Great Cards All

It's been a few days, actually a few weeks less one day since my last blog . I'm just back four days from yet another trip to Newfoundland. I received lots of cards in those 2 weeks. So let's get to some of them.

First up is a great Aviation card for my collection. It's a Vampire F.3. in the livery of the Royal Canadian Air Force dating from 1948. The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Just about 3,300 Vampires were built with the Royal Canadian Air Force obtaining 86. Nicknamed the ' aerial kiddy car ' , the first Vampire F.3. flew on 4 November 1946. On 14 July 1948 six Vampire F.3.s became the first ever jet aircraft to fly across the Atlantic under their own power.

This great card was sent by Bruce from South Africa. He used a beautiful Small Letter stamp from a set of 5 issued in 2017. They all show National Parks in the country. A very attractive set of stamps.

Next is another card for my Postmarks of Newfoundland Towns Collection. This time it's Forteau, on the Labrador mainland portion of the province. Forteau is a small town of around 450 people located just 13 km northeast of the Quebec/Labrador border. In 1909 the International Grenfell Association built its first Nursing Station in Forteau. My card shows the Point Amour Lighthouse , located 13 km from Forteau. It was constructed between 1854 and 1858. It is 125 high and is a Newfoundland & Labrador Provincial Historic Site. It is the tallest lighthouse in Atlantic Canada and the second tallest in Canada.

This card arrived with a nice Forteau postmark showing the Point Amour Lighthouse. The stamp is 1 of 5 Birds of Canada stamps issued August 20 of this year.

My next card is from Copenhagen, Denmark.  Ana's shows Nyhavr, the 17th century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen. It is lined by brightly coloured 17th and 18th century townhouses, bars, and restaurants. One of the houses, No 9 dates back to 1681. The writer Hans Christian Andersen lived and died in this area, having lived in houses  No 20, 18 and 67.

Ana used a Rose stamp from 2018. It is 1 of 5 in the set.

Now it's a card from Seoul, South Korea and shows a black & white photo of a young lady.

Sinae used 2 stamps on this card. The large one on the right is from this year, 1 of 4 Protected Marine Species stamps. I don't have any info on the Flower stamp  on the left.

We're off to America's birthplace, Philadelphia,PA for this next card. It's the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, which hosts the Largest Free Concert in the U.S. every July 4th. The card shows the Grand Finale Fireworks at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

This is another card from Mike & Ashley. It's been a while but nice to hear from them again. Their cards always feature recent U.S. stamps and this one is no exception. On the left is a Forever Stamp showcasing American Television Personality Mister Rogers. The other 2 stamps are from the set of 20 Landscapes. All 3 stamps are from this year.

We go back across the Pond for this next card. A nice aviation related card from Fleet Air Arm Museum at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton. The museum is devoted to the history of British Naval Aviation. It houses Europe's largest naval aviation collection of aircraft.

Michael used a special stamp from the Post and Go machine located at the museum.

Let's stay in England for this London card. It shows the State Dining Room at Buckingham Palace, the setting for many sumptuous royal banquets for world leaders and other dignitaries. I guess my invitation was lost in the mail!

David used a recent Machin definitive on his card.

It's last card time. I'm ending today with another Newfoundland Towns postmarked card. This time it's Red Bay. This fishing village in Labrador is one of the most precious underwater archaeological sites in the Americas. Between 1530 and the early 17th century it was a major Basque whaling site. Red Bay has been a National Historic Site of Canada since 1979 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013. The card shows a mural by Newfoundland artist Lloyd Pretty.

There's just a single stamp on this card, along with a clear Red Bay Postmark. The stamp is one of a set of two issue in 2017 marking The History of Hockey. It was a Joint Issue with the USA.

Well that's all for this time. Thanks for cards go out to Bruce, Ana, Sinae, Mike & Ashley , Michael and David. I have lots of cards on hand so be sure to drop by again soon. Take care.

Five Cards To End The Week

Hello once again, here's the last five cards received this week . They arrived from The U.S. , Belgium, Germany, Canada and China. We'll look at them in that order.

Salt Lake City, Utah is the focus of the first card .  Margene's card shows us the city at the foot of the snowcapped Wasatch Mountains. A nice card with a Delta jet to boot. The city is the World Headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Three stamps on this one, From the left is a 2017 Additional Ounce Hat stamp.The other 2 stamps are from this year. The middle one is 1 of 5 in the Art of Magic set. The other, on the right, is 1 of 4 in the Dragons set, which was issued at the APS ( American Philatelic Society )  Stamp Show in Columbus, Ohio. 

My second card today is a nice evening autumn view of Liege, a city located in the valley of the river Meuse in French speaking Wallonia. It's home to Belgium's oldest and largest street market, the "Batte" market. Liege is close to Maastricht, Netherlands ( 33 km) and close to Aachen, Gremany (53).

Gerda used 2 stamps on her card. The left stamp was issued in 2002 , 1 of 20 in a set called Turn of a Century. The other stamp is from 2016, 1 of 5 in the Belgium From the Sky set.

Here's the latest addition to my Aircraft / Airlines on Postcards Collection. An Aero Lloyd Airbus A320. This is aircraft D-ALAA pictured at Munich in April of 1996.  Aero Lloyd was a German charter airline based in Oberursel, Germany. It was founded in December 1980 and ceased operation in October 2003. Their motto was " Fly My Way ". Guess that didn't work out all that well . This particular airplane , D-ALAA had its first flight on November 14, 1995. It was in Aero Lloyd's fleet from Jan 1996 - Oct 2003. It then flew for America West Airlines, US Airways, and finally American Airlines. It has been stored as of Jan 2016.

Jean Pierre used a Flower definitive along with a recent 2018 stamp. It commemorates  the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Nelson Mandela. It is a Joint Issue with South Africa.

Every now and then I post myself a postcard , just to check on the postmark / cancellation. Checking to see if the lady at the local post office is on top of her work. Looks like she is , at least on this card.
The East Airdrie RPO came through again.

I used 2 slightly older stamps on this one. On the left, from May 1987, a stamp celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Engineering Institute of Canada. On the right, from 2006, a stamp showing the Dorothy Knowles painting The Field of Rapeseed.

It's that time again - last card time. This time it's from China. It's a look at Guangzhou Airport , the sixth busiest airport in Asia by total passengers annually - 65.8 million. It is the main hub for China Southern Airlines.

Tracey used a Bird stamp on her card.

There it is . Another update. Thanks for cards this time go out to Margene, Gerda, Jean Pierre and Tracy. Thanks for dropping by, See you again next week. Take care.

Cards That Never Made Yesterday's Blog

Hello again, here's the cards that I intended to show yesterday and for whatever reason that didn't happen. So here we go.

Let's start today with a nice Aircraft / Airline card. It's a Lot Polish Airlines Embraer ERJ 170 in a special livery. This aircraft type had its first flight on Feb 19, 2002. There have been 1,439 of the ERJ 170s built. This particular aircraft SP-LDH is still in the Lot Polish Fleet. It is flying from Venice to Warsaw this evening. 

Renata used a Flowers and Fruits stamp from 2016.

This next card arrived from Belarus. It's a Bird themed card showing a Black Stork. This is a large bird measuring between 95 and 100 cm in length with a 145 - 155 cm wingspan.
It usually avoids contact with people. The Black Stork is considered to be a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Julia used a couple of small stamps on her card. On the left , from 2016, is 1 of 2 in a set showcasing State Symbols of the Republic of Belarus. The other 3 same stamps are from the Wild Animals set of 5 issued in 2014.

Seattle, USA is featured on my third card for today. The city is located on Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by water, trees and mountains. It's a hub for global health with 168 global health organizations in the state, many of which are headquartered in the city. The city's most iconic landmark is the Space Needle, built in 1962 and standing out on Stephen & Sara's card.

It's often said that there's a coffee shop on every corner in Seattle. Maybe that's why they came up with the movie title " Sleepless in Seattle " .  Steve wrote that he picked up this card near the infamously sticky " Gum Wall " . The Market Theatre Gum Wall is a brick wall covered in over 1,070 kg of used chewing gum. A local landmark since 1999, parts of the wall are covered several inches thick, 15 feet high for 50 feet in used gum. In 2009 it was named one of the top 5 germiest tourist attractions , second only to the Blarney Stone.  As Steve wrote " Chew on that " .  Look it up, there are pictures online.

Steve used one of the 2017 Green Succulent , Global Forever stamps.

Now here's a card for all the car nuts out there. It's a Mercedes Benz 300 SL Cabrio. I think 1961 but I'm not 100% sure. A good looking car though. Would I like one ? Sure , but let me win the lotto first.

Linda from Norway used a fine selection of stamps on this card - 5 different in total , dating from 1988 to 1999. From the left they are : 1 of 2 Millennium Stamps, issued in 1999. Next is 1 of 2 stamps issued for the Foundation of Children's Stamp Club, in 1997. Then we have 1 of 4 Northern Edition Tourism stamps from 1995. Then it's 1 of 2 issued commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Conciliation Board, in 1995. Finally from 1988, is 1 of 2 Edible Mushrooms stamp.

Here we go - last card time for today. This one is from The Netherlands. Showing some of the buildings in Maastricht. You can see St. John's Church  and the Basilica of Saint Servatius.

Odette used a 2018 International Rate stamp. It is 1 of 2 in the 2018 Europa issue showing Bridges.

There it is, today's update. Thanks for today's cards go out to Odette, Linda, Stephen & Sara, Julia, and Renata.

Thanks for dropping in, if you have anything to say about today's update, don't be shy - leave a comment. Take care.

September 11th - 17 Years Ago

Well we all know what happened 17 years ago today. The World changed. Take a moment and remember .

My postcards today aren't related to 9/11 and maybe that's a good thing. Some things are bigger than postcards !

My first card today comes from China. It shows a wonderful old bridge in Wuzhen, a 1,300 year old water town on the Yangtze River and also the Grand Canal. Many bridges like this one are to be found in the town and throughout South China. They all date over 1,000 years.

A Postcrosser named Annie sent this card. She used a nice selection of stamps from this year. On the left is a stamp from the Chinese Towns set of 6. The other 2 stamps are 2 of 4 commemorating the 120th Anniversary of China Post.

Next up is a card from Japan. It shows the Nagoya Castle in the snow. The castle was built between 1610 and 1619. It was bombed and destroyed by the U.S. Air Force in May of 1945. Reconstruction took place between 1957 and 1959 and again from 2009-2018. Some parts will not be finished until 2022.

Mitsumi used a bunch of stamps, all showing Birds and Animals. They are all definitives from 2015.

That it for today. This update was supposed to be much longer but I got really waylayed today and had to curtail it to just 2 cards.  I'll do better tomorrow,

Thanks for cards go out to Mitsumi and Annie.

Labour Day 2018

Greetings to one and all on this Labour Day - the annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. If there`s  Labour Day celebrations or a parade get out and celebrate . My hometown of Grand Falls , Newfoundland is celebrating it`s 98th annual Labour Day Parade. Good for them .

I have a few cards to show today, nothing around the Labour Day theme though, but good cards just the same. Hopefully they were printed in a unionized printing shop.

Today`s first card comes from Seville, Spain. The city is the capital of the Andalusia region and famous for Flamenco dancing. The city`s Old Town contains three UNESCO World Heritage Sites and one is the subject of this card. Made a World Heritage Site in 1987 , it`s the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See, or as it`s often called - Seville Cathedral. Constructed between 1501 and 1528 ,it ranks near the top of the largest cathedral or churches in the world.

David used a recent stamp on this card. It was issued on July 25th and is made of wood pulp paper. It actually feels and looks like thin wood. It celebrates Alvaro de Mendanay Neira, explorer of Oceania.

Surprise, surprise ! My second card is also from Spain, this time it`s Cordoba. The Historic Centre of the city was added to the existing UNESCO WHS listing in 1994. The original listing from 1984 was for  the Mosque - Cathedral of Cordoba, which you can see on the card . It was built between 784 and the 16th century.

This is another card from David and this time he used a 2018 stamp celebrating the National Intelligence Centre.

Card number three is from Alsace, France. It`s a look at the House of Tanners -  an Alsace restaurant on the banks of the Ill, a tributary of the Rhine. The typical , half-timbered house dates from 1572.

Dominique used a nice aviation stamp from 1973. It commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Alberto Santos-Dumont, the Brazilian aviation pioneer . He was one of the few people to have contributed to the development of both lighter than air and heavier than air aircraft. 

My next card arrived from `s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Barbara`s card shows a Nico Vrielink print of a lady in a swimsuit. Vrielink is a Dutch artist, born in 1956 in Reuse. He paints as he lives - intensely and extravagantly. After I received this card I looked up Vrielink`s art and I can say I definitely like it.

Barbara used 2 stamps from this year. On the left is 1 of 5 in a set of Money - The Dutch Guilder. On the right is 1 of 10 in a set of Insects and Spiders.

I always learn something from just about every card I receive and this next one is no exception. It's from Melilla, Spain. The city is a Spanish autonomous city located on the north coast of Africa, sharing a border with Morocco. Melilla is one of two permanently inhabited Spanish cities on mainland Africa, the other being Ceuta. That is my lesson learned for today.
David's card shows the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus , located in the center of Melilla. It was built between 1900 and 1918.

This time David used a stamp commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Madrid Protocol - Environmental Protection for the Antarctic. It covers the years 1998-2018.

Now it's time for the last card of the day and it comes from Malaysia. Jobbo's card shows one truly beautiful building. It's the Sultan Abdul Samad Building in Kuala Lumpur. Designed by British architect, it features a 41 metre clock tower with a copper dome. This magnificent building was built between 1894 and 1897. It now houses both the offices of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

Jobbo used 2 stamps on his card. On the left , from 2017, is 1 of 3 stamps commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Chung Ling High School. The other stamp was issued in 2015 and is 1 of 3 featuring Farm Animals.

A word to Jobbo - Not to worry about duplicate cards. Don't even think about it. Even if a duplicate shows up, it'll have new and different stamps I'm sure. Of the more than 5,000 cards I have received , you can count duplicates on on one hand. So don't worry. I'm not.

I'm just about finished for today, I have a little something to show from 1969. It's an envelope posted in my hometown from that year. What's most interesting about it is the cost of postage back then. In 1969 a domestic stamp for mailing anywhere in Canada cost just 5 cents. Today , 2018 it costs 85 cents.

That's the update for this time. Thanks for cards go out to David, Barbara, Dominique and Jobbo. .
Enjoy your Labour Day.