Ouagadougou, Macau, Free Soil, I Have Nothing To Wear, and Others

Hello again, well I missed blogging yesterday, I watched The Grey Cup instead. That sure didn't turn out the way it was expected to and saying The Stamps suck is an under statement. Oh well, there's always next year, funny though, that's what we said last year. The Stamps sucked then too.

Luckily I have no Calgary Stampeder postcards anywhere nearby !

 So, let's start with a card from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The city is the capital and largest city of the landlocked country in West Africa. The city of 1.475 million is twinned with Quebec City, Canada , among others. David's card shows a monument to African filmmakers. Completed in 1987 the monument symbolizes the work tools of filmmakers :  camera lenses, film reels and telephoto lenses.

David used a stamp from 2009, 1 of 3 in a set showing the Loropeni Ruins. The ruins were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List in 2009.

A neat Socked-On-The-Nose postmark. You can't go wrong with those.


Macau is up next. Not a place I have received many cards from over the years. Just 4 or 5 in 10 years. Not sure what the building on the card is or if it is indeed an actual building or just some artist's representation.

Kaka, a Postcrosser from Macau, use a 2015 stamp, 1 of 2 in a set, commemorating the 70th Anniversary of Victory in the Chinese People's War Against Japan.

My next card doesn't look like much, it's just a plain , white card , blank except for my name and address, the stamp and the postmark. Free Soil is a village in Mason County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Population in the 2010 census was 144. The village derives its name from the Free Soil Party, a short-lived political party in the U.S. presidential elections of 1848 and 1852. The main purpose of the party was to oppose the expansion of slavery into the western territories.

Christine, who lives in Free Soil, sent this prestamped card along. It's a Forever Flower Prestamp.



What man out there hasn't heard their better half say sometime " I have nothing to wear " . Even though the closet is stuffed ! I think that's what these ladies are saying.

Anna used 2 of the often seen  2009 Russian definitives. So often in fact that I'm not showing them this time around.


The illuminated Cailhau Door, or City Gate, on the Palace Square in Cailhau, 635 km from Paris is the subject of this next card. It is an example of Gothic architecture and was constructed in the 15th century.

Yasmina used the 2017 stamp commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Death of Auguste Rodin.

Before I get to the last card for today, a word... that last stamp commemorating Rodin's death ! How do you feel about stamps commemorating someone's death ? I think it would be much more pleasing if a stamp commemorates the birth of someone. That's the poll for today. Let me know via comments which you prefer.  Thanks.

The last card for this time is from Spain. It shows the Roman Bridge in Cangas de Onis, Asturias. The bridge dates to medieval times, possibly to the end of the 13th century. Hanging from the central arch is a reproduction of the famous Victory Cross.

Rafa used a Felipe definitive from 2016, 1 of a set of 6.

There you have it - another day another update. Thanks for today's cards go out to David, Kaka, Christine, Anna, Yasmina and Rafa.
Thanks for dropping by again and don't forget The Poll. 

The Balkans, Hikkim Post Office and Africa

Good Saturday to you all. Hope you enjoyed yesterday's update, now I'm back with another one.
Today's first card is a panoramic view of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On it you can see the Orthodox Church, The Cathedral and The Theological Seminary. The city will be hosting the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2019.

Ana used a Christmas / New Year stamp fom 2016. The actual stamp is shaped as a trapezoid but with the additional tab in top right corner, it becomes a rectangle. Nice clear circular postmark.

Next up is a card from Belgrade, Serbia, with nice views of the countryside and a couple of rivers.

Ana used a 2017 stamp, 1 of 3 in a set of Cities in Serbia on this card. I'm not sure about the "stamp" on the right. I don't think it's actually a stamp, just a tab. It has no value and I couldn't find any reference to it .

We're off to India next, high India in fact. On this card we see a local printing prayer flags using a 800 year old dye. He is located in the Spiti Valley, a cold desert mountain valley high in the Himalaya Mountains. The name Spiti means `` The Middle Land ``as in the land between Tibet and India.

The stamp used here was issued in 2016 and shows a Silver Spouted Lota or water pot.

Even though it`s upside down, you can see this card was posted from Indian Post, Hikkim Branch Post Office, The World`s Highest Post Office - at a height of 14567 ft.
I don`t know who sent this card, I don`t know why I received it, but you know I am glad to have it. It`s a keeper .


It`s 3 cards from Africa next. First is this one from Mopti, Mali. It`s the port of Mopti, with  a number of fishing boats and a passenger ferry.

All 3 of these Africa cards were sent by David, who recently visited the area.  Here he used 3 different stamps. On the left is a 2001 stamp from a set of 7 showing Exhibits From the National Museum. In the middle is a 2015 stamp showing  a bag of Timbuktu Manuscripts. The stamp on the right was issued in 2014 and shows a Serval, a wild cat found in Africa.

David`s second card is also from Mali, but Bamako the capital,  this time. The city of 1.8 million was in 2006 the fastest growing city in Africa and the sixth fastest in the world. On this card are the city`s Welcome Gates.

And the stamps - on the left , from 2005. It celebrates the World Summit on the Information Society  ( WSIS ) in Tunis. The other stamp , issued in 2001, commemorates the 40th Anniversary of Mali Independence.

Now last card time. Today it`s from Niamey, Niger. On it we can  see a couple of local ladies walking near Zinder.

That was the last card , here are the last stamps for this time. On the left, 1 of a set of 3, featuring Mammals from 2007. In the middle, from 2008, 1 of 3 stamps showing Traditional Living. On the right, from 2010, a single stamp showing Traditional Hair Styles.

There you have it, today`s update. Thanks for cards today go out to Ana, David and the Hikkim Post Office. Take care, and do drop by again.

Back From The Caribbean

Hello people, I'm back from 2 weeks down south, Florida and the Caribbean. It was nice while it lasted, now I'm ready to go again.
Not really, home is great  .

Postcards arrived while I was away , so I have lots to chose from to put up here on the blog. Let's start with 3 cards from Dominique. The first one is from France, showing the Historical Museum of Haguenau and celebrating it centennial.

Dominique used an older stamp from 1973. It commemorates the 300th Anniversary of the Death of Moliere.

Dominique's second card is from Germany and shows a couple of views of Erfurt, a city in the central German state of Thuringia.

This card arrived with two stamps from a 2017 Tourism set. They show some of Germany's most beautiful panoramas.

Sorry Dominique but I can't tell you which card arrived first. They both were in the mailbox when I arrived back home from my recent trip.  Now , here's your third card, again from France.  On this one we see the largest solar furnace in the world. It is located in Odeillo , in the Pyrenees near the Spanish border in the south of France. Temperatures in the furnace can reach 3,500 degrees Celsius. It opened in 1970.

It's another 1973 stamp on this card. It commemorates the 200th Anniversary of the Masonic Grand Orient Lodge of France.

Now let's move from Europe to Africa , Mozambique in fact. Bruce's card shows the beautiful pool at the iconic Polana Serena Hotel in Maputo. Looks like a great place to spend an afternoon.

Bruce's stamp is from 2015, a joint issue with Portugal. It celebrates the 25th Anniversary of AICEP - The International Association of Communications in Portuguese Language.

The Big Buddha is front and center on this next card from Hong Kong.  Officially Tian Tan Buddha, it is located on Lantau Island, Hong Kong , beside Po Lin Monastery. Completed in 1993, it stands , or in this case sits at 34 metres high.  This Buddha weighs 250 tons and is the world's largest outdoor seated bronze Buddha.

Jobbo's card arrived with 2 great stamps. On the left is a 2016 stamp commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Dr Sun Yat-sen. Then on the right is a 2017 stamp commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China.

Now it's  time for the last card for today. It's an aircraft card and you all know how I like those. This one shows a stationary display at the Administration Building at Tirana International Airport in Albania.

Indrit used 3 copies of a 2016 stamp . It is 1 of 3 in a set of Albanian Flora.

There it is , my first update in 20 days, hopefully the next one will be much sooner that that. Thanks for today's card go to Domimique, Bruce, Jobbo and Indrit.

November Announcement

Sat Nov 4th, 2017

Hello again.
Just a note to say I will be away from this blog for a couple of weeks.
Check your mailboxes , although  I'll most likely be back before any mail arrives.
Take care, cheers !