The Eastbourne Bandstand 1st class stamp, with its brass band, includes the EUROPA logo, which is Royal Mail's nod to the Post-Europ 2014 theme of 'National music instruments'.
Royal Mail's set of 6 stamps depict:
1st class - Eastbourne Bandstand, Tinside Lido, Plymouth
97p - Bangor Pier, Southwold Lighthouse
£1.28 - Casino at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Bexhill-on-Sea Shelter
The miniature sheet contains 4 stamps, against a backdrop of the pier at Southend-on-Sea, the longest in the country (so we can expect a special postmark for Southend!):
1st class - Llandudno and Worthing Piers
£1.28 - Dunoon and Brighton Piers
The stamps and miniature sheet are designed by Why Not Associates using photography by Lee Mawdsley. The stamps are printed by ISP and the miniature sheet by Enschede.
As well as the usual products there will be a coin cover to mark the Trinity House anniversary, the coin being a £2 commemorative.
More details and first day postmarks on our website.
OK ... so which of these covers the 2014 Europa theme, which is "National Musical Instruments"?
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reminder, edit now made. A mark of its importance to Royal Mail is that no mention was of Europa was made in the information received, except as the location for the alternative postmark.
DeleteIf you look closely at the 1st Class Eastbourne Bandstand stamp, you can just make out a chap playing a Cornet.
DeleteWhy does Royal Mail bother if it's not even going to attempt to reflect the EUROPA theme? It's not that difficult to look up the national instruments - there is even a Wikipedia page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_instruments_(music) That gives you the four instruments for the respective countries: Scotland - bagpipes, Wales - crwth (six-stringed instrument with a flat fingerboard, fretless), Northern Ireland - clárseach (polychord wire-strung harp with a fore-pillar), England - bell (apparently, "The British Isles have long been known as the "Ringing Isles" and in the 18th century, the composer Handel cited the bell as the English National Instrument.") I'm sure Royal Mail could have made that into at least an eight stamp set, with ancient and modern versions of each! Come on, Royal Mail, you know you can do it if you try ...
ReplyDeletesigh..... I'm just looking at the Europa stamps on the contest page http://www.posteurop.org/StampContest and see such wonderful designs/instruments. Even the Faroese Symphony Orchestra looks more impressive than UK's "Europa" stamp (not issued in time for the competition).
DeleteThe UK is not the only country to issue Europa Stamps after the vote has been set. Ukraine issued theirs on 25 July - http://tinyurl.com/q3zcxsj
DeleteThe music theme is more obvious on these, however.
But at least you can vote for the Ukrainian entry (if you hadn't voted earlier).
DeleteWhy bother if you can give the right stamp, don't issue a stamp.
DeleteI'm concerned about the issues for the next years,especially the one for 2016
Is Royal Mail now planning to do anything in connection with this issue to assist with the restoration o Eastbourne Pier. An overprinted donation amount on the Eastbourne stamp, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteBrighton Pier (@BrightonPier) just tweeted a link to your blog regarding the new stamp!
ReplyDeleteOne of the best sets of the year for me, the pictures of the stamps are so focus and sharp and the stamps on the miniature capture the old vintage postcards from the era.
ReplyDelete