Each year we feature a small selection of stamps issued by countries that celebrate Christmas. We begin with an example from Sweden, complete with a Goldfinch (Steglits) and a Yellowhammer (Gulsparv) observing children building a snowman.
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It’s difficult to imagine the wonderful children’s story The Gruffalo was created 20 years ago. To celebrate, Royal Mail have issued six special stamps with colourful illustrations of The Gruffalo characters in a chronological story across two horizontal se-tenant strips of three stamps.
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As a child I was always fascinated by the puzzle of how it was possible to place a quite sizeable model of a ship inside a narrow-necked bottle. One of my uncles, an ex-navy man, had a beautiful example in his house but he wouldn’t reveal the secret of how the thing was made.
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Baeckeoffe (bake oven) is a casserole dish that is typical in the French region of Alsace which is situated on the borders of Germany and Switzerland.
The stamp above is one from a booklet set of 12 self adhesive stamps on the subject of regional food specialities issued by France in 2010.
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Painted Ladies at Bransfield House, Port Lockroy??? Read on ……..
Port Lockroy is a sheltered harbour off the coast of Wiencke Island on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. Located at the meeting point of three seaways, it offers dramatic mountain and glacier views.
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The theatrical group Stage Commandos was born during World War II within the dockyards in Malta’s Cottonera locality. This theatrical group was formed purely to entertain the dock workers, keeping their morale high and positive. The workers themselves built a stage out of wooden boxes and soon the performances attracted audiences from the areas around the docks.
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1981 was proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations to be the International Year of Disabled Persons.
Although many countries issued stamps featuring various disabilities that year, they were by no means the first stamps issued regarding the subject.
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The 43rd International Circus Festival, held annually in Monaco, was celebrated in 2019 with acts from all over the world taking part. The Festival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo (International Circus Festival de Monte-Carlo) was created in 1974 by H.S.H. Prince Rainier III of Monaco (1923-2005) to promote circus arts – for which he had a lifelong passion.
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This article features four Norwegian rock music performers well known in Scandinavia but possibly not so well known in other parts of the world. In 2009 Norway issued a set of four stamps honouring their musical achievements. On the stamp above is rock singer and musician Jan Rohde, who was born on July 4 (US Independence Day), 1942 in New York, to Norwegian parents. At the age of 13, Rohde moved with his parents to Norway. From the age of 16 he performed with various bands, such as The Cool Cats. He toured Europe with the girl group The Melody Sisters. Later the group The Adventurers was formed – they were later renamed The Wild Ones. The group consisted mainly of Norwegian and Swedish musicians, but also made it big in Finland. Rohde died on October 9, 2005 in Hägersten, Stockholm.
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In the late 1970s a fascinating series of articles written by Mr. K. Kouwenberg about the history of Stamp Collecting, appeared in the Dutch magazine Philatelie. This series has been the source of inspiration for PostBeeld owner Rob Smit to rewrite the history of stamp collecting in instalments. This is Part 35, England in 1866.
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