Sunday, January 12, 2014

A cover from....

Another Sunday has knocked on the door...and time for Sunday Stamps.
The topic for today is anything you wish...and you may be thinking, oh no, not trains again!!

Well, true...trains are like a saviour for my indecisiveness....but not today...so you can sigh with relief =)

Today I wanted to show this cover that arrived in my mailbox yesterday...and it is a pity to remain unshown, so I think it fits perfectly in the 'anything you wish' idea =)

Thanks a bunch to my friend Chris for this awesome surprise! Yep, it arrived as a surprise..never ever expected it, and as you know, the surprise factor is what adds so much to the thrill in receiving mail...esp. when it comes from a land far far away...like for example, Tristan da Cunha!!



yep, I can really call it a land far far away, cos it is indeed the land that is the most remote one in the world, where the closest piece of land to it lies within 2816 km, and that is South Africa! Can you imagine, living in a country that is an island, where the next nearest land is almost 3000 km away?? well, as much as I love getting isolated sometimes, as a European, I prefer being able to travel to different countries that are just hours away driving...and no one can argue this but, there are just so many fantastic destinations to travel to in Europe =)

anyways, back to the cover...there are two stamps attached...the one on the left is from a 4 stamps series issued in 2011, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the evacuation in 1961, when the entire population had to be evacuated due to the eruption of Queen Mary's Peak. Most families returned in 1963. And just as a side note, according to the 2010 census, the population was 264...no additional zeros or so, just 264...
the other stamp was issued in 2010 in a set of 12 stamps depicting Nature Conservation, with this stamp showing a cute little seal, representing the counting of the seals.

so, it feels really really special and such a treasure to receive such a cover from an island so remote, with such small population. Where mail is collected for some time, and then dispatched all at once...cos to get to and from the island you can only go by ship/boat...no plane!
Btw, I love the cancellation saying 'South Atlantic'.
If anyone is interested, you can check out my postcard blog for some Tristan da Cunha postcards.

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9 comments:

  1. What a wonderful surprise!

    Blog hopping from Sunday Stamps, happy new year Ana!

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  2. That was a real treat and a wonderful surprise! I'm going now to check the postcards. :)

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  3. I had never even heard of that place before!

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  4. What a surprise and delight! I was aware of T de C because of its geological activity. I visit the island website semi-regularly. But to receive a postcard with cancelled stamps !!!!!!!! that is rare!!

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  5. Wow I've never seen Tristan da Cuhna stamps before, what a treat.

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  6. Sunday Stamps, always educational. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Tristan da Cuhna stamps - this is a first for me.

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