Stamps I do not like.One little bit.

Some of this stuff may not be mine. Where this is the case, I'll supply a link to an appropriate site.

Time for something different, nothing to do with TV, nothing to do with music. This is a hobby I got into at about the age of twelve. I was able to buy stamps from Boots the Chemist. At that time I liked the look of them even if I'd never come across the term, "Trucial States". The stamps were from; Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain. Nowadays, they (and a couple of others) are known as the United Arab Emirates. Nowadays they are given short shrift my stamp collectors for whatever reason but they did get me interested in the hobby.

But, less of the history lesson.

What follows is a list of the type of stamp that I do not like for some reason or other. It is not an exhaustive list and it is in no particular order. And it is my choice. I know some will not agree but to each his or her own.

First up is the over-printed stamp. This is just bastardising the original. It adds nothing to the stamp design in any way although it does fulfil the requirement that is is tied to the history of the country.

This is an Austrian stamp from 1919. The original was just a plain, red stamp but as Europe came out of the first world war some things changed.

Next up is a combo - obliteration/over-print.

Another Austrian stamp, this one from 1945. It doesn't matter what you think of Herr Hitler. I understand that at the end of the war money was tight all around and many countries used what they had. Again nothing added to the design by this amendment to the stamp. The original was just his head and the country. This bit of the blog might hit the censors. Some sites won't let you post his head whether you are a rabid Nazi or talking about postage stamps.

Then we have se-tenant stamps, in this case a strip of 5 from Great Britain. This is half of the set from 2016. Can't put my finger on what is wrong, I could easily separate the stamps if I wanted but that is not how they are printed. I possibly could have gone to our local post office and bought 10 individual stamps.

Another philatelic thing I am not keen on is the miniature sheet stamp. These, in this case, are stamps printed together in a sheet format. These are often quite attractive but these stamps are often, but not always, available singly. maybe I'm just being overly picky. Here is an example, again from Great Britain in 2016.

Next up is another from Austria (sorry Austria Post). Talk about pushing the boundaries? In 2004, Austria Post released the following which was a first in combining postage stamps with real crystals. There are two stamps - one is a rock with embedded crystals, the other is a swan with several embedded crystals. Another combo. In this case a miniature sheet with stamps that are very unlikely to ever appear on an envelope. I'll bet you can find used copies on e-bay or somewhere else but I would expect them to be very rare and possibly not with all crystals still attached. I may not like the stamps but Swarovski World in the Austrian Tirol is well worth a visit.

Where to next? You won't be surprised if I say Austria. This next stamp is from 2006 and takes the form of a piece of embroidery. Now before you get the impression that AP are a bunch of weirdos, other postal administrations have had there shot at selling "odd" stamps to the public. Did you know, for example that you can buy stamps printed in colour changing in? Or stamps with writing on that you need a magnifying glass to read? Or stamps made from toilet tissue (unused)? Or stamps made from old post office uniforms?

 Again, it is a nice enough stamp, it just falls into the weird category.

This next one is literally, out of this world. Also out of Austria. This stamp contains 0.03g of meteor dust. Another from 2006. Not sure why AP thought it would be a good idea, unless they are just trying out something new, something not done before. A bit like the scratch-and-sniff stamps of other Postal Authorities. Anyway, here it is.

Next up is a brace of football themed stamps. The first one is of Andi Herzog taking a shot at goal. As you tilt the stamp, you can see an action shot. The right hand of the stamp show the goalkeeper in action. This is what is termed a lenticular stamp. From 1997 or 1998. I might have to video this one to show the effect better.

The second one is from 2008 and is a polyurethane stamp to represent a football. Just odd. BTW, it isn't black and white. My scanner never picked up of the touches of red on the ball.

Another in my longish list of don't likes are labels and ATM "stamps". These really are scraping the barrel. Whatever country issues them. In this case, it's Deutsche Post from Germany. Again, my cheapo scanner picks this up as B&W although it is a pale green. From the 1980s in this case.

Another odd-ball type stamp is that which includes holograms. Not sure whether they are required as part of the design or whether they are added as a security feature. Another from Germany in 1999.

Next on my increasing list are self-adhesives. Now you might think that this is a health and safety issue with SARS-Cov-1. But, no, these type of stamps have been around since the mid 60s when more humid countries tried to find a way to stop their stamps all sticking together. Being self adhesive also led to a load of strangely cut stamps. Things in the shape of bananas and the like. Yeuch! Just in case you think I'm now having a go at Germany. Not at all. Real stamp on the left, the other thing, on the right. From 2010.

And don't get me started on Disney/Hollywood etc. Spurious connections if any. I firmly believe that stamps should be relevant to the country issuing them. In this case from GB in 2015 self-adhesives, miniature sheet and Star Wars.

So that's it. Just some examples of stamps that come into my possession. Bought because they are part of the set, or needed to complete. Doesn't mean I like them.

I haven't posted any stamp on stamp designs yet but I could have. I don't like them either. For many reasons.

As usual, feel free to add your thoughts whether you agree with me or not. It would be helpful to know what you think and if you want this to take any particular direction.

My Musical Alphabet : W

As I keep saying, this stuff isn't mine and may very well be pulled for breach of copyright. You can, of course, go looking on YouTube, or its variants, for other copies. I'm sure you know how.

There is not long left of our musical journey through the alphabet. Now we have another 30 minutes or so worth of W related music for your delectation. Just a reminder to those of you new to this blog - these songs are just a taster of the stuff I like. It is not a comprehensive list. No doubt if I come back to it, I'll smack myself in the head and ask why such-and-such is missing. But, c'est la vie as Sham69 would have said if their album was made in France.

Another German cross-over here with Juliane Werding singing a couple of German covers of songs I first heard in English. I heard the second song, either on the german program of Luxemburg (The Great 208 or The Station Of The Stars) or on another German radio station, Deutschlandfunk. Sadly neither station, as I heard them back in the day, is still with us.

The first was originally sung by Roy Orbison, the second by Maggie Reilly (with Mike Oldfield accompanying on guitar).

Here she is singing "Du schaffst es" then "Nacht voll Schatten"

I never really understood all the hype over Oasis. Maybe another time, another place. Maybe I had other things going on. Whatever, but I did like the track Wonderwall.

Jumping back 50 years brings us to World War 2 and some music associated with it. This isn't about the rights and wrongs of the war, this is about some of the music that I associate it with. One German, one US and one UK.  I give you Lale Andersen singing Lili Marleen. I much prefer her verion to Marlene Dietrich's. Then we have Glenn Miller with In The Mood" and close with We're Gonna hang Out The Washing On The Siegfried Line 

I have managed to find a video of her singing in three languages - this highighting that even during wartime, the different sides were joined in music.

Sorry to jump about here but back into the 70s. If my mum was a swearer, which she wasn't, I can just hear her asking after this fellow and his coloured hair and make-up. She wasn't too impressed. I've been a follower of Roy Wood from his early Move days, through to the ELO and Wizzard and I give you See My baby Jive

I wasn't particulary mad keen on this next band either but some TV series made me seek them out and listen anew. No Boris the Spider yet, but there may be other CSIs on the horizon, so who knows? The Who. CSI themes from Vegas, Miami and NY.

Next up is a  wonderful piece, performed by soloist Yeol Eum Son, playing Piano Concerto No. 21, K.467. The W connection? Wolfgang!

Next up is a Scottish Celtic Rock Band. I first heard them not long after I got married. They originally hail from Easter Ross - a relatively unspoilt area well worth a visit if you're ever up Inverness way. The band go by the name of Wolfstone.

Lastly, I have another French artist for you. Again, like lots of music I like, I am not really sure where I first heard it. From 1982 I'll share with you FR David and Words.

As usual, feel free to add your thoughts, whether you agree with me or not. It would be helpful to know what you think and if you want this to take any particular direction.

More Rose-Tinted Puppetry

As I keep saying, all the linked material is not mine and some of the links may not work. Although the links are to open and accessible sites, sometimes the material is copyrighted and the owners pull it or have it pulled. You can, of course, go looking on YouTube, or similar sites, for copies. I am sure you know how.

Reminder : I am a Scot and lived there most of my life, so these comments and history is from that lovely country's viewpoint.

We are still in the early 1960s with this bit of blog. 1964-ish to be vague.

Standby For Action!

I am sure for many of us those three words take us back to our childhood. To the bygone days when we were innocent, to the days of Goodies and Baddies. To the days when we knew that there were no Aquaphibians, no King Titan ruling them in Titanica. No Surface Agent X-2-Zero helping them out. Not like today when the internet quite possibly has a conspiracy group set up around the Government's policy of hiding the truth from us.

39 episodes were made and back then that meant 39 weeks to watch. The TV rule makers would not allow for may repeats whilst a show was still live, so that show ran for pretty much the whole year.

The show was, of course, Stingray - a puppet show with some exciting special effects for the time. This show was the 7th in AP Films' repertoire. I did  not catch any of the earlier ones bar Fireball XL5 as we did not have a TV back then.

The show was set in the 2060s and was about a small submarine craft that was part of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol headquartered in the USA. This might mean that in the coming days the WASP acronym will stand for something else. You never know it might actually be based in the Gulf of America.

The last World War was over but somehow the adults in charge still thought that the selling point to us children should be all about the good guys fighting the bad guys so our hero was the pilot of a combat submarine. WASP was just an good sounding acronym but this was not about security or defense, it was all about torpedoing the ships of those who were there before us. Yeah, right, typical good guy "We know better than you" mentality. The theory that the WASP was there for exploration is shot out of the water early on. It's was a pissing contest before children knew the meaning.

But I liked it, I did not pay a lot of attention, back then, to the guns. By the time of Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons came around I was more aware of them and not in a "I like guns" sort of way. Maybe because I was not part of the American market that these series were targeted at.

But who was this Goodie? I hear you ask?

This was Troy Tempest before he made it big as a Private Eye in the 70s' TV series, The Rockford Files.

And for balance the Baddies:

Surface Agent X-2-0 and King Titan of Titanica, neither of which went on to fame and fortune elsewhere.

After the TV show, Troy went on to star in Singray's further adventures in TV21 magazine.

A rather short one this time but as usual, feel free to add your thoughts, whether you agree with me or not. It would be helpful to know what you think and if you want this to take any particular direction.

My Musical Alphabet : V

As I keep saying, this stuff isn't mine and may very well be pulled for breach of copyright. You can, of course, go looking on YouTube, or its variants, for other copies. I'm sure you know how.

If you're still following me, we are up to the letter V now and I can safely say there are another 10 belters for your ears here. As usual there is something here for everyone and no-one. My usual followers will not be too surprised to see some stuff here, they've come to expect stuff they've never heard before, the odd "I'd forgotten all about that" and stuff they'll never hear again.

Back in the day when we only had 3 TV channels we all watched the same stuff whether we liked it or not as mum or dad were in charge of the TV (sans remote) and there wasn't any children's TV on past 7 pm. So you either heard this on Ed Stewart's Children's Choice on the radio - yes, back in the day there were dedicated radio shows for us. If you didn't hear it there, you saw it on Val Doonican's own show. I give you Delaney's Donkey I have been a bit lax of late not really saying why some of this music is in here, I will try to do better. Mr. Doonican also kept us children amused with Rafferty's Motor Car and Paddy McGinty's Goat. I'm sure you can find them if you want to.

For something more unusual I give you a truly beautiful Christmas carol, IMHO the best by a long shot. It is Silent Night, here sung in German as Stille Nacht by the Vienna Boys Choir. Being brought us as a Catholic we had plenty of carol/hymn singing throughout the year and this was a favourite although at school we sung it in English.

Next up is a weird one because of the story of the band. They are Milli Vanilli. Yes, they are a made up band, the members only danced, they never sang, they got caught lip-syncing. Maybe I should have this listed under the producer or the real voices. But no, this news all came out after I got hooked on the song, so I'll keep it here. My choice for the pair is "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You. This song was in the music charts as I started my first real job after spending a long time in higher education.

I like travelling and whilst doing so I am happy to channel surf foreign TV. It was in Gran Canaria that I found the following Vocal Siete. Yes, travels broadens the mind.

Back to Scotland and some thanks go to my brother-in-law who introduced me to this fine guitarist and band - Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble. They are a Texas blues/soul ensemble who are no longer with us as SRV made the mistake of getting into an aeroplane - yes, another fine musician killed in a 'plane crash. A couple of toons for you, The House Is A Rockin' followed by Cold Shot.

Going back to Glam time we find Roxy Music and I remember at school there was one guy who was into them just like there was one guy into Tull, one into Quo and one into the SAHB. Roxy's entry into here is via Virginia Plain.

Let's head back down to Germany and a fine pair of Volkslieder. I first heard these sung by a German tenor by the name of Rene Kollo. I can't find a link to him singing these anymore but the songs are still on YouTube. The first is Wer recht in Freunden wandern will, the second is Im Krug zum grünen Kranze. The second one is the better of the two in my view.

And we have reached the end of this 30 minute slot from your day. I said earlier that I like all sorts of music and I'll finish off with a fine classical piece with links to Vienna. It's title is An der schönen blauen Donau Op. 314 by Johann Strauß II and dates back to 1857. This is my favourite orchestral piece. I'll give you the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Fabio Luisi conducting. I mot likely heard this firstly as part of the soundtrack to 2001 A Space Odyssey.

As usual, feel free to add your thoughts, whether you agree with me or not. It would be helpful to know what you think and if you want this to take any particular direction.