A Uganda Postcard

The postcard I am showing today was sent to me by a friend of a friend. It is from Uganda, and shows a wooden scooter , which apparently is quite common in Uganda. It feature a couple of small Uganda boys using this scooter. My wife thinks this is the nicest postcard in my collection, she says that cards with locals on them are the best.. But I think it's just her kind spot for kids coming through. The sender wished me the brightest of Uganda days, and that I have the strength of a Gorilla , the confidence of a Lion and the hope and happiness of a Ugandan Child. I hope he is right. The stamp is one of a set of 4 issued in 2005 to celebrate The Year Of The Rooster.

Boxing Day post

I received 3 postcards on Christmas Eve. Two of them were from new countries for me, #170 and 171. These cards were from Cook Islands and Turkmenistan. The 3rd card was from French Polynesia. The Cook Islands and Fr Polynesia cards were both sent to me by Bob Lamb. He was traveling in that area and was good enough to drop me a couple of cards. Thanks Bob. The Cook Islands card shows an aerial view of the island of Aitutaki, and it looks just great. The stamp Bob used was the 90c value of a 2007 set of 30 definitives featuring local wildlife.







The French Polynesia card shows a very nice and quiet scene from Tahiti. It also shows a signpost on the beach showing distances to many world cities. The stamp on the card is a140f value from a set of 3 issued in 2007 featuring Heiva, a famous Tahiti cultured event., held every July. Heiva is the Tahitian word for festival.


The final card , from Turkmenistan was sent by Evan who lives in Ashgabat. The card shows was appears to be a very sandy desert area. This card
was issued by The State Committee of Turkmenistan For Tourism and Sport. The stamps on the card are non-denominated , but carry a letter to show their postal rate. The G stamp is a 2003 issue marking Independence Day.The A stamp shows what looks like a family of Leopards, but I couldn't locate anymore information about it.






All in all, I guess 3 postcards on Christmas Eve was a pretty good Christmas gift for 2007.

Christmas Wishes

To all my fellow stamp and postcard bloggers and to all readers , my Christmas wishes for you all are summed up in the 3 Christmas Stamps issued by Canada Post this year. Hope, Joy and Peace.I also include a scan of a 4th Christmas stamp from Canada Post.

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

Joyeux Noel et Bonne Annee

Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Nuevo

Card From A Cold Land

I'm showing a card today, that I was very happy to receive. I think it is one of the best card in my collection, maybe not for the picture on it, but from where it was sent. The card is from Antarctica, British Antarctic Territory, in fact. The postmark reads, British Antarctic Territory, Halley. Halley Base is located on The Brunt Ice Shelf on the mainland of Antarctica. Halley is located at Lat 75 degrees 35 minutes S, Lon 26 degrees 34 minutes W and is occupied year round. Summer time it has about 70 persons and in winter 15 or 16. This base has been occupied since 15 Jan 1956. The stamp on the card is the 46p value from a 2005 issued set or 4. The one used here shows the winning design for new base buildings. . Thanks to Alex Gough for this card.

A Card from Pierluigi plus another new country

I have two cards to showoff today. The first card, sent by Pierluigi of Covers&Stamp blog fame, shows a couple of buildings in Corato, which is 52 km from Bari, in the Puglia region, of Southeastern Italy. The postmark from Bari has a special Chtistmas 2007 motif. Pierluigi used the Made in Italy , Lamborghini 2007 stamp.
The 2nd postcard is from Belize, another new country for me, #169. The face of the postcard shows a flotilla of sailboats moored below the Swing Bridge on Haulover Creek in Belize City. The card was sent from The Canadian Consulate in Belize City, and bears a hand stamp to that effect, in addition to the postmark. The stamp used is the 30c value from a set of 6, issued in 2007 honouring Belizean artists. This stamp shows a painting by Louis Belisle entitled Market Scene.

First Postcard From Velu

Today I received my first postcard from Velu, of The Stamps of Velu fame. It is a great addition to my worldwide postcard collection. It was sent from Dakar, Senegal. The front shows a typical city view . Velu used 2 different stamps on the card. The first is a 2006 issue, 1 of a set of 4 , issued to show a policy of Againt Excision or female circumcision. Let's hope that they (Senegal) do more that just issue stamps on this important issue, and that they outlaw this mutilation of females , altogether. A few other African countries should do the same. The other stamp Velu used is again 1 of a set of 4 , issued in 2003 featuring Traditional Costumes. Thanks to Velu for increasing my country count to 168. That's the number of different countries from which I have so far received at least 1 stamped postcard.

Postcard From A Faraway Island

Today I'd like to show a postcard that I received a while ago. It is from Tristan da Cunha, the world's remotest inhabited island. The postmark reads Tristan Da Cunha, South Atlantic. The picture on the card is of Calshott Harbour. Tristan is located 2816 km from South Africa and 3360 km from South America. It is a dependency of the British Overseas territory of Saint Helena, which is located 2173 km to the North. The island is named after the Portuguese sailor, Tristao da Cunha , who was the first to sight these islands. The population is around 275 and the main settlement is called Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. The stamp used is a 15p value from a set of 12 definitives issued in 2005 featuring birds. One doesn't get much mail from such faraway places , so when one does arrive, it is quite exciting.

Postcard from Russia

I just have one postcard to show today. It was sent to me by Julia , a fellow Postcrosser. It is a really nice postcard showing some beautiful Russian architecture. Julia mailed it from Perm, Russia , a city of a million people. She used 3 different Russian stamps- 1 of a set of 5, issued in 2002 highlighting castles, and the other 2 are from a set of 4 issued in 2003 , again showing buildings.

Christmas card from Finland Post

I received a Christmas postcard from Finland Post today. It is stamped and postmarked on the front with a 2007 Christmas stamp issued 02November and showing a gingerbread mouse. The reverse has another 2007 Christmas stamp and is dated 07December and postmarked Napapiiri, Finland, showing 66 degrees, 33 minutes, 7 seconds North.
The greeting on the card is in 5 languages and reads Hyvaa Joulua, God Jul, Season's Greetings, Frohliche Weihnachten, and Joyeux Noel.
And this is also my wish to anyone reading this post.

A few New Postcards & 2 New Countries

Hi again, well I have been away for a few days , but on my return, I found a number of new postcards in the mail. Included were cards from 2 new countries, #166 and #167. The new countries are Albania and Macedonia. I have been attempting to have a card sent from Albania for about a year and a half. Now , finally, I have received one. In the past, I know that 4 postcards had been sent to me , but none arrived. So I was really happy to seen this one in my mailbox. The postcard shows 4 different buildings in Shkodra, Albania. It has 2 different stamps on it. One is a 60 Leke , 2007 issue showing The Albanian Flag and the other is another 60 Leke , 2007 issue showing the Albanian Coat of Arms. The only unfortunate thing about this postcard is that I have no idea who the sender is , there is nothing written in the comments section .

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The card from Macedonia , shows a few different views and has a nice stampo , 1 of a set of 2 , issued in 1996, for the 50th Avviversary of Unicef/Unesco.It was sent to me from Vera, as a private swap.

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I'm also showing a card and stamp from Australia. The card show The Spirit of Tasmania. The stamp is the $1.10 International Post Rate and is 1 of a set of 5 , 2007 issue for 50 years of Christmas stamps. It was sent by Bron from Tasmania , who collects beer themed postcards.

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Finally, a card showing Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. It was stamped and posted from The Order of Malta in Rome. I have written about this Order and their post office and stamps in an earlier post. That's it for this update . And, as you can see, I still have trouble putting my uploaded images in the same order as my comments. Actually, I want to make my comment and then put the image or images for that comment, directly underneath. But as you can see, I am not having much luck with this yet. If anyone reading knows the solution, please email me or leave a comment. I'll be glad to get it.

Card From Honolulu

As you can see from yesterday's post, I'm still quite new to this blogging business. The images of the postcards are in reverse order to my comments. I hope anyone reading was able to put it all together correctly. I will improve as time goes along. Today, I want to show a postcard sent to me from Honolulu, Hawaii., a place I have visited many times and still love. The card show a likeness of a Pan American Airways travel poster from the 1940's. It's message reads, Fly to South Sea Isles, and shows a Flying Clipper about to land. The card was sent by Teena and she used a 2001 55 cent USA Love stamp. Aloha.

Catching Up- 6 New Postcards , 2 New Countries # 164 & 165

Hello again, I'm just catching up after 4 or 5 days , busy with house painting and decorating the house outside for Christmas. Well , on to more important things like Postcards. I have a number of new postcards to write about. The first is a card sent from Rome, Italy but actually posted at a special Post Office in Rome. The card doesn't have an Italian stamp on it , but a stamp from The Sovereign Military Order Of Malta. The postmark reads Sovrano Militare Ordine Di Malta. It was posted at The Magistral Post Office on the Via Bocca di Leone , Rome. Mail stamped with Order of Malta stamps can only be sent to a total of 52 countries of the world. Thankfully Canada is included on this list. The order of Malta has issued its own stamps since November 1966. Thanks to Ilaria for this postcard.

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The next 2 cards are both from new countries as related to my collection. First , a card from The Solomon Islands, new country #164. The picture shows Sigana Village, a traditional village. As the writer says, life is pretty simple here, nice and relaxed. The stamp on the card a $3.00 value is just a beautiful stamp, showing 2 Bottlenose Dolphins. Thanks John.

The other new country , is FIji, # 165. The card shows a multi view of Birds of Fiji. The stamp used is 1 of a set of 4 from 2005, featuring Fiji plants. The 41cent stamp shows Tavioka or Cassava, a starch made by leaching the root , the source of Tapioca.

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The final card I want to highlight today is from Austria. It has preprinted postage on it, showing an Austrian Airlines Jet and the words, Austrian Air Mail. It is a postcard given out by Austrian airlines flight attendants, which passengers can have sent to anyone, anywhere. After a passenger addresses the card, the flight attendants will mail it . I received this card from Alberto of the blog A Postcard For World Peace. Please check out his blog at http://postcardworldpeace.blogspot.com and send him a postcard. Alberto used a 2007 flower , 140 value, definitive stamp to get the postcard to me. And the message on the card, Austrian , we fly for your smile, speaks for itself.

A Card From Irag

As my first featured postcard, I want to show a card that I received from Iraq. It shows a map of Iraq and to the right, The stamp of Naboukhaz Naser, according to the description on the back. It was sent to me by a British reporter , based at the time in Baghdad, Iraq. The postmarks are varied, with a date of June 27 on one, and June 28 on another, which reads, Ordinary Post Iraq. The final 2 postmarks are unreadable. The three stamps on the card are all the same, the 500 Dinars value from the 2003 Ancient Transportation set. It was quite something to receive a card from Iraq, since at the time, I was told that there wasn't an operating Post Office and also that there were not any actual stamps , issued.