Ironic smiles

Too much news today, my mind cannot hold, but, philatelicly maniac, it ways everything into postal and stamp ideas. All this while the Omni-President speeches, at Rethel, "a program, very classical and predictable, of public spendings to resolve the crisis". Unless UMP^[1] Deputy Mariton was speaking in Le Figaro of "a hyper keynesian Obama". The fourth and last ironic smile on my face today.


The first happened while listening a report on France Info that gave me back hope in the professional soccer. On the last matches, Mrs. Sabine Bonnin was the first woman to be the referee of a second league match in France, because the titulary referee was injured during the play.

And Mrs. Bonnin is an employee of La Poste. Hurray! Right when her firm is sponsoring soccer referees that won us a round stamp. But...

... the journalist concluded with malice: the postwoman had to take a unpayed day to prepare herself for the match. Doh!


The second one, here came France's musketeers: the Members of Parliament saved...

... the world economy?

Don't be so enthusiastic, please.

... orphans and widows?

We are speaking of politic people.

... a kitty on a tree?

After a months long lobbying against the European-inspired lifetime car plate number, they obtained that the number of French départements had to be kept.^[2] What a success! French citizens, sleep well! France is saved! La Marseillaise won't be whistle again! The Omni-President could be credible against those men.

And there, postal history returned: why can not Members of Parliament lobby La Poste and force its directors to print again the département number on French cancellations? What the hell, what not the name of the département too?

Those with good memory recalled that, amongst cutting remarks against collectors' rage against too numerous stamps issued, Françoise Eslinger promised that she will speak about the département number problem with her colleagues. May she succeed while not being a MP?


The third ended in a critic to all actors of the French philately. The smile began with a post on the Blog philatélie about the return of La Poste's Museum free stationery. FREE! But, only for visitors of a special exhibition at the museum. The museum wanted to take advantage of next 7-10 November 2008 Paris stamp show...

The problem is: collectors cannot get this commemorative stamped stationery but by visiting Paris. The smile became large smile when I read the official blog of the exhibition: they are taunting collectors LOL, like Eslinger last June.^[3]


My day's conclusion I wrote on Les News du Phospho whose author was surprised by how same-intel-alike were La Poste's news philatelic magazine and the news section of French philatelic magazines. It may be time that collectors and philatelists associations and philatelic press get their goals away from those of La Poste. The operator has its own, that I don't always like, but that only refuse to buy and lobbyng^[4] could influence.

Let's see the British example where associations/circles/societies are studying whatever and however they want (and not necessarilly like the Royal Mail wants to sell them). And each philatelic magazines get a man who is following new issues, printings, unannounced news by the Royal Mail channels and other channels. Philatelic and postal history written every month without reciting official memos.

But, I am in France. I imagine we have to wait for a solution from our neo-keynesian omni-presidential Master of the European Council.


1 : the UMP is the omni-president's political party, theorically highly liberal in economy and highlier conservative about social behavior.
2 : imiting by the way their glorious predecessors of the IIIrd Republic who have forced the post office, for pedagogic need, to add the name of the département on datestamps. The number alone was estimated insufficient. Times changed...
3 : translation of the second part of the exhibition blog: "Whereas the previous stationery was printed in 15000 items, this one was only in 7000... [...] Stay THE big question amongst philatelists: official stationery or fake stationery?"
4 : lobbying from the collectors to their MPs of course.