Manhole Cover and More

BLOG # 1449

Hello again, I'm back with a few cards that arrived in the past week. First up is this card from Barcelona. It's a view of La Patun - the popular and traditional festival celebrated each year in Berga .This festival is quite old , dating way back to 1454. It symbolizes the struggle between Good and Evil, seen through a battle between angels and demons.

Josep and Assumpta used a couple of recent stamps on this one . On the left  we see
King Felipe VI , issued in 2017. On the right, 1 of 2 Tourism stamps issued in 2019.

I mentioned earlier that this card was mailed from Barcelona - well just between me and you - there is an excellent chance I might mail a few cards from Barcelona in May.


My second card arrived from Palhoca, Brazil. This card shows ten young students worrying about, contemplating  or studying this school work. Apparently , or so the little poem says, they couldn't count up to twenty and didn't know their two times tables.

Angela used a tiny yellow stamp from 2019 of which I could find no information.

Today's 3rd card is from the Netherlands. It's a look at a beautifully designed and painted manhole cover from Japan. The design shows the manhole cover decorated with Temari, traditional embroidered balls made of silk . The balls were initially used for handball and are now valued objects and good luck charms.

Barbara sent this card along. She also took the picture of the manhole cover  and designed the card. A good job for sure. The two stamps used were issued for Stamp Day 2019.

Time now for a card from Taiwan. It highlights a female warrior role in a Chinese opera.

Maggie used 3 stamps on her card. On the left is a stamp, of which I couldn't find any infomation. That's Sheriff Woody on Bullseye from Toy Story. The middle stamp is 1 of 6 issued in 2013 as Greeting - Travel in Taiwan stamps. The stamp on the right , from 2016, is 1 of 4 Fruits definitives.

Well, that's all for today folks. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Thanks for cards this time go out to Maggie, Barbara, Angela and Josep and Assumpta. Drop in again soon.

Science Museum Cards, Europe Airlines, Beaune, Phnom Penh and London

BLOG # 1448

 Well howdy again, I'm back with a bunch of cards and by the look of the title above, it's a fine bunch.

Let's start with those Science Museum cards. They are from the Science Museum in South Kensington, London. It was opened in 1857. Both are Space related cards. The first one shows the Principia Mission Logo patch. It's ESA astronaut Tim Peake's Principia mission patch. Tim  is a European Space Agency astronaut and former International Space Station crew member. He spent 185 days, 22 hours and 11 minutes in space.

Ron used 2 of the 8 Christmas stamps issued in 2019.

Here's the 2nd card from the Science Museum. This one shows Valentina Tereshkova, Russian cosmonaut and the first woman in space. She flew on Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963 and completed 48 Earth orbits in 71 hours.

Ron again used another Christmas stamp from 2019 on this card.

Now , I don't know Ron but I want to thank him and welcome him aboard. I guess he's a new reader of this blog, I only hope he stays for the long haul. Hopefully he'll always find something of interest , enough to keep him coming back.


Here we go again - another plane card. I know , I know but I just love them. This time it's Europe Airlines - B737 registered as F-GKTB. It was photographed at Paris Orly in 1995. This aircraft only had a 20 year life, it first flew in 1990 and was scrapped in 2010. During those 20 years it flew for TEA France, Europe Airlines, TEA Europe and finally Air One.

Jean Pierre used a new 2020 Year of the Rat stamp from France.

I recently highlighted a card from Beaune, France. Well now here's a second one. The first card was an inside view of Hotel- Dieu , now here's an outside top view from Hotel-Dieu. That's a pretty fancy looking roof we're looking at.

Dominique used a stamp from a 2005 minisheet of 4. It is from the European Capitals issue - this one is Berlin.

Here's a card from the Kingdom of Cambodia. It's a look at the National Museum in Phonom Penh. The museum was built between 1917 and 1924.

Jobbo used 1 of 2 stamps in a 2014 minisheet commemorating the 55th Anniversary of Cambodian-Chinese Diplomatic Relations. The issue is a Joint Issue with China.

My last card for today is a little different in that it highlights the Changing of the Guard in London, but the card arrived from Finland. This is something that doesn't happen often, but what the heck, I like the card. It reminded me of when I saw the Changing of the Guard way back in the late 1970s.

Anja used a stamp from a Flowers set of 3, issued in 2019.

Well  my friends  that's the end of another update. Thanks for cards go out to Ron W, Anja, Jobbo, Jean Pierre and Dominique. Take care.

Trains, Boats and So Much More

BLOG # 1447

Here it is  - the next installment of Gem's World Postcards. Let's start the day with a card from Ham , Belgium. It's a look at the star-shaped Mardasson Memorial honouring the U.S. soldiers who fought in WWII's Battle of the Bulge, 16 Dec 1944 - 25 Jan 1945. The memorial located near Bastogne was opened on July 16, 1950.  86,890 Americans were killed or wounded in the Battle of the Bulge.

Gerda used a stamp from a 2019 mini-sheet of 5 celebrating the Liberation of Belgium in World War II .

Gerda has a fine postcard blog called My Postcard-Page. You can find it right  here .


Today's second card is from Zurich, Switzerland. On it we can see the Gornergrat Railway, a mountain railway, linking the resort village of Zermatt, located at 1,604 m above sea level, to the summit of the Gornergrat. That's the Matterhorn at the top of the card. It rises 4,478 metres.

Michaela used two nice stamps on her card, both issued in 2019. On the right is a stamp issued for the 2020 Youth Olympic Games held in Lausanne. On the left, a Lucky Pig stamp. A pink pig in Switzerland is a symbol of Good Luck. The pig is even chewing on a Four left clover ! This stamp is on unique flock paper. The stamp is actually soft to the touch and has a velvety surface that makes you want to stroke the happy pig. To give the stamp its softness, the paper first had to be sprinkled with soft particles before being printed. This is why these stamps took three months to be completed.

Monaco is up next. A great view of the harbour and marina of Monte-Carlo.

Jean Pierre used 3 stamps here. On the left, from 2016, is a stamp highlighting Princess Grace Rose Garden. The middle stamp, from 1989, is 1 of 2 issued with City Views. On the right, from 2016, is a stamp issued for a Bouquet Competition.

Post Boxes from all around the world are the subject of this next card.   I see one from Canada in the left corner, one of the more boring ones. Is there one from your country shown ? I like the heavy looking green one in the bottom left.

There's two stamps on this one. On the left is a Bird stamp , 1 of 4 is a 2017 mini-sheet. It was issued for Arktika- the mass migration of Arctic water and shore birds. On the right Kat used a nice Lighthouse stamp from a set of 5 in a 2003 souvenir sheet.

Kim is the sender of my next card. It shows a pedestrian bridge in the neighborhood of Zaanse Schans in Zaandam , Netherlands. Historic windmills and distinctive green wooden houses were relocated here giving it the look of a 18th /19th century village.

Kim used an International rate stamp featuring Windmills.

A card from Germany is next. Birgit from Schleswig-Holstein sent this card of a photo by German photographer Konstantin Dahlem. He has a large portfolio of photographs of ladies, many of them nudes.

Birgit used one of the very often seen Flower definitives. No need to show it again.


Now here's the last card for today. It's from Austria. Sabine's card shows the Semmering Railway train going over the Kalte Rinne Viaduct. The railway starts at Gloggnitz and leads to Muzzuschlag. It opened in 1854. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1998.

Sabine used a stamp from 2018, showing the work of Austrian painter Hubert Scheibl.

There it is . That 's all for this time . I have to thank Sabine, Kat, Kim, Gerda, Jean Pierre, Michaela and Birgit for their cards. As always, it's great to find cards like these in my mail box. Take care.

A Chapel, a Plane and an Olympic Game

BLOG # 1446

Hello again - it's been more than a week since my last blog so I'm sure it's time for a new one. This one will be a short one  - just three cards. My cards this time are from France and two from Greece.
Let's start with the card from France. It's a look at the interior of Paupers' Hall of the Hotel Dieu De Beaune. The Hotel Dieu Museum is a former charitable almshouse , founded in 1443 as a hospital for the poor. It is also famous for its 60 hectares wine estate and auctions.

Dominique used a couple of quite old stamps on this card. The stamp on the left showing the Gallic Cock was issued in 1944. The larger stamp , on the right, was issued in 1965. It shows the Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp.

My next card arrived from Greece. It's the latest addition to my Airlines / Aircraft Collection. On this card we see aircraft SX-DVQ , an Airbus A320 of Aegean Airlines. It's pictured in Dusseldorf in 2019. Delivered to Aegean in 2008 , it was repainted in the Star Alliance livery in 2010. Aegean operates a fleet of 52 aircraft, all Airbus, with 26 more on order.

Jean Pierre used two stamps from 2018 on this card. On the left, 1 of 5 in a Presidential Guard set. On the right , 1 of 2  celebrating International Women's Day.

Here's the last card for today and it's also from Greece. Although it doesn't say so anywhere on the card, I believe it shows a scene from the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics, inside the Olympic Stadium.

Jean Pierre used a 2019 stamp on this one. It is 1 of 5 in an Old Greek Literature set.

Well that's all for this time, a little shorter that my usual. Thanks for the cards go out to Dominique and Jean Pierre. Take care.