D is for Science

 

1963: Chemistry for Freedom and Socialism

"What is this?" was my first thought and "strange" my second when I found this shiny mini sheet in a postal mix.  Now I think "cool" as it is an early example of stamps not printed on paper. In this case Dederon (a synthetic polyamide fibre) first made in East Germany in 1959 and one of the few products from the GDR still being produced today.  Used for such things as shirts, aprons, bags, tights and even fence wire.  Its selling point are - doesn't crease, dries quickly and folds well. The last attribute is not one usually sought after by stamp collectors.  Immediately after release in 1963 the stamp series sold out.

2003: The Secrets of Life :50th Anniversary Discovery of DNA and Genomes (Illustrator - Peter Brookes)

Some human chemistry - DNA and the cartoonist Peter Brookes imagines the results of genetic engineering.

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

Fuji Springtime

 Time for Thursday's Postcard Hunt of the Seasons and today I celebrate Springtime in Japan

Mt Fuji and Cherry Flowers, Yamanashi Prefecture

Poets and artists have for centuries written and painted their impressions of Mount Fuji.  Today this postcard evokes the ethereal beauty of Fuji and cherry blossom.  Look forward to springtime and cherry blossom with

Hello Kitty, one of the stamps used on the postcard. The stamp is called "Hello Kitty in Yoshinoyama", a mountain in Japan famous for viewing the blooming of cherry blossom (sakura). People have come to Yoshinoyama for centuries to see the 30,000 cherry trees bloom so of course Hello Kitty would want to join them. So popular is the pastime of visiting these pink perfections across the country it even has a name - hanami (flower viewing)

Lighthouse Views

 

1996: Cats

A room with a view although the cat has only eyes for a butterfly

1989: 50th Anniversary of Guernsey Airport

Meanwhile a Supermarine Southampton Flying Boat is at rest in Guernsey by the harbour light. 201Squadron is one of the oldest squadrons in the RAF being formed in 1914 but disbanded in 1918. It was reformed in 1929 when it became affiliated to Guernsey, at the time operating the Southampton Flying Boat, a neat tie in with this airport set.

1996: 20th Anniversary of RAMOGE

A Mediterranean lighthouse features on this stamp. The Ramoge Agreement on Environment Protection of the Mediterranean  (RAMOGE) is a tri-country agreement between France, Monaco and Italy

2007-2008 : Flag - Lighthouses

And lastly a colour coordinated trip around Canada. 

Top - Cap des Rosiers, Quebec and Warren Landing, Manitoba built in 1908

Bottom -  Pachena Point, British Columbia. A dangerous stretch of the western coastline, the lighthouse is on Vancouver Island and the BC Tourism site lists it as one of the top 5 "stunning lighthouses in British Columbia". Lastly the 1758 Sambro Island Lighthouse at the entrance to Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia, the oldest surviving lighthouse in Northern America.

Sunday Stamps theme this week - Lighthouses -  visit  See It On A Postcard

Summer

 Thursday's Postcard Hunt on the theme of the Seasons takes up residence in Summer,

Stranddistel by Annemarie Bethke

in a house with a blaze of summer colour in the garden.  The house is called 'Stranddistel', Dutch for Beach Thistle. In the UK we call this seaside plant Sea Holly (Enyngium maritmum) but both names tell you its spiky. We had our first overnight frost today so how pleasant to dream of summer in this house by the coast.

Food

 

2016: Food in Sweden (Illustrator: Veronica Ballart Lilja)

Today we eat dishes from all around the world in our diet and Sweden is no exception. This stamp set features food introduced into Sweden from Italy and Sushi from...New York. Yes sushi was introduced into Sweden not from Japan but via New York in the 1980s

Then we head to Mexico

The Middle East for shish kebabs, stuffed vine-leaves and egg plant although those could easily also be considered Greek.  Lastly the most American of cuisines, the ubiquitous hamburger.  I wonder what is for desert|?

2011: Food, Deserts - Ice Cream

Oh yummy - a Banana Split

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Food - tuck in at See It On A Postcard
 

Take A Hike

 Thursday Postcard Hunt starts a month of  travel through the seasons

This card sends "Autumn Greetings" from Finland.  Our hiker journeys up from the lake with a well loaded backpack. I have camped out in October and after that considered it was time to pack away the gear until Spring although I imagine the Finns are far hardier than me. The postcard also looks forward to the end of the day with boots off, a fire lit and a meal sizzling over the flames.  They are having sausages, the Victorians called them  'bags of mystery' for the unknown origin of  their mix of contents, as true today as then.  

Art and Crafts

 

1966: Cuban Handicrafts

Afro-Cuban doll and it looks like the doll is a drummer.  The four main African groups uprooted to Cuba were the Yoruba, Bantu, Calabar and the Dahomey. The most numerous were the Yoruba and Bantu and they had the most influence on Cuban folklore and music. Perhaps this doll is of Bantu origin for that is where the Bongo drums originate.  The other stamp features a colourful sombrero to protect from the heat while working under the sun. They are made from yarey, a palm endemic to Cuba.

1961: Professions

I imagine the Dahomey took their pot making skills to Cuba but here they are on home ground.

1972: Plains Indians

'Fancy Dancer', a work by Gerald Tailfeathers of Alberta and the Blackfoot Nation showing the ceremonial costume a man might wear during the sun dance, a grueling physical and spiritual test for the benefit of a dancer's family and tribe

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Indigenous art, crafts and clothing - See It On A Postcard