Road Safety in Hong Kong

Two stamps from a cute set of four issued by Hong Kong Post in May of 2026 on the theme of "Road Safety". They are on the official first-day envelope but not first-day postmarked. The image in the postmark is that of the new Hong Kong Post headquarters where the postmark was applied. And below that is a handstamp for the Macau 2026 specialize stamp expo held at the end of June in 2026.

100th Anniversary of the Rax Cable Car. Austria.

The postmark on this cover from Austria commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Rax cable car. I believe it is the first-day postmark for a stamp that commemorates the occasion as well. The cable car takes passengers up the Rax mountain range in eight minutes to a height of 1600m above sea level.

The stamps from left to right are: 

• A 2017 stamp from the Austrian Inventions series that commemorates the typewriters invented by Peter Mitterhofer. He built several advanced prototypes between 1864 and 1869 that were never produced commercially.
• A 2018 stamp from the Classic Costume series. This one features Thayataler Trachten: traditional folkdress from the Thaya region.
• And finally, a 2018 stamps that addresses generational issues. It's a graphical representation of co-existence, with young and old occupying the same space.

First Flight Across the South Atlantic from Portugal to Brazil

On this Brazilian cover from Palmeira dos Índios are a set of stamps from 2022 that commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first flight across the South Atlantic Ocean. In 1922 Portuguese aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral used three different float planes to hop to the Brazilian coast from Lisbon via the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and Fernando de Noronha.

70 Years of EUROPA Stamps, Germany FDC

On this cover is a first-day postmarked 2026 Europa stamp from Germany. This year the EUROPA theme marks the 70th anniversary of the EUROPA stamp and each participating country has issued stamps with a common design representing the perforations along the edges of a stamp. The larger line of "dots" running diagonally across the stamp are actually cut through the stamp, perforating it.

Pet Dogs in Taiwan

The pair of stamps on this cover from Taiwan are from a 2025 set of ten featuring dogs and cats. On the right is a Shetland Sheepdog and on the left is a Shiba Inu.

Hobbit Holes in New Zealand

I received this postcard from my daughter who was travelling though New Zealand earlier this month. She had time to drop by Matamata to see the movie sets where they filmed scenes from "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit". It's a very popular tourist stop between Auckland and Rotorua.

The postcard came with this stamp that I found unfamiliar. It's from a private New Zealand mail carrier called The New Zealand Document Exchange or DX Mail. She dropped this off at a New Zealand Post  postbox in Christchurch but it ended up with a postmark implying it went through a bulk carrier in Wellington.

She also brought back these recent FDCs with illustrated artwork featuring common plants that are foraged around New Zealand: Kawakawa, Bladder Kelp, Watercress and Fennel. Beautiful stamps. 

Summer Greetings from Shizuoka, Japan

Stamps from the annual Summer Greetings series from Japan Post. Soft-serve ice cream on the right and warabi mochi on the left. These are from a sheet of ten 85 yen stamps that all feature popular summer snack foods. The other sheet in the set has ten 110 yen stamps featuring fruit items that are popular in the summer, like the pineapple pictured in the first-day postmark.

Eureka Weather Station, Canada

It's been a while since I've received mail from Eureka: the Canadian weather station on Ellesmere Island. The postmark has been refreshed a little since then. And I guess Canada Post felt the stamp was too colourful for this cover so they decided to spoil it for me. Good job.

The Eureka research and weather station is quite far north, but not the most northern research station. That would be the Canadian military and research station of Alert which is about 400km north of Eureka, on the north tip of Ellesmere island. But Alert doesn't have a post office.

Summer Festivals in the Touhoku Region, Japan

The stamps on this cover from Shizuoka are from 1999 and feature two summer festivals held annually in Japan's Touhoku region. The Sendai Tanabata Festival is on the left and the Soma Nomaoi Festival is on the right. Sendai's Tanabata Festival is one of Japan's largest star festivals that celebrates the reuniting of two celestial lovers: Orihime and Hikoboshi. The city's streets are decorated with large paper ornaments (kazari) with long colourful streamers. Soma's Nomaoi Festival is an annual event in which hundreds of horseback riders dressed as samurai compete in traditional events and battles. It has been an annual tradition for over 1000 years.

80th Anniversary of the United Nations, Tunisia

A cover commemorating the 80th anniversary of the United Nations from the Ennasr district of Ariana, north of Tunis. The stamp was issued by La Poste Tunisienne in 2025.

A small collection of stamps from India

From Chakkarapalli, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A small assortment of stamps. Top right is a 2004 Olympic Games stamp. Top middle are a pair of stamps from 2011 commemorating the 10th presidential naval fleet review, with a MiG-29K on the right and the Presidents yacht on the left. Interesting combination. Far left is a 2026 commemorative the honors the shadow puppetry art known as Ravanchhaya. I like that one. And the final stamp honors those who dealt with controlling COVID in 2020.

Street Painters in France

On this cover from France are a pair of recent stamps. The 2026 stamp on the left features street painters, like the ones you would see in tourist areas in Paris. And the stamp on the right is from a 2025 booklet features images of the oceans. I believe the island on this stamp is part of the Glénan Islands.

Mailed in the envelope was this lovely old philatelic souvenir card from 1973. The first-day postmarked stamp commemorates the 46th annual National Philately Congress that was held in Toulouse that year. The image on the card is one of those silk prints that was popular or philatelic items back in the day. It's an image of the tower of the Toulouse capital buildings. Built in 1525, the structure has been the location of the city's tourist office since 1948.