Postcrossing – uniting people round the world !!

 

Russian Post has released a special stamp from the series “Postcrossing”. The stamp was issued and put into circulation on the 27^th of January.

Postcrossing is an online project that allows its members to send and receive postcards from all over the world. The project’s tag line is “send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!” Its members, also known as postcrossers, send postcards to other members and receive postcards back from other random postcrossers. Where the postcards come from is always a surprise.

Postcrossing is the union of the words “postcard” and “crossing” and its origin “is loosely-based on the Bookcrossing site”. Exchanges between the same two members only occur once; although direct swaps between members happen, they are not part of the official happenings on the site.

The project is completely free and anyone with an address can create an account. However, the postcards themselves and postage fees to mail them are the responsibility of each user.

The project

The goal of this project is to allow people to receive postcards from all over the world, for free. Well, almost free! The main idea is that: if you send a postcard, you will receive one back from a random Postcrosser from somewhere in the world.

Why? Because, like the founder, there are lots of people who like to receive real mail.
The element of surprise of receiving postcards from different places in the world (many of which you probably have never heard of) can turn your mailbox into a box of surprises - and who wouldn't like that?

How does it work?

1. request an address from the website
2. mail the postcard to the address
3. wait to receive a postcard
4. register the received postcard in the system

The first step is to request to send a postcard. The website will display (and send you an email) with the address of another member and a Postcard ID (e.g.: US-786). You then mail a postcard to that member.

The member receives the postcard and registers it using the Postcard ID that is on the postcard. At this point, you are eligible to receive a postcard from another user. You are now in line for the next person that requests to send a postcard. Where the postcard comes from is a surprise!

You can have up to 5 postcards traveling at any single time. Every time one of the postcards you send is registered, you can request another address. The number of postcards allowed to travel at any single time goes up the more postcards you send!

For more details Please visit : Postcrossing

Barrel Mail..

 

  

Date of Issue : 6 August 2013

A new stamp released by the Cocos (Keeling) Islands is dedicated to barrel mail. From around 1909 mail and other essential items were delivered to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands within barrels lowered or dropped from passing P&O and Orient Line ships. The approaching liner would notify the cable station on Direction Island and staff members would collect the barrel from their jukongs.

At the same time, outgoing mail was sealed in a tin can and attached to a line trailing from the ship making the drop. Some mail dispatched to and from the islands in this way carried a range of postal markings and cachets such as “Tin Can Mail” or “Orion Barrel” (in reference to the RMS Orion).

A regular air service, first introduced in 1952, put an end to barrel and tin can mail in 1954.

Honey Bees..

 

Date of Issue : 3 July 2013

New Zealand Post issued a set of 5 stamps and a miniature sheet featuring Honey Bees and honey industry.

The humble honey bee plays a crucial role in New Zealand's primary industry, and is responsible for much more than just honey production.

Honey bees have been kept in New Zealand for more than 150 years, and 2013 marks 100 years of the National Beekeepers' Association of New Zealand. In the years since bees were introduced to New Zealand, beekeeping has developed from a home craft to a progressive industry, and New Zealand is now recognised as one of the world's most advanced beekeeping countries.

The importance of horticulture and agriculture to New Zealand’s economy means that we may be more dependent on pollination from the honey bee than any other nation on Earth. Roughly one third of everything we eat is pollinated by bees, and many of our crops would not be viable without bee pollination.

Sadly honey bees in New Zealand are under threat as a result of the Varroa mite. This collectable stamp issue aims to raise awareness of the role the honey bee plays in New Zealand, and tells the story of how the precious honey bee makes its honey.

From the hive to the table...

70c - Collecting the nectar 

The first step in making honey is the gathering of nectar, which is normally done by ‘field bees’. The busy bees fly from flower to flower using their long tongues (proboscises) like straws to extract the nectar. Each bee stores the nectar in its ‘honey sac’, which can weigh almost as much as the bee itself when full. Within the honey sac, enzymes break down the complex sugars of the nectar into simpler sugars – a process known as ‘inversion’.

$1.40 - Returning to the hive 

Once the field bees’ honey sacs are full of nectar, the bees return to their hives. A single hive can contain thousands of bees, most of which are workers. When the field bees are back inside the hive, they place the honey into the cells closest to the entrance. Within each hive is a single queen bee, which goes out to mate with a drone (male) in the air and then returns to the hive where she lays eggs to produce more workers.

$1.90 - In the hive 

Inside the hive, the young worker ‘house bees’ transfer the nectar to the honey storage area of the hive. Enzymes are added to the nectar and the nectar is then further concentrated by house bees creating an air current inside the hive by fanning their wings to dry the nectar into honey. This process is called ‘ripening’. Once the honey has a water content less than 20 percent, the bees seal the cell of the honeycomb with a wax cap.

$2.40 - Harvesting the honey

To harvest the honey, beekeepers remove the combs from the hives and spin them in centrifuges, or honey extractors. This process removes the honey from the combs and makes it relatively easy for the beekeepers to harvest the honey without damaging the hives or hurting the bees. Many beekeepers use veils and gloves to protect themselves during harvesting. Some also use bee smokers to mask a pheromone emitted by bees – making it less likely that the bees will become agitated as the beekeepers work.

$2.90 - Ready to eat 

Once harvested, the honey is processed and packaged into the jars and bottles we see on supermarket shelves. New Zealand honey products are sought after worldwide, and of the 9,000 to 12,000 tonnes of honey that are produced annually, one-third to half is exported. Honey is increasingly differentiated according to the flower source, and New Zealand is known around the world for its premium natural honey, particularly manuka honey, which is renowned for its antiseptic properties.

Club News

President Emeritus of Gujarat Philatelists’ Association Mr. Mainak Kathiara was interviewed for Doordarshan program and was telecast on Doordarshan’s Girnar Channelseveral times. The focus of interview was on Hobby of Philately and concerns and activities of promoting Philately right from beginning of life.

From Our Readers…

Publicity Folder from France showing  various mode of mail delivery

: Timir R. Shah – Vadodara

New Europa 2013 stamp

 

Date of Issue : 9 April 2013

Kazkhastan Post issued a postage stamp on 9 April featuring theme of  Europa 2013 " The postman van" , But this issue shows traditional mail carried “ The camel” instead of modern mail van. Russian Post will also issue stamp on Europa 2013 featuring traditional mail carrier “ Horse Cart ”. Both the stamps are beautiful.

 

Date of Issue : 26 April 2013

Source :   Europa Stamps

Owney, the canine mascot of US Rail Mail Service..

 

Date of Issue : 27 July 2011

The U.S. Postal Service commemorated Owney, the canine mascot of the Railway Mail Service on Forever stamp, issued on 27 Jyly 2011. The stamp art features an original illustration of Owney, with many of his famous tags and medals gleaming in the background.

Beloved of clerks on mail-sorting trains at the end of the 19th century, Owney was hailed as a symbol of good luck. Today he is an icon of American postal lore whose story highlights the historical importance of the Railway Mail Service.

Owney the Postal Dog FDC with Digital Color Postmark

In the 1880s, during the height of the Railway Mail Service, clerks in the Post Office in Albany, New York, took a liking to a terrier mix named Owney. Fond of riding in postal wagons, Owney followed mailbags onto trains and soon became a good-luck charm to Railway Mail Service employees, who made him their unofficial mascot. Working in the Railway Mail Service was highly dangerous: According to the National Postal Museum, more than 80 mail clerks were killed in train wrecks and more than 2,000 were injured between 1890 and 1900. However, it was said that no train ever met with trouble while Owney was aboard.

As Owney traveled the country, clerks affixed medals and tags to his collar to document his travels. When John Wanamaker, Postmaster General from 1889 to 1893, heard that Owney was overburdened with tags, he gave him a special harness to display them all. During his travels, Owney accumulated more than a thousand medals and tags. Today Owney is on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum in a case that includes some of his medals and tags.

: US Postal Service