Thursday, May 15, 2014

The IIHF, Dali Theatre & Museum, Air Zimbabwe, Ypres 1913, The Talaandig, The Art of the Pin-Up Girl, and Moulin Rouge

Wow ! That's a really Big title for an update. I hope it lives up to the title and that you like what I have for you this time. Let's start with a card from Minsk, Belarus. On this first card we see the General Post Office in Minsk. Belarus became a member of the Universal Postal Union in 1949. The building was built between 1949 and 1953 and is one of the most beautiful architectural spots in all of Minsk. The card though is two fold. It also commemorates the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship currently happening in Minsk. It is ongoing from May 9th through May 25th. Sixteen countries are taking part and they are : Group A - Sweden, Czech Republic, Canada, Slovakia, Norway, France, Italy and Denmark. Group B consists of Finland, Russia, USA, Switzerland, Germany, Latvia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.Now I know it's not The World's Beautiful Game , but Hockey is Hockey and I am living in Canada.


Irina , who lives in Minsk sent this card. She wrote that Minsk is an ancient city, having been founded in 1067. She also wrote on her card, "Greeting from The Heart of Europe ". Many places , it seems, claim this title. Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Estonia and Hungary all have cities claiming this status. Monuments are even set up in  Polotsk, Belarus; Suchowola, Poland ; Bernotai, Lithuania and near Dilove, Ukraine.  Guinness World Records   recognises Bernotai, 26 km north of Vilnius, Lithuania as the official geographical midpoint of Europe. Questions like this are never truly settled , I guess. 

Irina used a 2013 stamp from a set of 3 called Textile Art. 



Card 2 for today comes from Spain. On it we see the Dali Theatre and Museum , located in Figueres, a town in the Catalonia region of Spain.   The town is the birthplace of artist Salavdor Dali, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dali,  a large museum designed by Dalí himself which attracts many visitors. 
The museum opened on September 28, 1974 and  houses the single largest and most diverse collection of works by Salvador Dalí.  
The Dalí Theatre-Museum, is considered the largest surrealistic object in the world.


 

Dominique used a stamp issued on January 3, 2013 , one in its Civic Values series. It symbolizes water scarcity and depletion. The stamp depicts symbolically the idea of a glass of water, as an individual use of water, pouring into an inverted tap, as a sign of scarcity and depletion. It was a little tricky knowing which way was up for this stamp. But I believe I have it correct.







Air Zimbabwe's Boeing 767 ( Z-WPR) is next .  Air Zimbabwe is the national airline of Zimbabwe, headquartered on the property of Harare International Airport, in Harare The airline formed in April 1980 when the Republic of Zimbabwe was formed. Following financial difficulties, Air Zimbabwe ceased operations in late February 2012. Serving a reduced domestic network, the carrier resumed operations for a short period between May and early July 2012, when flights were again discontinued.  The airline resumed operating some domestic routes as well as the regional service to Johannesburg on a daily basis in April 2013. The aircraft on the card had its first flight back on 25 Oct 1989, making it a little over 24 years old.



 Bruce sent this card along, it's one he has had since 1991.


This next card is a reprint of a 100 year old postcard of Ypres. It is Ypres as it was on July 7th 1913. Ypres is a Belgian town located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. During World War I, Ypres was the centre of intense and sustained battles between German and Allied forces.



Dolf used a 2009 Flowers self adhesive stamp.




Now for a card from Marikina, Philippines. Marikina, located in the island of Luzon in the Philippines, is one of the cities that make up Metro Manila. On the card we can see  Talaandig natives performing a solemn ritual as they inaugurate a Female Tribal Chief .
The Talaandigs are one of the indigenous groups in the province of Bukidnon, who has continued to preserve and promote its indigenous customs, beliefs and practices despite strong  change. These groups are found in  municipalities surrounding the mountain of Kitanglad specifically in the towns of Lantapan and Talakag.



Johnathan used a number of stamps on his card. The large one on top is from a souvenir sheet of 10 different stamps issued in 2012, celebrating Paintings of Young Filipino Artists with Roses.  Then on the bottoms are smaller definitives from 2011 and 2012.













How about a card from Australia ? It's a Gil Elvgren retro pin-up girl. Gil Elvgren, born Gillette Elvgren in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was an American painter of pin-up girls, advertising and illustration. Elvgren was one of the most important pin-up and glamour artists of the twentieth century.




Steve from, Canberra used a couple of stamps on his card. On the left is 1 of 6 in a 2006 set of 6 Wildlife-Animals issue. this one shows a platypus.

The platypus is a semiaquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.. It is one of the five  species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth.  On the right we have a 2013 Christmas stamp.










The Moulin Rouge in Paris is the subject of this next card. It's a cabaret that was founded in 1889. It is marked by the red windmill on its roof. Moulin Rouge is best known as the  birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance.



This is another card from Dominique. Becoming quite the regular, it seems. The stamp this time celebrates the French National Holiday, Bastille Day, held on July 14th each year.




It's time for the final card of the day. Well, we started with the IIHF in Minsk, and that's how we end. Another card, same type as the first, but this one shows Independence Square in the city. 

  
Svetlana used a number of the small self adhesives definitives from 2012.





That's the end of another update. Hope you enjoyed it or at least a part of it. Come back again, I'm sure I'll have more soon. Thanks today for cards go out to Irina, Dominique, Bruce, Dolf, Johnathan, Steve, Dominique again and Svetlana.

Take care now and as always comments are welcome. .

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