JASPER STRONG, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, and Malaysia

   Blog # 1622--- Day 885 of the Current  ( Second ) Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

                                                                 GLORY TO UKRAINE              

Howdy folks. How are things today. Well on this end, things are good. But we have been in a heat wave for 2 weeks now, it's been 30 C or more every day. A little relief Friday past and yesterday, then it starts all over again. Hundreds of wild fires are burning in Alberta and British Colombia, thousands of people have had to leave their homes and many ore are on standby. Sadly much of the beautiful town of Jasper has been burned to the ground. About 350 buildings - homes and businesses totally gone. Also there is much damage to beautiful Jasper National Park. Of course the forest will grow back over time and so will the town. Jasperites will see to that.  So I guess things are not really good as I mentioned earlier. I was speaking on a personal level , things with me and my family are good. 

                                                                  JASPER STRONG

So without further ado I have a few cards to showcase today. First up is this card from Brčko ,  a city and the administrative seat of Brčko District, in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies on the banks of Sava river across from Croatia. As of 2013, it has a population of 39,893 inhabitants. David's card shows an evening view of he number one building in the city,- Brcko City Hall. 

 

David used a 2021 Bosnia and Herzegovina stamp  issued by the Serbian administration , or The Republic of Srpska.  It is 1 of 4 in a set of Cities stamps.

 

My second card is from the Republic of Cameroon. It arrived from Douala, the largest city in the country and located in the southwest. The card is from 2011 and celebrates Camair-Co's First Flight from Douala to Paris on 28th March 2011.  

Jean Pierre's card arrived with a 2009 stamp, 1 of 2 in a set. They were issued to celebrate the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Cameroon in March 2009. 

Now here's a card from posted from Selangor, Malaysia. It shows a little of the Malaysia Heritage. 

Ravindar used a 2024 stamp, 1 of 4 in a set, that commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the Causeway between Singapore and Malaysia. 

Today's 4th card is from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mostar is a city in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, straddling the Neretva River. It’s known for the iconic Stari Most (Old Bridge), a reconstructed medieval arched bridge.

David used a 2003 Bird stamp showing a Greek Partridge on this card. 

Well that's about all for today. Thanks for todays cards and stamps go out to David, Jean Pierre and Ravindra. Thanks guys. 

One more thing before closing. Just so we can remember the beauty of Jasper National Park. Here is that great picture of Maligne Lake and Spirit Island. Maligne Lake is the largest natural lake in the Canadian Rockies. 

I will send this postcard to the First person who responds , by leaving a comment, with one interesting fact about Jasper National Park. 

No Man Is An Island

    Blog # 1621--- Day 875 of the Current  ( Second ) Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

                                                                 GLORY TO UKRAINE               

If you remember from my last blog, I mentioned that the next update would be on the theme of Islands. 

Well here it is. 

I'll start with the famous words of John Donne. " No Man Is An Island. "  It means that  " no one is self-sufficient ; everyone relies on others ."

And what does that have to do with postcards ? Not a heck of a lot I'm afraid. But today's theme is islands so I thought I'd just throw it out there. 

I was born on the island of Newfoundland, so I may have some affinity for islands. So far in life I have been to 56 islands around the world. I hope to get to a few more. 

My first card shows a few of the blue roofs of Santorini Island,  Greece. Truly a beautiful spot. 

Ana used a 2022 stamp showing some of the blue roofed building , much like what is on the card.

Island # 2 -- Martinique, located south in the Caribbean. Jean Pierre's card is a fine look at a Flamboyant tree in Le Diament , Martinique. 

Since Martinique is a Department of France, Jean Pierre used a 2024 French stamp, showing Bougainvillea. Flowers. 

Next is a card from the island of Malta, however the card itself shows a view of the island of Filfla. It is a barren, uninhabited islet south of Malta. In the past it was used as a practice area for bombing runs by British and U.S. forces. Unexploded bombs still litter its waters. 

Jean Pierre used 2 of 4 stamps in a set of Autobuses, issued in 2022. 

Now here's another Caribbean island. I'm not sure what the name of the island is or if it even has a name. This is where Sint Maarten and Saint Martin are located. Sint Maarten, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is a country on the southern part of a Caribbean island shared with Saint Martin, a French overseas collectivity. The capital of Sint Maarten is Philipsburg and that's where the cruise ship terminal is located. That is the focus of David's card. 

 

David's stamp is 1 of 6 issued in a 2023 mini-sheet featuring Butterflies. 

Bonaire is up next. It lies off Venezuela’s coast in the southern Caribbean. Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles. Officially it is termed a special Dutch municipality. 

David used 1 of 6 stamps in a 2023 mini-sheet of Butterflies. 

It time for the last island  for this update. Reunion. La Réunion, officially Department of La Réunion, is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. Réunion Island located in the Indian Ocean, is known for its volcanic, rainforested interior, coral reefs and beaches. Its most iconic landmark is Piton de la Fournaise, a climbable active volcano standing 2,632m (8,635 ft.).

This card from Jean Pierre shows another Flamboyant tree.. 

Again since Reunion is a French Department a French stamp was used. It was issued in 2024 and shows a Bird of Paradise flower. 

That is the end of my island update. Thanks for the cards go out to Jean Pierre, David, and Ana. Of the 6 islands featured I have been to 3 of them, I am going to 1 of them in Nov and Reunion is on my bucket-list. 

 

Newfoundland Towns, Concorde , a Tu154 and a Cathedral in Marseille

   Blog # 1620--- Day 862 of the Current  ( Second ) Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

                                                     GLORY TO UKRAINE            

            Hey there, how are things going today. I`m back with a few more cards to show .    I want to start with a couple of cards from my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador, These are the latest additions to my Postcards with Postmarks of Newfoundland and Labrador Towns Collection. 

First up is this card showing The Cable Station Museum in Heart`s Content, a town in Trinity Bay on the Bay de Verde Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, The population on a good day is around 350 people. Heart's Content was given its place in the history of international communications by Cyrus West Field who chose it as the terminus of his Transatlantic telegraph cable, leading to establishment of the Heart`s Content Cable Station. On July 24, 1877 a transatlantic cable was landed at Heart`s Content by the SS Great Eastern.  This little Newfoundland town leaped into the history books and remained a global communications hub for over a century. And the station is now a museum.

There is a great Heart cancelation on the Total Solar Eclipse stamp that was issued in March of this year. 

So Heart`s Content is number 47 of my Newfoundland Towns collection. Now if I could only get Heart`s Delight, Heart`s Desire and Little Heart`s Ease. Lots of Hearts to come from Newfoundland. 

My second Newfoundland town for today is Gander. Gander is a town located in the northeastern part of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Gander was built around its airport . The airport was started in 1935 , with an air force base started in 1936. The airport saw its first landing in January of 1938. During the second world war fighter planes and bombers in the thousands stopped enroute to Europe. After the war, Gander ( YQX) became a major refuelling stop and earned its name `Cross-roads of the World `. 

When the U.S. closed its airspace after the September 11 attacks , Gander International Airport took in 38 commercial aircraft and four military aircraft, and accommodated nearly 6,700 evacuees from Olympic Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, Alitalia and more. Many of those aircraft are pictured on my first Gander card. 

Most of the streets in Gander are named after famous aviators, including Alcock and Brown, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker, Marc Garneau and Chuck Yeager.

That`s a Gander in the top right corner by the way. 

The Gander RPO staff cancelled this card and with a round Canada Post Gander circular postmark. The stamp is an endangered Frog from the April 2024 issue. 

 Thus Gander is town number 48 of my Newfoundland Towns collection. 

I have one other Gander card to show here. It`s a great picture of Concorde F-WTSA in British Airways livery on the ramp in Gander . This Concorde had its maiden flight on January 10, 1973. On June 17th, 1974    F-WTSA took off from Boston’s Logan Airport at the same time as an Air France 747 took off from Paris. The Concorde flew to Paris, spent over an hour on the ground and got back to Boston before the 747 arrived. 

Here are some numbers for F-WTSA  :

Hours Flown - 657

 

Total Flights - 314

 

Landings – 314

 

Supersonic Flights – 189

 

Total Supersonic hours - 280 hrs 49mins

F-WTSA was the  fourth Concorde aircraft to be manufactured and her final flight was between Toulouse and Paris Orly was on May 20th1976. This Concorde has now been preserved and is on display at Musee Delta, Orly Airport, Paris. 

Morgan used a 2024 Canada Post Community Foundation stamp on this card.

 

This next card arrived from France and shows the Cathedral of Marseille , a Roman Catholic cathedral and a national monument in the city. The cathedral open in November 1893 and is 146 m long, the main dome is 70 m high and 18m in diameter.

Dominique used a stamp from 1963 on this card. It shows an Archimede Class Submarine. 

It`s time now for the last card for today. It arrived from Uzbekistan and just happened to be an aircraft airline  card. Here we see an Uzbekistan Airways Tu154-B2, registered as UK 85600 , on the ramp at Tashkent in May of 1994.UK 85600 first saw service with Aeroflot Soviet Airlines back in 1984. Then in 1989 it flew with Abakan-Avia , Ariana Afghan Airlines in 1989, and finally Uzbekistan Airlines from 1992 to 1994. Then it was stored and finally scrapped in 2015.  

Jean Pierre and Rafal sent this card and used 2 stamps. On the left is a stamp from a souvenir sheet of 4 issued 2022, even though dated 2021. .The sheet showcased History items. The right stamp , from 2020, showed Bukhara, Cultural Capital of the Islamic world. 

 As I mentioned earlier , that`s all for today. Thanks for cards go out to Dominique, Heart`s Content Post Office, Gander Post Office,  and Jean Pierre & Rafal. 

My next update will profile Islands. . So if you have any interest in Islands, drop by and see if your favourite island is mentioned. 

CANADA DAY * Nbr 157

 Well folks , it`s   CANADA DAY  and I`m celebrating , since I`m a proud Canadian.  I want to wish all Canadians , home and away a wonderful Canada Day.  Locally, today`s events included a pancake breakfast at city hall, a Canada Day Parade, a multicultural festival and later this evening we have Canada Day Fireworks.  

Let me just highlight some of the things that make me proud to be a Canadian. We have Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Choice, Free Medical Care, Northern Lights, Cultural Diversity, Maple Syrup, The Canada Pension Plan, Lacrosse, Hockey, Our Flag - The Maple Leaf, Terry Fox, The World's Longest Undefended Border , Free Public Restrooms, Tim Hortons, Ketchup Chips, The Canadian Passport - it lets me travel to 172 countries without a visa, I'm proud of Gander - re 9/11, Stompin Tom Connors. We ban most guns not Kinder Surprises, unlike our neighbours to the south. And finally, just let me say, in my humble opinion, My Canada is one of the Best places to live on this Earth. 

Here`s two good views of Canadian symbols. 

How about this one :

I think you get my drift here .  Canada Day 2024 --  another great day to be a Canadian.