Christmas Themed Cards

 BLOG # 1580 --- Day 296 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                                GLORY TO UKRAINE 

Here we go again, a few cards from the pile on my desk. First up though are a couple of  time sensitive cards to enjoy during the coming season.  This first one arrived from Belgium. 

    

Johan used a Christmas stamp from this year. It is 1 of 2 shaped like snow globes. It received the special First Day cancel shaped also like a snow globe. 

Here's Canada Post's 2022 Christmas Card. It features three birdhouses and this thought " May all your holiday dreams take flight. " That's a pretty safe message  , no offence there. 

Three birdhouse, I guess that's why Canada Post issued 3 Bird Stamps for Christmas. 

 

Of course as always Canada Post issued one religion themed Christmas stamp. This year it is a Nativity. 

A reindeer with lighted antlers is the subject of this 3rd card. 

 Isa use 2 stamps on her card. The left stamp is a Christmas stamp issued in 2012. The right stamp, from 2011, celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Adveniat.

That's all the Christmas themed cards I have at this time. So I'll call it a day here and hope to get back tomorrow. 

So thanks for these cards go out to Johan, Isa and Canada Post. 

Frankfurt Airport, Temple of Garni, A Postcrossing Meetup, Aircraft and a Local Transport.

BLOG # 1579 --- Day 293  of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine                    

                                                                    GLORY TO UKRAINE

  

Back in Blog 1577 I mentioned the pile of cards on my desk. Well it's actually grown larger even though I have blogged a couple of times since then.  

My first card today arrived from a Postcrossing Meetup in Kosice in eastern Slovakia. It was held at the Museum of Aviation at the Kosice International Airport. The card was sent by Alena and signed by a bunch of Postcrossers who attended the meeting.

Alena used a nice selection of stamps here. The top stamp with attached label is from 2000. It commemorates the 50th Anniversary of Slovakia Post's Philatelic Service. The bottom left stamp , issued in 2008, celebrates Slovak Poet Masa Halamova. The red stamp on the right was issued in 2010 to highlight the Fight Against Aids. 

  

My next card, from Belgium, shows a work of art by Dieric Bouts. The Last Supper is the central panel of Altarpiece of the Holy Sacrament. Bouts painted it between 1464 and 1467.

This is a case where the stamp is the same design as the picture on the postcard. The stamp picturing The Last Supper was issued on August 27th of this year. Johan quite often sends these First Day of Issue stamps and cards.

Time now for another Aviation themed card. It's another one from Johan  in Belgium. This time it's a Fairchild Swearingen Merlin III-A, an aircraft often used for humanitarian missions. 

The stamp that Johan used here has the same picture as the card. It is 1 of 5 Aircraft stamps in a minisheet issued earlier this year. The card received a First Day of Issue cancel with one of the aircraft in the minisheet. The cancel shows a Percival Pembroke aircraft. 

 

Card # 4 -- Frankfurt Airport in Germany- a few different views. 

Isa sent this card along and was kind enough to use the new Germany Postcrossing stamp. This is one of the nicer Postcrossing stamps issued so far. 

By my calculation 29 official Postcrossing stamps have been issued in 25 countries. Nothing from Canada yet. I'll be really surprised if there ever is. 

Now  here's a card from Cyprus. An old but effective means of transport, for sure.  

Alena used a Refugee Stamp from 2021 on this card. Refugee stamps are obligatory on all mail posted from Cyprus. Also used were 2 copies of a Christmas stamp from last year. 

 

It's last card time for today. This one arrived from Yerevan, Armenia. It's a look at the Temple of Garni. It is the only standing Greco Roman colonnaded building in Armenia or any other place in the former Soviet Union. It was most likely built in the first century AD , in 77AD to be exact. The temple was destroyed in an earthquake in 1679. It was reconstructed between 1969 and 1975. 

 

Mary used 3 stamps on her card. The Butterfly stamp is 1 of  2 in a Flora and Fauna set issued in 2020. The other 2 are definitives from a set of 11 issued in 2022. 

 So ends another update. Thanks for today's cards go out to Alena, Johan, Isa, and Mary. 

I might try for another update tomorrow. I'll see how it goes. 

Take care.

All David's Recent Cards

BLOG # 1578   -   Day 288 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                              GLORY TO UKRAINE  

The astute readers among you may have noticed that I have discontinued the reference to the Day of the Pandemic. I ended it at Day 1000 as I believe this pandemic is always going to be with us in some form or another. It was always my intent to end at 1000, so I did. I don't think we will ever get to zero cases in the world, so the shock value of what number day it is loses it effect.

With that out of the way, it's on to postcards. Today all cards are from Southeast Asia and all are from David and his recent trip to that area. It was on this trip that he completed travel to all 193 countries , the last was Laos. Quite an achievement and certainly one to be proud of. 

I'll start with 3 cards from Cambodia. This first one shows the National Museum in Phnom Penh. Built in 1920 , it is Cambodia's leading historical and archaeological museum. Inside is the world's finest collection of Khmer sculpture. 

 David used a stamp from last year. It is from a set of 5 Flowers - in this case a White Gardenia.

This second Cambodia card shows one of the many faces of the Bayou Temple, located in Siem Reap. It was built in the late 12th or early 13th century.

The stamp on this card is the 2021 Chinese New Year issue - Year of the Ox.

The final Cambodia card is a beautiful wooden postcard. I have a few of these cards now and they are great. This one shows Siem Reap / Angkor Wat. Siem Reap is the second largest city of Cambodia and home to the famous Angkor Wat temples. Angkor is the largest religious monument in the world. Of course it is on the UNESCO World Heritage list of sites. 

This time the stamp was issued in 2018. It is 1 in a Birds set of 5.

 

Now we move along to Viet Nam for four cards,  The first is from Hue and shows the Royal Palace. Hue was the battleground for the Battle of Hue which was the one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Viet Nam war. The Royal Palace in Hue is the inner sanctum of the Imperial Citadelo. The palace was built in 18o5.

David use definitives from 2019 on this card. 

Next is a map card of the country and it was sent from Hanoi, up north. 

Some interesting stops going north to Hanoi include Hoi An, Da Nang, China Beach and Ha Long Bay. 

The stamps -- a couple of definitives from 2016 and 1 of 3 from 2021 showing UNESCO Geoparks in Vietnam.

Now we're at Ha Long Bay, certainly one of the beautiful spots on this Earth. Words don't do it justice. You have to see it to believe it and I'm glad I have.  Hạ Long Bay, in northeast Vietnam, is known for its emerald waters and thousands of towering limestone islands topped by rainforests.

Here are the stamps that David chose for this one . The 3 on top are from a set of 4 issued in 2022 showing Traditional Cuisine of Viet Nam. The lower stamp, from 2021, is 1 of 3 highlighting UNESCO Geoparks in Viet Nam. 

Here is the last Viet Nam card. It shows the beautiful covered bridge in Hoi An's  Ancient Town. Hội An is a city on Vietnam’s central coast known for its well-preserved Ancient Town, cut through with canals.  and its iconic Japanese Covered Bridge with its pagoda. 

David's stamp this time is from this year. It is 1 of 3 showing Waterfalls in Viet Nam. 

Laos , the last country of this group of cards. This card shows Pha That Luang, a gold-covered large Buddhist stupa in the centre of the city of Vientiane, Laos. Since its initial establishment, suggested to be in the 3rd century AD, the stupa has undergone several reconstructions as recently as the 1930s due to foreign invasions of the area. The current structure opened in 1566. 

The stamp on this one shows a nice modern train, the Laos-China train. It is 1 of 4 stamps in a really nice Minisheet, issued in 2021. 

 

Here's the last card for this time. It shows a scene in Luang Prabang, a city in north central Laos, known for its many Buddhist temples.  Every morning, hundreds of monks from the various monasteries walk through the streets collecting alms, as shown on the card.

Now here's the final stamps for this update. These great stamps were issued in 2019 , in a minisheet. They show Victory Gate Monument in Vientiane. It was built between 1957 and 1968 and is dedicated to those who fought for independence from France. 

 Well that's the end for this time. A much longer update than my usual , I hope you stayed till the end.  

Thanks for all these cards and stamps go to David , World Traveller Extraordinaire .

Planes and People and Sata

BLOG # 1577 - Day 1000 of the Pandemic and Day 285 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                                GLORY TO UKRAINE  

Hey , I'm back. It's been a little over three weeks, so well time to get back at it. Of course cards continued to arrive, so I have a pile on my deck 2-3 inches high. Where to begin  ??  From the top I guess, and these will be among the older of the pile. 

First up is an airline/aircraft card from Singapore. It's an A380 in Singapore Airlines livery, shown at Singapore Changi in Feb of 2006. This aircraft is 17.1 years old, it was delivered in Oct of 2005. It has seen service with Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and Etihad. It has been stored since 2014 and went on display at Paris LBG in 2017. 

 

Jean Pierre used a Joint Issue stamp with Belgium from 2005. It is 1 of 4 in a set entitled Shops, however this stamp shows the Museum of Instruments in Brussels. 

 

Today's second card arrived from Senec, Slovakia. It's a photo of a couple and their bike, taken by Martin Fridner.  As someone who lives in the west and Stampede land, that's nice cowboy boots on the lady.  

This card was the result of a swap with Daniela who's a Postcrosser over that way.  She used 2 stamps on her card. The left stamp was issued in 2015, 1 of 2 showing Steam Locomotives. The right stamp, again a Steam Locomotive was issued in 2016.

Here's another airline/aircraft card. It shows a Sata Airbus A320. The airline is a Portuguese airline based in Ponta Degada in the Azores. Sata also operates A320s and a A330.

Isa sent this card . She used 1 of the Flower definitives and from 2003, 1of 2 in a Greetings set. 

That's all for this time folks. It's good to be back even if this time of year is a busy time. Thanks for todays cards go to Isa, Daniela ( Dee Dee ) and Jean Pierre. 

Tune in for more again soon. 

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.