West Indies

1997: Anniversary of Caribbean Integration Movement and 18th CARICOM Heads of Govt Conference

This week I'm heading to the Caribbean and the West Indies with this handy map and some coastal scenery with the waves rolling in.  Lets see some more watery views

1938-1952: Definitives

one also feature bananas which must be heading for the ship on the horizon and Priestman's River, Portland, Jamaica, one of the many rivers which dot the coastline.

1977: Easter Water Parade (Designer - G Drummond)

Something more active on show at the Water Skiing Exhibition.

1973: Carriacou Regatta (Designer - G Drummond)

Speed is of the essence at the long running Carriacou Regatta, a three day event which takes place in the first week of August described as "wooden boat racing at its best" with all classes of locally built boats taking part.  The work boats of Carriacou evolved to become fast sloops for fishing and trade and although originally these were the ones taking part in the regatta today boats are often built specifically for the race.

c1975: Local Views Definitive (Designer - G Drummond)

but here are some of the working fishing boats. I wonder what they may catch today?

1938-1947: Defintives

Perhaps the rather misleadingly named Dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) which is not related to dolphins and actually a surface dwelling ray-finned fish.

Time to head for the beach and chill out.

Sunday Stamps II prompt of the Letter W - here for West Indies, Water and Wood - wiz over to See It On A Postcard

Jump

2015: Hubble - 25 Years of Space Exploration

The massive gas giant Jupiter whirls across a Jersey stamp featuring an image from the Hubble telescope "Jupiter's New Red Spot April 16th 2006".  This year the Juno space probe has been up close and personal sending back even more stunning images and detecting rivers of ammonia on Jupiter as it swings by the planet every 53 days - there is always more to discover and puzzle scientists about Jupiter.

Lets jump across our solar system

2015: 16th Island Games

and head to our own planet while our athletes defy gravity to hurdle at high speed.

Jump to net a ball.

Jump to smash a shuttlecock.

Jump to spike a volleyball and

2014: Glasgow Commonwealth Games (Design: Howard Brown)

Jump to block a ball.  I'll get another J in here for Jamaica who

1963: Definitive

 won the bronze medal at these Commonwealth games beating England 52 - 48.  Close but won at the final throw.

I can't quite make my mind up whether this is showing a throw or a grapple but I like this set of stamps by one of Royal Mail favourite designers Howard Brown.  Sports photographer Andy Hooper took the photographs for the stamps and Nanette Hooglsag created the illustrations.

More throwing, not people but 

1975: Pan American Games

javelins, here at the Pan American Games held in Mexico City.   From what I can gather Grenada didn't actually participate in these games but obviously were building up to it for they have participated in every other Pan American Games since 1987.

1958: Balkan Games

The Bulgarian's were definitely at the 1958 Balkan Games because they were hosting it in Sofia.

An entry to Sunday Stamps II prompt of the letter J - for Jersey, Jupiter, Jump, Judo, Javelin and Jamaica -jump over for more at See It On A Postcard

Flowers

Two stamps for the price of one on this exhibition card produced by Åland. for the International Stamp Fair in Essen, Germany.   The featured German stamp is from the Humanitarian Relief Fund stamps of 1984 featuring Orchids and designed by Professor Günter Jacki.  This is Orchis ustulata, the burnt orchid which flowers in April and May.

The choice of a stamp from 1984 I think is no accident for that was the first year the name Åland appeared on stamps.  From 1984-1992 the stamps were issued by Finnish Post and you could use a combination of both Åland and Finnish stamps on envelopes.  In one of life's ironies today Åland act as agents for Finnish stamps.

1990: Orchids (Design: Allan Palmer)

I don't think one has to know the language to work out what this is called in the Åland Islands, Adam och Eva.  It is also known as the elder flowered orchid which grows in both purple and a yellow white.   I liked the description of it from Nature Gate which includes this paragraph:

"Elder-flowered orchid is one of the earliest-flowering orchids in the north. Its flowers adorn coppices on the Åland Islands from the end of May, when the queen bees wake up from their winter rest and establish a hive, flying tirelessly around to gather nutrition for the first generation of workers. From the bee’s point of view however it is a fruitless task to visit elder-flowered orchid because it has no nectar or pollen: the plant rather fools inexperienced bees into pollinating it without any reward. Insects learn to beware of cheaters, so evolution’s next step was to create two colours of elder-flowered orchid, red and yellow, which can appear in the same habitat. The red coloured variety is usually predominant in northern Finland, while in the south it is in the minority. The differently coloured varieties usually stay very separate, but sometimes plants that are different shades of orange can be found".

2015: Maximum Card 92

This maximum card features Campanula persicifolia, the fairy bell flower or peach-leaved bellflower.

2015: Peach-leaved Bellflower

I have never been happy with any of my photographs of bell flowers but the photographer here, Andy Horner, shows how it should be done.  The card also has postage paid image on the reverse

Lastly something tropical

1975: Flowers

the Giant granadilla (Passiflora quadrangularis).  I have read that this flowering vine can grow over 50 ft in a season, it also produces fruit. 

An entry to Sunday Stamps II theme - Flowers - visit the garden at See It On A Postcard