New Country # 258

Hello again. I haven't announced a new country for my collection in a long time. The last one was back on 13 June 2012, South Georgia. Well I have another one today. It is Angola, # 258, one more knocked off the list over on the left, leaving just 16 more. This good fortune I owe to Bruce, who was visiting Luanda on a business trip from South Africa. Angola is a country in southern Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north and Zambia on the east. Its capital is Luanda and the country's population is about 18.5 million. Bruce's card is of the Christ the King ( Cristo Rei ) statue found in Lubango, in the south of Angola. The Jesus statute is one of four erected in the world . The others are in Rio, Lisbon, and Swiebodzin, Poland. Bruce used stamps from 2002 and 2008. The stamp on the left and the middle stamp are a set of 2 celebrating Friendship with Italy. The larger stamp is from a set of 4 issued for the Beijing Olympics of 2008. So there, we finally have Angola. According to an email from Bruce, it certainly didn't happen easily. The usual refrain heard was , Angola doesn't have a functioning postal service, send your card with DHL- well that excuse is blown out of the water- the card arrived just fine . Bruce also encountered problems finding postcards, stamps and even a post office. It all worked out in the end and I am the lucky recipient of a stamped card from Angola. Thanks Bruce, I really appreciate you thinking of me while on your trip .

I was going to add a few other cards but I'll save that for another day. I'll let new country Angola have all the glory today.

Thanks for reading , drop back again soon. Thanks again Bruce

Stuck for Time- So a Short Update

Hello again. First of all , a little update from yesterday's post. As I didn't notice, my Torbay cards are postmarked and cancelled 2013-08-15. A neat trick but not what I wanted. So if you received one of these Torbay cards, I'm sorry that the year got messed up. You try and you try , but sometimes it's just not enough. Thanks to Johan for pointing this out to me, I think. No, just kidding Johan. On to today's cards. From the international front we have these cards:

Romania- The card shows a number of fountains and buildings in Bucharest, the capital and largest city of Romania. Latest population figures show it at 1.6 million. This card is compliments of Jean Pierre. As you can see the back of the card is about 95 percent covered by postage. The large souvenir sheet with a single stamp is celebrating the country's 150th anniversary of its Foreign Affairs Ministry. The other stamp in top right corner is 1 of 7 in a set of Personalities on Banknotes. Both stamps were issued this year.

Italy- Next we have an official Postcrossing card. The lady on it appears to be addressing a postcard. The lucky recipient, we don't know - perhaps you found it in your mailbox. There are 2 nice stamps on this one. The top stamp was issued this year, a Europa stamp encouraging Visits to Italy. The lower stamp was issued in 2009 and commemorates Italia 2009- Collecting Day.

Czech Republic- Here's another entry for my Airlines/Aircraft on Postcards Collection. This one is a Nordic Airlink MD-82. He used a 2012 Scouting stamp. Stanislav lives in and posted this card in Tyn nad Vltavou a small town of about 8,200 people.

Ukraine- This one goes in my Postbox Collection. The card is titled "Waiting For A Postman" and I think a couple of these have been waiting for some time. A Postcrosser by the name of Anna sent this one along. She used 2 stamps , the smaller one is a definitive showing English Oak leaves and was issued this year. The larger stamp is a Europa stamp , 1 of 2 in a set , issued in June of this year.

Yes , speaking of Postcrossing- Congratulations are in order. Tonight as I an writing this , Postcrossing reached a new milestone of 13, 000,000 postcards sent and received . Check it out at www.postcrossing.com .

My next card is not addressed to me, and was not sent to me from the country of origin. It was posted from Monrovia, Liberia on Jul 22, 1975 to South Hill, Virginia, U.S.A. It shows a village under the Palm trees. I am showing the card as it is often said that Liberia does not have a working postal service. Well it did back in 1975. I have been trying for my own card from Liberia for over 6 years now. I have received mail from Liberia and it contained a couple of postcards , but never the actual stamped and mailed postcard . I keep trying though. A nice 1974 stamp celebrating the Centenary of the Birth of Sir Winston Churchill was used. Thanks to Boyd for the card.

Here's another Towns of Newfoundland and Labrador card. This one comes from Marystown , on the south coast of the island. It is the largest town on the Burin Peninsula , with about 5,500 people. Wanda sent this card , showing a meal of mussels cooking over an open wood fire. She used a 2011 Baby Wildlife definitive.

That's about it for this time, it's a little longer than I planned and a little longer than the title suggests. Thanks to Wanda, Anna, Stanislav, Boyd, and Jean Pierre and the others for their cards.
Take care, I'll be back soon, but just not tomorrow or Friday.

More Great postcards , International and Newfoundland

Without further ado, here are today's Great cards. I have four Newfoundland and Labrador Towns cards for this time. They come from Torbay, Nain , Ferryland and St. Lawrence. My internationals come from Belgium, Sri Lanka, Canada, Mexico , Slovakia, Ukraine and Italy

Let's start with Torbay. Torbay is a town on the eastern side of the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador. The town is located north of the capital city of St. John's and has a population of about 7400. The history of the town dates back to the 1500s, but this year marks the 250th anniversary of the landing of Lt. Col. William Amherst and 1000 British Troops on Torbay beach, an event that led to the last battle of the Seven Years War. My card gives you a look at a small church in Torbay and somewhat of a view of the natural harbour of Torbay. On a personal note- I lived in Torbay for 10 years, from 1985-1995. The stamp is not one of the regular issues of Canada Post in 2012. It is called a Picture Postage stamp and was issued to be used on a commemorative envelope highlighting Torbay's 250th. The special postmark also commemorates the town's 250th. I received two Torbay postcards, the church one and this second one, showing the scene as shown on the stamp.

The second card is from Nain , my first postcard from the mainland section of Newfoundland and Labrador. Nain is the northermost town of any size in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located 370 km by air from Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The town was established as a Moravian mission in 1771 by Jens Haven. The current population of Nain is just over 1025. My card, sent from the Nain Inuit Community Government shows a few members of the George River Caribou Herd. The herd numbers 27,600 , down from 74,000 in 2010, 385,000 in 2001 and over 700,000 in 1990. I'm glad I got my card now as with these drastic drops in numbers, the herd looks to be on its last legs. The card arrived without a stamp, opting for a postage meter that was later hand stamped at the Nain Post Office.

My next card is from Ferryland. The town of around 500 is located on Newfoundland's east coast on the Avalon Peninsula. Ferryland was originally established in the late 16th century. Ferryland, established in 1621 as the Colony of Avalon by George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore was the first successful permanent colony in Newfoundland. It is quite possibly one of the most historic communities in all of North America. My card is of a Bellarmine Jug, a German stoneware jug uncovered during excavations in the town. It was used for storing distilled spirits. This card arrived with a Louise Arbour stamp, 1 of 4 in a Difference Makers set issued in May of this year. Topping it off is the socked on the nose postmark or cancellation.

The last Towns of Newfoundland card for this time is from St. Lawrence. This small town of about 1350 people is located on the southern coast of the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland. My card is a beautiful view of Chamber Cove , near St. Lawrence. This is the site of the shipwreck of the U.S.S. Pollux. On the 18th of February , 1942 the Pollux ran aground here and almost simultaneously at Lawn Point , a short distance away, the U.S.S. Truxton ran aground. The major winter storm took the lives of over 200 American sailors , while 168 survived with the help of the residents of St. Lawrence. This is the 70th anniversary of that tragedy. The stamp used is from this year and is 1 of 4 definitives featuring baby Wildlife.

Moving on to the internationals. First up is a card showing a 1915 battery or observation post in Aachen, Germany. All I think about when I see these leftover war dinosaurs is John Lennon's Imagine. He said it all. Johan of Johan Postcards posted this from Ghent, Belgium. Johan used a wonderful 2012 Games of the XXX Olympiad, London stamp.

Here's another card sent by Ravindra of Sri Lanka. His card shows Sigiriya Rock, a hardened magma plug from an extinct and long eroded volcano. It rises 370 m above sea level. Sigiriya is a town in central Sri Lanka. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. Ravindra used 2 stamps of the Games of the XXX Olympiad in London. The stamp on the right was also issued this year and shows a Terracotta Figure from Sigiriya.

Next is a multi view card of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. A new reader of my blog sent this one along. Of course, he has a blog here. Ben wrote on his card that he wrote a blog post on his blog , relating my achievement of reaching 2500 postcards. On Ben's card in the middle left is The Empress Hotel. My lovely Teena and I had the privilege of staying there for 2 nights a while ago and found it outstanding. One of the great hotels of the world, for sure. Ben used 1 of the Canadian Pride definitives issued in January of this year. It is a set of 5 stamps showing places one might find The Maple Leaf- our flag.

Now a card from Mexico. This one from David, shows a Carnival Cruise ship docked in Cozumel. David used a definitive from 2011 and got a great , clear cancellation.

Jean Pierre's card shows a couple of scenes of Bratislava, Slovakia. He used 3 stamps, but the most interesting one for me is the large one on the right. It honors The Slovakia National Hockey Team for winning the silver medal at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships.

I think that's a wrap for this time. I'll leave the cards from Italy and Ukraine for another time. Thanks to Jean Pierre, David, Ben, Ravindra, Johan, Eileen, The Nain Community Gov't and the Torbay Postmaster for their cards and help.

Thanks for reading , come back soon , and leave a comment if inclined.

Postcards Fom Here- Postcards from There

I know, I know, where have I been ? Nowhere other than looking after my three small grandsons for 5 days and that my friend leaves little to no time for postcards or blogs. But I had 5 days of great fun so it was well worth it.

I have some great cards for this time so on to it.

First us is this card of a P-3C Orion from Japan. The P-3C is a four engine turboprop anti- submarine and land-based maritime patrol aircraft. Over 480 of these aircraft have been built since the first one rolled off the assembly line over 40 years ago. Miyuki, a Postcrosser over that way sent this card and used a wonderful aircraft stamp , too. The card is a great addition to my Aircraft on postcards collection and the stamp will be added to my Aircraft on Stamps collection. The stamp is from 2010 and shows a B747-400 in flight. It is from a beautiful m/s of 10 issued commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Aviation in Japan. Definitely a set I would love to have in my collection.

Now let's look at Danae with Nursemaid, circa 1554. This is 1 of 5 oil-on-canvas paintings by the Venetian master Titian making up The Danae series. The card arrived from Russia and has 2 large Russian stamps from this year. The stamp on the left is from a set of 4 World War II automobiles. The right stamp is the 2012 Europa stamp encouraging Visits to Russia.

Here's a card showing a misty morning at the Olawski Bridge in Wroclaw, Poland. Julia , a Polish Postcrosser from Wadowice mailed this one. She lives in the hometown of Karol Wojtyla, Pope John Paul II. Now the stamps used include a 2005 stamp commemorating the Polish town of Sieradz. The larger stamp on the right is 1 of 2 different stamps in a 2011 Marie Curie souvenir sheet, a joint issue with Sweden.

The Philippines Tarsier, one of the world's smallest primates is next. The mammal with the biggest eyes. Maybe this is where the expression "only a mother could love it "comes from. Their big eyes give them very acute night vision and make them good night hunters. Dianne , who actually designed this card is the sender. The stamp that Dianne used is a Marine Life definitive from 2011.

My final international card for this time is from Martinique. Jean Pierre's card is of a wharf area of Sainte -Luce , a small fishing village on the south coast of the island of Martinique. Posted in Fort-de-France the card has 2 nice French stamps , as it is an Overseas Department of France.
The large stamp on the left was issued in 2002 and is 1 of 4 in an Animals set. The other stamp , a 20g Priority Letter stamp shows a scene in Martinique ( quite appropriate ) .

As mentioned in my previous update , I want to show a couple of postcards received for my new Towns of Newfoundland and Labrador Collection, and I have 2 for this time.

First we're off to St. Anthony. A town of around 2,500 people , St. Anthony is located near the top of the Great Northern Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. It was named in 1534 by French explorer Jacques Cartier, but was called St. Anthony Haven at the time. The card is entitled " A Day on the Water " . Yes indeed, the cod fishery played an important part in the history of Newfoundland and Labrador and St. Anthony for hundreds of years. Sadly, that way of life is now only a memory. Sheri used a 2011 Baby Wildlife stamp, 1 of 4 in the set.

My second Towns card comes from St. Lunaire-Griquet, another small town on the northern tip of the Great Northern Peninsula. In a 2oo6 census it had a population of 666. French fishermen fished the area in the 16th century but the area was not mapped until 1784. Dale's card is of Norstead, a replica Viking Village at L'Anse aux Meadows.

L'Anse aux Meadows is the only known Norse site in North America outside of Greenland and represents the farthest known extent of European exploration and settlement of the New World before the voyages of Christopher Columbus almost 500 years later. It was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978. Same stamp as the St. Anthony card, but with a nice round , clear postmark. Dale wrote "it's not the end of the world, but you can see it from here " .

Thanks to Miyuki, Julia, Dianne, Jean Pierre, Sheri and Dale for all the great cards.

That's about it for now . Thanks for reading, leave a comment if you want.

Yes , I Know I'm A Week Late

If you read my lateest update , you know I mentioned that I would likely be back here on Tuesday. Well it is Tuesday but just not the one that I meant. I intended to be back here on July 31st but you know me and my online promises. So I'm a week late , what can I say ? The good part in all this is that quite a few great cards arrived during that week. I also have started to receive cards from Newfoundland and Labrador for my Towns of Newfoundland and Labrador Collection. Let's start with a couple of those today.

First up is a card from Twillingate. Twillingate is a community of about 2,600 people located on the north east coast of Newfoundland. The town is known as the " Iceberg Capital Of The World " because of the many icebergs that flow past its shores in early spring and summer. And what else should we find on a Twillingate card but an iceberg ? If you are familiar with icebergs , then you know they can founder or topple over and break up. That's just what the iceberg on this card did on Saturday 05July 2008 . You can even watch this happen here . I have to thank Wilma of the Anchor Inn Hotel for sending along this card. The stamp is 1 of 5 in the Canadian Pride issue of January 17, 2011. Quite a nice , clear, circular Twillingate cancel also.

Today's second card is postmarked Bay Roberts, Newfoundland. The postmark is actually on the front of the card. Bay Roberts is a town of 5800+ located on the north shore of Conception Bay on the Bay de Verde Peninsula, Newfoundland. The history of the town goes back to the early 16th century when fishermen from Brittany and Normandy fished the waters around Bay Roberts. My postcard shows The Spirit of Harbour Grace, a DC3 given to the Town of Harbour Grace in 1993. Harbour Grace is the site of the first commercial airport in North America, opening in 1927. It is still the oldest surviving operational airstrip in Canada. Although not visible on my postcard , just in front of the Spirit of Harbour Grace, stands a monument statute of Amelia Earhart. She flew from Harbour Grace on May 20, 1932 , becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. My brother Mel used a Baby Wildlife stamp from a set of 4 issued on January 16 of this year.

So there you have the latest 2 cards received for my Towns of Newfoundland and Labrador Collection. I'll try and add 1 or 2 in each of my updates from here on .

Now let's have a look at a few international cards. Cards from Turkey, Madagascar and South Africa. Maybe even The Netherlands if time permits. So let's get to it.

Turkey, Ankara to be exact. A postcard of the city skyline at evening with the Kocarepe Mosque lit and standing above everything else. At least I hope it's the Kocatepe Mosque as it is not identified on the card. Leslie of " the postcard blog ! " sent this one along. You can see her fine blog here . Leslie used 2 great large stamps from this year. The left stamp shows a historic high school in Istanbul. The stamp on the right marks the 60th year of Turkey's " Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges ".

The next 2 cards are from Africa, but 2 totally different places. First is a card from South Africa. Bruce sent this card showing a number of scenes along the Garden Route. This is a beautiful coastal terrace that runs from the historic town of Mossel Bay in the west to Storms River in the east. Bruce used 2 definitives from a 2010 set of 27 Handicrafts issue.

Here's the second African card , this one comes from Sambava, Madagascar. Sambava is a city of 40,000 at the east coast of northern Madagascar. Jean Pierre pretty well filled the back of the card with stamps. 6 stamps, 5 face different. The 2 stamps on the far right are from 2002 and part of a set of 7 Flora definitives. The other stamps were issued in 2010 and are part of a Flora set of 4.

I do have time for The Netherlands after all. This card from Carola shows , I think , a search and Rescue helicopter in action. I'm not quite sure whether it's a Belgian or a Dutch helicopter, so maybe someone will leave a comment as to that. There are 2 nice large 2012 stamps on this one. They are a set of 2 Visit Amsterdam issue, with tabs.

Let's do another one, say from Luxembourg. It's a card from Johan and we get a view of Luxembourg City in the fall. Johan's postcard blog can be found here . He used a beautiful London XXX's Olympics Games stamp, 1 of 2 in a set.

I think on that note , I will call it a day. I covered more than I expected when I started. thanks to all who sent the cards -- Wilma, Mel, Leslie, Bruce, Jean Pierre, Carola and Johan. I can't do this without the cards, so keep them coming.
Take care.
Comment if you have one , even if you don't !