Tuesday, 25 June 2013

Europa stamps 2013


Last week, I received a letter from the Netherlands with this year's Europa stamp
Today, I received a postcard from France with another Europa stamp.
PostEurop has a competition for the most beautiful Europa stamp. The theme is “Van of the Postman” but not all the entrants are wheeled vehicles! Royal Mail hasn't yet released their Europa issue and are not in the competition to vote for (again, missed the Children's Book theme and they would have had a good entry with Winnie The Pooh).
Still have a miniature sheet, but only one of the stamps on it (plus another first class not on the sheet) were marked Europa.
Royal Mail issued the 2011 Europa issue early and was entered into the competition.
And 2012 was Visit, Royal Mail deems only the Victoria and Albert Museum the only one worthwhile of the Europa logo to Visit (I haven't actually visited it, as far as I can remember). W is for White Cliffs of Dover (have seen), and X is for Station X, Bletchley Park (not visited either).

Wednesday, 19 June 2013

The magic of correspondence

A Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4 Extra recently featured extracts from a biography called Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl, by Donald Sturrock. Dahl's son Theo had problems with a defective valve but Roald Dahl sought help from a craftsman toymaker whom he corresponded with a decade earlier. Between them and a consultant at Great Ormond Street Hospital, they developed a valve which has been successfully used on nearly 3000 children worldwide.
Letters save lives; letters create smiles; letters are magic made manifest and the fountain pen is the wand.
I hope my letters help the recipients smile, and bring a bit of magic into their days.

Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Address book, and postcards

My mother bought a nice address book for me as a birthday present but that was two months ago and I still have not written in it.
Perhaps I am waiting to fill up a few lettered pages in a current address book (so there is no space for addresses for people with surnames beginning with that letter)...
Or for when too many addresses have been crossed out due to them becoming out of date, because people move (I have had over half a dozen addresses in my life so far)...
The address book is by Simon Drew, and his illustrations are fun. Whiter shade of pale... not sure on the rest!

I mentioned earlier about sending Doctor Who postcards produced for Royal Mail, commenting that there is not much room for the recipient's address.
There isn't a lot of room to use the nice first class stamps plus the make-up value stamps for international postage. There is a little bit more room than the picture shows: the make-up value stamps are self-adhesive when removed from the backing paper, but that still doesn't leave much room for the address. I am not sure if Royal Mail thought these postcards would actually be sent through the postal system.

Monday, 17 June 2013

Postcrossing again

I don't know where my postman has got to... he hasn't brought me many letters recently and I do like to receive nice post. Therefore, I decided to send postcards in order to receive nice postcards. I now have my full Postcrossing limit written and stamped (some written and posted Thursday or Friday).
A complaint though - there is not a lot of space on the Royal Mail Doctor Who postcards for the address and stamps... Remind me to take a photo later in the week.

Thursday, 13 June 2013

More on storage

I am going to be needing a new storage box.... This one is bursting at the seams (does a box have seams?)
with plastic zip wallets filled with letters. I think one correspondence has lasted more than 4 years, perhaps I could archive some of the early letters into a new zip folder to store elsewhere (perhaps I could scan them in as well). I'll also need to sort through my "failed" correspondence box, perhaps scan these in and bundle up to store less handily. 

Monday, 3 June 2013

Old letters

My mother had shredded the letters she had received, but she found the letters I received as a teenager in the late 1980s, some via the International Youth Service (now closed down), and some from schoolfriends who moved away before the rest of us finished our schooling. I wonder what happened to Li Pin in Singapore, Ester in Jülich/Germany, Frederic in Toulouse/France, and Julie in Rouyn-Noranda/Canada. I hope they are all well. I think it may have been me who stopped writing.... I have their letters in front of me.... perhaps if I am curious enough, I could send something to the address they used back then..... maybe I'd hear something back from them.....

May Stats:

Postcards. In - 28, out - 20
Letters. In - 16, out - 14 plus 4 surprises
Birthday cards. Out - 2
Packages - 1 in, 1 out.