Stamp collecting

It's a typical cold autumn day here in Cardiff with the wind blowing the rain strongly from seemingly all directions and one fence panel has come down


As many people who read this blog are aware the enjoyment I have had from owning Katy has extended to researching the history of Katy and of Land Rover Ambulances in general. See link above

So, it's onto the computer for some amusement and up comes an intersting post on one of the ebay searches I have running for a stamp with a Land Rover Ambulance on it. That got me thinking and given the weather, sitting here  was more enjoyable than going outside so I've done some research

That stamp is part of this set of 33 MT (Mozambecan Metical) stamp (about 44p UK in 2015) stamps issued in 2009  

It also appeared on this stamp  (about £2.35 UK in 2015) I note the date on this is 1956, but I think this must be a mistake as the 101 ambulances were not built until 1976

So that had me hunting for some more. .. This one from Lebanon in 1969 looks like a Pilchers Ambulance to me

This Kenyan 1980 Stamp clearly shows something that looks like the Series II dispensary sold by Pilchers from about 1958

This Jersey  1977 stamp has been said by some stamp collectors to feature a Land Rover Ambulance, but I am not sure about it, St Johns have had quite a few Land Rover Ambulances, but this looks a bit more like a sherpa van to me.

However best of all is this Pitcairn Islands stamp from 1995 featuring the Marshalls 127 Ambulance in UN colours. I can just about make out 63 KG on the number plate, but the last 2 digits are too indistinct. I have no evidence that Katy ever made it to that far away, but it is clear that at least one 127 did make an impact on the island even if it didn't get there in person

If you are into Land Rover stamps these are the most useful links I found (the links contain searches to land rover topics)

http://www.stampcommunity.org/
http://www.avionstamps.com/
http://www.delcampe.net/i

Saved by "Jeep1"

It was time for some sunshine and we headed off to Lanzarote (not using Katy) and settled in for a few days of relaxation as can be determined by this page from Rhian's diary

After a couple of days we found a way to have some Land Rover time by booking onto a birdwatching trip with Lanzarote Active Club who's leaflet stated we would be being taken around in a Land Rover Defender. I have to admit that I quite expected a Santana to come and pick us up but it was a Defender even if it was referred to by the owner in a most apologetic way as "Jeep 1"

We did not mind at all how they referred to it as we had been robbed that morning by someone sneaking into our apartment through a window and stealing all our cash so it was just nice to see a friendly face.

The hotel had not been very helpful so we were delighted when Tom our driver called his boss Carmen and she agreed to help us process things with the Guarda (Police). so this first picture is at the Costa Teguise Guarda station where I was inside doing paper work and Rhian was watching Hoopoe's displaying their crests

With all the messing around we missed the best part of the day, but with excellent service the LAC team agreed that they would run the trip for us on Thursday which was our last day. So that morning with cash in our pocket we were happy when tom turned up and we were able to head off on our adventures.

The first area was the "desert" of Soo where we actually did some spotting so here are Tom and Rhian scanning the ground for birds

In this area the LAC team put out some watering stations for the birds which is an excellent conservation feature and a means to monitor things as they can see the amount of footprints

In this area (please ignore this if you are not into wildlife, but given the events above I am very happy to advertise the excellent birdwatching services of LAC) we saw.

Cream Coloured Courser, Berthelot's pipit, Wheatear, lesser Short toed Lark, Kestrel, lesser Black Back gulls, Cattle Egret, Linnets, Great Grey Shrike, Trumpeter Finch, Barbary Partridge and Houbara Bustard (2 males and a female)

On route to our next stop we saw Storm Petrels and then we went to Peñas del Chache where we were treated to the sight and sound of about 37 (it was hard to count) wild canaries flitting around

Finally on our route home we had wonderful views of an Eleonora's falcon swooping gracefully over the tops of the bushes hunting for prey, An absolutely delightful day out and a nice ride in a nice TD5 Defender

If you want to read more about LAC
Their home page is http://www.lanzaroteactiveclub.com/lanzaroteactiveclub/home/
Their facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/lanzaroteactiveclubfanpage