I didn't think I had anything film related until I found this set of cards published in 1985 showing a series of stamps representing British Films.  For some reason some have scanned better than others so my efforts (in vain) to improve that, added to the impossibility of uploading images to Blogger last night, have made me even later than usual.

1985 was declared British Film Year in an effort to encourage cinema attendance which had been declining dramatically in the years before.  It had some good success in that admissions rose to pre-1981 levels and continued to rise for another 10 years.

Looking at these pictures brings back many memories, and just seeing Peter Sellers puts a smile on my face and the Pink Panther tune in my mind.

I don't know what the words say, but this card from Belarus does look beautiful.  I'm very happy to say the snow we've had for the last week or two has now disappeared and I can once again admire snowy scenes - on postcards.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog The Best Hearts are Crunchy.  Just click on the button to visit and join in.

Rocamadour is in the Midi-Pyrenees region, towards the south of France.  The buildings are arranged in three layers almost vertically up the face of a cliff.  At one time, it was the knights who lived in the highest levels, the clergy in the middle and the lay workers at the bottom nearest the river.

Only about 600 people now live in this beautiful and interesting village but during the year 1.5 million visitors troop through it.  Once it would have been pilgrims who were on the Route of Santiago de Compostella and visiting the church of Saint Sauveur (one of the seven churches) and St Amadour's crypt.  They still do visit but are vastly outnumbered by tourists.

As you can see from these postcards, it is a stunning sight, no doubt about it, but if you plan to visit go out of season.

Japanese owls saying - so I'm told - "Something good must happen on the night of the full moon".  They certainly look happy.

In the district of Pingxi, or Pinghsi, in northern Taiwan, they hold a Festival of Lanterns each year, 15 days after the Lunar New Year.  People write their hopes, dreams, and wishes on sky lanterns, light a flame inside, and let the lantern rise up to the heavens.   The lanterns aren't small - about 60 cm across by 120 high (2 feet by 4 feet).

Everyone releases their lanterns at much the same time and the skies become full with hundreds of lights.  According to the sender of this card, "it becomes a painting as in Van Gogh's Starry Night".

I hope you see all your wishes and dreams come true this year.


Click on the button to visit Jocelyn's cuckootree to take part in Our Wonderful World Tuesday.  If you join in this week, you could win a lovely postcard.

I've loved this painting by Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931) from Finland for the longest time, and now I have my own copy thanks to this postcard.  It was painted in 1885 before Gallen-Kallela moved to Nairobi, Kenya with his parents.  He produced a large number of paintings there but returned to Finland for a few years before spending some time in Taos, New Mexico.

The painting brings back many memories for me  Those days are long gone but I am left with the memories all the same.

A lovely and loving picture by the American painter, Mary Cassatt (1845-1926).  The title is "A Caress".  I always received more Valentines from my sons than anyone else so I felt this was appropriate. :)  the stamps proved more of a problem but I found these.



I don't know that these are intended as Valentine's Day stamps but they were all I could find.  The following one certainly isn't for Valentine's Day but it definitely is a heart.


This is a post for Sunday Stamps, run by Viridian. Click on the button to visit her blog and all the other participants.