Japan

See It On A Postcard's  Thursday Postcard Hunt  for A place you would like to visit

Kyoto

so I have chosen Japan, a country with a culture both ancient and modern

Cat looking at fields of Asakusa by Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

and maybe I will stay in a house that overlooks the rice fields of Asakusa  that comes with a resident cat, although will have to travel back in time as the closest rice fields to Tokyo today are at Chiba. In the present times the area of Asukusa with its waterfront and temple complex is a popular tourist destination. The woodblock print is from '100 Views of Edo'. It depends on weather conditions and urban haze if a view of Mt Fuji 62 miles (100k) away can be seen from Tokyo.  As I have travelled back in time why not travel in imagination to

Moominland. It looks as though it is Moomintroll's birthday although he has yet to arrive.  Moomin Day is in August (as is my birthday).  We don't know how old Moomintroll is, and Tove Jansson did not say, but wrote in her notebook "He is of that particular age when summers are long, the water warm and new things are constantly happening" Jansson's home in summer was on an island in the Gulf of Finland. I would head further into the Baltic Sea from there to the Åland Islands. I remember reading of an artist who would go there every summer because of the amazing light. Water, light, islands and ferry rides, a true summer delight.

"Visit Aland"

Postcard of the same image Åland issued for the Europa stamp theme of 'Visit' in 2012

Summer Fun

 

1994: Centenary of Picture Postcards

Bathing at Blackpool, tales of the unexpected

Stay on the sands and enjoy a game

of Beach Volleyball as illustrated by Catharina Nygard

1988: Operation Raleigh (Design - Victor Ambrus)

Head to the Great Barrier Reef where the water temperature at the moment is 24℃ (an average temperature for July), not bad for the beginning of winter in Australia!

2006: Summer at the Lake (Illustrator - Irina Gebuhr)

Summer fun by the lake picnicking, fishing, swimming (the dog is not tempted) and enjoying the warmth and calm of a long summer evening.

2016: Lake Constance

 Time to relax after all that fun and watch the world go by.

Sunday Stamps is enjoying Summer Fun at See It On A Postcard 

Crossings Illustrated

 

1994: Postman Pat Visits the Isle of Man (Design - Colleen Corlett)

 

Postman Pat and his black and white cat Jess are using the Green Cross Code to cross the road safety.  "Stop, look, listen, think". No sign of the Green Cross Code Man but we do have a policeman to remind them. The stamps issued with the mini sheet tells the story of Pat visiting his friend Ffinlo who takes him to well known locations on the Isle of Man.  The stop motion animation has been turned into stamps by one of Isle of Man post's popular illustrators Collen Corlett.

In the UK we have Lollipop ladies (and men but that doesn't have the allure of alliteration) who hold up their large lollipop shaped stop signs. In  Germany they are called Pupil Pilots and the stop signs on this card are a lot smaller.

1983: Children and Traffic (Design - Lilo Fromm)

An all action illustration complete with lollipop and ball is by the artist and children's book illustrator  Lilo Fromm,

Sunday Stamps theme - Illustrated, Engraving - See It On A Postcard 

Cool Views

 

1991: Mountain Lakes

The Alpine Lakes of (80) Melchsee in Central Switzerland and (50) Moesola by the San Bernardino Pass near the Swiss/Italian border.  Postbuses travel over the pass several times a day when it opens from June to October, the helpful advice from the postbus website is get off at the Ospizio stop for Lake Moesola. The site has a scenic shot of a bus travelling the route, although not on one of its many hairpin bends.

2013: Christmas (Design - Magnus Rakeng)

A snowy view and no doubt an excellent house from which

1996: 100th Anniversary of the Modern Olympic Games

to go skiing,

2004: Europa - Holidays

with a few friends.

For Sunday Stamps theme - Cold Vacation Locations - visit See It On A Postcard

Cakes

 See Ir On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is in search of sweets or deserts...

A postcard of one of a series of posters commissioned by London Transport around the 'Simply' theme so that taking the tube or bus could lead one to the simple pleasures of the city.  'Simply Appetising was  the subject for artist Michael Forbes who came up these sweet treats as "A Little Bit of What You Fancy", I'm picking the eclair which I am sure, to complete the idiom, 'will do me good'.

2016 PHQ Card -  Aardman Animations

Is it tea time? No its Timmy Time. No cake stays hidden for long.  As well as appearing with Shaun the Sheep little Timmy  has mini adventures of his own and tries (not always successfully) to stay out of trouble. The series of short 10 minute animations are called 'Timmy Time'.

Great Lives

 Thursday Postcard Hunt is on Inspirational Thoughts and I start with a writer

"Don't Be afraid of BIG ideas!"

who had lots of radical Big Ideas but then Mary Shelley was the daughter of  Mary Wollstonecraft and Stanley Godwin who also had lots of big ideas.

"Stand up for what you believe"

An  activist who believed in deeds not words - Rosa Parks was not going to give up her seat on the bus.  This led to the 382 day Montgomery Bus Boycott and eventually down the road a Supreme Court decision that bus segregation was unconstitutional. 

There is no mention on the cards to the illustrator however I think it may be the Ukrainian children's book illustrator Yulia Zolotova as my Google search turned up a series of books by Mary Nhin called 'Mini movers and shakers' which has an illustration of a similar style.  I like to think the book cover of Rosa Parks was the 'before' and this postcard the 'after'.

Bamse Bear

It is a  Thursday Postcard Hunt for " Words - Speech Bubbles"

1980: Swedish Comic Strips

Bamse the world's strongest and kindest bear. His strength comes from the Thunder Honey his Grandmother prepares for him but only he and his friend Little Bee can eat it, everyone else will get stomach ache. He has many friends and he is saying "It is good to have friends and little friends too". One of his catchphrases is 'Better to be kind than strong', just as well for sometimes he forgets his honey.

City Travels

 Thursday Postcard Hunt for the month is 'Words' - today City Names takes me to

Postsdam and I think I am heading first to that pretty chinoiserie teahouse which Frederick the Great had built near his Summer Palace

2013: Road Trip (Artist - Gavin Ryan)

Or if I am in a mood for a party perhaps head for Adelaide,  the 'City of Churches and Festivals'  Our travellers are not having a smooth ride into town.  But wait something is missing from the card as the stamp shows

a little koala gazing out of the window has come along for the ride. Adelaide is also the home of the Australian Koala Foundation which works to protect them.
 

Sleigh Ride

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt - Christmas Animals

Lapland

While the reindeer are away

Artist - Inge Löök/223

the Christmas elves will play.  The bear is having second thoughts

Christmas Trees

 Time for a See It On A Postcard Thursday Postcard Hunt this week and its Christmas Trees. All sizes still available from the garden centre near me but

Inge Löök's grannies have already decorated theirs and have decamped with all the essentials for Christmas  to the coast.  They have thought of everything, including an inflatable igloo.

PHQ Card - 2018: Christmas (Illustration - Andrew Davidson)

Meanwhile the posties will still be working until Christmas Eve for the post must get through.  This is one of the big city postboxes with lots of room for Christmas cards and London always has lots of Christmas trees of every size and interpretation. David Hockney's 'Bigger Christmas Trees' may be the most eye catching this year for lovers of lights.

Cowslip Wine

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is cartoon animals

Time for a picnic where the wasp this time is perfectly welcome and provided with a teeny glass for Mr Bunny's cowslip wine toast. 

Springtime : Illustrator Ammi Krogius

A springtime picnic for the sheep family in a field full of cowslips so why not celebrate the season maxing out on cowslips to both drink and eat. 

Sheep Gathering

 The See It on a Postcard Thursday Postcard Hunt this week is a search for Working Animals

"Sheep Gathering in the Skidadalur valley Ljosmyndari"

and here are the  hardy Icelandic horses. Iceland's sheep spend the long summer days in the mountains but come September/October Icelandic farmers head to the mountains to gather the sheep in before the long cold dark winter arrives. The sheep roundup is called the Réttir and starts with search parties riding horses and quad-bikes to locate the roaming sheep.

2016: PHQ Card "40 Year of Aardman Animation"

No horses live at Mossy Bottom Farm but the farmer has his sheep dog Bitzer (who is always seen wearing the blue knitted hat the farmer gave him as a puppy).  Bitzer is never completely in control of Shaun the Sheep or the The Flock but life would be dull without them.

Breaking the Ice

Time for a Thursday's Postcard Hunt and as summer time comes to an end on Sunday we know that winter approaches. At Christmas and New Year people around the UK will be running into the sea to celebrate the season with a swim.

In Finland they take it much more seriously and fully embrace the winter, break the ice and take to the water throughout the season. It is popular to take a sauna and then a dip. I do like the ladder that leads one in and can imagine tentatively taking it one step at a time and once immersed

it would be good to have a friend to bring a hot drink.  I say winter but Eeva wrote on the back of this Inge Löök card "This is how it was in May" 2017 in Finland😱

Dogs

 

2022: Aardman Classics

Man's best friend

2001: Centenary of Guernsey Dog Club

Their own club

2001: Centenary of Guernsey Dog Club (Design - A Peck

Which one would you choose as a pet I mused to myself ; Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, very nervy, Miniature Schnauzer, energetic and need a lot of grooming,  German Shepherd, always find them a bit scary.  Cocker Spaniel, like the sound of their own voice so can bark a lot although it does depend on the dog and they are pretty, West Highland White Terrier, I'm weakening always wanted to put a tartan collar on one and lastly Dachshund, high on the cute factor. One of our national sports tv and radio presenters Mark Chapman, has two dachshunds and made a ladder for them so they can get on the bed at night, now there is a dog lover.      

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Canines - See It On A Postcard

Shape Shifting

 

2012: Clouds (Design - Satu Lusa)

 

Its a lovely day with fluffy white clouds lazily floating across the sky

2013: Moomin Favourites (Design - Satu Lusa)

 

All is quiet in Moominland.

2016: Animail (Design - Andrew Ross)

 

and all that can be heard is the tapping and rapping of a woodpecker and the rustle of a snake in the grass.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Shaped - here on See It On A Postcard

Stamps of 2021

 

2021: National Parks

 

I share some of this year's GB stamps and start with the first stamp issue in January celebrating 50 years of National Parks.  Here is Wild Dartmoor, inspiration for Conan Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles, and an early morning mist in the New Forest

with a sunset in Scotland.

March 2021: The Legend of King Arthur

I thought the colour palette was too dark for the size of stamps but the FDC gives a light and misty view of Glastonbury Tor and King Arthur's sword.

For every child that read The Beano comic Minnie the Minx and Dennis the Menace made an appearance on the miniature sheet to go with the 'Dennis and Gnasher' set. Dundee is the home of DC Thompson, publisher of The Beano and many other comics, hence the postmark that tells one everything one wants to know about these two characters.

 

July 2021: Wild Coasts

Never far from the coast in the UK

August 2021: Industrial Revolutions

where cables to and from the world run. Many more have been laid since 1858 and even this year a transatlantic cable came ashore  here

September 2021: DC Collection

There have been heroes aplenty this year working for good

 

and alas villains too, but at  least some kept to the pages of comics and films.

I wish you all A Happy New Year

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - New/Recent Stamps - keep up to date at  See It On A Postcard

Cartoons

 

1998: Sports

Here is the hapless FC Knudde goalkeeper saving the boot but not the ball. From John Le Noble's comic strip 'Jaap and Joop' recording the ups and downs of FC Knudde which has been published since 1973.

2011: Animated Films by Loriot

If you don't like football how-about a day at the races.  The 4 stamps of the set are of  Lariot's most famous short cartoons.

1999: Erich Kastner - Birth Centenary

On his way to Berlin Emil has his money sewn in his pocket but when he arrived it is stolen. Emil and the detectives are following the robber on the stamp. Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner was published in 1931 and has never been out of print. The illustrations were by Walter Trier.

2012: Comics

Lastly here is Desperate Dan, the world's strongest man with a beard so tough he shaves with a blowtorch. He appeared in the first issue of the Dandy in 1937. The print addition ran for 75 years.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Comics or Illustrations - See It On A Postcard