Kasmir, Moulin Rouge and Mango & Blarney

Howdy All, - I have to practice my Howdy, as The Stampede is coming up, just 5 weeks or so away. I should have it down pat by July.
For now though, it's on to cards as that's the main focus here on GemsWorldPostcards .
I have 3 cards  for this time -  from India , France and the USA .

Houseboats on Dal Lake - This card comes from Srinagar, the largest city in Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River. It is famous for its houseboats in Dal Lake. The boat in the lower left is a shikara - a type of wooden boat used for many purposes including the transportation of people.

This is another card from David and his recent trip to those parts. He used 3 of the 6 stamps in a 2017 Nature series.

The Moulin Rouge - The famous cabaret in Paris dates from 1889. Best known as the birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance, it is a popular tourist attraction. A lot of great names have performed there, including Edith Piaf, Liza Minnelli, Ginger Rogers, Juliette Binoche, Dean Martin, Jane Russell and Elton John. I haven't yet had the pleasure of visiting the Moulin Rouge, but I have seen the 2001 movie Moulin Rouge by Bas Luhrmann with Evan McGregor and Nicole Kidman.

Dominique used a large 1972 stamp featuring an Andre Derain painting.

Here's the last card for this time. From Honolulu, Life is full of Aloha... after a few mai tais. I have to say that I've experienced a few bartenders over the years in Honolulu, but have yet to run into Mango or Blarney.

A few recent stamps arrived on this card, which received a Honolulu Waikiki Sta cancellation.  On the left is a WPA Poster stamp from 2017. In the middle is a 2016 Star Trek stamp. Finally on the right is the latest John Fitzgerald Kennedy stamp, issued this year.

Well, it's been a short update this time. Thanks for cards go to David and Dominique. Thanks all for reading and do come by again. Take care.

Hong Kong, Honolulu and Paris

Welcome back Postcarders. I guess I should really call you deltiologists. I have a few cards to highlight here today.

Let's start with a card from Hong Kong. It's a panorama of Hong Kong and Kowloon at night. Ana's card brings back some great memories for me - it wasn't that long ago - only six months ago that I was in Hong Kong.

In addition to this card being from Ana, I could also say it's from Iris. She wrote a message , saying she is a Postcrossing friend of Ana and that they met-up in Hong Kong.
Ana used a 2011 stamp showing the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. The The card was posted at the City One Shatin Post Office and received a wonderful cancellation.

Aloha from Hawaii. The Island Hula Honeys are inspired by vintage art of Hawaii, from around 1950, the beauty of the islands and the people of Hawaii captured the world's imagination and interest. They are icons of paradise - part sass, part fun and all Aloha.

This card is from My Lovely Teena. We were recently in Honolulu for a short visit and as always, she dropped a card in the mail to me.  Mahalo Teena. Posted at the Saratoga Road Post Office, Teena's card received a Honolulu - Waikiki cancel. Teena's stamps are all from 2016. On the left is one of the Star Trek Forever stamps. The other two are from the Wonder Woman set.

Les Invalides in Paris is featured on this next card. It is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It dates from the 1670s  and contains museums and monuments all relating to the military history of France. In 1861, Napoleon's remains were entombed in a stone sarcophagus in the crypt under the dome at Les Invalides.

Dominique used a lovely old stamp again. This one is from 1969. I just love these older stamps. In my opinion today's modern stamp pale in comparison to the older ones. The stamp shows Rogier Van der Weyden's Portrait of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. I do believe you can see the painting in The Louvre Museum.

Here's the last card for today. It's another one from Waikiki, from my recent visit. Just between you and me, the Waikiki beach of today is a little different from what's shown on this card.

There are 2 WPA Poster stamps and a domestic Postcard rate stamp on here.

 

That's it for this time. Sometimes a short one is just as good and that's what we have this time. Mahalo for today's cards go out to Ana and Iris, My Lovely Teena and Dominique.  Take care .

Two Cards !

Hello again, I just have a small update for today. Let's start with a card celebrating an international Postcrossing meet-up held in 2 cities/countries simultaneously. It was held in Singapore and Wuxi, China on January 25, 2017, 3770 km apart. A special Postcrossing postcard was designed showing elements from both countries, and this is the card I received.

My card is from Siye who attended the meetup in Wuxi. She also had the card signed by 20 or so other Postcrossers who attended. I was n't able to find any info about the stamp used, but here it is .

 
 


The Admiralty is the focus on this next card. This building was the former headquarters of the Admiralty Board and the Imperial Russian Navy in St. Petersburg, Russia. Now it is the headquarters of the Russian Navy. The building, which opened in 1823, is one of St. Petersburg's oldest and most important buildings. It is just opposite the Winter Palace and the focal point of three of the city's main central streets.

 Svetlana used 2 stamps on her card. On the left is a Kremlin definitive from 2009 and on the right  a 2016 stamp issued for the Philatelists Union in Russia.

On to the next card. Opps - that's all the cards I have at present, I am now up to date . Thanks today go to Siye and Svetlana for their cards.Thanks for dropping by , do come back again - I should  have a few cards by the middle of the week. Take care.

Six Cards From Six Places

Here I am back again, I certainly seem to be on somewhat of a roll these past 4 or 5 days. Postcards and blog updates are just flying out of my computer . My first card is from Scotland, but more than that, it's from a place that makes the card the first in my collection from there, and that place is the Isle of Barra. It's an island in the Outer Hebrides, 8 miles long and 4 miles wide. Barra is the second southermost inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides. It's main village is Castlebay and the island population is just over 1,100.
Barra's airport uses the beach as a runway. Voted the world's most stunning landing spot, Barra Airport is claimed to be the only airport in the world to have scheduled flights landing on a beach.

Michael's postcard shows the final approach to Barra Airport.

Michael used a recent Regional Definitive from Scotland on his card which received a nice circular Castlebay, Isle of Barra cancel.

Today's second card gives us a look at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India. Amritsar is a city in the northwestern Indian State of Punjab and the Golden Temple is the most holy place of Sikhism. The huge religious complex was started in 1585 and its construction was finished in 1604.

David used 2 stamps on his card. On the left , from 2017, is 1 of 2 in a set showing Traditional Dances. It is a Joint Issue with Portugal. I now have the set of 2 thanks to David. On the right is a 2016 stamp featuring Flowers - Orchids. It is part of a set of 6.

A recipe card from France is next. It's the recipe for Flammekueche or Flame Cake. I went through the recipe and have to admit I had no idea what lardons were. Google helped and it seems lardons are quite similar to what I would call fatback pork bits. Where I come from -Newfoundland - we use it to fry fresh cod fish. The Flammekueche looks good though and I'm sure it tastes great too.

Dominique's stamp is from 2016. It commemorates the 240th Anniversary of the Birth of French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher Sophie Germain.

Laos is up next - It's Luang Prabang as seen from Phu si. This city of 56,000 in northern Laos lies in a valley at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. The old town of Luang Prabang was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995.

As always with cards from Jobbo, they always arrive with a nice selection of stamps and this one is no exception. On the left is a stamp from 2005, 1 of 7 in a set called Days of the Week - Buddha Figures. The middle stamp , from 2001, is 1 of 3 in a set showing Traditional Mortars. On the right  - a stamp issued in 2010 commemorating the 15th Anniversary of  Luang Prabang making the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Sorry Buddha is sideways !


I have another one from Jobbo, but first this one from Newfoundland showing a gigantic iceberg. According to The International Ice Patrol there are a record number of bergs in the area of the Grand Banks at this time this year - 481 . Usually there are around 80 . Looks like last years 687 bergs might be exceeded this year.
 The International Ice Patrol is operated by the US Coast Guard, but is funded by 17 nations - Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

This card is another one for my Newfoundland Postmarks Collection - this time it's  Come By Chance, a small town of just 265 people on the Avalon Peninsula in eastern Newfoundland.
I thank My Lovely Teena for this card.

The new Star Trek stamp on this card was issued April 27th of this year. It is 1 of 5 in the set. This one features William Shatner as Admiral James T Kirk.

Now it's time for Jobbo's second card and the last card for this time. It's from Vietnam and shows a couple pics of Hanoi and area.

That's a nice looking place there - the Huc Bridge at Hoan Kiem Lake.

On this card we see a nice Bird Stamp from 2013. It is 1 of 4 stamps in the Birds of Xuan Thuy National Park set. Next is a 2017 Vietnamese Markets stamp. Lastly, a Buu Chinh stamp from 2016.

The end has come. Thanks for cards today go out to Michael, David, Dominique, Jobbo and My Lovely Teena.

See you next time.

Five Cards That Didn't Make It Yesterday

I'm back again, what can I say - the updates just keep coming. This time I have 5 cards that didn't fit into yesterday's theme of planes, people and bridges. So they get their minute of fame today.

My first card this time is from the United States - it arrived from Georgia but is of a South Carolina theme. It's the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point, Mount Pleasant across from Charleston. The USS Yorktown was the tenth aircraft carrier to serve in the United States Navy. She served in the Pacific during 1943 and 1945 and in Vietnam from 1965 to 1968. The ship also recovered the Apollo 8 astronauts and capsule in December of 1968. The Yorktown was decommissioned in 1970 and later placed at Patriots Point.

Kelly used 3 recent US stamps to send her card to me. All 3 were issued in 2016. On the left is 1 of the 4 Star Trek Forever stamps , and on the left is 1 of the 4 Wonder Woman stamps. Under those two is 1 of the 5 Soda Fountain Favorites stamps. This ice cream float looks good but the Banana Split stamp is my favorite. I think this set will be easy to lick.

Card # 2 is from Viseu, Portugal. Viseu is a city in the Central Region of the country with a population of just under 100,000. The card gives us a look at a few of the churches in the city along with a couple other scenes.

Miguel used a wonderful long stamp from 2015. It is 1 of 4 in a set called Trails to Santiago.

Here's a nice looking card from Hong Kong , an early harbour scene.

Jade used 2 difinitives on her card. On the left is 1 of 16 from 2006 showing a White-Bellied Sea Eagle. On the right is 1 of 12 from 2014 featuring Kang Lau Shek.

Now it's time for one more of my Newfoundland Towns Postmarks Collection. This time it's Tors Cove, located 42 km south of the capital St. John's. With its sheltered harbour Tors Cove was a stopping point for visiting fishermen in the late 17th century. Today Tors Cove has a population around 1,000. Looking at the card, one can almost hear the locals saying " it's a good day on clothes " .

There's a 2012 Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee stamp on this one.

Today's last card arrived from Hamilton , New Zealand. The city of around 141,000 is on New Zealand's North Island. As you can see on the card, the Waikato River winds through the centre of Hamilton.

Linda used 2 Kiwi Stamps  - non denominated , always good stamps and a 2007 stamp featuring Rainbow Falls.

That's it , another one in the books. Big thanks for today's card go out to Kelly, Miguel, Jade, Tors Cove Postmaster, and Linda.
Thanks readers for dropping by, see you again soon. Comments always welcome.

Planes, Bridges and People

Hello again, it's postcard time again and as the title implies I have three themes for this time - depending of course on how long it all takes.

Let's start with the planes - I have cards showing Australian, Sabena, Lufthansa and Japan Airlines.

This first card is from Indonesia but portrays an Australian B767. VH-OGV is an extended range B767. It was delivered to Qantas in 2000 and flew with Australian during 2002 and 2003. As of Nov 2013, this aircraft has been stored at Victorville Airport in California.

Jean Pierre used 2 beautiful Tourism stamps from this year. They are 2 of a set of 4.

Next is a SABENA  Belgian World Airlines Airbus.  Sabena was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 - 2001.

Meelis used 2 different stamps on this card. They are TBC-Post stamps. TDC-Post is a private postal company that has operated in Belgium for 30 years or so. These Penguin stamps , and they are 2 different, are the first of these TBC-Post stamps that I have seen. But as people often say, " you have to be open to new ideas " .

Now it's a Lufthansa Boeing 747-400. Lufthansa currently has 32 of these aircraft active in its fleet. Great plane to fly on especially in the upstairs Business section.

Ravindra sent this card along and he used 2 recent stamps. On the left is one from 2016 featuring Montague Jayewickreme. On the right is one celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Sri Lanka Girl Scouts.

I know what you're saying - " enough with planes already " , but I can't help what people send .  Here's the last plane for the day, I promise .

A Japan Airlines B777 - aircraft JA707J. This aircraft currently flies back and forth between Tokyo and Honolulu, having landed in HNL at 8:49 am this morning.

Asami, a Postcrosser in Tokyo sent this card.

The top stamp is a 1990 New Year Lottery stamp. The middle one is from 1970 , issued for EXPO 70 , the World Fair in Osaka.


Now for some people. We begin with Yuri Alekseyevich Gargarin, Russian pilot and cosmonaut, the first man to journey into space. He flew Vostok 1 and completed one orbit of the Earth on 12 April 1981.

Denis used a 2016 stamp issued for Postcrossing and it's one of the nicer stamps issued for this postcard project, in my opinion of course.

This next card is a photo of Li Sang ( 1910-1937 ).He was a modern era Korean author and poet. His best works are a short story called The Wings and a poem called Crow's Eye View.

Jae Eun sent this card and used a number of recent Korean stamps.

Now for the last person card of the day. I don't know her name but she and her great smile arrived from Darmstadt, Germany. This city is home to the European Space Operations Centre and to Merck, the world's oldest pharmaceutical company. The last Russian Tsarina , Alexandra was born in Darmstadt.

Tanya used 2 stamps from 2015 which together form a panorama. They are the Tourism issue for that year , called Germany's Most Beautiful Panoramas.

Now it's time for some Bridges postcards. First up is Pisek Stone Bridge , the oldest bridge in the Czech Republic and one of the oldest in Central Europe. It is thought that the bridge was built in the latter part of the 13th century. It spans the Otava River and is 109.75 m in length. The bridge is built on six pillars and has seven arches.

Martina sent the card from Prague and used a large stamp from 2010. It is 1 of 2 issue for the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Alfons Mucha, the Art Noveau painter and artist.

Have a look at the Priority mail sticker  - Owl Mail. Guess it only moves at night.


Now it's on to Rio-Niteroi Bridge. It connects the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi.

The bridge is 13,290 m long and was opened on March 4, 1974. It is currently the longest prestressed concrete bridge in the southern hemisphere and the sixth longest in the world.


This card is from Triscani  who used stamps from 2002 and 2014. The 2 smaller stamps are from a set of 5 Musical Instruments. The larger stamp, from 2014 celebrates International Year of Family Farming.

Just 2 more cards to go, so hang in there.

Guandu Bridge is the subject of this next card. Crossing the Tamsui River in Taipei, the bridge is 809 m long. It opened in Oct 1983.

A new Postcrosser from Taiwan, Jane used a stamp from 2013. It is part of a Travel set of 4. Jane wrote that the scene on the stamp is located on the east coast of Taiwan.

As they say, all good things come to an end and that's the case with today's blog. The last card and last bridge is here.

The Oberbaum Bridge , a double deck bridge crosses the River Spree in Berlin. It was built in 1895.

Ursula used 2 Lighthouse stamps on this one. The one on the left was issued in 2004 and the one on the right 2005.

Well this is the end for today. Thanks for cards going out to Jean Pierre, Meelis, Ravindra, Asami, Denis, Jae Eun, Tanya, Martina, Triscani, Jane and Ursula. As you can see, it takes a lot of people to get a blog up and online.  And of course readers like you are pretty important too. Take care now and we'll see you back here soon.