Sunday Stamps - Felines: Benin, Hungary

Felines don't come much bigger that a big cat like this lion from Benin.

Benin - 20 September 1995

Eastern European countries have issued many stamps of cats, Here's one from Hungary whose eyes may captivate you.

Hungary - 30 March 1968

To see more cats from elsewhere just visit the links at Cats

Sunday Stamps - Flags; Hungary plus?

 It's evident from my stamp collection that it is the USA that features its flags the most. However in Great Britain it was 2001 before the Union Jack appeared on a stamp as the subject in its own right along with the White Ensign in a series on the submarine service.

!962 was a World Cup year, Chile was the host country and the cup was won by Brazil.

It was Hungary however who had a series of stamps showing the competing nations.

Hungary - 21 May 1962

These are six of the eight stamps in the series. How many flags do you recognise?

The stamps are designed to be viewed with the flagpole vertical so I hope you do not get a crick in your neck.

 For more flags test your knowledge of vexillology at Sticks and Flags.  

Sunday Stamps 'G4' Guernsey, Hungary

To continue my recent animal theme I had to go to Guernsey famous for the - 

The Guernsey cow was first recorded as a separate breed around 1700. Import of foreign cattle to the island was banned in 1789. The English Guernsey Cattle Society was established  in 1884 to provide a record of the ancestry of imported Guernsey cattle.

I have been unable to find out when this minimum postage paid stamp was first issued.

When it comes to garden birds this is one, on a Hungarian, stamp that frequents our garden throughout the year - although it colours are not as vibrant as this.

Hungary - 18 December 1961
Great Tit

You can examine other 'G' related stamps by following the links at Seeitonapostcard.-g.

Sunday Stamps K3 - Canada, Hungary, Netherlands

I've watched the Detroit Pistons (once, when my camera's battery needed charging) and am kept informed every year on how the Detroit Lions are performing. Of course I've heard of the Stanley Cup and how the Redwings get on and whom this man on a Canadian stamp joined when he was only 19 years old back in 1947.

Canada - 3 October 2014

Apparently we became one of the 'Original Six' in ice hockey - I have still to find out who the others are and what's behind the name.

When it comes to protected birds this is one of my favourites and one I used to see regularly as a boy about the time that Red Kelly began to play for the Redwings.

Hungary - 27 June 1991
Kingfisher

We can sometimes see a bird of prey over the fields outside our village - it's quite easy to see why it is sometimes called a windhover. How would you feel if it had these eyes fixed on you?

Netherlands - 5 September 1995
Blauwe kiekendief (Kestrel)

To prey on other 'K' stamps fly over to Seeitonapostcard.Sunday Stamps - K

Sunday Stamps F3 - USA, Germany, , Hungary

Benjamin Franklin appeared on the first stamp issued by the USA - he was postmaster general at the time. He signed the Declaration of Independence but never became President.  He did however become the first American minister to France.

USA - 20 October 1972

I guess Franklin knew about the flag with 13 stars - one for each of the original colonies at the time of independence - but he would have been pleased to see one with 50.

USA - 8 December 1973

Sightseeing in Germany may take you to a Flughafen

Frankfurt Airport - 14 January 1988

For a view of the city a plane in a Hungary series shows you the way.

Hungary - 17 October 1966

It's higher than 110 feet!

For more 'F' related stamps, fasten your seat belts an go over to Sunday-stamps-f.

Sunday Stamps II A-Z 'X' Hungary, Ireland

'X' always seems to be a difficult letter in any A-Z theme. The last time it came up in Sunday Stamps I had to be a bit inventive using stamps like this - 

Ireland - 2 December 1963:
100th anniversary of the Red Cross

To find a true 'X' I had to go fishing for a green-tailed swordfish in Hungary.

Hungary - 9 May 1962
Xiphophorus helleri

In Ancient Greek ξίφος (ksíphos) means a kind of double-edged sword and -φóρος (-phóros) means bearing. This alludes to the presence of an anal fin in male fish which enables it to hook into the vent of a female fish to deposit sperm.

hellerii: honours the name of Austrian botanist and naturalist Karl Bartholomaeus Heller (1824-1880), who explored Mexico between 1845-1848 and brought the type series of X. hellerii to Vienna.

The fish has been widely introduced into Mexico river basins and now occurs in rivers on all continents except Antarctica.

For other stamps from the 'X' files visit the links at Sunday-Stamps-x.

Sunday Stamps II - A-Z: 'G' Greece, Hungary, Norway

Three gentlemen today whose names all begin with 'G'.

Mahatma Gandhi centenary - Greece: 7 October 1970

International Space Travel Conference - Juri Gagarin: Hungary 22 October 1962

And for the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mikhail S Gorbatsjov - Norway: 14 September 2001

To have a gander at other grand stamps just follow the links at Sunday-stamps-g.

Sunday Stamps II : A-Z ; 'H'

I only have two countries for 'H' so limited choice this week.

Hong Kong - 11 June 1973

The 1984 Joint Declaration between the United Kingdom and China led to the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997. Hong Kong is now a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

The link to last week's post?

'G' is the seventh letter of the alphabet - Hong Kong contains two 'Gs'.

A fairy tale on an Hungarian stamp maintains the 'seven' link.

Hungary - 1 December 1960

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

For other 'H' related stamps please follow the links at Sunday-Stamps-II-145

Sunset - Sunday Stamps II

I have only one sunset to show and that's on the largest of the Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

USA - Hagatna Bay - 1 June 2007

It features a photo by Michael S Yamashita. Hagatna is the capital of Guam.

The only other stamp in my collection that carries a sun does not really meet the theme this week, but nevertheless I will include it.

Hungary - 9 May 1963

This and the other 11 in the set appear to be space related but actually they commemorated the Conference of Postal Ministers of Socialist Countries.

As you can see the centre 'stamp' represents Shqiperia, aka Albania.

To see the sun rise or set elsewhere please visit Sunday-Stamps-II-62.

As a last minute idea I could not resist adding a stamp from the 'Land of the Rising Sun.'

Japan - 9 October 2014

People at Work - Sunday Stamps II

People in Europe and Africa appear as my workers today.

Hungary 

It's fairly easy to see the work connection for her. Not so for the first of my workers in Italy on stamps from 1950.

Italy

I had to google 'La Sciabica' to find out that this depicted a man on work on a trawler.

I made a better guess at the next.

Italy

IL Tornio = the lathe, in Tuscany. It looks more like a potter's wheel to me.

In 1961 Nigeria issued this stamp of a carver at work.

Nigeria

Oyo is a state in the south-west Nigeria with the capital of Ibadan.

To ponder over others hard at work visit Sunday-stamps-ii-17.

A-Z Challenge 2015 - Butterflies A

A- Z Challenge 2015

My A-Z posts this year will be about butterflies with an emphasis of those from Britain. I expect that I shall have to include some from elsewhere as well. Until I get started I'm not sure what other connections will occur. You will just have to wait and see. As usual I am expecting to cheat for some letters of the alphabet; I’m sure you will see why.

In 1978 there was a sitcom on British TV called 'Butterflies.' Its theme tune was one I always associate with Dolly Parton - "Love is like a butterfly."

Dialogue in the first episode included these words, "We are all kids chasing butterflies. You see it, you want it, you grab it and there it is all squashed in your hands."

I promise you that no butterflies have been harmed in this Challenge. 

After all, "Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing."

A - Adonis Blue


Adonis was the Greek god of beauty and desire whose name in modern times is often applied to handsome youths.

Adonis Blue - Male

This brilliant sky blue butterfly is the most vivid of British blue butterflies. The female is chocolate brown.

Adonis Blue - Female

As you can see both have chequered fringes to their wings with the female having flecks of yellow.

Although it has become a declining species conservationists are trying to encourage populations by managed grazing programs in their chalk grasslands. They are to be found on the limestone and chalk of southern England in Dorset, the Isle of Wight, the Chilterns, Wessex and Kent.

Hippocrepsis comosa

The horseshoe vetch (hippocrepsis comosa) is the only flower on which this butterfly feeds so you are unlikely to find it on the bush that bears its name.

Buddleja davidii - Adonis Blue

The buddleia, apply known as the butterfly bush, in our garden attracts many butterflies each year but unfortunately not the Adonis Blue.

Each Sunday I contribute to the Sunday Stamps meme. How I wish I could include this stamp.

Hungary

Photo Attributions:

• Adonis Blue - Male: Polyommatus bellargus, 25 June 2006, Harold Süpfle - CC BY-SA 2.5
• Adonis Blue - Female: Polyommatus bellargus, 25 June 2006, Harold Süpfle - CC BY-SA 2.5
• Horseshoe vetch hippocrepsis comosa, uploaded by Tigerente, June 11 2006 - CC BY-SA 3.0
• Buddleja davidii, Adonis Blue, 22 Aug 2012, Ptelea - CC BY-SA 3.0
• Hungarian Stamp, scan by Darjac

Space Exploration - Sunday Stamps II

I guess everyone remembers that first landing on the moon in July 1969.

In the United Arab Emirates, Ras Al Khaima issued a set of stamps  commemorating International Cooperation in Space on 10 June, i.e, before that landing.

Ras Al Khaima

Others in the set covered the Apollo space program and Lunar Landing. These are two that I would love to get.

Continuing the moon landing theme Poland issued a stamp in 1971 commemorating Lunochod - 1

Poland - Lunochod-1

This was the first of two unmanned lunar rovers landed on the moon by the Soviet Union and on 17 November 1971 was the first to move freely on the surface .

A Hungarian stamp commemorated the 25th anniversary of Hungarian-Soviet scientific technical cooperation.

Hungary - Inter Sputnik Tracking Station

The Hubble Space Telescope has shown us some remarkable images of outer space.

A 2000 commemorative issue from the United States shows some of these.

USA

Others in the set show the Ring Nebula, the Lagoon Nebula and the Galaxy NGC 1316. 

For other space adventures make sure you check the stamps on show linked to Sunday-stamps-ii-13.

Trades/Professions - Sunday Stamps

Greetings from the USA this week where we are staying with my daughter, her husband and three dogs. Yesterday was a bit traumatic as Gem, her oldest dog, had to be put to sleep after a remarkable 15 and a half years. Gem was the last of the original "Gang of Four."

The lady vet from the Lap of Love, a veterinary hospice was a true professional. However I do not have a stamp that is appropriate for her.

Nevertheless I was surprised to find how many stamps meet Viridian's 'trade/professions' theme.

Algeria - Job Mechanics; 18 April 1965

Hungary - Welder series 1955

Lebanon - Potters work

Iceland - Nurse and patient

This stamp was issued on 19 June 1970 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Icelandic Nurses Association.

My last stamp this week is from Tunisia.

Tunisia - Nass-work - Handicrafts; 15 August 1979

I was pleased to be able to include my one and only stamp from Algeria as the theme forced me to identify what it represented.

I wonder whether anyone will have a stamp of a philatelist this week. To find out you will have to check the links at Sunday-Stamps-193.

Undersea Life - Sunday Stamps

There is a bit of a fishy tale about the theme of undersea life this week. I had used all my undersea creatures before so I had to trawl the world for my stamps this week starting with the National Fish of South Africa.

South Africa - Coracinus capensis

The Galjeon inhabits South Africa's coastal waters, confined mostly to the shallows. Its colour varies depending where it lives - almost black in rocky areas and silver bronze where it's sandy. KwaZula-Natal knows it as the black fish or black bream; elsewhere it is called the Damba, much easier to say than coracinus capensis

It may seem strange to include a stamp from a landlocked country like Hungary especially as Xiphophorus Helleri is part of their tropical fish series issued in 1962.

Hungary - Xiphophorus Helleri

The green swordfish (Xi-H) is a freshwater/brackish water fish. Where it has been introduced elsewhere in the world it has become a nuisance pest. Significant numbers exist along the east coast of Australia.

'Wars' have been fought over fish, the Cod Wars between Iceland and the United Kingdom in the 1950s and 1970s being well known disputes over fishing rights. It's not surprising to find that fish are featured on Icelandic stamps.

Iceland - Salmon (I think)

Iceland - Haddock and Cod

Britain would be at a loss with a supply of melanogrammus aeglefinnus (Haddock) and gadus morhua (Cod) to go with their chips.

These days though fission chips may be found subsea.

Great Britain - Nuclear Submarine

For other subsea sights and creatures just follow the links at Viridian's Sunday-Stamps-183.

World Cup - Sunday Stamps

With the World Cup in full swing it seemed appropriate to choose football stamps this week.

The tournament in Sweden in 1958 saw Brazil win the cup. Poor England had their worst result ever until this year when we are 'out' after just two matches. However my World Cup stamp from that year comes from none of these three countries.

World Cup 1958 - Czechoslovakia

1962 saw Chile host the tournament, won yet again by Brazil. My stamp for this is not from Chile either but from - 

World Cup 1962 - Hungary

A stamp from Ruanda commemorated the Cup in 1966.

World Cup 1966 - Ruanda

Of course the Cup that year was hosted by England; Great Britain issued a set of three commemoratives on 1 June 1966. I only have two of these.

World Cup 1966 - Great Britain

The stamps were:

• 4d Player with Ball
• 6d Goalmouth Melee
• 1/3d Goalkeeper saving Goal.

The 4d stamp was reissued on 18 June 1966 with the wording added "ENGLAND WINNERS"

I wonder how many tears there will be and how many years we will have to wait to see that again.

To see what others have chosen this week follow the links at Viridian's Sunday-stamps-176.

A-Z Challenge 2014 - 'V'

V - Vizsla

I'm only able to show one breed of dog for the letter 'V' and I had to go to Hungary for that.

Vizsla
(12.11.06; by Plepie 2000 - CC BY-SA 3.0)

Vizslas originated in Hungary; sporting dogs they are the smallest of the Pointer breed. Classed as a gun dog they are used for hunting fowl and upland game. Although they are sporting dogs a Vizsla makes a good household companion and a family dog.

Excellent swimmers, they love the water as Rosie demonstrates.

Rosie dives in.
(21 April 2007; by Bryon Realy - CC BY 2.0)

A Vizsla bred in Australia was Best in Show at Crufts in 2010. Known as Yogi, his show name was "Hungargrunn Bear It'n Mind."

There is a Wire-haired Vizsla also, but it is a separate breed developed in 1930 by interbreeding of a Vizsla with the German Wire-haired Pointer. 

I have yet to see either in the flesh.