A dog's job!
During one of our holidays in Wales, we stayed at a 'Bed and Breakfast', or B&B for short, in the town of Bala, located in Snowdonia National Park. Here we were introduced to a 'sport' that we had only seen on British television...
Design
Water as one of the basic necessities of life…. (part 1)
That was the common theme for the Europa stamps of the year 2001. But the Netherlands, as a country of water, did not participate. The British Royal Mail did, however, giving its own interpretation to the original theme: 'Water and natural resources': life...
Australian aviation pioneers
Due to the great distance between England and Australia and the slow overseas connections by sailing and steamships, a great need arose to establish a connection by air. The English-born Laurence Hargrave was one of...
Australian zoos (part 2)
Designer Geoff Cook, based in Melbourne, is one of the founders of 'All Australian Graffiti', a graphic design agency. In his designs, he combines his traditional painting and drawing skills with the latest computer technology. The series of stamps with the theme 'Australian...
Medical discoveries
When I first saw the Royal Mail Europa stamps, issued on September 27, 1994, I had to think for a moment about what the images were supposed to represent. But the leaflet accompanying the first-day envelope immediately provided the solution: the...
Travel along during the 65th Children's Book Week
During the 65th Children's Book Week (from October 2 to 13, 2019), you will embark on a journey. How? With stories, of course, about vehicles, travel in your dreams, and fantasy. Have a famous or lesser-known Dutch person read to you. Or participate in...
1994: One hundred years of comic postcards in England
The humorous picture card had existed for much longer, but it was not until September 1, 1894, that British publishers received permission from the Post Office to print and distribute such cards that could be sent via this postal service. On 12...
British summer stamps in 1994
The designs of the 1995 spring stamp series and the 1993 autumn stamp series are totally different from those of the 1994 summer stamp series. Spring stamps with artistically designed flowers and autumn stamps with berries and nuts. Designer Silk Pearce from Colchester approached the...
Forest Animals (part 2)
A beautiful series of stamps featuring images of woodland animals was issued by Royal Mail on 16 September 2004. The images on the stamps were designed by Kate Stephens based on photographs by various photographers. The stamps, in blocks of 10 in...
British Spring stamps in 1995
The British Royal Mail had issued three series of stamps from 1992 with the themes of winter, summer, and autumn. They were very direct images that made the season easily recognizable. But the series of five stamps that came out on March 14...
Summertime is ice cream time with lots of flavors!
It is holiday time again, and if we are to believe the weather gods, it will be a summer with pleasant temperatures. No long heatwave like in 2018. If you are reading this blog, you may well be on holiday yourself. Relaxing at the...
50 years of children's television in Great Britain
In 1996, it was fifty years since the first children's programme starring 'Muffin the Mule' was broadcast on television by the BBC. This prompted Royal Mail to issue a series of five stamps featuring 'large...
Mr. Janssen from Venray
It is May 1966 and Mr. Janssen has been happily married for 25 years. He is apparently a great royalist, for he was utterly annoyed by the fact that, on the occasion of the marriage of Claus and Beatrix, there was no special stamp...
100 years of Bauhaus: Dessau period
In 1925, the school moved to Dessau, where Gropius designed a brand-new building. The Dessau period (1925–1931) is also regarded as the heyday of the art movement. The most famous products and the white buildings were realized during this period. In...
100 Years of Bauhaus: Origins of the Art Movement and the Weimar Period
In 2019, Germany commemorates the 100th anniversary of Bauhaus. An art movement that existed for only 14 years (1919–1933), yet the name has always remained synonymous. Bauhaus was a revolutionary German art and design school. From the very beginning...
The 90th birthday of the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, the future Queen Elizabeth, was born on August 4, 1900. She celebrated her 90th birthday in 1990. This was the reason for the British Royal Mail to dedicate a series of four stamps to her. Designer John Gorham...
