Sunday Stamps 'S4' USSR, Sweden, South Africa

India and the Soviet Union signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 1971. A stamp commemorated this friendship in 1976.

USSR - 8 September 1976

A ceiling painting from  Dädesjö church in Småland depicts St Stephen, the Stable Boy.

Sweden - 9 February 1970

South Africa  has many superb animal stamps. You could say that the Springbok is iconic too.

South Africa - 14 October 1954

For more 'S' related stamps please visit Sunday-stamps-s.

Sunday Stamps - 'R'4' USA, Great Britain

Echo 1 was the first passive communication satellite launched in 1960. It was used to bounce radio wave signals from one point on  the earth to another.

USA - 15 December 1960

In 1778 Captain Cook, in command of the Resolution and Discovery, discovered the Hawaiian Islands. The next stamp was issued two hundred years later.

USA - 13 January 1978

A set of three stamps was issued to commemorate the ninth British Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh in 1970. the 5d stamp depicted 'runners'.

Great Britain - 15 July 1970

 For more 'R' related stamps visit Sunday-stamps-r.

Sunday Stamps 'Q4' - Ecuador, Japan

I thought i would have to resort to stamps showing foreign queens this week until I found this stamp from Ecuador.

It depicts the Third Ecuadorian games held in the capital of Quito in 1975.

I had to cheat somewhat again by showing a Japanese national park containing the letter 'Q' on my second stamp.

Sado-Yahiko Quasi-National Park

To see other 'Q' related stamps just visit the links at Sunday-stamps-q.

How many of you remember the Japanese stamp appearing under 'J'  in an earlier A-Z round, I wonder?

Sunday Stamps 'P4' - Belgian Congo, Benin, Greece

A flower, one of my favourite birds and a philanthropist feature on my stamps this week.

Belgian Congo - 1952

This is 'Protea lemaire'.

My next stamp is from Benin - the bird has the Latin name 'Pyrrhula pyrrhula' but I'm sure that you will recognise it. A pair visit our garden every year in May when the apple blossom appears.

Benin - 30 July1977

I had problems with reading Greek characters in the name of this man, but tracked him down eventually.

Greece - 5 November 1975

Georgios Rizaris founded a religious organisation in the newly formed Greek state that would educate priests. Today it stands in the Calandri suburb of Athens.

For other 'P' related stamps just cross over to Sunday-stamps-p and follow the links.

Sunday Stamps 'O4' USA, Great Britain

We had an athletic meeting from Stockholm on TV yesterday. This reminded me of the one time holder of six world records from the USA.

Owens name has become iconic as a result of his exploits in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

The stamp comes from the Celebrate the Century series for the 1930s.

From Great Britain I have chosen an Ox-Eye Daisy from 1967.

As a boy in the 1940s I used to walk and fish in the River Chater in the village of Ketton in Rutland. In those days I could follow otter hounds as they went hunting along the river. I'm pleased to say that they never found any.

To say 'O' to other stamps please visit Sunday-stamps-o.