Sweet Tales on Postcards

The Tale of Tom Kitten

These two postcards arrived together last week. One from Bryon (the USA), and the other one from Esther (the Netherlands), through Postcrossing. 

Both are Beatrix Potter illustrations, and both are more or less related to clothes. What a coincidence!

The Tailor Mouse

Let Us Enter the Enchanted World of Stamps

Someone at the post office did not read the message and penstroke the stamps of this letter sent by Alan (the UK).

And another one, still to be replied...

Happy New Year, or Christmas, or...

It is never too late to wish a Happy New Year! Especially with a nice postcard like this one sent by Bryon (the USA), with its matching stamp:

As a bonus... some Christmas decorations printed on the back (?!):

Everything Is Pussyble

Altered card I sent last year, to celebrate the International Women's Day.

Sunday Stamps | St. James' Way

The Route of Santiago de Compostela is an extensive interconnected network of almost 1500-km-long pilgrimage routes in Spain whose ultimate destination is the tomb believed to be that of the Apostle James the Greater in Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia. Its discovery in the 9th century was of immense importance for the Christian world, and Compostela soon became a place of Christian pilgrimage comparable in importance to Jerusalem and Rome. 

The site includes a built heritage of historical importance created to meet the needs of pilgrims, including cathedrals, churches, hospitals, hostels and even bridges. The four Northern Routes (Primitive, Coastal, Interior of the Basque Country-La Rioja, and Liébana) are at the origin of the Jacobean pilgrimage.

Since 1937, there have been many Spanish stamps dedicated to this World Heritage Site. The stamp above is one of the most recent (2020), and belongs to a booklet dedicated to the Liébana route. The stamp below, is one of the booklet of the Primitive Route, issued in 2019. 

In 2018 the booklet of the Coastal Route was issued. The last booklet (Basque Country-La Rioja Route) is expected this year).

This is a 2016 stamp dedicated to St. James' Way in general. I have sent it many times!

One from 2012 featuring the almost 1000-years-old cathedral of Santiago, the end point of the pilgrimage:

Have you noticed that yellow symbol? It represents a scallop shell: the traditional emblem of St James the Great. Medieval Christians would collect a scallop shell while at Compostela as evidence of having made the journey. Its origin as a symbol is connected with several legends. In French the mollusc itself  is called coquille St. Jacques. In German, they are Jakobsmuscheln – literally "James' shellfish". In Dutch the shell also is named after the saint: Sint Jacob’s schelp (schelp = 'shell').

You can find it on these stamps, dedicated to two Galician provinces...

This is a post for Sunday Stamps. Today's theme is World Heritage Sites.

More Castles on Postcards

More beautiful castles on postcards received thanks to the Postcrossing site:

Medieval Festival at Orlík Castle
Sent by Martin (Czech Republic)

Pérouges
Sent by Jean-Jaques (France)

Take Care of This Postcard

Kept Until Needed

Postcard sent by Bryon (the USA). I am going to keep it... But I hope I would never need it!

Coronation Street

"Be nice if every day I have left
would be like this."

Coronation Street is a British soap opera  shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. More than 10,000 episodes! And I am afraid I have never seen any of them. Now I feel curious!

The stamps were issued on 28 May 2020. I found the first stamp very positive.

"I can't abide to see people gossiping."

See the whole set here.

Bearded Mail

Call me Ishmael
Melville, Moby Dick

This postcard sent by Bryon arrived with matching stamps:

And still another bearded man in the mail arrived the same day!

Have I Already Said the World Needs More Scientists?

Mamie Phipps-Clark(1917-1983)
Psychologist and Civil Rights Activist
"I began to think that a crucial part of children's lives,
no matter what happens, has to be a degree of 
security and acceptance."

Maria Goeppert-Mayer (1906-1972)
Theoretical Physicist
"When you love science, all you really want is to keep working"

Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000)
Inventor and Film Actress
"[My father] made me understand that I must make my own
decisions, mold my own character, think my own thoughts."

Dorothy Hodgkin (1910-1994)
Biochemist and X-ray Crystallographer
"I was captured for life by chemistry and by crystals."

The last one arrived with the Innovation stamps and First Day pictorial postmark (also on this post):

Global Mail Monsters

These stamps have landed in my friend Bryon's mailbox during the last week: pen strikes on stamps from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Some questions arise here. Like... 

Who makes the scribbles? How long does it take to find a pen, hold up the delivery process and do the deed? At the source post office? The destination post office? What is going through the postal workers mind when they inscribe the scribbles? Are they some kind of person who think the worlds economy will be cheated by the possibility an uncancelled stamp could be used a second time?

 And, especially: Is there any country Mail Monsters free?

It Is Still (and Always!) Knitting Time

Card sent by Phillip (the USA). The illustration is derived from the drawing that accompanied a knitting needles patent from 1937.

I think the stamps, featuring Ruth Asawa's wire sculptures match really well! (More information about these stamps). I have got the whole lot!

Where There Is Tea

Wonderful envelope sent by Fabienne (France).

And, besides a letter, some surprises inside. Like:

Sunday Stamps | Green Creatures

 Sunday Stamps is featuring today Green stamps. I found some green creatures in my collection...

Green birds

 The USA, 2016

Green reptiles

The USA, 2019
(More information about these stamps)

Green insects

Belarus, 2016

Green Flowers

The USA, 2007

Green Superheroes

The UK, 2019