Postbox

Postbox from the reign of King Edward VII

This is one of the first four magnets which my colleague, Duangrat brought for me when she visited her sons in England more than ten years ago. It is the opening of my magnet collectibles.

The designs of the postboxes are often related to the cultures and historical backgrounds of the countries. They have their unique stories, shapes, colours, fonts, logo and etc.

Different countries have set different colour schemes for their postboxes. The postboxes in Great Britain are red in colour. In the western European countries like France, Germany and Spain the postboxes are in yellow colour. In the US, the postboxes are dark blues.

All postboxes in England bear the royal badges. Whenever there was a change of regime, so was the badge. No wonder, postboxes bearing royal badge of different regimes on the sides can be found easily everywhere in the streets of England. However, postboxes bearing the Victorian badges can rarely be found in London because most of them had already been destroyed when the German air force bombarded London during World War II. Today most of the postboxes in England are inscribed with the Royal Badge of the present Queen Elizabeth 2nd.

Platypus

A platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal found in eastern Australia where they live on the edges of rivers and freshwater lakes where burrows can be dug. It is one of the mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young.

Because of its features; egg-laying, venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal, it became an iconic symbol of Australia. It has appeared as a mascot at national events and is featured on the reverse of the Australia 20 cent coin. The Platypus is the animal emblem of the state of New South Wales.

My eldest daughter bought this cute and very lifelike doll from her flight to Australia.

Alcatraz Island Prison

On 22 May 2010, I posted about a cable car in San Francisco. This is another magnet collectibles I also bought from the same souvenir shop at Pier 39 San Francisco during my 7 days trip to LA-Las Vegus-San Francisco in May 2009.

Alcatraz Island is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) offshore from San Francisco, California. Often referred to as The Rock. Alcatraz was used as a federal maximum-security prison from 1934 until 1963, when it was closed due to high costs and security issues. Over the years it was home to Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelley, and Robert "The Birdman" Stroud.

Later, in 1972, Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received landmarking designations in 1976 and 1986.

This magnet represents a prisoner trying to escape 'The Rock" which during its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed no prisoners had ever successfully escaped.

Mirror

Another collectible from Japan. A mirror which at the back is a picture of Japanese Castle and Mount Fuji Vocalno, the symbols of Japan.

I got this mirror from Pi Pairoj, my husband's colleague who visited Japan several years ago. Never been used as a mirror but kept in show cabinet as a treasure collectible.

Candle Holder

During my daughters' appointment as cabin crews with the Emirates, I had a chance to visit them several times. Each visit, I had to drop by at the souvenir shops. This is one of the Dubai collectibles that I bought from The Arabian Treasures wing of City Centre on the first floor. It is made of brass and oyster shell.

The Liberty Bell

A huge bronze bell located in The Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is one of the most prominent symbols of the American Revolutionary War. It symbolizes freedom and independence within the United States and has been described as an icon of liberty and justice.

The bell was originally called the State House Bell or the Province Bell. The bell was first called the Liberty Bell around 1839 by abolitionist (anti-slavery) publications.

Inscriptions on the Bell: Across the top of the bell is the inscription, "PROCLAIM LIBERTY THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND UNTO ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF LEV. XXV X." This is a quote from the Old Testamentent of the Bible, Leviticus chapter 25, verse 10. Under this reads, "BY ORDER OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE PROVINCE OF PENSYLVANIA [sic] FOR THE STATE HOUSE IN PHILADA." Lower on the bell are the inscriptions, "PASS AND STOW," the last names of the founders who cast the bell (John Pass and John Stow). Beneath this is "PHILADA," short for Philadelphia. The lowest inscription is the Roman numerals MDCCLIII (1753), the year the bell was re-cast.

During my training in New York in October 2001, a former Officer in my section, Ms. Elsa C. Lorenzo was kind enough to take me and ESCAP team to visit Philadelphia. Out of the four bells that I bought, I keep two of them. My first bells collectibles.

Thank you Elsa, the bells always remind me of your kindness.

Learn more: The Liberty Bell