Wicked Woman, LH B747-400, The Mermaid and You Call It

                                   BLOG # 1586 ---  Day 447 of the Current ( Second ) Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

                                                                  GLORY TO UKRAINE                 

            

Hello again. Here's a few more cards that arrived in the last while. This first one arrived from Montana, U.S.A. 

It's an illustration by German cartoonist, painter and author Rudi Hurzlmeier. I leave it to you readers for the analysis of said art. 

Greg used 3 stamps on this card. The left and middle stamps are 2 of the 3 in a set issued in 2019 for the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad. The 3rd stamp , from 2022, is 1 of 5 issued in a strip for Pony Cars. 

For those that don't know, Pony is an American car classification for affordable , compact, highly styled coupes or convertibles with a sporty performance oriented image . Emamples from the 1960s include the Mustang, Camaro, Trans Am and Barracuda. 

Card 2 arrived from Brazil. It shows a World War II airplane with its Wicked Woman art on the side. 

Ana from Curitiba used 2 stamps on her card. The left stamp, issued in 2021, celebrates the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Anita Garibaldi. The smaller stamp is 1 of 2 issued in 2006 showing Professions. 

Well here's another art card. Photography this time by Manolis Tsantakis of Crete, Greece. This one is called The Mermaid. 

 This card was sent by Tina, not My Teena though.  It is Tina from Attendorn, Germany , so it arrived with a German stamp from 2019. It Commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the Weimar Constitution.

 

A Lufthansa B77-400 is the focus of this next card. On the right side of the card you can see the Star Alliance logo, of which Lufthansa was a founding member in 1997. The alliance now includes 26 airlines. 

Meelis used 2 stamps. On the left is some sort of ATM stamp or Computer Vended stamp. The right stamp was issued in 2021 under the title Treasures of Philately. It shows a part of the Mauritius 1847 Post Office Bordeaux Cover. A classic for sure. 

So ends another blog update. Thanks for visiting. 

Thanks for today's cards go to Meelis, Tina, Ana and Greg. 

The Rock, Marilyn and a Nationair B747-100

   BLOG # 1585 ---  Day 446 of the Current ( Second ) Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

                                                                  GLORY TO UKRAINE 

Well it's Sunday afternoon and I am inside starting this blog. It 26 C and smokey as hell. Alberta currently has 98  or so wild fires burning in the province with 26 or so out of control. There are more than 12,000 Albertans presently evacuated from their homes. Many of them have been out for 2 weeks today. There are at present 2,500 fire fighters working the fires, including support from across Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces and firefighters from the United States. There are no fires near Airdrie or Calgary but smoke from up north is certainly here. The air quality index is presently at 11 - which indicates Very High Health Risk. So not a great day to be outdoors.

Well here's the reason you arrived here - postcards.

Let's start with The Rock of Gibraltar. The Rock is a monolithic limestone promontory near the southwestern tip of Europeon the iberian peninsula but solidly located in the British Territory of Gibraltar. Its elevation is 426m. 

 

Jean Pierre used a nice selection of stamps, including an aviation themed stamp from 1982. It is 1 of a set of 15 Airplanes. The middle stamp , from 2009, is 1 of 5 in a set of Old Views of Gibraltar. The stamp on the righty, from 2017, is 1 of 4 in a minisheet commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Gibraltar Sovereignty Referendum of 1967.

Card 2 today shows us Marilyn Monroe as a ballerina. Marilyn cards may not be high on my collecting habits but a postcard is a postcard none the less. I know a postcard friend in the Netherlands who loves Marilyn cards.

A Postcrosser named Linda used a King Tut stamp and a Royal Marine Uniform stamp . Both were issued in 2022.The King Tut stamp is from a set of 8 and the Royal Marine stamp from a set of 4.

I can't let the day end without at least one airline / aircraft card, so here goes.

Here we have a Nationair B747-100 on the ground in Paris CDG. Nationair's registration was C-FFUN. It first saw service with Continental Airlines in 1971. Then it flew for Wardair in 1974, Nationair 1990, FSBU 1993, Air Atlanta Icelandic 1994 and lastly Willis Air Services in 1997. It has since been scrapped. 

Jean Pierre used a Marianne definitive stamp and a stamp from 2022 showing Jean Antoine Watteau.

That my friends is all for today. Thanks this day go to Jean Pierre and Linda. Take care. I will return and I hope you will too. 

King Charles III Stamp, Henri IV, Some Buildings and a Map

  BLOG # 1584 ---  Day 442 of the Current ( Second ) Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

                                                                  GLORY TO UKRAINE 

Hi again. Here's a few more cards for your viewing pleasure.

First up this time is a card from Sri Lanka. It's a look at Prince House or Mantri Manai, a ruined house believed to be part of the palace complex of King Sangili. It is located in Nallur, Jaffna. 

Ravindra used 3 stamps on his card. The left stamp was issued in 2013 for the 125th Anniversary of the Christ Church Girl's College. The  middle stamp , from 2022, showcases the National Environment Pioneer Program. The right stamp was issued in 2023, for the 100th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Malay Association. The association was formed in 1922 , so it appears the stamp was issued a year late for some reason. 

My next card is form China. It shows us Xiamen University , located in Xiamen, Fujian. The university was founded in 1921. The large building on the left is Jiannan Auditorium. 

  Yapling used 3 nice stamps on her card. The stamp on the left, 1 of 3, shows Mount Qingyuan. It was issued in 2015.  The middle stamp, from 2018,  is 1 of 4, showing Chinese Flowering Crabapple Blossoms. The right stamp , from 2017 , is 1 of 6 highlighting Cultural Relics. 

Time now for a Map card. It's a map of Great Britain. This island in the North Atlantic Ocean is the ninth-largest island in the world. 

David used the new and first British stamp showing the new king, King Charles III. It is 1 of 5 in a new definitive set. 

Here now is today's last card. It arrived from France and on it we see King Henri IV of France. Henri ruled from 1589 -1610 and was the first of the Bourbon kings of France. He brought unity and prosperity to the country. Henri was considered a usurper by some Catholics and a traitor by some Protestants. He was killed ( assassinated )  in Paris on May 14, 1610. 

Dominique used a very recent stamp featuring Marcel Marceau. The stamp Commemoratives the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Marceau, actor and mime and famous as Bip the Clown.

 

That's it for this time. Thanks for cards this time go out to Yaping, Ravindra, David and Dominique. 

Take care now and until next time. 

Planes, Galleries and a Little Royalty on Mother's Day

  BLOG # 1583 ---  Day 439 of the Current ( Second ) Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

                                                                  GLORY TO UKRAINE 

                                                       

Hey there once again. Thanks for dropping in on GemsWorldPostcards one more time. Here you'll find good postcards , and good stamps from good people like yourself. Now it's on to those cards. 

First up today is a card from Copenhagen, Denmark. It shows us Denmark's Royal Yacht, The Royal Life Guards and Crown Prince and Princess Frederik and Mary. 

Meelis used a plethora of stamps on this card. I'll go from left to right with these. First are 2 Wavy Lines definitives, then Queen Margarethe II, then from 2005, 1 of 5 in a set showing Danish Styled Houses and lastly , from 2022 , 2 of 5 showing Proverbs.

 

Here's my first Airline / Aircraft card for today. It's a DC-8-62. This airplane first entered service with Swissair in 1968. From there it had a lengthy history , 1983 - Capital Air, 1985 Nationair Canada, 1989 - Zambia Airways, 1988 - Nationair Canada again, 1993 - Buffalo Airways, 1998 - Cargo Lion, 2002 - Silk Way Airlines, and lastly 2003 - Johnsons Air.  It has since been scrapped.  

My first and only flying on a DC-8 was back in 1974. My Lovely Teena and I flew on CP Air from Toronto to AcapuIco and return. My first impression , when seated onboard was just how long and narrow the cabin was. That's enough reminiscing about the old days, I think . 

Jean Pierre used a Mountain Flower stamp, 1 of 4 in a 2023 minisheet. 

Next up is  a card from Belgium showing the Royal Saint Hubert Galleries, designed and built between 1846 and 1847. The galleries are an ensemble of three shopping arcades in central Brussels.  

Johan used a recent stamp from this year . It is 1 of 5 in a minisheet of Covered Galleries. 

Interestingly the postmark/cancellation somewhat matches the stamp and the card. 

Now we have another Airline / Aircraft card. This time it's a Delta Airlines B727, registered as N4120A. Delta is one of the world's oldest airlines, having been founded in 1925. B727s were first flown in Feb of 1963. Boeing first planned to build 225 B727s but because they were such a great seller they ended up building 1,832. 

Herbert used a 2022 stamp. It shows Heumarkt Station in Cologne. 

I think that is it for this time. Thanks to Jean Pierre, Johan, Herbert and Meelis for today's great cards. 

Take care

And to all the Mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day . 

A Few Cruise Cards, and a Few Not Cruise cards

  BLOG # 1583 ---  Day 438 of the Current ( Second ) Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

                                                                  GLORY TO UKRAINE

Hello again folks. I have a few more cards to add to my blog. I am starting with a really nice card from France. It's like an old poster for Aeropostale, a French airline which operated from 1918 to 1933. It was formally known as  Compagnie generale aeropostal and based in Toulouse.

                    This was a postpaid card with a reproduction of the front of the card as postage. 

                                     

Here's another airline poster type card. This one Commemorates the 100th Anniversary of Founding of Sabena in 1923. Sabena was the national airline of Belgium from 1923-2001. 

Johan used a stamp from a minisheet of 5. The sheet is shaped like an aircraft window. The stamps celebrate a 100 years of Sabena.

Here's a card that arrived from the United Arab Emirates. It shows us the Ed-dour Archaeological site. 

Jean Pierre used a 2022 stamp here. It Commemorates the 40th Anniversary of the Arab States of the Gulf Cooperation Council. 

I want to show the next four cards and stamps without comment. I'll keep the contents for the end. 

The first is from Aruba. 

The stamp :

Card 2 - from Bahamas

The stamp -

Card 3 from Aruba 

The stamp -  

 Card 4 from Curacao

The 

The stamp -

 

Now as you may or may not know, My Lovely Teena and I took a cruise in November 2022 and another one in January 2023. While the cruises themselves were wonderful, the business of postcards and stamp didn't fare as well. What should have been updates called Cruising through Postcards will not see the light of day this time. Instead you are getting this so called rant. The Nov cruise was to Haiti, Aruba, Curacao, Bahamas and Jamaica,  

I found cards in Haiti, but no stamps, so no cards posted there. I posted 10 cards in Falmouth, Jamaica, 10 in Aruba, 10 in Curacao and 12 in Nassau, Bahamas. To my knowledge 0 have arrived around the world from Falmouth, 4 from Aruba, 2 from Curacao and 4 from Nassau.   

The Jan. cruise was to Bahamas, Turks & Caicos Islands, Dominican Republic, Curacao, Aruba and Ocho Rios in Jamaica. !2 cards were mailed from Grand Turk - 0 received , 12 from Ocho Rios - 0 received , `12 mailed from Curacao - 6 received and 12 mailed from Aruba with 7 received. 

None mailed from Dominican Rep - No stamps found. 

As you can see those results are terrible, sucks really . A total of 90 cards mailed , and just 24 or so received. Of 8 mailed to myself, just 4 received as shown above. 

If anyone out there has received a card from Falmouth, Grand Turk or Ocho Rios, I would like to hear from you. 

I think I'll call it a day after that. Thanks for cards go to Dominique, Johan , Jean Pierre and My Lovely Teena. 

See you all again soon.

A Classic B747SP, Mount Kinabalu, Kaunas Buildings and a Royal Brunei B757

 BLOG # 1582 ---  Day 435 of the Current ( Second ) Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

                                                                  GLORY TO UKRAINE

Howdy folks. Here's a few more of the great cards I have received of late. I am starting today with an aircraft card. It's a Royal Brunei Boeing 757 landing at Paris-Orly. Registered as V8-HBI, this 757 flew with Royal Brunei from 1986-1993. It later saw service with Myanmar Airways and Royal Brunei once again. It was scrapped in 2006. 

 

Jean Pierre used 2 stamps on his card. On the left, 1 of 12 in a set showing The Sultan of Brunei. The right stamp, issued in 2015, is 1 of 3 commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Royal Brunei Navy.

The second card for today arrived from Kaunas , Lithuania. Located in the south-central part of the country, Kaunas has a population of just over 295,000.  Alena's card shows the Church of St. Gertrude, Kaunas our Lord Jesus Christ's Resurrection Basilica and the Kaunas Town Hall.

 

Alena's stamps are : the left and middle stamps are 2 of 3 issued in 2023 showing Lithuanian Rulers. The right stamp is from 2017 and commemorates the 600th Anniversary of the Diocese of Samogitia - a joint issue with the Vatican. 

Here's another one. This time it's an Alliance Air Boeing 747SP.  It was registered as ZS-SPA and it flew for 26.7 years, before it was broken up in Oct 2002 at JNB. Before its demise this aircraft also saw service with Luxair and  Air Mauritius . 

I agree Jean Pierre, that is one classic beautiful livery. 

The stamps are 2 of 4 in a set, issued in 2020 celebrating the South African Air Force. 

 Since I think the Boeing 747SP is the best looking modern aircraft , I want to add a little more information. Forty four 747SPs were built between 1976 and 1982. One other was constructed in 1987, for a total of 45 . As of 2022 only 3 were still in service, with 18 in storage and 1 on static display. The 3 still active are : C-FPAW , 42 years old with Pratt & Whitney Canada, C-GTFF 42 years old , also with Pratt & Whitney Canada , and VP-BLK , 43 years old , owned by the Sands Casino in Las Vegas.

The Around-the-World Speed Record is held by a Boeing 747SP. The record time of 36 hours, 54 minutes ,15 seconds was established on a flight from Seattle to Seattle via Athens and Taipei.  The date was January 30, 1988. 

Now here's the last card for today. It arrived from Sabah, Malaysia. It's a great look at Mount Kinabalu, showing the Western summit Plateau, featuring Low's Peak in the far left and Victoria Peak in the middle.

  

This is another card from Jean Pierre and here are the two stamps that he used. 

On the left, 1 pf 6, showing Johor State Garden Flowers. The other stamp, from 2018, is 1 of 5 highlighting the Architecture of Bridges. 

 

So there goes another update. Thanks for these cards go out to Jean Pierre and Alena.