Great Britain Handover FDC

Great Britain FDC
Name: Handover of the Olympic Flag from Beijing to London (China - Great Britain Joint Issue)
Date of Issue: 22 August 2008

Denominations:
1st: National Stadium, Beijing
The National Stadium, also known as "Bird's Nest", located in the southern part of the core area of the Olympic Green, is the main venue for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Covering a land area of 21 hectares and a total floor space of 258,000 square meters, the stadium offers 91,000 seats, including 11,000 temporary ones. It hosted the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games as well as the track-and-field events and soccer finals. After the Games, the stadium will serve as a public venue for people to extensively participate in athletic and recreational activities, and will become a landmark sports structure.

1st: London Eye
The London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, located on the bank of the River Thames, is a 135-meter-high Ferris wheel and a beautiful sight in the skyline of London. The London Eye, erected and opened to the public in 2000 to celebrate the millennium, has now become a landmark and the most popular tourist attraction in London. Tourists can sit high up in the sky above downtown London and take a magnificent view of the city while listening to the narrative about it.

1st: Tower of London
The Tower of London, located by the Tower Hill on the north bank of the River Thames, is a Norman castle of over nine centuries old. The Tower functioned in history as a fortress, an arsenal, a treasury, a mint, a royal palace, an execution ground, an astronomical observatory, a refuge and a prison (particularly for high0ranking or royal prisoners). It has now become a renowned tourist resort of the UK. The museum in the Tower houses ancient weapons, crowns and royal jewelry. The Tower of London was listed among the World Cultural Heritage sites in 1988.

1st: Corner Tower, Forbidden City, Beijing
Corner Towers are part of the Forbidden City in Beijing and functioned as defense facilities for the Imperial Palace along with the city wall, gate towers and moat. The four corner towers placed at the four corners of the Forbidden City are of the same structure, consisting of a triple-eave roof, nine main beams, 18 columns, and 72 ridgepoles. They are characterized by complex appearance and exquisitely decorated vermilion walls and yellow tiles. The four corner towers of the Forbidden City carry forward the features of ancient Chinese timber-framed architecture, namely flexibility and variation, and combine functions with decorative effect, demonstrating the superb craftsmanship of ancient Chinese artisans.

Comment: The handover took place on the closing ceremony of the Olympic Game on 24 August. As Royal Mail never issue stamps on Sunday, Royal Mail agreed with China Post and the IOC to issue this set on 22nd August, two days before the handover ceremony.

Estonia 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Gold Medalist Autographed FDC
Estonia 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Silver Medalists Autographed Postal Stationery

2008 Beijing Olympic Games FDCs:
Algeria, Belarus, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Estonia Sheetlet, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Hong Kong M/S, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Portugal M/S, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Ukraine.

2008 Beijing Paralympic Games FDCs:
Czech Republic, Slovakia.

Great Britain Air Displays FDC

Great Britain FDC
Name: Air Displays
Date of Issue: 17 July 2008

In 1908, Farnborough was the site of the United Kingdom's first powered flight by the American, Samuel Franklin Cody. He took to the air in British Army Aircraft One. 2008 is also the 60th anniversary of the Farnborough Air Show.

Denominations:
1st Class: Red Arrows
The Royal Air Force Aerobatic team was formed in 1964 to tidy up several different RAF aerobatic teams into one single unit. The greatest and best-known military aerobatics team in the world, they have performed at over 4,000 displays worldiwde and are a much-loved fixture of air displays and countless smaller outdoor events every year.

48p: RAF Falcons
The public will now routinely see high-precision routines from parachute teams at most big airshows and even garden fetes. The Falcons are the RAF's parachute display team, famous for their trademark 'non-contact canopy stack' jump. The Royal Navy have their own display team, the Raiders, while the famous Red Devils represent both the Army and the Parachute Regiment.

50p: Formation Flying
As small and agile biplanes gave way to faster monoplanes, then to jets, aerobatic displays got more spectacular - and further away from the crowds. It was 54 Squadron, flying de Havilland Vampires, that hit upon the neat solution of making themselves much more visible by bing the first to use smoke trails, made by releasing diesel and coloured dye into the jet exhaust.

56p: The Cold War
Until the Royal Navy became responsible for Britain's missile-based thermonuclear deterrent, the RAF was in the front line of any potential conflict with the Warsaw Pact. In the 1950s, air display audiences met new generations of fast jet-propelled fighters and bombers. Many would treat the crowds to a sonic boom or two, despite the objections of local residents.

72p: Wing Walking
Wing walking and other early stunts were so dangerous they were effectively outlawed, but they have made a comeback in more recent decades. Britain has at least one commercially-sponsored formation wing walking team performing at airshows and other events. It has also become a much sought-after experience among many extrem sports enthusiasts.

81p: Air Racing
From the very earliest airshows at Frankfurt and Rheims in 1909, competitive racing was a key element, allowing manufacturers to showcase designs and spurring companies - later nations - to improve their aircraft. The 81p stamp shows a speed contest fro monoplanes, won by William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse, who later became the first pilot to win the Victoria Cross.

Comment: This is my first real posted FDC from Great Britain. But it's very interesting. The Royal Mail cancelled this FDC but didn't send it directly to me, they put it into another bigger envelope, and then sent this bigger envelope to me by registered mail before issue day.