A Few Cards and A New Country #173

I have three cards to show today. The first, from the newest country in my collection, is from Sri Lanka, country #173. It was sent by Aravinda from Maspotha , Sri Lanka. The stamp , of which I could not find any information shows a Low Country Drummer. The picture on the card's front is of a group of elephants in Pinnawala. The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is located in the hills of central Sri Lanka. This 24 acre elephant orphanage , also a breeding place for elephants , was established in 1975. When opened , it had 5 elephants and as of 2003, there were 65 elephants.

The second card was sent by Michael of cddstamps, while on his recent trip to South Korea. It shows The Grand Intercontinental Hotel in Seoul. It has 2 definitives on it, the flag stamp , issued in 2003 and the bird stamp , issued in 2001 showing swans. Thanks to Michael.

The final card , an oval shaped card was sent by Eric from Jura. The card itself was issued by La Poste and commemorates the 2007 Rugby World Cup. In additional to the 2 definitives , Eric used 2 really nice stamps. The larger valued at 0.85e shows a number of satellites in space, and commemorates the 50 years of space exploration (1957-2007). The other , a 0.54e stamp highlights the TGV. This high speed train holds the record for the fastest wheeled train, having reached 574.8 km/h on 3 April 2007. It now offers service between Paris and other European cities, allbeit at a slower speed than the record. Thanks Eric.

In closing I want to show a set of 3 stamps from Vietnam, sent by Tram Ha. They were issued in 2007 and show former President Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969).

Old Styled Germany Postcard

Today I am showing an old styled black and white postcard sent by Igor f Mulheim, Germany. Igor has a postcard blog (doesn't everybody these days).It is called Ansichtskarten and More and is located at http://webmastermarkt.blogspot.com . The picture on the postcard shows an old historical picture of the Ruhr area. Igor used 2 stamps and the one on the left shows bellevue Castle, issued in 2007 . The castle was built between 1785 and 1786 for Prince Ferdinand of Prussia. It is now the official residence of The President of Germany in Berlin. Note the flag flying on the building- this means that The President is present.
The 2nd stamp , also issued in 2007 commemorates the thousand year anniversary of The City of Furth. Furth is located in Northern Bavaria , Germany. A couple of famous people born in Furth are German writer and novelist Jakob Wassermann and the 56th U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. American actress Sandra Bullock once lived in Furth for a time.
Thanks Igor for this card.

Here is the French postcard with the SPM stamp.

Four New Cards

My mail today brought me 4 new postcards. Cards arrived from Reunion Island, Malaysia, Great Britain and France. I will be highlighting the cards from Reunion and France. I want to acknowledge the other 2 cards. The Malaysia card was sent by Yen , who has a blog entitled Ian's Collection at http://kajang-stamps.blogspot.com . The 2 stamps Yen used are : 1 of a set of 8 definitives, issued in 2005, featuring birds and in this case , The Spotted Dove , and a nice commemorative from 2007, showing The J.W.W. Birch Clock Tower. James Wheeler Woodford Birch (1826-1875) was the first British resident in Perak, Malaysia. Without going into much detail, let's just say Birch was speared to death with taking a bath, apparently due to the fact that he outlawed slavery in Perak. The clock tower, built in 1917 is a memorial to Mr. Birch.

Another card , not shown was sent by Liz from Great Britain. It is a result of my participation in The Postcard Exchange Game. This is the first card I have received from it, but it's nice to know that it works. Hopefully more will arrive as a result.

The first card shown is from Reunion Island . It shows a shoreline scene from reunion. Reunion no longer issues its own stamps, but uses stamps from France. That in itself is kind of unique, but then , how often does one receive mail from Reunion Island. The card was sent to me by Caramellia, a fellow Postcrosser, living there for just a year. The beautiful stamp , bearing the Polar Bear was issued in 2005, to commemorate Francois Pompon (1856-1933). He was a French sculptor. He is quite famous for his stylized animals with L'Óurs Blanc in 1922 ( often called the White Bear or Polar Bear in Stride). The original in located at the Musee d' Orsay in Paris. This stamp is indeed a truly beautiful stamp . Thanks Cara.

The last card to show today is a very special card. It was sent to me by Stephane Cotard of France. The front of the card shows a few views of Caen, France. This is not the special part of this card., it's what is on the back that is so special. Even though the card was posted in France , Stephane was able to use a stamp from St. Pierre & Miq. According to Stephane, this stamp was only able to be used in France for a couple of days in January of this year. It has a couple of special postmarks , bearing the first Day of Issue of the SPM stamp, 16/01/08. The SPM stamp , issued in 2008, commemorates Rene Autin, a native of St. Pierre. Autin was part of the Kieffer Commandos, 177 Free French attached to the British commandos, who landed on Sword Beach in Normandy on D-Day in 1944. On that day, the only Free French forces involved in D-Day landings( the 177 men of the Kieffer Commandos) disembarked at Ouistrehan ( Sword Beach).They were granted the honour to set foot on Norman soil in the first wave.
The reference to Paquebot , lower left , is unknown to me , but it may be the reason that a St. Pierre stamp could be used in France.

Country or Entity #172

Today I received just 1 postcard. But, it's a good one in that it increases my total of countries or stamp issuing entities to 172. This is the first increase since Turkmenistan on Christmas Eve. My card today is from The United Nations , Vienna. It was sent to me by Ron, a fellow Calgarian working for The U. N. in Vienna. It doesn't have a stamp , but as the postmark shows, it was indeed mailed from The United Nations, Vienna. The front of the card shows The United Nations buildings at Vienna. Thanks Ron.

Along with this card, I want to show the card I have from The United Nations, New York. it was sent to me way back in 2000, before I even collected postcards, although now I am glad that I kept it. I guess it was the stamp collector in me. There are 3 nice stamps on it, including The Byelorussian SSR flag stamp, issued in 1983, the Egypt flag stamp from a 1981 set, and The Disarmament stamp issue in 1967.

So now that I have a card from New York and Vienna , I guess I have to concentrate my efforts on getting a card from The U.N. office in Geneva.

Happy Collecting.

All Told , A Good Day , Post Wise

My mail lady dropped off 5 postcards in my mailbox today. A pretty good day. Two of them are Official Postcrossing cards from Germany and Czech Republic. I won't be showing the cards today, but I will show the stamps used on them. On the card from Germany , there were 2 stamps , the one on the left was issued in 2008 and features the Unesco World Heritage Site of The Island Monastery of Reichenau. The stamp on the right was issue in 2007 and honors Carl Gotthard Langhans (1732-1808) a Prussian architect. His best known work is The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, which is the focal point of this stamp.

On the card from the Czech Republic, there were 4 stamps. The 2 on the left were issued in 2003, definitives featuring flowers. The large stamp on the right was issued in 1993 and shows a Coat of Arms. The remaining stamp was issued in 2001, showing buildings , the Holasovice, which is a well preserved example of a traditional European village. It has a large number of 18th and 19th century buildings in a style known as South Bohemian Folk Baroque . This village was added to the Unesco World Heritage site list in 1998.

I want to show a Maximum card I received today, from Tram Ha in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. She has a blog- stampsoftramha.blogspot.com . Give her a look. The card is quite nice and was issued to celebrate The Year of the Mouse 2008, even though I thought it was The Year of The Rat. Anyway, the card has a beautiful 2008 , Year of the Mouse stamp on the front, along with an appropriate postmark. On the reverse, she used 2, Year of The Rooster stamps issued in 2005. All in all, a nice addition to my card collection. Thanks Tram.

Finally , we have a card from Sydney, Australia, sent by Michael of cddstamps fame. Thanks Michael. Enjoy.

B.I.O.T.

Here is a really nice postcard that I received a while ago. It is from B.I.O.T. British Indian Ocean Territory. B.I.O.T. mail is postmarked Diego Garcia* Chagos . The card shows a Bar-tailed Godwit and the stamp shows the same. The stamp is the high value 2.50 pounds from a 2004 definitive set of 12.
British Indian Ocean Territory is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Africa and Indonesia. The largest island in B.I.O.T. is Diego Garcia, the site of a joint military facility of the United Kingdom and the United States. The population is approximately 4000, all UK and US military personnel and civilian contract employees.

Card from A Remote Island

Today I want to show a card from Saint Helena. It was sent to me by Saint Helena resident
Junella . The front of the postcard has 3 views- 2 of which are local trees or schrubs - The She Cabbage and The Gumwood. The other view shows The George Benjamin Endemic Arboretum and Nature Path. Saint Helena, latitude 16 degrees S, longitude 5 degrees 45 minutes W, is an island and a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. Saint Helena is famous for being the place of exile of Napoleon Bonaparte between 1815 and his death in 1821. The island, discovered on 21 May 1502 , by Joao da Nova, is among some of the most remote islands in the world. It can only be reached by boat, although as airport is scheduled to be open by 2011 or 2012.
Junella used a 25p value stamp from a 2007 set of 6 round stamps celebrating The Twelve Days of Christmas, and in this case The Three French Hens from The Third Day of Christmas.

A Moldova Card

Today I am featuring a card I recently received from Moldova. The postcard itself shows one of the oldest buildings in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau. It is the National Museum of History of Moldova. The 2 stamps used include a 2001 , 3L value from a set of 4 , featuring famous women- this one honors Lidia Lipkovski , 1884-2958, an opera singer: and a 1993 single from another set of 4 , featuring butterflies.

Card from fellow blogger Karmanovsky

A card from Alexander Karmanovsky of St. Petersburg, Russia arrived today. He is famous for his blog www.used-covers.blogspot.com . It's nice to get some feedback from fellow bloggers and in this case a postcard. It's good to see that he thinks this blog is view-worthy. Thanks Alexander. Now to his card- the front shows a wintry scene, perhaps in St. Petersburg. The stamps he used include a 1998 definitive, featuring a train, from a set of 11; another definitive , issued in 2001 , from a set of 4 , featuring a ballerina ; and finally a nice , new 2007 stamp featuring snowmen. that's it for today, have a great stamps day.

Kabul Card

Another card I'd like to show today was posted from Kabul, Afghanistan. It shows a view of Kabul, with the old Kabul Hotel , now known as The Kabul Serena Hotel, in the foreground. The card was sent by Chris Newbery, General Manager of the hotel. The stamps used are quite varied and cover the years from 1951-2002. The upper left stamp is 1 of 1 set of 17 featuring momuments , issued in 1951. The upper right stamp , issue in 1984, is from a set of 7, featuring planes and celebrating the 40th year of ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization. The lower left stamp and the stamp on the bottom, are from a set of 2 issue in 1969 , for National Arms. The stamp was normally used as a newspaper stamp , but as you can see, this time it was used as a postage stamp. The final stamp, lower right, was issued in 2002 and features Ahmad Shah Masood, an Afghan National Hero. Masood was a former Defense Minister of Afghanistanin 1992. Later he went on to become the military leader of the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan. he was assassinated in 2001 , supposedly by al-Qaeda.

A Yemen Card

Today I want to show a card from Yemen. The card shows Ibb, a city of 160000 inhabitants , in southwestern Yemen. It is located in the so called Green Province. It was sent by Denise, a volunteer with the charitable organization Canada Bridges. Canada Bridges helps foster human engagement between the east and the west countering the polarizing outcomes of September 11th. These volunteers consist of doctors, nurses, midwives, lawyers, judges and teachers who exchange their knowledge and wisdom with their local counterparts in Yemen.
The stamp that Denise used is the 100 Rials value from a set of 14 , issued in 1996 showing Landmarks. The 100 Rials stamp shows Old Sanaá City.

A French Postcard

Today I received a postcard from France. It was sent to me by Cotard Stephane, a visitor to this blog. He is also a postcard collector and he can expect a postcard from Canada in the mail soon. The postcard shows The Abbey of Saint Michel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The card was actually postmarked from the site. The stamp used is a 0.85e value , issued in 2007, and shows The Hall of Mirrors of The Castle of Versailles. A very impressive card and quite a nice stamp.

Pakistan Postcard

Since this is a blog about postcards, I guess I should show a postcard right about here. Today's postcard is from Pakistan. It was sent to me by The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation in Islamabad. The front shows Camping on Glaciers in The Karakoram Range of mountains in Northern Pakistan. The stamps used are both definitives. The smaller Rs4 value is from a 1998 set of 4 and the larger (both in size and value) Rs30 value is from a 1994 set of 12. With all the goings on in Pakistan right now , it's nice to know that they do have some sense of tourism at play.

Canada's Year of the Rat

For all those of you who are interested, I am today showing Canada's contribution to The Year of the Rat. Canada issued today, 2 stamps for this purpose. There are 2 denominations; $1.60 for international mailing and $0.52 for domestic mailing. The $1.60 stamp is only available in the Souvenir sheet shown. The domestic stamp is available in panes of 25 stamps. Hope you like them.

A Thailand Postcard

The only card that I am showing today, just arrived from Thailand. It was sent to me by Pam, a fellow Postcrosser. It's a totally homemade card , even including the photos on the front. It's as good as any professionally produced card, so take a bow, Pam. The card shows Wat Pra Keaw, The Temple of The Emerald Buddha, in Bangkok. It dates from around 1782 and is used by The King for anything concerning religion. The stamp that Pam used is a 15 Baht value definitive stamp, of which I could not find anymore information.
It has been a rather slow week for postcards, perhaps because of the Christmas and New Year holidays. Hopefully things will pick up in the coming weeks.

2008's First Cards

Before I get to todays cards, I think that a small review of 2007 is in order. Last year I received 190 postcards, and sent out 90 cards. I increased my different country total by 63 countries last year, bringing that total to 171 countries from which I have received a postcard. Some of the more unique countries that I received a card from last year are Falkland Islands, Lebanon, St. Pierre & Miq, Pitcairn Islands, British Antarctic Territory, Swaziland, Brunei, Bhutan, Comoros Islands, Andorra, Albania, Nepal, Botswana , British Indian Ocean Territory and The Military Order of Malta. All in all, it was a good postcard year. And, to top of 2007, I started this blog.

Now , for todays postcards. The first card is from The U.S.A. , sent by thepostcardscollector of www.postcardcollector.us fame. The card has 8 U.S. stamps on it, all definitives, but you know what, I like and collect definitives from The U.S. , so I was happy to get this card.

The 2nd card is from Malaysia and was sent by Kow Siew Lan of the blog StampHappyWind. The card is celebrating 50 years of Malaysia Nationhood.

The final card for today is a card, (my second) sent ny Velu, of The Stamps of Velu. This card, he sent from Curacao, Netherlands Antilles.
Enjoy!