rides

 

some odd shaped stamps for the letter 'O'

In 2001, the Blue Jays, Toronto's baseball team, celebrated its 25th season and Canada Post celebrated by issuing a stamp (designed by Paul Haslip).  In 1992/93 they won the World Series.  In 2025 they had a spectacular, country unifying, run at the World Series again.  It was a much needed feel good story/event.  They didn't quite make it, but what a ride it was! The fact of getting as far as they did makes them winners in our hearts.

Carousels, or merry go rounds, were the theme for this 2022 set.  I was never into amusement park rides when I was little and the merry go round was pretty much my limit.  The lion at the top from Lakeside Park is near where I now live and it still costs only a nickel per ride!  The stamps were illustrated by René Milot.

astronaut

 

Roberta Bondar, astronaut as well as neurologist, photographer and author.

She spent  8 days, 1 hour and 14 minutes in space (1992)

youth

 Oh, to be young and fearless...

I have been enjoying watching the skate boarders, especially those oh-so-young 'uns!   and the mountain biking with those views! (that the cyclists certainly did not have time to take in)

summit shapes

 

2002 was the United Nations International Year of Mountains.         Here we have Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Elbrus (Russia), Puncat Jaya (Indonesia), Everest (Nepal)

mountains

 

A 1960 view of the tiny village of Torla in the Pyrenees

Mt Logan, near the border of Yukon and Alaska, is the highest peak in Canada

some mountain heights for Sunday Stamps

look up, way up

First UP, some balloons from 2001

followed by some roadside attractions

with a ginormous coffee pot, a town's mascot 'happy rock', the Wawa Goose, and a giant puffin

 

for Sunday Stamps - shaped

Sunday Stamps C

2014, Czech Republic, My Own Stamps 

Z = international rate

designers:  Jaroslav and  Michal Weigel

Jara Cimrman ... creator of the world's first round stamp 

according to Ceska Post:

As a teacher in the Galician village of Nipple, Jara Cimrman met a local postmaster's daughter, Erika, T. who soon became his girlfriend and also the recorder of his ideas and principles.  We know from Erika T's records that Jara Cimrman presented to the Austrian Imperial and Royal Post Office his plan of using field artillery for delivery of express mail.  This innovative plan had the benefit of delivery within seconds to a given address.  The disadvantage was that it also reduced the number of addresses.  The plan was cancelled at the request of the Galician people. Inspired by the round postmark, Cimrman also designed a round postage stamp for these express consignments.

This is obviously not true as Jara Cimrman is a fictional character who spent his life in tireless pursuit of many disciplines. He is described as a "universal genius, inventor, sportsman, philosopher, criminologist, writer and philosopher". He first made an appearance on a radio show in 1966 and  became an immensely popular Czech national hero.

His wikipedia page (which records some of his exploits) is here

for the letter C - Czech Republic, Cimrman

Sunday Stamps II - 144

2004, Canada, 100th anniversary of the Canadian Open

These stamps are the same size as a golf ball (43mm or 1.6"), complete with dimpled edges. The left stamp depicts a scene from 100 years ago with a silver silhouetted golfer driving, while the one on the right shows a scene from this century with a silver silhouetted golfer putting. The crowd scenes are from the RCGA archives. Off to the right is the cup as it would have been in each of those years. The first Canadian Open (36 holes in one day) was held at the Montreal Royal Golf Club and the 100th (72 holes over four days) was held at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville.

for the letter G - Golf

church map

received 2013

Bulgaria has some great map shaped cards showing everything they are proud to show off - architecture, landscapes, flora, fauna, foods ...

Here we have churches from various cities, including the capital, Sofia, with the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral which can hold 10,000 people. There are 15 churches from medieval times in Nessebar on the Black Sea coast, an UNESCO World Heritage Site. And a 21st C church, the Cathedral of St Vissarian, built 2006, in Smolyen.

for Postcards for the Weekend - places of worship

Sunday Stamps II - 87

2010, Japan

Another of Japan's wildly popular Hello Kitty series was issued in 2010 for that year's Expo in Shanghai China. She is depicted in a heart shaped stamp surrounded by chrysanthemums. Hello Kitty is an anthropomorphic white Japanese Bobtail cat who was first introduced by the Sanrio company in 1974. She is an essential part of kawaii - the quality of cuteness in Japanese culture. Originally marketed for young girls, by the 1990s her target was expanded to include teens and adults as a retro brand. Even though she was created by a Japanese market, and is a breed that's native to Japan and Southeast Asia, she was actually born in the suburbs of London and has a large family, including a twin sister. You can tell them apart by the bows in their hair - Kitty White (her 'real' name) wears a red (or pink) bow on her left ear, while Mimmy White wears a yellow bow on her right ear.

for odd shaped stamps

Sunday Stamps II - 34

issued October 2014

designed by Sami Saramäki to celebrate 'changes in everyday life', this particular set shows culinary culture and how eating habits have changed over the years to include fast foods (pizza) and imported foods (olives) to ethnic foods (sushi) along with the staples of potatoes, breads and fish and shrimp.  This is part of a series of stamps begun in 2013 for Finland's 100th anniversary of independence in 2017.

for food and drink

get ready

received 2014

Dear folk, get ready, here comes the beautiful Easter time!

Sunday Stamps II - 6

issued in 2014 as part of the Heartwarming Animal Scenes
(showing a cuddly koala in honour of Australia Day!)