Sochi 2014 Olympics Games And Pakistan's Participation In Olympics

I have always been a sports fanatic and Olympics has been the twilight of all sports events held on the planet. In fact, I have a special admiration for Olympics Stamps and have a nice collection ofthem by now.
My primary love is for Summer Olympics because PAKISTAN does send a few teams in these Olympics and even managed to get some medals there - although very few as compared to the huge population and the talented youth available in the country; but there are some obvious reasons and most importantly it's the dirty politics in the country in general and in Pakistan Olympics Federation in particular. A little Google search reveals the following:-

• After it's independence in 1947, Pakistan has participated in all Summer Olympics Games except in 1980 when it joined theUS-led Olympics Boycott as it were held in Moscow, Russia.
• In total, Pakistan has won 10 medals so far, including 3 Gold,3 Silver and 4 Bronze medals.
• Out of the total 10 medals, Pakistan Field Hockey Team has won 8 including 3 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze medals.
• The remaining 2 Bronze medals were won in Wrestling andBoxing.
• ... and unfortunately, Pakistan has not won a single medal in the last 5 Olympics Games since 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain to 2012 Olympics Games in London, UK.

Pakistan has never sent any team to Winter Olympics, if I am not wrong.

Sorry, Google has again proved me wrong ------ Pakistan's first participation in Winter Olympics Games was in 2010 in Vancouver Winter Olympics, where Mr Muhammad Abbas represented Pakistanin Alpine Skiing category in Men's Giant Slalom event. He was ranked 79 out of 103 qualifiers.

Pakistan's Ski Team has also qualified for 2014 Winter Olympics Games in Sochi, Russia, scheduled to be held from February 7 - 23, 2014.

The above stamp was issued in 2011 by Russian Postal Service to commemorate Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics Games. It is one of thestamp of a series of 3 stamps.

The magnificent cover is definitely a nice addition in my Olympics Covers Collection.

Slovenia - An Amazing Cover From The Beautiful European Country

After a long time, when I decided to share a new cover from my collection, I decided to share a real-posted cover from a new country, therefore I selected this cute cover from Slovenia or Slovenija, as they spell it on the stamps.
The envelope is a made up of beautiful dull blue-coloured paper and the stamps really emboss on dull blue background.

 The cover was sent to me by Karmen from Slovenia alongwith a couple of postcards and coins too.

 The cover is posted with 3 stamps on the face.

• The left-most Slovenian souvenir sheet featuring a flower was issued in 2009 and shows a Ranunculus Arvensis.

• The stamp on the right side was also issued in 2009 at the moment of "World Cup Athletes, Berlin". The stamp shows various athletes in action in different coloured silhouettes. It is really a very beautiful and coloured stamp and I absolutely love it.

You can leave your comments below!

France, Harry Potter Miniature Sheet

Here is a beautiful real posted cover from France with beautiful Harry Potter miniature sheet. Harry Potter is one of my favorite characters in books and movies. I recommend Harry Potter books to everyone who is reading this post. The movies are also good but not as classic as the books. The set of 7 Harry Potter Books is a must-read for every book lover. The miniature sheet was issued in 2007. "Fete Du Timbre 2007" printed on the miniature sheet means "Celebration of Stamps 2007" or "Stamp Celebration 2007". Thanks Marie for the quick translation.

The remaining stamps pasted on the cover were also issued in 2005. The French stamps of 0.01, 0.05 and 0.10 Euro feature Marianne. Marianne is a symbol of Republican France. A marianne is a portrait of a proud and determined woman wearing a "Phrygian Cap". She symbolises the attachment of the common citizens of the revolution to the Republic - Marianne is liberty, egality and fraternity. The one shown on these stamps is Lamouche Marianne. Thanks to Michael Adam for this beautiful cover.

Estonia: Beautiful Sports Stamps

An absolutely beautiful cover from Estonia is here with wonderful sporting stamps. The cover was sent byKriistina from Estonia and contained some really beautiful used stamps, a FDC and a card. All are beautiful.

The 3 stamps on the left form a complete set of of three commemorative stamps issued on the occasion of the 1st Baltic Sea Games held under the aegis of the International Olympic Committee in a number of Estonian towns from 23 June to 4 July 1993. The description of the 3 stamps is as follows:-

• The 60 s stamp (on the left) features wrestling, one of Estonia’s most successful sports in the first half of this century. Famous Estonians wrestlers include the professionals Aleksander Aberg, Georg Lurich and Georg Hackenschmidt from the early 1900s, as well as the Olympic gold medal winners Kristjan Palusalu (1936) and Johannes kotkas (1952).co
  
• The 1 kr + 25 s stamp features a Viking ship with a sail carrying a map of the Baltic sea area, and the colours of the participating nations in the shape of warrior shields lining the side of the ship.
• The figure of the shot putter on the 2 kr stamp actually represents Kalevipoeg, the hero of the Estonian national epic. Kalevipoeg’s victory over his brothers in a stone-throwing test of strength by which he come to inherit his father’s kingdom is one of the best known episodes of the 19th century poetical work.

The magnificent stamp on the right top of the cover was issued on 4 May 2004 by Estonia. It's a EUROPA stamppromoting vacations The relatively brief Estonian summer provides enough, various opportunities of spending the leisure in a pleasant way. As Estonia is a maritime country, the holiday is often connected with the sea. There are numerous beautiful beaches, notably in Pirita, Pärnu, Haapsalu, Toila etc. Besides sunbathing, a day on the beach offers opportunities of more athletic activity as well, windsurfing or yachting being just two options out of many. Both require skill, strength as well as an adventurous spirit. A day under the sails, breathing salty sea air, can be a unique experience.

France; Harry Potter Stamps 2007

I absolutely love this cover from France. The cover features characters from my favorite book series – “Harry Potter”. I started reading the first part of the book on the recommendation of a younger sis and could not quit reading until I was finished with all the seven parts of the series.

I have also gone through the initial movies of the series. Although they are magnificently made but still they are NO match to the books. JK Rowling definitely Rules!!!

The above stamps were issued by France on 17 March 2007. "Fete Du Timbre" printed on the stamps means "Celebration of Stamps". The three stamps feature Harry Potter (Two stamps on Left), Hermione Granger (Top right) and Ronald Weasley (Bottom right).

The remaining stamps pasted on the cover were issued in 2005. The French stamps of 0.01 and 0.05 Euro feature Marianne. Marianne is a symbol of Republican France. A Marianne is a portrait of a proud and determined woman wearing a "Phrygian Cap". She symbolizes theattachment of the common citizens of the revolution to the Republic - Marianne is liberty, egality and fraternity. The one shown on these stamps is Lamouche Marianne. Thanks to Contesse Eric for this beautiful cover.

Macedonia; Real-Posted Cover With Angry Fish – Not Willing To See Each Other’s Face Even

WOW!!! Fish also have human-like expressions. For instance just see these two fish on the cover posted from Macedonia. They look as angry as two humans who have sworn not to see each other’s face after a quarrel. Isn’t it so??? :)

This beautiful cover was waiting for a long time to be posted on theblog. I received it in 2007. Its a really beautiful cover from Skopje, Macedonia.

The two fish stamps on the cover are part of a set of 4 fish stamps issued by Macedonia Post in 2007. It sure is a magnificent set of Fish Stamps from Macedonia.

Kenya; Real-Posted Cover with Kasarani Stadium And Orchids

I absolutely like this cover with nice stamps, especially I love the large stamp with a multi-purpose football stadium which is a joint issue stamp issued on the 40th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Kenya and China. It is one of the two stamps issued on the occasion and the face value is 66 shillings. The second stamp of 21shillings features a portion of Mombasa Road

The multi-purpose Kasarani Stadium featured on the stamp is part of the Moi International Sports Center in Kasarani, in the outskirts of Nairobi. The stadium was built in 1987 for the All-Africa Games held in Nairobi. Currently the stadium is being used primarily for the Football matches. A Gymnasium and an aquatic complex are also part of the Sports Center.

The remaining 3 stamps are part of a set of 18 definitives issued by Kenyan Post in 2001. It took me a long time to verify this fact.

Interestingly none of the stamps have been cancelled using post-marks. Total postage used on the cover is 308 Shillings. The cover was sent by Aliya Bauer from Kenya with nice phonecards.