ESTONIA 2013 - Birth centenary of the singer Raimond Valgre

 Raimond Valgre (7 October, 1913 – 31. 12. 1949, Tallinn) was born in the family of a shoemaker in Riisipere in North-Western in Estonia. He became one of the best known Estonian song writers whose songs are known throughout the country. As a child he took fancy in the violin but her mother decided that he should learn the piano instead. Later he played the accordion, guitar and drums in different bands and groups. During his lifetime he wrote nearly a hundred songs and most of them were about nature and love. During World War II, he was a member of the orchestra of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps of the Red Army, and as a result of his service on the Eastern Front he became an alcoholic after the war. His music was banned in 1948 by the Soviet authorities. The revival of Valgre's compositions began in the Soviet Union of the 1960s. A biographical feature film about Valgre Need vanad armastuskirjad ("Those Old Love Letters") was shot in 1992.

AGION OROS ATHOS 2013 - MINIATURES - DECORATIONS of ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS A'

 

0,40 €  H.M. OF CHILANDARI : Tetra - evangelium (17th cent.)

0,50 €  H.M. OF IVERON : Tale of Varlaam and Joasaph (13th cent.)

0,62 €  H.M. OF MEGISTE LAVRA : Sticherarion (17th cent.)

0,78 €  H.M. OF VATOPAIDI : Octateuch (13th cent.)

0,85 €  H.M. OF DIONYSIOY : Psalter (14th cent.)

2,00 €  PROTATON : Tetra - evangelium (10th cent.)

COVER: GEORGIA

GREECE 2013 - SAILING TOURISM

 

Greece. A magical place, famous and loved for its many and varied attractions, has in recent years welcomed sailing enthusiasts from every corner of the globe, particularly during te summer, when the Aegean and Ionian fill with white sails hailed as the best in the world for yachting, while Greece is one of the sunniest regions in the temperate zone.
The growth of marine tourism has also been boosted by regattas, purely competitive in origin, which over the years have become major yachting events! To celebrate this important aspect of Greek culture, Hellenic Post issued the Commemorative Set of "Sailing Tourism".

GREECE 2013 - 2.400 SINCE THE FOUNDING OF PLATO'S ACADEMY

 

This year marks the 2.400th anniversary of the founding of Plato's Academy, a uniquely important event in the history of Philosophy and the intellectual development of mankind. Plato's Academy was the first free University, a unique space for study, education and dialogue, which gathered together philosophers, orators, politicians and ordinary citizens, who went there in order to learn, discuss, debate and experiment. Philosophy, Political Science and Astronomy all flourished there, while important research was also carried out in the field of  Mathematics and Geometry.

COVER: CANADA

MAURITIUS 2013 - Sites & Monuments

COVER: MALAYSIA

Taylor Swift Joins the Cast of ‘The Giver’

Taylor Swift is the latest addition to the cast of Phil Noyce’s “The Giver.”


The Weinstein Company and Walden Media’s adaptation of Lois Lowry’s 1993 YA novel stars Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges. Streep will play Chief Elder, while Bridges will be the title character.

Brenton Thwaites, Katie Holmes, Alexander Skarsgard, Odeya Rush and Cameron Monaghan round out the cast of the dystopian drama.
 
Taylor will play Rosemary, the last teen mentored by The Giver before he meets Jonas.

http://variety.com/2013/film/news/taylor-swift-joins-the-cast-of-the-giver-1200673794/




photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

COVER: CANADA

COVER: USA

Katy Perry hoping for Bruno Mars collaboration

Speaking to E! News, the 28-year-old Perry said: ''I've always said I'd wanna collaborate with Rihanna, but I'd love to collaborate with Bruno Mars. I always say, 'When I grow up, I wanna be the female version of Bruno Mars', cause he's so wildly talented in showing everybody that he has so much diversity in him.''

read more http://www.rte.ie/ten/news/2013/0924/476086-katy-perry-hoping-for-bruno-mars-collaboration/

COVER: UK - SWANSEA - WALES

FAROES 2011 - Europa 2011- Forests

Forest Growth on the Faroe Islands
Forests - not exactly what one associates with the Faroe Islands - rather the contrary. The North Atlantic archipelago is known for its treeless appearance. Climatic and geographic conditions, human influence and centuries of sheep-breeding have left the islands practically treeless.

Forests of the Past
But it has not always been that way. If we go back to the volcanic period millions of years ago, we note that there have been periods of extensive forest growth. Charred wood residues, and prints from leaves and needles are found in the coal strata in Suðuroy and Mykines. These finds indicate more favorable times on the mini-continent, which the current Faroe then were part of. Cypress, yew and juniper, giant sequoia and various kinds of deciduous trees - it's hard to imagine today.

After the Ice Age and the Settlement
When the Faroes were colonized, there were some natural woods on the islands. The only indigenous conifer was juniper, which is thought to have been quite common back then. Today this wood only appears in its original form, on the island Svínoy, but we have found roots of juniper in the peat layers on other islands as well.

Of deciduous trees were Dwarf Willow, Woolly Willow and Arctic Willow quite widespread, but Woolly Willow and the Arctic Willow are almost extinct because of the extensive sheep farming.

Birch has also grown wildly in the Faroe Islands since the last ice age, but rather dispersed - and disappeared after the colonization.

We also know that hazel has grown in the Faroe Islands around year 1000, but whether it was a native Faroese tree or it was planted by the early settlers, is uncertain. The hazel tree disappeared again around the 13th century when the climate became colder.

Plantations
There has, through time, probably always been a few trees at farms and in gardens on the Faroes, but not in any large scale. In 1885 there was an attempt to replant trees on a large scale outside Tórshavn, but this failed. In 1903 they tried again and this time it worked. This plantation became what we today call “Viðarlundin” in Tórshavn - a recreational area in a valley, which today is centrally located near Tórshavn City. In 1969 the plantation was expanded and again in 1979, and is now the biggest "forest" in the Faroes. Besides the plantation is also a grove surrounding the former TB sanatorium in Hoydalar, now high school, and on the field called Debesartrøð, where the Provincial Library and the Faroese University is located.

In December 1988 a violent hurricane-ravaged the islands. Wind speeds were up over 60 meters per second and the hurricane caused extensive damage on houses and trees. A very large proportion of the trees in the Plantation in Tórshavn were destroyed in the hurricane winds. The subject of the 10 DKK stamp depicts a cluster of these trees which are still lying on an incline. Extensive work has since been done to restore the plantation, and today it appears as a very beautiful area with young and old trees.

Besides in Tórshavn more plantations were planted in the early 20th century on the surrounding islands. In 1913, for example, the almost equally famous plantation in the small settlement Selatræ was planted, and the following year the plantation in the village Kunoy, which is depicted on the 12 DKK stamp. The plantation in Kunoy was originally larger than it is today, 17,000 square metres were planted - but today only approx. 7,800 square metres are covered by trees, and the grove is thus the smallest plantation in the islands. One oddity of the plantation in Kunoy is that it is planted around a giant rock, which in ancient times probably has fallen from the mountain Urðarfjall above the plantation. The rock, called Eggjarsteinur, can also be seen on the stamp.

There have since been planted several groves around the Faroes. In Vágur and Tvøroyri on Suðuroy - in the villages Miðvágur and Sandavágur on Vágoy - in Mikladalur on Kalsoy - and also the beautiful park, "Uti í Grøv", by the city Klaksvík on Borðoy.

ICELAND 2011 - Snæfellsnes National Park

The theme of the joint issue of 11 small nations in Europe (SEPAC) is landscape. The motif of the Icelandic stamps in this third and last issue is Snæfellsjökull (Snæfell Glacier) National Park. Former motifs for the Icelandic SEPAC stamps were Jökulsárgljúfur and Skaftafell. SEPAC stands for Small European Postal Administration Cooperation. This cooperation is primarily concerned with issuing postage stamps but also includes sales and marketing. Snæfellsjökull National Park was founded by a legislation on nature conservation in June 2001 and is the fourth national park in Iceland. The area is characterized by its extremely diverse geology. Formerly it was the site of hectic activity with up to 60 fishing boats and 300-400 seamen during the fishing season. Among the the books that have carried the name of Snæfellsjökull around the world is the novel by French author Jules Verne „Journey to the Centre of the World“.

 

Colonial Heritage - Emerging Identity - 2011 AUSTRALIA

This stamp issue is the second in a four-year series titled Colonial Heritage, developed to commemorate Australia's philatelic history. It focuses on emerging colonial identity, representing the shift in colonial thinking, reflecting a greater sense of belonging in the "new" homeland.

While once colonists had defined thenselves by their cultural proximity to Britain, the maturity of Australian-born generations, temporal distance, economic griwth and political development all helped shape a sense of distinctiveness from Britain. The colonies growing self-confidence was expressed through their readiness to grasp and mirror local symbols, such as flora and fauna. Queen Victoria would continue to feature in stamp designs throughout the 19th century, but increasingly she shared this small visual space with a constellation of local images. This stamp issue represents that shift in colonial thinking, reflecting a greater sense of belonging in the "new" homeland.

Kangaroo and Lyrebird
The kangaroo and the lyrebird originally featured in stamps marking the 1888 centenary of New South Wales, the first adhesive commemorative stamp issue to be released worldwide. The kangaroo, flanked by the Sydney flannel flower, was in a one shilling (1/-) brown design; the lyrebird, bordered with waratahs and honeysuckle, was in an eight pence (8d) magenta design. The other Australian colony to feature a kangaroo was South Australia, using it in a blue two-and-a-half (2½d) stamp design released in 1894.

Black Swan and Southern Cross
The Black Swan has a strong place in Western Australia's philatelic heritage. It remained the central motif of the colony's stamps from its first issue, in 1854, until stamp production was transferred to the Commonwealth in 1902. The Southern Cross featured on many Australian colonial stamps, the first of which was the five shilling (5s) New South Wales medallion stamp of 1861. This resonant symbol of the south also appeared in the designs of one Western Australian stamp, six Victorian stamps and four New South Wales designs, including stamp duty and charity designs.

GREECE 2006 FDC: PATRA - EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE

EXCUSE ME, MISS

COVER: CANADA

GREECE 2006 FDC: GREEK MUSEUMS