Fylde Coast

This 3.5p stamp was issued in 1974 marking 70 years since the introduction of the first motorised fire engine. I'm guessing there is a good chance, by looking at the postmark, it was sent from us to my grandparents or our grandparents to us (and then given to my grandfather to collect).

After leaving the RAF Police my father joined the local fire brigade where he remained until he retired. As a small child I remember the Fire Brigade Christmas parties, where there were was much larking about with the kit, plenty of balloons and everyone got to play with the pole...!

As a child my family holidays revolved mostly around caravan trips near Blackpool/Fleetwood (hence the postmark). My parents usually parked the caravan up in a pig farmer's field. It was quite rustic even then, but I'm sure it was cheaper than a fancy campsite, and pigs don't cost a lot to look at unlike most things in Blackpool! I think the only excitement I really remember was when a pig escaped and we had to take refuge in the caravan...   

My mother-in-law had her second Pfizer jab for COVID-19 today, so in a two weeks she should have peak immunity which will be a relief. After a very slow start things are picking up in France, and things are moving... Still not perfect though.

At the moment fully vaccinated:
Denmark: 3%
Spain: 2.6%
France: 1.8%
UK: 0.9%

So France has fully vaccinated twice the percentage of people as the UK.

If you compared with, half vaccinated:
UK: 26%
Denmark: 6%
Spain: 4%
France: 3.8%
The picture is very different at the moment. Only time will tell what the best approach was... Either way I'm stuck working from home for several months more...!

It's a stamp and it's pretty tiny but it's not really very natural, though the paper it's made from was once part of a tree...!