GemsWorldPostcards on Short Hiatus

Hiatus - a pause or gap in a sequence or series.

Attention all who arrive here and read my blog. 

The lights will be dim on GemsWorldPostcards for the next 2 weeks.

But I`ll be up and running after that, so don`t forget to come on back, sometime after Feb 6th. 

Take care and Cheers !

Glenn  

Planes, Planes and More Planes --Maldives , Nancy and Bremen

BLOG # 1572 --- Day 333 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                              GLORY TO UKRAINE

Hi folks, thanks for coming by. Here's a few cards that arrived this past week.  First up is this beautiful card from Maldives. I wouldn't mind been there right now. Sun, Sea and Sand , and great temperatures. Sounds good to me. But all is not perfect. Located in the Indian Ocean, 750 km from the Asian mainland, The Maldives are the world's lowest lying country. It has an average ground-level elevation of 1.5 m above sea level and a highest point of only 2.4 m. That's kind of hard to imagine when I can look out my window and see the Rocky Mountains  with elevations of 2,998 m, 2,451 m, 2,948 m and 1,692 m knowing they are approximately 150 km to the west. 

 This card is from Nanni, an 8 year old Postcrosser who participates with the help of her Mamma Rizleen. She used 3 stamps from 2002 , all showing marine creatures, a Blue Shark, a Turtle and a Yellow Breasted Wrass.

My next card is the latest to join my Aircraft / Airlines Card Collection. Here we have F-WZHF, a Japan Air Lines Airbus 350 shown landing in Toulouse in May 2019. This aircraft saw service with Cathy Pacific  in 2018, Japan Air Lines in 2019, Qatar Airways in 2020 and is now with the German Air Force as of 2021. 

Jean Pierre used a 2020 stamp , 1 of 2 in a set , celebrating the 2020 Summer Olympics , held in Tokyo.

Now for a card from Bremen. This city of 570,000 people lies in northwest Germany. Locaed on the River Weser, Bremen is well known through the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale " Town Musicians of Bremen " . A statue is dedicated to it in front of the city hall. The bronze statue includes a donkey , a dog, a cat and a rooster, one atop the other. 

Ana used a 2021 stamp , 1 0f 2 in a set, showing Baby Animals.

Time for another aircraft card. I just seem to have an endless supply of these, don't I ? Here we have a Royal Air Maroc B767, shown at Paris - Orly in March 2002. This aircraft, CN-RNT  is 21 years old and was delivered to Royal Air Maroc in Feb 2002. It flew with that airline until Nov 2019. Then from Jan to Nov 2020 it was stored. It was back in service with Omni Air International in Nov 2020. CN-RNT is still active. 

 Jean Pierre used a 2019 stamp showing a Ceramic Kettle. It is 1 of 8 in a booklet of Ceramics

Card # 5 is from France. It shows Place Stanislas in the riverfront city of Nancy.  This 18th century square is the focal point of the city. Place Stanislas was built between 1752 and 1756 and has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1983. 

Dominique used a 2022 stamp from a minisheet of 4, highlighting European Capitals - in this case Ljubljana. 

Time now for today's last card and wouldn't you know it - it's another aircraft card. 

It's another Royal Air Maroc plane - a B737 shown at Orly in September 2017. CN-RVG is sporting the airline's 60th anniversary colours. This aircraft is 15.5 years old and was delivered to Air Europa in Aug 2007. It was acquired by Transaero Airlines in 20`` and flew for them until 2015. It saw service from 2015 to 2017 with Eastern Air Lines. It started with Royal Air Maroc in 2017 and continues flying with then today. 

Jean Pierre used another of the Ceramics stamps that I mentioned earlier , on this card .

So ends this update. Thanks for today's cards go out to Jean Pierre, Dominique, Ana,  along with Nanni and Rizleen . 

A Temple, a Bridge, an Airport and Postal Uniforms

 BLOG 1571 --- Day 329 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                                        GLORY TO UKRAINE

Here we go again. Another day and a few cards. 

My first card today arrived from Thailand. It shows a beautiful white temple near Bangkok. Yulia sent the card  and she took the picture of the temple. Unfortunately she didn`t tell the name of the temple and I wasn`t able to identify it. 

Yulia used 4 copies of a 2017 Definitive showing a Thai Pavillion.

Card 2 --- From Germany, showing the Altmuhl Bridge in Ornbau. The town is one of the smallest in Bavaria with just over 1700 people. This five arch sandstone bridge dates from the mid 17th century. 

Thoralf used an assortment of stamps on this card. The left stamp was issued in 1990, a semi-postal from DDR German Democratic Republic. It is 1 of 3 in a set commemorating the 150th Anniversary of The World`s First Stamp. The next stamp is also from 1990 , 1 of 9 in a set of Monuments and Buildings. The large stamp showcases the 125th Anniversary of the Birth of Sepp Herberger. It was issued in 2022. The last stamp there is a Flower definitive. 

Personal note -- I am surprised that DDR stamps are still valid for postage.    I would have thought otherwise. 

Helsinki Airport is the focus of my next card. Helsinki Airport ( HEL ) is a major hub for Finnair, the flag carrier of Finland. The airport serves about 50 airlines and was opened in 1952 for the Summer Olympics. 

Sanna used 2 stamps here. On the left, from 2017, is 1 of 4 in a Birds minisheet. On the right , from 2021, 1 of 5 in a minisheet called Glimmer of Summer. 

Now it`s time for today`s last card. It arrived from Xiamen, a small coastal city in China. I said small but it does have 4.3 million people. I guess that`s small in China. The card shows a number of Postal Service Employee uniforms.

Yaping aka Leah used a stamp from a minisheet of 6 , issued in 2017. It showed Prehistoric  Animals - Chinese Dinosaurs.

The card was issued with prepaid postage - hence the stamp printed  on the right. It must have only paid for postage in China , I guess that`s why Yaping added the Dinosaur stamp. 

That`s all the time I have for today. Hope to be back again soon. Today I have to thank Yulia, Thoralf, Sanna and Yaping for their cards. 

Take care everyone. 

A Crown, A Map Coat and the Wright Flyer

 BLOG 1570  -- Day 328 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

GLORY TO UKRAINE

     

Hello again. Here`s a few more cards to have a look at. Today`s first card arrived from Lodz in central Poland. I don`t know the connection to Poland but the card shows Wilbur Wright flying at Hunaudieres Race Course, Le Mans, France , in August 1908.

I had the great pleasure of seeing the original 1903 Wright Flyer during a visit to the Smithsonian a number of years ago. I also saw Charles Lindbergh`s Spirit of St Louis on that visit. And the Apollo 11 Command Module that carried Neil Armstrong, Buss Aldrin and Michael Collins to the Moon and back on the first lunar landing mission in July 1969. As you can see, the National Air and Space Museum at The Smithsonian is a great place to visit. 

Agnieszka used a Christmas stamp from 2020 on her card. 

 

 

I guess if you`re new to New York, wearing a coat like the guy on this next card could be a good idea. It`s either a map of New York City or a map of the New York subway system. It is an unusual coat to be sure. I wonder if visitors stop him often to ask for directions . 

Bea used 2 self - adhesive stamps on this card. On the left, from 2004, 1 of 2 in a set of Flower Bouquets. The right stamp was issued for the 2003 Special Olympics. 

Calling all heads - here`s a special top for you. It was the crown of Emperor Rudolf II, and later the  Crown of the Austrian Empire . The crown was made in 1609 in Prague. 

Katie sent this card along and used 3 stamps from 2021. The left stamp is 1 of 20 in a pane , all showing Star Wars Droids. The right stamp , 1 of 4 in a block showing Western Gear-- in this case a fancy shirt. If you`re in Calgary during the Stampede, you just gotta` have a shirt like that. Yahoo !   The last stamp shows a Brush Rabbit and was issued to handle mail with an Additional Ounce of weight. 

Well we`ve come to the end of another blog update. Today I have to thank Bea, Agnieszka and Katie for their cards. Take care all.

Bridges, Manhole Covers and L`Aude

BLOG # 1589      Day 327 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                                 GLORY TO UKRAINE

Hey there, it's time for another blog update, so I just pulled a few cards from the pile on my desk. I'll start with a card from Almaty, Kazakhstan. It's a night time view of Ramstore  Arch Bridge looking towards Almaty. This bridge crosses the Ishim River. It was built between 2007 and 2008 , is 180 m long and 60 m high and cost 472 million US dollars.  

Murga used 3 copies of a definitive from 2022. The set showed Insects of Kazakhstan.

Today's second card arrived from France. It's a look at a part of Aude, a department of France in the Occitaine region of southern France on the Mediterranean coast. 

Dominique used a 2021 stamp here. It commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the Highway Code. 

My next card arrived from the Netherlands. It shows a silkscreen of a Manhattan manhole cover. 

It is one of a series of 12 silkscreens by Paul Baars from 1981. Others in the series were manhole covers from Amsterdam, Anchorage, Cairo, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dammam, Lisbon, Mexico City, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. 

Heleen used an International Rate of 1 Train stamp.

M first card was a bridge card, so let's look at another. This time it's the Bridge on the Artuby. This concrete arch bridge is perched between the cliffs of the Artuby River in the Provence- Alpes- Cote d`Azur region of France. The bridge was built in 1940, and is 125 m high with a main span of 107 m. If you happen to be in the area and if you have the nerve, you can bungee off this bridge. 

Jacques used a number of stamps on his card. The left stamp and the middle stamp were issued se-tenant in 1970 - why I don`t know. The right stamp is a Marianne definitive from the 1970s. The larger stamp on the bottom is from 1977 and commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the French Table Tennis Federation. 

Well that`s all for today folks. Thanks for the cards this time go out to Murga, Jacques, Dominique and Heleen. Take care now.

Cayman Airways

 BLOG # 1588 --- Day 321 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                             GLORY TO UKRAINE

I'm back again. Guess I'll start today the way I ended yesterday - with an aircraft / airline card. Here we have another B737-200, VP-CKX in Cayman Airways colours. This aircraft's first flight was on October 11, 1984. It started out with British Airways from 1984-1995. Then Cayman Airways took it over from 1995 to 2008. It was stored at Victorville between 2008 and 2009. Late 2009 it was moved to Marana Airpark for storage and later scrapped. 

 Jean Pierre used 3 stamps on his card. The left stamp is from 2014, 1 of 3 in a set issued for Christmas.  The right stamp, issued in 1979, is 1 0f 7 Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Owen-Roberts Airport. Now the middle stamp, the interesting one to me, the stamp collector. It Commemorates the 50th Anniversary of Cayman Airways . The airline was founded in 1968. The stamp was issued in 2019 and has the date 2019 on it.  Why 2019 I know not, that is 51 years since the airline was founded. A mystery to me , but I'm sure someone knows the why. 

That's it for today, a much shorter update than my usual. Thanks Jean Pierre for this one. 

Cheers.

 

A Chapel, A Painting and a B737

BLOG # 1587 --- Day 320 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                                   GLORY TO UKRAINE

Here we go again. Today's first card is from Cambridge, England. King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city. King's College was founded in 1441 by King Henry VI, and the foundation stone of its famous chapel was laid five years later. Altogether five kings contributed funding to the chapel over 90 years, with Henry VIII seeing its completion in 1536. The chapel is the focus of this card. 

Josep and Assumpta used a Pictorial Faststamp of winter greenery, this one shows Holly.

Unlucky enough to receive the dreaded pen cancel.

Next up is another card showing a painting by Polish artist Jacek Waltos. 

Agnieszka used a number of stamps here. On the left are 2 copies of a 2021 stamp featuring Polish hunter and naturalist Michal Jankowski. The other 2 are from a 2008 set of 4 featuring Polish Bridges. 

Card # 3 --- Here we have a TAROM B737 with registration of YR-BGA, on approach at Athens in 1994. This 737 had its first flight in September 1993 and was delivered to TAROM in October 1993.  TAROM is the flag carrier of Romania and was founded in September of 1954. It currently flies to 52 destinations.  YR-BGA flew with TAROM from 1993 to March 2020 when it was stored.

Jean Pierre posted this in Transylvania, hence the BRAN postmark. Bran is about 25 km from Brasov, Transylvania. The stamp is from 2022 and is 1 of 2 issued for Romanian Stamp Day .

I think that's a good way to end off today's update. Thanks for the cards go out to Josep and Assumpta, Agnieszka and Jean Pierre. 

Take care, see you again soon.

Cherries, Pilgrims Rest, a DC-7 and Air Tanzania

 BLOG # 1586 --- Day 319 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                               GLORY TO UKRAINE

Hello once again. Here's a few cards that arrived back in 2022. No particular order or theme but you may see a few aircraft/airline cards.

Here's one from Air Tanzania, the flag carrier of Tanzania based in Dar es Salaam. It's an Airbus A320 registered as 5H-MWH on the ground at Fortaleza Airport in Brazil in 2008. This aircraft had its first flight back on Jan 9, 1997 with Air Jamaica. It also saw service with Air Zimbabwe where it is currently flying. 

Jean Pierre used a couple of stamps on this card. The left stamp was issued in 2010 and is 1 of 11 in a set showing Wild Animals of Africa. The right stamp, from 1980, is 1 of 4 stamps in a minisheet. It marked the 100th Anniversary of the Death of Rowland Hill in 1879. However, I prefer to think of it as the 185th Anniversary of the Birth of Rowland Hill. But that's just me. 

Next is an art postcard. Here we have a reproduction of the 1873 oil on canvass painting Cherries by Lourens Alma Tadema. The beautiful red-haired woman is thought to be Laura Theresa Epps, the artist's new bride. 

The stamp which shows the painting,  received a First Day Cancel and  special postmark for the Reopening of the KMSKA.  It was issued in a minisheet of 5 in 2022 to mark the Reopening of the KMSKA - the Royal Museum of Fine Art in Antwerp, Belgium.  Thanks Johan.

I said there would be a few planes, well here's another one. 

This is a Douglas DC-7 in Delta Air Lines Golden Crown livery. Registered as N4876C it flew with Delta from Dec1955 to Mar 1968. Later it saw service with BMR Aviation and Midair. It was scrapped sometime after 1973. A total of 338 Douglas DC-7 aircraft were built at a base price of $823,308 USD each. No DC-7 aircraft are flying today, unlike the DC-3 and DC-6. 

Jane from Martin , Tennessee sent this card along. Martin is the home of the Tennessee Soybean Festival, a happening event for sure. Jane's card was postmarked Memphis, Tenn and arrived with a 2020 Global Forever stamp , a Chrysanthemum. 

Today's last card is from South Africa. it gives us a look at Scotts Cafe in Mpumalanga.  Mpumalanga (Zulu name for "the place where the sun rises") is a province in eastern South Africa, bordering the nations of Swaziland and Mozambique. It embraces the southern half of Kruger National Park, a huge nature reserve with abundant wildlife including big game. Pilgrim's Rest was declared a gold field in 1830. Today it is a huge tourist attraction as is Scotts Cafe. Pancakes are served there 7 days a week. 

Bruce used a stamp from 2014. It is 1 of 5 in a set showing The Big Five. 

So that's all I have for today. Thanks for postcards go out to Johan, Jean Pierre, Jane and Bruce. 

See you again soon. Take care.