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 The aircraft was withdrawn from service in 2012 after 32 years.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.