T E N E R I F E ’ S O N LY Issue 670
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W E E K LY N E W S PA P E R
17 September 2010 - 23 September 2010
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Stamp of approval! Post Office pays a rare tribute to Teide’s National Park TENERIFE has been honoured by the national Post Office with the special launch of a Spanish stamp, depicting Teide’s National Park. The President of the Tenerife Cabildo, Ricardo Melchior, launched the new postage stamp issued by the Post Office in the Teide National Park, an initiative that is part of the series 'Natural areas of Spain', which ends on October 3rd. The value of the stamp is 0.45 euros and has a circulation of 320,000 copies. The stamp is part of the series Natural Spaces of Spain, which promotes protected areas around the country of great interest because of their high, ecological worth. The announcement was made at a ceremony on Wednesday, hosted by Ricardo Melchior, President of the Cabildo, at the Parador Nacional de Las Cañadas del Teide. Also in attendance were Carlos Javier de las Heras, territorial director of the Post Office for Santa Cruz, Emilio Atienzar, general director for the Environmental Quality at the Canary Islands Government, and Isaac Valencia, Mayor of La Orotava, The Parque Nacional del Teide, renowned for its ecological values, and for being the highest in Spain, was classed as a national park in January 1954. It is also the largest and longest-established national park in the Canaries, and one of the oldest in Spain. In 2007, it was designated a World Heritage Site by
Tenerife’s new 2010 stamp
UNESCO, and that same year the Parque Nacional del Teide was listed among the 12 “Treasures of Spain”. The stamp’s release will prove a boon for stamp collectors throughout the globe. Yes, stamp collectors, or philatelists, as they are also known! Despite today’s techo age, old-fashioned postage stamps are still a magnet for young and old alike. They have been around for more than 160 years, and there are still hundreds of active clubs and societies
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throughout the world. That’s because postage stamps, postcards and old postal history (letters), all have a story to tell. It doesn’t take much to get youngsters interested. True, they’ve got their consoles, Facebook and Twitter internet facilities, but nothing beats the real thing. Show them a picture and ask: “What are the pictures on the stamps? Who or what do they represent? Then watch them check it out on Google, or other search engines.
Most stamps show pictures of people and places from around the world, like past and present kings, queens and rulers of countries, dead or alive! They include leaders like Queen Victoria, previous US presidents and famous people. In addition, illustrations of wildlife, cars, airplanes events, places, TV/film stars and celebrities are all to be found adorning stamps. And if the stamp was used on a letter or parcel, what was the postmark? Where was it posted? Was the stamp issued to commemorate an important event? You will soon have the children looking up the answers and actually discovering history through stamps. Stamp collecting, or philately, is known as “The King of
Hobbies and the Hobby of Kings”, and for good reason. The British Royal Family has an extensive stamp collection, while for King George VI, it was a serious hobby. You can learn about the history and geography of the world just by collecting and sorting stamps - from those depicting explorers in
the Antarctic to lizards in the deserts. So, if you fancy a spot of philately, what better way to start than with a first-issue Tenerife stamp of Teide’s National Park? A previous Tenerife postage stamp, issued by the Spanish Post Office, is regarded as a collector’s item
Tenerife’s old stamp