First August Post

Good day to all, just experiencing a little rain at the moment, so seems that's a good time for a few postcards that arrived in August. I know we're only 2 days in but quite a few cards have shown up in just those 2 days. I can only hope the month continues that way.

Let's start with a card from the U.S.A. This one shows a rather unique view of the 59th Street Bridge in New York City. It's a view from underneath the bridge. Also known as the Queensboro Bridge, it was started in 1901 and completed in 1909. It is a two-level cantilever bridge and runs for 1,135 m. The bridge was immortalized in the 1966 song " Feelin'  Groovy " . Can't you just hear Simon & Garfunkel singing :
                               Slow down, you move too fast
                               You got to make the morning last
                               Just kicking down the cobblestones
                               Looking for fun and  feelin' groovy.

Nancy used 2 stamps on her card. On the left is a 2018 stamp from a beautiful set of 20 Landscapes. On the right is a 2016 Non-Machineable Surcharge Stamp showing an Eastern Tailed Blue Butterfly.

This butterfly stamp is the sixth non-machineable butterfly and was issued to be used on irregularly sized envelopes. Not sure why it ended up on a postcard. It's value is 71 cents unused.


 My second card for today is from France . It's a look at Cite de Carcassonne, the medieval citadel in the French city of Carcassonne. The citadel has 3 kilometres of double surrounding walls with 52 towers and dates from the 13th century. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Dominique used 2 stamps on this card, one of which is a little more interesting than the other. The stamp on the right is from 1973 and features Napolean and Portalis in preparing the Civil Code. The smaller stamp on the left is the more interesting one I think. It is a semi-postal stamp that was issued on March 26, 1927. The actual stamp is a regular issue from 1903-07 and surcharged in Red. It is called a Sinking Fund Issue and the money collected on it went into a sinking fund to pay down World War I debt. Unlike most stamps one receives on postcards, this stamp does have a little value. I hope it wasn't used in error.

This next card offers a great view of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne , Germany. This Gothic styled cathedral was started in 1248 and after several construction stages was completed in 1880.
It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

 Johan used 2 stamps from this current year. They form a panorama and as such are a Tourism Issue - Germany's Most Beautiful Panoramas. Gartenreich Dessau-Worlitz. It us also called the English Gardens of Worlitz - one of the first and largest English Parks in Germany. It was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site  in 2000.

Here is my first postcard from Tibet and thanks for it go out to Ravindra. Tibet, located on the Tibetan Plateau on the northern side of the Himalayas, is an autonomous region of China. Its nickname is " Roof of the World " and as such it shares Mt. Everest with Nepal. Tibet is the highest region on Earth. It retained its autonomy until 1951 when it was incorporated into the People's Republic of China. All my collecting days I have wanted a card from Tibet and now thanks to Ravindra I have one. It arrived from the capital of Llasa.   It shows a group of locals parading in ceremonial attire in front of Potala Palace. It is the highest ancient palace in the world. Built in 1645 the 13 story palace has over 1,000 rooms and covers over 13 hectares. The stone walls measure 3 metres thick on average. The palace became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

Ravindra used a 2001 Wildlife stamp. It's 1 of 10 in the set.

Time now for the last card of the day. It's from the  Netherlands and arrived with a great motto  "Nothing says real Love like a Post Card"  . There's a cute play on words at the bottom - Look what's waiting on your doormat today.

Barbara used a great bunch of stamps on her card. At top left is a 2008 stamp celebrating 100 years of NBFV. The middle stamp , also from 2008 celebrates 80 years of NVPH. Both are National Stamp Clubs. The stamp on the right is from 2009 Stamp Day and shows Queen Wilhelmina on an old 10 Guilders stamp.

Well, that's it for August's first entry here on the blog. Big thanks for all the cards go out to Nancy, Dominique, Johan, Ravindra and Barbara. Like the expression " it takes a village to raise a child " , in my case it takes a lot of good, kind people to keep this blog going.

Take care, see you next time.