Postcrossing Blog

It’s time again for another book review, and I have a fun one stored up! I recently discovered Sarah Caudwell's mystery stories featuring the character Hilary Tamar, and I fell absolutely in love with the narrative voice, the madcap group of characters, and the fact that the story in the first book resolves around a series of letters sent home by a young lawyer, Julia, to her colleagues. Without further ado, let’s chat about Thus Was Adonis Murdered!

The setup is that Julia is a bit scatterbrained, and approaches the world in her own way. You can be pretty sure that an endeavour Julia sets out on will go wrong, in the most unlikely of ways, and this is why her colleagues follow her letters with some amusement and some anxiety, especially when they learn she’s been arrested. I thought the story might be kind of weird since it’s basically “detection at a distance”: right up to the ending, no action is seen directly, only through Julia’s letters and the discussion of her friends back home. It’s surprising how well it works, though, and it’s pretty much carried by the wry humour in the voices of the characters and the narration.

Here’s a bit of an example, just as a taster:

Julia’s unhappy relationship with the Inland Revenue was due to her omission, during four years of modestly successful practice at the Bar, to pay any income tax. The truth is, I think, that she did not, in her heart of hearts, really believe in income tax. It was a subject which she had studied for examinations and on which she had thereafter advised a number of clients: she naturally did not suppose, in these circumstances, that it had anything to do with real life.

It’s not “laugh out loud” funny, of course, but funny as an observation of a person, a way of encapsulating a character that’s amusing at the same time—and an attitude that I think I recognise from a couple of people I know. They studied something, and that makes it sort of unreal, like something you read in a book…

This kind of wit makes the whole thing very entertaining, including the letters from Julia which give us almost all the clues for the mystery, if you can pick them out. I did manage to guess what the solution to the mystery was ahead of time, which can sometimes make a mystery novel feel weak (and be completely infuriating), but the strong narrative voice and the affection for this group of characters made it entertaining nonetheless.

On the strength of this book, I quickly got into the others, and I can definitely recommend them. Hilary Tamar is a pretty unconventional sort of detective, but I think that’s part of the charm, and I really appreciated the skill in making the whole thing amusing without ever pushing so hard on the humour that I found it annoying.

I’ll be back with another book review before too long, I’m sure; there are several books still in my queue to try out, but I’m always eager for more suggestions as well. Feel free to drop me a note in the forum topic I created if you have any books in mind about postcards/letters/stamps/the postal service, fiction or non-fiction! (Just bear in mind you may need to browse the forums a little bit to “level up” your account and get access, if you haven’t used the forums before!)

As a global project, Postcrossing welcomes people of all beliefs (or none at all), and we know that moments of religious or cultural significance can also have unexpected relevance for postcard and stamp lovers. With the recent passing of Pope Francis, Vatican City has entered a rare sede vacante period — a special moment that brings with it unique stamps and postal traditions, making it an interesting time for postal lovers.

To mark this occasion, we’re sharing a special travel report from Monika (aka MonikMary), a longtime postcrosser and frequent visitor to the Vatican, who found herself in Rome during this historic time. Here’s her story, in her own words:

"Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, brought the sad news of the passing of Pope Francis, aged 88, the beloved leader of the Catholic Church. As a Catholic, this news deeply saddened me. Yet, it also offered a meaningful opportunity to travel once again to Vatican City – not only to attend the funeral of the late Pope but also to commemorate him through postcards and share this unique moment via Postcrossing.

This wasn’t my first trip to the Vatican, nor my first time sending postcards from there (I personally sent 12% of all the official Vatican cards). So you might wonder: what made this visit special?

When the leader of the Catholic Church dies, the Church — and Vatican City as a state — enters a period called sede vacante, Latin for “the empty seat.” This special time follows centuries-old traditions, one of which is the issuance of unique sede vacante stamps. Imagine a country releasing stamps that are only valid for 2–3 weeks — that’s exactly what the Vatican does! The last sede vacante was in February-March 2013, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

Before my trip, I reached out to the Postcrossing team and asked for help sending cards with the Vatican ID (VA). Connecting to local Wi-Fi is nearly impossible in Vatican unless you are a priest or official worker, so this step was necessary.

It took eight days for the Vatican to make the stamps available, and I was finally able to buy them on Monday, April 28, despite asking for them as early as Thursday. But it was possible – and what a joy it was! I got to send postcards not only featuring views of the Vatican or images of Pope Francis, but also adorned with one of the rarest stamps in the world.

There was, however, a challenge. Since October 2024, there’s been an official rule limiting purchases to 10 stamps per person. I showed the postal clerk that I had written over 200 cards (35 of them official Postcrossing postcards) and explained how much I hoped to use sede vacante stamps. She made a phone call, and after reviewing the situation, kindly allowed me to buy the stamps for all my cards. What a relief and a blessing!

Postcrossing is truly about connection, kindness, and respect. I believe Pope Francis would have appreciated our community and the values we share. I like to think he would have enjoyed reading our profiles and getting to know us. Maybe we should invite the next pope to one of our meetings!

PS: If you have any questions about where to buy postcards in Vatican City, stamp prices, or anything about the Vatican Post, Monika would be happy to help — just send her a private message!

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

A while ago, Eva (aka lauranalanthalasa) suggested on the forum that we ask about people’s favourite scents for our monthly writing prompts. Scent can be really powerful and nostalgic, so that definitely made me curious!

I’d say my favourite scents are vanilla and old books, which aren’t quite so different as they sound! Books are made up of paper, which is made of wood pulp; that contains a lot of cellulose and lignin, which are tough components of the original wood. They can last a long time, but they do break down partially—and it turns out that lignin is closely related to vanillin, a compound which gives vanilla its scent and flavour.

I don’t know about anyone else, but some books smell better than others (I have one in front of me right now that smells delicious, though it’s quite new!) so I don’t think lignin breaking down into vanillin-like particles is the the whole story, but it does neatly make sense of things!

How about you? What’s your favourite scent? You can write about it on your postcards this month if you’re stuck for what to write, but you can also answer us in the comments on this post!

It’s Earth Day, the day dedicated to raising awareness and inspiring action to protect the environment. By now, many of you know about the small forest in central Portugal that postcrossers grow a little bit each year.

All year we look forward to this annual tree planting meetup with Quercus, a Portuguese environmental organization whose initiatives include reforestation projects and the nurturing of existing woods. It’s always a special day for us: a chance to get our hands dirty and give back to nature.

This year, the day chosen for the plantation was March 8. As we picked up our shovels and gloves and walked to the plantation site, the skies opened up and it didn’t stop raining all morning. 😥 Even prepared with boots and raincoats, we were quickly soaked to the bone and stayed that way the entire morning.

With rain dripping from our noses and mud caked on our boots, we still managed to plant almost 1000 maritime pine trees — a resilient native species that will help restore biodiversity and capture carbon for decades to come.

Maybe the trees enjoyed the weather more than we did — it was, after all, perfect for their first day in the soil! :) But spirits stayed high, the smiles were wide, and it was still a brilliant day, making sure all those baby trees were tucked in cozily in their sandy new addresses.

We haven’t heard of postcrossers in other countries taking up similar initiatives, but we hope one day there will be more small forests around the world, planted by groups of postcrossers! Check out your local environmental organizations, and keep an eye on their initiatives for a chance to plan one such event in the future! And if you’re just one person but still want to help make this a greener hobby, check out this page for tips.

Here’s to trees, rain, postcards — and caring for the Earth together! 💚

Combining his academic background in Finnish language and culture with his lifelong love of stamp collecting, some years ago Jonas (aka radiohead92) embarked on an internship at the Postal Museum in Tampere. Get ready to explore the fascinating world of Finnish postal history through his eyes, accompanied by some very special little travelers…

"Some years ago, I had the idea to combine my two main interests, Finland and philately. Finland has been an important subject for me through my studies of Finnish language and culture at the University of Vienna, philately since I was 11 years old when I started collecting stamps. I remembered the Postal Museum in Tampere, and asked if an internship there would be possible. Years ago, I had been in Finland for the first time, visited Tampere and participated the big International Meetup during the FINLANDIA 2017 Stamp Exhibition. Now I am a proud member of the Finnish Postcrossing Friends Association and have visited Finland many times. The Little Mail Carriers have observed and participated my whole internship at Postimuseo.

Tampere is a city famous for its industrial buildings, so it is not a surprise that it is called the “Manchester of the North” (Finns call it “Manse”, which is the Finnish word for Manchester). The Postimuseo is housed in a former building of a foundry, which looks really beautiful.

In the museum exhibitions that were featured back in 2022, you could see many interesting items of Finnish postal history, like the first motorized car of Posti or ancient writing instruments (e.g. a quill). Believe me, the little ones and I were stunned about this amazing exhibition everyday!

They were so many great other parts of the museum. Especially the library, full with interesting books about Postal History and Philately was a place where I had been often in my leisure time. No surprise, that the Little Mail Carriers wanted to explore the department of postcards immediately.

Behind the scenes, the full collection of European stamps of the last 100 years or the printing plates of the first Finnish stamps 1917 were amazing. I had the chance to see everything there, the staff of the Postal Museum was very friendly and willing to show me their treasures.

They were delighted to see my shining eyes and my tasks were varied. For instance, I had to scan old and expensive collections of stamps and postcards, or to sort stamps for the next exhibitions.

Sometimes I participated in the guided tours for school-children and wore an old postal uniform for them. It was very nice to see how the children explore the former and current postal items. Everyday I got a new, exciting task and the Little Mail Carriers were good and helpful fellows.

During the weekends, we traveled to other parts of Finland and attended some Postcrossing meetups, at Rovaniemi and Oulu. In Rovaniemi was the big Santa Claus Meeting on Arctic Circle, where we visited Santa Claus and its post office.

In Oulu we met some local postcrossers and, of course, the famous Toripolliisi, a sculpture of a former local policeman.

The Postcrossing meetup at Tampere, held at Postimuseo, was also special. The Little Mail Carriers were the V.I.P.s there! Finland (and Tampere) are famous for the Moomins, so the little ones had to visit the Moomin Museum, which is situated in the fairground of Tampere, the venue of FINLANDIA 2017.

In short, my internship at Tampere’s Postal Museum was a dream combination of my passions for Finland and philately. Surrounded by fascinating postal history and with the Little Mail Carriers as my steadfast companions, I experienced firsthand the rich stories behind mail and the vibrant spirit of the Finnish Postcrossing community. This adventure has left me with lasting memories and an even deeper appreciation for the connections Postcrossing fosters worldwide."

A big thank you to Jonas for sharing his amazing adventure at the Postal Museum with us and the Little Mail Carriers! We’re so glad they had such a fantastic time exploring the world of Finnish postal history. Until their next journey, happy travels, little ones! ✈️