MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands’ “Four Seasons” that Charles Darwin never fully enjoyed

Falkland Islands Philatelic Bureau has a new website: www.falklandstamps.com

An unique feature of the Falkland Islands are the quickly changing weather patterns bringing a beauty to the Islands’ landscapes which are often rare in many other parts of the world. The Falkland Islands Philatelic Bureau, based on photos from Ian Strange and Georgina Strange will be releasing in January a four stamp issue portraying such a stunning phenomena.

The Naturalist Charles Darwin made two relatively short visits to the east of East Falkland in the mid 1800’s. Describing the landscape and the Islands’ weather, his portrayal of “extreme desolation” with its dreary weather environment has been bestowed upon the Falkland Islands for over 100 years, sustained by many writers who, with no firsthand experience themselves, took his descriptions as correct.

The images shown in this four stamp issue, “Atmospheres : Four Seasons”, portray a different and more accurate picture of the Islands’ environment and how its continually changing weather patterns, produce a very different image to the one Darwin described and how these create their own form of beauty on the Islands landscape.

Spring: 27p value. This depicts an early morning scene on Carcass Island with mist rolling in from the sea, helping to create the rich greens of the pastures seen at this time of the year.

Summer: 55p value. A feature of the Falklands is their pollution free atmosphere resulting in intense light and highly reflective blue skies. This tranquil scene is taken from a beach on New Island, West Falkland.

Autumn: 65p value. The austral autumn months of March and April can bring some of the Islands’ most spectacular weather images. A low evening light with intermittent rain showers produced this double rainbow over the brightly coloured roofs of Stanley.

Winter: £1.10 value. Tempered by its marine environment, the Falklands have a narrow temperature range. Contrary to popular belief, accumulations of snow are uncommon with the ground rarely freezing. Long periods of calm are more frequent than in summer, reflecting these often but unusual coloured skies.

The stamps were desinged by In Nature Studio and the printer in stochastic lithography is Cartor Security Printing. Creative Direction (Worldwide) Ltd is Production Co-ordination and the official release date of the issus: 25 January 2010