Afterwards, a grand procession featuring the newly married couple in the beautiful 1902 State Landau will wind through London on its way to Buckingham Palace.

A British Royal Wedding is an occasion like no other. Traditional British pageantry is a sight to behold. The day has been declared a public holiday in the UK and many people here and indeed all across the commonwealth will be looking forward to enjoying watching the ceremony on the television.

Since their engagement, announced in November 2010 William and Kate as they are affectionately referred to by the public, have been busy making their own wedding plans. Although a national occasion it’s expected that the couple will bring elements of their individual personalities to the marriage celebrations.

Title: Royal Wedding – Prince William and Catherine
Date of Issue: 2 June 2011
Country: Guernsey
Denominations: 2 x £2

Source: www.guernseystamps.com

The stamps depicts a brand new story book titled Penny and the Dragon, which sees the return of our fictional heroine Penny the Postie, illustrated and written by her creator Keith Robinson.

Having helped a pirate recover his ship from the mean Captain Bully Bones in her first ever adventure last year, Penny embarks on a new journey when she encounters a strange postbox on Forest Road, which contains only a small green parcel. When she reaches in for the parcel, something strange happens and Penny finds herself in an enchanted forest. Ever the diligent post lady, Penny sets off to deliver the parcel to its addressee: The Dragon, at Dragon’s Lair.

This wonderful story will delight children and adults alike, as our Guernsey heroine finds herself helping a knight called Sir Titch as she makes her way to the dragon’s lair. She hears tales of the dragon’s meanness from elves, fairies and trolls, but all is not what it seems and there is a small surprise in store.

Title: Europa 2011 – Guernsey
Date of Issue: 4 May 2011
Country: Guernsey
Denominations: 45p, 52p, £2

Source: www.guernseystamps.com

Our 31p stamp shows the beautiful green and red of the holly and ivy. Dating back almost 1000 years, the carol ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ is believed to have Pagan origins.

The popular carol ‘Little Donkey’ is depicted on our 38p stamp. Written by English hymnwriter Eric Boswell it describes the journey by Mary the mother of Jesus to Bethlehem on a donkey.

‘Silent Night’ is another Christmas favourite and was originally penned as a poem by Austrian priest Joseph Mohr. Depicted on our 45p stamp as a shining moon overlooking the skyline of St Peter Port, Guernsey; this is now one of our most famous Christmas carols.

The English folk carol ‘I Saw Three Ships,’ which is thought to come from the 15th century is illustrated on our 48p stamp. There are several versions of this song which oddly mentions ships sailing into the landlocked city of Bethlehem.

Penned by Isaac Watts in 1719, ‘Joy to the World’ is shown on our 50p stamp. It is one of many hymns and carols written by Watts who was awarded the degree of the Doctor of Divinity by the University of Edinburgh.

The upbeat liveley carol ‘Ding Dong Merrily on High’ is depicted by a pair of golden bells on our 58p stamp. This well-known Christmas carol began life as a sixteenth-century French dance, the ‘Branle de l’official.’

Finally our 80p stamp features a beautifully jewelled crown to illustrate the carol ‘We Three Kings’. This song is based on a story from the Bible which tells of men who travelled many miles guided only by a star in order to see the promised Messiah.

Title: Christmas Carols 2010 – Guernsey
Date of Issue: 4 November 2010
Country: Guernsey
Denominations: 31p, 36p, 45p, 48p, 50p, 58p, 80p

Source: www.guernseystamps.com

Guernsey can be justifiably proud of its long heritage of sporting success, with many of its athletes winning medals and becoming record holders, competing not only in the Commonwealth Games but also in World, Olympic, British and European Championships. It should come as no surprise that there are over 70 different governing bodies for sport and leisure activities in Guernsey; nearly 19,000 islanders take part in sports-related activities. The recently established Sports Commission also promotes athletic excellence by providing grants which enable sportspeople to participate in events like the Commonwealth Games.

Guernsey is also making strides with its Youth Development programme and boasts many talented younger athletes who hold Junior British national titles. Two young female athletes travelled to the 2nd Commonwealth Youth Games which was held in Australia in 2004 and the youth team came home from the 2008 Games with a Gold medal.

Title: 40 Years of Guernsey at Commonwealth Games
Date of Issue: 23 September 2010
Country: Guernsey
Denominations: 36p, 45p, 48p, 50p, 58p, 80p

Source: www.guernseystamps.com

Keith Robinson, the designer behind our Sherlock Holmes stamps, has beautifully written and illustrated The Adventures of Penny the Postie, which is a delightful, locally set story that sees Penny embark on an amazing journey. Having come across a strange old postbox, she soon finds herself on a desert island helping a pirate outwit the mean Captain Bullybones who has stolen his ship. But will Penny be able to get home to Guernsey?

Title: Children’s books – Guernsey
Date of Issue: 4 May 2010
Country: Guernsey
Denominations: 36p, 45p, 48p, 50p, 58p, 80p, £2

Source: www.guernseystamps.com

Early civilizations recognized only five planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn — the ones bright enough to show up easily to the naked eye. It wasn’t until after the invention of the telescope in 1608 that Astronomers using it discovered three more planets: Uranus (1781), Neptune (1846), and Pluto (1930). (Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006).The telescope was actually invented in the Netherlands, but the Italian mathematician and philosopher Galileo Galilei and Englishman Thomas Harriot, became the first people to view the night sky through telescopes exactly 400 years ago. That moment is now generally regarded as the birth of modern astronomy.