Stamps and Letters | The Eras Postal Tour Preps

While I may not be a self-proclaimed Swiftie, I’ve witnessed my eldest daughter Ayana Grace bring Taylor Swift's piano melodies to life through her videos on social media over the years. Recently, she shared this- - - 

🎹 CodenameAya

A video clip of Ayana Grace’s recent piano rendition of Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer,’ one of her early fave TS songs, with a video of TS singing the song live on her Eras Tour  performance in the same clip. 

Passports to the Eras Tour Concert

My lovely daughters, Ana Cristina and Ayana Grace at the Singapore National Stadium

I'm tempted to post more of their photos, sad to say, this post isn't about the spectacular Eras Tour Concert they attended with their friends. Neither is this about how we grabbed the rare opportunity to unwind as a family for the first time since the pandemic. 

True that after my retirement from hospital work in 2020, I have been juggling caregiving duties for my mother, hence, this was a much-needed escape, as our last adventure in Taipei was back in 2018. 

Well, the truth is, this post is a segment of my personal journey as a stamp collector since I returned to this hobby in June 2021. 

I was excited to delve into the world of Extreme Philately, for the first time (inspired by fellow stamp collector-enthusiasts, Byrone Barrinuevo, Lou Alcala, Gootzie Herrera, among others).

Extreme philately involves researching on stamps from one’s collection, traveling to their real-world locations, and capturing the stamp's essence alongside its physical counterpart. By doing such, one gets to observe the imagery featured on the stamp, find the aspect of the stamp in real life, and take a photo of both side by side.

If done using postcards, it is called Extreme Deltiology (Thanks to you, Lou, for introducing the term to me!).  While philately is the collection and study of postage stamps, deltiology is the hobby of collecting postcards. I am not a deltiologist but I've been receiving postcards from friends who are stamp and/or postcard collectors and I do treasure each postcard I receive.

To give you an idea, take a look at how extreme philately and extreme deltiology work…

The 10p Oblation stamp from the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) Centennial series issued on April 2, 2013 was used by Byrone Barrinuevo for his extreme philately post taken alongside the real life Oblation of UP Diliman.

Here's another example of extreme philately by Lou Alcala using the 60 German pfennig (Pf) denomination stamp, commemorating the 50th birth anniversary of Anne Frank (1929-45), Nazi concentration camp victim and diary writer. The stamp was photographed together with Anne Franks's diary. The stamp was issued in Germany on May 17, 1979.

This is Gootzie Herrera's extreme philately that features 'Columbus Monument, Barcelona', a stamp from Spain issued on March 17, 1965. A photo of the stamp was taken with the 60-meter (197 ft) tall real-life Columbus Monument constructed in La Rambla, Barcelona in honor of Christopher Columbus' first voyage to the Americas. Thank you, Gootzie, for bringing this home to us from your tour!

This is an example of Extreme Deltiology, where Lou Alcala took a photo of the Hanging Coffins of Sagada (left) and another photo (right) both with a postcard and the hanging coffins at the background. This has been a unique burial ritual of the Kankanaey (natives of Sagada) for over 2,000 years. 

Carefully selecting stamps from my collection, featuring Singapore's iconic landmarks and postcards capturing the city's charm, made the prospect of blending my hobbies with our tour itinerary truly exhilarating. It gave me an entirely different focus and challenging travel experience to look forward to this time. 

I have chosen these stamps to match our itinerary- - -

Jewel Changi Airport from the Skyrise Greenery series

Gardens by the Bay

Marina Bay Skyline

200 Years of Healthcare featuring Singapore General Hospital and

Singapore Hawker Culture

Then these postcards for extreme deltiology…

Gardens by the Bay

Welcome to Singapore postcard featuring Merlion, Westin Stamford and Esplanade

Merlion with Marina Bay Sands as backdrop

and

Clarke Quay

Credits to Jeffrey Oro for the stamps and postcards featured here. 

Here they all are… eagerly waiting to jump into my bag!😁

Excitement brewed as I shared my wishlist of places to explore in Singapore with the family. Thankfully, spots like Gardens by the Bay, the iconic Marina Bay Sands, Merlion, and the vibrant China Town Hawker Center were already on our tentative list. Before each trip, we they 🤣… errr… our family would huddle together (I would always be in the kitchen, just listening to what’s going on 😁😆) to fine-tune our travel itinerary, often drawing inspiration from travel vlogs we watch together. A historical video of the Fullerton Hotel captivated hubby, earning it a well-deserved spot on our must-visit list. 

Watch this video 👇👇👇

A few days before the trip, I made sure the stamps wouldn’t fall off my stamp tongs if it’s windy. Ensuring the safety of all stamps and postcards I have taken out of my stock books, I secured the items by wrapping each stamp in protective Oriented Polypropylene (OPP) film with a stiffener. OPP plastics are strong and resistant to tearing and moisture, have a high resistance to heat, hence, are commonly used by stamp collectors in protecting stamps.

Here’s how I did it. 

👇👇👇

Then, I placed all the stamps in a card holder (thanks to Angie Valdez for this gift… a souvenir from our Philippine Stamp Collectors’ Society (PSCS) Stamp Circuit Group). 

Card holder for the stamps coming with me to Singapore

Stamps and postcards all set to go

Oh, the postcards, I just placed them in a 7.5 x 4.5-inch mount to safeguard against wrinkles during the flight and the tour.

Stamps in card holder, all postcards together in the mount and stamp tongs ready

I also covered the tip of the tongs so it wouldn’t appear as sharp object although I knew tongs and tweezers are allowed in carry-on bags. 

Used washi tape to cover the tips of the stamp tongs

I had to practice using the tongs just to get a feel of it, making sure I made a good grasp, else the stamp would fall and I might lose any of them forever.

All my bags are packed, ready to go! 

And now, let The Eras Postal Tour begin!

The unveiling commenced with the first stop at the mesmerizing Jewel Changi Airport, setting the stage for an exciting adventure ahead!

Ooooopppsss… this is just a preview! 

Stay tuned for more stories from my  extreme philately journey in the next blog installment. ⏭️⏭️⏭️

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Related Posts:

BeJeweled

Historic Fullerton