Two From Johan, One from Maria and One from Helga and Flag Day 2015

First , before I get to any postcards, I want to mention Flag Day 2015. Today Feb 15th is Flag Day in Canada. It commemorates the inauguration of the Flag of Canada, The Maple Leaf, on February 15th , 1965. Fifty years ago today our flag flew for the first time. It is not a public holiday, but any Government of Canada that wants to declare it one, will get my vote. So without further ado, I just want to fly our flag for a bit here.
George F.G. Stanley designed the current flag, which is inspired by the Royal Military College of Canada’s flag. The multi-party parliamentary committee formed to select a new flag unanimously chose the design on October 29, 1964. The House of Commons passed the design on December 15, 1964. Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed the new flag on January 28, 1965, and it was inaugurated on February 15 in the same year.

Canada Post is also commemorating our flag's 50th anniversary.  Pushing the boundaries of stamp production, Canada Post has created Canada's first fabric stamp as a fitting celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the Canadian flag . Denominated at $5, the innovative stamp uses a satin rayon fabric and  special ink to create a durable and spectacular image. Canada Post is also issuing a celebratory Permanent rate stamp that showcases an undulating flag with a blue sky and "50" in the background.

Now on to the postcards - the reason you tuned in . My first card is from Belgium. It shows a Concorde's nose dipped low over a Citroen , or at least what I think is a Citroen. We don't see many of them in these parts so I could be wrong.  The time frame of the picture is 1969. Thanks to Johan for this card. 

Johan was able to secure a First Day of Stamp Issue cancellation on the stamp he used on this card. It is 1 of a set of 5 .

My second card arrived from Russia. Now I'm not one to talk, and I like receiving all cards, but this one is just not that interesting or exciting, at least not to me. All it  shows is a number of QR Codes. 

Pretty boring, right ? Well the stamps are good though. Maria used 2 stamps from 2013. They are from a set of celebrating Olympic Sport Legends. 

Here another card from Belgium, again sent by Johan. It's a view of Oostende Airport. Oostende  is a Belgian city located in the Flemish province of West Flanders.

Postcards of airports might make a quite interesting collection. Maybe I should go through my card stock and see what I can come up with. 

Johan again received a First Day of Issue Stamp cancellation , Jan 26, 2015 on this one. It celebrates Thorgal,  a Belgian fantasy comic book series by the Belgian writer Jean Van Hamme and the Polish graphic artist Grzegorz Rosiński. It combines several themes and legends, ranging from Norse mythology  and Atlantean fantasy to science fiction, and such genres as dark drama, horror and adventure stories. The comic first appeared in serial form in "Tintin" magazine in 1977.

I have just one card left for this time. It is from Belarus and was sent by a Postcrosser named Helga. The card celebrates 20 Years of Belarus WWF  stamps. This is my second card from this series. My first featured all bird stamps. 

Helga used a stamp from 2014 featuring an Olympic Medal winner. It is from a set of 3 . 

That's my update for today. Happy Flag Day to all my Canadian readers. Happy Day to everyone else. Take care and catch you next time.