Sunday stamps: Free choice or favourite stamp

This Sunday Stamps' theme is a free choice, or favourite stamp.

Of course it is impossible to choose only one favourite stamp. There are so many beautiful pictures, designs, colours!
Fortunately you can see some of my favourites on blog posts by Eva and by FinnBadger. And on and via this Sunday's Sunday Stamps!

Meanwhile I forced me to limit myself to two themes only. The first is 'Think Green', 2016's Europe Stamps theme. I think there is an urge to behave more 'green', to cherish ecology, and the Europe stamps make us a bit more aware of this.
All-over Europe the same design is shown slightly different. In future I hope to receive two chaincards with more Europe 2016 stamps, and I'm looking forward to show them here, then.
Today it is the Italian version which I love to share with you:



The second theme concerns the ones who provide us with so much joy: mailmen (m/f)!

In Dutch a mailman is named 'postbode', which rhymes. So here is my tiny 'Ode to the Postbode':







And my favourite drawing, for it's simple but powerful design:



See more great stamps at Sunday Stamps and follow the links mentioned there!

In: from the United Kingdom

In juni 2014 arriveerden een vuurtoren en tram op dezelfde dag, dankzij John, vanuit Engeland, en een klein jaar later was dit weer het geval!
Boven zie je de vuurtoren van Bell Rock oftewel Inchcape, en hieronder de Llandudno & Colwyn Bay electrische tram.

In June 2014 a lighthouse and tram arrived on the same day, thanks to John, from the United Kingdom. Almost a year later the same happened!
Above you can see the Bell Rock aka Inchcape lighthouse. amd below the Llandudno & Colwyn Bay electric tram.



Deze keer kwam er nog een derde ansichtkaart bij, met een wat vreemd onderwerp: een stoel waarmee mensen in het water gedoopt werden?

This time a third postcard arrived, showing a peculiar subject: a chair by which people were dipped into the water!??



En alle drie weer met mooie postzegels met enkele van mijn favoriete onderwerpen: een treinstation, postvervoer, bruggen en taal (gebarentaal in dit geval).

The three of them showing nice stamps on the backside, among them some of my favourite subjects: train station, mail transport, bridges and language (sign language this time).
Thank you very much, John!







En niet te vergeten airmail/priority stickers.

And not to forget: air mail / priority stickers.

In: from the United Kingdom

Mail related cards and stamps always make my day. This maximum card showing mail transport (and see also the fine postmark and illustration on the stamp!) was sent by John from the UK, and definitely did do so.



An other day this envelope arrived, with even more postal things: a Pillar box,



And more pillar boxes:



And even pillar boxes on the stamps!



And finally (chronologically seen not finally, as I received it two months before the mail showed above) I'd like to share you this happy mailbox postcard:



Great 'food for postal lovers', isn't it?!

Thank you very much, John!

Sunday stamps: professions

This Sunday Viridian choose 'Professions and trades' as theme for Sunday Stamps.

The Brazilian post has issued beautiful stamps on professions in 2005 and 2006. Here you see the manicure (manicurist), sapateiro (shoemaker) and costureira (tailor).



In our country there's a nation wide 'flea market' on King's Day in April. On this day everyone can sell his/her old stuff, and of course buy, too, all for small amounts. Last April I was looking for something else, when I suddenly found an old stamp collection book. With many empty pages, and I bought it to use it to have my own stamps organized. But I also was happy to find some old stamps in some of the pages. Among them this one from former West Germany. It has been issued in 1971 to pay attention to safety measures (you can see seven others from this serie here). And the profession shown is an important one. Thanks to construction workers we have warm houses, roads etcetera. While their hard work isn't that easy nor safe.



Also in this old album I found this stamp from Indonesia. I'm not exactly sure what kind of fabric she is making, but I think we humans can't live without the beautiful products made by fabric / textile workers.



And an other old stamp has been issued in Romania. Concerning Post, one of the most important workers for us snail mail lovers :-)



Last month the Dutch post issued a so-called 'postset', containing three postcards and a special issued stamp sheet called 'beroepen en ambachten', which means 'professions and trades'. How coincidental!
The stamp sheet shows a beautiful compilation of illustrations of professions: a blacksmith, postman, hairdresser (barber) and wooden shoe maker. The illustrations have been created by Rien Poortvliet (1932-1995). He was famous for the general public for his beautiful illustrations of animals (among them horses), old Dutch sceneries and 'drawn stories', for instance about gnomes. However, there was dispute whether his creations were 'art' or not. He finally found recognition as an artist when a museum of his works was opened, in 1992.

In: from the United Kingdom

Deze kaart met toepasselijke postzegel ontving ik van John, die het bijzondere verhaal erbij schreef. In 1816 ontsnapte een leeuw uit 't circus. De leeuw viel vervolgens een van de paarden van de Exeter Mail postkoets aan. De koetsier en passagiers vluchtten een naburige herberg in. Inmiddels was de circuseigenaar gearriveerd, en het lukte hem om de leeuw in een schuur te jagen, en uiteindelijk ook om hem te vangen. Iedereen kwam met de schrik vrij, en de postkoets vervolgde zijn weg. Om slechts een paar minuten te laat in Londen aan te komen.

This card with suitable stamp I received from John, who wrote the amazing story on the back. In 1816 a circus lion escaped. The lion attacked on the horses of the Royal Mail couch from Exeter. The couchman and passengers fled into a nearby inn. Meanwhile the circus director arrived, who managed to corner the poor lion in some barn and to get him finally into a box. The coach continued on its way, and was only a few minutes late arriving in London.



De kaart is een reproductie van een op 31 juli 1984 uitgegeven postzegel, ontworpen door Keith Bassford en Stanley Paine, en gegraveerd door Czesław Słania.

The card is reproduced from a stamp designed by Keith Bassford and Stanley Paine, engraved by Czesław Słania, and issued by the Post Office on 31 July 1984.

Thank you very much, John, for this wonderful mail-postcard and stamp!