Ships

Slightly odd, I think, for a Christmas issue, but that is what this is.  It is one of a set of five paintings by Peter Le Lievre,  issued by the Guernsey Post Office in 1980.

I had to include the second PHQ card even though the ship doesn't exactly take pride of place.  The Mary Rose was raised from the sea bed in the Solent north of the Isle of Wight and not so far from Portsmouth which is where she now rests, in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.  I went to see here early on in her restoration.

I also chose the card for Henry VIII, currently starring in Wolf Hall on BBC Two.  He's much more handsome in Wolf Hall but so far only got to Queen Number Two, Anne Boleyn.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, in its new home at See it on a Postcard!

PS Windows 8 is as big a challenge as a broken computer.

Malaysia

Songket is a brocade-like fabric woven in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.  It is traditionally woven on a part-time basis by girls and older women.  In Malaysia the main production is on the east coast, not far from from the traditional village shown on the postcard.

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

Invitation to a book show

This appears to be an ad card for a Taiwan e-book producer, for a book show.  In case the rather small print isn't readable, it says "Where to go? BOOKS show".

I am wholly in agreement that books take you places, whether places in your imagination or real.  I especially love to read novels where the location is well described, where you feel transported to another country.

On the reverse there is more small print, "Reading leads you to wisdom; Knowledge prepares you for the future".  I'm still waiting for the wisdom.

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.

The fish market in Hamburg

The traditional fish market in Hamburg is held early every Sunday morning beside the Elbe river in the old town of Altona, west of Hamburg.  You can buy not only fish, but practically anything that can be bought and sold.

Hamburg, on the north coast, is the second largest city in Germany and the second largest port in Europe.

The card not only shows the market but has the added bonus of a map!

Salon d'Agriculture

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2013 was the 50th anniversary of the International Agricultural Show which is held, rather strangely to my mind, in Paris each year.  La Poste marked the 50th anniversary with a special issue of stamps and you can indeed see the Eiffel Tower in the background behind the cow carrying all those animals.

It is more than animals though, there are sectors for produce, gastronomy (this IS France we're talking about) crops, plants, nature and lifestyle, and agricultural services and professions.

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

Scarlet Sails

The Scarlet Sails is more than just a sailing ship with red sails.  After the end of World War II, a tradition started up to celebrate the end of the school year.  It was based on the adventure story written by Alexander Grin in 1922.  The tradition has become a huge public event with fireworks and music ... and a ship with scarlet sails.  The entertainment is all free, provided by the city of St Petersburg in Russia.

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

River Patrol

From a set of four stamps issued in 1979 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Metropolitan Police.  This PHQ stamp card shows the River Police Thames patrol launch in what must be the Thames estuary because there is no land in sight.  It was the designer, Brian Sanders', first set for the Royal Mail.

Another set he designed, in 1981, is equally good for this week's theme, features the fishing industry.

This, again one of four, shows cockle dredging.  Cockles are small edible shellfish.  There are many different species but most live in sandy beaches between low and high tide levels.

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

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.

The Armada

The Post Office issued a series of stamps in 1988 to commemorate the attempt by the Spanish Armada to invade England and overthrow Queen Elizabeth I, in 1588.

The ships look beautiful but I would prefer not to imagine what life on board must have been like, especially under fire.

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

Tar burning in Finland

For a while I was completely mystified by this card, but a little Googling gave me at least part of the answers.    It was sent by someone who lives in the small town of Kuhmo in eastern Finland on the border with Russia.

According to both the sender and Wikipedia, tar used to be burnt in Kuhmo.  It was of great economic importance.  I couldn't understand what they meant by tar burning but it turns out to be because of a basic difference in understanding the meaning of the word "tar".  In northern Europe tar means a substance produced by the slow heating heating of pine wood, whereas in other some other countries it means a substance produced from coal, and that was what I was thinking of.  The tar in tar pits is yet another meaning and refers to asphalt.

The picture shows a boatload of barrels of tar being rowed along the river.  Apparently men rowed the boats all the way to Oulu, a distance of several hundred kilometres.  It could take weeks.  The tar was sold and the return journey brought salt, sugar and textiles to the home town.

A further mystery of sorts comes from the lines written.  They are part of a poem, I think, by Ilmari Kianto.  Google failed me on this and translated only a few words.  I'll give the original here in the hope that a Finnish speaker will pass by and translate for me.

Mun purteni - se kehtoni
ja tuuli tuutijain,
yön taivas yksin äitini
ja aalto armahain!

Mediterranean sunset

Today there is a full moon, the third full moon in a season of four full moons, and for some reason it is called a blue moon.  I can't understand why they call it blue, nor why they pick on the third full moon rather than the second or the fourth.

I couldn't find a card of a blue moon, or a full moon, but here instead is a red setting sun from the south of France.

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

Düsseldorf

These two cards from Germany have arrived within the last few months.  The first is a typical tourist view, I suppose, showing a bright and sunny and attractive city of Düsseldorf.  The second is quirky to say the least.  It shows the palms, or rather their shadows, that actually do grow there surrounded by tyres on Graf Adolf Strasse.

Independence

I struggled to find anything very appropriate for this week but I settled on the series of five stamps depicting the Spanish Armada.  My theory was that Britain maintained its independence by fighting off the Armada, a battle to retain its liberty from invasion by Spain.  I particularly liked the stamp shown because it shows the white Cliffs of Dover at the top behind the queen's head.

Of course, after I had scanned the card, I suddenly remember I have a stamp card that is even more to the point.

It's one of the very few maxicards I have.  It's just a shame the "First day of issue" cancellation was smudgy.

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

Happiness

Happiness can sometimes be found in places where you didn't think of looking for it.  A card from Finland.

Flight of the Hirondelle

I was going to stretch the theme by using the name of the yacht, l'Hirondelle or Swallow, but then I noticed there is a seaplane in the foreground.  The postcard is one from an unused booklet of Monaco cards.

The yacht, owned by Prince Albert I, was built in 1911 and sold in 1923 which dates the images relatively precisely.  There was a "Grand Prix d'Hydroaéroplanes de Monaco" held in 1912, from 24-31 March, almost exactly 100 years ago.  It would be nice to think the image dates from then.  I don't know if a single seaplane makes a Grand Prix meeting any more than a single Swallow makes a summer, but maybe it lingered on for a week or two.

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

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.

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!