Tea for two, or three

Indonesia produces jasmine tea, green tea as well as the main product, black tea.  Almost all is exported.  Tea was introduced to the country in the 18th century by the Dutch but the industry went into decline after the second World War.  However it was modernised and has picked up again during the last 30 or so years.

Part of the modernisation could have been to introduce machine picking but there is nothing to compare with hand picked tea leaves.  It is labour intensive and exhausting and involves a lot of skill.  The pickers can recognise precisely when the leaves should be picked to provide the best quality tea.

The next time I have a cup of tea, I will remember this.  I must go and put the kettle on.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog The Best Hearts are Crunchy.  Just click on the button to visit and join in.

Cap Blanc Nez

On a clear day they can see England!  The cliffs near Calais in France, even nearer to Coquellles where the trains through the Channel Tunnel arrive, are part of the Nature Park of the Côte d'Opale.

From the back of the card:
By taking the trail you will discover this imposing chalk cliff rising to 134 metres.  On a clear day you will be able to admire the English coast and, to the south the Bay of Wissant and Cap Gris Nez.  

Cap Blanc Nez translates as Cape White Nose but probably comes from Blannest meaning headland of good colour.  It is almost over the point where the Channel Tunnel emerges and near the infamous Sangatte refugee camp which was closed in 2002.  Cap Gris Nez is maybe best known as the nearest point to England, 21 miles or 34 km.

The monument shown is of Hubert Latham who made the first attempt to fly over the English channel.  On the same day he became the first person to bring an aeroplane down on water.  There is another monument on Cap Blanc Nez to commemorate the Dover Patrol which kept the Channel free of U-boats during the First World War.

Apocalypse

The red horse of the apocalypse as pictured in a stained glass window in St Jean de Montmartre, Paris.  According to the Book of Revelations, there were four Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding white, red, black and pale horses respectively.

Revelations, chapter 6 verses 3-4 in the St James Bible:
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

The red horse was taken to signify war and slaughter.

This is one of two windows at the rear of St Jean de Montmartre, a church built around 1900 in reinforced concrete in the art nouveau style.  It is now listed as one of the historic monuments of France.

Little Skellig and Skellig Michael

Off the south west tip of Ireland are two islands known as The Skelligs: Little Skellig which is an uninhabited bird sanctuary, and Great Skellig, or Skellig Michael, which has the remains of a very early monastery.  This view is taken from Skellig Michael looking towards Little Skellig.

This monastery was built something like 600 years ago on the island 8 miles or 12 km off the coast.  Its remoteness has helped keep it amazingly well preserved so even today a visitor can see the beehive shaped dwellings, the oratories, and St Michael's Church.  Boat trips are strictly controlled to limit the number of visitors and allowed only during good weather because of the fairly steep and hazardous climb from the landing points.  It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

"But for the magic that takes you out, far out of this time and this world, there is Skellig Michael, ten miles off the Kerry Coast, shooting straight up 700 feet out of the Atlantic. Whoever has not stood in the graveyards at the summit of that cliff, among the beehive dwellings and their beehive oratory, does not know Ireland through and through.  It is the beauty of Ireland that has made us what we are." ~  George Bernard Shaw, 1910.

Click on the button to visit Jocelyn's cuckootree to take part in Our Wonderful World Tuesday.

Speicherstadt

Speicherstadt  means the warehouse district of Hamburg in northern Germany.  It was built towards the end of the 19th century and since 1991 has been a protected area.  It is the largest area in the world built on timber-pile foundations.

Each warehouse has a canal on one side and a road on the other.  Some of the buildings are still used as warehouses and others have been converted into museums and tourist attractions.

This postcard shows the view from the Poggenmühlenbrücke (bridge) to the confluence of two canals, Hollandfleet on the left with Wandrahmsfleet on the right.

Transport

Stamp cards issued at the same time as stamps in a series "Transport and Communications", dated 10 May 1988.

I am going away for a few days so I'll be late commenting, I'm afraid, but I'll see you soon.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, run by Viridian. Click on the button to visit her blog and all the other participants.

The games people play

Seaspeed SRN 4 Hovercraft "Princess Margaret" is operated by British Rail Hovercraft Limited. High speed service crossing between Dover and Boulogne in 35 minutes carrying 30 cars and 250 passengers.

I bought these two cards (dated 1976) for three reasons:  I live nearby these routes; I've travelled on a hovercraft on a number of occasions (and happy not to do so again); the services have been discontinued.

You may wonder where the connection is with games, and the answer lies in the message on the reverse of the second, a message from Roland to a mystery woman.

My rough and ready translation:

Thank you for your little card.  I could hardly believe it.  While waiting for the boat to Holland, I'm thinking of you a lot and I'm taking the opportunity to tell you.  I hope that we will be able to see each other again soon, now that school has gone back.  Watch the little square by the bridge carefully in the morning when taking your children to school.  I can't wait to kiss you, so that you have lovely dreams.  See you one of these days and I hope we will have more time.  Kisses.  Roland.

Oooooh.  I wonder what sort of a game was going on here?

The other card had a message too: "Please ask the milkman to leave me an extra pint". Not quite so interesting.

A post for Sepia Saturday.  A click on the button will take you to the blog.