Yemen

The Yemen, first came to my attention in the early 80's when catering the Yemenia 727. This was the first time I came across guns, carried by their skymarshalls. This stamp was used in May 1972, a defining moment in the history of this troubled country and the outbreak of civil war. 

I decided to buy a Yemen stamp after Sue and I had a coffee in a Yemini cafe in Rottingdean. I ended up in a bidding war for a pack of stamps. Quite a few of them feature an aircraft that is crying out for an investigation. They also do very nice gold stamps. More on both these things later. 

 

Japan, land of contrasts

 

Japan. I wouldn't ordinarily have a page of stamps from Japan, but then again I have been there. Three times. Always to the same place. A night stop in the town of Narita. A fascinating one street town with a gorgeous temple and gardens at the far end. It is an airport town and has a transitory feel to it. But I hated seeing, in one of the shop windows, the grotesque sight of an old man skinning eels alive. Done almost like a tourist attraction. There is so much that is good and interesting about Japan, but there is so much horror too. These stamps were given to me by my colleague Michael Oakes, a kind and gentle man who worked with me for a short, much too short, period time. Thanks Mike! 

I don't have many photos from my three trips to Japan (although oddly I do have a video of the eel killing man). This is a snap of one of the market stalls in Narita high street. 

High jinks and helium

 

I’ve just finished reading the excellent book Caesar's Last Breath: The Epic Story of The Air Around Us I was fascinated by the story about the Siege of Paris which took place in 1870 – 1871 and in particular the story of Pierre Janssen who was the only person allowed to leave the city, in a hot air balloon, to study the sun. He co-discovered helium on these risky ventures! That’s got to be worth a stamp or two. 

Hong Kong and a 130 year old virus plague

 

Here’s a virus themed post. Searching for a bit of Hong Kong history I chanced upon these fine Queen Victoria stamps, one of which was posted on December 19, 1894. Whilst sat at home on furlough from the horrible coronavirus outbreak I decided to find out what Hong Kong was like back when these stamps were used. Turns out they were going through a similar thing. This article explains and talks about how the plague can still be felt 130 years later.  

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hong-kong-bubonic-plague-1894

Fred's stamp

This one is very special to me. 73 Sutherland Road, Thornton Heath, Croydon. My nan and grandads house. When I was a kid, I'm guessing about 7 years old, I was obsessed with this stamp in my grandads modest collection of about 30 stamps. I kept begging for him to give it to me. He never did! I suddenly remembered this precious moment in time from my childhood and went looking for the stamp that I loved so much.  Thank you the internet and thank you eBay for allowing me to find and buy a copy. 

Unscheduled stop

I couldn't resist this oddity. Quite why the Maldives issued a stamp featuring the Virgin Trains Pendolino is anyone's guess. I did attend the official launch of the Pendolino back in 2002 with Richard Branson and Pete Waterman! I also travelled on this magnificent machine on more than one occasion... 

Random but nice

Vying for the honour of being the most random stamp in my collection, and indeed the inspiration for a new category of 'random stamps'. This was, I assume, sent to me by mistake.It arrived in the post with another stamp I'd ordered. Anyway, I like it. So it stays. At first I was puzzled by the words that seem to reference the Antarctic but show a polar bear alongside the Adelie Penguin. A bit of time on Google and Google Translate and it turns out that Max Douguet was a distinguished French sailor who spent time at both poles. The stamp was issued in 1991.  

An exquisite squid

Look at these beauties.An unusual addition to my collection as they are not reef fish, I don't collect this country and the stamps are mint not my preferred used. However, that squid (bottom right) is exquisite. And the Congo is one of the most fascinating places on Earth.