Twilight Zone US Stamp

In 2009 the US Postal Service released a series of stamps commemorating popular televisions shows and one of the stamps featured was of 'The Twilight Zone'.

The caption on the back of the adhesive stamps reads as follows:

'The Twilight Zone cautioned viewers not to be too sure of anything. Intended for an adult audience, this anthology series focused on the imaginary and the bizarre. Creator Rod Serling (pictured on the stamp) wrote many episodes and served as narrator. The stranger-than-fiction dramas were often social commentaries set against a background of fantasy and science fiction.'

But if you are reading this blog, you probably know all that already. Nice stamp though... don't know how I missed this when it came out.

Thursday 31st March 2016

Aubrey Hammond - Illustrator

Well I'd never heard of this person before today, but in my trawl through ebay for Folkestone related ephemera, I came across this print for sale in America. It appears to come from a book and is of a Woodcut print advertising a play by the Danish playwright Karen Bramson.

The poster says that the advertiser is a 'Folkestone Theatre,' but as to which one, I haven't a clue.

Interestingly there is also another local history connection in that Aubrey Hammond was born in Folkestone in 1894. He studied at the Byam Shaw School of Art and at the Academie Julien, in Paris, and later taught at Westminster School of Art. He drew mostly in pen and ink; his work was characterised by delicate decorative design usually conceived in the angular style of the 1920s. His work could at times be severe showing an affinity with the work of the Vorticists. He died in 1940.

Wednesday 19th March 2016

Google's Clara Rockmore tribute

Google's homepage on 9th March featured an excellent animated doodle to commemorate what would've been Clara Rockmore's 105th birthday (if she hadn't've died in 1998. So if you missed the tribute to this virtuosa theremin player, here it is again.

Thursday 10th March 2016 

More from the Arkham Bazaar...

Following on from yesterday's post I've found plenty more to recommend this site. I'm a fan of medieval woodcuts and the artist Liv Rainey-Smith gives them a contemporary twist. The Cthulhu, Pickman's Models and Krampus are particularly good. So be sure to check out her designs.

Wednesday 9th March 2015

Cthulhu greetings cards

I wish I'd seen these greetings cards before Christmas. And also I like the Ryleh postcards too. Both are available from the website Arkham Bazaar which has plenty of other H.P.Lovecraft inspired goodies for sale.

Tuesday 8th January 2016

Record Pumpkin Seed bought for £1250

UK seed company Thompson & Morgan have purchased the most expensive pumpkin seed at auction for £1250 and they are now trying to find a UK gardener who can turn the seed into a record-breaking fruit. The seed was from a record breaking 2,323 lb (1054 kg) pumpkin produced by a Swiss grower in 2014. (The previous record price for a pumpkin seed was £1171.)

Pumpkin seeds can sell for as little as 99p per pack of 10 seeds, so let's hope this one germinates!

Monday 7th March 2016