October Already and 2017, 3 Quarters Gone !

Hello all, I don't know about you guys, but October sure crept up on me. Before you know it we'll be wondering where 2017 went. Still with 3 months to go, that should allow lots of postcards to show up her on Gem's World Postcards.
Today I'm showing the last few cards received in September.

Up first is a great card from Sri Lanka, with " Ayubowan From Colombo " or Long Life from Colombo. It shows the historic Cargills Building, with the World Trade Centre in the background. This is certainly one of the landmark buildings in Colombo.

Ravindra used a recent stamp , 1 of 2 in a souvenir sheet celebrating 150 Years of Ceylon Tea.

Sadly the stamp didn't receive any cancellation or postmark - more on that later.


Card # 2 is from Mayne Island, B.C. , Canada.  Mayne Island is a 21 square kilometre island in the southern Gulf Islands, located midway between the BC mainland and Vancouver Island. It has a population of just around 1,100.
My card shows Active Pass Lighthouse at Georgina Point. This ligh has been in operation since 1885. The mountain in the background is Mount Baker.

Here's one of the Round Canada 150 stamps issued in a pane of 10 on June 1, 2017. It celebrates Olympic Games held in Canada in 1976, 1988 and 2010.

Now it's over to Toulouse, France and a card showing the Arcades of the Capital. The building was constructed in 1750 and is 735 meters long. It is an area of restaurants , a theatre and a place for pedestrians to gather and shop.

Dominique used 2 stamps from 1973. On the left is one celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Flame of the Arc de Triomphe. On the right , a stamp celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights.

Again, as was the case earlier, no cancellation or postmark. More on that later.


Columbus is the capital and largest city in Ohio. It was founded in 1812. Kathy's card gives us a look at Scioto Mile, a riverfront park system. It consists of 175 acres and contains a 15,000 sq-ft fountain and the country's largest free outdoors climbing wall.

Kathy used the latest U.S. round Forever stamp featuring a green succulent plant known as the echeveria. Again no postmark or cancellation. I'll show one of these green stamps shortly.

So that's 3 stamps from 3 different countries, Sri Lanka, France and the U.S.A. I used to think this was a Canadian thing , with mail arriving without cancellations or postmarks, but now I see it must be a  worldwide phenomena and not one I like. To me , mail without a postmark, a stamp without a postmark , is just not complete, it tells the receiver absolutely nothing. One can't tell where it came from , how long it's been travelling or anything else that's important to a philatelist. So I say to all those postal workers out there, get with the program, do your job and cancel the mail.


Fireworks over Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo is the main feature of my next card. The bridge is a suspension bridge completed in 1993 and crosses northern Tokyo Bay. It is 798 m long.

Yoko used a 2015 Bird definitive and a 1986 stamp commemorating  the 60th Anniversary of Emperor Hirohito.

Time now for the last card of the day. It's from the U.S.A. and it's a railroad and tunnel card. The 1904 locomotive is engine 630 , a coal fired steam  engine of the Tennessee Valley Rail Road.
The tunnel is historic Missionary Ridge Tunnel, a 1858 tunnel, 986 feet in length. The tunnel is the site of one of the American Civil War's most famous battles, ending in a Confederate defeat on November 25, 1863. 

Leisha used the Round Green Echeveria stamp, with cancellation.

So there, that's how October begins. Thanks for cards go out to Ravindra, Dominique, Kathy, Yoko and Leisha. Do drop by again soon.