Singapore 2011 50 Years of Economic Development

These 2 stamps released on 1 August 2011 mark 50 years of economic development in Singapore. The lower right corners of both stamps is printed with the current logo of EDB or Economic Development Board of Singapore, and the main panes in the stamps feature modern abstract art, which lends poorly to collectable themes. The only saving grace is the merlion hidden among the red whorls in the background of the 1st local stamp; but as a tableau, the solid green circle, the black triangle and the solid red rectangle enclosed by the 2 lower prongs of E in HOME make the piece looks like a half-hearted effort, or at best work that was hurried with a tight schedule. The futuristic tree in the $2-stamp remains in the future; it is definitely difficult to tie it with the stamps issued by other countries to celebrate the International Year of the Forest. Altogether, a very forgettable issue.

2011 Spices

Tamarind, cinnamon, turmeric, coriander, and star anise are the 5 spices featured on the stamps released on 15 July 2011. Each of the 5 stamps featuring spices are also illustrated with a local favourite dish or drink in which the spice is used, tamarind in assam prawn, cinnamon in masala tea, turmeric in fish head curry, coriander in satays and star anise in braised duck. So this set of stamps can be placed under the themes of flora, spices/herbs, and cuisine/food.
Tamarind comes from the elongated velvety pod of the tamarind tree (Tamarindus indicus).The pod contains shiny black seeds enclosed in a sticky pulp. The sweet and sour juice extracted from the pulp is widely used in local cuisine.
Cinnamon sticks are made of dried strips of the inner bark of the cinnamon tree (Cinnamomum verum), an tree that can grow up to 10 metres tall. It is principally used as a condiment in beverages and desserts locally, and also as flavouring for cookies and breads. It also has high antioxidant properties, hence considered to be of medicinal value.
Turmeric is derived from the rhizome of the turmeric plant (Curcuma longa). The rhizome is harvested, dried and ground into a fine yellow powder. In this form, it is a versatile substance, used as a fabric dye, in cosmetics, and to impart colour to mustard condiments; in cooking it is commonly used, together to salt, to lightly coat fish before frying. Much medical research are being conducted to study the property of the various compounds found in this substance, for their medicinal property.
The edible coriander plant (Coriandrum sativum) is a common herb used in local oooking, and in marinating satay.
The star anise is obtained from the star-shaped dried fruit of the tree (Illicium verum) native to southwest China. The star anise is widely used in Chinese cuisine, especially for braising meats.

2011 Oriental small-clawed otters

SingPost released on 1 June 2011 a se-tenant strip of 4 stamps featuring the endangered oriental small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinerea), also known as the Asian small-clawed otter. The geographical range of this creature appears large, they are currently found from the Himalayan foothills of Himachal Pradesh eastward throughout south Asia, extending southwards to the Philippines and through Indonesia, its actual distrubution however is very thin. The only areas in which these animals are known to be common are Peninsular Malaysia, especially in Kedah, and in the western forests and southern marshes of Thailand. In Singapore, sightings have been recorded from the northern coast of Singapore, namely the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong. The otter feeds on crabs, mollusks, mudkippers, fish and other small aquatic animals with its hand-like paws. The stamps feature the otters in a mangrove swamp environment, with the propping roots of the mangrove trees, a fiddler crab and a dragonfly. The designer of these stamps is Edmund Chen Zhi Cai, an actor well-known in Singapore. who has also signed on as a stamp ambassador with SingPost. A special serialised imperforated souvenir sheet was also released, and only 1000 of these were printed.

2011 Hawker Centres

Singaporeans love food, and hawker centres are places where very affordable popular and indigenous cuisines are found. These 4 stamps, issued on 16 May 2011, features 4 iconic hawker centres in Singapore - Lau Pa Sat, Newton Food Centre, Maxwell Food Centre and East Coast Lagoon Food Village - places where tourists may find snippets of authentic Singapore.
Lau Pa Sat means old market in the Chinese dialect of Hokkien, was Singapore’s first wet market where fresh produce was sold. was Designed by James MacRitchie and built in 1894, Telok Ayer Market as it was originally called, is located in the middle of the city and is an octagon looking from its top. Its Victorian cast-iron frames with intricate filigree ornamentation were shipped all the way from Glasgow. In 1973 it was renovated and converted into a food centre offering a wide variety of local food. In that same year it was gazetted as a national monument.
The Newton Food Centre, opened in 1971, is located at Newton Circus, and is usually the food centre featured in tourist brochures to sample authentic Singapore cuisine. Currently it is also the nearest major street food centre to the shopping belt of Orchard Road. Because of its high touristy profile, the food offered has biased towards the pricier seafood, overshadowing other reasonably priced Singapore cuisine.
Located between the northern fringe of the business district and the southern fringe of Chinatown, the Maxwell Food Centre which began its roots in 1935 as a vegetable produce wholesale centre in the city. In the 1980s it was converted into a temporary premises for food hawkers from China Square along China Street, it remained a hawker centre since then, closing for a year in 2000 for renovations. Today it serves many iconic Singapore dishes and is one of the cheapest eating places in the area.
The East Coast Lagoon Food Village is not to be confused with the East Coast Seafood Village that is a congregation of pricey seafood restaurants. It is a favourite haunt for affordable street food among sea and beach sports enthusiasts, a perfect place for a meal after a tiring afternoon of cycling, rollerblading, swimming, kayaking or sailing.

Singapore 2011 Centennial of First Flight in Singapore

5 stamps were issued on 16 March 2011 to mark a centenary of the first flight in Singapore. Orville Wright piloted the first powered airplane for 12 seconds on 17 December 1903, and in only 7 years and a few months later, on 16 March 2011, Mr Josef Christiaens (1879-1919), Blegian engineer and aviator, took off from the Singapore Farrer Park racecourse in a Bristol Box-Kite biplane! This historical event is featured in the 1st local stamp from this current issue, as well as the commemorative postcard together with the special postmark, released by the Singapore Philatelic Museum. The 45-cent stamp captured the landing of a Fokker F-VIIA at the civilian airport in Seletar on 10 February 1930, this being the first commercial flight from Batavia (now Jakarta) to Singapore. The 65-cent stamp features the Airspeed Consul with Kallang Airport as the background, and the 80-cent stamp features the F-15SG against the backdrop of Paya Lebar Airport. The $1.10 stamp features the Airbus A380 flown by Singapore Airlines, with Changi Airport in the background, Singapore Airlines was the first commercial operator in the world to provide flights on the A380.

Singapore 2011 Spirit of Giving

Singapore Post released 2 very large stamps on 24 january, under the theme title of "Spirit of Giving", in conjunction with the 21st IAVE (International Association for Volunteer Effort) World Volunteer Conference. The size of both stamps is 73.8 mm x 76 mm; it would be hardput to find space to stick these stamps onto a regular envelope; the last time a very large stamp was issued was in 2006 with a 98 mm x 66.7 mm $2-stamp marking the first Art Biennale (pronounced as bi-na-le) in Singapore.

Unlike many other countries where stamps in aid of a movement include a surcharge, for this issue a sum of S$0.50 was donated to the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) for the sale of every pre-cancelled first day cover or every presentation pack. The stamp design showcases winning entries of a children art competition organized by th NVPC in 2010.

This set of stamps can be obviously classed under the theme of children's art, there is also a very clear drawing of an elderly woman on a wheelchair in the $2.00 stamp, pointing to the theme of the disabled and the handicapped. Surprisingly, the $1.10 stamp design contains the word "vitagen", a specific brand of cultured milk drink, coupled with the rubric "less sugar". I just wonder if this is free advertisement for Vitagen.

2011 Year of Rabbit

The first stamp issue for 2011 rightly gives us the Year of Rabbit stamps. The set follows the general design theme for this 2nd cycle of the Chinese Zodiac, with 3 stamps - 1st Local NVI, 65c and $1.10. However, the collector's sheet is slightly different from the previously 3 for the Years of Rat, Ox & Tiger. The collector's sheets for those 3 years contain real holographic transitions of the animals of preceding, current and following years, for 2011, the collector's sheet is coated with a UV sensitive layer, which supposedly brings out the tiger in the $5-stamp and the dragon in the $10.00 stamp.