Eton College, Austrian Air, Odalisque, Aland, Rothenburg and an Eclipse over Santiago

 BLOG # 1582 --- Day 841 of the Pandemic --- Day 126 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                                     Glory to UKRAINE

Hello all. Well it's been a week and then some since I was last here. The weather was not great , we are getting lots of rain. But it has been a busy time just the same. Lots of things happening, lots of family things so they take precedent over everything else, blog included. I have a little window of time today so I'll start my blog but I may finish up tomorrow, Big family gathering here this evening , so not sure how much I'll get done. 

So here I go . My first card is from Germany It shows a winter view of Rothenburg, a small city in Bavaria , know for its medieval architecture. The town was founded in 1274. It has a well preserved medieval old town with gate houses and tower, and half timbered houses on cobblestone lanes. It is one of three German towns that still have completely intact city walls. 

 Dominique used 2 stamps, both showing Classic Cars from the 1970s.  The stamps were issued in 2017. 

Eton College. Eton is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI . Prince William and Prince Harry both attended Eton. Other persons of note who attended over the years include Ian Fleming, Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, Percy Bysshe Shelley, actors Hugh Laurie, Damian Lewis and Eddie Redmayne. It is worthy of note that thirty seven who attended Eton have been awarded the Victoria Cross. 

Ron used an International Postcard rate Universal Mail Stamp showing the London Eye. 

Here`s a card from Aland, Finland. The Aland Islands are an autonomous region of Finland . Its capital is Mariehamn, from where this card was postmarked. Aland is celebrating its 100th anniversary of its autonomous status this year, 2022. Paivi`s card is a look at the Eckero Post and Customs House. It is now a museum. Eckero has a population of 934 and is the most western town in Finland. The building on the card is the largest building erected to aid the postal service between Stockholm and St. Petersburg and was built in #818. 

  Paivi used 1 of 4 Motorcycle stamps in a set released in 2018.

 

My next card arrived from Ukraine. I was surprised as could be. I never thought mail was still moving between Ukraine and Canada or any other country for that matter. Postcrosser Marina from Kharkiv was good enough to send this card. She wrote that she is not sending cards to Russia or Belarus, and hoping to not receive any from those countries. I`m glad Canada is on her list of good countries. Her card shows the 1840 watercolor Odalisque by Taras Shevchenko. The actual painting is in the National Museum of Taras Shevchenko in Kiev. I just hope it makes it through the war. 

 

Marina used 2 definitive Coat of Arms stamps, one from 2012 and one from 2019. The larger Round stamp, from 2015, celebrates the 80th Anniversary of the Roerich Pact. The pact is an inter-American Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historical Monuments. 

Finally an Airplane and Aircraft card. It arrived from Cyprus and shows an Austrian Airlines B777, registered as OE-LPA. This aircraft was delivered to Lauda Air in September 1997, making it 24.9 years old. In September 2005 it started service with Austrian Airlines,  where it still is. 

Volker used a 2020 Refugee stamp and an aviation themed stamp from 2021. It is 1 of 3 showcasing the History of Aviation. 

 So here`s the last card for this time. It`s from Spain and is a look at a lunar eclipse over the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela , located in northwest Spain`s Galicia region. The cathedral was constructed between 1075 and 1211 and is reputed to be the burial place of Saint James, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. Santiago de Compostela`s Old Town was designated a UNESCO Wold Heritage Site in 1984. 

 

Laura used a number of King Felipe VI stamps from 2015. It was 1 of 5 in a set. The far right stamp , from 2022, celebrates novelist Benito Perez Galdos. 

There it is , the end of another update. This time I have to thank Ron, Volker, Marina, Paivi, Dominique and Laura for the cards you saw today. 

Thanks to you all for coming by.

A Castle, A Monastery , Aircraft and Flight

BLOG # 1581 --- Day 830 of the Pandemic --- Day 115 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                                   GLORY to UKRAINE

Hello once again. Be warned  - good cards and good stamps ahead. 

Let me start with this card from France. It shows Puivert Castle in winter  , in Cathare country. Opened in 1170 , the castle is located on top of a hill and reaches an elevation of 605 m. Puivert Castle was classified as a historical monument in 1902. 

Dominique used a current year stamp on this card. It showcases the Odeillo Solar Furnace. Using 10,000 mirrors it reflects sunlight at over 3,000 degrees C.

Card 2 shows a cool picture of a plane just about to land. Viewed through an assortment of landing lights and aids is certainly a different look. The picture was taken in 2012 and the landing is at Finland's Helsinki Airport. 

Seija used 2 stamps on her card. Both are from minisheets of 4. On the left is a stamp commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Baseball in 2022 . The stamp on the right, from 2017 is from a set of Birds. 

Today's 3rd card is from Georgia, the country. The card shows Alaverdi Monastery, in eastern Georgia. It dates from the 11th century, although some parts were actually built in the 6th century. 

Jean Pierre used a stamp from 2016, celebrating Independence Day back in 1991.  The other stamp, from 2013, showcases painter Niko Pirosmani.

This next card shows  an old time poster for Imperial Airways. Imperial  was the early British commercial  long-range airline, operating from 1924 -1939. It mainly served the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East. Imperial's claim to fame was that it operated the most luxurious flying boat in the world. 

Pirkko use 2 Bird stamps on this one. On the left , from 2017, 1 of 4 in a minisheet. The larger stamp , from 2015, show a Golden Swan. 

Time now for a card from Kaunas in south central Lithuania. The card is titled Lithuanian Art . I'm not good at all at interpreting art so I'll leave that to the experts out there. Just for the record, I like the card because it implies flight and motion to me.  

PostCrosser  Audrone use a 2015 stamp showing a Lithuanian Bridge. 

I'll end today's blog with another Airline / Aircraft postcard. This time it's Cebu Pacific's DC-9 registered as  RP-C1505. Cebu Pacific is a low-cost airline operating in the Philippines. Founded in 1988 it is Asia's oldest low-cost airline. It operates a fleet of 51 aircraft to 62 destinations. 

All their aircraft now are Airbuses of varying size. They operated DC-9s from 1996 to 2006. 

The aircraft on the card was built in 1979. It flew with Garuda Indonesia and Merpati before joining Cebu Pacific in Nov 1995. RP-C1505 was scraped sometime after 2006. 

Jean Pierre used a 2016 stamp. It commemorates the 70th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Philippines and Portugal. It was a Joint Issue with Portugal. 

That's all folks  -- for this time. Big thanks go out to Dominique, Seija, Jean Pierre, Pirkko, and Audrone for all the great cards and stamp. 

Take care , see you back here soon. 

I am off to St Albert, near Edmonton for a soccer game this evening. My oldest grandson Zach is playing. 

The U.A.R, The B.V.I. ,Planes, PostCrossing and a Pin-Up

BLOG 1580 --- Day 827 of the Pandemic and Day 112 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

                                                                   GLORY TO UKRAINE

Hey there. I`m back again with a few cards. Today is just an ugly day here - blowing rain, and  9 degrees C. A great day to be inside with postcards -  so here goes . 

First up is this Airbus A340, an Etihad Airways aircraft registered as  A6-EHJ. The photo shows it at LHR in April 2011. This aircraft had its first flight in November 2008. It was delivered to Etihad in December 2008. It flew with the airline until October 2017 when it was stored at AUK Abu Dhabi International. In November 2019 it was removed from storage for a short stint with Plus Ultra Airlines of Spain. Then stored again in August 2020 at BOH Bournemouth until Oct 2021. On October 28, 2021 it was again on the move for storage at LGK Langkawi International. Then late on May 29, 2022 the aircraft was acquired by Macka Investment Corp and flown to SQQ Siauliai International Airport for storage again. Looks like that A340 was stored more that it was in the air. 

Jean Pierre used 2 of 6 Falcons stamps issued in 2007. 

My next card is from Poland and it`s another of those classic pin-up types. The magazine on the floor is entitled Feathers and Fashions , so maybe the bird over the lady`s shoulder is about to lose a few feathers for that hat she is holding. Really that`s all I got. 

Honestly I`m only showing this card for the stamps. Kasia used 3 stamps here. Let`s start with the left one and go from there. The left one was issued this year and commemorates the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Louis Pasteur. The middle stamp , also from this year says  We ARE WITH YOU, a Solidarity with Ukraine Stamp. The big stamp on the right is from 2020 and commemorates the 500th Anniversary of the Birth of Sigismund II Augustus. It is a Joint Issue with Lithuania.  

 Time now for a card from France. It shows Hopital Stanislas, in Wissembourg, a historical monument since 1929. From 1719 to 1725 it was the residence of the exiled King of Poland. It has ben a hospital, an old people`s retirement home and finally a private home since 2005. 

Dominique used a 2021 stamp featuring Simone de Beauvoir, French author and philosopher.

Card 4 --- This is a card designed for a PostCrossing Meet-up held in Hirtenberg, Lower Austria on April 23, 2022. The card`s front shows a selection of Austrian stamps including one of the stamps used to mail the card. My card was signed or hand-stamped by 12 of the PostCrossers attending.  

Eva used 2 stamps on this card. On the left is the PostCrossing stamp I mentioned earlier. It was issued in 2016. The right stamp, from 2022 is a Europa Stamp , from the Stories and Myths series. 

 

Here`s a real oldie. An Aviacsa  B727,  XA-SMB photographed at Guadalajara in March 1996. Aviacsa was a low cost Mexican airline from 1990-2011. It operated a fleet of 20 aircraft. XA-SMB was one of the twenty. This aircraft first flew in January 1979. It`s history included the following stints :Trans Australian Airlines 1979-1986, Australian Airlines 1986-1993, AeroExo 1993-1994, and Aviacsa 1994-1998. After that it was scrapped.  The tail of the aircraft featured a stylized head of Pakal, emperor of the Mayan state of Palenque. 

Jean Pierre used a stamp from last year. It is a definitive , 1 of 13 featuring Handicrafts. 

 

Last card time . Here it is the last one for today. A map card of the British Virgin Islands. The islands are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. Located in the Leeward Islands, BVI is part of the West Indies. The islands have a population of just over 35,800 and its capital is Road Town on the island of Tortola.

Jean Pierre used 2 stamps . The left stamp from 1983 commemorated the 200th Anniversary of Manned Flight. It is 1 of 4 in the set. I have to be honest here - this is not a date and event I knew about.  1903 yes, 1783 not really. The stamp on the right , showing a yachtsman was issued in this year.

 So ends another update of GemsWorldPostcards Blog. Today I have to thanks Jean Pierre, Kasia, Dominique, and  Eva for these fine cards today. 

Do drop in again soon. 

An A330, an A300, Onur Air, Bratislava, Kiel, Clemens August and 4 Celtic Woman

BLOG 1579 --- Day 825 of the Pandemic --- Day 110 of the Russian Invasion of UKRAINE

                                                                 GLORY to UKRAINE

Hi folks, hope all are well and ready for a few postcards. 

I`ll start today with an Airline - Aircraft card. 

Here we have a TAP Air Portugal A330-200, registered as CS-TOP. This aircraft is 14 years old. It was delivered  to Air Portugal in June 2008. It has seen service with the airline as a passenger plane and later as a freighter aircraft. It is 193 feet long, can fly 12450 km  and carry 247 passengers. You need 216 million USD to buy a new A330. CS-TOP is now stored at OPO - Porto Airport in Portugal. 

 Isa sent this card from Germany. She used a Flower definitive and a 2022 Europa stamp from the Stories and Myths series. 

Card 2 shows a night view of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. A night view of the city from the Danube River. On the left is Bratislava Castle and on the right is St Martin`s Cathedral. The castle dates from the 9th century and the cathedral from 1452. 

Jaroslav used a 2017 stamp , an Easter stamp of a Vajnory Folk Painting, along with a 2018 Europa stamp, one from the Bridges series. 

Here`s my next installment of the Celtic Woman postcard series. This one shows Tara, Muirgen, Megan and Chloe on the grounds of Ulster American Folk Park, an open air museum just outside Omagn in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. 

This one arrived with3 stamps from the Irish Fashion Designers set, from 2010.

 

Now we have a look at Kiel, Germany. Kiel - 250,00 people, capital of the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, and located on the Baltic Sea. The city has a lot of shipping traffic, mostly due to the Kiel Canal but also because of cruise ships that dock there. 

Marcel used a stamp issued in 2020, It commemorates the 500th Anniversary of the Annaberger Folk Festival. 

Now here is a look at Clemens August, ( 1700-1761 ) , Duke of Bavaria, Archbishop of Cologne and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was a bit of a dud, in each of his exalted posts, he was splendidly brainless and incompetent , and not in the least interested in governing anything. He was more into ladies, music, dancing and erecting monuments to his own glory. 

Birgitte used a 2022 stamp , celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Children`s Aid Organization.

Here we are with the last card for this time. I started with an Airline - Aircraft card, so I may as well end with one. This time it`s an Onur Air A300, photographed at Zurich in December of 1996 and registered as TC-ONK.  Onur Air was a low cost airline operating mainly domestic flights out of Istanbul, Turkey. It was founded in April 1992 and ceased operations in December 2021. 

The A300 shown was delivered to Eastern Air Lines in November 1979. It also saw service with Continental Airlines, and Akdeniz Airlines. Then from 1996 until 2005 it changed hands between Onur Air and Saudi Arabian Airlines 9 times. It ended up with Onur Air in March 2005. In September of 2005 it was stored and later scraped. 

Jean Pierre used 2 great stamps on this card. On the left from 2018 is 1 of 2 in a set showing Europa stamp Bridges. On the right , from 2008, is 1 of 10 in a minisheet  , a Joint Issue with Indonesia. 

Well that`s the end of another blog update. Thanks for cards today go out to Isa, Jaroslav, David, Marcel, Birgitte and Jean Pierre. 

Take care, back soon.