Cards From Antarctica and More

Hello again. I just want to say again, sorry for the poor layout of the last update. I know it was horrible and I just hope I don't have a repeat again today. I still don't know what really happened. I do think though that it had something to do with my other blog called My Look At East Lake. The layout was a lot like that one. Anyway I'm hoping for better results today. Now, it's on to postcards.

Well back around the middle of October I prepared 6 postcards and mailed them off to Antarctica. Two went to McMurdo Station, two went to Amundsen Scott South Pole Station and the last two went to Palmer Station via Punta Arenas, Chile.

Four of the cards have arrived back from Antarctica., and you're about to see them . I didn't have actual Antarctica cards so I improvised with what I had. I wanted all the cards to have some snow, maybe a glacier and maybe a mountain , but you'll have to pardon the polar bears on one card. I applied my address and the stamps , and off they went.

The first two arrived back from McMurdo. Here's number 1 -

Now the stamps and postmarks -

The 3 stamps are from the 2016 National Parks issue of 16. The postmark reads USAF McMurdo, Antarctica, Nov 14 2016, APO AP 96599.

Number 2 -

The stamps , again 3 from the National Parks set.

The next two to arrive were from Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Here's the first one -

The stamps and markings, a little different on these.

The 3 stamps in upper right are the ones I put on. They are from the 2014 Vintage Circus set of 16. Also added in the South Pole Station post office - an international Local Post Stamp, which reads - All Paths Lead NORTH, South Pole Antarctica, Postage Paid to Nearest Mail Receptacle. A wonderful addition to the card, I haven't seen one of these before. The cancellation has a map with the station's location at 90 degrees south, and its elevation of 9300 Ft.

The second card from South Pole Station -

The only difference on this one is the 3 stamps I added. They are again from the National Parks set.

Hopefully the two I sent to Palmer Station will arrive soon.


Now here's a few more cards from other exotic locals.
First up is Monaco. I don't have many cards from Monaco, just 3 or 4 in 10 years of collection, so this one is quite welcome. Actually the first card in my collection, number 1 , was from Monaco.
This latest one is a bird's eye view of the city-state.

Jean Pierre used a nice large Art stamp from 2015. Nice handstamp from the Museum of Stamps and Coins in Monaco.

Greetings from Ghent are next . Ghent is a city in the Flemish region of Belgium. On the left side of the card is the Belfry of Ghent.

Johan used the Horseback Shrimp Fishing stamp from 2015.

The Scottish Highlands are to be found on this next card. Over Loch Inchard from Badcall, near Kinlochbervie, towards Arkle and Ben Stack, Sutherland, The Highlands of Scotland.

A beautiful card indeed.  Bruce used a Universal Mail International Postcard Scotland stamp, from 2012 showing Loch Ness.

The next card is from over there too, but England this time. It is the Great Hall in Hampton Court Palace, located in Richard upon Thames, Greater London. This royal palace is one of only two surviving palaces owned by King Henry VIII. The Great Hall was built between 1532 and 1535 and is the last medieval great hall built for the English monarchy. The Great Hall has a carved hammer-beam roof. During Tudor times, the Great Hall was the most important room in the palace.

David used a recent Great Fire of London stamp and secured a lovely Royal Mail cancellation.

Now a card from Alaska, The Last Frontier. With this card you can learn a lot about Alaska - its history, population, its state bird, its highest point and see its state flag and a map of the state.

This card originated from Kipnuk, Alaska. Kipnuk is located in the south west corner of Alaska and had a population of 639, at least in 2010. This card is from Brenda, a school teacher in Kipnuk who's doing a class project of receiving postcards and having discussions with her young students about where the card came from. I've sent her a number of cards from different locations, it's great helping out the young students.
Now, if any of you readers want to send Brenda and her students a card, that would be great. Her address is Brenda Zera, P O Box 197, Kipnuk, Alaska, U.S.A. 99614
Just tell her , Glenn sent ya.
Oh yes, here's the stamps on Brenda's card. On the left is the Vintage Tulip 2 oz.  rate stamp, issued  June 1, 2015. On the right , is 1 of 20 in the Pets set issued this year. Shown on this stamp are parakeets.

Well what do you know, here's my 4th Manhole Cover postcard. I wonder if I'm the only collector of these fine postcards. This one is a manhole cover in Hiroshima city, Japan. It features paper cranes that represent prayers of peace.

Barbara from the Netherlands took this picture of the manhole cover on her recent Japan trip and then made it into this postcard.
She used 2 stamps from 2016 , on the left is 1 of 10 in a set of Pictures of photographer Ed van der Elshken. On the right is the 2016 stamp for Stamp Day.

Just 3 more cards to go. Do I do too may cards in an update ? What do you think ?  Drop a comment and let me know.

Antwerp on a card is next. The port city is Belgium's second city and biggest port and without a doubt, the country's capital of cool. The city has long been a powerful draw for fashion moguls, art lovers and diamond dealers. In the mid 16th century it was home to superstar painter Pieter Paul Rubens.  Antwerp is on the River Scheldt and in 1920 the city hosted the Summer Olympics.

Gerda used 4 stamps, 3 of which I was not familiar with before. The 3 stamps on top are from a 80 stamps set issued in 2000. They are part of a series called " The 20th Century in 80 Stamps " . Let's
not forget the Owl stamp , it was issued in 2009.

My second last card is from Sri Lanka. It is Beruwela Light, located on Barberyn Island offshore from the west coast of Sri Lanka. The lighthouse is a 34 m high round white conical granite tower. It was completed in November 1889.

It's kind of strange getting a lighthouse postcard from Ravindra , as this is one of the themes that he collects. Usually this is what people are sending him. Maybe I should restamp this card and mail it back. Just kidding. I'm glad to have it.
Ravindra used 4 Flower stamps from a 2016 set of 12. And best of all they received a Socked-On-The-Nose cancel. I love when that happens. As a stamp collector, that's the way all stamps should be cancelled. A guy can dream , right ?

Now the last card. Other than the Antarctic cards, I started with a card from Jean Pierre, and now I'll end with a card from Jean Pierre. This one arrived from Nice , France - sunny Nice on the French Riviera. The city is the fifth most populous city in France and is located on the south east coast of the country. Nice is just 13 kilometres from Monaco.

Jean Pierre used a 2016 definitive of Marianne, a national symbol of France, an allegory of liberty and reason, and a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty.

There it is, I'm all done. A good update if I do say so. Thanks for cards going out to the Postmasters at McMurdo Base, South Pole Station, Jean Pierre, Johan, Bruce, David, Brenda and her students, Barbara, Gerda, and Ravindra.
I hope this update has a little better format than the last . I don't think I hit any keys or buttons that I shouldn't have, so hopefully all is well. Take care, and do come back.