St Isaac's Cathedral, St Petersburg

A very unusual but effective view of St Isaac's Cathedral in St Petersburg, Russia.  It is part of the historic centre of St Petersburg and so part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.  It's an unusual view but one I very much like.

Standing stones in Ethiopia

There is an area in Ethiopia, the Soddo region, where there are about 150 prehistoric sites.  The standing stones and the area near the village of Tiya were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites as long ago as 1980.

There are 36 of these stones, most of them carved with symbols that have never been deciphered.  The symbols are very different from those on other sites in the area.  Nobody knows what ancient Ethiopian culture put them there, or precisely when.

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

Flying Scotsman

In 1985 the Post Office issued a series of five stamps, "Famous Trains".  This is one of the PHQ (Postal Headquarters) cards published at the same time.  The other four famous trains were the Royal Scot, the Cheltenham Flyer, the Golden Arrow and the Cornish Riviera, though I confess I've not heard of them all.

The Flying Scotsman was retired in 1962 when diesel locomotives took over, and now lives in the National Railway Museum in York.

Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque

A card from what is referred to as Persia in the message is my latest of my flea market finds. It shows the Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque, part of the Naghsh-i Jahan Square in Isfahan, a World Heritage Site. The postmark is illegible but the stamps were both issued in 1963.

Industrial Development

Mothers' Day

During 1963 there were stamps issued to commemorate state visits from several world leaders.  How things have changed.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

Eva's boots and shoes

Two Real Photo postcards which I found in a larger collection of vintage postcards.  One is signed, "Ever yours, Eva", but I think they are both pictures of Eva.  In the first she is wearing boots that button up the sides.  In the second, laced shoes fastened with big bows.

I started off trying to date the cards from the style of clothes and shoes and that led me to believe that the first was a little older than the second.  In am no expert on fashions over time.  However I then noticed the backs of the cards.

They were produced by Thomas Illingworth and Company who manufactured photographic papers until about 1930 when they were taken over by Ilford.  Between the POST and CARD there is a symbol which may represent the date of manufacture.  If this is the case the picture of Eva at the garden gate could be from 1919, 1921 or 1922.  The other remains a mystery.

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

An interesting story

Two little girls reading an "Interesting Story", painted by Laura Muntz Lyall (1860-1930) in 1898 during her stay in Paris.  It is a favourite of mine.  I have to say that the little one looks about to fall asleep, though.  I'm not sure how interesting she is finding it.  Is it a bedtime story?

Laura Muntz Lyall was a Canadian artist, her parents having emigrated there from England while she was a child.  It would be nice to think that these were her sister's children because she did take a break of about nine years from her successful career to care for them, eleven of them (!), after her sister died.

The picture can be seen at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

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.

Fields of tulips

I know this is one of the standard touristy postcards from the tulip fields of the Netherlands, but I do love it.  Tulips are very much associated with the Netherlands.

I used to live in an area in the south of England where a farmer started raising tulips, not for their blooms but for their bulbs, to sell them at garden centres.  Of course you can't raise tulips without  the flowers so the fields around were a delight to see in springtime, not unlike the ones pictured.

It was a beautifully mild and sunny day today, a taste of spring, so I was reminded of this card.

Outeniqua Choo Tjoe train

The text on the back of the card tells us that "the Outeniqua steam train wends its way through picturesque scenery between George and Knysna providing young and old with a leisurely view of magnificent scenery".

The card was sent in 2003.  Sadly, the train seems to be no longer in service.  Floods in 2006 damaged the line and although an alternative route was set up and the train rescheduled, in 2007 the owners, Transnet tried to sell the train.  But there were no takers.  In 2010, it stopped running altogether.

A non-profit organisation has been set up to restore the line and start the train running again.  There are many restored steam trains in the UK running successfully.  The Watercress Line in Hampshire is one I know of and for some of their "special" trips you had to book well in advance.  I hope this one in South Africa will have similar success and attract steam train enthusiasts and tourists from near and far.

I really have no idea how the name is pronounced but I fancy Choo Tjoe will be "choo choo" or very similar.  I await enlightenment.

Himeji Castle

From the back of the card: Himaji Castle, also known as "The Castle of the White Heron".  It was constructed in 1609.  It is well known for its sugar cake appearance and delicate design, almost like a fairy story castle.

Rather more prosaically this cards says: Cherry blossoms, Himeji Castle, World Heritage.

Himeji Castle, know also as either "White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle",  in Japan is on top of a hill.  It was rebuilt in 1609 on the site of an earlier fort dating from 1333.  It escaped bombing during WWII and again remained undamaged after the earthquake in 1995.  It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993 and is one of the most visited sites in Japan.

The first card is dated 1971.  I bought it in a local flea market thinking how lovely it was, then this morning the second one, equally beautiful, landed on my doormat.  So I promptly changed my mind about today's post for Our Wonderful World.  To me they show a combination of the beauty of nature and man's ability to produce beauty from building materials.

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

Wilmington, North Carolina

Today was proving to be a difficult one, with one thing after another going wrong, not least the new broadband service that was supposed to start - and didn't.

So it was the best surprise ever to have this card arrive through my letterbox.  I have been able to escape the trivial problems and imagine myself walking down this beautiful waterfront alongside the Cape Fear River in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina.  It was sent to me by Odie from The Simple Life.  Thank you so much for the great surprise, Odie!

Edward Lear

C was a lovely pussy cat

Its eyes were large and pale

And on its back it had some stripes

And several on its tail.

They took some honey 

And plenty of money

Wrapped up in a five pound note.

I thought I'd struggle to find domestic animals on stamps although I'm sure I remember seeing them.  In the end stamps commemorating the centenary of Edward Lear's death came to the rescue.

Edward Lear was a British writer and illustrator, and is probably best known for The Owl and the Pussy-Cat nonsense rhyme (all his rhymes could be described as nonsense).  I'll spare you the full version but I have to give you the final lines:

They dined on mince and slices of quince,

Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand on the edge of the sand

They danced by the light of the moon,

The moon,

The moon,

They danced by the light of the moon.

After they were married, of course.

The one thing I remember most about him, though, is the fact that he was a 21st child. Twenty first!  I can't help feeling there has to be a link between that and his nonsense.  His poor mother!

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

British film stars and directors

I didn't think I had anything film related until I found this set of cards published in 1985 showing a series of stamps representing British Films.  For some reason some have scanned better than others so my efforts (in vain) to improve that, added to the impossibility of uploading images to Blogger last night, have made me even later than usual.

1985 was declared British Film Year in an effort to encourage cinema attendance which had been declining dramatically in the years before.  It had some good success in that admissions rose to pre-1981 levels and continued to rise for another 10 years.

Looking at these pictures brings back many memories, and just seeing Peter Sellers puts a smile on my face and the Pink Panther tune in my mind.

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

Snow in Belarus

I don't know what the words say, but this card from Belarus does look beautiful.  I'm very happy to say the snow we've had for the last week or two has now disappeared and I can once again admire snowy scenes - on postcards.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Rocamadour times three

1991

1994

2007

Rocamadour is in the Midi-Pyrenees region, towards the south of France.  The buildings are arranged in three layers almost vertically up the face of a cliff.  At one time, it was the knights who lived in the highest levels, the clergy in the middle and the lay workers at the bottom nearest the river.

Only about 600 people now live in this beautiful and interesting village but during the year 1.5 million visitors troop through it.  Once it would have been pilgrims who were on the Route of Santiago de Compostella and visiting the church of Saint Sauveur (one of the seven churches) and St Amadour's crypt.  They still do visit but are vastly outnumbered by tourists.

As you can see from these postcards, it is a stunning sight, no doubt about it, but if you plan to visit go out of season.

Wise owls

Japanese owls saying - so I'm told - "Something good must happen on the night of the full moon".  They certainly look happy.

Lantern Festival

In the district of Pingxi, or Pinghsi, in northern Taiwan, they hold a Festival of Lanterns each year, 15 days after the Lunar New Year.  People write their hopes, dreams, and wishes on sky lanterns, light a flame inside, and let the lantern rise up to the heavens.   The lanterns aren't small - about 60 cm across by 120 high (2 feet by 4 feet).

Everyone releases their lanterns at much the same time and the skies become full with hundreds of lights.  According to the sender of this card, "it becomes a painting as in Van Gogh's Starry Night".

I hope you see all your wishes and dreams come true this year.

Click on the button to visit Jocelyn's cuckootree to take part in Our Wonderful World Tuesday.  If you join in this week, you could win a lovely postcard.

A milk cow and her boy

I've loved this painting by Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931) from Finland for the longest time, and now I have my own copy thanks to this postcard.  It was painted in 1885 before Gallen-Kallela moved to Nairobi, Kenya with his parents.  He produced a large number of paintings there but returned to Finland for a few years before spending some time in Taos, New Mexico.

The painting brings back many memories for me  Those days are long gone but I am left with the memories all the same.

Hearts and flowers

A lovely and loving picture by the American painter, Mary Cassatt (1845-1926).  The title is "A Caress".  I always received more Valentines from my sons than anyone else so I felt this was appropriate. :)  the stamps proved more of a problem but I found these.

I don't know that these are intended as Valentine's Day stamps but they were all I could find.  The following one certainly isn't for Valentine's Day but it definitely is a heart.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"