The Anthem Philatelist

This is a Europa stamp featuring the lyrics of the anthem of the Isle of Man on the tab.  This set is compose of two stamps values of  25p and 30p.  Previously the anthem of the Isle of Man was already feature here .  The anthem composer and lyricist were shown in the stamp.  A Europa stamps are special stamps issued by European postal administrations under the aegis of PostEurop and which have Europe as their central theme. Europa stamps should underline cooperation in the domain of posts, particularly as regards the promotion of philately and contribute to making the public aware of common roots, culture and history of Europe and common goals." In 2002, more than 50 European countries and territories issued Europa Stamps. The first issue dates from 1956 with 6 countries participating. From 1993 all the stamps have "Europa" inserted into the design in small print. For the new millennium in 2000, the common design once more replaced the common theme. T...

I've been road running for the past 3 years. A few days ago however, I ventured into a different running adventure-  trail running.  Earlier on, I always wanted to run in varied off-road terrain, but friends warned me that injuries are higher in these types of run .    A colleague of mine, dislocated his knee and another had bruises in his shins and foot courtesy of the rocky terrain. My witty, humorous, fitness loving travelmate  Dr. Clifford "Ipyok" Aranas almost collapsed due to anaphylaxis after being bitten by a bee. Some even got lost (due to absence of signs) and became severely dehydrated (due to lack of water stations).  So, I told myself: "I'll have to prepare for this event"- the first ROX (Recreational Outdoor Xchange) Trail run in Liloan , Cebu sponsored by Salomon .    After much reading from various books and frequent site visits to Runner's World , I came up with these strategies, which I call the ABCDE strategy, for a successf...

On a recent visit to Toledo City, Cebu,  we had the opportunity to visit the Capilla Santa Ana Museum and Community Center in Diosdado Macapagal Highway, about 7 kilometers from the city center.  The museum is housed in a quaint chapel and hosts a variety of religious icons, art and relics from 18th and 19th century Europe. The exhibits are unique to this place as they are from all over Europe acquired through the fervent acquisition and collection of  a relative of the Gaite family. The family runs and maintains the museum.  We saw several relics of Saints (more than 10) and of the Cross where Jesus was nailed.  Several European renaissance paintings, wooden and bronze sculptures, vestments and sundry religious items are exhibited here.  There is even an 1859 Steinway piano displayed at the upper part of the chapel. Entrance fee is 200 pesos for foreign tourist and 100 and 50 pesos for local tourist and students respectively.   This is a...

The National anthem of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes 1918–1929) was created in December 1918 from the national anthems of the Kingdom's main three constituent historical provinces: Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia. In those times the official authorities considered the three nations, Croats, Serbs and Slovenes as one nation with three names. The official language was thus called the Serbo-Croato-Slovene language. Although a law on the national anthem did not exist, the anthems of all three South Slavic nations were unified into a single anthem of the Kingdom. It started with a few measures from the Serbian anthem "Bože pravde", continued with a few lines from the Croatian anthem "Lijepa naša domovino", which were in turn followed by a few lines from the traditional Slovenian anthem "Naprej zastava slave". The anthem finished with some lines from the Serbian anthem again. It was officially used between 1919 and 1941...

Entering into caves gave me goosebumps.  No video or photos can justify this truly world class experience. All your senses are stimulated- the sound of flying bats and sparrows, the cold air draft, the taste of dripping water( or bat urine?),the unforgettable subterranean whiff, the magnificent and jaw-dropping stone formations.  This is a heritage site all Filipinos should visit at least once in their lifetime. The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located about 50 kilometres (30 mi) north of the city center of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. The river is also called Puerto Princesa Underground River. The national park is located in the Saint Paul Mountain Range on the northern coast of the island. It is bordered by St. Paul Bay to the north and the Babuyan River to the east. The City Government of Puerto Princesa has managed the National Park since 1992. The park is also known as St. Paul's Subterranean River National Park, or St. Paul Undergroun...

"Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" ("Ukraine has not yet perished") is the national anthem of Ukraine again since 1992  Before its re-adaptation a concourse for a national anthem among three patriotic songs was taken place with one of the other songs being Za Ukrainu by Mykola Voronyi.    The lyrics constitute a slightly modified original first stanza of the patriotic poem written in 1862 by Pavlo Chubynsky, a prominent ethnographer from the region of Ukraine's capital, Kiev, and were influenced by the words and themes of Poland's national anthem,  Poland Is Not Yet Lost. In 1863, Mykhailo Verbytsky, a western Ukrainian composer and a Greek-Catholic priest composed music to accompany Chubynsky's text. The first choral performance of the piece was at the Ukraine Theatre in Lviv, in 1864. The song was first the national anthem of the Ukrainian People's Republic, Carpatho-Ukraine and later the independent post-Soviet Ukraine. The stamp above was issued t...

Mr. Han had a dream: to offer his fellow Koreans a taste of what inspired his love for France. This dream became the  Petite France project: an hour’s drive from Seoul, an urban area home to some 25 million residents, Mr. Han found a quiet location on the shore of Lake Gapyeong. Here he built something between a town and a museum: each house reflects French culture. Visitors can take a few days’ break here, staying in French-style houses furnished in the French manner with furniture imported directly from France. The distinctive architecture of Petite France has even proved a magnet for the film crew of Beethoven Virus, a hugely popular TV series in Korea. Here, the Little Prince is the guest of honour. Mr. Han takes a keen interest in French literature and enjoys the works of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, in particular  The Little Prince. His favourite passage? The meeting with the fox, of course! In a country where over 350 different editi...