BLOG nbr 1535 - Day 507 of the Pandemic
Hello postcard lovers. Welcome once again to GemsWorldPostcards. The cards you will see today are from France, Greece, Tuvalu, Spain and Canada , if I get that far.
My first card shows the estuary of the Charente River. The Charente is found in western France, and flows into the Atlantic , it is 360 km long.
Dominique used a semi-postal stamp from 1972. It shows French industrial paper manufacturer Aristide Berges. The surtax was for the Red Cross.
My second card is also from France and also sent by Dominique. It`s a view of Fort Boyard, located off the west coast of the country. The fort was constructed between 1801 and 1857. It is 68 m long and 31 m wide. The walls are 20 m high.
It is the location for the filming of both the French and international versions of the famous TV game show of the same name. The Fort Boyard show was first broadcast on July 7, 1990. There has been 34 foreign versions of the show and a total of 1782 episodes filmed.
Dominique was lucky enough to use a stamp on its First Day of Issue, 21 June on this card. It shows the Solar Impulse, the zero fuel consumption airplane that completed the first round the world solar flight.
Now here`s a card from Tinos, Greece. Tinos is one of the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. Its population is around 8,600. Shown is a Pigeon house of which there are over 600 on the island. This one is a 220 square metre villa and is built adjacent to a 100 year old pigeon house.
Jean Pierre used a 2020 stamp showing an Octopus.
A card from Funafuti, Tuvalu is next. It`s a look at Funafuti International Airport and a couple of aircraft you might see on the ground there. The airport , with the IATA code of FUN was built in 1943 and is at an elevation of 3 metres above mean sea level. It`s one runway is 1,524 metres in length and has zero runway lighting so operations are restricted to daylight hours. The airport is somewhat unusual in that the runway is used as a common area for sporting and social activities when not in use. Sirens sound when a plane is landing, warning civilians to stay clear.
Jean Pierre used a couple of older stamps on this card. The top left stamp is from a set of 4 issued in 2000. It is a WWF issue for Endangered Species, in this case a Sand Tiger Shark. The bottom left stamp is from 2006 and is 1 of 12 in a set showing Corals. The stamp on the right was issued in 1976 and is 1 of a set of 10 showing Local Motives, in this case a sleeping mat.
Here is the second to last card for today. It`s from Spain and shows the village of St. Jaume de Frontanya, one of the smallest towns in Catalonia, with just 30 people. It is located in the Pyrenees below the peak of Pedro de Tubau. The village is first mentioned in documents in the year 905. Back in 1970 the population was only 21 - I guess the place is on the move now.
Josep and Assumpta used a rather large stamp from 2020. It celebrated Urban Architecture - in this case Wanda Metropolitan Stadium.
Don`t much like the ugly pen cancel though.
Be sure to check out their fine blog called ` Letters and postcards from everywhere `.
Have I saved the best for last - you can decide. The last card arrived from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia , Canada. It is a look at The Bluenose, The Pride of Nova Scotia and Canada`s most beloved schooner. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the launch of Bluenose. Launched 26 March , 1921 at Lunenburg, she won the International Fisherman`s Trophy races in 1921, 1922, 1923, 1931 and 1938. Bluenose has adorned the 10-cent coin of Canada almost exclusively since 1937, is featured on Nova Scotia`s current licence plate, was immortalized in song by folk singer Stan Rogers and has appeared on four previously issued Canadian stamps. The schooner is also one of the very few non-human inductees in Canada`s Sports Hall of Fame. Sadly, Bluenose foundered on a reef 28 January 1946 off Haiti.
The Postmaster at Lunenburg was kind enough to use a new commemorative postmark-cancellation on the 2 newly issued Bluenose stamps from Canada Post.
Well so ends another GemsWorldPostcard update. My thanks this time go to Dominique, Jean Pierre, Josep and Assumpta , and the Lunenburg Postmaster. Take care all and see you again soon.
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