The Bahamas, Remich, La Palma and a Shorts 360

BLOG # 1567  -- Day 773 of the Pandemic    and Day 57 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

                                                         

                                                               GLORY TO UKRAINE          

        

Hello again - I have four cards for today. They arrived from Luxembourg, Seychelles, Canary Islands and the Bahamas. Let's start with the card from Luxembourg. I's a multi-view card showing a ferry, grapes and birds in a park, in Remich.  This is a commune with town status in south-eastern Luxembourg with a population of 3,645 inhabitants as of 2018. It is the capital of the canton of Remich. Remich lies on the left bank of the river Moselle, which forms part of the border between Luxembourg and Germany. 

Meelis used 3 stamps on his card. On the left, from 2001 is a of 6 in a set showing Euro Coins. The middle stamp was issued in 2013 and is from a set of 3 Wild Cats. The issue was a SEPAC issue. SEPAC is Small European Postal Administration Cooperations. The larger stamp on the right was issued last year, 2021. It is 1 of 4 Charity stamps, showing the Luxembourg Moselle Region. The extra tax of 0.15 was used to tackle the cost of flooding in the area in July 2021. 

  

My next card is a nice addition to my Aircraft / Airlines on Postcards collection. Here we have an Air Seychelles Shorts 360 , registered as S7-PAL. A Shorts 360 is a fixed wing multi engine Turbo-prop aircraft. It was in service with Air Seychelles from Aug 2002 until Apr 2010. The picture shows it landing at Praslin Island Airport in Grand Anse.  

Jean Pierre used 3 stamps on this one. On the left , from 1991, 1of 4 in a Christmas set showing Woodcuts. The middle stamp was issued in 1989, 1 of 4, Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Seychelles People`s United Party. The right stamp is 1 of 10 issued in 1988 for the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. 

Now from the Seychelles we go to the Canary Islands. The card shows a row of houses with balconies located on Maritime Avenue in Santa Cruz de la Palma. 

David sent this card along. His first stamp, on the left is a 2020 Christmas stamp. The right stamp is from 2021. It is 1 of 2 showing civic values - Recreation, Sport and Standing Against Child Poverty.  

Here`s another Flags of the World card, this time it`s The Bahamas. 

This is another card from Jean Pierre, and it arrived with three stamps. The aviation themed stamp on the left was issued in 1971, 1 of 15 in a set of different motifs.  The middle stamp, from 2012 is 1 of 16 showing Marine Life. The last stamp on the right , issued in 2016 marks the 90th Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Elizabeth II. 

That`s the four cards for today. Thanks for them go out to Meelis, Jean Pierre and David. 

Hope you enjoyed seeing them and reading about them. Drop by again soon. 

Cheers !

A New Country in My Collection and the Longest Railway Bridge

BLOG # 1566   -   Day 772 of the Pandemic   and   Day 56 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

GLORY TO UKRAINE

Before I get to today's blog, a little housekeeping from my last update. I asked if anyone knew about countries issuing stamps in support of Ukraine and if so to leave a comment. Well Dustin in Germany did just that - he commented that Croatia has issued one and that Lithuania plans to issue one in May. Thanks Dustin, appreciate that. 

If you noticed the title of today's blog, you know I have received a card from a new stamp issuing country , new at least to me. It's Sierra Leone, country or entity # 268 in my collection. It's the first new country for me since I added Guinea-Bissau way back in Jan of 2019. Now with Sierra Leone in the bag, I have just 7 more to go , at least by my count. They are Central African Republic, Congo ( Dem Rep ), Liberia, South Sudan, Niuafo 'ou ( Tonga ) , Australian Antarctic Territory and Transnistria. 

After all that I guess it's time to show the card. It's a Flags of the World card showing the Green, White and Blue Flag of Sierra Leone along with the Coat of Arms, population and some interesting facts about the country. 

The card arrived with a 2018 Bird stamp. It is 1 of 17 in a set, although not all were birds. 

I have Gerda from Belgium to thank for this card. She arranged it unbeknownst to me. So it was a complete surprise. She also arranged the Guinea-Bissau card that I mentioned earlier. Thanks big time Gerda. Be sure to check out Gerda's postcard blog  right here . 

Today's second card arrived from Collegeville, PA via Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It's a look at the Rockville Bridge, located just north of Harrisburg. This bridge is the longest stone masonry arch railroad viaduct ever built. It has forty-eight 7-foot spans and a total length of 3,820 feet. It crosses the Susquehanne River and was constructed between 1900 and 1902. 

Marielle used a nice selection of stamps on her card. Let's start with the bottom left stamp. It is 1 of  10 in a set issued in 1973 showcasing Postal Service Employees. The top left stamp was issued in 1977 and commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the first Solo Transatlantic Flight in 1926. The last two stamps were issued in 2019. They commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the First Moon Landing by Apollo 11 in 1969 .

 

 That it for this time. Today I have Gerda and Marielle to thank for these cards. Special thanks to Gerda. 

Wooden Postcard , Wooden Stamp and Much More

BLOG # 1565  -  Day 769 of the Pandemic  and Day 53 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine  

Showing support for Ukraine   -      GLORY TO UKRAINE

Since my last update I challenged Canada Post to issue a stamp showing support for Ukraine. Of course their standard line is that it takes close to two years to get a stamp issued. I countered that other countries can do it in a couple of weeks and and sometimes days. I also mentioned that Canada Post can issue a stamp on very short notice , especially when they want to honour some special event or happening at the Olympic Games. As far as I know, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Austria have issued Ukraine support stamps. If any reader knows of others, please leave a comment about it. I'd like to keep track. 

Keeping with this theme, I have seen pictures of the Ukraine stamp showing the soldier on Snake Island giving the finger to the late Russian warship. Here is what it looks like , in a sheet of 6. 

 I'd love to be able to find a sheet of these, or even a single copy. If you know where and how they are able to be purchased or if you have a spare copy , let me know. 

I want to start off today with a unique card from Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. It's a thin wooden card and it arrived with a thin wooden stamp. The card is a map card showing all the Canary Islands. The shape of each of the islands is formed with volcanic sand. 

David used a 2021 wooden stamp. It highlights Ruy Lopes de Villalobos, an explorer who discovered Oceania. The stamp was designed to simulate the material from which Villalobos' ship was built. Interestingly only 160,000 copies were issued and I now have 2 of them. 

Buenos Aires, Argentina is up next. Here we see a number of views of the city. 

Jean Pierre used 2 stamps, 1 from  back in 2002 and the other from 2022.  The large older one is 1 of 6 showing Argentine Landscapes. The other stamp Commemorates 50 Years of Diplomatic Relations with China. 

My next card arrived from Sri Lanka. It shows the Nagadeepa Purana Viharaya, located in Nainativu in Jaffna , Northern Province. This Buddhist Temple is among the country's sixteen holiest Buddhist shrines. 

Ravindra used a number of stamps on this card. On the left , from 2012, a commemorative celebrating the 700th Anniversary of Asgiri Maha Viharaya. The middle stamp was issue in 2013 and Commemoratives the 60th Anniversary of Sri Lanka /Japan Diplomatic Relations. The Bird stamp on the right was issued in 2021 , 1 of 6 in a set of Endemic Birds of Sri Lanka. 

Speaking of birds, this next card from Belgium shows a vast selection of shore birds. 

Johan used 2 recent stamps that commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Bird Protection and he also obtained a beautiful cancel showing a Bird. 

Well that's all I have for today. Thanks for these cards go out to David, Jean Pierre, Ravindra and Johan. Great cards and wonderful stamps as always. 

 

UKRAINE Cards and Support.

BLOG # 1564   --- Day 766 of the Pandemic  and Day 50 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Well it's been quite awhile since I was last active here , one day shy of two months I think. I was away for half that time , a month down south in the warmth of Cuba. Then I contracted Covid and I am finally able to think about blogging. My Covid experience was much like a bad cold. I guess though if I wasn't triple vaccinated , the whole experience would have been much worse.

Of course while in Cuba I posted 25 postcards from Matanzas. I can only hope they arrive but my past experiences of mailing from Cuba have not been great.  Most cards never saw the light of day. I live in hope. If you are the recipient of one or two of these cards from Cuba, please let me know, either with a comment or via email. 

While I was away, I received a bunch of cards, well over fifty. My mailbox was so full that Canada Post took all my mail and closed the box to receiving anymore. I had to go out to the post office and retrieve a very large bundle of mail. The mail lady said " Have fun opening all that " .  And I did !

My first card for today arrived from Ukraine. It was posted on Feb 5th and arrived sometime while I was away. Natasha sent it and she told me she lives in Kyiv. I had an email from her a few days ago and she told me that the postal system isn't really working now and that people shouldn't send unessential mail as it might never be delivered.  I think Canada Post still accepts some mail for specific areas of Ukraine, but has suspended mail to Russia and Belarus. I know I won't be showing any cards from Russia or Belarus anytime soon !

Natasha's card is an aerial view of the old nine - arch railway bridge / viaduct located in the village of Plebanovka in the Ternopil region of the country. It was built in 1896. I hope it's still standing. 

Natasha used a Europa stamp from 2019. Two stamps were issued showing National Birds. Here we see a White Stork. 

My second card arrived form Monte-Carlo, Monaco. It shows us some of the buildings in the city. 

David used two stamps from this current year. On the left is 1 of 2 issued showing Legendary Race Cars - in this case the Benetton B195. On the right a commemorative celebrating 100 Years of the International Dog Show. 

This next card showcases Bamberg, a town in northern Bavaria, Germany. It's an old town that has preserved structures from the 11th to 19th centuries. It's old town was added to UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list in 1993. 

Dominique used a stamp from this year, and it commemorates the 225th Anniversary of the Birth of German poet Annette von Droste-Hulshoff. 

If I remember correctly, no one lived on Lovers Lane back where I came from. But now I see you can even have your mail directed there. Times sure have changed. I wonder if that's Barbara sitting atop that ladder ? 

Barbara used a 2022 Year of the Tiger stamp on her card. 

This next card was not planned for today, but it just arrived in the mail. And as they say , timing is everything. I started the day with a card from Ukraine, and now I'll finish with a card not from Ukraine but  Estonia , but it's all about Ukraine. I do this to show my support for Ukraine. 

The card was sent by Meelis and I would think it's his way of showing his support for Ukraine. The card was given out to whoever purchased the stamp that is used on the card. The card shows the Blue and Yellow Ukrainian Flag with some Ukrainian text that translates to " Glory To Ukraine " and   Estonia Supports Ukraine. 

 Meelis used the new stamp with a Peace Dove in Flight against the Blue and Yellow Colors of the Ukrainian Flag. It also has the same texts as the card. Glory To Ukraine and Estonia Supports Ukraine. 

I would love to see Canada Post issue a stamp of support for Ukraine. Perhaps all countries who support Ukraine should follow the lead of Estonia. 

That's all I have for today. Thanks for the cards go out to Natasha, David, Dominique, Barbara and Meelis. 

And yes, it's good to be back .