Stamps

Permanent Pictorial Cancellations – Kerala -Malampuzha Dam Malampuzha Dam built across Malampuzha ,a tributary of Bharathapuzha is one of the best known tourist spots of Kerala.

Title: Paul Signac - Neo Impressionist PainterFormat: Minisheet of 3 stamps and Block with 1 stampLighthouse: Block stamp with the painting "Young Women of Provence at the Well", showing a stylized version of the Saint-Tropez Jetty Head Light. Thanks Klaus for the alert on this issue

  New Zealand Post will issue new stamps on 5 June 2013 featuring Matariki 2013.  The set of six stamps is incorporated into a miniature sheet and two first day covers. Matariki 2013 - Koru When the star cluster known as Matariki appears in the night sky it signals the Maori New Year and a time of new beginnings. The Matariki 2013 stamp issue celebrates the koru - a pattern symbolising new life and regeneration.Matariki is a significant event for M?ori, and is widely acknowledged to signal a change of seasons. In traditional M?ori society, Matariki was believed to foretell whether the year ahead would be plentiful. It was also a time of festivity, when communities would come together to reflect on the past and look ahead to new beginnings. The message of new beginnings is represented in the koru pattern, which is derived from an unfurling silver fern frond. Each of the six self-adhesive stamps in this issue incorporates the koru pattern along with aspects of traditional M?ori culture that have particular significance during the time of Matariki. 70c - Piko The koru pattern is used in many M?ori and New Zealand art forms and symbolises new life, regeneration, growth, strength and peace. For many this form is the symbol of renewal and of hope for the future. In this stamp the piko is blooming and will grow into a rauponga (fern leaf). The artwork surrounding the fern represents the domain of T?ne Mahuta - the God of the Forest. 70c - Manu Tukutuku Sometimes the koru can be used in a non-literal way to symbolise aspects of M?oridom, and is often seen in carving and ta moko (tattooing). In this stamp the koru pattern symbolises the winds of T?whirim?tea (the God of the Weather), and soaring on those winds is a kite, or a messenger between Heaven and Earth. In the background the sunrise depicts the first day of Matariki, and the sky - the domain of T?whirim?tea. $1.40 - Nguru The pattern that covers the nguru (flute) in this stamp is made from a series of koru shapes that depict the music making pleasing shapes in the silence. In the background is the face of Hine Raukatauri, the Goddess of Flute Music, who loved her nguru so much that she decided to live in it forever. $1.90 - Pataka This stamp design talks about Matariki as a time of abundance, feasting and the opportunity to flourish. The p?taka, or storehouse, is covered in koru, and represents the concept of planting and storing kai (food), the gathering of kai, and nourishment and wellbeing. This is the domain of Rongo-m?-T?ne, the God of K?mara and Cultivated Food. $2.40 - Kotiate The mangopare design seen swirling around the kotiate (club) is a traditional M?ori interpretation of a hammerhead shark, featuring symmetrical koru as the distinctive head. It symbolises strength, determination and an unwillingness to yield. It is very much the warrior symbol, and speaks of the attributes that a warrior must possess. The kotiate and mangopare together represent the domain of T?matauenga, the God of War and Balance. $2.90 - Patiki The p?tiki (flounder) design, with its swirling koru inside the shape of the p?tiki, is used in many carvings - particularly in p?taka and waka (canoes). It is the symbol of hospitality, and can represent the catching of fish from the domain of Tangaroa, the God of the Ocean.

  Date of Issue : 11 May 2013 Australia Post released a range of new “miniature” artworks on stamps at the World Stamp Expo. This stamp issue is the fourth in the Australian Birds series. It focuses on pardalotes, a family (Pardalotidae) of foliage-gleaning, mainly insectivorous birds native to Australia and sometimes known as “peep-wrens” or “diamond birds”. Unlike wrens, pardalotes do not have the upward-pointing tail. The name “pardalote” derives from the Greek word meaning spotted, as small whitish spots are common to the family, although most particularly to the Spotted Pardalote and Forty-spotted Pardalote. Pardalotes are small, around 8.5cm to 12cm, with short tails and wings, longish legs and thick stubby beaks. Their plumage combines both dull and striking colours. They prefer a eucalypt habitat over anything else – often the high outer foliage – and they play a strong role in controlling lerp infestations (a sap-sucking insect). These monogamous birds usually feed singly or in pairs during the breeding season, darting quickly among the foliage or like small missiles from tree to tree. They often share in the tasks of nest building, egg incubation and rearing the young. Most species nest in horizontal tunnels built into earth banks.

Courtesy to JPM from France United Arab Emirates Dubai postal letter box.

The 1975 Health Stamp Issue incorporated the theme of children and animals. The animals depicted in the designs are typical of those New Zealand children might grow up with in rural areas.The proceeds of the 'Health' value of health stamps were donated to the Children's Health Camps movement.3c + 1c. Girl feeding a Lamb.4c + 1c. Boy with Hen and Chickens.5c + 1c. Boy pulling Duck in Wagon.Thank you Maria for this lovely FDC.

Langkawi fishing boats anchored at Kuah Bay

Various postmark in used Mel Rakyat