World's Oldest Post Office

 World's Oldest Post Office

The world's oldest post office is celebrating its 310th birthday in 2022.  The Sanquhar post office in Dumfriesshire began its journey in 1712.  Since then it has been operational till now, in spite of a lot of struggles.

It turned 300 in 2012.  To celebrate this iconic mile stone this post office received a legend postmark, "Worlds Oldest Post Office" on request of people from around the world.  It received recognition from both the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the Guinness Book of World Records.  

When the post office was opened, the postmen, who were called “runners,” ran between offices to deliver letters and parcels.  In 1738, the post office began stamping mails and later introduced horses which were used to deliver letters and parcels. It was modernized in 1974 with the hand-operated canceling machine called bacon slicer.  Unfortunately, the historic post office was put for sale in 2014 due to the persistent losses and the uncertainty of the business.  The post office was almost closed down when it was apparent that a buyer could not be found. However, it reopened its doors in 2015 under a new postmaster after its renovation and refurbishment.  Again it went on for sale in 2019 as the postmaster decided to retire.  Luckily it is continuing its business till today.

I got the world record stamping on a picture postcard, through my friend Beth.  Thanks a lot, Beth.

The closest rival to the Sanquhar Post office, which is 8 years younger than Sanquhar, can be found in Stockholm, Sweden, which was founded in 1720. The third oldest is found in Santiago, Chile, and was established in 1772.  I am looking for cancellations from these post offices and would be grateful if someone could help.

14th June : World Blood Donor Day

 World Blood Donor Day

Karl Landsteiner, the Austria - Hungarian has been described as the father of transfusion medicine. Landsteiner made numerous contributions to pathological anatomy, histology and immunology.  In 1909, he classified the bloods of human beings into the now well-known A, B, AB, and O groups and showed that transfusions between individuals of same groups A or B do not result in the destruction of new blood cells.   This great invention not only fetched him Nobel Prize in 1930, but also saving millions of lives today.

For transfusion we need blood.  90% of blood are received from volunteer donors for free.  To commemorate the donors and encourage others to donate, World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) , decided to celebrate World Blood Donor Day on 14th June since 2005, Which is the birth day of Karl Landsteiner.   

World Blood Donor Day is one of 11 official global public health campaigns marked by the WHO.  The global theme of World Blood Donor Day changes each year.

Today the whole world celebrates this day in recognition of the selfless individuals who donate their blood for people unknown to them.  If you haven't done this yet, today is the day to do the noble thing.  Blood donation is next to Godliness as you are saving a unknown person without any expectation.

Below stamp set issued by Papua New Guinea in the year 1980 to commemorate Red Cross Blood Bank.

World Doll Day

No childhood could have passed without dolls.  Dolls give a child complete happiness and knowledge.  Though we had a number of dolls when we were young, only a few remain in our minds forever.  The one which is part and parcel of everyone's childhood should deserve a day right?  Yes, we do have a World Doll Day.  It is celebrated every year on the second Saturday in June since 1986.

There is an interesting story of how posts/chain letters played a role in commemorating a day for dolls.  Mildred Seeley, an avid doll collector, and doll-related entrepreneur thought of having a special day for the dolls.  She started sending out letters asking people to participate in the doll day and requested each person who have received the letter to spread the word to 5 more people.  This spread like a wildfire and the very first world doll day was celebrated on June 14, 1986.

Can you believe that dolls have been around since 2000BC?  Archeologists found the oldest dolls in Egyptian tombs.  Thereafter dolls have been made from several materials like wood, clay, porcelain, leather, cloth, metals, plastics, nuts, and even bones. Inuit make dolls from soapstone and bone, dressed in fur.

In India, we have an International Doll Museum in New Delhi, our capital city. Celebrated political cartoonist, K. Shankar Pillai received a doll as a gift from the Hungarian ambassador.  Since then, he became passionate about collecting dolls. This museum was founded by him in 1965, with over 6500 dolls from over 85 countries.

What is your favorite doll?  It's time to cherish them.

The below stamp is issued by India Post in the year 2010.