It is questionable that any politician should appear on a commemorative stamp, but the choice of bloody Maggie Milksnatcher was inevitable if Prime Ministers are the subject. There is no way however that the evil bitch gets space on my art. I toyed with the idea of defacing it but she is not worth the price of a first class stamp.
The thought of the witch and the ire that rises in me has worn me out so I can’t be doing with writing any more now
It’s a first day of issue for the stamp but I almost forgot to do this post on the blog. My daughter rang as I was starting it. She is off to South Africa tomorrow for a holiday with friends who live there. Then it was time to get some food for our meal and tend to Bramble and we were out this evening at a gig at the Arts Centre. So it all got forgotten until almost the last number of the show and I started worrying. No problem in the end as I had loads of time.
It’s all a bit exciting today. This was not only the first #Letter365 that I created at my new studio, but also the first artwork of any kind created there by me.
It was also the first day of issue of the new WW1 commemorative stamps so I wanted to get it hand-stamped if I was in time, which I was: not at my usual Post Office 3 doors away from home in Bradpole, but at the main Post Office in Bridport. So while local postmaster Peter is good in front of the camera I think you will agree that Abby here does a great job! It’s just a pity that her nail varnish clashes so much with the green on the envelope! Unlike Ann who used to work in the Bradpole Post Office shop who (as you may remember from an earlier post) had a flair for clothing that matched the shelving, Abby has not chosen to blend in with her environment. I think she is a bit of a rebel who thinks it would not be cool to have nail varnish that matched, say, her name badge or the posters. Quite right too Abby! Abby clearly thought I was raving mad but said she couldn’t wait for the next time. Clearly Abby is a master of ironic wit too. Thanks for playing, Abby.
Now of course Abby is right to question my sanity. Had she looked at the address she would have advised me, I am sure, that it would be more economical and better for my health to just walk round the corner to Bridport Arts Centre and pop the letter straight in their letterbox. I will have to think how I will manage the delivery of #Letter365 now that the Arts Centre is actually nearer to my studio than the Post Office and its post box.
Another exciting thing is that I seem to have captured, accidentally, a personal reflection in the photograph. Anyone who knows me or follows me will be aware of my Personal Reflections series of self portraits.
I was quite anxious about making this first piece in the new studio but it worked out just fine even though I had to improvise a bit as not all my stuff has made it to the new venue yet. Of course reaching No144 is only gross in number: there is no unpleasantness involved at all.
No music today but you of course want to see the back of the envelope:
It’s great to have a man who can smile for the camera! Peter, who runs our local Post Office, is a sport for pandering to my idiosyncrasies. As you can see he is my new artistic collaborator:
The new commemorative stamp – there is only one image for the 1st Class denomination – is to mark the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, but I get the sense that nobody wanted to go to town on it. None of the designs are special, though the one depicting running has something about it that reminds me of the old South Africa stamps I used to have in my album as a child. Some more new stamps are to be issued in just 10 days time in remembrance of the First World War
The back of the envelope is as boring as the stamp:
As you can see, there is a nice fishy picture on today’s stamp. Only thing is they were released yesterday and I missed the first day of issue. Peter apologised as soon as I got to the Post Office window where I had gone to buy stamps! Never mind it only would have increased the value of yesterday’s by minus a little less than nothing and that only if a stamp collector had an interest in odd conceptual art pieces. Come to think of it, stamp collecting is a bit like an odd art form in itself.
Chaos Rules OK again! I was so excited that I had remembered the issue of new commemorative stamps (British Films) that I forgot to date stamp the envelope and did not update the number – so it reads No67 when in fact it is No68! Bugger!
Peter at Bradpole PO franked #Letter365 No68 as First Day Cover with the Bradpole stamp – the first of those in #Letter365. He also put the stamp on for me and used his tongue – you can tell he’s not been a postmaster that long! I am not sure if the shape over Peter’s mouth is something that stuck to his tongue during the stamp-licking episode, a strange cartoon or cameo head stuck to the glass or just an odd reflection. Sorry that some woman behind you has got her hands in your ears. I had hoped that I would have got a better personal reflection but there is too much light in there Peter.
I chose the Lawrence of Arabia stamp as it is one of my favourite films – because “the guns face the sea”. Could it be the artwork inside is as bleak and dry as the desert?
I am a bit disappointed that Peter at the Post Office didn’t tell me about the commemorative stamp issue. If I had known I could have made today’s #Letter365 a first day cover and made it of slight philatelic interest! I had asked him to keep me informed, but I must take responsibility for this kind of thing if I am to make use of all these subtle nuances of posting letters.
Anyway, I bought a little stash of the stamps to keep me going for a while. I was a bit undecided when I saw the subject matter – Buckingham Palace. Not being a great fan of the Monarchy and the like I didn’t know how I felt about having to lick the backside of a royalist stamp (and you do have to lick these) but decided to run with it for the architectural and artistic interest. I even bought some of the photographic ones of how it is now, but feel slightly tainted by them!