Cards from England and Finland

I have two cards to show today. The first one is from England and was sent to me by Chas Gilbert of Derbyshire, UK. He said on the card that he just stumbled across my blog and decided to send a postcard. Thanks Chas. The card shows a number of miniature locomotives that make up the Steeple Grange Light Railway , near Wirksworth, Derbyshire. Chas used 3 Machin definitives on the card. The larger 1ST stamp on the right was issued in 2006.

My second card for today is from Finland. It was sent by Pertti of Helsinki. The card shows Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki. It was built in 1968-1969 and designed by the architect brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen. The church is built into solid rock and is ofter known as the Church of the Rock. This Lutheran Church, visited by about a half million people annually, is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Helsinki.
The stamp used by Pertti is 1 of a set of 6 issued in 2004 honoring Jean Sibelius. The one on my card shows Ainola, the home of Sibelius, Finland's greatest composer. The house names Ainola, after his wife Aino, is a destination of pilgrimage for music lovers and admirers of Sibelius. Ainola stands on the edge of the town of Jarvenpaa, 38 kilometres North of Helsinki. The house was built early in the 20th century to a design by the architect Lars Sonck, a leading exponent of the Art Nouveau style.

Thanks for reading.