Pantomime
Isle of Man 2016 In 2016, to celebrate the festive season, Isle of Man Post Office issued an extremely colourful set of six Christmas stamps. The attractive designs give clues to the famous stories depicted on the stamps and pay...
Jacqueline van der Pas
Jacqueline van der Pas was an avid stamp collector in her youth, and writing is her passion.
If you write a piece every now and then, you will also have to introduce yourself. Right, I am Jacqueline van der Pas. I have a husband and two kids. A son of 28 and a daughter of 23. I don't have a passion for stamps. I did in the distant past. In my youth, I collected stamps fanatically, and so did my family. For me. Regularly, the bathroom would be full of drying, soaked-off stamps. I was a member of a stamp society and even sat on one committee or another. I thought auctions were amazing. At some point, all that stopped. I suspect around my adolescence. Then other things became more important. My interest in stamps, however, has always remained. What fascinates me is that one or more stamps can be found for most everyday things and events. Whether it concerns the present or the past. There is always a stamp that fits a story. And writing, that is my passion. A good combination, then, of old and new passions.
Easter: a celebration of new life
Easter, it means something different to everyone. We celebrate spring; spring is in the air, and we enjoy a few days off to do fun things. And Christians celebrate that Jesus, three days after his...
Love is in the air – Valentijnspostzegels
It is Valentine's Day today. Valentine's Day traces its origins back to the 3rd century. Various stories circulate regarding its origins. While Valentine's Day was originally intended to anonymously declare one's love to another, nowadays it is also the day...
Help2Help December stamps
Earlier this year, we already drew attention to the Help2Help Foundation when they released a beautiful butterfly stamp in collaboration with Fairbooks. And now it is the turn of the Help2Help December stamps. The Help2Help Foundation supports projects in the slums of Calcutta and...
Just stick over those stamps
I was just at the local bookstore, which also includes a post office. And there I saw something quite remarkable.... A gentleman was busily working with a large PostNL stamp. He was stamping with great enthusiasm. Dozens, perhaps even...
Important expeditions in pictures
This year marks 150 years since John McDouall Stuart returned from his expedition, from north to south, across the Australian continent. And 2013 marks 200 years since the expedition of Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William...
Caribbean dresses in Japanese technique
It is July, and summer. Well... summer... not many have noticed it yet. But then there's Aruba; as I write this, it is 35 degrees there. Now that is summer, lovely. That warm tropical weather, and of course...
Assen presents a first for charity
With the issuance of a special stamp and a postcard, Assen is putting itself even more on the map this year as the starting point of the Drentse Fiets4Daagse. The stamps and postcard were designed by chairman Martin Verhage of the starting point in Assen. The proceeds...
Public Prize Best Europa Stamp 2012
It was already reported on Monday that an expert jury had selected Russia's entry as the winner of the 2012 Europa stamps. The public, however, made a different choice: Hungary won with a substantial lead over Turkey and Croatia. Up to and including...
Without Turing, no computers; which country honors his 100th birthday?
You would think that the hundredth birthday of Alan Turing, the founder of modern computer science, would be commemorated worldwide with postage stamps. But nothing could be further from the truth. To date, I have not found a single stamp that is specially for...
Besides Barbie and Ken, now also William and Kate.
I did have them, dolls, Barbie dolls too, but I was never such a sweet and caring little doll mother as many girls are. Still, these slender ladies had a special place in my home too: ...on the cupboard, where they showed off their finest...
Skeleton on a postage stamp: you can feel the bones!
Skeletons have been quite in the news lately. First came the report that a skeleton at a school in New Zealand turned out to be made of real human bones. A week later, it was about a skeleton again. In a te...
Fifty years ago today: construction of the Berlin Wall
When I first heard about the Berlin Wall as a child, I was deeply impressed. A wall, just like that, right in the middle of the city where you live. People who became brutal overnight...
City pigeons are smarter than you think
That cooing early in the morning is driving me crazy. You think you can sleep in, and then the pigeons coo you awake. Why exactly under *my* window? Maybe because of the suet balls and peanut nets I hang up in the winter? They are...
Butterflies, special in the garden, beautiful on postage stamps
Butterflies, they are a feast for the eyes. On stamps or in the garden, who doesn't enjoy them? A beautiful insect species that we must cherish. Very cherish, because the butterflies in our country are having a hard time....
Gemini, the intellectual zodiac sign
On May 21, the 'I have' of Taurus gives way to the 'I think' of Gemini. The Gemini zodiac sign is a true thinker. In addition, he is very curious and eager to learn. He is always looking for new experiences...
