New Ship to be launched soon (Stamp Collage)

A sneak preview of my latest ship - it's based on the clipper ships which sailed the seas in the 1800s.

I  recently bought a large collection of old stamps which included  many  old French stamps - known as La Semeuse (the sower). I used some of these stamps in shades of red and brown  in the sails of a previous ship and thought blue would be nice this time!

Raphy Dalleves - 1878-1940 - Swiss artist from Valais canton at the Sion Art Gallery

detail from Two women from Evolene, around 1920

Visiting small local galleries can be very enlightening and the the Sion Art gallery in the Valais region of Switzerland is a little gem! The rooms are well lit and the gallery just the right size to be able to spend an hour or two discovering the delightful works of local artists as well as some more internationally known ones.  Here we found work by Oskar Kokoshka and Felix Valloton, but what stood out for me were the paintings by local artists including  Raphy Dalleves, who specialised in portraits of peasants from the region, dressed in their everyday clothes, and going about their work. The women in the above portrait are from the village of Evolene, where to this day people proudly wear similar colourul costumes.

Les Laveuses, Heremence, by Raphy Dalleves, 1907 - Tempera on canvas

details from Les Laveuses, Heremence

Barry the heroic St Bernard dog - special exhibition in Bern Natural History Museum

 I visited the Natural History Museum in Bern, at the end of a rather stressful  trip to Switzerland's capital city - unfamiliar roads, heavy traffic and trams seemingly coming from all directions. I'd arranged to meet up there with my daughters, but they'd   mistakenly gone to the History of Bern Museum instead, so I had a pleasant hour  on my own! The highlight of the visit was the exhibition  about Barry, the legendary  St Bernard dog.  I was alerted to this when I heard a Japanese tourist  asking where he could find the "famous dog".

There is a whole area devoted to the story of Barry's life as a working St Bernard who saved the lives of more than 40 people lost in snow  in the mountains of Switzerland.  I'm a little surprised that he doesn't appear on any Swiss stamps, but found two others featuring this breed of dog, with a miniature barrel of brandy attached to its collar - although I read in the story that this is a  myth and the barrels don't contain any brandy after all!   To read more about Barry and the Natural History Museum of Bern, visit their website www.nmbe.ch.

Troyes, Aube region (Champagne area)

An overnight stop at the lovely hotel des Comtes de Champagne in the historic town of Troyes en route to Switzerland gave us the opportunity to  enjoy a meal at a pavement cafe and take in the atmosphere.

Near the hotel situated in Rue de la Monnaie, is  Ruelle des Chats, so narrow that the cats could leap from one side of the street to the other!

 A stamp shop in Ave. General de Gaulle was open for business at 9 am!  www.dupontphilatelie.com. I found  a selection of interesting old envelopes, which may someday find themselves recreated into a collage or otherwise may end up in my own collection.  The town of Troyes itself features on one stamp and also on a postmark on a separate envelope!

And even more unexpected was an open door leading into a taxidermist's shop:

..WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.. Charles Markwick and Frank Edward Harris .. and new stamps issued 28th July 2014

It seemed fitting in this the year of the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World war, to visit  Ypres or Ieper as it is known in Belgium, where two of our family members are commemorated. Having spent a fortnight's holiday in Switzerland, we returned via France and then Belgium, taking the road to  the beautiful Tyne Cot Cemetery.  We had previously enquired about the memorials via the CWGC (Commonwealth War Graves Commission)  and easily found Panels No. 50 and 51 containing names of members of the Leicestershire Regiment, in which Sgt.Frank Edward Harris served in the 6th Battalion.  He died aged 37 on 28th April 1918, leaving a wife and son, Herbert, aged just 8 years old. He was my mum's uncle and his son, Herbert was looked after by my grandparents after  his own mother's death a year after Frank was killed. Herbert was a talented artist and we have some of his beautiful paintngs on our walls.

Last photograph of the Harris family together  before Frank's departure .. 

Tyne Cot Memorial panel no. 50

It had been raining heavily all morning during our trip from Reims but the sun came out shortly before our arrival at the beautifully tended cemetery, with its many many pristine white gravestones, all planted with roses and other shrubs, and with the Cross of Sacrifice in the centre.

The nearby visitors' centre contains many items found on the battlefields as well as personal items, letters and medals donated by  soldiers' families.

We drove three miles further on toYpres, and located the name of  Private Charles Markwick,  on Panel no. 34 of the Menin Gate, leading  into the city itself. Charles Markwick was Geoff's father's eldest brother, who died on 26th April 1915, aged 26. He served in the East Surrey regiment. Sadly we have no photos of him.

Charles Markwick commemorated on the Menin Gate, Ypres

Six British Stamps were issued last week to commemorate the start of the war on 4th August 1914 - These are the first of five sets of 6 stamps  to be issued over  the next  five years - the duration of the war.

see: www.royalmailgroup.com for full details of all the stamps to be issued.

Sherlock Holmes and the Reichenbach Falls

During our holiday in Switzerland we visited the Reichenbach Falls, scene of the struggle to the (apparent) death between Sherlock Holmes and his deadly rival Professor Moriarty, as told in The Final Problem.

An X on the cliff face even  marks the spot where he is said to have fallen into the abyss below. An ancient cog railway carries tourists up to a viewing area and steps further up to the falls, where the obligatory figure of Sherlock Holmes awaits. You just can't avoid poking your head through the cut out! In nearby Meiringen the legendary detective is ever present, with  hotels, shops  and bars named after him,  and the Sherlock Holmes museum in the little church next to Conan Doyle Place.

Inside are artefacts from the era in which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based his stories as well as Memorabilia including the British stamps issued in 1993. These feature illustrations by Sydney Paget of some of the better know tales, including The Hound of the Baskervilles, and of course The Final Problem (in which Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson go to Switzerland. The Rooms at 221B Baker Street, which Sherlock Holmes and his colleague Dr John Watson rented from Mrs Hudson are also faithfully reproduced with furnishings, pictures and decorations from the period.  More information about the museum  in Meiringen,  and the Sherlock Holmes stories can be found on www.sherlockholmes.ch

Correspondence addressed to Sherlock Holmes  is still received from all over the world!