Postcard From My Hometown and a Few Others

Well, I am going to start this update with a special card. It's from Grand Falls Windsor, Newfoundland, Canada. Of course I have other cards too, from Pilisvorosvar in Hungary, Valencia in Spain, Cilaos in Reunion, Douglas on Isle of man, Narva in Estonia along with Nauru, England and Thailand. So , quite a mix of cards. Let's get to the first one.

1. Grand Falls Windsor, Newfoundland, Canada, where I was born and grew up. I lived there for about 20 years and now I finally received a card from there. How cool is that ? This card shows a part of the old paper mill that operated in the town when I lived there and continued to operate till about 2 years ago when it finally closed. The town of Grand Falls was established in 1905 and the paper mill was opened in 1909. This winter view of The Exploits River and the paper mill is taken from the other side of the river. The town is located on the right side of the river in the picture. Brings back a lot of memories for me. Trevor , who also hails from Grand Falls Windsor , but now works in Qatar sent this card while on a short visit back home. As Trevor wrote on the card, this was my old stomping ground. Trevor used a really great stamp , one for my aircraft on stamps collection. It is a stamp commemorating the first aircraft flight in Canada, in 1909. The aircraft shown on the stamp is the Silver Dart. Trevor, thanks for a great card and a great stamp, along with some great memories.

Card # 2 This one is from Pilisvorosvar, a small town in Pest county, Hungary. This multi-view card gives us a number of the sights in the town. Peter sent this card and he has a postcard and cover blog here. Peter used a mixture of older and new stamps to move this card along. The top left stamp is from a 2001 set of 6 definitives featuring chairs. The top center stamp is from 1970 is from 1970 and commemorates Liberation from Concentration Camps. The top right stamp is 1 of 4 in a 2010 Bio- Diversity set. The stamp in the 2nd row is a 1972 stamp commemorating ICONOS. The last stamp , the pink one is from 2000 and is again 1 of 6 definitives featuring chairs.

Card # 3 Another one from Ana. You can find her here. Ana recently travelled to Spain and sent this card from Valencia. This city of just over 800,000 people is quite old, it was founded in 137 BC. Valencia has a slight connection to Calgary, Alberta, Canada where I am located. One of its famous citizens , Santiago Calatrava , the award winning architect has designed a very contentious foot bridge here. The pedestrian bridge, called The Peace Bridge, crosses the Bow River and will when completed cost between 22 and 25 million dollars. The architectural designs alone cost 3.903 million dollars. It hasn't opened yet due to a number of delays including cracks in the welding. Many , many Calgarians are opposed to the bridge due to its high cost , although it is a fait accompli. A similar bridge in Toronto , although not designed by Mr Calatrava , cost just 8 million dollars. Well, I think I got a little off track there, but that happens now and then.
To finish up , Ana used a 2011 International Women's Day stamp.

Card # 4 This is a card from Reunion. Postmarked from Cilaos, a small town on the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean. Jean Pierre used a couple of recent French stamps on this one.

Card # 5 Comes to me from England and shows a number of views of Hadrian's Wall. This is the most popular tourist attraction in Northern England and was begun in AD 122. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. David used a Worldwide Postcard rate stamp featuring Queen Elizabeth.

Card # 6 Another one from Jean Pierre. This one is of The Tower of Refuge in Douglas Bay, Isle of Man. Designed by John Welch the Tower of Refuge, as it came to be called, was completed in 1832. Situated upon Conister Rock in Douglas Bay a granite haven in the form of a small castle took its place as a lifesaver for sailors. Built at a cost of £254, the tower was kept well stocked with fresh water and bread, ready to offer shelter from the weather and sea. John Pierre used a 1998 Flower stamp from a set of 6. He also use 2 cat stamps from a 2011 set of 6.

Card # 7 is from Narva , Estonia. Narva is located at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, 200 km east of Tallinn and 130 km southwest of Saint Petersburg. The Old Town Hall shown on the card was built on the orders of King Charles XI of Sweden. It was constructed between 1665 and 1671 . At that time Narva was the eastermost point of the Kingdom of Sweden. Olga who lives in Narva used a 2001 Coat of Arms stamp and a 2006 horse stamp from a souvenir sheet of 2 commemorating 150 years of The Tori Stud Farm. The final stamp Olga used is a 2007 badger stamp.

I think that is enough for this time. I usually only show 5 or so cards , so 7 this time is certainly a bonus. Thanks to Olga, Jean Pierre, David, Ana, Peter and Trevor for their great cards and stamps. Hope you readers enjoyed seeing the cards as much as I enjoyed receiving them. Take care and see you all again soon.