Landscape Gardens

Date of Issue : 16 August 2016

Here is a beautiful set of  stamps for Garden Lovers featuring famous British landscape gardend. Royal Mail has issued a set of eight stamps to celebrate the splendid landscape gardens of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, on the 300th anniversary of his birth.

This stunning set of eight Special Stamps reveals the gardening icon‘s most notable works, which also happen to be some of the UK’s finest and most famous landscape gardens.

Lancelot “Capability” Brown is remembered as “the last of the great 18th-century artists” for his innovative approach to landscape gardening. He was nicknamed Capability for his habit of describing locations as having “great capabilities”.

The stamps capture some of the best-known surviving examples of his work, including the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland’s northern estate Alnwick Castle. Other featured locations are Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire; Longleat, Wiltshire; Compton Verney, Warwickshire; Highclere Castle, Hampshire; Berrington Hall, Herefordshire; Stowe, Buckinghamshire; and Croome Court, south Worcestershire.

Philip Parker, of the Royal Mail, said: “During his lifetime, ‘Capability’ Brown literally changed the face of Georgian England. By the time of his death he was known to have shaped or influenced around 250 landscapes

Stamps on Star Wars

 

Date of Issue : 20 October 20015

Royal Mail is going to release a special set of stamps to mark the release of new film from the Star Wars series.A set of 18 first-class stamps will be on sale from October 20, featuring a scene or character from the first six films and three from the new release, Star Wars: the Force Awakens.

Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Emperor, Boba Fett and a stormtrooper are included on the stamps, as well as new characters Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren.

The stamps are illustrated by British artist Malcolm Tween while a further six feature vehicles and spaceships from the series. Royal Mail said the stamps celebrate the British expertise behind the Star Wars films.

The first Star Wars film was released in 1977 and quickly spawned two follow ups; The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi in 1980 and 1983. Fans then had to wait a further 16 years before their next fix of Star Wars when The Phantom Menace was released followed by Attack of the Clones and then finally Revenge of the Sith in 2005.

Three films are now planned for release in December then 2017 and 2019.

Rugby World Cup 2015

 

Monaco Post  celebrates the eighth Rugby World Cup. The competition will take place from 18 September to 31 October in England and Wales.

New Zealand will defend their title against the world’s best teams, including France, who reached the final in 2011, and England, who will be playing on home turf.

England was chosen to host the competition in July 2009, beating rival bids from Italy, Japan and South Africa. The competition’s organizers, Rugby World Cup Limited, had recommended England to the International Rugby Board.

Of the 20 teams competing at the 2015 World Cup, 12 of them qualified by finishing in the top three places in their pools in the 2011 World Cup. The other eight teams qualified through regional competition. Of the 20 countries that competed in the previous World Cup in 2011, there was only one change – Uruguay replaced Russia.

Stamps from Royal Mail

To celebrate the great sports event Rugby World Cup, Royal Mail will issue a set of special stamps  and covers on 18th September 2015.

To be issued on : 18 September 2015

 

Alice in Wonderland on stamps…

 

Date of Issue  - 6 January 2015

2015 marks the 150th anniversary of the classic children’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, to celebrate this literary milestone, Royal Mail issued set  a set of stamps on 6 January  . Alderney Post will issue stamps on 6 February 2015.

 

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a series of stamps have been created to illustrate classic moments from the story.

Stamps from  Alderney Post

Date of Issue : 5 February 2015

This set consists of six items that depict different episodes from this fascinating story. The issue is to be released and put into circulation on the 5^th of February.Keith’s amazing imagination and brilliant illustration skills have resulted in a truly outstanding stamp set which brings to life many of the famous and fascinating characters created by Lewis Carroll that have enthralled children and adults across the decades.

Club News

KARNAPEX 2015

19 January 2015 - Day 4

Fourth and last day of exhibition observed as "Swatchchta Diwas" marked the culmination of four day long Philatelic Exhibition. Valediction ceremony was held in the evening in presence of Shri Vajubhai Vala, Hon’ble Governor of Karnataka.

On the occasion three special covers were released by Hon’ble Governor Shri Vajubhai Vala, Chief Postmaster General, Karnataka Circle, Shri M S Ramanujan and other guests on dais. The release function was followed by Prize Distribution.

Second Special Cover was on 100 Years of Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI).

Third cover was on 150 Years of Allahabad Bank. Allahabad Bank, a nationalised bank with its headquarters in Kolkata is the oldest joint stock bank in India. On 24th April 1865, a group of Englishmen at Allahabad founded Allahabad Bank. By the end of the 19th century it had branches at Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Nainital, Calcutta, and Delhi. Allahabad bank is celebrating 150 years of its establishment.

Ms. Sanvi Suresh (8 years) won Large Silver Medal and CPMG trophy for best exhibit in youth class for her one frame exhibit on ‘The Story of Penguins’.

Courtesy – Indian Philately Digest

Christmas stamps from Royal Mail

 

Date of Issue : 4 November 2014

Here is a beautiful miniature sheet  issued by  Royal mail for this year;s Christmas. This festive Miniature Sheet features all seven Special Stamps on a snowy background illustrated by Andrew Bannecker, bearing the words : Christmas 2014.

The Mint Stamps feature five tableaux: Collecting the Christmas Tree, Posting Christmas Cards, Building a Snowman, Carol Singing and Ice Skating. The first two tableaux also feature on the Large stamps, enabling a full range of seven values to be offered.

Collecting the Christmas Tree Second Class A father and his son (son and daughter in the Large version) trudge contentedly home in the snow, having picked up their tree in the run-up to Christmas.

Posting Christmas Cards First Class A robin, cheekily perched on top of a post box, watches as a girl and little boy (accompanied by another child in the Large version) pop in their Christmas cards.

Building a Snowman £1.28 Already sporting a carrot nose and hat and scarf in traditional Christmas colours red and green, a snowman is completed when a boy adds a twig arm.

  

Carol Singing £1.47 In the shimmering glow of a classic street lamp, a family sing a round of festive songs as the snow tumbles gently down.

 

Ice Skating £2.15 In the final stamp, a mother and daughter skate together hand in hand on a frozen pond with a suitably festive backdrop of pine trees.

Christmas 2014 Stamp Cards

The images on Christmas 2014 stamps really are incredibly festive, so they look even more Christmassy when enlarged in postcard size. 8 in set.

Great British Films on stamps….

 

Date of Issue : 13 May 2014

Royal Mail  launched its Great British Film Special Stamp issue to celebrate six key British movies produced since the Second World War. Accompanying the set is a four-stamp Miniature Sheet focusing on the work of the GPO Film Unit, which produced ground-breaking documentaries, animations and information films for the General Post Office in the 1930s and 1940s. The stamps feature following famous films.

A Matter of Life and Death (1946) - part fantasy and part romance, A Matter of life and Death stars David Niven in one of his greatest roles. The film tells the story of an RAF pilot who should have died but is caught between two worlds – the real and the after life.

Created by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, it was technologically very innovative, filmed in both black and white and colour, and was selected as the first Royal Command Film in 1946, attended by the King and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. It regularly appears in the top 20 lists of greatest British films of all time. The stamp shows Niven and Kim Hunter.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - starring the late Peter O’Toole, Lawrence of Arabia won seven Academy Awards (Oscars), four BAFTAs and five Golden Globes.

The film is regarded as director David Lean’s masterpiece and features an impressively powerful performance by O’Toole, which made him an international star. The film has a global following and was selected as the best epic movie ever by the American Film Institute. Peter O’Toole agreed to appear on the stamp shortly before his death last year.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - categorised as science fiction, 2001: A Space Odyssey has multiple interpretations and has won generations of fans. It is frequently listed in polls of the top ten greatest movies of all time. American director Stanley Kubrick was a committed anglophile. He moved to the UK in the early 1960s and went on to make all of his films in the UK using British studios. The screenplay co-writer was British author Sir Arthur C Clarke.

Chariots of Fire (1981) – directed by Hugh Hudson, this is the multiple Oscar and BAFTA winning story of two athletes who competed in the 1924 Olympics. It is regarded as one of the greatest sports films of all time, and highly rated by critics and in the top 20 greatest British Films, as polled by film experts at the British Film Institute.

Nigel Havers, who played Lord Andrew Lindsay in the film said: “Making Chariots of Fire was fantastic fun. The training was quite tough but it was definitely worth it in the end. It was great to be part of such an iconic film and the essence of the film has been captured with the image used. I will make sure I use the stamp on every letter I send in future!”

Secrets & Lies (1996) – directed by Mike Leigh, Secrets & Lies won two BAFTAs and the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, where Brenda Blethyn also won the Best Actor award for her brilliant performance. The critically acclaimed drama is Leigh’s most commercially successful film and its performances are regarded as among the best in any film in recent years. The stamp shows Blethyn and co-star Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

Bend It Like Beckham (2002) – directed by Gurinder Chadha, the film topped the UK box office on release. It made stars out of its lead actors Keira Knightley and Parminder Nagra, and was an international smash hit, winning a host of awards including best film at the British Comedy Awards. The movie was the first western made film to be shown on North Korean TV, and a stage version is in production.

The immortal Night Mail (1936) film is marked with a stamp for the first time, WH Auden’s verse and Benjamin Britten’s music immortalised the story of the nightly journey of the “postal special” from Euston to Glasgow. Directed by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, Night Mail helped lay the tracks for innumerable day-in-the-life “story documentaries”.

A Colour Box (1935), New Zealander Len Lye’s delirious animated short was created by painting bright, abstract shapes directly onto celluloid. The paint was then combed and textured so that it appeared to “dance” along with the musical soundtrack. It is regarded as one of the most significant films in the history of animation.

Love on the Wing (1938) was the breakthrough film of the Scottish animator Norman McLaren. A graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, McLaren had begun by scratching images onto celluloid; by the time of Love on the Wing, his hand-drawn animation overlaid complex coloured backgrounds. The film’s images, which include a man who sprouts wings, a giant floating eye, two pairs of lips, a flying bone, a skull, a horse and an axe, suggest the influence of the London International Surrealist Exhibition of 1936. McLaren spent the majority of his post-war career working at the National Film Board of Canada. 2014 marks the centenary of McLaren’s birth.

Spare Time (1939) made for the New York World Fair of 1939, Spare Time directed by Humphrey Jennings offers up a picture of after-work Britain. It shows how people in Sheffield, Manchester and Pontypridd fit an incredible panoply of musical, sporting and leisure enthusiasms around the rhythms of the steel, cotton and coal industries. British director Lindsay Anderson described Jennings as “the only true poet of the English cinema”.

Titanic on new British stamps

 

Titanic and Royal Mail are closely interlinked, as the ship was commissioned to carry mail and so the letters RMS (Royal Mail Ship) were used in the ship’s name. On 10 April 1912, when the grand new White Star Line liner set sail from Southampton on its maiden voyage to New York with 2,223 people on board, travelling among them were two British postal workers together with three counterparts from the US Postal Service. There is evidence that they valiantly tried to save the mail when the Titanic  collided with an iceberg four days later, but all five individuals were among the 1,522 people who perished when she sank.

Titanic Remembered 1912–2012 - Hardback Book The story of Titanic still has the power to enthrall . It comes in a presentation case and tells the ship’s story through first-hand accounts, an audio CD, facsimiles of memorabilia and a DVD including archive footage.

The Commemorative Sheet, carries ten first-class stamps, each with the ‘crown seal’ Smiler® stamp and a label alongside featuring a variety of images of the Titanic story, such as her construction in the dockyards, the launch, the crew, White Star Line publicity, a The New York Times headline and the public enquiry that followed the disaster. The sheet background shows the White Star Line emblem at the top and a Titanic picture below the stamps. This is a truly glorious commemorative collection and one to be treasured for years to come.

Read More..

Club News

Two Sets of Picture Post Cards are made available at Bangalore GPO.

 

The first set Heritage Bangalore  has 10 nostalgic post cards housed in a small boxed folder. priced at Rs 35/- .The second set is on 100 years of Indian Cinema which contains 6 post cards . These are the reproduce of the 6 miniature sheets, housed in a small envelope. priced at Rs. 30/- .

- Suresh Rao , Bangalore ; Ashwani Dubey - Gorakhpur

Buckingham Palace on new stamps by Royal Mail

 

Date of Issue : 15 April 2014

The Royal Mail released a 10-stamp set of images celebrating the palace, which has been the official London residence of British sovereigns since 1837.The Mint Stamps feature six glorious paintings of Buckingham Palace down the centuries, ranging from Adriaen van Diest’s study of c.1700 to Chris Draper’s new work in water colour and gouache, which was specially commissioned by Royal Mail.

Buckingham Palace serves as the official home of the Queen as Head of State of the United Kingdom. It is one of the few remaining working royal palaces in the world today and provides the setting for ceremonies and formal entertaining. Investitures, state banquets, garden parties and diplomatic receptions all take place here, as does the Prime Minister’s weekly audience with the Queen. It is arguable one of the most recognized buildings in the world.

 

Club News

Special Cover on Jainism

A special cover will be released on Mahavir Jayanti at Mumbai on 19th April 2014. The invitation for cover release ceremony is given here with details.

: Kapil Gogri, Mumbai

Forthcoming stamp issues by India  Post

: Sreejesh Krishnan -Trivandrum

Royal Mail commemorates Noor Inayat Khan

 

Indian theme on foreign stamps

Date of Issue : 25 March 2014

Noor Inayat Khan,The woman of Indian origin worked for a secret organisation started by Winston Churchill

Britain’s Royal Mail has issued a postage stamp of Noor Inayat Khan, World War II heroine, who fought fascism and died in the Dachau concentration camp.

The stamp — part of a set of 10 stamps in the ‘Remarkable Lives’ series — honours Noor on her centenary year. Other honoured in the set include actor Sir Alec Guinness and poet Dylan Thomas.

“I am that Royal Mail has commemorated Noor with a stamp,” said Shrabani Basu, author of Spy Princess, The Life of Noor Inayat Khan, and the Chair of the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust. “It will ensure that her sacrifice and bravery will not be forgotten.”

Ms Basu campaigned for a memorial for Noor which was unveiled in November 2012 by Princess Anne.

Noor Inayat Khan was born in Moscow in January 1914 to an Indian father, Hazrat Inayat Khan and an American mother, Ora Ray Baker. The couple had met in the Ramkrishna Mission ashram in America. Hazrat Inayat Khan was a Sufi preacher and musician, and travelled the world taking Sufism to the West.

Noor was brought up in Paris and the family moved to London when Paris was occupied by the Germans in 1940 during WW II. Noor joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and was later recruited for the Special Operations Executive, a secret organisation started by Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

She was the first woman radio operator to be flown undercover to Paris. She worked from there for three months under the code name Madeleine. However she was betrayed, arrested and finally executed in the Dachau concentration camp in Germany.

Though she was tortured and interrogated, she revealed nothing, not even her real name. Her last word as they shot her was “Liberte”! She was only 30.

Noor was awarded the highest honour, the George Cross, by Britain. France awarded her theCroix de Guerre.

In 2006, President Pranab Mukherjee, then the Defence Minister, paid an official visit to Noor’s family house outside Paris and described her bravery and sacrifice as “inspirational”.

Read More..

‘India should issue stamp of WW II hero Noor Inayat’

London, March 25
As Britain's Royal Mail today issued a stamp of Indian-origin World War II heroine Noor Inayat Khan, campaigners called for India to bestow a similar honour on the famous spy in her centenary year.

The stamp - part of a series called 'Remarkable Lives' - honours Noor, a descendant of Tipu Sultan, along with nine others including actor Sir AlecGuinness and poet Dylan Thomas.

"It would be fitting if India too honoured Noor Inayat Khan in her centenary year with a stamp," said Shrabani Basu, chair of the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust and author of "Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan".

"Though she was brought up in Paris, Noor identified strongly with her Indian roots," said Basu who led the campaign to build a memorial for Noor in London which was unveiled by Britain's Princess Anne in November 2012. Her book is now being made into a film.

"Noor believed firmly in Indian independence and frankly told her British officersthat after the war was over, she would back India's freedom struggle. Sadly she did not live to see India's independence," said Basu. Noor was born in Moscow in 1914 to an Indian father, Hazrat Inayat Khan and an American mother, Ora Ray Baker.

Her father was a Sufi preacher and musician and left his home town of Baroda to take Sufism to the west. He met Noor's mother at the Ramakrishna Mission while on a lecture tour in California.

Hazrat Inayat Khan was a descendant of Tipu Sultan, the famous 18th-century ruler of the kingdom of Mysore. Noor was brought up in Paris and the family moved to London just before Paris fell to the Germans in 1940 during the Second World War. She was the first woman radio operator to be flown undercover to Paris and worked from there for three months under the code name Madeleine. — PTI

The woman spy

• The stamp - part of a series called 'Remarkable Lives' - honours Indian-origin World War II heroine Noor Inayat Khan, a descendant of Tipu Sultan, along with nine others

• Noor joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force in London and was later recruited for the Special Operations Executive, a secret organisation started by British PM Winston Churchill

• She was the first woman radio operator to be flown undercover to Paris and worked from there for three months under the code name Madeleine

• She was betrayed, arrested and executed in the infamous Dachau concentration camp in Nazi Germany

- Tribune 26 March 2014

New stamps from Royal Mail..

 

Classic Locomotives

Date of Issue : 20 February 2014

Royal mail issued a miniature sheet featuring classic locomotives.

The delightful, bilingual Miniature Sheet features all four Classic Locomotives of Wales stamps, together with a dramatic photograph of the BR Class 5101 2-6-2T No. 4126 as it crosses the Crumlin Viaduct with a passenger train in 1963 in its border.

LMS No. 7720 First Class

Built in 1895 at the Crewe Works for the London and North Western Railway, the LMS “coal tank” is pictured leaving Britannia Bridge, pulling a Bangor-to-Holyhead local train in around 1930.

Hunslet No. 589 Blanche 78p

This stamp shows Blanche at the Pen Cob Halt on the Ffestiniog Railway in 1964. The locomotive was originally made for the Penrhyn Slate Quarry by the Leeds based Hunslet Engine Company. The narrow gauge Ffestiniog railway took slate to the harbour at Porthmadog.

W&LLR No. 822 88p

The Earl Photographed waiting for a car to be moved from the line on Welshpool’s Union Street in 1953, The Earl was constructed for the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway in 1902.

BR 5600 No. 5652 £1.28

The BR 5600 freight engine was designed by the Great Western Railway company to transport goods across its massive rail network. The stamp shows the loco pulling coal at Cwmbargoed in 1959.

British Flora

Date of Issue : 19 February 2014

Another set of stamps issued by Royal Mail on 19th February 2014 feature some varieties of British Flora. This is under the series Pictorial Post & Go Stamps by Royal Mail. The six Spring Blooms Post & Go Stamps are printed in a vertical strip and overprinted with First Class values. They are brought on a carrier complete with fascinating facts about each of these beautiful but in some cases declining species.

Primrose

Walk into a clearing in the woods and you could well be pleasantly surprised by a colony of primroses, for a sheltered spot between the trees is one of their favored habitats, as well as parks and churchyards. According to folklore, these lemon-yellow flowers with their heart-shaped petals – which flower from February to May – will grow red if watered with bullock’s blood or planted upside down on Good Friday.

Snowdrop

Haunting woods, meadows, parks and churchyards, these delicate lantern-shaped blooms encapsulate, for many, the beginning of spring. From the Amaryllidaceae family, they are in flower in February and March. A symbol of hope and purity, the snowdrop is traditionally dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Lesser Celandine

Catch these bright yellow star-like flowers on a sunny spring day and you will be in for a treat, for they open wide in the sunshine. Spot them in woods and hedgerows and on road verges and the banks of streams from March to May. “Local” names for the celandine include “goldy knob”, “filding cup” and “golden guinea”.

Common Dog Violet

From April to June, these rich purple flowers bloom across Britain’s woods, downlands and grass heaths. From the Violaceae family, dog violets are widespread throughout the British Isles.

Wild Daffodil

The iconic bright yellow flower that famously inspired William Wordsworth blooms from February to April, and is seen in coppice and open woodland. Its Latin name, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, is said to have come from the Greek mythological figure Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. The daffodil’s trumpet shaped center is seen as the head of Narcissus bending down while he admires his face in the water. Daffodils are traditionally meant to first flower on St David’s Day – 1 March.

Blackthorn

Forming hedgerows and scrub, the white flowers of this very spiny shrub are in bloom from March to May. Come the autumn, the blackthorn produces sloes – those plump, purple berries that are used, of course, to make sloe gin.

Christmas 2013 stamps from Royal mail…

 

Date of Issue : 5 November 2013

Here are new stamps  issued by Royal Mail for this year’s Christmas. Royal Mail has been issuing Christmas Stamps every year since 1966, and  they are now a much-loved part of the festive season. Royal Mail has chosen  a Madonna and Child theme for Christmas 2013. These have been created using details taken from Madonna and Child paintings down the ages and across many cultures, including the newly commissioned Neo-Coptic style stamp, painted by Fadi Mikhail. The other two stamps shown above feature paintings by children selected from a Christmas stamp design competition of children between 4 –11.

Date of Issue : 5 November 2013

 

The Miniature Sheet features all seven Christmas Stamps, which include Large First and Second Class values, all set on a glorious golden border that echoes the iconic backgrounds typical of Madonna and Child depictions from down the ages and across many cultures.

Second Class and Second Class Large Stamp
In Antoniazzo Romano’s Virgin and Child with the young St John the Baptist (c.1460–80), in the Early Renaissance style, Mary holds Jesus on her left arm and points towards him with her right, indicating that he is the way to salvation.

First Class and First Class Large Stamp
In Madonna and Child (c.1520), painted in the High Renaissance style, Francesco Granacci depicts the Virgin in her traditional garments of red and blue, earthly and divine, while the bird in Christ’s hand alludes to the coming Passion.

88p Stamp
Jacques-Louis David’s St Roch Praying to the Virgin for an End to the Plague (1780), which is painted in the Neoclassical style, is a deeply Catholic painting, depicting the Virgin Mary in her role as protector and intercessor.

£1.28 Stamp
In La Vierge au Lys (1899), painted in the French Academic style by William- Adolphe Bouguereau, the Virgin and Child are enthroned, with Jesus held close by his mother, his outstretched arms suggestive of the crucifixion to come.

£1.88 Stamp
In Theotokos, Mother of God by Fadi Mikhail, which is painted in the Neo-Coptic style, Christ’s white tunic indicates his divinity, while the Virgin Mary’s blue mantle likens her to the sky, as in the icon of The Flight into Egypt.