Kok-Gumbaz, Montreal, The Atomium and a River City.

BLOG # 1576  -  Day 973 of the Pandemic --- Day 258 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

                                                               GLORY TO UKRAUNE

Hey, I'm back again with a new update. But before I get to postcards let me just say this. I know it's only early November but winter has arrived here in Alberta. Since October 22nd we have had three snowfalls, for a total of 37 cm of the white stuff. When I got up this morning it was -26 C with a windchill of -30. Now as I type this it is sunny and -17 C with a windchill of -25. Yes I know Canada is a northern country but fall or autumn is not supposed to be white. Winter doesn't officially start until December 21st. Well, that's my rant for today. 

My first card today arrived from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It shows the Kok-Gumbaz Mosque and Tower in Shakhrisabz. It was built in 1435. 

Postcrosser Fotima sent this card along. She used a stamp issued in 2022, but dated 2021 , 1 of 4 in a set of Traditional Figurines. 

This next card is from Montreal, Canada. It's a look at Saint-Amable Street in Old Montreal. It's actually an historical alley that been around for over two hundred years. Now if you look to the left on the card , I believe that's postcards for sale. 

Dominique , who usually post cards from Europe, was visiting Montreal recently and sent this along. His stamp is from the From Far and Wide series of January 2020. This one shows Iles de la Madeleine. 

The Atomium in Brussels is the focus of card number 3 today. This structure is 102 m high and was constructed for the 1958 Brussels World`s Fair.

David used 2 stamps from a 2022 Humanitarian Mission Aircraft minisheet of 5. On the card we see a Fairchild Flying Boxcar and a Westland Sea King helicopter. The rest of the mnisheet is just as impressive . I`ll certainly have to add the minisheet to my collection. 

Time now for a card from Wuhan, China. Yes I said Wuhan. It`s called the River City as the Yangtze River runs through the city and is the longest river in the country. 

Zhang used 3 great stamps on this card. The left stamp is from a set of 4 issued in 2017 for High Speed Railways. The middle stamp, from 2016, is 1 of 4 in a Lighthouses set. The right stamp was issued in 2020, 1 of 6 in a Paintings set, to mark the 10th Anniversary of the Death of Wu Guanzhong. Of course I like to say it celebrates the 101st Anniversary of  Wu Guanzhong. 

 

Well that`s it for this time. Thanks for cards and stamps today go out to Zhang, David, Dominique and  Fotima, 

If you liked what you saw here today, be sure to drop in again, but not for 2 weeks. My blog will be quiet for a couple of weeks. Take care.

Aircraft and Airlines,a Pin-up, Ksamili, Roviji and a Rooster

BLOG # 1575 --- Day 966 of the Pandemic --- Day 251 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                             GLORY TO UKRAINE  

Hello once again. My first card today shows some of the beach area in Ksamili, a village in Southern Albania. The area with is white sand beaches is part of the Butrint National Park. It is the top beach destination in the country. The card is postmarked from Sarande, a resort on the Albanian Riviera with a population of around 33,000 people. 

 Ana used a couple of copies of a 2017 stamp showing Albanian Art Drawings. It is 1 of 8 in a set. 

My second card is from Croatia. Here we see Rovinj, a seaport on the west coast of the country. It has a population of around 15,000. The tall ship on the card is the Royal Clipper, a cruise ship built in 2000. 

Rob sent this card along from a short visit to Croatia. He used 3 of 4 stamps in a 2022 set showing Children's World of Dogs. 

Next up is a new card for my aircraft card collection. It's a poster from 1918 asking the British people to help raise money to buy aircraft for World War I .  Buying War Bonds was the way to do it. 

Barbara use 2 lovely stamps on this one,  from 2021. The left stamp is 1 of 2 issued under the theme of Sustainability. The right stamp shows Typically Dutch - Canal Houses. 

This next card is for all the chicken and rooster lovers out there. The card shows a rooster, the stamp shows the same rooster and the postmark shows the same rooster only in black and white. It's the work of Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen. His work includes paintings, drawings, photography and sculptures. The common theme of these works are the chicken and the egg.

Here's the rooster stamp with rooster postmark.

Here's one more for my Airlines and Aircraft card collection. A Royal Air Maroc B787 Dreamliner , registered as CN-RGX. This aircraft is relatively new, having been delivered new to Royal Air Maroc in March 0f 2019. The card shows it landing at Paris (ORY). 

Jean Pierre used a 2019 Morocco stamp on this one. It is 1 of 2 in a set titled Bees and Lemons. I  guess Bees are featured on the other stamp in the set. 

This next card shows a photo taken by German photographer, poet and author Klaus Ender  ( 1930- 2021 ) . A young lady passing time relaxing in a river. 

Postcrosser Angelika used a 2022 stamp , 1 of 2 in a set featuring Childhood Heroes, in this case The Smurfs. 

Time for the last card of the day. I mentioned a couple blogs ago that one card received was a goldmine of Philately. Well here's another. This one arrived from Thailand loaded with 8 stamps. Ravindra's card shows a building or at least an artist's rendering of a building in Koh Samui, Thailand. I'd like to think it's a post office. 

Where to begin with the stamps ? I'll do the top row, left to right, then the middle row and lastly, the bottom 2 stamps. 

The large stamp , top left corner was issued in 2017, 1 of 4 showing the Chao Phraya River. The next 2 are from 2019 and a Joint Issue with the Philippines. They marked the 80th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Thailand and Philippines. The right corner stamp was issued in 2022 and shows a Symbol of Love. Middle row - a stamp from 2021 , issued for National Day. Then a Thai Pavilion definitive. 

Bottom 2 stamps, from 2021, marking the 89th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Switzerland and Thailand.

Finally my hat's off to this guy, President Zelensky, he just keeps on going. 

 There you go, that's my blog for this time. Thanks to Ana, Rob, Johan, Barbara, Jean Pierre, Angelika and Ravindra for the cards and stamps. As I have mentioned many times  - I wouldn't be able to do this without people like you. 

Thanks again.