Boo ! It's Hallowe'en

Yes , Boo to you all , it's Hallowe'en - it's most likely going to be a miserable Halloween evening for the little kids out trick or treating. It's raining and only 3 C.

I have just a couple of cards to close out the month. But first here is a Hallowe'en postcard to put you all in the spirit. It's not a card I received but one from my collection.

Here is the first regular card for today. It arrived from Singapore and shows the Supertree Grove at Gardens By the Bay.

Jobbo used 2 stamps on his card. On the left , from 2016, is 1 of 8 in a Myths & Legends set. The stamp features Kusu Island and the legend behind this island says that a magic tortoise turned into the island to save two shipwrecked sailors - a Malay and a Chinese.
The other stamp is from a set of 4 issued in 2011 showing Areas of Historical Significance in Singapore.

Next is a card from Sri Lanka. On it we can see Bogoda Bridge. It was built in the 16th century and is said to be the oldest surviving wooden bridge in the country.

Ravindra used a nice selection of stamps on this card. On the left is a 2012 stamp featuring Prof. Walpola Sri Rahula Thero. The top right stamp is from this year and commemorates the 100th Anniversary of Colombo Fort Railway Station. The smaller stamp below is a 2017 definitive.

Well that's it for this time, that's all the cards I have at present. Thanks for them go out to Jobbo and Ravindra. October is done, it's on to November tomorrow. Take care.

Oh yes, just one more Hallowe'en card for fun. And as the card says " Happy Hallowe'en " to one and all.

Maybe the Last For October, But Hopefully Not

Here I am again , back with 5 or 6 cards , possibly the last ones for the month, but hopefully not. I 'll try for one more update, maybe Tuesday.

So, it's on with the show for today. I'm going to start and end with a card from Canada's capital Ottawa. Between these 2 cards I'll stick in a few others.

My first card is a look at Canada's Parliament Buildings at night, in winter. 

This card is from My Lovely Teena. We had the pleasure of a short visit down east a little while ago, a visit with my brother who lives in Almonte, Ontario. As always, Teena sees fit to send a card to me. This time she used one of the recently issued Canada Post Community Foundation stamps. Over the years , the foundation has injected $6 million into initiatives for children and youths through the sale of these stamps every year.

My second card today arrived from China. It shows some of the children of Northern Shaanxi in northwest China. Shaanxi is a Chinese province who's ancient capital , Xi'an was a starting point for the Silk Road. It is also home to the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, an archaeological site containing thousands of clay soldiers, called the Terracotta Army. ( It's on my bucket list, so some day )

My Lovely Teena doesn't collect postcards of course, but she often sees some of the ones that arrive in my mail box. She tells me that cards showing local people are her favourites, and this card is one of those.

Chen Xiao use a couple of stamps. On the right is a 2012 stamp from a set of 2 commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Bank of China.

Benidorm, Spain is the subject of this next card. The city is a seaside resort on the eastern coast of the country. It is a popular holiday destination known for its nightlife, its 2 wide sandy beaches and its rows of skyscrapers. Benidorm has the most high-rise buildings per capita in the world.

David, who recently visited Spain sent this card my way. He used 2 of the 2016 stamp celebrating Jerez - the World Capital of Motorcycling 2015-2917.

Now here's an International Postcard Week postcard. The week was celebrated October 1-7 , 2017. The card shows an apple, an original piece of art painted by Deborah , who sent this card. It is a limited edition card , number 64 of 100.

 

Deborah used one of the 2017 green Global Forever stamp featuring an Echeveria Plant. I've shown it many times, so no need to again.


Up next is another card from China. It's a Flower card showing the art of traditional Chinese painting.

Xinghe used a couple of copies of a recent stamp showing Wetlands.

It's now that time - the last card for today is next. As I mentioned earlier , it's another Ottawa card - this time Ottawa at night, with the Rideau Canal front and center. Skating on the frozen canal is also on the bucket list.

This one arrived with 2 great new stamps, especially if you're a hockey nut Canadian. Both stamps were issued to coincide with the NHL's 100th anniversary. On the left is a hockey card - sized stamp, one of six in a set showcasing six outstanding Canadian Hockey Legends. This one shows Bobby Orr, arguably the greatest defenceman in the history of the NHL, hugging The Stanley Cup. He won the James Norris Trophy 8 times as the best defenceman and thrilled fans with his size, speed and scoring ability.

The small stamp on the right, again featuring Orr is from a special pane of 6 , ahowing the same six players as in the larger sized set.

There you have it. The end of another fine update. Thanks for today's card go out to My Lovely Teena, Chen Xiao, David, Deborah, and Xinghe. Don't forget to drop by again.

Hokkaido Train, Judith, Merlion , ANA Star Wars and Oak Island

Hello again postcard people. I'm back with a few more cards to have a look at. The title of this post pretty well gives you a hint of the cards to be featured today. Let's start with a Train card from Hokkaido, Japan - perhaps it's the Hokkaido Express or something along those lines.

Postcrosser Yulia who lives near Osaka sent this card. She used a couple of recent stamps. The one on the right is from 2016 and is 1 of 10 in the Letter Writing Day set.

My second card shows Gustav Klimt's 1901 oil painting  " Judith and the Head of Holofernes " .

Anna Maria used 3 stamps from this current year. The stamp on the left celebrates Modern Architecture in Austria. The center stamp is  from a set of Austria's Heraldry. The stamp here features the Salzburg Coat of Arms. The stamp on the right honors painter Herbert Boeckl.

It's over to Singapore for this next card. It's a look at Merlion with Marina Bay Sands in the background. Merlion is a mythical creature with a lion's head and the body of a fish. It is 8.6 meters tall and spouts water from its mouth.

Jean Pierre used a nice large Bird stamp  from this year's set of 4 Kingfishers.

 


This next card is the latest addition to my Aircraft / Airline on Postcard Collection. We have an ANA B777-200 , an ANA B777-300 and an ANA B787.  All in Star Wars livery. 

Midori used an Aviation stamp on her card. It was issued in 2010 and is from a set of 10 commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Aviation in Japan. A very nice set and one I would love to add to my collection.

Last card call - here's the last card for today. It's a look at Oak Island, North Carolina, USA.  Oak Island is a beach town with a population of just over 6,700, but in summer that population balloons to between 30 - 50,000. 

Skipper used one of the often seen Round Forever stamps from the U.S. I don't think I need to show it here again.

Just so you know , there is an Oak Island in Nova Scotia , Canada. This one has been the subject of buried pirate treasure for hundreds of years. Still nothing to report after many expeditions to recover the booty. There is even a television series called " The Curse of Oak Island " .  Maybe someday, someone will strike it rich.

That's it for this time. Thanks for postcards go out to Yulia, Anna Maria, Jean Pierre, Midori and Skipper. Hope you enjoyed your read here and that you'll find time to drop by again soon. Take care.

Unseen Sri Lanka, Morro de Sao Paulo and a Postbriefkasten

I`m back, it`s been not quite a week, so that`s good. Today`s update will be a short one, just three cards - that`s all I received this week. Let`s start off with an Unseen Sri Lanka card. It`s a nice look at a group of the horses from the wild horse sanctuary , located on Delft Island . The island is about thirty km from the mainland and home to somewhere between 450 and 500 wild horses. These animals are bigger than a pony but smaller than the average horse. They are thought to be descendents of horses released by the Dutch.

Ravindra used a stamp from 2016 , which is identical to the picture on the card. It is from a set of 12.

My second card shows a few views of Morro de Sao Paulo - the fountain, square , beach and the whitewashed Church of Our Lady of Light. Morro de Sao Paulo is a car-free village on the northeastern tip of Brazil`s Tinhare Island.

This card is from Reginald , a Postcrosser living in Feira de Santana, Bahia. He used a stamp from 2002 showing a musical instrument, a stamp we have all seen many times over the years.

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It`s the last card, already. It`s from Germany and shows a street letter box.

Anne used a couple of stamps, one of which - the Brandenburg Gate stamp, is upside down. The top stamp was issued in 2017 and is from a set of 2 Baby Animals.

Well there you have it - that was easy, a piece of cake. Thanks for cards go out to Ravindra, Reg and Anne.  Thanks for dropping by and be sure to check GemsWorldPostcards out again real soon. Take care. 

Chenonceau, Jim Jim Falls, The London Eye, Home Depot at Regent's Park and a few others !

Well it's certainly for another update and I have the cards to prove it. They arrived from France , Australia, Great Britain, and Germany.  I'll start the day off with a card from France. It shows the beautiful scene at the Chateau de Chenonceau. This chateau spans the River Cher, near the small village of Chenonceaux, in the Loire Valley in France. The chateau was opened in 1521.

Dominique used a stamp from 2014. It is 1 of 4 in a set showcasing European Capitals,

in this case Vienna.


Next we're off to Australia and Jim Jim Falls. This falls is a plunge waterfall on the Jim Jim Creek that descends over the Arnhem Land Escarpment within the UNESCO Wold Heritage listed Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia. The falls plunge 200 metres over the edge.

A Postcrosser from Darwin sent this card and used a stamp from a 2017 set of 2 honouring Henry Larson.

 A view from atop the London Eye is the subject of this next card .
This giant ferris wheel is located on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is 443 feet tall and the wheel has a diameter of 394 feet. When this picture was taken, it was known as the British Airways London Eye, but is now known as the Coco-Cola London Eye. I guess it's like hockey arenas in Canada - whoever pays the most, gets their name on it.

This card is from Bruce, who was visiting from South Africa, attending the 27th International Congress of Vexillology .  Bruce used an International Postcard , Universal Mail stamp showing Westerminster Abbey.

Here's another card with a London theme. The card reproduces s a Royal Mail stamp from 2016 with the theme of Home Depot at Regent's Park, 1914-1918. This was a gigantic wooden hut, covering several acres, containing what was then the largest mail sorting depot in the world. Two and a half thousand staff were employed there.

Alan used a recent Machin Head definitive on his card.

Now it's time for the 5th and final card for today. It's another from Dominique in France and showcases the Black Mountain, which shelters the town of Mazamet .

The stamp is another of the Vienna, European Capitals set.

That's all for today, folks. Thanks for today's card go out to Dominique, Bruce and Alan. Hope you found some reason here to come back again. I'll try really hard for it not to be another week.
Take care.

Cards From Here and There

Hello again, it's been a little longer than I thought it would be , since the last update. A little trip down to our nation's capital and Canadian Thanksgiving kind of got in the way. So now it's on to the cards.

First up is a little surprise card from my home province of Newfoundland. It's an old time black and white photo of a yacht entering St. John's.  The city was settled by the British in the 1600s.

The card was posted in Victoria, northeast of St. John's.  It is from Deb & Bill. The stamp was issued in 2014 and is from the continuous Baby Wildlife definitives set and features 3 Burrowing Owls.

Next up is this beautiful card from Saranda. The city is a resort on the Albanian Riviera in southern Albania, near the Greek border.  Located near that border, Saranda has a large Greek population.

This card is compliments of Indrit. He used a stamp from 2014, 1 of 6 in a set of Museum Objects.

Be sure to check out Indrit's great postcard blog called Postcard Albania and here's  the link to it.

Today's third card is from Belgium and shows the gate of the beguinage of Diest, located about 60 km from Brussels. The gate dates from 1671. The beguinage was listed as a UNESCO WH Site in 1998. It has 80 individual and 5 communal houses.

Gerda used 3 stamps on her card.  Top left is a 2002 stamp, 1 of 20 in a Turn of A Century issue. Bottom left , issued 2000, is 1 of 20 in another Turn of A Century set. The stamp on the right is from 2016, 1 of 10 in a set of Nobel Laureates. Shown is Belgian Immunologist Jules Bordet.

Gerda has a wonderful postcard blog called My Postcard-Page and you can find it  right here .


Now from Belgium lets swing on over to Africa, Nigeria to be exact. The card shows a part of Yankari Game Reserve , now Nigeria's biggest National Park, in Bauchi State.

Bruce used 2 definitive Hologram stamps from the 2010 set of 10.

I think that will do for this time. Thanks for cards going out to Deb & Bill, Indrit, Gerda and Bruce. Thanks for dropping in and be sure to come by again.  Take care.