Football Heroes…

 

Hi !

Here is a beautiful set of stamps with a Miniature sheet  from Royal mail featuring Football Heroes. The stamps are just wonderful and the set is a nice collectible item for sport lovers especially those who collect stamps on Soccer. The stamps were released on 9th May 2013.

 

Royal Mail celebrates the 150th anniversary of the establishing of the rules of Association Football, with the release of a set of stamps entitled “Football Heroes”. The launch also coincides with the 150th anniversary year of the Football Association and the 140th anniversary year of the Scottish Football Association.

The 11 1st Class stamps will feature individual footballers from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The eleven players selected were chosen for their outstanding record on the pitch and representation of their home countries. All are in the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame.

New stamps from San Marino

Date of Issue : 7 June 2013

40th  Anniversary of the European Patent Convention (EPC) 

On the 17^th of October 2013 the European Patent Office will celebrate the 40^th  Anniversary of the European Patent Convention (EPC) in Munich.  A special philatelic issue will be presented on the occasion of this event. The 0,85€ value depicts a devising human mind, the motto “40 YEARS 1973-2013 -INNOVATION MATTERS” and the logo of the Organisation with a fingerprint.

 

Juventus Italian Champion 2012-2013

AASFN celebrates the Juventus Football Club winner team of the Italian Soccer Championship 2012 – 2013 with a philatelic issue. The stamp depicts the exultance of the players of the team led by Antonio Conte

New stamps on Bridges

The Spanish Correos issued two stamps within the series “Bridges of Spain”. This time, the issue is dedicated to the Bridge of Besalu (Gerona) and the Los Santos Bridge over Ria de Ribadeo.

The Bridge of Besalu (Girona) is one of the most characteristic bridges of the medieval period. It is located in the medieval village of the same name in the province of Gerona. It began to be built in the 11th century to save the river Fluvia¡ and establish communications between the town and the land on the other side of the river.

The Bridge of Los Santos over Ria de Ribadeo links the towns of Ribadeo (Lugo) and Castropol (Asturias) and is a highlight of civil engineering. It was built over the vast Ribadeo estuary between 1983 and 1987. The bridge is 600 meters long.

The issue is a one stamp souvenir sheet featuring an aerial view of the estuary and the town of Ribadeo. In the stamp is depicted the modern bridge of Los Santos and the town of Ribadeo.

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European Judo Championship 2013

 

Magyar Posta is issuing a commemorative stamp to mark the European Judo championships to be held in Budapest between 25 and 28 April 2013. One hundred thousand copies of the stamp depicting female judokas with a face value of HUF 360 designed by Tamás Záhonyi and Iulian Pena (artists of the International Judo Federation) were made by the ANY Security Printing Company.  The European Judo Championships are being staged for the fifty-third time.

On this occasion almost five hundred men and women from forty-three countries will compete in fourteen categories at the Papp László Sports Arena in Budapest. The event is enlivened by an exhibition of the Hungarian Judo Museum showing the history of the sport in Hungary and its greatest achievements. At the closing ceremony on 28 April 2013 Hungary will hand over the baton to France, the organisers of the 2014 European Judo Championships.

Jigoro Kano (1860-1938) created the martial art known as Judo in 1882, and attained the rank of twelfth dan, awarded only to the originator of the sport. He recognised that it was not possible to live in modern Japan in the spirit of the ancient Samurai, but saw a need for sports that taught very strict discipline and allowed youngsters to try their strength without danger. In Japan the history of Judo as a martial art dates back many centuries.

Originally, the martial arts encompassed the full repertoire of the military techniques of the ancient Samurai, including training in all aspects of combat from throwing to swordsmanship. When he fashioned the discipline known as Judo from the martial arts, all techniques that endangered physical well-being were omitted, creating a sport suitable for children and adults. Judo is a physical contact sport in which the opponent is thrown to the ground, tripped, held on the ground or rendered harmless by applying leverage and holding. Judo has been an Olympic sport since 1964.

Source : eurojudo2013.hu, telesport.hu

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Falconry on new Portuguese stamps..

 

 

Date of Issue : 23 March 2013

Historically, falconry was a popular sport and status symbol among the nobles of medieval Europe, the Middle East, and Mongolian Empire. Many historical illustrations left in Rashid al Din's "Compendium chronicles" book described falconry of the middle centuries with Mongol images. Falconry was largely restricted to the noble classes due to the prerequisite commitment of time, money, and space. In art and in other aspects of culture such as literature, falconry remained a status symbol long after it was no longer popularly practiced.

The historical significance of falconry within lower social classes may be underrepresented in the archaeological record, due to a lack of surviving evidence, especially from non literate nomadic and non- agrarian societies. Within nomadic societies like the Bedouin, falconry was not practiced for recreation by noblemen. Instead, falcons were trapped and hunted on small game during the winter months in order to supplement a very limited diet.

 

Falconry is the art of hunting using trained birds of prey. The earliest evidence of this practice is a bas-relief found in the Khorsabad ruins of ancient Mesopotamia, dating from 1,400 B.C. From its original place of birth, in Asia, falconry travelled westward with the Mongolian invasions. This practice was also introduced in China, where the first written records were found, dating back to the 7th century B.C.

In the Iberian Peninsula, this form of hunting has been practised since the 5th century A.D., having been introduced by the Sueves and the Visigoths and later perfected with the Crusades and through contact with Arab peoples. Falconry experienced its “Golden Era” during the Middle Ages, when it became the favourite entertainment of medieval lords and a privilege of the nobility. European courts employed professional falconers to train and care for these luxury birds. The finest secrets of this art, which were part of oral tradition, were passed down from generation to generation. The need to compile all knowledge related to this sport led Kings to commission their falconers to write treatises on the subject, in order to keep the most precious and genuine aspects of this art. These writings are presently considered a genre of its own in medieval literature.

In Portugal, falconry flourished from the first dynasty onwards, having been considered the noblest of all forms of hunting. In 1568, King Sebastian created the position of Chief Falconer, or Chief Hunter, whose functions were to oversee the Royal falconry. In the first decades of the 18th century, state falconry experienced a period of great refinement and splendour, rivalling with the best houses in Europe. The training of birds and the execution of moves were taken to the highest level during the reigns of King Joseph and Queen Mary.

The French Revolution and the emergence of a new world order left little room for falconry, a sport too intimately associated with monarchy and former values. The new Republican regime, changes in tastes and habits, the increasing practice of hunting with firearms and World War I led to the fast decline of falconry in Europe, causing it to be virtually forgotten.

Nowadays, falconry is becoming increasingly popular, being considered an extraordinary and eco-friendly form of hunting. Modern falconry is based on solid technical and scientific knowledge. Falconers are behind the increasing knowledge on birds of prey and their conservation in the last decades. The species used in this sport are bred in captivity for this purpose and their ownership and trading regulated by Portuguese legislation and international regulations. In Portugal, the individuals who practise this sport are represented by the Portuguese Association for Falconry.

On an international level, the I.A.F. (International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey) represents more than fifty associations from various countries worldwide. In 2010, the UNESCO recognised falconry as part of the world’s historical and artistic heritage, having officially declared this activity as intangible heritage of humanity and added it to the corresponding list.

Source : Pourtugal Post

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Nordic Ski World Championships 2013

 

Date of Issue : 13 February 2013

The Post of San Marino issued a souvenir sheet with three stamps commemorating the Nordic Ski World Championships in Val di Fiemme 2013. Stefania Saragoni designed this souvenir sheet with stylized images of ski boots and skis that stand out against the whiteness of the snow. The set offers a symbolical anticipation of the competitions of this edition: Nordic combined, ski jumping and cross-country skiing.

 

 

Hi !

Here is a beautiful souvenir sheet issued by San Marino Post for Nordic World Ski Championship. The design of the souvenir sheet is magnificent. The designer has used great skill to show skiing and its different events by giving the best possible visual effect with the use if vibrant colors on the stamp design !! For the thematic collectors a beautiful pictorial cancellation was also issued by San Marino Post !!

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23rd Men's Handball World Championship

 

Spain, Host of the 23rd Men's Handball World Championship

For the first time Spain hosts the Men's Handball World Championship, a top level competition to which the new Spanish stamp, belonging to the Sports Series is dedicated. The stamp is illustrated with two players and the inscription: Spain venue for the 23rd Men's Handball World Championship.

The Men's World Handball Championship in its XXIII edition is organized by the International Handball Federation (IHF) and the Royal Spanish Handball Federation. The championship is held from 11 and 27 January 2013, in six Spanish cities with more than 24 teams from around the world participating.

The first Men's Handball World Championship took place in Germany in 1938. In this first edition only the national teams of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Austria participated with Germany obtaining victory.

Since 1993 the tournament is held every two years, always in odd number years. Spain won its first gold medal in Tunisia in 2005 and the bronze medal in the world championship of Sweden in 2011

Source : http://www.stampnews.com/

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World Ski Championship

 

 

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2013 stamps from Austria

The Austrian post has issued a set of commemorative stamps dedicated to the coming FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, which are scheduled for February 4–17, 2013, in Schladming, Styria, Austria.

 

Austrian Post accompanied the Ski World Championships in various ways, including the publication of the three attractive commemoratives. The motives of these stamps are by the internationally renowned Austrian artist Christian Ludwig Attersee, who created his paintings "Freedom in the snow", "Styrian Heart" and "Slalom dance" in the typical Attersee's manner. Colourful, sensual, powerful and full of poetry, the artist interprets the sporting event by letting the high life passion, exuberance and elegance.

Source : International Stamp News

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Memories of London 2012…

 

Date of Issue : 27 September 2012

Royal Mail will issue its final set of stamps marking the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games when it issues the four-stamp set Memories of London 2012 on September 27.

The special stamp issue will highlight the role of the 70,000 Games Makers in making the London 2012 Games such a great success.

· The Games Maker stamp features a group of volunteers, in their distinctive purple and red uniforms, with the iconic London 2012 stadium in the background.

· The Paralympic Games will feature on two stamps with images from the Paralympic Opening Ceremony and Paralympics GB Procession into the stadium.

· The final stamp will feature a scene from the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The set will be the first to feature the much-praised Games Makers – an army of volunteers who are credited with helping make London 2012 one of the most successful Games ever.More than 70,000 people volunteered to help the millions of visitors who flocked to London during the summer.

Now the Games Makers are commemorated on a stamp featuring an image of a group of volunteers, in their distinctive purple and red uniforms, with the famous London 2012 Olympic stadium in the background.

Other memories featured on the stamps include the spectacular fireworks display during the Paralympic Opening Ceremony and a First Class stamp shows the Paralympics GB team entering the stadium to conclude the procession of the participating athletes The final stamp shows a scene from the Olympic Closing Ceremony, in which athletes and officials of all the countries formed a human version of the Union Flag in the Olympic Stadium. 

The stamps are printed within a miniature sheet, the border of which features a quote from Lord Coe, reflecting on the success of both Games.

My Recent Cover from Singapore…..

This beautiful cover and lovely stamps featuring cute Pandas were sent to me by my friend Edmund Ong from Singapore. Thanks Edmund for these nice stamps stamps . These are just wonderful !!

    

 Pandas are the most adorable creatures . They are one of the cutest animals found on earth. That’s why a variety of stuffed toys are made for little ones  to give their cute  appearance !!

Pandas are   carnivores, however their diet consists of 99% bamboo. Bamboo is not very nutritious, making them lazy as balls. They even avoid steeply sloping hills to limit energy expenditures. They limit social interactions and will kill humans out of irritation.

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World Championship of Karate …

 

La Poste de France issued a souvenir sheet of three stamps on the occasion of the World Championship of karate, which will be held from 21 to 25 of November 2012 in Paris, Bercy.

The souvenir sheet was made in Manga style. The left stamp depicts a young girl making a Mawashi Geri, the right stamp features a young boy making a Yoko Tobi Geri and the central stamp takes a visual of a stylized Eiffel Tower, symbol of Paris.

 

Stamps on ‘ WORLD HERITAGE ’

The Limes: Frontiers of Roman Empire in Germany

 

Germany issued a Souvenir Sheet in 2007 to commemorate the Limes under its series of World Cultural Heritage. The 550 km track of the Roman Frontier in Germany from Danube River to the North West Germany is depicted in the map in this Souvenir Sheet. The stamp area depicts one of the fortified gates of the Limes.

The Latin noun ‘limes’ had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any distinction or difference. But the word ‘limes’ was utilized by Latin writers to denote a marked or fortified frontier

The ‘Roman Limes’ represents the border line of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent in the 2nd century AD. It stretched over 5,000 km from the Atlantic coast of northern Britain, through Europe to the Black Sea, and from there to the Red Sea and across North Africa to the Atlantic coast. The remains of the Limes today consist of vestiges of built walls, ditches, forts, fortresses, watchtowers and civilian settlements. Certain elements of the line have been excavated, some reconstructed and a few destroyed. The two sections of the Limes in Germany cover a length of 550 km from the north-west of the country to the Danube in the south-east.

At its height the Roman Empire extended into three continents. Its borders reflected the waxing and waning of power over more than millennia. In what is now Germany there were several military campaigns into the area north of the Alps and east of the River Rhine from 55/53 BC to 15-16 AD, but the area was not brought under direct control until around 85 AD when the oldest part of the Limes was created between the River Rhine and the high Taunus Mountains. This frontier followed the contours of the landscape. Later the courses defined were much straighter and the first forts established. Similarly in the area of the Raetian Limes the border was secured first under Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD), probably moved north across the river under the Emperor Domitian, and then under Emperor Trajan forts were established.

The early Limes barrier seems to have been a cleared stretch of forest monitored by wooden towers. Under the Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD) the Limes was additionally secured with a palisade fence. In the 2nd century AD the Limes was in part straightened, and also strengthened with embankments or stone walls and numerous forts, and fort lets.

- Pradeep Kumar Mallik, Patna

email : mallikphila@gmail.com

 

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2012 Summer Paralympics start in London...

 

Date of issue : 29 August 2012

Royal Mail will issue today a set of 4 stamps and a miniature sheet to commemorate  fourteenth Paralympic Games which start in London today. Four special souvenir stamp cards will also be issued on this occasion.

The 2012 Summer Paralympic Games will be the fourteenth Paralympics and will take place between 29 August and 9 September, as governed by the International Paralympic Committee. They will be held in London,  after the city was successful with its bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. It is the second largest multi-sport event ever held within the United Kingdom after the 2012 Summer Olympics.The Games are expected to be the largest and most commercially successful Paralympics ever: The Games will officially be opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

 

 

Stamp cards

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Sport for Peace – Paralympic Games 2012

 

Date of Issue : 17 August 2012

The Paralympic Games are held every four years, following the Olympic Games, and are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The Paralympics first started in 1948 when Dr. Ludwig Guttmann organized a sports competition at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England for Second World War veterans that had spinal injuries. The competition took place between sports clubs and other hospitals on the same day as the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games.

The first Paralympic Games were held in Rome, Italy, in 1960 and involved 400 athletes from 23 countries. Originally, only wheelchair athletes were invited to compete. Since that time, the Paralympic Games have grown dramatically. Athletes competing at the Games are divided into the following disability groups: visual impairments, amputees, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries and Les Autres - athletes with physical disabilities that are not included in the categories mentioned above.

The 2012 Paralympic Games will take place between 29 August and 9 September. They will be the biggest Paralympic Games ever, featuring 4,200 athletes from 160 countries who will compete in 20 sports.

To commemorate the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games, the United Nations Postal Administration will issue stamps on 17 August 2012 featuring six paralympic sports. Three souvenir sheets will also be released on the same day.

Sport is a universal language that can be a powerful tool in promoting peace, tolerance and understanding by bringing people together across boundaries, cultures and religions. The 2012 Paralympic Games in London will continue its tradition of promoting the Olympic spirit by featuring exceptional athletes with amazing talents that continue to inspire people around the world.

Team GB – Gold Olympics Stamps 2012

Royal Mail has issued next day stamps for the first time and have painted the Post-boxes gold to celebrate each win for Team GB at the London Olympics 2012.The final tally is 29 Gold Medal Wins for Team GB in Cycling, Rowing, Shooting, Sailing, Tennis, Taekwando, Athletics, Triathlon, Equestrian, Canoeing and Boxing.

The Stamps are getting so popular day by day , that they are all sold out at the Royal mail Post offices in the early working hours; one can seen the young and old waiting in queue's to have a complete set in their collection.

The most popular stamp being ‘The Women's Boxing Gold’ medal stamp - of Nicola Adams which is hard to find in the post office.Good initiative by the Royal Mail Post to boost Philately & felicitate the Olympians, but the face value of the stamps is high and with the price rise early this year makes it a tough buy for all to get the best.

Note: there are more Olympics stamps GB released over the year and a special minisheet on the Opening ceremony day.What a great gift and appreciation to the Olympians to have a Stamp each for a Golden Victory!!

- Julian Fernandes - email : julian.destiny@gmail.com

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Most Memorable Gold Medal Wins at London Games…

Michael Phelps Becomes Greatest Olympian

Michael Phelps marks the end of his Olympic career with the trophy awarded to him as the most decorated Olympian.

With 22 medals and 18 gold medals, USA swimming legend Michael Phelps becomes not only the greatest swimmer of all time, but the best Olympian to ever grace the Games.

 

Usain Bolt Sweeps 100 and 200 For Second Consecutive Olympics

He came, he saw and  he conquered.

The 2012 London Games saw Jamaican Usain Bolt confirm himself as a legend—taking gold medals in three different events, the 100-meter, 200-meter and 4x100-meter races.The same trio of events he won at the Beijing Olympics four years previous.

Oscar Pistorius: The Bionic Man Inspires

 

 

While many of the athletes on best olympians’ list are gold, silver or bronze medal winners, sometimes it’s not the medal that makes a champion. That’s definitely the case for double amputee South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius.

The runner was born without fibulas so his legs were amputated from below the knee before he was one. But that didn’t stop him from becoming an athlete.

Pistorius’ competitive career came after he was outfitted with a pair carbon fiber blades, which allowed him to race. Not content with racing against the disabled, Pistorius successfully lobbied the International Olympic Committee to allow him to compete with non-disabled athletes, making him the first to do so in Olympic history.

Oscar ran valiantly in several events, including the 4x400m relay, but walked away empty-handed. Still, given the odds stacked against him from birth, coming as far as he has is its own reward.

If you can’t find inspiration in that, then your soul is probably dark and disturbed. Oscar shall, and has, overcome.

 

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2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony…

 

 

Rhythmic Gymnastics

The greatest sport event LONDON Olympics 2012 is going to conclude today…Let’s watch the grand closing ceremony of this biggest sport event !!

 

The Closing Ceremony celebrates the achievements of athletes at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and includes a Handover from one Host City to the next. In 2012, London will hand over to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic Games. The Closing Ceremony also features the extinguishing of the Olympic Flame, signalling the end of the Games.

The Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games will be titled ‘A Symphony of British Music’, to celebrate the fact that music has been one of Britain’s strongest cultural exports over the last 50 years. The worldwide broadcast of the Ceremony will start at 9pm and feature more than 4,100 performers, including 3,500 adult volunteers and 380 schoolchildren from the six east London Host Boroughs.

March of the athletes

The flagbearers of the participating delegations enter the Stadium in single file, closely followed by the athletes. At the Closing Ceremony, athletes march together, not by nationality. This is a tradition that began at the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games and is a way of bringing the athletes of the world together as 'one nation'.

Flags and speeches

Three national flags are hoisted on flagpoles one at a time, while the corresponding national anthems are played: the flag of Greece to honour the birthplace of the Olympic Games, the flag of the Host Nation (UK), and the flag of the country hosting the next Summer Olympic Games (Brazil). The Mayor of the Host City joins the President of the IOC on the rostrum and gives him back the flag. The President of the IOC then symbolically presents this to the Mayor of the next Host City of the Olympic Games, before making a speech declaring the Games closed.

Extinguishing of the Flame

The Olympic Flame, which has been burning in the Cauldron since the opening of the Games, is then extinguished – a poignant and moving moment for all those involved in the Games and the audience at large.

The Olympic Cauldron will be extinguished to signal the end of the Games. It will be lit again in Sochi, Russia during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

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London Olympics 2012…

 

Cards issued by India Post for London 2012

View : LONDON OLYMPIC issues by India Post

: Shrikant Parikh, Ahmedabad

Ukraine

Slovenia

China

Greece

Philippines

View :  More stamps on London Olympics

My Recent Covers

AFMC, Pune

FDC with Place cancellation of AFMC Pune  Post Office

 

Thanks to Dr Anjali Dutta, Pune

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