Cabo Rojo, Pearns Bay, Jost Van Dyke , a Barn Owl and CANADA PROUD

 Blog # 1694

Day 1641 ( That's One Thousand Six Hundred and Forty One Days ) Since the Start of the  Current ( Second )   Russian Invasion of UKRAINE .   

                                                            GLORY TO UKRAINE   

Howdy folks - all you collectors, postcarders and stamp people. Bloggers , too. I have a few more cards to show off. 

I am starting with a few leftover cards , sent by My Lovely Teena, from a cruise or two ago. The first one shows Pearns Bay, Antigua. It is located past Jolly Harbour and Hermitage Bay on a rocky road dotted with giant potholes, or at least it was when we were there. There is a lovely white sand beach as the card shows. 

   Teena used a lovely 2004 stamp, 1 of 4 in a Year of the Monkey set.

Card # 2 from Teena -- This one is from British Virgin Islands.  Here we see Jost Van Dyke from Smugglers Cove , Tortola.  

Jost Van Dyke is the smallest of the four British Virgin Islands , spanning roughly 3 square miles (8 sq km) with a population of about 300 people. Known as the "Barefoot Island," it is famous for its relaxed vibe, stunning white-sand beaches, and legendary beach bars like the Soggy Dollar Bar British Virgin Islands.  

Teena used a few nice stamps on this card. The two Bird stamps on top were issued in a set of 4 in 2005 for a Bird Festival. The bottom stamp is from 1980 , overprinted  for the Caribbean Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Meeting held in Tortola . The stamp was first issued in 1979, without the overprint. 

Card # 3 from Teena ---- A Cayman Islands card. This is a card issued by the Cayman Islands Philatelic Bureau, so it represents a Cayman Islands stamp from a Birds definitive series from 2006.  

The stamp is 1 of 5 in a 2005 set of Boats issued for the 120th Anniversary of the Cayman Registry. 

Card # 4 from My Lovely Teena is from San Juan , Puerto Rica. It shows Cabo Rojo Lighthouse, located on the southwest coast of the country. And no, that is not My Lovely Teena walking up to the lighthouse. 

I am not showing the stamp. Everybody has seen it numerous times and then some. It is the 2025 Round Global Forever stamp.  You all know what I am referring to. 

So that is it for this time. Thanks for these cards go out to My Lovely Teena. She is a great travel companion , she never complains about me and her making our way to the Post Office no matter where we are. Thanks Teena.

Now before I sign off   - one little bit of current news. 

I was always proud to be a Canadian -  that is not new, but today I am really proud to be a Canadian. Finally someone and some country has stood up to that orange haired narcissistic blowhard to the south of this fine country. It took a Canadian and Canada. It may hurt us in the end but at least we had the balls to do it. 

Canada - Strong, Free and Proud .

Ayia Napa, Encamp Tower, Year of the Dragon Art, Old Tbilisi and Puigcerda

                                                           Blog # 1693

Day 1636 ( That's One Thousand Six Hundred and Thirty Six Days ) Since the Start of the  Current ( Second )   Russian Invasion of UKRAINE .   

                                                            GLORY TO UKRAINE   

Here we go , I'm back again. My first card is my first card for a reason. It is an unexpected card on my part and was sent from Halifax , Canada. It pictures an inside view of a library in the Halifax Public Library system. 

Now the card is from a lady named Deshantha and she wrote that this card is the beginning of a postcard exchange. Well it's one that I don't remember taking part in. So Deshantha if you are reading this  please leave a comment and tell me the information about the exchange and about you. It's all a mystery to me. 

This next card is from Andorra and shows a view of Encamp , one of the seven parishes
that make up the Principality of Andorra, located at an altitude of 1,266 meters in the heart of the country. You can see the tower of the Church of Santa Eulalia . Built during the 11th and 12th centuries the church is a historic Romanesque church in the center of Encamp. The tower stands at 23 meters and is the tallest in Andorra. 

 

Josep and Assumpta used a 2025 stamp on this card. It showcases Merce Ubach Filba , the first woman to serve as a police officer in the country.

Here's another card from Josep and Assumpta. On this one we see the town of Pujgcerda and Cerdanya  -  the natural area it is located within. 

A nice train stamp on this one. It was issued in 2024 showing the Strawberry Railway. It was opened in 1851 , and was Madrid's first rail line. Of course they served strawberries on board. 

Next up is a card from Cyprus and gives us a partial view of Ayia Napa , a resort town at the far eastern end of the southern coast of the country.  The town is  known for its beaches. The town's main landmark is the storied, Venetian-era Ayia Napa Monastery, which stands in the central square of Plateia Seferi, surrounded by bars and clubs.

Meelis used 3 stamps on his card . On the left is a 2026 Refugee Stamp symbol. 
The Cyprus refugee stamp, known locally as Prosfigosimo, is an obligatory postal tax stamp introduced by the government in September 1974 following the Turkish invasion. It raises funds for displaced persons and remains widely used on mail today. 

They appear to be a rather insignificant little stamp and I would think , not collected by many. Of course I have to be different. I consider them to be quite collectable . I have 15 so far and just 37 left to collect for " completness ". The middle stamp is from 2024, 1 of 2 in a set . The right stamp is from 1 set of 4 issued in 2024 , showing Motorcycles. 

Now it's a card from Tbilisi, Georgia. Rather a cool looking card with a lot happening in Old Tbilisi. 

Alena used a stamp from 2024. It is 1 of 2 in a Europa set showing Flora and Fauna.

Now here's a cool card from the Netherlands. It's a Chinese New Year card celebrating the Year of the Dragon 2024. It's a self drawn card by the sender Barbara. Very nice design. 

Barbara used a 2023 Year of the Rabbit stamp on this one. 

So ends another update on The Blog. Thanks to Josep and Assumpta, Meelis, Alena and Barbara for their cards. . Take care all.

Minsk, Bushmill`s Distillery, The United Nations, Sigiriya, Seven Maidens, and Cankill II

                                                                    BLOG # 1692            

     Day 1621 ( That's One Thousand Six Hundred and Twenty One Days ) Since the Start of the  Current ( Second )   Russian Invasion of UKRAINE .   

                                                            GLORY TO UKRAINE   

Hello again. Well today is Heritage Day here in Alberta and as such there is no mail delivery . So a day to catch up a little with the cards already on hand .

As I mentioned last time , today I will show a few cards sent by David and Ravindra. 

So here we go .  Here`s a card I received quite a while ago. Only David will know how long ago. I`m sure he thought it had gotten lost crossing the pond. But no, it`s just been on my desk, so to speak. It shows the Old Bushmill`s Distillery, the world`s oldest licensed whiskey distillery. 

The Old Bushmills Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery in Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, established in 1784 and owned by Proximo Spirits. Bushmills Distillery uses water drawn from Saint Columb's Rill, which is a tributary of the River Bush. 

David used a stamp from a set of 8 issued in 2023, highlighting Terry Pratchett`s Discworld. 

 

Card 2 -  from David arrived from Minsk, Belarus. Now I haven`t  been showings cards from Belarus lately due to their involvement with and support of Russia in the ongoing Ukraine war. I make this exception due to the card coming from a very regular contributor to my blog. 

David`s card provides a street level view of two apparently identical buildings in Minsk. After looking quite closely at both , and if I ever find myself in Minsk, I now know where to get a meal of KFC. Have a look at the left building just above the car going by. 

KFC is in red. 

The stamp , what to say, what to say. I quite like the stamp. It is 1 of 2 in a 2026 set showing Myths and Legends of Belarus. The other stamp in the set is a winner , too. 

Great postmark on this one , also.

Here now is a card from NYC, United States of America. It was actually posted at the UN post office. So, Greetings From The United Nations. 

I visited New York City many , many years ago. I was driven around the city, and saw the UN Building. Thinking back on it, I don`t know why we didn`t stop and visit the building. Of course at that time I was neither a stamp collector or a postcard collector. 

Enough of those personal reminiscences . Do you see your countries flag on display on the card. I don`t see my country`s flag but I know it has been there since 1945. 

David used a 2026 United Nations stamp in a souvenir sheet issued to honour America on it`s Semiquincentennial on July 4, 2026. 

 It`s now half-time here on the blog. Ravinder`s cards are next. 

Here`s the first one , from Sri Lanka, showing Sigirya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Sigiriya or Sinhagiri is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is a site of historical and archaeological significance that is dominated by a massive column of granite approximately 180 m high. It was placed on the UNESCO WHS list in 1982.

Ravindra used 3 stamps on this card, a rectangle, a circle and a square. Starting to sound like a geometry lesson. 

The rectangular stamp was issued in 2022, to mark the 100th Anniversary of Sri Lanka Athletics. The round stamp is from 2025, one of a set of 10 , marking the 60th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Planetarium. The 3rd stamp is not a square but another round stamp . I guess I did learn something in Geometry class after all. It was issued in 2007 to showcase the Highest Wicket Ever Taken in Test Cricket , by Muthiah Muralidaran.  

Card 2 -- Ravindra`s card shows us a view of Mountain Biodiversity of Sri Lanka. It`s the Seven Maidens Mountain Range, located near Lakshapana waterfall. The highest mountain in this range is 1276 meters high.

 So this is The Seven Maidens  in Sri Lanka, well we have The Three Sisters here in Alberta Canada. 

Have a look. 

The left stamp and the bottom stamp on this card from from a set of 20  Wild Species Threatened by Trade in Sri Lanka. The other stamp, from 2024,  shows Scouts Camping.

It`s time now for today`s last card, another from Ravindra. It`s a look at The Sangiliyan Statue. The Sangiliyan statue was dedicated to Cankili II, a Tamil martyr and the last king of Jaffna Kingdom. The statue is seen as a landmark of the city of Jaffna. The Sangiliyan statue was built 1974. It was removed in 2011 and a new statue was built albeit with some changes, mainly the location of the King`s sword. 

This card arrived with 4 stamps. The small stamp on the top left is 1 of a set of 20 issued in 2007 showing Constellations. The other 3 are from a set of 6 issued in 2014 for Pigeon Island National Park.

So ends another update here on The Blog. Thanks to David and Ravindra for today`s cards and stamps. 

More coming soon, don`t miss out !