Fish in the sea - Sunday Stamps II

I've gone fishing in Romania this week although all my fish may be found in wider surroundings.

Romania issue a set of 8 fish stamps on May 10 1964; here are five of them.

Romania - 1964

• 5 bani - Scorpaena Porcus, the black scorpion fish. It's found in the Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.Normally around 6 inches it may be 15 inches long.
• 10 bani - Blennius Pavo Risso, the comb tooth or peacock blenny also frequents the Eastern Atlantic, the Med and the Black Sea.
• 50 bani - I'm sure you all recognise Hippocampus Hippocampus - the short nosed seahorse which is endemic to the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic.

Romania - 1964

• 55 bani - Trigla Lucerna, the tub gunard is a bottom dwelling coastal fish found in the Med, the Atlantic, Black and Southern Baltic Seas,. It has a spiny armoured head and finger like pectoral fins used to walk along the bottom.
• 1 lei - Huso Huso is the beluga or European sturgeon from the Caspian and the Black Sea. It has been heavily fished for its roe - beluga caviar.

The three stamps I don't have are the horse mackerel, the Russian sturgeon and the common sting ray.

If you are looking for more fishy stories just cross to the links at Sunday-stamps-ii-37.

Grocery store finds - Thematic Photography

In today's world of supermarkets I wondered whether the theme this week should really be 'Find a grocery store.' 

That would be a hopeless task for me as I am not welcome on shopping trips when my wife is looking to stock up with food.

I did sneak off with my camera today to see what I could find only to be confused by 

Shopping trolleys on display

And anyway I didn't have pound to release one for my use.

I ambled round the shop, camera at the ready, and was disappointed to see nearly all the food packaged up. There were only a few vegetables and some fruit where you could chose them separately.

Spring onions

If you can have spring onions when summer is almost over!

Bananas and red peppers

I was pleased to see that the shop supported our farmers by selling only

British meat

and promoted - 

Free range eggs

But you can see that these came in cardboard cartons which end up in our recycling bag - not that one is visible today.

Packaging (ready for collection)

I hope that you can recognise that our milk was British too, though don't ask me the price of a pint.

Those aforementioned products from the free range hens reminded me that it's dangerous to put

All your eggs in one basket

So in a bid to obtain my 'fifteen minutes of fame,' I decided to photograph a

A can of soup

But I guess that someone more famous has beaten me to that idea and I might need another 31 cans to complete the picture.

I shall just have to explore other grocery store finds at Carmi's Thematic-photographic-347.

Lighthouses - Sunday Stamps II

I decided to start in Scandinavia this week with the 300th Anniversary of the Swedish Lighthouse Service commemorated in 1969.

Sweden -1969

Travelling by the southernmost tip of mainland Norway on the peninsula Neset you past the country's oldest lighthouse - built in 1655.

Lindesnes Lighthouse - Norway (16 February 1983)

Beachy Head is one of England's famous lighthouses and it appeared in a set commemorating Safety at Sea on 18 June 1985.

Great Britain - Beachy Head Lighthouse and Chart

Unfortunately the chart is obscured by the postmark.

Les Casquets lighthouse in the Channel Islands appears on a Guernsey stamp issued on 10 February 1976. The Lighthouse was built in 1723.

Guernsey - 1976

For more enlightenment just visit the links at Violet's Sunday-Stamps-ii-36.

Where You Work - Thematic Photography

As I have retired 'Where You Work' is not an easy theme for me.

I guess I shall have to say that it's gardening that takes my time.

Foxglove

This is the type of gardening I like - just put in one  and let the plants do all the work.

Wheelbarrow (against the compost bin) with the tool store on the right.

Climbing rose on the fence

I've just noticed that the camera must  not have been held correctly as the birdbath is definitely not on the skew.

Lupins with the one alium at the front.

In the front garden there's a second lawn to cut as well as bushes to keep in shape - a gardener's work is never done.

So why am I not out there working hard. Well it's a wet day again.

However some of my assistants work no matter what the weather.

Jenny Wren

She's hard at it while I'm checking out 'where you work' by following the links at Carmi's Thematic-photographic-346.

That Summertime Feeling - Sunday Stamps II

After 20 hours of continuous rain it's great to get 'That summertime feeling' again.

On 2 August 1994 the Royal Mail issued a set of 5 stamps entitled 'The Four Seasons. Summertime. Events.'

Unfortunately I have only three of them.

Great Britain

The 19p stamp on the left is of the Royal Welsh Show at Llanelwedd.

The 30p and the 35p stamps that I do not have show yachting from Cowes Week and the cricket Test Match from Lords.

A 41p stamp making up the set

Great Britain

shows the Highland Games at Braemar.

To get a feeling for summertime elsewhere please visit the links at Violet's Sunday-Stamps-ii-35.

Retro - Thematic Photography

I had difficulty finding shots that are truly 'retro' but here's a kitchen window that probably qualifies - from as recent as the early 1990s.

All we can say now to this is 'Yuk!'

I'm not allowed however to quote a date for this retro ride.

The driver might object.

For more retro retrospective follow the links at Carmi's Thematic-photographic-345.

Food - Sunday Stamps II

This week's food and/or drink theme proved harder than I thought.

I had to visit the local market where I knew there would be plenty to chose from. The coin and stamp stall came up trumps again with vegetables from Romania issued in 1963.

Romania - 1963

Even I can recognise what they are. I believe that there was another stamp (cucumber) in the set.

If you are not a vegetarian but have a sweet tooth then perhaps it's the mithai confectionery/sweets that are more to your taste.

Singapore - 2009

I have no drink for you to wash it down but perhaps you will find some by following the links at Violet's Sunday-Stamps-ii-34.

Spontaneous - Thematic Photography

When I'm on my morning walk I get flashed at regularly. It's not a pretty sight - one day the (a) culprit will come to grief.

400 vehicles an hour trigger this sign associated with an advisory 40 mph speed restriction through the bends between the woods on either side of the road.

Yesterday morning I grabbed my camera as the sign flashed up.

For other spontaneous interpretations follow the links at  Carmi's Thematic-photographic-344.

Animals in the wild - Sunday Stamps II

I looked for a lion stamp as a tribute to Cecil. Unfortunately I could not find one, nor one of a dentist in the wild.

Czechoslovakia has some fine animal stamps. Here are four that I like in particular.

Wild Cat & Beaver

Brown Long-Eared Bat & Marmot

You need very good eyes to see that these stamps have 1990 on the vertical edges.

For more animals in the wild please follow the links at Sunday-Stamps-ii-33.