But Not For Much Longer

Hello, it's October 31st , so this will be the last update for the month. But first before I get to the postcards for today, let me take a moment. To all the witches, goblins, pumpkins and all of you , I just want to wish you all a very spooky and  HAPPY HALLOWE'EN  . Now without further ado , here's the proverbial Halloweén postcard.

The first regular card for today comes from Belgium.It's a view of the city of Marche-En_Famenne. It shows a sculpture called "Meeting Place " that is located on the roundabout at Porte Basse. The work of Serge Gangolf Verviers, it is made of stainless steel, is 8.5 m high and weighs in at 3 tons.

Johan used a nice Christmas stamp showing the Christmas story.

A card from Brazil is next, not the mainland but the island of Fernando De Norohna. It is about 354 km offshore from Brazil. The area consists of an archipelago of 21 islands. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.

David used 2 stamps from this year featuring Bees. The stamps are , or were, scented, but after a month in the mail system, the scent seems to have disappeared.

Here's another card from Johan . Another nice addition to my Aircraft on Postcards Collection. This time it's aircraft OO-SRF in the livery of Sabena, the Belgian airline. The card shows the tail section of a Sud  Aviation SE 210 Caravelle. On a personal note, I flew on a Caravelle way back in 1976. Aircraft OO-SRF was in service with Sabena in the early 1960s and later with Air Inter and Catair in the 1970s. It was "broken up " sometime around 1997.  Also on the card is a 1962 Citroen DS. Not a car I'm very familiar with, we don't see too many here in Canada.

Again Johan secured a special cancellation on two different Christmas stamps.

Well we've made it to the last card for this time. It's from Kuopio, Finland. The city has 111,000 people and is the eight largest in the country.
I need some help with this card. I'd like to know what is printed on the front. I tried a couple of online translation sites but neither made any sense to me. If any Fins are reading this, and I'll be surprised if there are , please feel free to translate for me via the comment section. Or anyone else who happens to known Finnish, feel free. Here's what needs translation;

 

The card arrived with a couple of stamps as shown. I'll just address the larger one top right corner. It was issued on March 1, 2006. It is of a painting called The Fortune Teller (Woman in Yellow Dress ). It was painted in 1926 by Finnish artist Helene Schjerfbeck.

And so ends another update, and another month. I'll see you all next in November. Thanks for cards go out to Johan , David and the Postcrosser in Finland who sent the last card. I'll even be so bold as to thank the person who does the translation. Take care,Cheers.

It's Still October

Hello again readers. I received a nice bunch of cards yesterday , so without further ado , we'll have a look at some of them. Let's start with a Postcrossing card from Germany.
On it we see the Fehmarn Sound Bridge. It connects the German island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea with the German mainland. Construction of the bridge started in 1958 and it opened in 1963. The bridge which carries road and rail traffic is 963 metres including the 240 metre arched section on one side.

German PostCrosser Barbel sent this card along. Along with the common Flower definitive  she used a 2014 stamp celebrating  Antoine de Saint-Exupery , French writer and aviator. He is best known for The Little Prince, published in 1943. It is the 3rd most translated  book in the world and was voted the best book of the 20th century in France. It has been translated into more than 250 languages. With over 140 million copies sold, it is one of the best selling books ever published.
The stamp is mostly white and quite light , so the scan may not be the greatest. Sorry about that.

It's off to Trinidad & Tobago for this next card. Just my 3rd card from this country. David's card gives us a look at The President's House in Port of Spain. It is the official residence of the President of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago. The house was constructed between 1873 and 1876.

David used a stamp from 2014 celebrating 100 Years of Indigenous Banking in the country. The event was celebrated with 3 single stamps and 3 higher values in a souvenir sheet. The Trinidad Co-operative Bank opened its doors on July 22, 1814. The TCB earned the nickname "Penny Bank " because it allowed its customers to save as little as one penny at a time when other banks in the country required a minimum deposit of one shilling.

Don't forget about David's great postcard and travel blog. Check it out  here .  


Back to the other side of the world for today's 3rd card. Sri Lanka. It's a view of the Hatadage., an ancient relic shrine in the city of Polonnaruwa. It was built by King Nissanka Malla as a shrine to house the Relic of the Tooth of the Buddha.

Of course this is another card from Ravindra. He used 2 more of the set of 10 in the mini sheet showing different bodies in our Solar System. These make 6 of the 10 now in my collection. I now just need Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Along with 8 planets , the set includes the Sun and the Moon. Sorry Pluto, but you didn't make it , even though you were a planet most of my life. Ravindra also used a new 2015 stamp celebrating the 175th Anniversary of the Penny Black- the world's first stamp. I have seen similar issues  from  a number of countries. I think they'd make a great small collection.

Next is a reprint of a vintage postcard from 1908. It's entitled When The Lights Are Low. It arrived from Washington, D.C. and it's another from a PostCrosser. Not a lot to say about this one., other than it's getting late , according to the clock above the fireplace.

Lots of stamps, but most all common that we have all seen before. Best is the 2011 Christmas stamp in the top right corner.

Last card for today . It brings Warm Greetings From Bavaria. Yes indeed.

Looking at this card, it brought to mind an old episode of  the tv series Seinfeld. It's the season 4 finale, called "The Pilot ". Elaine was incensed about something in that episode and any fan of the Seinfeld series , looking at this card , would know why. Enough said.

Here's the stamps on this one. We've all seen the Brandenburg Gate stamp on the left, many times before. On the right is a 2010 stamp celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Oktoberfest.

Here it is again , the end of another update . My thanks today go out to Barbel, David, Ravindra, Eugenia and Susanne. Thanks for reading and be sure to leave a comment , if you have one. If you don't , tell me that too. Take care. Cheers.

A Long Overdue Update

It's certainly time for a new update. I have a couple of excuses, I was out to Calgary for almost a week and I was caught up in Blue Jays excitement. Sadly, that all came to an end sooner than I wanted. So much for my short bandwagoner experience. Now the coast is clear for postcards .
So let's get to it.

First up is a train card. It's from the United Kingdom and it shows the Bodmin & Wenford Railway of Cornwall, England. The railway was started in 1887 and finished up as a commercial railway in 1983. Since 1990 it has operated as a Heritage Railway operating over a 15 mile round trip. The engine shown on the card , 4247 is a GWR4200 class Z-8-OT  heavy freight locomotive and was built in 1916.

A PostCrosser named Lucy sent this card along. She used 2 Aviation themed stamps, which always goes over well with me. On the left is a Military Plane from a set 0f 5 issued in 1997. On the right is another stamp from a 2002 set of 5 Airlines. This one shows a British Airways Concorde.

Next up is another card for my Airlines / Aircraft Postcard Collection. It's a British Aerospace RJ85. The Avro RJ was introduced in 1992 and was an improved version of the BA146.  The aircraft  on the postcard , G-6-271 first flew in Nov of 1995. It flew with Sabena, SN Brussels and Brussels Airlines. It is now stored.

Meelis used a recent stamp from 2014. It is 1 of 5 different stamps in a sheet commemorating The First Great War.

Here's another aircraft card for my collection. It arrived from Bangkok and shows a B747 of Orient THAI Airlines on the ground in Hong Kong back in 2002.  HS-UTP had its first flight on 23 Aug 1972 with Japan Airlines. The aircraft was taken out of service in July of 2008 and is now stored , sadly without engines - an ignoble end for a fine aircraft.

Jean Pierre used 2 fine 2015 stamps. On the left is a stamp celebrating National Communications Day , while on the right is a stamp celebrating the ASEAN Community. Their motto is One Vision, One Identity , One Community. ASEAN stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Suriname - You don't see too many cards from here, do you ? This is just my 3rd in over 3900 cards. David's card shows an old church built on poles , along the road in Coronie, a district of Suriname situated along the coast. David posted his card in Paramaribo - the capital and largest city, located on the banks of the Suriname River. The historic inner city has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002.

David used 2 stamps from a 2015 set of 6 showing Traditional Dresses.

Frederick the 1st is featured on my next card. Frederick, also known as Frederick Barbarossa, was the Holy Roman Em,peror from 1955 until his death. He was elected King of Germany on 4 March 1152 and crowned on 9 March 1152.

Dominique who hails from Haguenau sent this card.  Haguenau is celebrating its 900th birthday this year. Hats off to Haguenau. The stamp is from this year and celebrates 70 Years of Mine Clearing and the people who do it. Tough job, for sure.

Yes . it's another Airline / Aircraft card. An Air New Zealand Boeing  747/400 cruising over mountains. Air New Zealand no longer operates B747s. This aircraft ZK-NBT was delivered to Air NZ on 31 Oct 1990 and operated until Feb 2012 when it was stored .

This fine card is compliments of Bruce who recently visited Australia and New Zealand from South Africa. I believe he was there for the 26th International Congress of Vexillology , held in Sydney a short while ago. Guess he'll be going to London in 2017. He used a 2003 stamp showing Tongariro National Park. It was 1 of 3 Tourism definitives issued back then. Located on the North Island , it is the oldest national park in the country. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990.

That's six done, just a couple more to go. I'm not sure what to make of this next card. It's from Lithuania. I  leave it to you readers out there to interpret it and perhaps let me know. Maybe the name Saulius Jankauskas might help. Anyway here it is .

Interesting stamp though. It's from 2015 and is 1 of 2 in the current Europa set , featuring Old toys.

Here we go - last card for this time. This one arrive from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It's a great view of the city with the 452 meter Petronas Twin Towers front and center. 88 floors, 395,000 sq metres of commercial space.

 

I'm going out on a limb here, but I believe this card was sent by Jobbo. It's not signed , but the writing seems to be similar to others I have received from him.  The card arrived with 3 fine stamps. All date from 2010. On the left in 1 of 3 in a set celebrating the country's Army. The top right stamp celebrates the Cultural Heritage of the Pahang area. It's also 1 of 3 in a set. Finally the bottom right stamp was , also from a set of 3, was issued to celebrate the Orang Asli or original / first peoples of Malaysia.

There you have it, a long overdue update. Glad it's done finally. Thanks for cards go out to Lucy, Meelis, Jean Pierre, David, Dominique, Bruce, Ausra and Jobbo. Thanks for reading , hope someone enjoyed it. Drop by again , hopefully the next update won't take quite so long. Cheers.

Canadian Thanksgiving

It's that time once again - Turkey time and I don't mean the country, I mean The Bird. Yes, it's Thanksgiving Day here in Canada. Today and every day I'm thankful for my Family- near and far, the Love of My Lovely Teena, out health, food on the table, and a safe place to live. You only have to look at the news on television to know that's not the case for many millions of people around the world. Yes, we had turkey dinner and turkey at Thanksgiving always brings to mind the classic Thanksgiving episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati" . I always remember the words of Arthur Carlson "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly". Check it out on You Tube, it's well worth it.

Now on to postcards   - and staying with Thanksgiving just a little longer, I offer a single Thanksgiving themed card. Can't you just smell the turkey on this one.

Now here's a card from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. What better view of that city could one want than Copacabana Beach. The beach is 4 km in length and has seen a number of quite large crowds. On Dec 31, 1994 Rod Stewart attracted 3.5 million to a New Year's Eve concert. The Rolling Stones drew 1.5 million on Feb 18, 2006. Finally Pope Francis celebrated mass on July 28, 2013 with 3 million. So I guess Rod rules.

David used a 2004 stamp ( on the left ) along with 2 from 2015 , issued for the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. Nice socked on the nose cancels. Always nice to see.

Now it's another Air France card, one more in the "France Is In The Air "series.

Jean Pierre's stamp is one from July of this year.  It's 1 of 2  issued to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of Gilberto Bosques , Consul General of Mexico in France during World War II . Is is also a Joint Issue with Mexico.

My last card shows a neat trick if you can do it. Riding a cycle off a broken bridge over an oncoming train, hoping to make it to the other side. Let's hope he made it. Reminds me a little of Evel Knievel.

A PostCrosser from Finland sent this card and used one of the "Tom of Finland " stamps issued in 2014. It is 1 of 3 different stamps in a sheet.

That's it for this time, a little shorter than my usual, but there it is. Thanks to David, Jean Pierre and Antti for today's cards. See you next time. 

World Post Day 2015

                                                        Happy World Post Day 2015

What do you know  - another week gone by ?  That must mean it's time for a few postcards. Hopefully more than a few. But first let's talk World Post Day . Yes, Oct 9th, today, is being widely celebrated as World Post Day. The observation marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1876 in Switzerland. But it was only in 1969 that Oct 9th was marked as World Post Day by the UPU Congress, held in Japan. When was the last time you wrote a letter or a postcard to a friend or loved one ? Give it a try , you might be surprised by the results.

On to the postcards . Let's start with a card from France. This one shows the kitchen of Maison Kammerzell and a couple of its main chefs. I previously showed another postcard of this old restaurant and hotel located in Strasbourg  back on Sunday, August 2nd of this year.

Dominique used a 20104 stamp from a souvenir sheet of 10 different stamps highlighting Regions of France.

Keeping with the French theme, my next card is from Cayenne, French Guiana, an overseas department on France on the northeast coast of South America.  Its capital is Cayenne and there you will find colorful Creole houses and street markets.
David's card shows a few of the scenes around Sinnamary, a town on the north coast. The town was the second French settlement to be founded in French Guiana , back in 1664.

David used 2 nice,  large French stamps. They seem to be some sort of personalized stamps , meeting the 20 gram letter rate. French stamps are the norm of course in French Guiana. The one on the left is interesting showing the Earth, in a box marked as fragile.

More French to come - this next card is from France and celebrates Air France. It's one of the newest Air France publicity cards. As the card says - France Is In The Air. This is one more addition in my Airlines / Aircraft Postcards Collection.

Jean Pierre used a new 2015 stamp here. It is 1 of 2 in a set showing Satellites. The set is a Joint Issue with India and celebrates 50 Years of Space Cooperation between the two countries.

Stepping away from the French themed cards above, my next card arrived from Salvador, Brazil. Salvador is a city of 2.6 million in Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia. The city is known for its Portuguese colonial architecture and tropical coastline. Shown on David's card is Sao Francisco Church in Pelourinho, the historic centre of Salvador. The church was built between 1708 and 1723 with all decoration finished by 1755. Pelourinho was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

David used 3 stamps from a 2015 set of 4 issued to celebrate Rio de Janeiro's 450th Anniversary. Rio was founded on March 1st, 1565.

Here's another Aviation related card , this time from Frankfurt Airport. We can see a number of  Lufthansa aircraft along with various views of the airport . Interestingly though in the lower right corner is a couple of Air India aircraft , including Aircraft VT-ALM , a B777-300.

Jean Pierre used 2 quite large stamps on this one. On the left is a 2012 German Architecture issue showing a German house from around 1600. On the right is a 2014 Lighthouse stamp, 1 of 2 in the set.

There you have it , another update. Thanks to Dominique, David and Jean Pierre for these fine cards. Don't forget, you can always leave a comment, if you have one. Take care.