Fish of the Great Barrier Reef

Tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world seem very attractive to me as I sit looking at the rain lashing against the windows. It;s not exactly cold but much cooler than of late.

The postcard shows the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland in the north east of Australia.  The stamps are from a definitive issue (2010) showing Fishes of the Reef.  These ones aren't found only on the Great Barrier Reef, but also off Western Australia.

From the top: Regal Angelfish, Spotted Sweetlips, and Clown Triggerfish.  You've got to love anything called Spotted Sweetlips!

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

Copenhagen

The Russian artist, Nicka Goltz, 1925-2012, was primarily known as a book illustrator and in 2006 he received an award for the illustrations for "The Big Book of the Best Fairy Tales by Andersen."

This picture, though, is of the 17th century waterfront in Nyhaven in Copenhagen, Denmark.  It was sent to me from Russia.

Monaco port

Virtually the same view but the top card shows the port in Monaco on a card dating from 1937 while the second is dated 1984.  Between them they show the incredible development of the Principality which continues today.

Back from Canada

Back from three weeks in Canada and what do I find but a postcard from Canada, Nova Scotia to be precise.  It shows the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the old town in Lunenburg, a planned colonial town dating from the mid-eighteenth century.  It has apparently changed very little over the years.

It arrived with a Year of the Snake mini sheet on it, which stretched pretty well across the whole width of the card.  I was sad my holiday had ended, but this card was a very good welcome home for me.

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

Dover

Two views of the docks of Dover, the first one dating from 1908 and the second from 1915.  The reverse of the first card tells us:

Dover Harbour has of late years been considerably enlarged and is now of great importance.  The Admiralty Pier, at the end of which is an 80 ton gun, runs 1500 feet into the sea.  In addition to the new and old harbours there are the Granville and Wellington docks.

The Granville and Wellington docks have now been developed into a marina, the Eastern Docks are for the cross-channel traffic and the Western Docks have been developed into cruise terminals.

A post for Sepia Saturday.

Rupture

A stunning image by photographer Warren Keelan who specialises in seascape and ocean photography.  If I lived in Australia I'd be buying his postcards!

La Portada de Antofagasta

From Chile, a beautiful card with interesting stamps.

The card shows a rock formation, the Gateway of Antofagasta and the cliffs nearby.  The arch and the cliffs are made up of layers of sedimentary rock, yellow sandstone and fossil shells, all laid down over millions of years.  The sea has eroded these layers, resulting in the formations that can be seen today, now declared a national monument.

The stamps showing helicopters are part of a set of six stamps commemorating the International Polar Year, issued in 2008 as far as I can tell. 

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

PFF - A seaside holiday 7: St Margaret's Bay, Kent

Neither of these cards have been sent in the mail or dated.  At a guess, and no more than that, the first is from the 1940s and the second from the 1980s.

St Margaret's Bay is very near Dover of the White Cliffs fame, and is a place very familiar to me.  My parents lived in a house at the top of the nearest cliffs seen in the bottom postcard, with a beautiful view of the English Channel, of all the ships passing by, many going into and out of Dover.  On a good day, you could see France.

I spent the best part of one summer down on that beach, with my two sons and my sister's children.  You could walk down to the beach from the cliffs by the road, or you could scramble down a footpath.  You can guess which the children preferred.  It was, and presumably still is, a great beach for playing and exploration.  It was shingle rather than sand, which discouraged an awful lot of people but made it great for us.  OK, so it may be a little uncomfortable but you don't keep finding it for days afterwards.  And at low tide rock pools appeared with all sorts of creatures to be examined.  Great fun for all of us.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday.

Read more about the bay