Monday, May 30, 2022

Bogazici BHT, Celtic Woman, Wissembourg and TAESA

BLOG 1575 --- Day 812 of the Pandemic --- Day 96 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                           GLORY TO UKRAINE

 


Hey, welcome back to my blog. Here you will see some great postcards and fantastic stamps, along with outstanding commentary. What can I say , that`s why you`re here , right. 

Today`s cards will be Aircraft and Airline cards, non aircraft cards and people cards. Makes for a great mix.

I`ll start with this Aircraft Airline card. It`s the latest in my collection of this theme. It`s a Bogazici Bht DC-10, registered as TC-JAU. Bogazici Hava Tasimaciligi or Bosphorus Air Transport was a Turkish charter cargo , passenger airline that operated for two years starting in 1987.

The DC-10 first flew in August of 1970. 386 were produced between 1968 and 1988. The DC-10 had a design flaw in the cargo door, leading to the deadliest aviation accident in US history. American Airlines Flt 191 crashed in 1991 and led to the grounding of all US DC-10s . The DC-10 on the card first flew in 1972. From 1972 - 1987 it flew for THY Turkish Airlines, from 1987 - 1989 for Bosphorus Air Transport and from 1989 to 2009 it flew with Federal Express. In 2009 it was stored and later scrapped. 


 

  Jean Pierre used 3 stamps here. The left and middle stamps are from 2011. They are Europa stamps in the theme of Forests. The stamp on the right was issued in 2019 and is 1 of 5 in a set of definitives called Calm Cities. 



Next up is a People card. Featured are Chloe Agnew, Muirgen O`Mahony, Megan Walsh and Tara McNeil, four members of Celtic Woman - an all female Irish musical ensemble. The group was formed in 2004 and produced 14 albums and performed in 15 tours. Give them a listen if you can, they sing like angels.


I received this card with the help of David in Dublin. The card is postmarked, Baile Atha Cliath - a modern Irish name for Dublin. The three stamps are from a 2010 set of 6 showcasing Irish Fashion Designers. 




Here`s a card now from France. It`s a look at Wissembourg, in the northeastern part of the country. It has changed back and forth between France and Germany many times between 1648 and 1944, with France winning in the end.  It is situated on the river Lauter close to the border between France and Germany. 


  

Dominique used 2 older stamps on this card, both were issued in 1968, 54 years ago. On the left , is a stamp issued to Commemorate the 300th Anniversary of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The right stamp is 1 of 3 issued to show the History of France. 



Here`s another Aircraft card . Here we have a TAESA B737, registered as XA-RJS. The picture on the card shows it at Mexico City in 1994. TAESA was a low cost airline headquartered in Mexico City. It operated from 1988 to 2000.It had a fleet of 30 aircraft. The aircraft shown had its first flight in January 1992. It saw service with eight different operators until November 2019 when it was removed from service and stored. 


 

Jean Pierre used two  Christmas stamps rom 2021 on this card. 


Well there you have it for this time. That was the last card for today. Thanks for today`s cards go out to Jean Pierre, Dominique, and David , for his assistance from Ireland.

Be sure to drop by again soon. 



Sunday, May 29, 2022

Malta, Orchard Road, a Fokker 100 and a B727

BLOG  1574  --- Day 811 of the Pandemic --- Day 95 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine       

                                                             GLORY TO UKRAINE    


Well hello again folks. Here`s a few cards that arrived this past week. First it`s two from Malta and one from Singapore. David`s first card is a look at various views of Valletta, the capital of the island nation of Malta.  


David used 2 of 4 stamps in a set showing Maltese Buses. 



This is David`s second Malta card. It is a sunset look at Ta`Pinu Sanctuary, an architectural masterpiece of a shrine located about 700 metres from the village of Gharb on the island of Gozo, the sister island of Malta. The present building opened in 1920 but the shrine site dates back to 1534.


 This time David used the other two Maltese Buses stamps.




Next up is Jobbo`s card of Orchard Road , a busy, popular tourist shopping strip alongside some of Singapore`s first-class hotels. Clearly missing from this view is the  Ion Orchard shopping mall.


For one enquiring mind, no this card is not from My Lovely Teena, my partner of 50 years and wife of almost 48 years. Jobbo used 2 stamps on this one. On the left, from 2003 is 1 of 4 stamps showing different Singapore Police. On the right  is 1 of 9 stamps issued in 2007 showing Youth Uniforms.


My next couple of cards are all Aviation aircraft cards, joining all the many other cards in my Aircraft and  Airlines on Postcards Collection. All of them were sent by Jean Pierre. First is an Aviacsa Fokker 100 registered as XA-RKM. It is shown on the tarmac in Monterrey, Mexico in Feb of 1993. The card was mailed from Cancun, Mexico. 

Aviacsa was a Mexican airline founded on May 5, 1990 and operated until May 4, 2011. It had a fleet of 20 aircraft and served 8 destinations. XA-RKM had its first flight in Jun2 of 1991. During its flying days it saw operations with Aviacsa, TAM, Mexicana and Sol de Paraguay. It was withdrawn from service in 2012. The Dutch aircraft maker Fokker produced 278 of the aircraft from 1985 until 1996 and 15 operators worldwide flew them.


  Jean Pierre used a 2021 stamp, 1 of 13 in a Definitive set highlighting Handicrafts. 


This next card shows a Turkish Airlines cargo B727 at Basel-Mulhouse Freiburg airport in the French Alsace region in 1996. Turkish Airlines is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. As of August 2019, it operates scheduled services to 315 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the world by number of passenger destinations. 

The Boeing 727 was produced between 1962 and 1984. Its first commercial flight was with Eastern Air Lines on Feb 1, 1964 and its last was in Jan 2019 between Zahedan and Tehran. Even though the B727 was one of the noisiest jetliners 1832 were built. 

My first experience with the B727 was in the mid 1970s in Goose Bay . Eastern Air Lines stopped in quite often to pick up and drop off American personal and families based at Goose Air Base. Later in the early 1980s  , I was stationed at Stephenville and Air Canada operated a B727 between YUL, YJT and YQX. 727s were quite common in those days. 



Jean Pierre used a 2022 stamp that was issued to showcase Turkey`s Combat Covid Campaign.



I have one more but will hold it for next time. So that`s all for this time. Thanks go out to David, Jobbo, Jean Pierre. Take care.

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Glenn`s Request

 Hi , this isn`t a normal blog so I`ll just wing it here. Back in about the 3rd week of March, I was in  Varadero , Cuba. With the help of Roxana a local young lady I mailed out 25 postcards to my postcard friends and contacts in a number of countries. It is now the last week of May , 2 months since the cards were mailed and I had just about given up hope that they might have gotten out of Cuba and arrive at their destinations. Well the Good News is , the first of the 25 has arrived  in Germany. I received word yesterday of its arrival. That made my day yesterday !


Now if you are one of the lucky collectors who receive a card or 2 from Me , from Matanzas, Cuba may I ask this favour of you. I would like to know that your card arrived , so can you please send an email to me or leave a comment here on my blog. 

Thank you , Cheers

Glenn

Monday, May 23, 2022

Victoria Day and Chateau de la Petite Pierre

BLOG 1573  --- Day 805 of the Pandemic --- Day 89 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine


                                                            GLORY TO UKRAINE              


                                 


                                           Happy Victoria Day to all my Canadian Friends. 



Victoria Day is a federal Canadian public holiday, celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25th. Celebrated since 1845 , it is now celebrated as the official birthday of Canada`s Sovereign. The day is also informally considered to be the beginning of the summer season in Canada. 



My first card for today is from France. It is a look at the Castle of the Little-Pierre, in Alsace. It was built at the end of the 12th century and largely modernized in the 1670s.


 Dominique used 2 stamps from the 1960s on this card. The left stamp, issued in 1968, commemorates the 200th Anniversary of the Union of Corsica and France. The right stamp , from 1965, shows the French Nobleman and Essayist Francois de la Rochefoucauld. 




My next cards are all airplane and airline themed cards. I was going to have a look at them but it`s getting late so I will keep them for another day. So that`s all for today. Thanks to Dominique for his card. 

Take care now.

Sunday, May 22, 2022

Cote d`Azur and Ouagadougou

BLOG # 1572 ----- Day 804 of the Pandemic ---- Day 88 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine     

                                                            GLORY TO UKRAINE  




Hello to everyone today. Hope all of you are well. I have a few postcards to have a look at. I'll start with a card showing Olivette's harbour of the Cap d'Antibes on the French Riviera in southeastern France. This little port and fishing village is one of the prettiest and most photographed spots in the area.   



Meelis used a couple of stamps on this one, including a nice aviation themed stamp. The left stamp , issued in 2016, commemorated the 100th Anniversary of the Eclair Propeller Company. The second stamp was issued in 2017 for Stamp Day.




Today's second card is from Burkina Faso. This is just my 3rd card from there in over 10 years of collecting. Jean Pierre's card , postmarked in the capital of Ouagadougou show a group of ladies showing some craft material they sell . after they dye the color into it. 


Two stamps arrived on this card . The left stamp, issued in 2000, is 1 of 3 in a set showings Elephants. The stamp on the right, from 2001, is 1 of 5 showing Small Statues and Artifacts in the National Museum.



 Well today`s update is a rather small one, with just two cards. Thanks for them go out to Meelis and Jean Pierre. Thanks guys. With luck, I`ll be back soon.

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

The Eye, A 1918 Nude, a Catalonia and a Newfoundland Iceberg

 BLOG # 1571 ----  Day 799 of the Pandemic    and Day 83 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine




GLORY to UKRAIN

How is it going for you today. I have a few more cards to have a look at once again. 
I want to start with this eye card.  There are a number of eye cards floating around . I have shown a few in the past. Today I have a few sayings about eyes. Lots of people have had their say about eyes. Here goes : 
The eyes shout what the lips fear to say. 
Eyes, the most honest liars. 
Close your eyes and I will kiss you, Tomorrow I will miss you.
Shut your eyes and see.
To be blind is bad, but worse is to have eyes and not see.
I opened two gifts this morning, they were my eyes.
And lastly - Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.

Her is the eye card that Katja sent.


Katja used a 2020 minisheet that Commemorated the 300th Anniversary of the Birth of Baron von Munchhausen. 




My next card shows a 1918 nude painting by Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani. He painted a series of reclining nudes, more than 20, between 1916 and 1919. Some of his most seductive portraits were once censored by police. Modigliani did not achieve artistic success when he was alive, he was a struggling artist for sure. It was only well after his death at the young age of 36 that any of his paintings sold for millions of dollars. The painting on the card is called Reclining Nude or Red Nude and sold in 2015 for $170,405,000. Ć 


Leena sent this card from Mikkeli, Finland . She used 2 stamps , on from 2017 and one from 2006. The Bird stamp is 1 of 4 in a minisheet. The stamp on the right is 1 of 3 issued showing Posters by A. Gallen-Kallela. 




Now a card from Josep and Assumpta. It shows the Serra de Montsant mountain range , located in the south of Catalonia, Spain. It is a protected area, part of the Serra de Montsant Natural Park. 



Two stamps arrived on this card, the one on the right is really a nice stamp.   The smaller stamp on the left was issued in 2019 to celebrate the International Year of the Periodic Table. Who knew - I certainly did not. The large stamp, from 2021 celebrates the 800th Anniversary of the Gold Tower of Seville. 


Josep ands Assumpta have a great postcard blog called -  Letters and postcards from everywhere - and you can see it by clicking  right here

Time now for the last card for today . It was sent by My Lovely Teena who is shortly back from a week in Newfoundland. She posted this in New Harbour, a small town she visited. 
The card shows a large iceberg at Fort Amherst Lighthouse, near St. Johns harbour.
This is the site , but not the original light, of the first lighthouse in Newfoundland, erected in 1813.  

Just remember , even though that iceberg looks nice and is quite large, 90 percent of the berg is actually under the surface of the water. So big is relative . 


My Lovely Teena used a definitive from 2020. It is 1 of 9 in the From Far and Wide set. 


There it is, another blog update in the history books. Thanks for todays cards go out to Katja, Leena, Josep and Assumpta and My Lovely Teena.
Take care .

Sunday, May 15, 2022

Le Havre, Jal Express, Galata Tower and Le Canal du Midi

     BLOG # 1570  ---  Day 797 of the Pandemic and  Day 81 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine                                         


                                                              GLORY TO UKAINE              



Hello to you one and all. I have a few more cards to highlight . I like the picture on this first card so that's why I chose it to start. It's from France and shows the Canal du Midi. It was named that by French revolutionaries in 1789 and is considered one of the greatest construction works of the 17th century. The canal was started in 1667 and completed in 1681. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1996.


Dominique used 2 semi postal stamps on this card. The left stamp was issued in 1966. It commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Verdun Victory , the longest battle of the First World War. It was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916. A very nice looking stamp. The stamp on the right was issued in 1968, part of a series showing Famous Men - in this case General Louis Desaix, considered one of the greatest generals of the Revolutionary Wars. 


  

Today`s second card arrived from India. It shows a side view of a JAL Express aircraft. Jal Express was founded in 1997 and merged into Japan Airlines in 2014. The airline had a fleet of 42 aircraft and served 21 destinations. On July 9, 2010 JAL Express Ari Fuji take to the air as the first female airline flight captain in Japan`s history. 



Nagi sent this card along and used a stamp from 2020. It is 1 of 5 in a minisheet showing UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India. Shown here is Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks, 1 of 7 Unesco sites in the country.



Be sure to check out Nagi`s great postcard blog  right here


Time for another card from France. It`s a multi-view card displaying a few of Le Havre`s sights. The city is a major port in France`s Normandy region, where the Seine River meets the English Channel. 


 


Jean Pierre used a 2021 stamp which commemorated the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Gustave Flaubert, French novelist.


Now here`s the last card for this time. It was mailed from Istanbul, Turkey and is a look at Galata Tower. This is a tower in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul. It was built as a watchtower, part of the Walls of Galata and is currently being used as an exhibition center and a museum.  Galata Tower is 63 m high and and was opened in 1348.


 

Jean Pierre used a Joint Issue stamp with Indonesia on this card. It is 1 of 10 issued in a minisheet.


 


That is it for another time. Thanks for the cards today go out to Jean Pierre, Nagi, and Dominique.


Be back soon.

Friday, May 13, 2022

Brighton, Alsace, Baden-Baden, Sanremo, Lebane and Jaffna

 BLOG # 1569  --- Day 795 of the Pandemic   and   Day 79 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine 


                                                                GLORY TO UKRAINE       


Good day to you all.  It's  Friday the 13th once again, so don't walk under any ladders and don't let any black cats cross your path, and you should get through the day unscathed. 

I have no Friday the 13th themed postcards this time around but I do have postcards. So here goes :

My first card is a look at the bandstand in Brighton, England. Brighton is a seaside city on the south coast of the country. Brighton has been described as the UK's hippest city and the happiest place to live in the UK. Brighton Bandstand is a historic site . Built in 1884, the cast iron structure is considered as one of the best examples of a Victorian bandstand in all England. 


Ron used a fine Queen Elizabeth and Flag , International Postcard rate stamp. 



Card # 2 today is a view from Alsace, in France. It's actually of  Eguisheim, a medieval village in France's Alsace wine region. The narrow , concentric streets of its old town are lined with many preserved half-timbered houses. Eguisheim prides itself on being the birthplace of a pope , Pope Leo IX. The card shows the intersection of rue du Rempart-Sud and rue de l'Almend-Sud, one of the most picture -postcard views of Alsace. 


Dominique used a 2021 stamp issued In Memoriam of Valery Giscard D'Estaing, 1929-2020. 



Card # 3 ---- Another card from Dominique, this one showing a plaza or square in Baden-Baden. This is a town in southwestern Germany's Black Forest, near the border with France. Baden-Baden has a connection to Canada. The town was the closest major city to Canada's CFB Baden-Soellingen. The base was just 10 km from Baden-Baden.


This time Dominique used a stamp from 2022, commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Otto Braun, a former Prime Minister of Prussia.


 

  My next card is from Serbia, it arrived from Belgrade , the capital. It highlights Caricin Grad an archaeological site near the town of Lebane in southern Serbia. The site was known as Justiniane Prima, a Byzantine city that existed from 535-615. 


Zoran used 2 stamps on his card. The left stamp is a 2020 definitive showcasing Children's Online Safety. The right stamp is 1 of 2 issued in 2015 for Easter and showing a Decani Monastery Fresco. 


 

Here's another one, this time from Italy, Sanremo in fact. This is a coastal city in northwestern Italy. It was founded in Roman times and now has a population of 55,000. It is a popular tourist destination on the Italian Riviera. 


David used a 2018 stamp, 1 of 8 in a set featuring Italian city squares.

Sadly this one arrived without a postmark or cancellation. 


Now here's another , from Sri Lanka this time. Ravindra's card show the Maviddapuram Kandhaswamy Temple, a Hindu temple in northern Sri Lanka. The present day structure dates from the 17th century. It was declared an archaeological protected monument in December of 2011. 




Ravindra used 3 stamps on this card. The one on the left was issued in 2011 to mark World Post Day. The other two are 2 of 3 issued in 2022 showing Colonial Era Architecture. 




I think that's all for this time. Thanks for today's cards go out to Ron, Dominique, Zoran, David and Ravindra.
Busy day tomorrow , so not likely I'll post tomorrow. But soon again. Be sure and check it out.