Curves

See It On A Postcard's  Thursday Postcard Hunt for shapes - Curves

2021: Lockdown Birds

A curvaceous bird. During Jersey's first Covid Lockdown in 2020 Berni Martin set herself a project to paint a bird every day. Using a box of paints girted to her by a friend she painted on 100 consecutive days sharing these cute little characters on social media. A selection appeared on Jersey Post's stamps in 2021.

It was especially glorious weather in the British Isles for the first lockdown. The traffic stilled and the birds sang their songs into the air.

The Domes of the Eden Project in Cornwall. The site was an old clay pit. It opened in 2000 and fully opened in 2001.. The largest biome houses a rain-forest and the other is a Mediterranean environment. Botanical gardens with plants for temperate climates are outside, the paths curving amongst them. Cornwall has a mild maritime climate influenced by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and has  micro-climates ranging from tropical-like gardens to misty moorlands.

J for Jays

 

1961: Birds of Woods and Fields

A Jay for J. Walking in the woods its screeching sound may be heard before being lucky enough to see it.

1963: Audubon's Birds Of America (Plate 96)

The Columbia Jay with more exuberant tail feathers

1988: Wildlife Preservation Trust

Alas I have no more Jays and change colour to the bright yellow of Rodriguez Fody, a sparrow like weaver bird, endemic to the small island of Rodriguez, an island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean

1993: Summer Birds

 Another small bird, the Dartford Warbler, it struggles in harsh winters when numbers have crashed in England but in recent times global warming and mild winters have resulted in increasing numbers and range. Seen on the stamp in its preferred habitat of heaths and gorse bushes.

Sunday Stamps A-Z for Jay and Jersey - See It On A Postcard 

Decorate

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is decorating  Christmas Trees

After their fun in the forest last Thursday the tree has arrived indoors and the aunties have been fruitfully engaged decorating it.

1981: Christmas in Your Community (Artist - Alan Copp)

Parcels and baubles predominate on this Christmas Tree in  Royal Square St Helier. The scene is ornamented with a Christmas Rose. A flower that is linked to the Nativity by a legend of a poor shepherdess who had no gift for Jesus and wept. Her tears fell into the snow but an angel, taking pity on her, touched the ground where her tears had fallen and a plant bloomed with white flowers (symbolising purity and hope). The little shepherdess was then able to present this miraculous gift to the Christ Child.

This was Jersey's first issue of stamps for Christmas, designed by one of Jersey Post's favourite illustrators, Alan R Copp.

Autumn

 

2019: Autumn Greeting Stamp - Pumpkin and Grapes

Tsukimi, which celebrates the Autumn full moon, is one of Japan's cherished events, this year it falls on 6th October, a reflective time of year to go moon viewing. (The Autumn Equinox on the 22nd October has a day and traditions of its own and is a national holiday).

2015: Jersey Seasons - Autumn

Jersey Post shows the island in its autumnal light (photographed by Andy Le Gresket).

A time to walk and crunch through fallen leaves, see the sea in stormy weather and watch the wind rippling through the long sea grass.

Sunday Stamps A-Z - for Japan and Jersey - See It On A Postcard 

Summer Fun

 

1994: Centenary of Picture Postcards

Bathing at Blackpool, tales of the unexpected

Stay on the sands and enjoy a game

of Beach Volleyball as illustrated by Catharina Nygard

1988: Operation Raleigh (Design - Victor Ambrus)

Head to the Great Barrier Reef where the water temperature at the moment is 24℃ (an average temperature for July), not bad for the beginning of winter in Australia!

2006: Summer at the Lake (Illustrator - Irina Gebuhr)

Summer fun by the lake picnicking, fishing, swimming (the dog is not tempted) and enjoying the warmth and calm of a long summer evening.

2016: Lake Constance

 Time to relax after all that fun and watch the world go by.

Sunday Stamps is enjoying Summer Fun at See It On A Postcard 

Patterns

 

1986: International Day of Handicrafts

On the left, Qalamkar, a type of textile printing using carved wooden stamps, a skill which originated centuries ago in the city of Isfahan. On the right Balochi needlework made by the Balochi people who today are found in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.

1999: Folk Art

A Rockblad or rock blade, a bride's gift carved from a single piece of wood often with many hearts. These would be put in a bride's box so she could sort through linen and wouldn't have to touch anything with her hands.  This one is from the 19th Century.

2006: Beetles

Always fun to count a ladybird's spots, this one has seven

2021: Jersey Seabirds and Marine Life

A creature full of nature's patterns swimming the oceans, a Loggerhead Turtle, always drawn to warm waters unless following a drift or smack of jellyfish. One could say a smack means a snack although Loggerheads have the widest food range of any sea turtle and eat both animal and plant life.

Sunday Stamps theme - Patterns - more at  See It On A Postcard

Glass

 

1987: Sir Isak Newton

A flask of water refracting light

1993: Christmas

St Aubin on the Hill church whose light shines through the stained glass windows.

These musical angels were created by Henry Bosdet. There are three of his windows in the church.

Sunday Stamps theme -glass - See It On A Postcard

Sports

 

1956: Sports (Design - Raoul Seres; Engraver Charles-Paul Dufresne)

The sevens version of rugby appeared at the Olympics (the French won gold)

and basketball is yet to be decided

but Basque pelote was only an official sport at the 1900 Paris Games where only two teams took part, France and Spain, in essence  the Basque Country.  So lets find some more small countries

2015: 15th Island Games (Photographs: Andy Le Gresley)

The first of what would become the  Island Games were first arranged as part of the Isle of Man's International Year of Sports to offer sports people the opportunity to compete against islanders of a similar standard. 700 islanders from the British Isles, Mediterranean, St Helena, Iceland and Scandinavia travelled  to take part.  It was such a success that the competition now takes place every two years with various islands playing host.  2015 was the second time Jersey had hosted the games and it welcomed 3000 competitors and 1000 officials.  Between 12 and 14 sporting events are selected by the host island. As you will notice the 14 sports chosen  all have a postcard rate to send a card home.

Handball

The Faroe Islands, who hosted in 1989, had a special combination of postcards and stamps.

Sunday Stamps theme this week - Sports - See It On A Postcard

Nasty and Nice Dragons

2015: Dragons (Illustrations - Adrian Chesterman)

On the left, a dragon who hoards gold and destroys people and homes. The hero of this Old English epic poem, Beowulf, goes to kill  the dragon but it will be his last fight,  Knowing he is going to die when the dragon's lethal venom runs through his veins he makes one final effort and kills it, thus good vanquishes evil. On the right St George was luckier for he kills a wicked dragon, rescues the princess and lives to tell the tale.

2024: Year of the Dragon (Illustrator - Professor Jo Davies)

Dragons can also be a force for good.  The Pearl, Yellow, Long and Black dragons try to help the people suffering from drought. The uncaring Jade Emperor is the baddy in this story.

The FDC cover comes with a pretty insert which includes the story... 

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Dragons/Saints - at See It On A Postcard

Paintings

 

1979: International Year of the Child - Jersey Artists

John Everett Millais was a child prodigy so rather apt for this issue's theme.

He and his wife Effie Gray had eight children, their third child (and first girl) Effie appears on the painting 8p -  'My First Sermon' (1863), he later painted a companion piece of her called 'My Second Sermon', no longer attentive but fast asleep. 10½p Orphans (1885), Millais had a fondness for painting children and animals

11p The Princes in the Tower (1878) (that is not going to end well). 25p Christ in the House of his Parents, first exhibited in 1849 when Millais was only 20 and a pre-Raphaelite. Denounced by critics of the time as "too life-like" and referred to as the Carpenters Shop.  In fact it was exhibited without a title but accompanied with a biblical quote 'And one shall say unto him, What are those wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.' (Zech. 13:6). Today it hangs in the Tate

Time to head outdoors

1988: Danish Painters

and as we are having a hot spell here at the moment something to cool one down - 'The Hill at Overkaerby, Winter 1917' by Fritz Syberg and Bathing Boys 1902 by Peter Hansen.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Fine Art - enjoy more at  See It On A Postcard

Bridges

 

1955: Landscapes

Le Pont Valentré, built in the 14th Century can only be crossed on foot so plenty of time to admire the view. It took 70 years to build and the reason why is told in the legend involving the devil  here

1964: The Border Society (Design - M Stage; Engrave Cz Slania)

A more rustic but impressive small bridge whose stones were cleaved from a single granite boulder.  Immervad Bridge in Northern Schleswig has been here since 1786 originally for cattle breeders to transport their livestock from Denmark to markets in Hamburg and Rendsburg, Germany.

2018: Europa: Bridges and Causeways

 

Top and sheet - the Havre des Pas tidal bathing pool built in the 1890s and renovated in 1994 consisting of  the pier, pool and lido.  

Bottom - Queen's Valley Reservoir completed in 1991 and is actually two reservoirs. The bridge is on a rock filled embankment separating the two pools.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Bridges - cross over to See It On A Postcard for more.

Buildings

 

2001: Botanic Garden (Design Bent Olesen Hystrom; Engraver Arne Kuhlmann)

In the centre of Copenhagen is this palm house in the Copenhagen University Botanical Gardens. There are a complex of glass houses in its 10 hectares of informal gardens.. The Palm House is the oldest, constructed in 1874, and it comes with a cast iron spiral staircase. I wondered whether I had any other glasshouse stamps, alas it seems not so instead I turn to houses with gardens

or at least from the pictures, lawns.

2014: Jersey Architecture Manor Houses (Design - Nick Shewring)

But I spot a fine wisteria on Longueville Manor.

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Buildings - at See It On A Postcard

 

Magical Birds

 

2019: Europa - National Birds (Design - Mark Wilkinson)

The Europa theme for 2019 was national birds but what happens when your tiny island doesn't have one?  No problem if you have hired the imaginative Mark Wilkinson. Birds and Symbolism was Jersey's answer.  The cover above has a cormorant on the corner and it and all the birds on the stamps can be seen on Jersey.

Kestrel - Vision and Patience

A kestrel hovering above fields and heathland

The swallow arriving with the spring and blossom (symbol of hope and renewal); Swan - purity and love; Kingfisher - Peace and calm; Stork - new beginnings and commitment.

Lastly the peacock- glory and dignity with a harsh call that could cut through any peaceful day.  I discovered that these are the only bird stamps I have for Jersey

2017: Meadow Pipit (Design - Andrew Robinson)

 

so I had to turn to their sister island of Guernsey for the lovely Meadow Pipit. The peacock is all show and dazzle but this little brown bird is just a welcome and rather more difficult to spot in its natural habitat.

Sunday Stamps II theme - 'Your Choice' - choose See It On A Postcard