Tag: random stamp day

Historic Events

Post #999: Coastwatchers in the Solomon Islands

The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II to observe enemy movements and rescue stranded Allied personnel. They played a significant role in the Pacific Ocean theatre and South West Pacific theatre, particularly as an early warning network during the … Continue reading Post #999: Coastwatchers in the Solomon Islands

Mark Joseph Jochim1 Comment
Topicals

The Seal of St. Vincent Colony

For a long time, my collection held but a solitary stamp from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. That stamp was featured on the colony’s stamp issuers article back in June 2017. I recently sought to add more and purchased a small “mystery” mixed lot of St. Vincent stamps. However, only three were inscribed thusly. One sheet of eight stamps bore the inscription St. Vincent … Continue reading The Seal of St. Vincent Colony

Mark Joseph Jochim1 Comment
Topicals

The Dory

A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about 16 to 23 feet (5 to 7 meters) long. It is usually a lightweight boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. They are easy to build because of their simple lines. For centuries, dories have been used as traditional fishing boats, both in coastal waters and in the open sea. Strictly speaking, the only … Continue reading The Dory

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Holidays

Bon Om Touk: The Cambodian Water Festival

Bon Om Touk (បុណ្យអុំទូក in Khmer), or the Cambodian Water Festival, is celebrated each year to mark the reversal of the flow of the Tonle Sap River. Visitors from every town and province travel to Phnom Penh to watch boat races along the Sisowath Quay and attend free concerts in the evenings. For three days, workers from every province join with the city’s residents to … Continue reading Bon Om Touk: The Cambodian Water Festival

Mark Joseph Jochim1 Comment
Topicals

Jukong Boat of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

The jukong is a type of sailing boat found in the Australian Territory of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands where it is the preferred mode of transport across the atoll. It is more akin to the European whaleboat than to the similarly named jukung from Indonesia. The latter is also known as a cadik and is a traditional outrigger canoe used for fishing. The double outrigger … Continue reading Jukong Boat of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Mark Joseph Jochim1 Comment
Historic Places, Tutorials

Pro Patria and Swiss Castles

Pro Patria, officially Stiftung PRO PATRIA Schweizerische Bundesfeierspende, is a Swiss patriotic and charitable organization. Its purpose is to give meaning to the Swiss National Day (Schweizer Bundesfeiertag in German, Fête nationale suisse in French, Festa nazionale svizzera in Italian, and Fiasta naziunala svizra in Romansh), August 1, by collecting donations to the benefit of social and cultural works of national public interest. Pro Patria … Continue reading Pro Patria and Swiss Castles

Mark Joseph Jochim1 Comment
Topicals

The Britten-Norman Trislander

On February 23, 532, Byzantine emperor Justinian I ordered the building of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople which would become the Hagia Sophia. That is what I had planned to write about today. However, every stamp in my collection that I thought depicted the Hagie Sophia in fact portrayed some other mosque in Istanbul or elsewhere in Turkey, none of which I felt … Continue reading The Britten-Norman Trislander

Mark Joseph Jochim1 Comment