Back From Away

Well I'm back, a little tired and jet legged still. It was well worth it though. More about that later, when the cards come home.
To end off  this month of May I have a few cards that arrived earlier in the month. Let's start with a letter box card from Krasnodar, in South Russia.

Danill used a nice large stamp from last year. It's from a set of 4 in a Contemporary Art of Russia issue.

Today's second card shows Britannia, a sculpture by Ian Kirkpatrick. It was part of an exhibition called A Graphic War, at the National Archives in London from October 2016 to January 2017.

Bruce used a 20 gram Worldwide Airmail rate Machin definitive. It was issued on March 30, 2010.

The next 2 cards are new additions to my Newfoundland Postmarks Postcard Collection. This time it's the towns of Trinity and Rocky Harbour.
Trinity is a small town located in Trinity Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador. The town of approximately 169 was settled in the 18th century. The Portuguese explorer Gaspar Corte-Real named Trinity as he arrived there on Trinity Sunday in 1501. Trinity may be a small town but it has lots of history. The first court of justice in North America was established there by Sir Richard Whitbourne in 1615. Then in 1798 the world's first smallpox vaccines were administered in the town.
Trinity was an historic fishing village. The card shows one of the town's fishing boats.

 One of the two stamps in the 2017 History of Hockey issue was used on this card. It shows a young man in modern equipment playing pond hockey on a winter's day.

Now it's Rocky Harbour's turn. Here we see Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne National Park. The park's main fjord features cliffs of almost 700 metres above the coastal lowlands, and waterfalls including Pissing Mare Falls at 350 metres high.  I have had the pleasure of a boat ride up Western Brook Pond twice. It's just beautiful.

This card's stamp is 1 of 6 in the 2018 Women In Winter Sports set. Shown is Sonja Gaudet, the world's most decorated wheelchair curler.

Here's a nice black & white card from Vilnius, Lithuania. I don't need to say much about this one other than it's a nice place to come ashore.

 Saule used a 2015 stamp featuring old wooden toys. There were 2 stamps in this Europa set.

Next up is this card from Zagreb, Croatia. On it we see Republic of Croatia Square ( formally Marshall Tito Square ) with the Croatian National Theatre Building near the centre.  In front of this building is a sculpture called Well of Life by Ivan Mestrovic.

Ana used a stamp from February 2018 stamp issued for the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeonchang, South Korea.

I'm ending off this update with 2 cards from Sri Lanka, both sent by Ravindra.
The first is another of the Unseen Sri Lanka series. Here we see the Lighthouse and pier at Talaimannar on the northwestern coast of Mannar Island. The light was built in 1915 and is 19 metres high.

The stamp on the left is from this year and celebrates World Kidney Day. On the right is a stamp from the set of 12 Unseen Sri Lanka series. This one matches the scene on the card.

This last card is a good one. I like postcards of post offices. This is the Post Office at Nuwara Eliya, a city in the tea country hills of Sri Lanka. The post office, one of the oldest in Sri Lanka, is a Tudor style red brick building with a clock spire. It was built in 1894 by the British. In 1990 Sri Lanka Post issued a stamp with a photograph of the post office to commemorate World Postal Day.

Ravindra used 3 stamps this time. On the left is a 2018 stamp marking the 70th World Health Day. The other 2 stamps are from a set of 3 issued this year for Vesak or Buddha Day.

Well, that's it folks. The last update for this month. Thanks for cards go to Danill, Bruce, Newfoundland, Saule, Ana and Ravindra. See you back here next month. And yes, it's good to be back here. Take care.  Tune in tomorrow for a contest announcement.

On The Road and Soon to be the Sea

Well I didn't get back here this past weekend , or even Monday, or yesterday. Just so busy with last

minute things before heading out today. I'm in Toronto tonight and heading overseas tomorrow.

Looking forward to Venice and then Greece and Croatia. I'll be on board MSC Sinfonia as of Friday.

It's not likely I'll be updating this blog for the next two weeks just so you know.  But I'll be buying

postcards, stamps , etc and sending them along. Be sure to check your mailbox , who knows where

they will show up. See you soon and take care.

New Cards - Not From the Pile

Hello everyone. Today I'll start off with a card from Wales. It's a look at the Llangollen Canal , a navigable canal crossing the border between England and Wales. Its importance in the history of the British canal system was recognized in 2009 when the 18 km stretch from Gledrid Bridge to Horseshoe Falls including Chirk Aqueduct was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. You can see the Chirk Aqueduct on Bruce's card.

Bruce used a Worldwide , up to 20 grams Queen Elizabeth Machin definitive issued in 2010 .

A nice panoramic view of Sarajevo at night is the focus of today's second card. Of course , from the card, one can't tell any of the history of the city. In 1885 Sarajevo was the first city in Europe and the second in the world to have a full-time electric tram operating throughout the city. Then in 1914 it was the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and we all know how that played out. Let's not forget the Olympics. The city hosted in 1984 Winter Olympic Games. I'm sure we all remember the perfect scores of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean as they mesmerized us with their interpretation of Bolero. A truly unforgetable performance. Last fact about Sarajevo - for 1,425 days it endured the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare, from April 1992 to February 1996.

Ana used a neat Flag stamp from 2005. It is 1 of 4 in a set celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the First EUROPA stamps.

Here's a card from China. I really don't have anything to say about it as all the comments , front and back , are in Chinese.

But it arrived with 4 great stamps, thanks to Hannah who lives in Guangzhau, southern China. 3 of the 4 stamps were issued in 2016. Let's look at these first. Top left - 1 of 4 in a set celebrating Chinese Filial Piety. Top right  - 1 of 6 celebrating the Marine Silk Road and bottom left - 1 of 6 commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Red Army Victory. The other stamp was issued in 2013 - 1 of 12 in a mini-sheet featuring Peach Blossoms.

Next is a card showing the orgues of Ille-Sur-Tet, looking like organ pipes soaring into the sky. These can be found in Le Roussillon area, a commune in southeastern France.  These are somewhat similar to the hoodoos of Alberta, Canada.

Dominique used a stamp issued in March of this year. It commemorates the 120th Anniversary of the ASPTT or the Sports Association of Posts, Telegraphs and Telephone.

This next card features traditional wood carvings from Rwanda. I only have a few cards from this African country so it was nice to see another one in my mailbox.

Bruce used a stamp from 2010, 1 of 5 in a Folklore set. It received a nice circular cancel in Kigali, the country's capital.

Now for the last card for this time. It's from Great Britain and features a picture of Bryan Organ's 1981, acrylic on canvas, of Diana, Princess of Wales. It hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

David used a very recent stamp, issued on April 17th. It is from a set of 6 Flora and Fauna - Reintroduced Species.

Looks like David's card got an April 23rd cancellation and received the special congratulatory message concerning Prince Louis Arthur George's birth that day.

 So ends another one. Thanks for today's cards go out to Bruce, Dominique, Hannah, Ana, and David. All greatly appreciated. I should be back here again soon  , sometime over the weekend for sure. See you all then..

The Last of the Card Pile

Hello once again. Today I hope to finish off the remaining cards from the so called pile on the desk. They have been hanging around for a while now. So here goes .

Today's first card is from Japan - it was posted in Nagasaki although I don't think the sender Setsu lives there. Her card shows a JAL Japan Airlines Boeing 777-300ER.  Japan Airlines commenced service on Ocrober 25, 1951, using a Martin 2-0-2 aircraft. JAL currently has a fleet of 162 all Boeing aircraft, 13 of which are the type shown on Setsu's card.

Setsu used a train stamp on her aircraft card. It is 1 of 10 in a mini/sheet issued in 2017, called Railway Series No 5.

Next is this pin-up card from Malaysia , it also arrived with a train stamp. Trains will be a slightly recurring theme today. I like to call this card " The Lady and Her Boat " . Maybe high heels should not be the order of the day here.

This card brings back a memory from my early boyhood days. I remember a lady , a family member, trying to get in a boat just this way. She was dressed a little more conservatively to be sure  and certainly not in heels, but the boat tipped and she went in the water between the boat and the wharf. All I remember is a dress floating above her head. Funny now but maybe not so then.

As I mentioned earlier this card arrived with a fine train stamp. P-fang used 2015 stamp. It is 1 of 3 in a Trains in Sabah set.

Trains yet again. Here's a picture of olden times, an old time train in a Saxony , Germany area railway station dating around 1967. Trains have changed a lot over the years.

Karin used a new 2018 Peanuts stamp.

The Royals of Norway are up next. That's King Harald, Queen Sonja, Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit. I wonder where Princess Ingrid Alexandra was that day ?

Dani used 1 of 6 in a 2013 Tourism Stamps set.

A rather unique mode of transport is the subject of my next car. I'm not sure what's its called - maybe a heli-bike. I think it would make for a cool ride though. Looks like fun but I would recommend helmets.

Li-Jung used a small but nice lighthouse stamp from a set of 9 issued in 1991. It shows the Kaoshiung Lighthouse. You might want to turn your head a little as it was put on upside down. The other stamp was issued in 2016 and is one from a set of four Fruit Stamps.

A card from Singapore is next. The words on the card pretty well sum up the card. Nothing more from me really needed.

Juliana used a stamp from 2017 , one from the Vanishing Trades set. Shown here is a Garland Maker.

Well, there you have it. The end of the pile of cards on my desk. It seemed like forever getting through them. But it's done now, so that's good.
Thanks for today's cards go out to P-fang, Setsu, Karin, Dani, Li-Jung and Juliana. 
Take care and see you back here again soon.

More Cards From That Pile

Well it's May now and I didn't do a very good job of clearing the cards off my desk in April. And, I know May is going to be super busy, so I'll just have to see how it goes , go with the flow so to speak.
I have a few cards for today. Let's start with this one from France.
It highlights the Palais Longchamp in Marseille, the port city in Southern France and the second largest city in the country. The building on the card dates from 1869 and houses the city's Musee des Beaux-Arts and Natural History Museum. The surrounding park is listed by the French Ministry of Culture as one of the Notable Gardens of France.

Dominique used a rather long vertical stamp from 1974 on his card. It gives a view of Patrimonio on the island of Corsica.

Today's second card is from Germany and shows a pedestrian Bridge built in Hanover for Expo 2000, a World's Fair held from June to October, 2000. It took place on the Hanover fairground, which is the largest exhibition ground in the world. Sadly, Expo 2000 wasn't a smashing success with just 25 million of the expected 40 million actually attending. Compare those numbers to the numbers for Expo 67 in Montreal. It was the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century. More than 50 million attended and I'm proud to say I was 1 of those 50,000,000. 

HeidiMarie used 2 stamps from 2017. On the left is one of the long running Flower definitives and on the right a Christmas stamp.

Now I think it's time for an Aviation related card for my Aircraft/Airlines Postcard Collection. This time it's a Lufthansa Airbus A300. Still an aircraft type that I have yet to fly on. I think I better hurry on that one, it appears many of these aircraft have joined the scrap heap. The A300 had its first flight back in October 1972. Airbus produced 561 of them and Lufthansa operated 26 at one time, but none today.

  

Iiona used 2 stamps from 2017. Together they form stamps making up a Tourism issue of Germany's Most Beautiful Panoramas.

Here's a card from a country that I haven't really received many from - Moldova. A country famous for its wine and brandy. This card shows an Alexandru Panis photo of a real life couple on their wedding day. If you visit the Instagram account of Alexandru , you'll see this actual Bride and Groom.

Postcrosser Olga from Chisinau used 2 stamps on her card. On the left is a 1994 Coat of Arms stamp, 1 of 5 in the set. On the right is 1 of 3 Trees stamps  issued in March of this year.

Post Offices Around The World.  This next card shows the logos and names of fifty post offices around the world. Check out and see if your country is represented. I've only been in 9 of the ones shown, but hope to add 2 or 3 more later this month.

The card arrived from Taiwan , which is of course represented on this chart of post offices. It's almost dead center.
Yiru used 3 stamps and 2 of them are great train stamps for all the train aficionados out there.  The smaller stamp on the left was issued as part of a set of 4 Fruit stamps in 2016. The smaller train stamp is from a set of 4 issued in 2017 and the other train stamp is from a set of 3 issued in 2015.

At that I'll call it a day. Thanks for today's cards go out to Dominique, HeideMarie, Iiona, Olga and Yiru.

Take care, see you again soon.