Hlödver the Tall 28.7.2000

There are many tall stories about the Vikings from the Scandinavian Islands. One is about Hlödver the Tall from Saltvik. According to Snorre Sturlusson’s Nordiska Kungasagor, Hlödver was a tall Ålander who was handpicked by Viking King Olav Tryggvason to form part of the crew on Ormen Långe. Tryggvason grew up in Estonia and had seen much of the Scandinavian Islands on his travels between his foster home and his real home in Trondheim. According to Sturlusson, Hlödver could not say no when Tryggvason asked him to accompany him as a helmsman on Ormen Långe, after all, it was the biggest and most beautiful ship that had been built. In AD 1000, Ormen Långe sailed to Poland with a number of other ships to collect Queen Tyra’s inheritance. Along the route Olav Skötkonung and his allies lay in wait, and Olav Tryggvason fell in battle side by side with Hlödver the Tall from Saltvik at the naval battle at Svolder. The end of the Viking Age is generally considered to be when the people converted from pagan beliefs to Christianity, sometime around AD 1100.

Åland has many traces of the Vikings. In Saltvik was a great Viking market held on 28th-29th July 2000 with Viking "Hlödver the Tall" as a protector. Whether it was Saltvik of Åland is not quite clear, but it is possible. Saltvik has apparently been a Viking port and trading center. The pretty stamps on the cover and the cover itself were issued on 28.7.2000. This nice FDC was given to me by Pia.

Zhuxianzhen New Year Woodprints

China does issue very beautiful stamps. Just should look at these gems on this lovely miniature sheet which were issued on 15th January 2008. Zhuxianzhen, a historically important commercial town, is located 20 kilometers southwest to Kaifeng City, Henan Provinces. The Zhuxianzhen New Year Woodprints originated in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and boomed during the Song (960-1279). As the birthplace of Chinese New Year Woodprints, Zhuxianzhen exerted an influence upon the New Year woodprints produced in Wuqiang, Yangliuqing, Taohuawu, and Yangjiabu. This art form of features a typical northern style, characterised by bold and unconstrained lines, lively composition, exaggerated designs and exquisite application of colors, which are radiant and may never fade. According to a historical book "Dream of the Capital", during the Northern Song (960-1127), woodprint New Year paintings were prevalent in the capital city, Bianjing (present-day Kaifeng). In 1127, when the Jin troops attacked and captured Bianjing, the woodprint workshops and artists were forced to relocate to Zhuxianzhen, 20 kilometers away. Hence the name "Zhuxianzhen New Year Woodprints”.
In 2006, Zhuxianzhen New Year Woodprints was included in the first national intangible culture heritage list. These sets of stamps and this minisheet were issued on 15 January 2008 in order to celebrate Woodblock New Year Pictures of Zhuxian Town - Door God, Sanniang Teaches Her Son, Back from a Fruitful Trip, and Legendary Heroines.

Customs Union Agreement with the E.U 11.1.1988

Customs Union Agreement with the E.U. came into effect in 1988. Cyprus has a record of successful economic performance, reflected in rapid growth, full employment and stability almost throughout the post-Independence period. The underdeveloped economy of 1960 has been transformed into a modern economy with dynamic services, industrial and agricultural sectors and advanced physical and social infrastructure. In terms of per capita income, currently estimated at $11.000,(1993) Cyprus is classified among upper middle income countries.These achievements appear all the more striking in view of the severe economic and social dislocation and the loss of resources caused by the Turkish invasion of 1974. These stamps on the cover sent to me by Merja is to commemorate that event.
The success of Cyprus in the economic sphere is the combined result of the existence of a dynamic and flexible entrepreneurial community and of a well-educated labour force, the adoption of a market oriented economic system and the sound economic policies followed by the government.
Over the last decade the economy has increasingly become oriented towards Europe. The European Union, with which a Customs Union Agreement was put into effect in 1988, is now the largest trading partner of Cyprus. The application of Cyprus to become a full member of the Union in July 1990 is a clear indication of the European orientation of Cyprus and has led to the adoption of harmonization of economic and social institutions and policies with those of the European Union as a major policy objective.

Vintage Cars

This lovely sheet of stamps featuring Vintage cars was issued by Equatorial Guinea in 1973. It shows almost all the vintage cars one could ever hope to see. And for James Bond fans such as myself, there is even the Aston Martin!

Canada Millenium Issue

These three stamps are a special millenium set issued in December 1999 alonwith the the special covers. All these were kind courtesy of Maria.

Anniversaries & Events 13.10.1986

The Anniversaries and Events commemorated in Cyprus on 13.10.1986 were :-

Year of Overseas Cypriots. Cyprus has about 350000 persons of Cypriot origin living abroad. These Cypriots exhibit a noteworthy presence and a wide range of activities in all the continents. The overseas Cypriots, especially after the invasion of the island by Turkey in 1974, have intensified their offer of help to the metropolis and have proved that they are correctly considered one of the basic mainstays of the struggle of Cyprus for survival, freedom and vindication. Ten years had passed since the founding of the World Organisation for Overseas Cypriots and 1986 was declared "Year of the Overseas Cypriots". The Fifth World Congress of Overseas Cypriots took place in Nicosia during the period 24-30 August 1986. The Cyprus Postal Services commemorated the Year of Overseas Cypriots with the issue of this commemorative stamp.

Return of Halley's Comet. Comets are heavenly bodies, which rotate round the sun. Each comet consists of the "nucleus" which is its solid part, the "nebule" that surrounds the nucleus and is called "the hair" and "the tall" a thin extension of the hair. Halley's comet was discovered by the English astronomer Edmond Halley (1656-1742). In people's imagination comets are the causes for destruction and the harbingers of misfortunes. During its last period turn that year, which takes place every 75.5 years, the comet was examined "at close proximity" from spaceships. The comet was visible only through telescopes in Cyprus from early December 1985 until mid May 1986. Merja gave me these two nice FDCs issued on 13.10.1986.

UK 25.4.2002 - The Queen Mother

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. She was the last queen consort of Ireland and empress consort of India.

Born into a family of Scottish nobility as The Honourable Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, she became Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon when her father inherited the Earldom of Strathmore and Kinghorne in 1904. She came to prominence in 1923 when she married Albert, Duke of York, the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. As Duchess of York, she – along with her husband and their two daughters Elizabeth and Margaret – embodied traditional ideas of family and public service. She undertook a variety of public engagements, and became known as the "Smiling Duchess" because of her consistent public expression. In 1936, her husband unexpectedly became King when his brother, Edward VIII, abdicated in order to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson. Queen Elizabeth accompanied her husband on diplomatic tours to France and North America before the start of World War II. During the war, her seemingly indomitable spirit provided moral support to the British public. In recognition of her role as an asset to British morale, Adolf Hitler described her as "the most dangerous woman in Europe". After the war, her husband's health deteriorated and she was widowed at the age of 51.

On the death of her mother-in-law Queen Mary in 1953, with her brother-in-law living abroad and her elder daughter, the Queen, aged 25, Elizabeth became the senior member of the British Royal Family and assumed a position as family matriarch. In her later years, she was a consistently popular member of the family, when other members were suffering from low levels of public approval. She continued an active public life until just a few months before her death at the age of 101, seven weeks after the death of her younger daughter, Princess Margaret. 

Thank you Maria for this cover with the nice stamps issued on 25^th April, 2002. The photographs on the stamps show the Late Queen Mother dueing the different phases of her life.