Churches

 

1973: Landscapes

Somewhere in central Switzerland you will find this unnamed church with its onion tower.

2014: Christmas (Artist - Judy Joel)

Snowy day outside St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral which was designed by the Victorian architect George Gilbert Scott in his familiar soaring gothic style.

2016: Churches of the Parish Walk (Photographs Peter Killey)

Here are some of the churches used as checkpoints on the 85 mile Isle of Man Parish Walk held every June. As the name implies the walk passes through every parish on the Isle of Man starting in Douglas and eventually, after the circular walk around the island, finishing in Douglas.

Sunday Stamps theme - churches - visit  See It On A Postcard

Easter Greetings

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is feeling Easter-y

An early Happy Easter on Maundy Thursday. Don't open those Easter eggs yet!  Perhaps these Italian children will be in church over Easter

The bells of Verona Cathedral may draw them here to enter and enjoy the the view inside.

All White

 

The Secret of Life (50th Anniversary of Discovery of DNA)

Completing the genome jigsaw

1995: Europa - Peace and Freedom

Peace Dove and the Phoenician princess Europa with Zeus disguised as a bull.

2006: Animal Tales (Favourite Children's Book Animals)

The White Rabbit, follow him and find Wonderland.

1996: Children's Drawing Contest

A postal pigeon. The year 2000 cancel celebrates both Basel Stamp Day and 150 years of the Federal Trademark Office.

China '99 World Philatelic Exhibition and UPU Anniversary

Two stamps were issued for the UPU Anniversary and in addition this special issue with logos for China '99

\Sunday Stamps theme - The Colour White - See It On A Postcard

Song Birds

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt  is looking for Song Birds

 

A warm sunny day and to see skylarks soaring to sing is bliss indeed. Valentine's published a popular series of postcards featuring Winifred Austen's bird paintings. This card was sent to a Mrs Roxby Hall languishing in  Leeds Infirmary hospital in the 1950s wishing her a speedy recovery and to soon rise from her bed and be singing like the skylark. Austin (1876-1964) was an illustrator, painter, etcher and aquatint engraver known for her detailed depictions of small mammals and birds portrayed in their day to day life. 

Bringing happiness, a birds chorus.

Spring Flowers

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt - Spring flowers

Sigriswil, Thunersee mit Niesen, Switzerland

The coming of spring in the Bernese Alps,  snowy flowers and peaks; a view of Lake Thun and Niesen, a draw for the artist and photographer. The mountain (7,749 ft; 2362m) may be dwarfed by the Eiger and Jungfrau but they don't have a funicular that can take one to the top and the longest staircase in the world, all 11,674 steps of it.

Furness Abbey, Cumbria

At sea level the daffodils are in bloom in the ruins of a 12th Century Cistercian  Abbey in the Valley of the Deadly Nightshade, once a remote place now on the outskirts of my town.

Hold April by Jesse Stuart

Hold on to April; never let her pass!/Another year before she comes again/To bring us wind as clean as polished glass/And apple blossoms in soft, silver rain./Hold April when there's music in the air,/When life is resurrected like a dream,/When wild birds sing up flights of windy stair/And bees love alder blossoms by the steam./Hold April's face close yours and look afar,/Hold April in your arms in dear romance;/While holding her look to the sun and star/And with her in her faerie dreamland dance./ Do not let April go but hold her tight,/ Month of external beauty and delight.

Military Siege

 

1993: 350th Anniversary of the Siege of Castle Cornet (Design - Clive Abbott)

Scenes from the English Civil War. Castle Cornet was a Royalist stronghold however the population of Guernsey were for the Parliamentarians, they called on the Lieutenant Governor to surrender but he fired on them.  The population were not equipped to storm the castle as they discovered after one abortive attempt. The defensive batteries around St Peters Port originally built to protect Guernsey from the French directed their fire at Castle Cornet.  The guns on the castle fired back. Today archaeological excavations regularly find musket and canon balls fired from the castle.  Cornet was supplied by ships throughout the Civil War which were sent by the Lieutenant General of Jersey.  I liked the story portrayed on the 28p stamp of the three local officials who were tricked aboard one of the enemy ships thinking it was one of their own but the captain had switched sides. Imprisoned for 43 days they managed to escape by making a hole in the wooden floor to the room below where they found a supply of flax which they made into ropes and escaped.

The FDC shows the three shields of Castle Cornet's commanders, Osborn was disliked by both the population and his own side however on surrender Burgess, the last Governor, and his men, were allowed to march out bearing arms and leave the island at the end of the siege in recognition of their humane treatment of prisoners. Here is the story from the FDC insert...

taking us to the present day...

 Sunday Stamps theme - Military - See It On A Postcard

Famous Women

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt in search of famous women..

Bridget Riley, part of the zeitgeist of the 1960s, born in 1931 and still painting. Her mesmerising optical illusions in black and white were part of the Op Art movement. She became the first female winner of the International paintings prize at the 1968 Venice Biennale. 

Her long fascination with Seurat's 'Bathers at  Asnieres' and a visit to Egypt in 1979 where she experienced its light and contrast  of colours  together with the use of colour in Egyptian hieroglyphs inspired her to use colour in her paintings which she found less predictable than black and white.

The photo is one of series taken by Ida Kar in 1963, who was known for her many black and white portraits of artists and writers.

Maggie Gripenberg (1881-1976) well wrapped up  the against the coastal breeze and although seen here painting she was a dancer, choreographer and teacher. A pioneer of modern dance she also introduced eurhythmics to Finland.