Coastal Choice

 

1994: Tourism (Design - Colleen Corlett)

A sunny start to the day but a chill in the air  so what will it be - the beach or

2006: Bids (Design - Jeremy Paul) - Peregrine Falcon

a cliff top walk?

1983: Seabirds (Design - J H Nicholson)

Dip in the sea

Manx Shearwater

or bird watching.

1954: Views (Design Albert Decaris; Engraving Pierre Munier)

Atlantic coast or dream of the warmth of Spring in the Mediterranean. 17°C in Ajaccio today. 

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Beaches of Coast -Sea  See It On A Postcard

How Green

 

1946: Local Motives (Design J Douy; Engraver WV Paris)

Where is our dancer's gaze?

1960: Butterflies and Agricultural Products

Perhaps seeing one of the local butterflies fluttering by, I don't know what the Malagasy call it so will have to stick to its scientific name - Acraea hova.  It lives in forests so the stamp has a nice leafy green background.

1973: Fauna

Next a species that is green, the Golden-fronted Leafbird, also an inhabitant of forests

1990: Birds

But for all over green it has to be this pair of Green-rumped parrotlet found in northeastern South America and the island of Trinidad.  I wondered why it was called a parrotlet and then saw its size - 4.7 inches (12cm) long.

1958: Mongolian Animals

Lastly a very green goat.

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

Flags

 

2001: Centenary of Royal Navy Submarine Service. Flags and Ensigns

 

The Jolly Roger flag first flown by British  submarines in WW1 with a FDC photo of ship's figureheads from an earlier age on the high seas when no doubt a pirate flag was raised for a different endeavor.

1977-1984: Definitive - Folk Customs

Better sticking to dry land at Zurich's April Spring Festival - Sechselauten, The rider's flag flying at a gallop, in the background is the Böögg, a snowman on top of a bonfire whose head is filled with fireworks. It is said that the faster his head explodes the finer the summer will be.

1990: Latin-American History (5th Series)

From folk festivals to folk costumes of Latin America and one to test my patchy flag knowledge, but happily the stamps tell all - Nicaragua, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Paraguay.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Flags - flying at See It On A Postcard.

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

Snow

 

2001: Aurora Borealis (Design - Bjarne Reisto)

Snow laden trees stand sentinel under swirling skies

2008: Christmas (Design: Jenny Burman)

Snowy winter fun sledging down hill. Making a snow lantern, ooh I thought what is that?  So for anyone like me wondering, here are two cute kids making one here

2004: Winter Birds (Design - T Niemi)

The birds, like us, are glad that winter is retreating. but on the stamps it is still winter - Great Tit and Yellowhammer. Then we have the Pine Grosbeak, common in Scandinavia but if one of these is spotted in the UK it would lead to a twitching frenzy the last one to make the watery crossing showed up in the Shetland Islands a few years ago. Striking birds, as indeed is the Bullfinch

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

E to Europe

 

2001: Fabulous Hats - Butterfly Hat by Dai Rees

Although Royal Mail have for many years used non value indicators (NVI) for internal mail they had a brief experiment using E for European postage which I think started in 2001 and ran for a few years. Post to Europe was 36 pence in 2001 but as the stamp is valued for a task not a price it can still be used today when the cost is £1.85

2003: Extreme Endeavors (Design - Howard Brown)

Freya Stark in a more practical 'hat' takes you to to Europe and beyond  in her wonderful books.

2004: Royal Horticultural Society

Climbing rather than travelling - Clamatis 'Arabella'

2021: Calf of Man 70th Anniversary Manx National Trust

The Isle of Man use EU for their European postage but not all sets are NVI some are priced.

2017: Bailiwick Lighthouses

 

Guernsey NVIs only appear on their machine stamps. Going one letter further - EUR

The exception - Since the issue last year of barcoded definitive stamps, or what Royal Mail call 'everyday stamps' to the general public, they were going to be invalid to use at the end of January.  After pressure they have extended the cut off date now for another 6 months and you can still put them on your post until July or use  their swap out scheme and exchange old stamps for new.

Happily my stash of stamps for postage are all commemorative

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

Anniversaries

2020: City Anniversaries (Design - Enzo Finger)

Bergen's 950th Anniversary and the much younger seaside resort of Moss comes in at 300 years. Moss installed a diving tower to mark the occasion which comes with a bath house and sauna.

1996: 1000th Anniversary of Freising's rights to Hold a Fair (Design - Blume-Zander)

Germany issues a lot of stamps marking cities anniversaries but for something different Freising, one of the oldest settlements in Bavaria, celebrated its right to hold a market.

1996: 300th Anniversary of the Berlin Academy of  Arts (Design - Peter Steiner)

The Berlin Academy's motto is enclosed between the 'A'

2002: First Danish Stamp 150 Years (Design and Engraver - Martin Morck)

Talking of the arts here is some stamp art showing  engraver Martinus William Ferslew whose company also printed the first stamp sheets which consisting of 100 pieces without perforations. Scissors required at the post office. The sheets were were issued to them 10 days before the law was passed so they could issue them on the day.

2013: 20th Anniversary of Postal Services

A shorter period of time but a postal service is always worth celebrating. The sheet shows a camel riding postman which featured on their Europa stamp the same year this mini sheet was issued.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Anniversaries - celebrate at See It On A Postcard