptyx valida, one of the fireflies presented in a set of four stamps and a souvenir sheet issued on 10 May 2010.

Thank you so much Caroline.

Cover from Argentina no. 4

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A lovely cover received at the end of September 2010 from Agustín in Playa Unión, in Argentina's state of Chubut, a really exotic place from the Central European point of view:)

The round tennis ball stamp - which even has the texture of a tennis ball!!! - issued on 26 September 2009, is taken from a sheet celebrating the superior skills of tennis player Guillermo Vilas, as part of a series of souvenir sheets called Argentine's Sport Idols II. (The other stamps in this issue were dedicated to Juan Curuchet, Luciana Aymar and Delfo Cabrera). The two 1 peso stamps show the facade of Palacio Duhau in Buenos Aires, one of 8 historic protected buildings in Argentina shown on a series of stamps issued on 12 December 2009.

And then there is the typical large Argentinian postmark which always fascinates me with the amount of information put in it.

Muchísimas gracias, Agustín, also for the fantastic penguin postcard!

Postcard from China no. 6

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A fantastic postcard showing the Detian - Banyue Falls (Chinese: 德天瀑布 & 板約瀑布) or Ban Gioc Falls (Vietnamese: thác Bản Giốc), two waterfalls on the Quy Xuan River on the China-Vietnam border, located in the Karst hills of Daxing County in the Chongzuo prefecture of Guangxi Province, arguably the most beautiful place in China, as the text on the front claims.

The four stamps present a nice overview of some of the China's 2009 production. The top 120 fen stamp shows Anding Academy (2009-27, 4-2) from a series of four stamps presenting ancient academies, issued on 15 November 2009.

The other 120 fen stamp below (2009-9, 3-1), issued on 23 May 2009, shows the North Gate at the ancient town of Fenghuang in Xiangxi Prefecture, Hunan Province.

The third 120 fen stamp (2009-18, 3-2), issued on 27 August 2009, shows the Glittery Flying Waterfall in the Huang Long Scenic Area in the northwest part of Sichuan, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992. There are two more stamps in the series and a miniature sheet.

The last pink stamp at the bottom (2009-7, 2-1), issued on 10 April 2009 to commemorate the China 2009 World Stamp Exhibition, shows a carmine pot with a design of a dragon and a phoenix playing with peony. There are two 120 stamps, and a 600 fen miniature sheet.

Thank you Charlotte, there is very much to explore on a single postcard:)

Aerogramme from Isle of Man

Received in October, this great aerogramme sent on 27 September 2010 from the town of Douglas, in Isle of Man, and missent to Malaysia:) Thank you very much, Florian!

Cover from Italy no. 13

A fantastic cover from Giovanni: with a stamp of Piazzale di porta Pia in Rome (the stamp is dedicated to the capital of Rome, in a series of pictorial views started with the Foro romano in 2007) cancelled on 20 September 2010 by the day-of-issue postmark used at Roma Filatelico counter, with another pictorial postmark of Roma Spazio Filatelico cancelling the small 0.05 euro definitive making up the rest of the postage. This is truly great! Grazie, Giovanni!

Postcard from France no. 6

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A lovely view of the cathedral Saint Etienne in Metz, capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department (57), and a beautiful 0.58 euro stamp with Morpho menelaus, taken from a miniature sheet with four butterfly stamps issued in France on 6 September 2010. Merci, Marie:)

Cover from Cyprus no. 2

A nice cover received in September 2010 from the town of Paralimni in southeast Cyprus. The two animal stamps show a sheep and a pigeon respectively. The sheep was issued on 17 March 2010 as part of a domestic animals series, and the pigeon came out on 10 September 2009 as part of a fowls of Cyprus series. There is also the blue 0.22 euro stamp commemorating the Beijing Olympics (issued on 5 June 2008) plus the necessary refugee fund stamp of 2 eurocent, 2010 version. Thank you, Demetris!!