Rainy Day Cards

BLOG # 1005

Well it's that time again. Time for a new blog. My first card today is from Bosnia and Herzegovina. It's a part view of Pociteli, a historic village located in the town of Capljina, on the left bank of the river Heretva, 30 km south of Mostar. It's population is roughly 870. Often called the Pearl of Herzegonina, many say it is not merely the  most beautiful village in Bosnia and Herzegovina but is one of the most beautiful villages in all of Europe.
At the top of the card you can see the Kula ( the Fort of Pocitelj ) the original structure is supposed to date back to the fortified citadel built by Bosnia's King Stjepan Tvrko in 1383. At lower right is Hajji Alija's Mosque. It was built in 1563.

Ana sent this card along, from a recent weekend getaway from Sarajevo. The stamp is from 2006 , 1 of 4, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the First EUROPA Stamps. It was issued by the Croatian Administration - HP Hrvatska Posta headquartered in Mostar.

My second card arrived from the southwest of the Netherlands. It is a photo taken by Swiss photographer Christian Coigy. He wrote " I like to know that people see a photo that has not been altered in any way, showing exactly what I see, despite the fact it is in black and white " .  Coigy has photographed many famous people, including Audrey Hepburn, Ben Kingsley, Dizzy Gillespie, Grace Jones, Lou Reed and Mikhail Baryshnikov. I don't know who the lady on the card is but the photographer has done many photos pictured from the back.

Monique used a stamp from a set of 10 issued in 2014 showing Dutch Icons.

I have a rather small blog today, so here is the last card and it's from France. It's a view of Balaruc les Bains, a commune in southern France. It is built on the banks of the Etang de Thau, the largest of a string of lagoons stretching along the French coast.

Jean Pierre used a 1997 stamp , from a set of 6, featuring Heroes of French Literature, and in this case, it's  Cyrano de Bergerac.

There it is , blog 1005 is complete. Thanks to Ana, Monique and Jean Pierre for their contributions.

On a personal note, I'm intended to take in my grand-son , Xander's soccer game this afternoon. But it is a totally miserable day here in southern Alberta, weather wise. It is pouring rain, blowing sideways and just 8 C. Not sure how that is going to turn out. But being the true soccer fan My Lovely Teena and I are, I guess we are going .
Take care and see you back here next week.
.

Victoria Day 2019

BLOG # 1004



Hello again, Happy Victoria Day to all the Canadians reading and Happy Monday to all the others. Yes today is Victoria Day , a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 24, in honour of Queen Victoria's Birthday. Usually we always see Queen Victoria as that old lady sitting in her chair with a long veil on the back of her head. Here's a postcard to show that she was indeed a younger lady in her day.

Victoria Day is informally considered the beginning of the summer season in Canada. I just wish someone had informed the weather department that this is the case. I am so tired of the rain and cold temperatures . It's going to be a short summer for sure.
Victoria Day has been observed in Canada since at least 1845.

Today I have five cards to highlight and none have any connection to Queen Victoria. So here goes.

This first card is a partial view of Lake Constance. This is a 63 km long central European lake that borders Germany , Austria , and Switzerland. As you can see, boating is quite popular on the lake. It's also possible to have a sightseeing flight aboard a Zeppelin around the lake if you have lots of euros. I think that would be cool.

Dominique used a stamp from last year, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of St. Peter's Cathedral in Worms.

My second card is from Orenburg, a city in southwest Russia. It shows a monument of Yuri Dolgorukiy on Tverskaya Street, Moscow. He was a Rurikid prince and ruled as the Grand Prince of Kiev. Yuri is considered the Founder of Moscow and his monument was erected in 1954.

Viko used a number of the 2009 Russian definitives which I don't usually show anymore, as we've all seen them many, many times. You see them this time , only because of the interesting way they are applied to the card.

Marilyn Monroe . What can I say about her that hasn't been said already ? Not a lot, I think. This postcard shows her posing for photographers while filming the subway grate scene in Manhattan. It's from the 1954 film Seven Year Itch.

Lorraine used the 2018 Global Forever Airmail stamp featuring a Poinsettia.

The Heritance Tea Factory Hotel is the subject of this next card. It is the most unique, highest located hotel in Sri Lanka. It is 1988 meters above sea level.

 This card is a little unique , in that it is from Sri Lanka but not from Ravindra. Thanks to Jobbo for this one. Jobbo used a 2016 Flowers of Sri Lanka stamp, 1 of 16 in the set.

It's time for today's last card. It arrived from France and is one more for my Airline / Aircraft card collection. This time it's an Air Atlantique ATR. 42 at Cherbourg Airport. Registered as F-GIIA this aircraft is one of the oldest ATR's ever built, in 1986. Her first flight was on 06/06/1986. Before this ATR 42 was F-GIIA, she was in service with Air Caladonia and Pan Am Express as F-ODGM.
Then in 1992 she was acquired by Air Atlantique as F-GIIA. In '97 she saw service at Air Gabon , in '99 it was back to Air Atlantique as F-GPIA. In 2004  she was stored at LBG - Paris Le-Bourget. In 2007 she was converted to a freighter for Arkas SA of Colombia. She met her demise in March of 2012 when she was scrapped. Quite a history indeed.

Jean Pierre used a stamp from the 2012 set of 12 , called Planetary Correspondences. A nice set for sure.

So ends my Victoria Day blog. Thanks for cards today go out to Dominique, Viko, Lorraine, Jobbo and Jean Pierre. This blog wouldn't happen without people like you, so thanks again. Take care, drop in again soon.

Four Cards From Four Postcard Friends

BLOG # 1003

Hello again, I trust all you Mothers out there survived and were all treated well.
I wonder if Mother's Day postcards exist today ? I know they did way back when. I have  one Mother's Day card in my collection,  a fairly old one I think. It may not have even been issued for Mother's Day per se. Have a look .

Now on to more current cards. I have four to have a look at this time. They arrived from Germany, Belgium, France and Sri Lanka, compliments of Dominique, Gerda, Jean Pierre and Ravindra. All good postcard friends.

Dominique's card shows Castle Neuschwanstein, built between 1869 and 1886 by King Ludwig II. Ludwig paid for the castle out of his personal fortune rather than Bavarian public funds. At the time of Ludwig's death the castle was far from complete. Sadley , he slept only 11 nights there. Since his death more than 61 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle. More tha 1.3 million visit annually, with as many as 6,000 per day in summer. A busy place indeed.

Canada isn't really a land of castles , I think we have just 3 . Casa Loma in Toronto and Hatley Castle and Craigdarroch Castle, both in Victoria.

Dominique used a stamp from 2018 commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Wormser Dom - St Peter's Cathedral in Worms, Germany.

My second card , shows a number of scenes in the Valley of the Zwatre Beek. The Zwarte Beek is a tributary of the Demer in the province of Limburg in Belgium. The Zwarte Beek brook valley is one of the most valuable brook valleys in the area. A number of rare vegetation types and some threatened species can be found here. It must be a beautiful area for a walk or a hike.

Gerda used 2 fine stamps on her card. On the left is 1 of 2 issued in 2006 , celebrtaing Hanseatic Towns, in this case Bruges. On the right, 1 of 5 issued this year celebrating Belgium in Space.

Today's 3rd card , from France , is another great addition to my Airlines / Aircraft Postcard Collection. It's a Boeing 737-300 in the livery of Air Guadeloupe. This aircraft F-OGRT is 27.6 years old. It has seen service with Air France, Ansett, Garuda, Sama and Transair Congo. Most interesting is that even though painted in Air Guadeloupe's attractive scheme, F-OGRT was never delivered to the airline, instead it became F-GHUN with Air France. Interesting fact, indeed.

Jean Pierre used a stamp from 1988 on this card. It is 1 of 12 in a  Communications-Comics set.

Now the last card for today. It's a look out from Pigeon's Nest Picnic Area , located on Pigeon Island, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. Pigeon Island National Park is located here, 1 km off the coast. The island's name stems from the rock pigeon which has colonized it. The area became a national park in 2003 and was severely affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.

Ravindra used a great selection of stamps. The yellow and blue stamps are from a set of 4 issued in 2014 for the Asia Pacific Postal Union meeting held in the country. The stamp on the far right is from this year and honours Cyril Ponnamperuma, scientist. The Ho Chi Minh stamp in the middle is from 2014 also.

There you have it, that's all for today. Thanks for cards go to Dominique, Gerda, Jean Pierre and Ravindra.
Just before I go, this is for Barbara. Your mint sheet will be on it's way soon.
Take care everyone.

Yes a Winner

BLOG # 1002

Well it happened, I have a winner for my contest from Blog # 1000 of Thursday May 2nd. It happened a little later than expected but I have decided to go ahead and award the prize. After all, a winner is a winner.
The answer to the contest was " John Lennon " .  And my winner is Barbara from Grave, Netherlands.  Now Barbara, all you have to do is leave a comment and let me know which 1 of the 3 prizes you would like to receive.  Or you can send me an email  to glennemoores@gmail.com

Congratulations  Barbara

Thanks for reading, and maybe I'll be back a little later today with a few postcards.  Take care.

A Train, Look Right, Thank You and more.

BLOG POST # 1001

Hello again, here's the start of my next 1000 posts. I have a few cards for this time. They arrived from Belarus, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy and China.
Before I get going, I just want to say that I'm not having much luck with my contest from my Thursday , May 2nd post. Maybe the question was too difficult. With about 13 hours left to enter, I have no entries. So this will be your last chance to win  your choice of those 3 prizes that I showed last time.

 Belarus is up first and I have 2 cards from there for this time. This first one is a strange little square card. It simply states " Thank you for being a stamp collector . 

I don't think I need to be thanked for being a stamp collector-  most likely I should give thanks for all the pleasure and relaxation I have  enjoyed over the past 50 years of collecting. I've seen my collection grow and grow and grow over those years and I've enjoyed every minute of it.

Eugene used 3 quite colorful stamps on this card. The 2 smaller stamps are part of a set of 12 Coats of Arms definitives issued in 2016. The larger stamp is from 2014 and celebrates Postcrossing.
At least 19 countries have issued stamps for Postcrossing since 2011. Some have even issued Postcrossing stamps a second year. 

Here's the second card from Belarus. It shows a lovely Italian lady. I'm not sure what actually makes her Italian other than the fact she is sitting atop the Colosseum and holding the Leaning Tower of Pisa up so it doesn't fall anymore.

Irina used a couple of stamps somewhat like those on the first card. On the left is another of those 2016 Coats of Arms definitives. On the right another Postcrossing stamp, this time from 2017. So Belarus is one of those three or four countries that's issued Postcrossing stamps in more than one year.

Here is a card from Hong Kong.  Look Right ! A lesson learned when we visited Hong Kong a couple years ago.

Hugo used a nice Aviation themed stamp on his card. It is from this year and is 1 of 6 in a set celebrating Hong Kong Government Flying Services.

Now it's a card from Germany and what does it show but a Zebra ?
I think the chance of seeing a zebra in the wild in Germany is about the same as seeing one in the wild here in Canada.

Florian used 2 stamps on his card. On the left , from this year , is  a stamp commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Loki Schmidt - German environmentalist. The right stamp, also from 2019 shows a Porpoise.

Italy is up next. Here's a card showing a painting called  Beatrice by Alberto Martini. Beatrice was one of Dante's guides in the Divine Comedy.

Igor used a 2019 stamp celebrating the 800th Anniversary of the founding of the Basilica of Sant'Andrea in Vercelli.

Today's final card arrived from China. It's a look at one of China's High Speed trains. CHR is a high speed rail service operated by China Railway. It is the world`s most extensively used railway service with 1.713 billion trips in 2017, operating over 1000 sets of rolling stock. CHR train speeds are between 200 km per hour and 350 km per hour. Their fastest train CRH380BL, has attained a test speed of 487.3 km per hour.  All I can say is if you are a passenger , don`t blink, or you will miss a lot.

Sinyee used a multitude of stamps on this card. Let`s go from left to right. First up is a stamp from 2013, 1 of 6 Landscapes in a Tourism Day set.  The next 2 are from 2002, part of  6 in an Environmental Protection issue. The odd shape stamp was issued in 2016, 1 of 6 in a set called The 24 Solar Terms. The final stamp, also from 2016, is 1 of 4 in a set called Chinese Filial Piety.

There it is , the first blog in my next 1,000,  hopefully. Thanks for today`s cards go out to Eugene, Irina, Hugo, Florian, Igor and Sinyee. Take care and see you all next time.

And The Winner Is ?

BLOG POST # 1000

Hello again. First things first. Before I get to a few postcards for today, I have a little business to attend to . I have a winner to my little contest from a few days ago . The winner is Nagi from India. His name was drawn by My Lovely Teena this morning. Congratulations Nagi. He has a postcard blog called Namaste Postcards .  Nagi, your FDI Envelope will be in the mail , hopefully tomorrow.

I have two cards for today. First is a card from France. Dominique's card shows a little view from Alsace. Alsace is a historical and traditional region in Eastern France on the west bank of the Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland.

The stamp is from last year. It celebrates the life of Suzanne Noel, Plastic Surgeon.

My second card for this time is from Zurich, sorry Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Jean Pierre's card shows an aircraft parked at Zurich Airport. Another one for my collection . The card has 2 Liechtenstein stamps , with a Vaduz postmark,  so I think it's safe to say if arrived from Liechtenstein, even though it has greetings form Zurich Airport.  I imagine there's a little story there.

Jean Pierre used 2 stamps. The left stamp is 1 of 3 from a Brand Liechtenstein issue. The other is 1 of 2 in the 2016 Europa Think Green issue.

That's my cards for this time. Thanks to Dominique and Jean Pierre.

Now, since this is my 1,000th post , I can't let it go without a little celebration. If someone had told me back in 2007 I would still be doing this in 2019 and that I would reach 1,000 posts I would never have believed it. But I'm having fun, learning things about the world, and passing a little time every couple of days. So it's all good. Now it's on to the second thousand.

To celebrate my 1,000 post I'm having another giveaway. Seems like I just did that. This time, all Correct Answers go in a draw to win. Submit your answer as a comment. The question  is, who is featured on this postcard :

The first Correct answer drawn wins your choice of one of these 3 prizes:

#1-- A Mint Souvenir Sheet of the Great Canadian Illustrators issued on April 5, 2018

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#2-- A Mint copy of the high value Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Engraved Stamp issued October 10,2018

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#3-- A Pane of 10 Canada 150 Circular stamps issued to Commemorate Canada's 150th Birthday. These stamps celebrate the moments that define us as Canadians.

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The contest is running from today May 2 until my bedtime on Monday evening, May 6th. That should be lots of time to get a comment. Good luck to all my readers. Take care.