CLOSING OUT 2019

BLOG # 1439

Hey again, here are the last cards received for this year. We'll start with this beautiful card from Colombo, Sri Lanka. It's a great look at the 365 m high Colombo Lotus Tower.

Ravindra used a matching stamp on his card. Beautiful card - beautiful stamp.

Today's second card is from Barcelona, Spain. Here we see the village of Os de Civis. The village of just 125 people is located in the central Pyrenees mountains.
Os de Civis is unique in that it is the only Spanish village that can be reached by vehicle only by going through Andorra. The border crossing is also unique in Andorra, in that there is no border control.

Josep & Assumpta sent this card along and used a quite large stamp issued in 2019. It Commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the Casa de America. Strangely the 25th anniversary happened in 2017 but the stamp arrived in 2019.

Here it is - last card for this time, last card for the month, last card for the year and many say - but not everyone - last card for the decade.
It's from France and of course it's an Aircraft / Airline card. What better to end with ?
It's a Corsair A330 --- F-HCAT shown landing at Toulouse in June of 1999. This aircraft is 20.6 years old and has been with Corsair all that time.

Jean Pierre used a Marianne definitive along with a 2019 stamp highlighting Book Binding,

There you have it - another year in the life of GemsWorldPostcards . The year brought me 447 postcards and a good number of them have showed up here on the blog. Thanks for today's cards go out to Ravindra, Josep & Assumpta and Jean Pierre.

I want now to wish A Happy New Year 2020 to one and all. May it bring peace, good health and prosperity to all of you. Cheers !

Andorra and Germany

BLOG # 1438

Hello again. I have just 2 cards for today, 1 from Andorra and 1 from Germany. Both were sent by Jean Pierre.
First is this partial view of the village of Arinsal, population of about 1722. It's a ski resort area in the eastern Pyrenees of Andorra. Also seen on the card is a small part of the Arinsal River with the mountains in the background.

The stamps include 2 of the 6 Coat of Arms set issued in 2010. The larger Butterfly stamp was issued this past year.

Today's second card is a look at Berlin - Schonefeld Airport . It is the secondary international airport of Berlin, located 18 km southeast of the capital. In 2017 it handled 12.9 million passengers.

On this one we have 2 of the never ending Flower definitives along with a large Christmas stamp from 2000. It was issued in a set of 2 and is a Joint Issue with Spain.

That's it for this time, a short update indeed. Thanks to Jean Pierre for both cards.
Should close out 2019 with a few more cards tomorrow. Take care.

An A380, A B747 and A B737, and One More

BLOG # 1437

Well the Christmas rush is over, the gifts have been opened, the turkey tasted great and the carols were sang. Now we're in the doldrums leading up to the new year. But there's still time for a few postcards.

My first card for today arrived from Estonia. A nice looking card - a great way to exercise your dog while enjoying the great outdoors yourself.

Dina used 1 of 2 stamps from a nice minisheet commemorating 100 Years of Estonian Firefighting.

Next is this Airbus A380 card. Registered as F-WWOW, it is the prototype A380. It is 14.7 years old and is owned by Airbus. This aircraft , the world's largest passenger airliner, is flying over Paris Le Bourget , on the card, in June of 2005.

 Jean Pierre used a large ATM stamp with an Air France Concorde having just taken off.

Here's another card with another large aircraft, 2 in fact. Two Delta Airlines B 747s on the ramp at Narita International Airport. Not a sight one will see anymore, at least not with any U.S. airlines. On January 3, 2018 Delta flew the final B747 flight among U.S. airlines. It carried just 48 passengers - employees, media and other family members of Delta. It was a celebration - free champagne, even free markers for passengers to write on the seats and walls of the aircraft. There was even a wedding on board for a pilot and flight attendant. They had met on a 747 nine years earlier.   Delta flew the 747 to an airplane salvage yard or boneyard in Arizona.

Junko used 2 stamps on this card. The stamp on the right was issued in 2018, 1 of 10 in a Tourism set. The other stamp is a mystery to me, as stamps from Japan often are. They issue so many I just get lost !

Today , it's a shorter than normal update. Here is the last card for this time. It's from France and is a new addition to my Aircraft and Airlines card collection. It's a Euralair B737witha FRAM and palm tree tail livery. F-GRNC first flew in Nov of 1998. Euralair was a charter airline in France. It operated from 1964 until 2003. FRAM was a big tour operator over that way. After Euralair,
F-GRNC flew with Air Horizons, Air Berlin, Calima, Air Algerie and Jet2.

Jean Pierre used a couple of stamps on this card. On the left is 1 of 6 in a set issued in 2006 to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Quite an attractive set in my opinion. The right stamp, from 2002 is 1 of 6 in a set Showing Jazz Musicians.

There you have it. Another one in the books. Thanks for cards this time going out to Dina, Jean Pierre and Junko. Drop by again, should get one more , maybe two , updates in before 2019 ends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2019

BLOG 1436

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL

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.














***********************************
***********************************
***********************************
***********************************

Three Christmas Themed Postcards and One or Two Others

BLOG # 1435

Good day  - today is the 22nd  so I guess it's time to look at a few Christmas themed postcards. I have received 3 of these in recent days, so they will be the focus for this time.
They arrived from Belgium, France and Canada. First up is this Nativity scene from Belgium. The picture on the card is also the subject of a Christmas stamp issued by Belgium.

 Gerda used the aforementioned Christmas stamp on this card and received an equally appropriate cancellation.

Gerda has an outstanding postcard blog called " MY POSTCARD-PAGE " . well worth a look.


My second card arrived from France. It shows a wooden crate of Christmas bulbs awaiting their trip to the tree.

Jean Pierre used a  2019 stamp Commemorating 150 Years of the Suez Canal. It is a Joint Issue with Egypt.

This next card is one I received from Canada Post. I guess being a customer rates a postcard. Again we see a few Christmas bulbs or ornaments.

I guess it's not surprising a card from Canada Post should arrive with one of the three Shiny and Bright Christmas stamps issued on November 4th of this year. This is the 55th year that Canada Post has issued Christmas stamps. 

Here's a card I received from Tomsk, Siberia ,Russia. It's titled " Summer's Day " . And what better way to spend a summer day, than riding your bike to a park , and having a quiet read.

Postcrosser Alyona used a nice selection of stamps on this card. The Dog stamp in upper left is from a set of 5 issued in 2002. The smaller stamp under the dog is 1 of 12 in a new set of definitives issued this year. The 3 large stamps are those in a 2011 souvenir sheet showcasing Kozak History.

Time now for the last card of the day. The card is from Malaysia and was sent by Jobbo. It's a look at Dataran Merdeka, a square located in Kuala Lumpur. It is situated in front of Sultan Abdul Samad Building. It was here that the Union Jack was lowered and the Malaysian flag was hoisted for the first time on 31 Aug 1957.

Jobbo used a stamp from this year, 1 of 5 in a set showing Places of Worship.

Well there it is, that's my update for this time. Thanks for cards today going out to Gerda, Jean Pierre, Canada Post, Alyona, and Jobbo. Nice cards and great stamps all around.

Buildings, Planes, a Mountain, a Bridge and a Beach

BLOG # 1434

Good day, here's a few more cards for all you people who dropped in to see a few more cards.
This first card looks like it could be a bridge card, but maybe it could be a church card or even a swan card. The church in the background is  the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, in Clifton Hampden, England, United Kingdom. Parts were built as early as 1180, other parts were added in the 13th and 14th centuries. It was rebuilt in 1843-44.
The bridge is the Clifton Hampden Bridge and it crosses the River Thames. Designed by George Gilbert Scott, it opened in 1867.  Road traffic on the bridge is controlled by lights as it is not wide enough for two cars to pass.

Cathy used a stamp from this year it is 1 of 8 in a set showing Royal Navy Ships. On this one we see HMS Dreadnought.

If you've been reading my blog lately, you might have noticed a few cards from Armenia. Well, here's another one. Here we see the Khor Virap Monastery and in the background it's none other than Mount Ararat. The monastery dates from 1662 and is the closest you can get to the closed Turkish border, some 100 metres away.

Jean Pierre used a few stamps on this card.
The left stamp, from 2017, is 1 of 4 in an Armenian Alphabet set. The middle stamp,is from 2014 , 1 of 2 in a National Costumes set. The last stamp is from 2019 and Commemorates the Birth of George Emin     ( 1919-1998) .

Emin was an Armenian poet, essayist and translator. Also it's good to see Armenia commemorated his birth and not his death, as many countries do. I have some trouble with that idea. I think maybe I have mentioned that before.


I don't think my blog would be My blog without an Airline/Aircraft postcard. So here goes .
This one is a British Airways Express Boeing 737, registered as G-BGDT. The picture on the card was taken at Hannover.  It had its first  commercial flight 1980, with British Airways. It later saw service with Comair and Shaheen Air. The aircraft was withdrawn from service in 2012 after 32 years.

Jean Pierre's card arrived from Germany and as such we have 2 German stamps to look at. The left stamp , from 2015, is 1 of 2 showing German Castles. Here we have Marksburg Castle. The other stamp, from 2000, is 1 of 2 Christmas stamps issued that year.

Ile Maurice- Mauritius ! A beautiful place indeed. The card shows Flic en Flac Beach, located on the west coast of Mauritius. The name likely means free, flat land. This white sandy beach is one of the longest on the island.

Bruce used two rather fancy stamps on this card. On the left , from 2018 is 1 of 2 issued to mark Diplomatic Relations Between Mauritius and India. It also marks the 11th World Hindi Conference. The other stamp , from 2019, is from a set of 3 issued for the 2019 Indian Ocean Games held in Port Louis.

I mentioned a card from Armenia earlier, well now I find I have 2 more from there for this blog. This one is a look at Sanahin Monastery. Founded in the 10th century, this Byzantine monastery was renown for its school of iluminators and calligraphers.
The name Sanahin translates as " this one is older than that one". Presumably that refers to neighbouring Haghpat Monastery. Sanahin was added to UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list in 1996.

This is another card from Jean Pierre, as the next 2 will be also. The stamp on the left is from 2017 and Commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the First Armenian Postage Stamp. The other stamp I previewed earlier in this blog, so I'll leave it at that.

Next is Garni Temple, a former pagan temple. It dates to around 70-80 A.D. It is the only standing Greco-Roman colonnaded building in Armenia and the former Soviet Union. It is the best known symbol of pre-christian Armenia. Sadly this temple collapsed in 1679 but was later reconstructed between 1969 and 1975.

The stamp used here is from 2019 and highlights Architecture of Pontifical Residences.

The last card for this time and as many might expect its another Aviation card. A new one in my collection , for sure. Air Vendee - a feench airline in the department of Vendee. It operated from 1975-1992.  This Saab SF-30A registered as F-GHVS first flew in 1991 and that was with Air Vendee. Since 1992 it has flown with 9 other airlines , ending with Air Urga of Ukraine.

The last stamp for today, a semi-postal  was issued in 1986 and celebrates the Red Cross.

Finally finished. That's all for this time. Thanks for today's cards go out to Cathy, Jean Pierre, for 5, and Bruce.
Until next time.

Flowers Instead of Guns, Lighthouses , Aircraft and More

BLOG # 1433

Hey there. Time for a look at a few more postcards - today they are from France, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium.

Let's start with this card from Brussels , Belgium. It's a front look at Maison de la Bellone, an art center, information center and arts library named after Bellona, the Roman goddess of war.  It was opened in 1697.

Johan used a beautiful stamp on this card. It was issued October 21, 2019 and received a First Day cancel. The stamp is 1 of 5 in a minisheet celebrating the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Shown on the stamp is a 1950 Ferrari 250 TR60.

Today's second card is from Germany. It features Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's 1897 painting  " Reclining Nude " . This oil painting can be seen at The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, USA.

Marion used 2 of the seemingly never ending Flower definitives and the 2019 Christmas With Friends stamp.

Here is the next card in my Airlines / Aircraft Postcard Collection. It's a Crossair Embraer RJ145, registered as HB-JAA. It flew with Crossair between 2000 and 2002. Since leaving Crossair this aircraft has seen service with Swiss International, Trans States Airlines, Aeromexico, and Mission Air. It was stored in 2018.

Jean Pierre used a couple of stamps on this one. The left stamp , from 2014, is 1 of 2 in  a Fred the Detective set. The other stamp highlights Calligraphy and was issued this year.

This next card should be of great interest to Lighthouse card collectors out there.It shows 12 lighthouse of Brittany, France. My favourite of this lot is Le Four Lighthouse. The comment on the back of this card is "Keeping Watch at the End of the Earth " .
I think that might apply to most lighthouses.

Dominique used a 2018 stamp issued for Stamp Day. It features an Alpine Renault A110.

This last card seems to have been doctored somewhat. Here we see John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson in a scene reminiscent of the 1994 film Pulp Fiction. On this card they are each holding a bunch of flowers.

However as you can see below, it wasn't flowers they were holding in the movie. Have a look.

A little more sinister than flowers, I think.

This is another card from Johan , in Belgium. This time he used a 2019 Christmas stamp and again secured a First Day cancel. There were 2 stamps in the set.

Be sure to check out Johan's fine postcard blog  right here  .
That's it for this time and this week. Thanks for postcards today go out to Johan, Marion, Jean Pierre and Dominique.
Take care.