Sunday Stamps - geology

I couldn't believe how few geological themed stamps I have in my collection for this week's Sunday Stamps. 
I was about to admit defeat and just post a picture of a volcano, which I was sure would be featured on a Japanese stamp somewhere, when I stumbled upon this stamp from South Africa. 
It was one of a series of three issued in 1966 to commemorate the 5th anniversary of RSA. 
(I also have another one that is written in English, but this Africaans one has the least smudged cancellation mark)


Diamonds are close enough, I thought....







The discovery of diamonds in 1866 and their large-scale exploitation beginning in 1870, in the Kimberley area, initiated the transformation of South Africa from an agriculture-based economy to a mining- and industry-based one. The diamond rush, which made South Africa the world’s dominant producer of diamonds for 70 years, established a local need for technology and specialized equipment, thereby triggering the development of supporting industries, while the money it generated created the first pool of capital in the country. 

South Africa continues to produce significant quantities of mainly high-quality gem diamonds annually, and it ranks fifth overall in terms of world production. SA is the only country in the world where diamonds are extracted from both kimberlite pipes and dykes or fissures, as well as from both onshore and offshore (marine) alluvial deposits.

from the GeoTimes - you can read much more about South Africa's Geological Gifts here 

hearty good wishes

 for Postcards Friendship Friday, a card declaring true friendship

this type of poetry is not to my taste 

and I am not sure that sailboats, 

dependent on the fickle wind, 

is a perfect image of steady friendship and trust.

I wonder what occasion one might send this card to celebrate?

the back has an elaborately pretty art nouveau design with a variety of fonts  

Individuality is the touch that tells

Prince Message Cards (Buffalo NY)

Sunday Stamps - Lincoln

Inspired by the opening of the new film Lincoln

I thought I would share his image I found on these stamps from Rwanda.

In Canada the only non Canadian to appear on a stamp would be the reigning monarch - and apparently her heirs (as in the case of the Royal Wedding)

and these stamps from Togo celebrating 100 years of the end of slavery.

interestingly, these stamps have a "in memory of John F Kennedy 1917-1963'
which perhaps means that the re-issues were after November 1963.



there are more stamps here

Peace

a "colourpicture" linen postcard of the Peace Tower

 Postcard Friendship Friday

as bonus, we get a Mountie in scarlet!

The Peace Tower is a bell and clock tower that sits in the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings. 

It is also home to the Memorial Chamber directly above the porte-cochere, with stained glass windows and various other features illustrating Canada's war record such as the brass plates made from spent shell casings found on battlefields with the name of each of Canada's major conflicts during the First World War. The stone walls were originally to have been inscribed with the names of all Canada's servicemen and women who had died during the First World War but without enough space for all 66,000 names, it was later decided to place Books of Remembrance there instead.

light and dark

It was a day to be outside. The sun was shining, there was not a cloud in the sky and the air was a refreshing 8 or 9 degrees. So off I went to Oakville, to wander the streets and have a coffee and maybe buy something. It is about a 15 minute drive to downtown Oakville from downtown Burlington where I live, but the two towns are very different. For one thing Oakville is not ruining their downtown and waterfront tearing down single family homes and replacing them with 3-storey townhomes and  multi storey condos. But I digress.

I spent most of this sunny afternoon inside bookshops and antique stores and discovered an art exhibit that needed exploring. The annual World of Threads had just opened and that required more time spent indoors... though I did get to walk between the venues and take advantage of the fresh air and kick a few fallen leaves. Then I somehow spent $5.75 on a coffee and pastry. One really should learn to ask the prices first, but it was a non-descript, almost bare, bakery so one apparently expected a little less of it. To be fair, the spinach and cream cheese pastry was very good. Another difference between our towns is the lack of patios in Oakville, though I guess it wasn't quite warm enough for that.

I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Then very quickly it got darker and it felt like I should be heading home because everything would be closing. Except that it was only 4:30.

This is the one thing I do not like about the seasons that are not spring or summer.

Sunday Stamps - water

When I went to the stamp show a couple of weeks ago, I ended up buying one of those books that some collectors used to have with pages of stamp pictures that you added your own stamp to as your collection grew
and came away with about 1800 stamps all from before the 1970s and several from countries that no longer exist or have changed name (perhaps a few times) I haven't figured out what to do with them yet - the binder is massive and there are several empty pages.






so I searched through it for something water themed and found this example with this stamp from Guinea in West Africa celebrating the moon landing in 1969 - in English and French!

a stamp from 1963 of the Gougah Waterfall in Da Lat which is apparently Vietnam's premier honeymoon spot, though it seems "Hydropower plants and rampant deforestation appear to have doomed many popular waterfalls".  I found a few travel blog posts that expressed disappointment when they finally found these waterfalls. as for the stamp, I find the details a bit fuzzy and it is perhaps a little on the dark side.

and in memory of the recent floods from Hurricane (Superstorm) Sandy and Typhoon Son-Tinh (Ofel),

this Flood rescue stamp issued in in the UK Sept 2009

see more water at Viridian's Postcard Blog

all things bright

It has been rainy and overcast for several weeks now. Dull and Dreary.

So I was pleased to find these overly bright prepaid postcards at the post office. I still haven't figured out how each outlet decides whether to stock such cards, and every one I have come across have had different ones, which makes the search that much more fun.

in addition, I found this postcard from 1980 at the postcard show I went to last month.

I loved the bright colours, and the unopened bud at the top.

by artist Willyum Rowe

9-28-80
Here's a bouquet of flowers for you. Susan bought this card & others in Boston.
Polly is not coming home this weekend. First she's missed in 6 mos. She will be working at her block assoc. P_____ Fair.
Did you see Jasper John's flag painting that the Whitney just bought for $1 million?!
Love to auntie, from Billie

this last comment had a whiff of the scandalous to it, so I had to look up the painting (see link here)
at the time, it was the highest amount ever paid for a work of art from a living artist.

then I had to look up Hornell, NY as the card was addressed to a M E Sims at

Green Acres 51 

Hornell NY 14843

there is a Green Acres Mobile Home Park in Hornell established in 1965. then with a little more sleuthing (some might call it nosiness) I discovered a Gertrude Sims Callaghan obituary (just to tie in my postcards and gravestones) who was for "many years hostess at the Hornell Country Club".  she died at age 98 in 2000 leaving behind daughters Bonnie and Billie and was "predeceased by a sister, Mary Elizabeth Sims of Hornell". a little more nosiness sleuthing and I discovered that Billie's husband recently passed on at age 87.

I feel I've had a rather productive day! this is the most information I have ever found from a random postcard picked up in equal parts because of the pretty picture and the address. the card is that much more meaningful now.

If it is dreary where you are, I hope these flowers brought a little brightness to your day.

Sharing with Postcard Friendship Friday

grave post - pardes shalom

Another thing I noticed about this particular Jewish cemetery (admittedly, the only one I have spent any time in) were the personal tributes on the markers. I don't know if it is because this is a 20th century cemetery (it was created in the 1970s) and maybe this is a modern reflection, but I found it very touching to read these remembrances. They seemed to be a celebration of a life lived rather than the Victorian desperation of a reward in heaven.

above we have the traditional menorah for the woman and the Star of David for the man along with their relationships within their family - many listed as 'wife' 'mother', 'bubby' (in all its variant spellings) or 'grandmother' on down to aunt or sister etc.

but the personal memories were the most touching -                   "he sang whenever he had a chance"

I am sorry this one does not show up clearly (though it is more readable in in the photo editing site for some reason. click to embiggen)

"a man who believed in the beauty and power of music to create a world where people can live in peace, harmony and with justice and dignity for all"

"a woman who devoted her life to her community"

as we arrive at the time of year when many cultures are remembering and honouring their dead,
I would like to think that I would be remembered more for my life than my death.

see more honouring of the dead at Taphophile Tragics

Sunday Stamps - hobbies

as with any hobby, one must be creative....

does playing Angry Birds count as a hobby?                                                   how about playing junior hockey?

or building sandcastles?

or how about the I'd Rather Be Sailing in St Lucia idea?

get more hobby ideas here

grave post - Pardes Shalom

Last week, Halcyon and I went for a walk around the Pardes Shalom, a Jewish cemetery in the town of Maple just north of Toronto. It turned out to be much bigger than I expected, and in spite of the orderly rows, much more confusing to our uninitiated eyes to find our way around.

And, in looking up the history, I discovered that we missed a free walking tour! If only I had done the research as soon as I got home... though it is a long drive to go back.

Two things I noticed immediately that is different from many of the cemeteries I have wandered through recently is the neat rows with each grave facing the same direction and with the back of each stone including the surname. Maybe the names is not traditional but simply an accommodation to the fact that the entrance to this cemetery is at the western edge of the land, but it is a very nice feature. Also, the stones are pretty much all the same height with minor variations in the shapes - no one towers over the others or shows off with a large monument.

The Pardes Shalom Cemetery has been beautifully landscaped, which took five years, from 1972-77, to transform this former Christmas tree farm and gravel pit. Special attention was made to create a space that was as much for the living as for the dead. Had I gone on the walking tour I would now be able to tell you about the various species of the thousands of trees that were planted and the history of the land with the "attempts that have been made to promote the land's environmental health and the visual integrity of the cemetery".

What I can tell you is that there are 15,000 burials with most of the grounds filled with graves. Some of the plots once belonged to synagogues or burial societies while others were purchased directly from the cemetery. There was a variety of traditional and more modern graves, some were written on the front entirely in Hebrew, some had flowers, some had mementoes left. Almost all had stones left on top by those visitors who stopped by to remember them.

See more grave practices at Taphophile Tragics