Pass the Post

Postbox LA8 39, Levens, near the Strickland Arms, Cumbria

The arrow of the coast to coast National Cycle Route 70 from Walney Island (the Irish Sea) to the Wear (the North Sea)  points the rider onward.  The perfect opportunity to post postcards in the wall box on the way past.

The Postal Picture will be quiet for a few week as I'm heading to an island of green postboxes, taking pictures and twirling the postcard carousels.   

Gardens and Forests

2016: Landscape Gardens

In 2016 Royal Mail celebrated the 300th anniversary of Lancelet 'Capability' Brown's birth with some of the significant landscape gardens he created.  Nicknamed Capability Brown because he used to say to those wishing to employ him that their garden or land had "great capability for improvement".  He completely changed the gardens in the 18th Century from the formal French style into the artifice of what looked like a natural landscape.

He worked as Head Gardner at Stowe (bottom left stamp above) and created the Grecian Valley for Lord Cobham and from there everyone wanted to employ him on their estates. Creating lakes, serpentine rivers, bridges, woods and hills on country estates something triggered in the English psyche and we continue to love them.   

150 of  the 250 sites he designed survive today and the National Trust highlight some of them here

2011: Europa - Forests

 But lets head into the woodland of Luxembourg.  The stamps were created by the artist and naturalist Alan Johnston and painted outdoors to "capture the climatic, ecological and geological characteristics of the environment".

2016: Visiting Card From Finland

I love the misty landscape of woods and water on this FDC, it is almost as if one were a bird flying over it.

The 'visiting card' title of this duo  is of course because these are the stamps used on international postcards. The one on the left is  Nuuksio National Park in Southern Finland ("a hikers paradise") and the other is the fresh green leaves of a birch tree in sunlight.

An entry to Sunday Stamps II them - Gardens or Forests - wander and wonder at  See It On A Postcard

Three Dragons

Flag of Wales – Y Ddraig Goch

Although the dragon on the green and white background only became the official flag of Wales in the 20th Century as the card says on the back "Since the time of Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur, the dragon has been used on the Standards of the Welsh Kings. It was believed that the dragon protected his own and inspired terror in the enemy".

The dragon stamp on the maximum card is from the "Celebrating Wales" miniature sheet issued in 2009, one of a series of miniature sheets celebrating the countries that make up the United Kingdom.

Here are couple of welsh flags I saw flying on the ramparts of Conwy Castle in the gloom of a rainy day.

Postcards for the Weekend theme - Flags - flying at Connections to the World 

Lettering

2008: Europe - The Letter

What better way to start than to say 'Hello'.  The illustrator Edward Fulglø has chosen the informal Hey (pronounced 'huhy' in Faroese).  The stamp is one of two issued for the 2008 Europa theme "The Letter".  I like how he combines the @ sign with a posthorn. Fulglø's  website contains all his stamp designs each with a little exposition on the subject matter and in this case  "Letters and Haste".

1983: Festival of Rebirth

There is a whole lot going on in this stamp and it is a personal favourite, not only for the tractor /cow vibe but that wonderful serpentine khmer alphabet  and of course we have all the other fonts as well.

2013: Traditional Rituals and Customs (Designer - Simion Zamşa)

A nice spiky font and another festival, this time 'Paparuda' - a ritual to summon the rain which takes place in spring. I don't think anyone will be trying this one in lee of the Atlantic weather system in Britain.

1900-1916: Definitive

Browsing my stamps I noticed some of the pre 1945 Hungarian designs have some interesting fonts, for instance this Magyar Kir Posta (Hungarian Royal Post).  This country name fits itself around the flying bird which is the Tural, a mythical bird of the Magyars seen here hovering above the Crown of St Stephen.

1978: PRAGA 78 International Stamp Exhibition, Prague Town Hall

Lastly a lovely ornate country name on this stamp set featuring the Prague Town Hall Astronomical Clock which dates from medieval times (1410) although the detail on the stamp is part of the calendar dial of 1865 by Josef Mánes which features zodiac signs and as shown on the stamp above - Prague city arms.

An entry to Sunday Stamps II theme - Interesting Fonts - See It On A Postcard  


 

Greenland

The largest island in the world and the card gives the latitude and longitude (also helpfully marking the arctic circle) so perhaps one could plot a route to Greenland.  There will be no trouble finding a post office because that is what all the red dots are around the coast on the postcard.  Nuuk on the south west coast is not only Greenland's capital but the home of the giant Santa Claus Post Box

Image from Wikipedia

where letters to the jolly gentleman are gathered all year round.  Razlan from Hong Kong also called in to the nearby tourist post office and shared his photo on Flickr here  Of course another way to 'visit' Greenland is by post and this is what one Canadian postal enthusiast is doing with post office cover cancels  here.  

Postcards for the Weekend theme - Country Map - navigate to Connections to the World