Tubuai, Raptors and More

BLOG # 1546  ----  Day 631 of the Pandemic 

Well it's the last day of the month, so I guess it's time for a last blog for November. I have four cards for this time. 

The first one arrived from Tubuai, the main island of the Austral Island group, located 640 km south of Tahiti. The Austral Islands are found in the far southwest of French Polynesia in the South Pacific Ocean. An interesting fact about Tubuai - the mutineers of HMS Bounty arrived on Tubuai in 1789. Fletcher Christian and his cohorts only stayed on the island for two months before moving on . 

    

David used a couple of transport themed stamps, one with a large ship and one with a large aircraft. On the left , from a set of 3 issued in 2016, we see the Queen Elizabeth II , a ship often found in the south Pacific. On the right, from this current year, a stamp celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Tahiti Faa'a Airport. 

  My next three cards are all compliments of Jean Pierre, and arrived from Croatia, Canada and Greece. The Croatia card shows an aerial view of Dubrovnik, a city in the southern part of the country on the Adriatic Sea. It is known for its Old Town , encircled with massive stone walls completed in the 16rg century. In 1979, Dubrovnik was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list of World Heritage Sites in recognition of its outstanding medieval architecture. 

This card arrived with a Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games stamp. The games of course were held in 2021 due to the pandemic. 

Card three arrived from Canada, which is a little strange, at least to me. It shows an Air Canada Airbus A320 in the Toronto Raptors livery. This picture of F-FDSN was taken in Miami . This aircraft was delivered to Air Canada way back in November 1990. It was taken out of service in September 2020 and is now stored at the airplane boneyard at Greenwood-Leflore Airport in Mississippi.   

The stamp used here is from a set of 9 issued in 2020. It is the international rate stamp and shows The Cabot Trail, on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The set of stamps was called From Far and Wide. 

I imagine there is a story with this postcard mailed from Canada, but I am not privy to it, so that's that. 

Now here's the last card for today. It's from Greece and shows Corfu and the runway at CFU. Corfu is an island in the Ionian Sea off Greece's northwest coast. It is known for its cosmopolitan Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

This card arrived with a 2020 stamp, 1 of 5 in a set of Ancient Greek Theatres. 

There you have it, the end of another update, the last for November. Today thanks for cards go out to David and Jean Pierre. Wonderful cards from wonderful places. 

Well the world is getting a little smaller again, with this new Omicron variant of Covid-19. Borders are closing, more testing seems to be on the horizon, booster shots are getting to be the norm, it just never ends. I guess I have no right to complain, what with all the people that never made it through this pandemic. 

The doctors still say  - wear a mask, wash your hands frequently and keep your distance. And get vaccinated if you are not. If you are not  - shame on you. 

 

The Gleaners, The Yellow Train and Azores Airlines

BLOG # 1545  --- Day 624 of the Pandemic

Hello again. A great day for blogging today - it's snowing and -2C.  This is the first day the ground is white. We had light flurries a while ago but nothing stayed. I'm sure this new snow won't last long with temperatures of 8, 9, and 12 in the next few dates. Enough weather , on to postcards. 

My first card is from France and gives us a look at the Yellow Train of Cerdanya. Opening in 1910 this train has been crisscrossing the heights of the Pyrenees-Orientales for over a century on a route of more than a thousand meters of vertical drop. Its route runs for over 63 km and includes 22 tunnels. Riding this train , you will pass through Bolquere, the highest station in France at 1593 meters. You'll also get to see the Sejourne Viaduct as well as the last suspension railway bridge in the country, the Pont Gisclad. 

Dominique used a nice stamp from 1972. It was issued to showcase the Olympic Games of Munich , Germany. 

A great stamp but ruined forever by the Great Stamp Defacer ! What a sad commentary on the postal service of whatever country is responsible. France, I believe you are the guilty one this time. 

Today's second card , compliments of Jean Pierre,  shows a couple of aircraft from Azores Airlines SATA International. Azores Airlines is a Portuguese airline based in Ponta Delgada, Azores. The airlines first operated in 1994 under the name of OceanAir.  Azores Airlines originally operated Airbus A320s , A330s and B737s. They now only operate A320s and A321s. 

 

There's a nice Bird stamp on this card. It is 1 of 5 in a set issued this year showcasing Hunting In Portugal. 

 

Card 3 is from Germany. Isa sent a nice art card. It depicts an oil painting by Jean-Francois Millet completed in 1857. " The Gleaners " depicts three peasant women gleaning a field of stray stalks of wheat after the harvest. This painting is more than a mere depiction of rural life. It is also a harsh social comment on the poor, peasant classes, reduced to labouring over the slim pickings left by the rich. 

Isa used a Flower definitive along with a larger stamp from this year. It is 1 of 2 issued to celebrate the Nibelungen Saga. I'll leave it to you to look that one up. 

Well that's three cards and my limit for today. Thanks to Jean Pierre, Dominique and Isa for their cards this time around. 

For quite some time now I have ended with something about the pandemic. It's the mask again today.  

Please mask up in indoor spaces such as restaurants and offices--even when it's not required. Carry a mask with you. Bring a clean, unused one in a closed, sanitary container for a friend in need. Or, a stranger.

Take care and stay safe.

GemsWorldPostcards 14th Anniversary, Wallis & Futuna and Ile de Re.

 BLOG # 1544    --    DAY 616 of the Pandemic

Hello again, it's time for a few more cards. But before I get to that, a little housekeeping. Today is November 15th but just two days ago on November 13th this blog - GemsWorldPostcards marked its 14th anniversary. Yes we went live on November 13, 2007. Fourteen years  -- wow -- I could never have imagined. Enough with the nostalgia , on with the postcards. 

Today's first card shows an area of the port of Saint-Martin on Ile de Re, an island off the west coast of France. The island is known for its salt marshes, beaches, sand dunes and pine trees. The main town of St-Martin has fortifications dating back to the 17th century. The old city was added to Unesco"s World Heritage List in 2008. 

Dominique used a 2021 stamp celebrating Hunspach Bas-Rhin, the favorite French village of 2020. 

A few blogs back I showcased a card from remote St. Helena. Now it's a card from Wallis & Futuna. Maybe not as remote as St Helena but just as mysterious to most of us. An island in the South Pacific, it is located between Tuvalu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Tokelau. Jean Pierre's map card gives us the history of Wallis & Futuna along with along with a lot of other relevant information . 

Jean Pierre used a Flower - Frangipani stamp from 2018 and a Chinese New Year 2020  - Year of the Pig stamp from 2019. 

 I'm going to close today with just those two cards. So thank you to Dominique and Jean Pierre for their cards. 

I'm sure you are aware the pandemic is still raging in lots of places, so do your part. Don't be an anti masker and certainly not an anti -vaxxer.

Take care.

The Remembrance Poppy's 100th Anniversary

 BLOG # 1543   ---   Day 612 of the Pandemic

                                             REMEMBRANCE DAY 2021

    

Today , November 11th is Remembrance Day in Canada, a national holiday. Today is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of Canada's Armed Forces in times of war. It is observed on November 11 to recall the end of World War I on this date in 1918. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

Lest We Forget

Thanks to Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae and his well-known poem, '' In Flanders Fields" the poppy and Remembrance Day are deeply linked in the minds of Canadians.

Canadians have died in the Boer War, World War I , World War II, the Korean War, The War in Afghanistan and 1 Canadian died in Syria fighting Against ISIS. 

We Remember Them .

Now here is a new stamp honoring the Poppy and its 100 Years. 

Here is a booklet of 10 of the new Poppy Stamps.

Take Care and Remember.

World's Largest Solar Furnace, Palair and Breathe

BLOG # 1542  --  Day 609 of the Pandemic

Hey , I'm back with a few more cards. 

First up is a card from France. It shows the Odeillo Solar Furnace, the world's largest solar furnace. It is located in Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via, in the south of France. It is 54 metres high and 48 metres wide. It started operating in 1969 and has a power of one megawatt. It consists of 9,600 reflecting mirrors . The furnace is a science research site studying materials at very high temperatures. Temperatures above 3,500 degrees Celsuis are produced in a few seconds. 

  Dominique used a great 1968 Aviation themed stamp. It Commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the First Regular Internal Airmail Service in France. It operated on August 17th, 1918 between Paris and Saint Nazaire via Le Mans.

My next two cards are both Aircraft / Airline themed cards. Sorry but I seem to get a lot of them and that's quite alright by me. I'll start with this Palair Macedonian Fokker F28 Fellowship 4000, registered as F-GDUY. The card shows it at Ljubljana in June of 1993. This aircraft was delivered new to Nigeria Airways in 1979. It's history after that is : Air France /TAT in 1985, Air Burkina in 1991, Palair in 1993, Sabena in 1994, Manuggal Air in 1997, Nurman Avia in 2003 and finally Sultra Air in 2010. It was retired and stored in 2011. 

Jean Pierre used a lovely Bird stamp from this year. It is a Europa Stamp featuring Endangered National Wildlife. It is from a one stamp minisheet. 

Next we have an Azores Airlines A321NEO in Breathe Livery. Registered as CS-TSF it was delivered to Azores in December 2017. It s still in service with the airline. 

 Jean Pierre used a wonderful aviation themed stamp from 2020. It is 1 of 3 issued to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of TAP Air Portugal.  Note the QR code on the forward part of the fuselage, one time it was web site addresses.  

That's three cards  and enough for today. Thanks for today's card go to Dominique and Jean Pierre. Hopefully I'll be back here again tomorrow. See you then. 

Mask on and get your shot. 

Remote St Helena, Siurana, the Movie Bridge, QE II, ZRH and Santorini

 BLOG # 1542  --- Day 607 of the Pandemic

Hello again , hope you all are well, as all is well on this end.  I have a number of cards to show and peruse today. So in no particular order I will start with a card from Saint Helena, in the South Atlantic.  This remote island, a British Overseas Territory is famous as the place of Napoleon Bonaparte's exile and death. Lots of Map card collectors out there so feast yours eyes on this one. 

Jean Pierre used a stamp from 2018, 1 of 4 in a set celebrating the Airport Project. 

Nice oval cancel from Jamestown, St Helena Post Office. 

My next card is a panoramic view of Siurana, Spain. This little village is in the province of Tarragona in Catalonia. It is visited often by tourists for rock climbing as it is one of the world's best climbing destinations. 

Josep and Assumpta used a 2020 stamp on this card. It celebrates the 440th Anniversary of the Birth of Franciso de Quevado.

 

Here now is  a card from Macedonia, or perhaps more correctly these days North Macedonia. With that I certainly don't want to offend anyone, especially Ana who sent this card. It's a look at the so called Movie Bridge in the village of Zovik. It's called the Movie Bridge because director Milcho Manchevski used the location in the movie " Dust " .

Ana used a number of stamps from various years. On the left , from 2015, a definitive showing Carrots. The middle stamp, issued in 2007, is 1 of 4 in a Cultural Heritage set. The right stamp, from 2014 is also 1 of 4, in a Famous People set. 

 Elizabeth II . HM Queen Elizabeth II, is the subject of this next card. Here we see a picture by photographer Luke MacGregor. What can we say about The Queen. She has never threatened Britain's great constitution, she has kept out of spats about architecture ( unlike Charles ) , never said anything out of line ( unlike Philip ), listened for twice as long to Tory prime ministers as to Labour ones and held steadfast to her love of corgis and horses. All in all, she has certainly given the British public what they wanted. 

Jean Pierre's card arrived from Alderney, the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. Alderney is the closest of the Channel Islands to France and to the United Kingdom.

   

Now here is a card showing part of Fira, Santorini's principal city. One way to enter the town is by cable car. It connects the port with the town and has a capacity of 1,200 people per hour (600 per hour in each direction ) . The journey takes about three minutes. 

David used two stamps on this one, both from this current year. On the left is 1 of 4  in a set celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Greek Revolution. On the right, also from a set of 4, is a one of the National Action  Plan for Gender Equality issue.

Time now for a card showing Zurich Airport , runways and terminal building. ZRH opened in June 1948. It has three concrete runways - 2,500 meters, 3,300 m and 3,700 m. In 2019 it handled 31.5 million passengers. 

Jean Pierre's card arrived with 2 fine Bird stamps. They were issued in 2019 and are Europa Stamps showing National Birds.

Time now for today's last card. It's another one from Greece, this time the town of Oia on Santorini Island. Oia is the most picturesque village of Santorini. It is about 12 km from the town of Fira. Oia is known for its white and blue domed houses. One explanation for this is that during the Ottoman rule of Greece, Greeks were not allowed to fly their white flags. In defiance, in Oia they painted their entire housing complex in white giving the village an effective white perspective. 

This time David's card arrived with 1 of 4 , 2021 stamps with the LGBTQI+ theme We Support You. 

Well that's a fine update , longer than I intended. As always great cards from great places. Thanks for cards this time go out to Jean Pierre, Josep and Assumpta, Ana, and David. 

As often as we have heard and said , wear a mask, keep your distance , those are still valid but most important is -  get vaccinated, and get it twice. It is really the best thing to do in a pandemic. Go for it !