Bulgaria and London Cards and a CONTEST

Hello again. I have 3 cards for today. They are from Bulgaria, Great Britain and The United States.
First let's talk about the card from Bulgaria. It shows Rila Monastery. The Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is located 117 km south of the capital Sofia, at an elevation of 1,147 m above sea level.The monastery was founded in the 10th century. The Rila Monastery was added to The UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1983.
The card is the result of a private swap with Bilyana, a Postcrosser living in Sofia. Bilyana used 3 different stamps on her card including on the left, 1 of a set of 5 , issued 2003, showing gold objects. The large stamp on the top right was issued in 2009 and commemorates space exploration and features Georgi Ivanov. And, finally the stamp on the bottom was issued in 2000 and is 1 of 6 featuring churches, temples, mosques and synagogues. I like the space exploration stamp very much. Thanks Bilyana. I don't really have a lot of Bulgaria stamps , as most were cto, or cancelled to order and never really saw any postal duty. I have now looked back over the last 15 years or so and have found some really nice and attractive stamps. Perhaps it can be a new collecting area for me.

The next car is from London, England. It shows famous Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge was opened 30 June 1894. It is 244 metres in length and its longest span is 61 metres. The card was sent by Dorothy, a Postcrosser from England. She has a blog at http://coffeedoffs-coffeebreak.blogspot.com . Give it a look and you'll find some wonderful pictures. The stamp, not shown , is just a regular 62p definitive. Thanks Dorothy.

The last card for today is from The United States. It is from a Postcrosser . It is the worst postcard that I have received in over 3 years of collecting. It's only redeeming value is a nice Ponce de Leon stamp. It is a cheap piece of very light cardboard. There is nothing on the card whatsoever, back or front. It is blank and blank. My only word to the sender is that if he is going to continue in Postcrossing, he needs to upgrade his postcards, as most postcrossers like to send a nice card and often go out of their way to send a card that the person receiving their card will enjoy.
Now , what to do with this card. I don't throw out any card, so I guess it stays in my collection, well hidden I will say. I guess I could enter it in a worst or ugliest postcard contest. Even better, why don't I sponsor that contest.

Drum Roll Please *************************

Announcing the 1st Ever GemsWorldPostcards Worst and Ugliest Postcards Contest

Contest Rules:

1- Contest runs until Jan 8th, 2010
2- Open to all postcard lovers and collectors around the world.
3-Contest has 2 categories : 1 - the Worst postcard you ever received and 2 - the Ugliest postcard you ever received.
4-Two prizes will be awarded , one for each category
5- Prizes for each category are five ( 5) unused, unwritten , mint postcards, from 5 different countries of the winners choice, from a list of countries supplied by GemWorldPostcards.
6- Enter as often as you wish, but all entries must be sent separately, and your entry must indicate whether it is ugly or just the worst.
7- You may enter the worst postcard category, or the ugliest postcard category, or both.
8- All entries must be mailed to GemsWorldPostcards, 955 Windsong Drive S.W., Airdrie, AB. Canada, T4B 0N5
9- All entries must be a physical postcard, either an ugly one or simply the worst , ever received.
10- No scans or copies permitted
11- All entries become the property of GemsWorldPostcards and will not be returned
12- All entries must include the senders name, address and email address
13- Winners will be selected by GemsWorldPostcards on Jan 10th, 2010 and notified by email. Winners name and their winning entries will be announced on GemsWorldPostcards after the contest ends.
14- All non-winning entries will also be scanned and shown on GemsWorldPostcards

That is a lot of rules. I hope all readers of this blog will enter if they have an ugly postcard or one they deem to be the worst ever received.I know what one I would like to enter, but since it's my contest , I will have to hold off.
A note to Postcrosser forum members. Since I do not partake of the forum, please feel free to mention this contest to other forum members , and to any other postcard bloggers that you have contact with. The more entries received , the more fun there will be.

I guess that is about it for today. I hope you can partake in this contest. Remember , it's just for fun.