Sunday Stamps | Queen's Birthday

I got this letter last week from Alan (the UK). This sheet was issued by Royal Mail on 4 August 2000, and commemorates  Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's 100th Birthday.

Today's theme in Sunday Stamps is Heads of State. On the sheet you can see Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II (head of a couple of states...) and heads-of-state-to-be Prince Charles and Prince William. 

The not-so-new and controversial Machine code stamps included on the envelope feature also a head of state(s):

No Paper in Heaven

«"I el pare?", em vaig atrevir a preguntar tres mesos més tard. "Quan tornarà, el pare?" La Gertrude s'estava a la butaca a prop de la llar de foc amb una copeta de xerès a la mà. Em va mirar fixament i sense canviar de postura em va respondre: "No ho farà, petita. El pare no tornarà". "Per què?" "Perquè s'ha mort." "Què vol dir que s'ha mort?" "Que ha deixat de viure." "I ara on viu?" "Al cel." "I quan m'enviarà una carta?" "Al cel no hi ha paper." "Vaja... doncs... si no hi ha paper..."»


Natàlia Romaní, La història de la nostàlgia

Past Summer

 

Postcard sent by Julia (the UK) throught the Postcrossing site.

Selfless

I got this postcard from Belarus through the Postcrossing site, but I have not idea what it means. There is no clue on the back. бескорыстный means 'selfless'. 

A Whole Country on a Postcard!

Canada

Poland

Taiwan

Postcards sent by Bryon (Canada) and Łukasz (Poland) and Sara (Taiwan). 

By the way, the Taiwanese postcard was posted on 20 February 2021 and arrived on 29 June 2022. That I call slow mail! 

Can you appreciate the postmark on the stamp?

Sunday Stamps | George Morrison

Sun And River (1949)

Phenomena Against the Crimson:
Lake Superior Landscape (1985)

George Morrison (1919 –  2000) was an Ojibwe landscape painter and sculptor from Minnesota. These colourful stamps featuring his works were issued by USPS on 22 April 2022.

Spirit Path, New Day, Red Rock Variation: 
Lake Superior Landscape (1990)

Lake Superior Landscape (1981)

To see more 2022 stamps, go to Sunday Stamps!

Update: Some months later, I got the missing stamp from this set!

Untitled (1995)

Creative Envelopes and Favourite Stamp

I really appreciate Rosemary's envelopes and her choice of stamps!

I usually like all the stamps. But the following, since I saw it on the net, become an instant favourite for several reasons...

Code Stamps/Labels

I have read a lot of bad opinions about these not-so-new code stamps form the UK, France, Germany...

Seriously? Have a look at the labels of the Spanish postal service...

A Letter Is a Gift

Front and back of an envelope sent to Imma (PC). Idea taken from here.

Still Waiting for the Real Summer...

Letter sent by Phillip (the USA).

Sunday Stamps | Vietnamese Buildings

One-pillar Pagoda, Ba Dinh
Bridge Pagoda, Quang Nam

Keo Pagoda, Thá Binh

Go to Sunday Stamps to see more Monochromatic Stamps.

It Is Still the Year of the Tiger

Envelope sent by Bryon, with the Year of the Tiger stamps issued by United Nations.

See more tigers I have got in 2022 here, here and here!

Picasso Postcards

Las Meninas (44), 1957

I got this nice postcard from two friends visiting the Picasso Museum in Barcelona. 

I guess this time I had the right postcards to reply! 

La lectura (1932)

Insanity on the Decrease

«RFD [Rural Free Delivery] changed the quality of life for many Americans more profoundly than mere facts and statistics can convey. Some of the most poignant tributes to the service concerned its impact on long-isolated rural people's mental health. In addition to information from the outside world, the carriers brought friendly faces and news of recent events, from fires and floods to epidemics, as well as the latest gossip. As Postmaster General George Meyer observed in 1907 "medical men" declared that because of RFD, "insanity is on the decrease."»

Winifred Gallagher, How the Post Office Created America

The Jurkovič Lookout

A Czech postcrosser, Anna, sent the postcard of this magnificent lookout tower because, she wrote, they "don't have lighthouses". That is not exactly true, as there are some lighthouses on Czech rivers. But the postcard is wonderful, and also is the stamp with the Crown jewels!