It's Out With the Old Tonight

Blog Post # 889

Hey it's that time, the end of the year. Time to show off the last few cards of 2018. These all arrived since Christmas. Let's start with this card from Moscow, Russia. A young girl having fun , enjoying Autumn in the park.

Elena used 3 stamps from Russia which are new to me. Many cards from Russia arrive with the same , often seen Moscow definitives. Not this one though. On the left is a 2007 stamp commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Russian Economic Academy. The other 2 are from a set of 4 showing Russian Flora, issued in 2015.

Next is a card from Albania, showing the ancient city of Bylis, from around the 1 BC.

Indrit used 3 of 4 stamps in a set from 2010. They show Antique Silver Designs. Oh yes, Welcome back to postcards Indrit.

Tossa de Mar in Costa Brava is the focus of card # 3 today. Costa Brava is a coastal area of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Tossa de Mar is a town of just over 5,600 people just 103 km north of Barcelona. It has 3 main beaches - The Tossa Beach, La Mar Menuda and El Codolar.

Josep & Assumpta used a King Felipe VI stamp along with a 2016 Train stamp showing the Mecca-Medina High Speed Railway.

It's down to Brazil next. Fernanda's card shows a part of Rio's Santa Teresa - a neighborhood famous for its winding, narrow streets, famous as a favourite spot for artists and tourists. The card also shows the Santa Teresa Tram, operating since 1896. A ride on the tram is a popular attraction among tourists.

         The left stamp is from 2005, 1 of 3 celebrating Professions - shown is a seamstress. The larger stamp , from 2016, is 1 of 3 issued for the Rio Olympics.

The Elf on the Shelf is next . The Elf on the Shelf is a funfilled Christmas tradition that has captured the hearts of children everywhere who welcome home one of Santa’s Scout Elves each holiday season. The magical Scout Elves help Santa manage his naughty and nice lists by taking note of a family’s Christmas adventures, and reporting back to Santa at the North Pole nightly. Each morning, the Scout Elf returns to its family and perches in a new spot, waiting for someone to spot them. Children love to wake up and race around the house looking for their Scout Elf each morning.

My grandson Will has one of these and he is named Jingle Joy. Will enjoys looking for him every morning.

David used a limited edition stamp from An Post. It's a Christmas stamp featuring Elf on the Shelf.

Well there you have it. That's all for this blog post, this month and this year. Take care and Happy New Year to all readers and everyone who have contributed postcards during 2018.

Thanks for todays cards go out to David, Fernanda, Josep & Assumpta, Indrit, and Elena.

Take care all.

Boxing Day 2018

Blog Post # 888

Airplanes, a Butterfly, a 120th Anniversary and Arch Rocks

Well it's Boxing Day here in Canada, a federal statutory holiday. Government offices, banks and post offices are all closed today. Not to worry though, the malls and shops are all wide open. Some people line up for hours hoping for that great Boxing Day deal. Not me though, I'd rather just stay home and do without the hassle at the malls. It's a foggy day here today, so I think it makes for a great day for postcards. So on to it.

A squadron of South African Air Force Harvards is featured on my first card . The first Harvards arrived in South Africa in October 1942 for use in flight training schools. By July 1944, 633 Harvards has been shipped to the country with 555 surviving in October 1945.  The Harvard was one of the most outstanding aircraft of its era. A total of 20,110 were produce between 1938 and 1954 and  3,350 of those                          were built here in Canada.  The South African Air Force operated Harvards from 1940 to 1995 . The final lineup of Harvards in South Africa, as shown on the postcard,  took place in Langebaan in November of 1995.

Bruce used a stamp from 2017, 1 of 5 in a set , highlighting Winemaking in South Africa.

An Orange Oakleaf is the subject of this next card. This butterfly is found in tropical Asia from India to Japan. When in danger the orange oakleaf flies erratically, soon dropping down to the foliage and occupying a stationary pose with its wings closed.

Muthu , a Postcrosser in India sent this card. He used a circular stamp from this past year commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Mahatma Gandhi.

Today's third card arrived from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. It commemorates the 120th Anniversary of something, perhaps streetcar service or something related. Since my Russian is non-existent , I really don't know for sure. Perhaps someone might enlighten me.

Alexey used a 2018 FIFA World Cup stamp. It's one of eight in a set.

Now it's time for the last card for today. It arrived from California, USA. First when I looked at it I thought it was from the Channel Islands in the English Channel. But I was so wrong. It shows Arch Rock , Anacapa Island in Channel Islands National Park , off the southern California coast. Towering forty feet above the surf, Arch Rock stands defiantly against the windy sea. Anacapa Island's famous land-mark, formed by sea erosion, was first pictured in an 1854 engraving by James Whistler.

Matthew  used 4 stamps, all from 2017. The 2 small stamps are Fruit Definitives- Red Pears and Grapes. The other 2 are from a set of 5 - Marine Life Sharks.

Sad to see but The Great Stamp Defacer struck again. He/she ruined all four stamps with a pen, even though the card received a cancellation. Add the U.S to the ever growing list of countries that don't give a you know what .

That's all for today. Thanks going out to Bruce, Muthu, Alexey and Matthew. Take care, see you again soon.

CHRISTMAS 2018

Blog Post # 887
Once again as Christmas Day is upon us, I want to take this opportunity to wish all my fellow postcard collectors , cover and stamp collectors and bloggers , along with all my readers a very Merry Christmas. My Christmas wishes for all of you are again summed up in the 3 Christmas stamps issued by Canada Post in 2007. Hope , Joy, and Peace. What more could we ask for ?

                                  And maybe a lot of Love.  

Cards From Ravindra, Jean Pierre, Dominique, David and Canada Post

BLOG POST # 886

Hello once again, today I have a few cards from regular contributors. The success of this blog is directly related to the generous support of the people mentioned above and many others.
So let's get to the cards.

Card # 1 - Help Save the Glory That is Lanka - That's what it says on the front of the card. Ravindra's card show Rankoth Vehera, a stupa built around 1190 in the ancient city of Polonnaruwa. King Nissankamala who ruled from 1187-1196 oversaw construction of this gold pinnacled stupa.

 

Ravindra used 3 stamps new to my collection. On the right is a stamp from 2013 marking 50 years of the Sri Lankan Administrative Service. The other two stamps were both issued this past year. on the top , a stamp celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Pontifical Society of the Missionary Childhood. The lower stamp is a World Post Day issue. 

Card # 2 - From France, showing the harbour of Concarneau, located in Brittany  in north western France. Certainly looks like a nice quaint place . 

Jean Pierre used a nice Decorative Arts stamp from this current year , one of two in a Joint Issue with Croatia.  

Card # 3 -  From Malta, it's a selection of old Gozo buses of the Malta Public Transport service.

Dominique used 1 of 3 stamps in a 2017 set showing Balcony Corbels. 

Card  #  4 - from the United Kingdom. This card from the Postal Museum in London gives us a look at a mail sorting machine at Mount Pleasant Post Office in 1937. Not sure of the significance of the Yellow Coats. 

David used a peel and stick stamp from Postal Museum on his card. It highlights the Post Office Railway in London.

Card # 5 - We're looking at Westminster - House of Parliament. Since 1512 it's been the seat of the two Houses - The Lords and The Commons. If you listen really carefully you might even hear some of the Brexit hoopla. Big Ben is over on the right. 

David used an England regional stamp on this card. It is 1 of 4 Country definitives issued in March of this year. 

Card # 6 - Last card for today. It's a Christmas card from Canada Post. It shows the designs of their three secular Christmas Stamps for this year. You can see a toque - the U.S. rate stamp, a pair of socks - the domestic Canada rate stamp  and  a pair of mittens - the international rate stamp. 

Since I'm in Canada, the card arrived with the domestic Socks stamp - actually a prepaid imprinted image of the stamp.

Now I'm not one to talk as many of you know, but strangely absent from that Canada Post card is the annual religious themed Christmas stamp. Perhaps another case of taking Christ out of Christmas. After all it is His birthday we will celebrate on Dec 25th. So in order to keep a level playing field , here is the non-secular Christmas stamp issued by Canada Post for 2018 - a stylized Nativity scene. 

Well that's all I have for this time. Thanks for cards go out to Ravindra , Jean Pierre, Dominique, David, and my friends at Canada Post. Take care. Comments ??

Leper, Yerevan, Sabena, The Grand Palace, Toulouse and one from Belarus

Blog Post # 885

Hello again, it's been over a week since I showed up here, cards have been really scarce - that usually happens though in the run up to Christmas. Plus Canada Post is not really helping, they don't seem to have their shit together since the Canadian government forced the postal workers back to work.

Enough politics, and on to the good stuff.

Leper -  Located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Ypres , during the First World War, was the centre of the Battle of Ypres between German and Allied troops. Of particular interest, at Christmas time, Ypres was one of the sites that hosted an unofficial Christmas truce in 1914 between German and British soldiers.
Finally, since the card and stamp features poppies among other things, the country side around Ypres is front and centre in the famous poem by John McCrae, In Flanders Fields.

On Johan's card we can see The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing. It contains the names of more than 54,000 who died in the Great War and have no known grave. Also , on the bottom, 3rd from the right is the In Flanders Fields Museum.

 

Johan used a rather large stamp from October of this year. It received a special First Day Cancellation on Oct 22nd. It is 1 of 2 stamps commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the End of World War I.

Yerevan - Here's a card from Yerevan, Armenia. I have been collecting cards for over 12 years now and have received well over 5,200 cards. This card is just my second one from that country,  though. David's card gives us a look at Republic Square. The square is the central town square in the capital. It consists of two sections - an oval roundabout and a trapezoid shaped section which contains a pool with musical fountains.

David used a 2018 Europa Bridges stamp.

Sabena - Well all my regular readers will know that I like a great Aviation / Airline postcard, so here's a fine one to add to my collection. This one is a little blast from the past. It's a SABENA Douglas DC-6B. The DC-6 was produced from 1947-1958, with a total of 704 built. There are still a number of DC-6 aircraft in service as cargo planes, waterbombers , etc, maybe somewhere around 17 . There is still one DC-6 in service commercially. The last DC-6 off the assembly line, V5-NCG is still in service with Namibia Commercial Aviation. It is the last DC-6 in the world in passenger configuration still flying commercially. Incidentally it is for sale, so there's your chance to own a piece of history.

Johan once again secured a First Day cancellation on a 2018 Christmas stamp. The cancellation is very much like the stamp.

The Grand Palace - This next card is a great view of the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok, Thailand. It was built in 1782.

Jobbo used stamps from the 1990s. They show Phanom Rung and Philai Historical Parks and Dusit Palace.

Toulouse - Dominique's card gives us a look at the Basilica of Saint - Sernin. It was built between 1080 and 1120 and is the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.

A great stamp arrived on this card. It honors Kayserberg, a small cobblestoned village in the northeastern part of France. It was voted, by the French people, as the Most Favorite Town in France, in 2017. The annual vote has been held since 2012.

One From Belarus - A day at the beach.

Irina used a nice selection of stamps on her card. The 4 smaller stamps on the left are from a set of 12 issued in 2016, celebrating the National Emblem of the Republic of Belarus. On the right is a stamp from 2017, commemorating the 125th Anniversary of the Minsk Horse Railway.

There you have it, another blog update completed. Thanks for cards this time go out to Johan, David, Jobbo, Dominique and Irina. Hope you found something of interest today and that you'll drop by again. Take care.

Cards From France, Singapore, and Germany

BLOG POST # 884

Hello again. Today I am starting with a card from Concarneau, France. It shows the entrance to the walled town , the ramparts and the clock belfry. The town has two distinct areas, the modern town on the mainland and the medieval Ville Close, the walled part on a long island in the centre of the harbour.




Jean Pierre used a recent 2018 stamp that showcases Careers in Art- this one a Ceramist.

My second card is from Singapore and shows a typical postbox in that country.

Kay used a couple of stamps from this current year 2018. On the left is 1 of 6 in a set issued for National Day. The other one is 1 of 8 showcasing Nursey Rhymes.

Germany is up next. Dominique's card shows Hambach Castle. It is a fully restored castle museum on the site of the Hambacher Fest, an 1832 German democracy festival, where the black, red and gold German Flag was raised for the first time.

Here we have one of the often seen, long running definitive Flowers set.

Hey , it's back to Singapore one more time. The Grand Sultan Mosque is front and center this time. Built in 1824 , with massive golden domes, the mosque is the focal point for Singapore's Muslim community.

Jobbo used a 2018 stamp, 1 of 4 in a set, showing Kampong Glam, a neighbourhood in Singapore, north of the Singapore River.

Last card time for today. How do you say Hello in German ?  Let me count the ways. According to this card, there are at least 14 ways .

Chris used a stamp issued this year. It honors the Lubeck Martyrs. The three Roman Catholic priests and one Evangelical - Lutheran pastor were executed by beheading on November 10, 1943.

There it is, the end until next time. Thanks for dropping by, and come again. Thanks for cards today go our to Jean Pierre, Dominique, Kay, Jobbo and Chris.