A Sad Day in Canada - More Death

Blog # 1459

Still In the Time of Covid

Well it's been a tough go here in Canada lately. As if the Covid - 19 , with 3,180 deaths so far , wasn't enough , we had the mass shooting rampage in Nova Scotia just over a week ago , with 22 dead. Now , yesterday we had another 6 dead in  a helicopter crash off the coast of Greece. The 6 were members of the Canadian Armed Forces taking part in a NATO exercise. They were in a CH-148  Cyclone Helicopter. Dead are 4 members of the Royal Canadian Air Force and 2 members of the Royal Canadian Navy. Six Heroes For Sure Now Lost.



On a more upbeat note, I  have four cards for today. Two from the U.S.A and one from France and one from Germany.

First up is this card from Malvern, Pennsylvania, USA . It shows Elfreth's Alley, in Philadelphia. This street is the oldest street in the United States, continuously inhabited since the 1690's.  Jeremiah Elfreth and members of his family bought most of the properties in the early 1700's . There are 32 houses on the street which were built between 1703 and 1836.

Mike & Ashley used a couple of recent stamps. The left stamp is from 2017, a definitive of Red Pears. The middle stamp, from 2020, is 1 of 10 Flowers - Wild Orchids. The stamp on the right , is 1 of 12 in the Wild & Scenic Rivers set issued in 2019.

It's good to hear from Mike & Ashley again, it's been a while.Their cards are always a great source of recent U.S. stamps, not that I would remove them from the cards of course. 

Surprise, surprise, here's another card from Mike & Ashley.This is a card showing MSC Divina, a ship they were on a few months ago. I'm sure they feel lucky to have completed their cruise before the pandemic  struck. 

All three stamps on this card were issued in 2019. On the left is Ernie, 1 of 16 stamps issued to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Sesame Street TV Show. THe middle stamp is 1 of 4 in a set Celebrating State and County Fairs. The right stamp is 1 of 4 showing Military Working Dogs. 

WE jump over to France for our next card. It's a look at the Cite de Carcassonne. This is a medieval fortress or citadel in the French city of Carcassonne. 

Dominique used a stamp from 2018 celebrating the Life of Suzanne Noel (1878-1954) She was a French Surgeon.

And the final card is from Germany. It's a look at the sights of Hamburg, the second largest city in the country.

Andrea used a Flower definitive along with the Peanuts stamp from 2018.

     

So ends another update. Thanks for today's cards go out to Mike &  Ashley, Dominique and Andrea. 

Remember : wash your hands, don't touch your face and stay home if you can.

Covid and Planes

BLOG # 1458

In the Time of Covid

Hey there, here's a few cards that arrived in the last couple of weeks. Since we are in the Time of Covid, I'll start with a Covid related card and then it's 3 Aviation/ Aircraft related cards.
This first card arrived from Germany. It reads  " Regards from Covid Break 2020 " . Originally it read Spring Break, but now in these unprecedented times, Covid Break makes sense.





This card is from Meelis and he used a number of stamps. The two copies of the Numeral stamp were issued in 2012. The left stamp is from 2019, issued to highlight Endangered Animals and in this case the Harbor Porpoise. The stamp on the right celebrates German Television Legends- Dinner for One from 1963.

Meelis, good to hear from you again, it has been a while .

AS I mentioned earlier the next three cards are aviation related, not everyone's cup of tea I'm sure but I hope you stick around.
First up is a Qantas Airbus A380 registered as VH-OQG. This aircraft is 10.7 years old, it was delivered to the airline in Dec of 2010. It is now stored . Qantas first A380 commercial flight was on 20 October 2008 from Melbourne to Los Angeles.

Jean Pierre sent this card from Cocos Islands. The left and middle stamps are from a set of 4 issued in 1984. They Commemorate the 375th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Cocos Islands. The right stamp, a nice Aviation themed stamp is 1 of 4 in a beautiful Aviation Minisheet of 4 issued in 2017.

This next card is an airport shot. It's a night look at Kansai International Airport. This airport is located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, 28 km southwest of Osaka, Japan. It opened on 4 September 1994. One of its 2 terminals, Terminal 1 is the longest airport terminal in the world with a length of 1.7 km.

Here's the stamp Jean Pierre used when he posted this card at Narita.

Now here's the final card for this time. Another fine Aircraft / Airline card. It's a Japan Airlines B747 registered as JA8088. This jumbo was delivered to JAL in February of 1992. It was in service until March 2011 when it was stored. In October 2011 it entered service with Atlas Air.

This time Jean Pierre used a Flower stamp.

So ends another postcard update. Thanks for cards this time go out to Meelis and Jean Pierre.

Remember what we're in the middle of, wash your hands, don't touch your face, and stay home. Stay safe.

Two Cards From Jean Pierre

BLOG # 1457

In the Time of Covid

Hey everyone, there's not much mail on the go these days, but I do have two cards for today.
First is this card from Australia. It shows part of the White Cliffs Opal Field mine in New South Wales. This is the country's first commercial opal field and dates back to 1889.  White Cliffs is the only place where "pineapples" occur; they are a pseudomorph of Glauberite or Ikaite crystal clusters, where crystals are substituted by precious opal. This results in an object where the appearance and dimensions look like crystals, but the original mineral has been replaced by opal. They are extremely rare and valuable.

Jean Pierre sent a pre-paid postage card suitable for delivery anywhere in the world. It was sent on Mar 12th of this year. 

The card itself though has been on the go for quite a while as you can see on the front . It is adorned with an Opal stamp from 1995. It received a First Day of Issue on 5 April 1995 at Lighting Ridge. Lightning Ridge is where one might find black opals as opposed to the white opals of White Cliffs. A set of 2 stamps was issued in 1995 to celebrate the country's Semi-precious Stones Industry. 

My second card for today is a nice looking Aircraft / Airline card . It shows an All Nippon Airways B777 at Tokyo Haneda in 1995. This aircraft , JA8197, is 24.6 years old. It was delivered to All Nippon in October 1995. It has been stored at Mojave , California since 23 Auguest 2016. 

This is another card from Jean Pierre and here's the stamp he used. 

Well that's it for this time. Thanks Jean Pierre for the cards. I have two more cards on hand so I should be back here in a couple of days. Remember now - Wash your hands, don't touch your face and stay home. We're all in this together. 

Royal Tongan, Etihad Towers and Fiji Airways

BLOG # 1456

In the Time of Covid

In these unprecedented times , when so many people are dying, postcards are pretty far down the list of things that matter. But for those of us still well, and stuck indoors, maybe we can find a little distraction in them. Although travel is pretty much at a standstill worldwide, I guess a postcard can still be a little getaway and give us a few minutes of joy  in a day mostly filled with news that's not all that uplifting.
So with that in mind, let's travel today to Fiji and United Arab Emirates.
My first card this time is from Fiji but it shows a Royal Tongan B737, pictured at Nuku'olofa in June of 2000. Tonga and Fiji are 805 km apart. This aircraft ZK-NAF is 37 years old and has seen service with a number of carriers. It first flew with Air Malta in 1983, then saw service with Air New Zealand in 1994. It  was with Royal Tongan in 1999 and Sierra Pacific Airlines in 2001. Finally in 2018 it was with AVIATSA  where it is still active. 37 years is a long time for a B737- 200 series. The company I started my career with , Eastern Provincial Airways , flew 737-200s way back in 1974, when I started.

Jean Pierre used 2 stamps on this card which was posted at Nadi International Airport.
The left stamp, issued in 2013  is a semi-postal with the extra 10 cents going to the Paralympic Committee. The stamp is 1 of 4 issued for the 2012 London Paralympic Games. The stamp on the right is 1 of 4 in a set of Great Sea Reefs, issued in 2017.

A great card for my Aircraft / Airlines Postcard Collection.


Today's second card shows the Eithad Towers in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
This complex of five towers house offices, apartments and a hotel. Constructed between 2006 and 2011, the towers run from 54 floors in tower 3 to 74 floors in tower 2.

Dominique used 1 of 2 stamps issued in 2019 for The 48th National Day.

My last card for this time is another Aircraft / Airline card from Fiji. This time it's a Fiji Airways A330 shown landing at Toulouse in Feb of 2013. This aircraft F-WWKD is 7.1 years old and joined Fiji Airways in June of 2013.

Jean Pierre use 2 stamps again. On the left, from 2019, 1 of 5 in a set Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of Morris Hedstrom Ltd. The stamp on the right is from a 1983 stamp, 1 of 4 in a Flowers set.

Well, that's it for this time. Thanks to Jean Pierre and Dominique for the cards. Thanks for dropping in today, and I'll be back again when some cards arrive in the mailbox.

Once again -  Be safe, stay safe.  Wash your hands, don't touch your face and stay in side as much as possible.