Children

1983: Year of the Child

Its playtime with a purpose in Mongolia, building robots and archery practice.

1986:25th Anniversary of Children's Day Care Centres

Meanwhile in Cuba small children seem to be playing with boxes.

1968: Paintings of Children

This little girl has a basket full of cherries. It is a painting by John Russell (1745-1806), an English portrait painter who worked in oil and pastels travelling extensively around the country, his paintings of children usually done in pastels.  Girl Presenting Cherries can be seen in the Louvre, Paris.

A charming house in Horn, Germany (now a suburb of Hamburg) which was the start of the Rauhe House Childrens Homes in 1833.  The Rauhe House was gifted to the founder Johann Hinrich Wichern who moved here with his wife and mother to look after poor boys, the homes later expanded to include all neglected children.

1983: 150th Anniversary of Das Rauhe Haus (Design - Börnson)

This building was the starting point of the diverse social and education activities of the Rauhe House homes. The children lived in 'families' of 12 to 15, a great contrast to the large institutions.

The Sunday Stamps prompt this week is - children - play along at See It On A Postcard 

Insects

1987: Bee-keeping (Design - Mihai Vamasescu)

In the short cold days of early winter lets imagine the warmth of summer's day and the buzz of bees in a field of sunflowers.

1994: Definitives - Flora and Fauna (Design - Wendy Bramall)

or a bumble bee among the broom flowers with a couple of Clouded Yellow butterflies floating nearby attracted by red clover on the island of Alderney.

Stay by a still pond and watch a hyperactive Blue-tailed damselfly zooming around among water crowfoot and branched bur-reed.  The low values of these stamps sold out by 2001, the higher values would last until 2006.  The full set can be seen here

1971: Butterflies and Moths (Design - P Lambert)

 Head to west Africa to even warmer climes and find (1f )- the African Emperor Moth, Gonimbrascia hecate.  I don't know if it is day or night flying but would guess from being called Hecate it must be night. Coincidentally November 16th was Hecate's Night when she roams the earth with her hounds. A portion of bee's honey and mushrooms (Hecate's Supper) left on the step outside a home means she will bless the inhabitants. The next (2f) is a butterfly, Hamanumida Daedalus also called the guineafowl butterfly because of its colour and patterning.

1962: Postage Due Stamps - Beetles (Design - R Seles; Engraver - G Betemps)

I love catching sight of a glossy black beetle shining in the undergrowth but might get very excited if I saw something as patterned as this although unlikely as Sternotomis Virescens lives in Africa and feeds on the coffee plant.

If you prefer spots to stripes then here is another Longhorn beetle, Sternotomis Gama.  Lastly two beetles for the price of one franc, another Longhorn - Phosphorus virescens which apart from its sulphur-yellow pigment has yellow-green fluorescence, the perfect beetle for a stamp.  It is considered a pest because it bores into the stems of the cola plants.  Our striped friend is a flat-faced Longhorn beetle, Ceroplesis carabarica, its preference is coffee plants.

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Insects - for more fly over to -  See It On A Postcard

Remembrance

2006: Lest We Forget (Hat Trick Design)

For Remembrance Sunday my first stamp has to be a poppy for many will be worn today. This stamp was the first of 3 poppy series that were issued to commemorate events in World War 1, in this case the Battle of the Somme.  Over recent years we have had many issues commemorating both world wars and events but I go back further in time

1974: Definitive Issue Low Values - Military Uniforms

to the 19th Century and Guernsey's Royal Militia, a little bit of irony there for Guernsey fought for Parliament in the English Civil War.  There is a history of 800 years of a militia in the islands although the first recorded battle was not until 1338 predictably against their nearest neighbours, the French.  The militia were not paid and service was obligatory

although one did get to wear a snazzy uniform.   The stamps show - 5½p Colour-Sergeant of Grenadiers East (Town) Regiment 1833; 6p Officer, North Regiment (Light Infantry) 1832; 8p Field Officer, Rifle Company (2nd Royal Guernsey Light Infantry) 1868; 9p Private, 4th West Regiment 1785 and 10p Field Officer, 4th West Regiment 1824

The soldier featured on this FDC is a Sergeant of the 3rd Regiment which appeared on the 3½p stamp but who can resist a stamps with horses

The £1 stamp is a Cavalry Trooper, Light Dragoons 1814, the next two feature the Field Battery of the Royal Guernsey Artillery showing - 50p an officer of 1868 and the 20p the Driver 1848.

The Military Uniforms definitive series ran from 1974 until 1980 although the 50p and £1 stamps were not withdrawn until 1981.

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Military, Remembrance - See It On A Postcard

Sing Out

1988: Youth Welfare - Pop Music (Design - Antonia Graschberger)

Time for a music concert.  Who would headline?   Would it be John Lennon

2017: David Bowie

David Bowie

2000: The Millennium Issue 3, 1970-1999 (Design - Olöf Baldursdottir)
Ungdomskultur = Youth Culture

or Abba?  Always a joy to sing along to Abba perhaps you could do it with others

1987: 125th Anniversary of German Choir Assn (Design - Peter Steiner)

in a choir.

1996: Four Decades (Design - Lasse Åberg; Engraver - Lars Sjööblom)

Can't make the venue?  Well put on a record like this Zoot suiter.  The Zoot suit culture arrived in Sweden from America via London in 1941 influenced by Cab Callaway, black style and swing jazz. It is considered Sweden's first working class subculture, in Swedish called Swingpjatt. As can be seen on the stamp  they wore their hair long with wide brimmed hats and padded shoulder jackets. 

A Gibson Les Paul Zoot Suit guitar

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Singers and Musicians - play along at See It On A Postcard