architecture

No one is travelling by train these days. And you would be nine years too late to travel to this station anyway as it was decommissioned in 2011 when the railway line closed. It was built in 1932 in the traditional style of small railway stations seen in Britain and is now the only suburban station left in Singapore. The station and railway tracks are near the nature reserve and were conserved over concerns that the dismantling of the building and the tracks might damage the natural environment of the reserve.

This 2013 stamp was one of four issued commemorating heritage railway stations.

for Sunday Stamps - architecture

spring

My apologies .... with everything that's been going on, I forgot to have this ready.

And spring has sprung, even if the weather has turned cold again. I saw my first green shoots this morning, which made me feel happy.

One must look for things of beauty in these trying times.
This stamp, from 1971, is part of the Maple in Four Seasons series.

"The rebirth of life after a winter hibernation is exemplified in the setting of a maple key in the fresh, delicate greens of spring"

designed by Alma Duncan

for Sunday Stamps - signs of spring

slainte

stay at home for your St Paddy's Day celebrations

celebrate

We have had Christmas stamps since 1964, but in 2017, there were finally stamps issued to celebrate other religious holidays. Diwali and Hanukka were the other two celebrations.

I have always been attracted to Islamic art and architecture, and love the Arabic script, which here translates as "have a blessed (or, happy) Eid". Turquoise is often seen on Persian and Turkish tiles that cover the walls of the mosques. The deep blue and yellow is also inspired by islamic architecture as is the geometric design.

In another type of celebration stamp, this gift has been wrapped up in paper for birthdays, weddings, Valentines, Christmas, and any other celebration you can think of for which you may want to mail a package. It was my birthday yesterday, but I didn't get any packaged gifts, wrapped or otherwise. (I did get a few postcards) Most places here have now closed, so plans have been cancelled. At the moment restaurants are still open so perhaps I will eat out with friends (since the grocery stores have been emptied out by panic buying hoarders)

Hoping that everyone is well. and getting through any self isolation with calm.

for Sunday Stamps - celebrations

a spring birthday

tulips

Ontario is not quite ready for tulips, but when the season comes in early May, Ottawa will be ready.  The Tulip Festival begins this year on May 8th and runs for 10 days. The stamps above celebrate the 50th anniversary of the festival while the one below shows a photograph by Malak Karsh who helped found the festival.

At the end of WWII, Queen Juliana of The Netherlands gifted 100,000 tulips to Ottawa as a thank you for providing refuge for her family and for helping to liberate her country. Every year since, 20,000 more tulips are sent over from The Netherlands as a symbol of friendship and appreciation.

for Sunday Stamps - flowers

Toronto

Today is the 186th anniversary of Toronto. 

Toronto's First Post Office was officially opened before the city became incorporated. After several decades of other uses, it is now again in use as a full post office (since 1983)

reading

Today is World Book Day in the UK. Any book will do, as will any reputable newspaper. Just Read!

130 years

The Forth Bridge opened on this day in 1890. 

Happy 130th birthday!

ultimate cave

Son Doong Cave - the world's largest natural cave. Although estimated to be around 3 million years old, no one had been inside it until 2009.

Wales forever

A day late for St David's.
The red dragon is often seen to symbolize all things Welsh.

lion

March seems to have come in like a lion, at least where I live.  So here is a fine looking beast saying hello from Zimbabwe for the series 'animals of prey'.


For Sunday Stamps -  lions or lambs

borders

A 1966 view of Mount Mikeno in the Volcanoes National Park which is known as Virunga National Park across the border in the DRC. (Virunga means volcano in Kinwyarwanda language of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo). When the park was created in the 1920s, both countries were under control of Belgium. The green unfortunately does not show off the brilliant yellow-crested helmetshrike with his black body and high yellow crest. Although this stamp is from Rwanda, this bird is endemic to the DRC. And it is now on the vulnerable list.

designer Jean Van Noten
engraved by Jean de Vos

For Sunday Stamps - the colour green

sails

Here they come. The ships to "discover" the islands of the Caribbean

Christopher Columbus may have sailed past St Lucia but he didn't even deign to mention it in his travel logs

although Juan de la Cosa did include it on his 'world map' - the first to include the Americas

It is only 617 square miles and is the most mountainous of the Caribbean Islands with The Pitons (798 and 743 metres high) being its most famous landmark

Wouldn't we all like to be here now?

for Sunday Stamps - watercraft

walls

The Walls of Pskov Kremlin

One stamp of an ongoing series of contemporary art. This painting was done in 2011 by the 25 year old artist Sergey Troshin.

This is architecture that could definitely not be anywhere in Canada.

For Sunday Stamps -  of a country not your own.

luna

It was thought that anything like a lander might sink into the dust surface of the moon, but on the 31st of January, 1966, the Luna 9 was launched and 4 days later made its landing proving that the moon was capable of supporting the weight. This stamp shows the lander and its first panorama photograph of the surface of the moon.

for Sunday Stamps - science related

rats

I think, that of all the lunar new year animals, the rat is possibly the least likely to appear on a stamp at any other time.  For both of the Year of the Rat stamps (2008 and 2020) Canada has chosen to go with the 'mouse bride' or 'rat's wedding' story*.

This left one from 2008 is so colourful and fun. I love the purple, the parasol, the purse, and the little curl in the bride rat's tail. On the right is this year's version, with the bride rat being carried in her chair, or litter. Personally, I prefer the 2008 version.

*You can read an interesting version of the rat's wedding here

for Sunday Stamps - lunar new year animals

Gong Hei Fat Choy (one of many variations in spelling of Mandarin)

rural route

From 2000, some eccentric samples of rural mailboxes, illustrated by Marcel Cote. Some folk art at  the end of your driveway. I think these would put a smile on any mail carrier's face during their long drive from house to house.

for Sunday Stamps - rural, countryside

salt

View of Roberts Park from an original oil painting by a local artist David Starley.

Roberts Park is a 14 acres (5.7 ha) public urban park in Baildon, West Yorkshire.

Saltaire Village  is named after Sir Titus Salt who built a textile mill, known as Salts Mill and this village on the River Aire in 1853. Salt moved his entire business from Bradford to this site partly to provide better arrangements for his workers and partly to site his large textile mill by a canal and a railway.

birthdays

My mother would have been 103 yesterday. Not sure what she would say about today's world.

saltire

This is not a Royal Mail stamp - first clue, no Queen silhouette. You can buy these at tourist places where postcards are sold, and you can pop them into a Royal Mail post box. However, it may take weeks or months for your card to arrive (if at all).

The flag here is the St Andrew's Cross, also known as the Saltire. It is one of the oldest national flags still in use though it's origins are shrouded in myth and legend. In 1385 the Parliament of Scotland agreed that the white cross on a blue background should be worn as an identifying mark by Scottish soldiers (contrasting nicely with the red and white of the English St George's Cross), but it had been in use possibly as early as 832.  One of the legends goes that in that year, in East Lothian, there was a battle between the Scots and the Anglo-Saxons. Before the battle, King Angus of Scotland saw a vision of clouds in the shape of a diagonal cross. After winning the battle, the sign became the flag of Scotland, a white cross in a bright blue sky.

for Sunday Stamps - flags

octagonal

Ventes Rago lighthouse
stamp features the statistics you need to know: location, including co-ordinates
built in 1863, 11 metres tall with a light that can be seen for 3.5 kms
the lighthouse is no longer in use, but it is open to visitors.

another octagonal brick lighthouse on the Curonian Spit is the 18 metre tall Uostadvaris built in 1876. it has been deactivated since 1986.

for Sunday Stamps - lighthouses (or windmills)

fireproof hotel

Ford Hotel, Buffalo
750 Rooms, Modern and Fireproof
other Ford Hotels in
Rochester, Erie, Toronto, Montreal

water castle

A moated castle that was used for housing and a workshop for the dock workers. Now it is a commercial space with a tea office and gourmet restaurant on the first - ground - floor.

Happy New Year

Best Wishes to all of you who visit

red and snow

Happy New Year in Russian

homelike hotels

P

I love these 'road trip Australia' series.
Here we have a sideways placed stamp for a platypus and a 'road trip' to see the penguins in Australia. For an extra P the penguins live on Phillip Island. The platypus lives in freshwater streams and rivers of eastern Australia from Queensland to Tasmania.
I never had the good fortune to see a platypus, but I have seen the penguins of Phillip Island, near Melbourne. There you can see the penguin parade as the precious little guys waddle back to land at sunset.

for the final Sunday Stamps of 2019.

banking

I haven't really thought about Canadian banks in other countries, but apparently RBC has been in the Caribbean for over 100 years and is in 17 different countries. In The Bahamas, only the Freeport Branch, Port Lucaya and Settlers Way ATM are available and only the Freeport Branch is open regular hours until further notice. I've tried to find where this bank on the 2008 stamp is located but haven't had much luck. Apparently, in 2017 there was a move to a (unpopular) digital platform, so it's possible this building no longer exists as a bank.

hockey forever

Today is Boxing Day ... and also the start of the World Juniors Hockey.

Canada won 6-4 over the USA

These 2017 stamps were issued as part of the History of Hockey series.
"These stamps celebrate the shared love of hockey, a game now rooted in the lore of both nations"

xmas tree

a small person carrying a small tree

O Christmas Tree

dancing around the Christmas tree

red

Merry Christmas in Latvian

gifts of the magi

The fun secular Christmas stamps seem to be more popular than the more serious religious ones. Above, illustrated by Michael Little, closes the gap a little, I think (my own unscientific survey).

In 1965, this stamp featuring the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh was issued.

And in 1964, the very first Christmas stamp,
showing a family looking out at the Christmas star.

Both of these early stamps were issued in 3 and 5 cent denominations with the 5 cent used for regular sealed letters and the 3 cent for unsealed Christmas cards.
for Sunday Stamps - Christmas, religious

Wishing Everyone A Happy Christmas

it's snowing

three little girls out for a stroll on ChristmasDay?

extra good boys & girls

artist: Norman Rockwell
Santa mapping out his route for Xmas Eve

Arctic Santa

Santa's Village in the Arctic
this is post number 700!

bringing home the tree

Findus helps chose the Christmas tree