31 May - World No Tobacco Day

World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed around the world every year on May 31. It is intended to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption around the globe. WNTD is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the WHO, along with World Health Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Immunization Week, World Tuberculosis Day, World Malaria Day, World Hepatitis Day, and World AIDS Day.

An ashtray with a rose, Logo of the World No Tobacco Day of the WHO

100 years of Lions Clubs International

Date of Issue : 19 May 2017

Austria Post issued a postage stamp on 19th May 2017, to celebrate 100 years of Lions Clubs International.Lions Clubs International is an international secular, non-political service organization founded by Melvin Jones in 1917. As of April 2015, it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members in over 200 countries around the world.Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States, the organization aims to meet the needs of communities on a local and global scale.

 Lions Clubs International

In 1917, Melvin Jones, a 38-year-old Chicago business leader, told members of his local business club they should reach beyond business issues and address the betterment of their communities and the world. Jones' group, the Business Circle of Chicago, agreed.

After contacting similar groups around the United States, an organizational meeting was held on June 7, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The new group took the name of one of the invited groups, the "Association of Lions Clubs," and a national convention was held in Dallas, Texas, USA in October of that year. A constitution, by-laws, objectives and a code of ethics were approved. And the rest is history. In 1920: Lions Clubs became international by chartering a club in Windsor, Canada. This year it is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Street art on stamps

Date of Issue : 16 May 2017

Street Art

In recent decades there has been an explosion of art practice in the urban environments. Street art describes public artistic expression that appears outside traditional art venues, such as galleries. 

Beginning as unsanctioned graffiti in the 1980s, street art has now evolved into a sophisticated range of practices, including stencil art, poster art, spray painting, yarn bombing and installation art. Australia has a particularly vibrant street art culture and this issue features four portraits by internationally respected artists painted in the streets of Melbourne and Adelaide.

$1 Mural by Adnate, Melbourne, 2014

Adnate’s large-scale works can be seen all over the world. Commissioned by the City of Melbourne, his 23-metre mural of an Indigenous boy was painted in Hosier Lane, Melbourne, in 2014.

$1 Portrait by Vans the Omega, Adelaide, 2015

Influential Adelaide-based artist Vans the Omega painted the vivid female portrait on a house in Railway Terrace, Adelaide, in 2015.

$1 Forever curious by Rone and Phibs, Melbourne, 2013

Australian artists Rone and Phibs collaborated on Forever curious, the expressive portrait of a woman in Rutledge Lane, Melbourne, in June 2013. As is the ephemeral nature of much street art, it was painted over with blue paint by another artist only two months later.

$1 Shinka by Fin DAC, Adelaide, 2016

Irish artist Fin DAC employed a stencil and spray paint technique to create the mural Shinka, as part of the Little Rundle Street Art Project in Adelaide in early 2016.

Club News

INSPIRE - 2017 - A hobby Fest

KARPHILEX - 2017

Stamp on Marriage equality by Canada Post

Date of Issue : 9 May 2017

Canada Post unveiled a stamp commemorating the 2005 passage of the Civil Marriage Act, which made marriage equality the law throughout Canada. Grassroots activists, government officials and community members attended the unveiling, catching the first glimpse of the new stamp, which features the iconic rainbow symbol. The unveiling was held at and in partnership with The 519, a City of Toronto agency committed to the health, happiness and full participation of LGBTQ communities.

The marriage equality stamp is the fourth in a set of 10 that Canada Post is issuing to celebrate Canada’s 150th year since Confederation.

Marriage equality debate takes centre stage

In early 2001, the battle for the right to marry took centre stage, after Reverend Brent Hawkes married two same-sex couples in a ceremony in Toronto. When the City refused to issue marriage licenses for these unions, it set off a series of heated court battles and public debate. The legal challenges culminated on June 10, 2003, when the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling that prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying was a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Within hours of the decision, Michael Leshner and Michael Stark were married in Toronto, the first same-sex couple to wed after the legislation.

Similar court battles were also taking place in provinces across the country, and more provincial courts issued rulings legalizing marriage equality: B.C. in July 2003, followed by Quebec, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia in 2004. Finally, on July 20, 2005, the government of Canada passed the federal legislation that legalized marriage equality across the country, making Canada the fourth country in the world and the first outside of Europe to grant same-sex couples the right to marry the one they loved.

Today, with support continuing to grow across the globe, more than 20 countries have legalized same‑sex marriage on the national level. 

New stamps for animal lovers

 Stamps on Squirrel and Kingfisher from Korea Post

Date of Issue : 6 June 2017

Postmarks on animals from Taiwan

On May 17th 2017 three different pictorial postmarks were issued  in Taiwan.

Fengyuan Post Office

Pingdung  Post Office

Taidung Post Office

The postmarks are for the new ATM SIKA DEER,  for the philatelic exhibition ROCUPEX 2017 in Taipei.The postmarks are featuring the Sika deer (Cervus nippon taiouanus).

New Pictorial postmark on owl from Poland

On June 9,2017  a new pictorial postmark will be available  in Police 1 (Poland).The postmark is featuring a Long-eared owl (Asio otus).

- Wolfgang Beyer, Vice Chairman of the German Philatelic Collector Group ArGe Zoologie

New Special Cover

Biddatanda Hockey Namme - 2017 (21st Kodava Hockey Namme)

The Biddatanda Family, a pre-eminent clan of Kodavas is based at Napoklu( Nalnad) from time immemorial. It is said that the Biddatanda Chieftains ruled parts of Kodagu at a time now lost to recorded history. The Biddatanda clan now numbers just over 120 persons. Some of its members have held and several continue to hold prominent offices in various Government services and public fields. The family aspires to guide the 20 year old tradition of the Kodava Hockey Festival into its 21st year with dignity, pride and uniting all Kodava families in a single arena, playing and celebrating Hockey from 17th April 2017 to 14th May 2017 at Napoklu. 

The special cover is released to commemorate the 21 st Hockey Namme( Festival) in Kodagu.

: Suresh R. - Bangalore

The Face of Finland...Public Faces on stamps...

On May 9, 2017 Finnish Post issued Finland 100 - The Faces of Finland, a stamp sheet consisting of photos featuring faces, These are unique stamps that portray photos of faces ! 

Date of Issue : 9 May 2017

Finish Post, Posti ran a campaign in fall 2016 to collect photos of faces from the public for a special stamp publication to mark Finland's centenary of independence. The thousands of photos come together like a mosaic to form different stamps, which are positioned on the sheet in the form of the map of Finland. Each stamp and booklet is unique.

"These stamps are worth a close look, as receivers and senders might spot their own face or the faces of acquaintances on them," says Tommi Kantola, Design Manager at Posti.

The stamps were designed by graphic designer Klaus Welp, with the advertising agency Bob the Robot responsible for their technical implementation. To Posti's knowledge, this method of stamp design and production has never been used before.

The Finland 100 - The Faces of Finland booklet contains ten domestic no-value indicator stamps (unit price €1.30). A total of 60,000 booklets have been printed. 

New Stamps from India - Champaran Satyagraha Centenary

Champaran Satyagraha Centenary

Date of Issue : 13 May 2017

Mr. Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Communication (Independent Charge) And Minister of State for Railways released a set of 3 stamps in the denominations of Rs 5, 10 and 25 and a Miniature Sheet  on Champaran Satyagraha Centenary on May 13, 2017. 

The issue has a DESIGN ERROR: The Rs 10 has the inscription in the English only and does not carry the mandatory inscription in Hindi as well. While the Rs 25 denomination has the inscription in Hindi twice.

Source : Stamps of India

100th Anniversary - Lions Clubs International

Date of Issue : 7 June 2017

Six stamps and a Miniature Sheet celebrating 100 years of Lions Clubs International will be issued by Jersey Post on 7 June. The stamps depict just some of the projects supported by this important global organisation.

Formed on 7 June 1917, Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organisation, with 1.4 million members throughout more than 46,000 clubs. Its members actively support good causes around the world, serving people in need through a variety of projects from treating eye disease to tackling environmental issues.

The six stamps depict: 
fundraising through the Jersey Swimarathon, 
treating eye disease and recycling glasses, 
worldwide disaster relief, 
tackling environmental issues, 
hearing tests and recycled hearing aids 
and holidays for people with disabilities. 
Worldwide disaster relief is also depicted on the Miniature Sheet.

Handcraft - The Icelandic Sweater

Date of Issue : 27 April 2017

Here is a beautiful stamp issued by Iceland Post featuring sweater pattern. It is a common Sepac Issue with the theme, "local  handcrafts" . The design of first Day Cover and Cancellation is very nice featuring wool and knitting needles and a border of the  knitting pattern. 

The joint SEPAC stamp motif is local or typical handcraft. The Icelandic stamp features an Icelandic sweater. The pattern shown, ”Álafoss pattern no. 51”, is a very characteristic one. It was probably affected by foreign knitting traditions introduced by magazines on embroidery and fashion. The Greenland national dress and Norwegian knitting patterns may also have influenced the pattern. When Icelandic women began to adopt foreign knitting patterns and work on them according to the properties of the local material, Icelandic sweaters started resembling their foreign models, but its patterns and colors were coarser. 

This was due to the yarn being more fragile than the spun band. Sweaters were therefore usually knitted from three threads simultaneously. This made the garment warmer and more durable. The sweater became standardized in its traditional form in the late sixties. In the seventies, it became a popular export. It became less popular in the eighties, but now it seems to have regained its former popularity, especially among foreign tourists. The sweater has its special woolen character and its roots in the culture of contemporary Icelanders are quite solid.

United Nations Day of Vesak

Indian theme on foreign stamps

Date of Issue : 10 May 2017

Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi

 Prime Minister  Narendra Modi will release   postage stamps to be  by Sri Lanka Post on United Nations Day of VESAK (Buddha Purnima) on 10^th May 2017 during  his visit to Sri Lanka 

The stamp sheetlet depicts the images of famous Buddhist sites of Twenty Nations, including India one whose name are imprinted on the stamp, all are joining in this historical occasion.

"Vesak", the Day of the Full Moon in the month of May, is the most sacred day to millions of Buddhists around the world. It was on the Day of Vesak two and a half millennia ago, in the year 623 B.C., that the Buddha was born. It was also on the Day of Vesak that the Buddha attained enlightenment, and it was on the Day of Vesak that the Buddha in his eightieth year passed away.

United Nations declare ‘The General Assembly, by its resolution 54/115 of 1999, recognized internationally the Day of Vesak to acknowledge the contribution that Buddhism, one of the oldest religions in the world, has made for over two and a half millennia and continues to make to the spirituality .

: Pradip Jain - Patna

Maxim Cards from India Post

India Post has issued two sets of Maximum Cards on Nature and Headgears.

Nature : India

Headgears of India

: Suresh R. - Bangalore

Green Mann

Date of Issue : 3 May 2017

Isle of Man Post Office issued a beautiful  set of six stamps that celebrate the Island’s landscape, horticultural, farming and fishing heritage ..

The six stamps in the collection feature artist Nicola Dixon's bright distinctive style interspersed with her use of Celtic interlace and spiritual elements, notably the triskel, a triple spiral and complex Celtic symbol which is often referred to as a triskelion.  

The first stamp, 'Farm to Yarn', shows the native Manx Loaghtan sheep standing on a rock with a triskel design. 

The second stamp, 'Fish to Dish', highlights the fishing industry of the Island and the rich rewards that are found in its waters.  

The third is called 'Welly to Belly' and depicts vegetables that are grown locally. 

The fourth stamp, 'Cow to Cup', has a table of dairy products produced on the Island from local cows. 

The penultimate stamp, 'Tree to Table', reflects the abundant orchards of the Island and the deep roots of the trees on the land.  The final stamp, 'Field to Fork', depicts a combine harvester farming the fields and the produce that comes from it.

Philatelic Tributes to Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore

(7 May 1861 - 7 August 1941)

Today, 7th May is the birth anniversary of great Indian Poet Rabindranath Tagore. He was awarded Nobel Prize in 1913 for his book Geetanjali. I am sharing here one of his most beautiful poems - I cannot remember my  Mother... 

I Cannot Remember My Mother :


I cannot remember my mother 

only sometimes in the midst of my play

a tune seems to hover over my playthings, 

the tune of some song that she used to 

hum while rocking my cradle. 


I cannot remember my mother 

but when in the early autumn morning

the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air

the scent of the morning service in the temple 

comes to me as the scent of my mother. 


I cannot remember my mother 

only when from my bedroom window I send 

my eyes into the blue of the distant sky, 

I feel that the stillness of 

my mother's gaze on my face 

has spread all over the sky.

- Rabindranath Tagore