The One Penny Orange Mystery by Morris Ackerman

I was intrigued with I saw this book , and reminded of happy memories of 40 years ago when my Grandfather put a 1p British stamp into a matchbox and told me to see if I could find any others amongst a pile of envelopes.

The book made it's way across the Atlantic and I was fairly impatient to start reading. I did early this week and finished it a day or so ago.

There was a real sense of innocence about this book. The storyline and the characters and I knew within a page or two that I was going to enjoy it.

The character names are great, a play on the world of stamp collecting, which all starts when an British Official who spent many years working for the Government, first in India then in Mauritius fleas the start of an uprising taking with him a set of old historical papers.

The character, which has the wonderful name of Major Edward Postmark returns to Mauritius after some years to the house which he owns to sell up before returning to England. He sorts through his belongings in the house and comes across the pile of papers he recalls fleeing the embassy with years before. Amongst the papers is the One Penny Orange Stamp which is the catalyst of the whole mystery.

What follows through the rest of the pages is the valuation and then eventual sale of the stamp alas it is not without its problems. The author introduces readers to a series of characters, the stamp authenticator, stamp dealer, security agents and rather enthusiastic stamp collectors. Also thrown into the mix is a few red herrings. All of these individuals wish to own a valuable stamp, and some are prepared to regardless of the stakes.

The mystery structure was a good one, I certainly did not solve the who done it before the end of the book. This was a great book, with a strong storyline and none of the violence that perhaps might have wielded into the pages. It was a gentle page turner and it is this gentleness that had an innocence about it which I enjoyed.

This has potential for the start of a series, perhaps involving a Two Pence Stamp, but we will have to wait and see, but I do hope so. I loved this book and is certainly one of the favourites for the year.

The book which I do recommend is available from Amazon US, UK and Book Depository

Disclaimer - I was provided with a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Sunday Stamps - Liberation

Last week I shared a few stamps linked to ANZAC Day, which is commemorated on 25th April. I have reused those that were my favourites! and you can read that post HERE

Commemoration stamps 1935

Here is another favourite. This was produced by Jersey Post to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the liberation of the Island of Jersey from German Occupation.

I love the quote from Winston Churchill "....And our Dear Channel Islands are also to be freed today".

Regular readers will perhaps remember that last summer we visited Jersey and I was very moved by the War Tunnels . You can read the various posts about Jersey under this tag line and I wrote four posts about the War Tunnels - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Submitted as Sunday Stamps hosted by Viridian's Postcard Blog

Sunday Stamps - Australia - ANZAC Day

I've gone off theme this week. On 25th April, New Zealanders and Australians celebrated ANZAC Day and in keeping with remembering that day, which ties in nicely with the A-Z Challenge I have kept to the theme of Australia. You can read the A-Z challenge posts via this tag line and read my ANZAC Day post HERE.

Commemoration stamps 1935

Commemoration stamps 1965

Stamps from the neighbouring Islands:

Submitted as Sunday Stamps hosted by Viridian's Postcard Blog

Sunday Stamps - Australia

This week's contribution continues with my month long  A-Z Challenge theme of Australia and links in nicely with the Saturday Sepia post for this week

Published Australia 2000

Close up shot!

Submitted as Sunday Stamps hosted by Viridian's Postcard Blog

Sunday Stamps - Black Swans

As I didn't have anything suitable for the poetry theme this week, I went with this one, that fits with my A-Z Challenge theme of Australia. The swan on this stamp looks so graceful, its poetic.

Black Swans are quite common in Australia and whilst they have become popular in areas of Europe, certainly in the UK we are not self sustaining on breeding them. Ironically, there is a small group of black swans in the nearby town of Dawlish Devon.

The Black Swan by Randall Jarrell

When the swans turned my sister into a swan
I would go to the lake, at night, from milking:
The sun would look out through the reeds like a swan,
A swan's red beak; and the beak would open
And inside there was darkness, the stars and the moon.

Out on the lake, a girl would laugh.
"Sister, here is your porridge, sister,"
I would call; and the reeds would whisper,
"Go to sleep, go to sleep, little swan."
My legs were all hard and webbed, and the silky

Hairs of my wings sank away like stars
In the ripples that ran in and out of the reeds:
I heard through the lap and hiss of water
Someone's "Sister . . . sister," far away on the shore,
And then as I opened my beak to answer

I heard my harsh laugh go out to the shore
And saw - saw at last, swimming up from the green
Low mounds of the lake, the white stone swans:
The white, named swans . . . "It is all a dream,"
I whispered, and reached from the down of the pallet

To the lap and hiss of the floor.
And "Sleep, little sister," the swan all sang
From the moon and stars and frogs of the floor.
But the swan my sister called, "Sleep at last, little sister,"
And stroked all night, with a black wing, my wings. 

Submitted as Sunday Stamps hosted by Viridian's Postcard Blog

Sunday Stamps - SS Goucher Victory

A few weeks ago I was sent this lovely First Day Cover for the Goucher Victory Ship. From limited research it would appear that these ships, were named after Colleges in the US and were used in the main for returning American troops back to the United States at the end of the Second World War.

Submitted as Sunday Stamps hosted by Viridian's Postcard Blog

Sunday Stamps - Burchell's Zebra

Welcome, to the latest Sunday Stamps posting, and what I think is my first for 2012. I can not believe where the time disappears too.

Over the last couple of months I have been focusing a bit more on my genealogical research and it was through this that I established a link, albeit, a distant once to the well know Botanist, William John Burchell. Burchell spent a lot of time overseas, firstly to St Helena, then onto South Africa and South America. As he travelled he wrote a journal and collected specimens.  It was through the course of this research that I established that Burchell had, had a Zebra named after him. I had no idea that there were different types of Zebra.

Issued 2007

dated circa 1950

So far, I just have these two items in my Burchell Zebra collection, but I suspect that I might acquire a few more!

Submitted as Sunday Stamps hosted by Viridian's Postcard Blog

Sunday Stamps - Australia, New Zealand and Antarctic

Welcome, to the latest Sunday Stamps posting.

Antarctic

This was posted a few weeks ago, but is the only one of the region that I have. Dated circa 1971.

Australia

New Zealand

Sorry, it looks like I got a little carried away this week!

Submitted as Sunday Stamps hosted by Viridian's Postcard Blog

Sunday Stamps - Europe

Welcome, to the latest Sunday Stamps posting.

I missed last week, the weekend seemed to arrive and leave with speed and before I knew it Sunday had gone! For this week I was able to rummage through my envelope of stamps still attached to envelopes and the albums. There are a few pictures this week -

From Germany

 From Italy

From Belguim

From The Netherlands

From Spain.

The first row shows stamps before Spain entered the Eurozone.

From Finland

From Italy

This one is a favourite!

From the Republic of Ireland or Eire

From Romania

Lastly, From Austria

Submitted as Sunday Stamps hosted by Viridian's Postcard Blog

Sunday Stamps - Lesotho Africa

Welcome, to the latest Sunday Stamps posting.

In keeping with the Africa theme for this week. Here is a set that I have kept for nearly 30 years. I can not recall where I got them from.

This set is commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Scouting movement (1907 - 1982) in Lesotho

Submitted as Sunday Stamps hosted by Viridian's Postcard Blog

Sunday Stamps - Brasil

Welcome, to the latest Sunday Stamps posting.

As I said last week, I wasn't overly hopeful that I had any stamps suitable for following the theme for this week. I looked through my collection, and did not hit jackpot! -  I recall giving my non UK stamps to a friend when I was about 10 or so!

So, I was about to resort to finding something that perhaps might fit in with next week's theme early when I remembered that I had an envelope of stamps to send off to the stamp bank. So I opened the envelope and there I did strike it lucky with two stamps from Brasil.

Submitted as Sunday Stamps hosted by Viridian's Postcard Blog