Finland – Artillery Museum

The Artillery Museum of Finland is situated on the banks of the beautiful Vanajavesi Lake right next door to the old historic Häme Castle. The Museum is a special military museum dedicated to the history of the artillery from the 15th century to the present day. There are almost a hundred guns of different makes from 13 different countries. The collection of Russian guns is the most exhaustive outside Russia. There are three stories in the main building exhibiting the military history of Finland. In the gun hall the most precious guns are on display and on the gun yard the funeral gun of the Artillery General V.P. Nenonen is among other guns. Special exhibitions building is by the gun yard. The guns shown on the card are a 75mm French cannon from the year 1897, a 155mm French heavy cannon from the year 1877 and lastly, a two-inch iron cannon and a Russian wooden carriage for the12 pound cannon from the year 1805. This nice card was sent to me by Minna a proud Mother, whose son is in the Army now.

Minna very thoughtfully put a very striking stamp showing the Finnish Flag in all its glory. I have very rarely seen a stamp of this nature.

LONDON FESTIVAL OF STAMPS 2010

THE FESTIVAL OF STAMPS 2010 is a yearlong event. This festival will celebrate the British and world postal system on the 100th anniversary of the PHILATILIST King George V’s coronation in 1910. King George V started the finest stamp collection in the world when he was a young boy at Buckingham Palace gathering the stamps, which came in the royal mail. He was assisted in gathering these stamps by the palace staff. He was eager very young.

THE FESTIVAL OF STAMPS started with a major exhibition at the BUSINESS DESIGN CENTER, ISLINGTON from 8 May until 15 May. The 8-day London 2010 International Stamp Exhibition featured the finest competitive exhibits from collectors around the world, plus stamp dealers, auctioneers and postal administrations, including a major presence from Royal Mail. This show takes place in London just once every ten years, and the 2010 show was a great success.

The Royal Mail stand at the International Stamp Exhibition featured a small exhibition by The British Postal Museum & Archive, custodians of Royal Mail’s archive. The exhibition looked at the development and production of the George V definitive stamps, the Downey head and the Mackennal head. It was a rare opportunity to see some of the original dies, rollers and printing plates, some of which were created for stamps that were never issued. The story continues to the present day, with the display detailing the development of Royal Mail’s new King George V stamps, to be issued during May 2010.

Stan my friend, who has made it a habit to be at the right place at the right time (where ever in the world, that right place might be) sent me this lovely postcard of a photograph taken in 1919. It shows the Royal Air Force airmail service from Hawkinge, Folkstone, to the British Army of the Rhine at Cologne. Before the mailbags are loaded into the De Haviland aeroplane, the weight of each bag is being checked and recorded. The special Festival cancellation can also be seen on the special Festival stamps.

Year 2000 issues - Bees

New Zealand at Shanghai World Expo 2010

Madhavi from Auckland sent me this stunning miniature sheet commemorating New Zealand’s participation in the Expo at Shanghai. China and New Zealand are two very different nations. China is one of the world's oldest civilisations, while NZ promotes itself as ‘the youngest country on Earth'. China is home to 1.3 billion people, NZ the equivalent size of a very average Chinese city. But the two countries have much in common too, and a deep and lasting relationship at many levels. A set of postage stamps issued in New Zealand on 30 April 2010 is designed to capture some of the similarities that exist between the two nations, from jade and pounamu to indigenous stories of creation, guardianship to treasures of the natural environment. The NZ images reflect artefacts on display at the NZ Pavilion.
Described on NZ Post’s website as “innovative yet elegantly classical”, the stamps depict a series of scenes that connect with the Expo and its theme of ‘Better City, Better Life’. New Zealand’s presence at the Expo seeks to show off the unique NZ way of life, an elaborate exhibition of ‘Cities of Nature, Living between Land and Sky’.
It is those special features of a stunning NZ pavilion that have inspired the designs in the five stamps that make up the set. Each stamp depicts a scene in both New Zealand and China, resulting in a product that is twice the size of the standard NZ postage stamp. The details of the stamps are as follows: -

50c – Pohutukawa and Peony, Native Flora: The New Zealand pohutukawa and China’s peony are depicted on the 50-cent stamp. Both flowers are red, a colour of significance to Maori and Chinese cultures. There is also a depiction of a pohutukawa tree – the artificial one that is part of the rooftop garden at the New Zealand pavilion in Shanghai's Expo Park.

$1.00 – Kaitiaki and Fu Dog, Symbolic Protectors: The kaitiaki of the Maori and China’s fu dog are strikingly similar in their roles. Kaitiaki stands guard over the natural world, while pairs of fu dogs protect against ill fortune. They are commonly seen outside Chinese business premises in the form of lion dogs. There are eight different kaitiaki built into the New Zealand pavilion garden.

$1.80 – Tane, Pan Gu and Stories of Creation: Pan Gu is depicted as a superior being that created the world when he separated the heaven and the earth from chaos. His body parts then became the earth, the sun, the moon and the clouds. Tane, the god of the forests and birds, created the Maori world of light by separating his parents, the sky father and earth mother. At the New Zealand Expo pavilion, a carving of Tane forms a gateway through which visitors pass.

$2.30 – Auckland and Shanghai - Supercities, Relatively Speaking: tall, needle-like towers dominate the skylines of the largest cities in each country. Auckland has its Sky Tower, Shanghai the Oriental Pearl Tower in Pudong. Both are depicted on the $2.30 stamp.

$2.80 – Heitiki and Cong, Pounamu and Jade: Pounamu to the Maori, jade is an important aspect of the cultures and history of both New Zealand and China. The $2.80 stamp shows the similarity of usage in the heitiki and the cong. Both were ornamental symbols of rank; while the heitiki denotes achievement and authority, the cong is a symbol of good luck.

All five stamps are 80mm high and 30mm wide. Their date of issue is 30 April 2010.

Sailing cum Steam Ships

Old Salt is my nom de plume. So, it is apparent that I just couldn't resist going back to the sea. So, for your viewing pleasure I present a few tall ships, sailing cum steam ships and some motorised vessels from around the World. Needless to say they are all from Hemant's Shipyard ;-)) Thank you very much Hemant.

Czech Republic - "Prague Castle in the art of postage stamps"

The postage stamp on the card is a panorama of Charles Bridge and Prague Castle also known as Malostransky Castle as viewed from the footbridge Novotny. Prague Castle is the largest castle complex in the world, which was a common theme for many foreign and domestic works. At the same time always was and remains a rich repository of designs for postage stamps. This place was therefore chosen for the exhibition of a representative to the general public, in which will be presented more than ninety year tradition of Czech stamp production in conjunction with collections of objects of the Prague Castle. Visitors will learn about the history of postage stamps with their work. They will be here to see the original proposals marks liner rozkresby or engraving and printing plates. Of famous artists who were inspired by the Prague Castle, Alfons Mucha, the author first postage stamps of Czechoslovakia in 1918, the well-known Max Švabinský, Cyril Bouda, Jaroslav Lukavského, George A. and Ulrich Švengsbíra Kulhanek. The Stamp exhibition will run from 12 May 2010 – 1 August 2010. My dear friend Stan is always in Prague at the right time. Thanks Stan.

Title: Exhibition "Prague Castle in the art of postage stamps"
Date of Issue: 5 May 2010
Country: Czech Republic
Denominations: 17 CZK

Thailand - Year 2000 issues

This is the second Thai issue in 2000. Lovely aren't they. Just click the picture for a gorgeous enlarged view. Thank a lot Shashi.

Monaco - Brass Era Cars

Prashant from Pune contributed these five beauties to my blog. A vintage car is commonly defined as a car built between the start of 1919 and the end of 1930. There is little debate about the start date of the vintage period—the end of World War I is a nicely defined marker there—but the end date is a matter of a little more debate. The British definition is strict about 1930 being the cut-off, while some American sources prefer 1925 since it is the pre-classic car period as defined by the Classic Car Club of America. Others see the classic period as overlapping the vintage period, especially since the vintage designation covers all vehicles produced in the period while the official classic definition does not, only including high-end vehicles of the period. Some consider the start of World War II to be the end date of the vintage period. But the cars that I am displaying are undoubtedly senior(sic) to the cars that fall in the Vintage category. So what do we categorise them under? A small period called the Brass Era for cars comes handy. Brass Era car.
Named for the widespread use of brass in the United States, the Brass (or Edwardian) Era lasted from roughly 1905 through to the beginning of World War I in 1914. 1905 was a signal year in the development of the automobile, marking the point when the majority of sales shifted from the hobbyist and enthusiast to the average user. Within the 15 years that make up this era, the various experimental designs and alternate power systems would be marginalised. Although the modern touring car had been invented earlier, it was not until Panhard et Levassor's Système Panhard was widely licensed and adopted that recognisable and standardised automobiles were created. This system specified front-engined, rear-wheel drive internal combustion engined cars with a sliding gear transmission like the 1910 Buick and the 1912 Chevrolet shown above. Traditional coach-style vehicles like the 1901 Fiat and Mercedes, and the 1903 Rolls-Royce in the picture. These were rapidly abandoned, and buckboard runabouts lost favour with the introduction of tonneaus and other less-expensive touring bodies.

Japan - Snoopy the Beagle

Megumi from Japan sent me this nice stamp featuring Snoopy the Beagle. Snoopy is a fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. I have been a great fan of Charlie Brown and naturally of Snoopy. So when I received this stamp, I was almost like “the cow who jumped over the Moon” ;-}} Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly ordinary dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character — and among the most recognizable comic characters in the world. The original drawings of Snoopy were "slightly patterned" after Spike, one of Schulz's childhood dogs. Snoopy, whose fictional birthday has been established as October 4, made his first appearance in the strip of October 4, 1950, two days after the strip premiered. He was first identified by name on November 10. Schulz was originally going to call him "Sniffy" (as described in the 25th anniversary book), until he discovered that name was used in a different comic strip. He changed it to "Snoopy" after remembering that his late mother Dena Schulz had commented that if their family were ever to acquire a third dog, it should be called Snoopy, an affectionate term in Norwegian (the actual term is "Snuppa").
In earlier strips it is not clear who Snoopy belongs to; for instance in the February 2, 1951 strip, Charlie Brown accuses Snoopy of following him, only to be told by Patty that Snoopy isn't following Charlie Brown but merely lives in the same direction. Indeed many early strips show Snoopy interacting with Shermy (who is shown in one early strip running with Snoopy on his leash) and Patty without Charlie Brown, making Snoopy appear to belong to all of the neighborhood kids, similar to the dog Pete in the Our Gang comedies, who is everyone's dog. (Note: in this era, it was common for dogs to roam their local area and congregate with local children, and then return to their respective homes). Later, Charlie Brown states that his parents bought Snoopy for him at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, after another boy had dumped sand on him while playing in a sandbox.
Snoopy was a silent character for the first two years of his existence, but on May 27, 1952 he verbalized his thoughts to readers for the first time in a thought balloon; Schulz would utilize this device for nearly all of the character's appearances in the strip thereafter. At first, Snoopy acted as a normal dog, and would only think in simple one-word phrases (such as "FOOD!"), but then became more articulate.
In addition to Snoopy's ability to "speak" his thoughts to the reader, many of the human characters in Peanuts have the uncanny knack of reading his thoughts and responding to them. In the animated Peanuts films and television specials, Snoopy's thoughts are not verbalized; his moods are instead conveyed through growls, sobs, laughter, monosyllabic utterances such as "bleah," "hey," etc., as well as through pantomime. The only exceptions are in the animated adaptations of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Snoopy!!! The Musical, in which Snoopy's thoughts are verbalized through voice overs (by Robert Towers and Cam Clarke, respectively). Animation producer Bill Meléndez voiced both Snoopy and (eventually) Woodstock in numerous television specials from 1965 to 2006. In Peanuts Motion Comics, Snoopy's thoughts appear onscreen as text in thought bubbles, without voice.

The character is :- Sex Male; Family Mother: Missy
Siblings: Brothers Spike, Andy, Olaf, Marbles, Rover, Sisters Belle and Molly
Owners: Lila (previous owner), Charlie Brown Original voice actor Bill Meléndez Other voice actors Robert Towers, Cam Clarke (stage), Roger Bart (stage)

First appearance or Snoopy’s Birthday is October 4, 1950

Czech Republic – Marie Brozova - The Colored Pencils

The project "Defence of the Coloured Pencils" was started by artist Marie Brozova in 2004. She felt the need to show to the public as well as art professionals, that it is possible to draw really great drawings (great in their message and beauty, but also large in their format) with such humble art materials as coloured pencils. The colored pencils have been accompanying Marie Brozova since her early childhood, just like every one of us. Maybe they are disregarded, even despised and refused as an "unsuitable" medium for "real art" because they are so easy to get and you can see them everywhere in children’s hands. Marie met this prejudice shortly after she had entered the art school and she has been trying to push them forward ever since. Marie decided that it was important to defend colored pencils - openly and publicly - and at the moment the concept of her project, The Defence of Colored Pencils was born - a travelling project of public drawings, in frames of which Marie can prove what amazing things can be done with colored pencils.

Her instinct was right; it is proved by growing interest of children visitors as well as adults, who come to watch intently the process of creation in Marie’s drawings. Marie is very glad about the fact, that her public drawings are often visited by school classes, and even gladder, when children come back in the afternoon and bring their parents with them. Also the references in the media are entirely positive. The Defence of Colored Pencils has been shown in TV news and reports, and has been commented in the press. Marie is regularly being referred to about her project on the radio.

Stan sent me this painting by Marie Brozova. The Obverse side of the card shows the lovely commemorative stamps. Stan’s comments are self-explanatory and do not need any further elaboration.

Shanghai Expo2010 4.5.2010

The Finnish pavilion at Shanghai World Expo 2010 is called “Kirnu” (“Giant’s Kettle”). Designed by a team from Helsinki-based architect's office JKMM, Kirnu won first prize among 104 entries in the design competition, which was announced in May 2008. The results were made public in October 2008 in Helsinki. The planning started immediately, and construction began in April 2009, with the pavilion due to be completed in April 2010. The head designer of the pavilion is architect Teemu Kurkela. Below is a description of the Kirnu concept as seen by the architect. The Finnish pavilion portrays Finland in microcosm, presenting both Finland and its society to the world. The pavilion can be seen as a miniature city built by Finns. Its inner space tells stories of Finland and the Finns. The pavilion is an example of how Finns are building better cities according to the principles of sustainable development. Like Finnish society, the pavilion combines creativity, high technology, and culture – a unity that makes for good human life. The sculptural architecture of the pavilion is aimed at creating visions of such themes as freedom, creativity, and innovation. The pavilion emerges like an island from the surface of the water. A bridge leads visitors over the water and into the pavilion. At the heart of the pavilion is the miniature city’s centre and forum for events, the “Giant’s Kettle,” where ideas can meet and mix.
The pavilion has been designed totally by computer, using the latest 3D modelling techniques. The Finnish Tekla program was used for designing the structures. In the design and construction of the building, the successful close cooperation between Finnish and Chinese professionals has been a wonderful experience. (Tekla received the 2009 Internationalization Awards of the President of the Republic
Ella contributed all the philatelic items namely, the First Day Cover with the mini sheet, duly cancelled with the special postmark, the two cards commemorating Finland’s participation in the Exhibition and the mini sheet of stamps to this blog.

Thailand - Year 2000 issues

Shashi Dash sent me this wonderful album of stamps featuring the delightful issues from Thailand in the year 2000. I shall try and show you all the pages, but gradually. I start with the first issue today.

Cats

Lovely cuddly cats. And I know there are millions of cat lovers out there. But, for these cats, My thanks go out to Dear Wilma.

Sheep

Today, I'll leave the talking, I beg your pardon 'bleating' to the sheep themselves. These preety stamps are a contribution from Wilma of Amersfoort in the Netherlands. Thank you Wilma.

Medical Excellence

Pos Malaysia has issued a set of postage stamps featuring Medical Excellence in Malaysia. The issue high-lights the progress in Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency, Premaxilla Retractor and Arm Transplant. The displayed information sheets tell you more about these procedures. Thank you Budin

Finland & Aland - North by the sea

On 24^th March 2010 Nordic countries Aland, Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands issued minisheets of stamps. The theme in all these was the same. North by the sea – and life on the Coast. Displayed here are first day covers with mini sheets of Finland and the nearby Islands of Aland. The Finnish minisheet shows the Maritime Centre at Vellamo, The Finnish Boat Centre, and the Tarmo Museum Ship in the Kantasatama Harbour in Kotka (a town near the Easter border of Finland). The sailor shown on the cover is a pilot from Suursaari, an island near Kotka, which now belongs to Russia. Before World War II it belonged to Finland.
The Tarmo Museum Ship is an icebreaker that served Finland for many decades. She was built in 1907. She was armed and served during WW II. She is believed to be the world’s oldest surviving icebreaker. She was renamed Apu in 1963, because a new Tarmo the Second was built. Tarmo has the privilege of featuring on a Finish stamp earlier too. Once again these gems have been sent to me by Ella.

Finland - flying squirrel and a woodpecker 26.3.2010

These two special postal items were issued on 26^th March this year to highlight Finland’s birds and the famous flying Squirrel. The first is a letter-card that shows the famous

Flying Squirrel in Nuuksio National Park. Flying Squirrels live in the boreal mixed-wood forests of North America and Eurasia. The distribution of the species found in Finland, the Siberian Flying Squirrel (Pteromys volans), is from Finland and the Baltic countries towards east until the Pacific Ocean. The Flying Squirrel is strictly protected by both the Finnish and the European Union legislation. It is threatened by destruction of its habitats.The population in Nuuksio is one of the densest Flying Squirrel populations found in Finland. There are almost 200 places, where they live. That’s why it has been chosen the emblem species of the National Park. The Flying Sqirrel is smaller that the ordinary Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) and it weighs about 130-160 grams. The male is a little lighter than the female, but they look similar in size. The body of the Flying Squirrel is about 15-20 cm and the tail 9-14 cm long. The hair is grey round the year, and the back is darker than the front. The Flying Squirrel has big, black eyes, and that’s why it can see well in the dark. It mostly moves about by gliding from trees, using a flap of loose skin that connects its back and front limbs. It can glide up to 75 metres.

The maxi card is about the Woodpecker. Woodpeckers of Finland. In Greek and Roman mythology, Picus was a man turned into a woodpecker by the fabled sorceress Circe. His crime? He scorned her love. His wife was Canens, a nymph, and she killed herself after Picus was transformed. Picus became the god of fortune and prophecy. The fact that Finland is located in the coniferous forest zone means that there are good chances of seeing many of the northern forest species. Of the game birds, the Capercaillie, Black Grouse, Hazel Hen, Willow Grouse and Ptarmigan are frequently to be seen, and of the woodpeckers one finds the Grey-headed, Three-toed, White-backed and Black varieties. There are ten species of woodpecker Picidae that breed in Europe: nine resident species and the migratory Wryneck. Eight of these ten species also occur outside Europe, with the distribution of Three-toed, White-backed, Lesser Spotted, Great Spotted, Black and Grey-headed Woodpeckers stretching eastwards from the western Palearctic region into Asia.
Thank you Ella for these lovely items.