Cover from Portugal

On the 21-st of October after 19 days of travellimg I got this amazing cover, devoted to the birth bicentenary of Louis Braille (1809-1852), the inventor of a system that combines embossed dots and which is applied to reading, writing, calculation and music for the blind.

Some words about the stamps on cover which are 2 from 4 in complete set:

On the block, produced in cooperation with the Portuguese Association for the Blind and Partially Sighted (Associação de Cegos e Amblíopes de Portugal – ACAPO), all the information appears repeated in Braille characters and on the limited space of the stamp, the word Braille can also be read in both types of characters. The remaining stamps of this issue are dedicated to each of the five senses, allowing for experiencing real physical interaction: the touch feels the embossed ink coming out of the tube; the smell receives the aroma of the cup of coffee; the sight detects holographic images on the spectacle lenses that change according to the position of the stamp; the taste identifies the flavour of vanilla on the glue of the stamp that shows an ice-cream; the ear is sensitive to the noise made by the file when you rub its rough surface.


And there was a souvenir sheet inside (see upper) devoted to 200th anniversary of the birthday of Louis Braille. I've already got one stamp with him and hope to get more since this topic seems to be very important, because this man made life of blind people better.

Thank you very much, Luis!

 

FDC from Poland

On the 19-th of October after 16 days of travelling I got these 2 letters with FDC devoted to the Defensive War in Poland which was a part of WW II. That was one of the most terrible event in the human history and it should never happens again. We should remember about all the horrors it brought to the world and I hope the stamps will help it.


1 September 2009 marks the seventieth anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, the greatest military conflict of the 20 th century not only in relation to utilized forces and means but also suffered material and human losses. This cruel war lasted for six years and came to an end on 2 September 1945 with the capitulation of Japan. In Europe, Germany signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender on 8 May 1945. 

The first day of September of the year to remember. 

It is commonly believed that the war broke out with gunfire shot from the battleship Schleswig-Holstein at the Polish military transit depot in the Westerplatte peninsula at the Gulf of Gdańsk, which was fiercely defended by a handful of soldiers led by major Henryk Sucharski. The German gunfire was backed up by a torpedo-boat, planes, SS battalion and front-line troops. Westerplatte surrendered on 7 September and its heroic defense took on the symbolic meaning. The September Campaign, also known as the Defensive War ended on 5 October 1939. Poland became shrouded by a dark night of occupation. 

Wieluń - first casualty of war 

Wieluń became the first target of attack by the Germans during World War II. It was bombarded at daybreak at 4.40. As a result of bombardment, 75 percentage of the town infrastructure was devastated. The city centre was almost razed to the ground. Two thousand people died. The hospital was first to be hit and destroyed in spite of the red cross on its roof. For two days did the soldiers of 28. Division of Infantry of Army "Łódź" heroically and ferociously defend the town. 

Westerplatte of the South 

This name was given to Węgierska Górka - a village in Żywiec County located at the foot of Barania Góra mountain - due to unyielding, fearless defense of fronts. Węgierska Górka was attacked by German 7. Division of Infantry that earlier seized Czadca, Koniaków, Skalite, Zwardoń, Szare, Kamiesznica and Milówek. The enemy encountered ferocious defense on the part of the Border Protection Corps units (Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza KOP) and troops of Army "Kraków". On 2 September the German soldiers took control of Babia Góra mountain and after numerous unsuccessful attempts, under cover of night, they broke through to the Polish positions. The brave defense of the region of Węgierska Górka taking place on 1-3 September slowed down the advancement of the enemy and put paid to the disintegration of the southern wing of Army "Kraków".

...enemy attacked Poland from a neighbouring country... 

When Poles wrestled with one enemy coming from the west border, they were attacked by their eastern neighbor. On 17 September 1939 it was invaded by the Red Army which numbered over 800 thousand soldiers, pulverizing and plundering the country. In this situation Polish Army did not stand chance of winning: heroically defended Warsaw surrendered on 28 September, the Modlin Fortress surrendered on 29 September, the Hel Peninsula capitulated on 2 October. The last battle of the September Campaign was fought by the Independent Operational Group "Polesie" under command of general Franciszek Kleeberg, which opposed Germans in the battle of Kock from 2 to 5 October, earlier the Border Protection Corps fighting Russians in the battle of Szack on 29-30 September and 1 October the battle of Wytyczno.

New postage stamps and First Day Covers 

In tribute to the participants of the September Campaign, Poczta Polska introduced two stamps. The first one presents a German archival photograph of the bombarded Wieluń. The town is seen from the cabin of a bomber, the perspective of the aggressor. The bottom of the photograph shows the zero hour. The cover includes a map of the destructed districts of the town. The issue is accompanied by an occasional date stamp with the view of a saved church standing surrounded by the ruins, in use in Wieluń 1 Post Office. The second stamp is devoted to Węgierska Górka. This time the fighting is presented from the defenders' perspective, from the bunker, as seen with a Polish soldier's eyes. The First Day Cover shows a plan of location of fortifications along with the direction of attacks of the German Army. An occasional date stamp with a military eagle has been displayed by the Węgierska Górka Post Office.

Thank you, Anrzej!

Also you can see additions stamps - Euro cept collection (yay!) - now I have Europa 2009 stamp from Poland! 

Cover from Canada

On the 13-th of October after 17 days of travelling I got these beautyful stamps on a  cover via postcrossing project. 

One of them is devoted to the International Astronomy Year. I was especially glad to get t since it's connected with the theme of 2009 Europa stamps.

The stamp features fascinating images from space with a renowned Canadian observatory in the foreground to represent Canada’s important role in astronomy, which includes the co-discovery of the first black hole in outer space. Envelope seals show other haunting space photographs. All of this against a background showing a magnificent picture of the planet Jupiter.

Unfortunately I got nice stamps via postcrossing rather rarely, so this time it was a nice surprice!

Thank you, Weedgenie!

Cover from Poland

On the 26-th of September after just 7 days of travelling I recieved this register cover from Poland. It shows the mammals of the Baltic Sea. You can lear more here:

Mammals of the Baltic Sea 

All the animals inhabiting the Baltic Sea are under protection. These are three species of seals and the porpoise - the only Baltic cetacean. Until the beginning of the 20 th century the sea was abundant in these animals, yet since they feed chiefly on fish they were found harmful. There were awards granted to those who killed them. It soon led to almost total extermination of the Baltic seals and cetaceans. The attempts at restoring the population of those animals have been taking place for nearly 20 years. Presently, the main threat they may face is the fishing net they may entangle in. Once entangled, the animals suffocate as they fail to resurface for oxygen. Another threat is posed by environmental pollution which brings on diseases and problems related to reproduction. A third, very important factor, is the development of tourism and fishery. Lack of peace as well as noise scare the animals away from their habitat giving them with no chance to rest, which usually leads to exhaustion. This is the reason why it is forbidden to interfere with a resting seal. However, it is worth informing the Marine Mammal Centre about such encounter. 

The Seal Centre of the Hel Marine Station - it is a field station of the Marine Station belonging to the Institute of Oceanography at the University of Gdańsk. The main aim of the station is to restore a colony of the grey seal in the region of the southern Baltic Sea. Those seals, which require care or have been bred in the Centre, return to their natural environment remaining valuable source of information about the species, its migrations or health condition. The Centre performs also educational work and popularizes the mammals living in the Baltic Sea. 

New stamps and First Day Cover (FDC) 

For the summer time, when plenty of fellow countrymen loosen up at the sea or just recall the stroll on the sands, Poczta Polska prepared a set of stamps presenting inhabitants of the Baltic Sea, the inhabitants whose existence is often forgotten or not known of. Four stamps in the scenery of a sea shore show: a porpoise, a grey seal, a harbour seal and a ringed seal. 
The stamps are accompanied by the First Day Cover and an occasional date stamp in use in Hel 1 Post Office. Inauguration of the stamps was held in the Hel Marine Mammals Centre.

Thank you, Andrzej!