90th Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

On 21 April 2016, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 90th birthday. To mark this milestone, the Royal Mail released a set of six First Class stamps and a miniature sheet comprising four First Class stamps.

Official FDC with Windsor First Day Cancellation.
"A long life can pass many milestones - my own is no exception" - HM The Queen

Queen of the United Kingdom and 15 Commonwealth nations, she is the epitome of duty and regal authority in public, while in private she is seldom happier than when surrounded by her family, preferably in a countryside location.

Miniature sheet bringing together the four existing generations of the Royal Family, from left to right: Prince Charles, HM Queen Elizabeth II, Prince George and Prince William.

Like her favoured surroundings, The Queen's interests and passions have changed little over the years. From childhood to the present day, dogs have been an ever-present feature of Her Majesty's life. Welsh Corgis are a particular favourite, as well as a dachshund-corgi cross known as a 'dorgi'. Perhaps less well-known is her skill at working the gundogs that are bred on her Sandringham estate, some of which have gone on to become champions.

Official FDC cancelled at the University of Bath PO

Insert

Horses are another great passion. As well as being an accomplished rider since childhood, Her Majesty has for many years enjoyed success as an expert breeder of thoroughbred horses, with wins recorded in more than 1,300 races. In her Silver Jubilee year, Dunfermline, a bay filly, triumphed in two of the British Classics: The Oaks and St Leger Stakes. The Queen also derives great pleasure from the breeding of Highland and Shetland ponies at Balmoral and Fell ponies at Hampton Court.

Source: FDC insert

From left to right: HM The Queen with her father, c.1930; HM The Queen attends the State Opening of Parliament, 2012; HM The Queen with Princess Ann and Prince Charles, 1952

From left to right: HM The Queen visits New Zealand, 1977; HM The Queen with the Duke of Edinburgh, 1957; HM The Queen with Nelson Mandela, 1996

Technical details:

Stamps

Date of issue: 21 April 2016

Illustrations (left to right, top to bottom): 

 HM The Queen with her father, c.1930

 HM The Queen attends the State Opening of Parliament, 2012

 HM The Queen with Princess Ann and Prince Charles, 1952

 HM The Queen visits New Zealand, 1977

 HM The Queen with the Duke of Edinburgh, 1957

 HM The Queen with Nelson Mandela, 1996

Design: Kate Stephens

Size:  37 x 35 mm

Printer: International Security Printers

Process: Lithography

Number per sheet: 30/60

Phosphor: bars as appropriate

Perforation: 14 x 14.5 cm

Miniature Sheet

Design: Royal Mail

Photography: Ranald Mackechnie

Sheet size: 179 x 74 mm

Stamps size: 27 x 37 mm

Words: Robert Hardman

A Tour of Cambridge in the UK

A 'multiview' postcard for today.  It shows various scenes of the university town of Cambridge, enjoy!

Thank you Li Sien.  Unfortunately, no stamps were used :(  Instead, a dull franking by Royal Mail...

Mailing date: unknown

Delivery date: 16 December 2011

The Games of the XXX Olympiad start today!

As from today and till the 12th of August, London will be the centre of the World. Indeed, the 2012 London Olympics start today.  Over 10,000 athletes from 204 countries, or rather National Olympic Committees, are expected to compete in this event, considered to be the world's foremost sports event.

Thank you Nigel for these nice Olympic stamps issued on 27 July 2011.  The concept of the Royal Mail was to issue 30 stamps (10 in 2009, 10 in 2010 and 10 last year) to mark the 30th Olympiad.  The above stamps illustrate, from left to right: Paralympic Games Sailing, Athletics Field and Beach Volleyball.

Mauritius is taking part in six sports, namely: athletics, boxing, judo, road cycling, triathlon and beach volleyball.

Good luck to all the participating sportsmen and women!

Faster, Higher, Stronger!

Mailing date: 13 February 2012

Delivery date: 22 February 2012

50th Anniversary of the Royal Shakespeare Company in the UK

To mark the 50th anniversary of the name change of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Ltd., the Royal Mail released on 12 April 2011 a set of 6 stamps and a miniature sheet.  The aim of the organisation - now known as the Royal Shakespeare Company - has been, since its foundation in 1875, to connect people with Shakespeare's plays. 

The 6 stamps  represent iconic RSC productions of Shakespeare's plays.  Nigel affixed the 1st class stamp on his mail; it shows former Dr. Who David Tennant as Hamlet in 2008, with the legendary phrase: "To be or not to be, that is the question" featured.  The other stamps designs and denominations are as follows:

○The Tempest - 66p

○Henry VI - 68p

○King Lear - 76p

○A Midsummer Night's Dream - £1.00

○Romeo and Juliet - £1.10

The second stamp (76p) on the envelope was to commemorate King George IV (1762-1830) , from the House of Hanover series.

Thank you very much Nigel! :)  This cover was sent from Leeds Mail Centre where a slogan postmark is applied: "Please remember to write the postcode clearly.  www.royalmail.com".

Mailing date: 29 October 2011

Delivery date: 10 November 2011

Queen Victoria in the UK

The last Stuart monarch, Queen Anne died on 1 August 1714 without issue.  Her German second cousin, George I, of the House of Hanover, who was a descendant of the Stuarts through his maternal grandmother, Elizabeth, daughter of James VI, succeeded her.   George I was succeeded by George II, George III, George IV, William IV and Victoria.  Kings George IV and William IV passed away without surviving any legitimate children, thus leaving the throne to the only legitimate child of the Duke of Kent, Victoria, the last monarch of the House of Hanover.

To commemorate these monarchs, the Royal Mail issued a set of six stamps and a miniature sheet on September 15, 2011, covering the Hanoverian era from 1714 to 1901. The last stamp (face value £1.10) of this series, depicting Queen Victoria (1837-1901), is featured on the cover above.

The second stamp (1st class) is from the 'Crown Jewels' series - issued on 23 August 2011 - and represents St. Edward's Crown.

Thank you very much Nigel! :)

Mailing date: October 7, 2011

Delivery date: October 13, 2011

Cover from Churchill College, Cambridge

A short post to share with you for today...  Above is a cover - thx Danny - mailed from Churchill College, one of the thirty-one colleges of the University of Cambridge.  The ATM label evokes the 50th Anniversary of Churchill College, celebrated in 2010...

In 1958, a Trust was established with late Sir Winston Churchill as its Chairman of Trustees, to build and endow a college for 60 fellows and 540 Students as a national and Commonwealth memorial to Winston Churchill; its Royal Charter and Statutes were approved by the Queen, in August, 1960.  The 160,000m² (42 acres) of grounds of Churchill College make it physically the largest of all the colleges.

Many events were organised to mark this milestone, among which the planting of a weeping mulberry tree by Lady Soames, Sir Winston Churchill's only surviving child.  She spoke of her proud in marking the 50th birthday of the science and technology college founded in her father's honour.

Mailing date: 04 October 2011

Delivery date: 13 October 2011

2012 Olympics and Paralympics from the UK

Well, as all of you know, the 2012 Summer Olympic Games will take place in London, UK from 27 July to 12 August 2012 and from 29 August till 9 September for the Paralympic Games.  204 countries and 10,500 athletes are estimated to take part in those XXX Olympiad in 26 Olympic sports.

Royal Mail is commemorating London’s hosting of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by issuing three sets of 10 x 1st Class stamps in the run up to the London 2012 Games in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

The concept is to issue 30 stamps to mark the 30th Olympiad and London 2012 Paralympic Games. Each of the sporting areas celebrated in these Games will have its own stamp and each of the 30 stamps will be created by a different contemporary artist, illustrator or designer.  The first set of 10 was issued in 2009, the second in 2010, and the third on July 27 last.

Thank you Nigel who affixed the Cycling stamp from the 2010 issue and the Paralympic sailing, Athletics field and Beach volleyball stamps from  the 2011 set on the lovely cover above.  Note that the logo for the 2012 Paralympics is slightly different form the Olympics one.

Mailing date: 11 August 2011

Delivery date:  18 August 2011

James the Red Engine & Joe90 from the UK

Next is a lovely cover from the United Kingdom.  Thx Nigel for enabling me to talk about so memorable British children's characters. =)

Royal Mail kicked off the new year with another issue - on January 4 - playing on nostalgia of 60-somethings - the Genius of Gerry Anderson.

In 1961 the ITV network broadcast a revolutionary new puppet show called Supercar.  Frustrated by the primitive technology of previous puppet shows producer Gerry Anderson had devised a new kind of animation called Supermarionation.  This featured much more technically sophisticated puppets that were able to lip-synch dialogue while the problem of locomotion was solved by the simple expedient of putting the characters into vehicles for much of the show.

Combined with a fast moving sci-fi plot and plenty of special effects the show become an instant success and launched Anderson’s career.  Anderson was to produce five more iconic Supermarionation shows during the decade that followed before moving into live action TV with UFO, The Protectors and Space 1999.

Joe 90 is a late-1960s British science-fiction television series documenting the exploits of a nine-year-old boy, Joe McClaine, who embarks on a double life as a schoolboy turned spy when his scientist father invents a pioneering machine capable of duplicating and transferring expert knowledge and experience to another human brain.

Royal Mail also issued on 14 June 2011 a set of 6 stamps and a miniature sheet to commemorate the birth centenary of Reverend Wilbert Awdry, the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine.  The six stamps show Thomas and some of his friends from the TV series, namely: James (affixed on the envelope above), Percy, Daisy, Toby and Gordon. 

It was while his two-year-old son Christopher was suffering with measles that Wilbert tried to enliven his son’s bed-bound quarantine by telling stories and drawing pictures about a group of little engines.  He wrote down the stories and in May 1945 ‘The Three Railway Engines’ was published.  Between 1945 and 1972, Reverend Awdry wrote 26 volumes in ‘The Railway Series’.

James the Red Engine is a fictional locomotive from The Railway Series children's books and the spin-off TV series Thomas and Friends.  James is a mixed-traffic engine, which means he is just as capable of pulling coaches as trucks.  James first appeared in the Railway Series in 1946, in the book Thomas the Tank Engine.  Two books in the series, no. 3 James the Red Engine and no. 28 James and the Diesel Engines are dedicated to James.

Mailing date: 11.07.11

Delivery date: 22.07.11

African Fauna from the UK

I received this cover right from the UK on June 13, 2011, franked with a couple of WWF stamps.  They portray the renowned African Elephant and the critically endangered Mountain Gorilla.  Thx Nigel! :)

The Royal Wedding in the UK

On April 29, 2011, HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton married at the Westminster Abbey in London.  Middleton wore a white dresser with a 270-centimeter train, by British designer Sarah Burton, as well as a tiara lent to her by the Queen.  Prince William wore the uniform of his honorary rank of Colonel of the Irish Guards. William's best man was his brother, Prince Harry, while the bride's sister, Pippa, acted as herer maid of honour.   The wedding was widely broadcast on television, internet and radio.  It is estimated that the coverage  was watched by two billion people worldwide.

Thank you Nigel for this awesome souvenir sheet, released on April 21, picturing the Royal couple official engagements photographs.  There's some Welsh written on it too: Y Briodas Frenhinol, EUB Y Tywysog William o Gymru & Miss Catherine Middleton, which means The Royal Wedding, HRH Prince William of Wales & Miss Catherine Middleton.  The stamps were unfortunately canceled on April 30. ):

All my wishes of happiness and longevity to the Royal couple

Nanny Ogg from the UK

Gytha Ogg (usually called Nanny Ogg) is a character, a witch to be precise, from Terry Pratchett's series: Discworld.  The 1st class stamp featuring Nanny Ogg forms part of an issue called "Magical Realms", released on March 8, 2011. The stamps feature characters from Magical Adventures including Harry Potter, Discworld, Narnia and Arthurian Legend.   

An image from We Will Rock You appears on the 1st class stamp on the far right.  British stage musicals have in fact been celebrated with eight commemorative stamps issued on February 24 last by the Royal Mail.

Thanks Dean for your nice mail! :)

The Humber Bridge in the UK

The Humber Bridge, near Kingston upon Hull, is a single-span suspension bridge, the 5th-largest of its type in the world.  It spans the Humber, the estuary formed by the rivers Trent and Ouse, between Barton-upon-Humber on the south bank and Hessle on the North bank.  The toll charge of £2.70 for cars and of £1.20 for motorcycles is a matter of dispute.  However, it should be conceded that the Humber Bridge is an architectural chef-d'oeuvre.

Thanks Nigel for the magical postcard and for the stamps too.  These WWF ones illustrate the Siberian tiger and the Polar bear.

Scarborough in the UK

Scarborough is a town on the North Sea coast of North Yorkshire, England.  With a population of about 50,000, it is the largest holiday resort on the Yorkshire coast.  The most striking feature of the town's geography is a high rocky promontory pointing eastward into the North Sea. The promontory supports the 11th century ruins of Scarborough Castle and separates the sea front into a North Bay and a South Bay.  This postcard shows the Cliff Bridge.

Nigel affixed a stamp featuring the famous science-fiction TV show 'Thunderbirds'.  Thanks Nigel for your lovely card...  ><   

Filey & Lavender in Great Britain

Filey is a small town in North Yorkshire, England.  It is located between Scarborough and Bridlington on the North Sea coast.  Although it started out as a fishing village, it has a large beach and is a popular tourist resort. 

A special thanks to Nigel for this superb postcard of Filey, with a delicious Lavender Bread recipe.  Lavender was a familiar culinary herb to the Romans, who built a signal station near Filey to watch fro Saxon invaders.  To the Victorians, who made Filey a holiday resort, lavender was a perfume.  Today, lavender is valued or both purposes.  By the way, the Winnie-the-Pooh stamp is simply awesome!  ><

Postcard from London

A new postcard from the UK! :)  This one features the famous Tower Bridge in London, over the River Thames.

Postcard from the University of Cambridge

On December 22, I received this wonderful card sent on December 6 from the renowned University of Cambridge.  :)  The University is the 2nd oldest one in both England and the English-speaking world and the 7th oldest university globally.  Academically, Cambridge now ranks first in the world according to the QS University rankings, ahead of Harvard and Yale.

This postcard forms part of a collection of over 150 pastel paintings of Cambridge by K. J. Lewis.

Merry Christmas!!

 

On December 18th I received this nice cover from Wales (my first from the United Kingdom).  It has lovely Christmas stamps affixed on it.  Thank you very much Dean!  ^^/

I take this opportunity to wish to everyone who contributed, in one way or another, to running this blog, a merry Christmas. 

Merry Christmas to you all !!