XANTHE'S
STAMP MAGAZINE

Here is a remarkable new issue from Norway. The stamps show bees - the first is the Tree Bumblebee (bombus hypnorum) and the second is the Western Honey Bee (apis mellifera). Both of these are very common bees in Norway and across Europe. Have you ever thought how beautiful bees are? Design Quality: The design is basic and depends on photographs. But these are excellent examples of macrophotography that are very "up close and personal" with the bees. They are fantastically

At the end of August, when King Harald V of Norway died, I wrote an article looking back at the stamps depicting the king. We haven't had to wait very long for the first stamp for the new king, Haakon VIII. Last week, Norway issued its first ever stamp for him and here it is. We see the king in military uniform, looking slightly away from the camera. In case anyone didn't know, the stamp helpfully has "Kong Haakon VIII" written prominently above the name of the country. The m

I was looking at Norwegian stamps this morning because of the death of King Harald V, and I discovered their latest stamp. It was issued on 11th June and shows the Norwegian national football team. If you're not a football fan, you might have missed Norway's great run in the World Cup. They beat Iraq, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Brazil before losing to England in the quarter-finals. This was the best ever performance by a Norwegian team at the World Cup so understandably people

Norway's King, Harold V, died earlier today. Apart from being a king, he was a remarkable man. He represented Norway in three Olympic games (in sailing). As a former athlete he opened the 1994 Winter Olympics. He was an environmentalist and chair of WWF Norway for many years. He was definitely not a traditionalist and didn't have much time for conventions. His new approaches helped reshape the monarchy. So did his personal life. He fell in love with a commoner, Sonja Haralds

Instead of reviewing different countries' Christmas stamps individually, I thought it would be better to look at them together. I'm not going to give any lengthy reviews - I'll just make a few short comments and give a mark. Here are a few of my thoughts about the different new Christmas stamps from around the world. I've tried to cover as many of them as possible, but no doubt there will be a few countries I have missed. Great Britain I will start with our own Christmas stam

Norway released a new issue on 4th October. Most of my reviews are about stamps from Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the Channel...