January's Last

There's just time to squeeze in one last update for this month. This one will have planes, a lighthouse, a lady, and a map. More if time permits. So let's start with one of my favourites, a plane, or in this case a jet. It's a South African Airways A340, an airplane I have yet to experience. This one was photographed on the ramp at Hamburg back in June of 2003. This is Bruce's first card of 2013. 

Bruce used 2 stamps from 2010. They are part of a set of 27 definitives, all handicrafts. Interestingly , the bottom stamp is a beadwork airplane. 

Next up is a lighthouse. This one is the Patos Island Lighthouse in front of Mt. Baker. It is located in the San Juan Islands of Washington state, USA. Standing 38 ft high, Patos Light was first lit in 1908 and went automated in 1974.

Desiree Ann , who lives on San Juan Island used a bunch of stamps , 4 of which are the 2003 American Clock stamp. The other stamp is from 2012. It is 1 of 15 in a self adhesive m/s entitled Earthscapes. This one is of a 
glacier and icebergs that have broke off.

Here's a U.S. Air Force F-86F Sabre fighter jet. They flew from 1947-1980. The one on the card is on display at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA.   These aircraft were America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights.




Allie used one of the 2012 Aloha shirt stamps , but it appears the value of 32 cents for not quite enough. There is a Postage Due handstamp at the bottom, I guess put there by the U S Postal Service. Don't quote me on this but I believe the postcard rate from the US to Canada is at least 85 cents, so this card was short at least 53 cents. Allie, you should check your postal rates. 

My next card is of a Rajasthani lady filling her water pot at a well. Rajasthan is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of the country.  













Sita used a nice selection of stamps on this card. On the left is a stamp that was issued on the 29th of November 2012 celebrating The Consumer Protection Act of 1986. In the middle is a nice aviation stamp from 2008. It is 1 of 4 commemorating the Indian Coast Guard. The stamp on the right, also aviation related , shows an AWACS plane.It was issued in 2012. AWACS stands for Airborne Warning And Controls System.

To a Airline, Airplane, Aviation postcard collector like me, this next card is as good as it gets. The card shows a Lufthansa DC-10. I have flown on the DC-10 a number of times between Vancouver YVR and Honolulu HNL. Of course , that was back in the days of Canadian Airlines International, oh the memories.

Then to really top it off, Iris used an A380 Aircraft stamp , issued in 2008. 


















My final card today comes from Springdale, Newfoundland and it's # 23 in my Towns of Newfoundland Collection. The town of just over 2900 people is located in Green Bay in central Newfoundland. Hollywood actress Natasha Henstridge was born in Springdale. Lisa's card is a map of Newfoundland and if you look in the center of the map, you will see my hometown of Grand Falls.  













Lisa
 used a new Canadian definitive which only came out on January 14th of this year. It is 1 of a set of 5 called Canadian Pride. Canadian Pride stamps are a way of showing the many places one might find The maple Leaf, our Canadian flag. On Lisa's stamp, the flag is on a bale of hay at harvest time.



That was to be my final card, but let's have one more.  Just because it's a nice card, from a great place with a great stamp.

It's King penguins on the Falkland Islands, with the card postmarked Port Lockroy, British Antarctic Territory.


Here's the stamp. It was issued in 2011.















That's it for this time and for January. See you in February. Thanks to Lisa, Iris, Sita, Allie, Desiree Ann and Bruce for their wonderful cards. I'll look for your comments on today's update. Take care.

A Card From Well Down Under and others

Hello again, I have lots of cards that I can show today. I'm sure I won't get to them all, so we'll see how far we get. My first card is from a land down under and I don't mean Australia this time. It's from British Antarctic Territory, Port Lockroy to be exact. Port Lockroy ia a harbour on the north-west shore of Goudier Island in the Palmer Archipelago of the british Antarctic Territory. It operated as a British research base until 1962. In 1966 the base was renovated and is now a museum and post office operated by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. The post office handles approximately 70,000 post cards a year. My card , one of that 70,000 has been on the go for 10 months. I should know , I posted it March 12, 2012  at the Stanley Post Office in the Falklands. From there it went to Port Lockroy, then back to Stanley and then on to Airdrie, Alberta, Canada via the regular mailstream. A distance of approximately 16357 km. It was date stamped at Port Lockroy on 19 Nov 2012. This card is 1of 9 that I stamped and sent off to British Antarctic Territory last March, for final delivery to various cities around the globe.  It is just the 4th that I known has arrived at its destination. If and when one arrives in your mailbox, please drop me a word, just so I know.
Now here's the card and stamp. 





The stamp I selected for this one is from a set of 6 issued in 2011, featuring Research Ships.  The RRS Ernest Shackleton is  shown on this stamp. The 6 stamps are a beautiful set as are just about all stamps from this
collecting area.


















My second card today arrived from Germany, but the image on the card is of a very famous picture of the ironworkers taking a break over New York City. The picture is called "Lunch Atop A Skyscraper " by Charles C. Ebbets. Ebbets took this picture in 1932 while the men sat on a beam at the 69th floor level of the RCA Building at Rockefeller Center.  Now I'm not one to talk, but it appears the guy at the far right is having a liquid lunch. Maybe that helps you walk around on a beam 69 floors up, who am I to say.

 

I"m proud to say that a couple of these guys  ( the 3rd and the 5th from the left ) are from my home province of Newfoundland. 

Janine used a couple of flower definitives along with a nice train stamp. It was issued in 2012 commemorating 125 year of narrow rail service in Harz, the highest mountain range in northern Germany.

 


We just had a train stamp, now here's a train card from Australia. The Legendary Ghan. Operated by Great Southern Rail, the service operates between Adelaide and Darwin. It takes 54 hours to travel the 2,979 km with a four hour stopover in Alice Springs. The name Ghan is an abbreviated version of it's previous nickname , The Afghan Express. The train's name honours Afghan camel drivers who arrived in Australia in the late 19th century to help find a way to reach the country's unexplored interior. Construction started in 1878 but the final leg was not completed until 2004. As Anita wrote on her card "It took 126 years to build a railway from Nowhere to Nowhere". Her words not mine. 

Anita used a 2012 Christmas Island Christmas stamp. It is 1 of 2 issued by Australia Post this past Christmas.

















I'm showing this next card because it has the same stamp as was used on the last card. Nadya sent her card and wrote that it was particularly hot with daily temperatures well over 30. And, from looking at the card, I can really feel the heat generated by these bronzed Aussies.










Here's a rather unique card. I'm not quite sure what I'm looking at or from where. But it is an interesting view. The card came from Michael in Germany.

Michael used a very recent stamp commemorating the 50th Anniversary of The Elysee Treaty between France and Germany. The stamp , issued Jan 02, 2013 is a joint issue with France.











Let's end this update with  this 1954 photo of Marilyn Monroe. Andrea of Syracuse, N.Y sent along this card. I know there are lots of collectors of Marilyn cards out there and I just happen to have quite a selection of them, so if you're interested in one , let me know and we can set up a swap

Andrea used a 2007 American Toleware stamp along with a 2008Wisdom definitive. This stamp was originally issued back in 2003 , but the one on this card has a 2008 date.









So ends another update. I hope you enjoy this one , along with your own postcards. I read your comments so don't be shy. Take care. see you again soon.






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St. David's and The World

That's quite the title on today's update. St. David's and The World. The St. David's in question is a small town on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland and the World is everywhere else. My first card today comes from St. David's , located about an hour drive from Port Aux basques. This card is my first 2013 contribution to my Towns of Newfoundland Postcard Collection, which I started last fall. I haven't really done much with it lately, it was sort of put on the back burner , but I'm going to get back at it now. St. David's is the 22nd Newfoundland town from which I have received a postcard. The card is actually not of St. David's but of nearby Stephenville . It is a view of Stephenville's Main Street during the 1960s. I lived in Stephenville from 1978-1986 so some of the buildings and businesses shown on the card are somewhat familiar to me.

 Samantha sent this card and wrote that she was a little worried that the card didn't show St. David's. Since it's such a small town, cards of St. David's are not available. She need not worry, I live in Airdrie, a city of 40,000 with not a local postcard anywhere in sight.. I have to settle for the big city of Calgary cards . To be honest, I haven't seen any sights in Airdrie that would warrant a postcard. Pretty sad, isn't it ? 

Let's move on before I get exiled from town.

Samantha used a 2012 Christmas stamp , showing gingerbread people. . It is from a set of 3 issued last fall.

Now on to the world. First up is a card from Johannesburg , South Africa. It's a nice sunset view of the Johannesburg skyline. This card comes compliments of a friend of a friend. Gabi mentioned that a friend of hers was traveling to South Africa.and that she would ask her to drop a card in the mail for me. Well she did and here it is. 

The stamp on this one is from a m/sheet of 10 issued in 2011. It celebrates the evolution of a legendary Rugby emblem. The m/sheet makes a really nice set of stamps.















Here's a card from Milan, Italy. It gives us a night view of the Naviglio Grande, the canal in Lombardy joining the Ticino River to the Porta Tieinese dock in Milan. It's another card from Ana and her recent travels. 



Ana used 2 stamps on the card. The larger stamp on the right was issued in 2009, 1 of a set of 4 self-adhesive definitives. The smaller stamp on the left was issued   in 2005.                                                                 









Well I showed a card from South Africa earlier, now I have one from Zimbabwe. Here we can see the wildlife of the country. A lioness, an elephant, a rhino, and a zebra.










Bruce used 2 stamps , the one on the left is 1 of 4 in a set celebrating Heroes of Zimbabwe, issued in July of last year. The stamp on the right was issued in 2009 and is 1 of 6 in a set of the Big Five of Zimbabwe. The big five are a lion, buffalo, leopard, elephant and a rhino.My stamp shows all 5, while the other 5 stamps just show a single animal of the five.



My next card shows a couple of the ferries operating between Penang Island and the mainland.Jean Pierre sent this card from George Town, the capital of the state of Penang, Malaysia. 









Jean Pierre used a 2012 stamp , 1 of a set o3 celebrating 125 years of postal history Kedah.

My last card for this time comes from Colombo City, Sri Lanka. It's a view of a part of the city skyline and also of  the coastline.

Ravindra used 3 great stamp on this card. The large stamp on the left was issued in 2010 in a Mixed Issue of 12 values.  This particular stamp celebrates World Children's Day. The other 2 stamps are from a set of 4 stamps celebrating the Centenary of Aviation in Sri Lanka  , 1912-2012.I have collected aviation stamps ( stamps showing aircraft and the names of airlines ) for many, many years and these 2 will be great additions to that collection.The other 2 in the set are equally as great. 



That's it for this time. Only thing left are the thanks. Thanks to Ravindra, Jean Pierre, Bruce, Ana , Gabi and Samantha.

January's Second Posting

I'm back with another update. Today's cards are from the Netherlands, Iran, Singapore, Switzerland and France. Let's have a look at the card from The Netherlands first. The card portrays a photo of an untitled work by Dani Karavan. Karavan is an Israeli sculptor best known for site specific memorials and monuments which merge into the environment. Even though this is an untitled work, I could suggest an appropriate  name - Man at the End of the Line.  The card is from Marjo, a Postcrosser in the Netherlands.

Marjo used a number of different stamps. The stamp on the right features Piet Hein but I'm not sure of the issue date. The other 2 stamps are from a sheet of 12 issued in 2011 under the title of City of the Netherlands. The middle stamp, the black one is quite interesting. If you visit www.toekomstinbeweging.nl and hold the stamp up to a webcam, the website projects a 3D image from the stamp, showing much more than is on the stamp. 

Here's today's second card, all the way from Iran. I was recently contacted by a Postcrosser in Tehran offering a private swap. I very seldom turn down a swap and offering a card from Iran, well it was a go for sure. Soode's card shows an old tower or tomb, I'm not quite sure. 

As is often the case the card in Iran, the card received a postage meter cancel, but luckily this one also got a stamp. It is a 2011 map stamp from a set of 6.

Since we're just a little into the New Year of 2013, here's a card showing  fireworks from Singapore. At night the city is transformed into a dazzling show of fireworks and glittering lights. Singapore's half lion and half fish icon, the Merlion can be seen on the card's right side.  

Jean Pierre used a couple of stamps from a 2011 set of 5 showing herbs. Interestingly , the card was mailed and postmarked 22 Dec 2012 and then one of the stamps was again postmarked 24 Dec 2012. Oh well, that's what makes Philately so interesting and so much fun.









My next card gives us a look at Lugano, Switzerland and Lake Lugano. Located in the south of Switzerland  Lugano is the largest Italian-speaking city outside of Italy.  It is often called the Monte Carlo of Switzerland.

Ana sent this card along from her travels. A few days after this card arrived, I received another one from her sent from Italy. Hope she had a great trip.   Ana used a great Bird stamp from 2009. A Priority A stamp it is from a set of 2 self-adhesives.

Today's final card is from Haguenau, France. Dominique's card shows Fishermen's Tower. Surviving from the medieval city walls, the tower was built in the 13th century. Oh the history that we don't have in North America. 



Dominique used a recent 2012 stamp showcasing Camp des Milles, the largest internment camp in southeast France.
















That's about it for this time. Thanks to Marjo, Soode, Jean Pierre, Ana and Dominique for their cards.  See you next time here on the blog.

HELLO 2013

Happy New Year, I know I'm a little late but this is my first update for the New Year. Today's cards include the last card received in 2012 and the first five received this year, 2013.So let's get right to it.

My first two cards are from Belgium and both are from Johan. His first card  23:59  is  a count down card to a Happy New Year.  

Johan used 1 of 5 stamps from a 2011 souvenir sheet celebrating Women in Team Sports.
















Johan's second card is a multi view of local sights and the Coat of Arms of Voeren.



Another stamp from the same set mentioned earlier was used .









Here is the last card I received in 2012. It is from Corinna in Germany and is an official Postcrossing card.  It's quite self explanatory and needs no comment. 

 

Corinna use a 2012 stamp celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Mittenwaldbahn Railway.
















 That's 3 cards , I have just 3 left, I'm half way there.

Russia is up next- On this one we can see His Imperial Majesty of Sovereign Emperor and the all- Russian Autocrat Nicholas II Alexandrovich.

 Tina, not My Lovely Teena, sent this card  . She is a Postcrosser living in cold Siberia. Tina use a 2009 self adhesive definitive and also the 2011 Christmas- New Year stamp.
















Here's a card of the skyline of Harare, Zimbabwe. Harare is the capital and largest city in the country.



Bruce used 2 stamps . The stamp on the left is from 2012 showing an ant , but I couldn't find any information on it. The right stamp , from 2019 showing a Lion, is from a set of 6 featuring the Big Five Of Zimbabwe.

Today's final card comes from France. It depicts the Basilica of  Notre Dame de Fourviere in Lyon. It was built between 1872 and 1884.
















Dominique used a nice large 2012 stamp featuring the Palace of  Justice in  Lyon.











That's it for this time. Thanks to Johan, Corinna, Tina, Bruce and Dominique for their cards. Once again Happy New Year. Hope you all get lots of cards this year. Just remember the Year of the Snake is just about upon us, so watch out.
 Take care, Enjoy.