Two delayed postcards from Malaysia!

 

I received two postcards from Malaysia sent by random senders from Postcard United. It's astonishing how much time these two cards have traveled thanks to many obstacles caused by COVID-19.

If you look at the dates on these postcards, you can see they've been sent in May and June 2020 - year and a half ago! Also both senders are writing about COVID-19, so these cards truly reflects this awful worldwide pandemic.

Thank you so much SookFun and Ally!

Postcard from French city Béziers

 

Béziers is one of the oldest cities in France. Research published in March 2013 shows that Béziers dates from 575 BC, making it older than Agde (Greek Agathe Tyche, founded in 525 BC) and a bit younger than Marseille (Greek Massalia, founded in 600 BC). 

Béziers was a Languedoc stronghold of Catharism, which the Catholic Church condemned as heretical and which Catholic forces exterminated in the Albigensian Crusade. Béziers was the first place to be attacked. The crusaders reached the town on 21 July 1209. Béziers' Catholics were given an ultimatum to hand over the heretics or leave before the crusaders besieged the city and to "avoid sharing their fate and perishing with them". However, many refused and resisted with the Cathars. The town was sacked the following day and in the bloody massacre no one was spared, not even Catholic priests and those who took refuge in the churches. 

Two lovely stamps from set Vacations 2020 are used on this postcard.

Thank you, Lidija!

San Juan de Dios Market on postcard from Guadalajara

 

 

 

I received this wonderful card last year with top view of fruit vendors in San Juan de Dios Market in Guadalajara in Mexico. It is the largest indoor market in Latin America with an area of 40,000 m². On the back there is, you can say, matching stamp, even if its part of Folk Art set issued in 2019.

Thank you, Isaac!

Land camera on postcard from UK

 

 

 

We received this postcard randomly sent from Postcard united several months ago. It shows Land  camera from 1947. The camera, which became better known by the name of Land's company, Polaroid, was the first so-called instant camera. Using developer and fixer contained in sacs with the film and photographic paper in a layered packet, the first Polaroid camera could produce a black-and-white photo in 60 seconds.  After the exposure was made, the packet was pulled out of the camera, which squeezed the chemicals from their sacs and began the developing process.

Thank you, Rasa!

Eastend, home of Scotty the T.rex

Eastend is a town in southwest Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated approximately 55 kilometers  north from the Montana border and 85 kilometers from the Alberta border. The town is best known for the nearby discovery of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton nicknamed "Scotty" in 1994. The town has used the discovery of this fossil as the main centerpiece in the construction of a museum called the T.rex Discovery Center, which opened on May 30, 2003. The center is operated by the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, and contains the RSM Fossil Research Station. And you can see beautiful postmark dedicated to Scotty the T.rex on this postcard.

Thank you, Trevor!

Giant sausage replica from Mundare, Canada!

Here's interesting postcard with giant sausage replica from Mundare, Canada. Mundare is a small town in central Alberta. The Canadian National Railway tracks run through the town. Mundare was named after William Mundare, a railway station agent. It is also home of the world's largest garlic sausage (on postcard), which cost about $120,000 to build and erect.

Mundare have interesting postmark, but this one is little bit smudged and upside down, probably during machine cancelling.

Thank you, Trevor!

Soviet Winnie-the-Pooh with matching stamp!

Winnie-the-Pooh is a 1969 Soviet animated film trilogy by Soyuzmultfilm directed by Fyodor Khitruk. The film is based on chapter one in the book series by A. A. Milne. Khitruk studied the original book by Milne first in English and only later in Russian, translated by Boris Zakhoder who became a co-writer of the first two parts of the trilogy. Khitruk had not seen the Disney adaptations while working on his own. He created the prototype drawings of the characters together with Vladimir Zuikov.

There's four beautiful stamps on this postcard, but most important for me is matching Winnie-the-Pooh stamp, from set Characters of Domestic Cartoons, issued on 3.12.2012.

Thank you so much, Natalia!

Postcard from Côte landaise, France

Côte des Landes or Côte landaise is a touristic name given to a section of the French seashore.
In the southwest of France along the Atlantic Ocean, "la Côte des Landes" begins in the north at Arcachon Bay and continues south to the mouth of the Adour River. The area is famous for surfing and beach acivities.

A lot of nice stamps on postcard, but postcard is cancelled by machine, and I'm not big fan of this.


Thank you, Pascal!

Map of Texas on big shaped postcard

I received inside cover this nice nice big shaped postcard with map of Texas, a state in the South Central Region of the United States. It is the second largest U.S. state by area (after Alaska) and population (after California). Texas is nicknamed the "Lone Star State" for its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico. The origin of Texas's name is from the word taysha, which means "friends" in the Caddo language.The term "six flags over Texas", refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory.

Postcard arrived in this cover with souvenir sheet The Art of magic, printed in lenticular technique. This wonderful minisheet is issued on 7.8.2018.


Thank you, Ria!

Bay Islands on postcard from Honduras

The Bay Islands is a group of islands off the coast of Honduras. Collectively, the islands form one of the 18 Departments of Honduras. The departmental capital is Roatan, on the island of Roatán. The total surface area of the islands is 250 km2. The Bay Islands consist of eight islands and 53 small cays lying 15 kilometers to 60 kilometers off the northern coast of Honduras.

Both stamps are from Animals, issued on 24.5.2004. Left one is Tawny Treefrog (Rana arboricola) and right stamp is Brown-throated Sloth (Bradypus variegatus).


Thank you, Cesar!

Guernsey: Postcard from Sark, Channel Islands

Sark is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population of about 500. Sark (including the nearby island of Brecqhou) has an area of  only 5.44 km2. Sark is one of the few remaining places in the world where cars are banned from roads and only tractors and horse-drawn vehicles are allowed.

Fantastic selection of stamps:
First one is Maritime Heritage, issued on 4.8.2000.
Second one is map of Channel Islands, part of set Mailtransport from 1.10.1994.



Thank you so much, Wolfgang!

Canadian flag and nice postmark on postcard from Ralston

I received this postpaid postcard with Canadian flag adopted in 1965. Red is symbolic of England and white of France, the colors having been used representatively by those countries in the past. The maple leaf represents unity across the entire country- regardless of birthplace.

Postcard is sent from Ralston with this very nice postmark! The Crown Village of Ralston is located to the east of Highway 884 on CFB Suffield within Cypress County in southern Alberta, Canada, approximately 3 km north of the Hamlet of Suffield and the Trans-Canada Highway.


Thanks, Trevor!

Postcard from British Overseas Territory Montserrat

Montserrat is an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Britain abolished slavery in Montserrat and its other territories effective August 1834. From 1871 to 1958, Montserrat was administered as part of the federal crown colony of the British Leeward Islands, becoming a province of the short-lived West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962, a after that time is a separate colony. On 18 July 1995, the previously dormant Soufrière Hills volcano, in the southern part of the island, became active. Eruptions destroyed Montserrat's Georgian era capital city of Plymouth. Between 1995 and 2000, two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee, primarily to the United Kingdom, leaving fewer than 1,200 people on the island in 1997 (rising to nearly 5,000 by 2016).

Very nice postmarks across two stamps: Left one is dedicated to 60th Birthday of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, issued on 21.4.1986, and the right one to Marilyn Monroe, part of set released on 13.6.1995.


Thank you, my friend!

Flags of the World Series: Saba

Saba is a Caribbean island which is the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. It consists largely of the potentially active volcano Mount Scenery, which at 887 metres is the highest point of the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. Saba has a land area of 13 square kilometres. As of 2017, the population was 2,010 inhabitants, with a population density of 150 inhabitants per square kilometre. It is the smallest territory or sovereign state by permanent population in the Americas. Its towns and major settlements are The Bottom (the capital), Windwardside, Zion's Hill and St. Johns. I already receive same card earlier, so i probably forgot that and arranged swap twice! lol

Stamp on postcard is from set Butterflies and Flowers, issued on 20.7.2018.



Thank you, Anu!

Flags of the World Series: Kuwait

Kuwait is a country in Western Asia. Situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, it shares borders with Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As of 2016, Kuwait has a population of 4.5 million people: 1.3 million are Kuwaitis and 3.2 million are expatriates. Expatriates account for approximately 70% of the population. Kuwait is very rich country, but with very poor and highly unreliable postal system. If you manage to arrange some mail from Kuwait, there's a big chance you'll never receive it. I've finally had success and received this card sent on 5th January 2019 and received at the end of January 2020! More than a year!

Thank you so much, Robert, for helping me to get this country of my missing countries list!

Christmas postcard from Christmas Island, Canada

Christmas Island is a Canadian community of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. It has a post office, a firehall and a very small population.I already received one cover with this beautiful pictorial postmarks for last Christmas, and this time i received this nice postcard from tiny post office which is always very busy during Christmas season.

Standard Christmas motive on postcard is enriched with several Canadian Christmas stamps.


Thank you, Trevor!

Special cancellation on postcard from Lethbridge, Canada

Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. It is Alberta's third-largest city by both population and land area after Calgary and Edmonton, and the largest city in southern Alberta. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to the city's warm summers, mild winters, and windy climate. Lethbridge lies southeast of Calgary on the Oldman River. And Lethbridge have this neat postmark celebrating 100 years of local Post office building (1914-2014).

Thank you, Trevor!

Flags of the World Series: Panama

Panama is a transcontinental country in Central America and South America, bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half the country's 4 million people.

Panama was inhabited by indigenous tribes before Spanish colonists arrived in the 16th century. It broke away from Spain in 1821 and joined the Republic of Gran Colombia, a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela. After Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada eventually became the Republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the construction of the Panama Canal to be completed by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. The 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties led to the transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama on December 31, 1999.

Stamp on postcard is Basílica of Don Bosco in Panama City, from set World Youth Day 2019, an international event organized by the Catholic Church in Panama City and it was the first of its kind celebrated in Central America.


Thank you so much, Joanna and Cass!

Flags of the World Series: Suriname

Suriname  is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west and Brazil to the south. At just under 165,000 square kilometers, it is the smallest sovereign state in South America. Suriname was long inhabited by various indigenous people before being invaded and contested by European powers from the 16th century, eventually coming under Dutch rule in the late 17th century. As the chief sugar colony during the Dutch colonial period, it was primarily a plantation economy dependent on African slaves and, following the abolition of slavery in 1863, indentured servants from Asia. Suriname was ruled by the Dutch-chartered company Society of Suriname between 1683 and 1795. In 1954, Suriname became one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 25 November 1975, the country of Suriname left the Kingdom of the Netherlands to become an independent state, nonetheless maintaining close economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties to its former colonizer.

Interesting bird stamps are used. Smaller one is Yellow-green Grosbeak (Caryothraustes canadensis), issued on 15.8.2008. But stamps with Caica Parrot (Pionopsitta caica) are more interesting. Stamp is originally issued on 27.4.1977, but they overprinted this stamps with words "Port Payé", which means "postage paid". Overprinted stamps are issued on 11.4.1994.



Thank you so much, Joanna and Cass!

Postcard from Norwegian archipelago Svalbard

Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Situated north of mainland Europe, it is about midway between continental Norway and the North Pole. While part of the Kingdom of Norway since 1925, Svalbard is not part of geographical Norway proper; administratively, the archipelago is not part of any Norwegian county, but forms an unincorporated area administered by a governor appointed by the Norwegian government, and a special jurisdiction subject to the Svalbard Treaty that is, unlike Norway proper, outside of the Schengen Area, the Nordic Passport Union and the European Economic Area. Since 2002, Svalbard's main settlement, Longyearbyen, has had an elected local government, somewhat similar to mainland municipalities. Other settlements include the Russian mining community of Barentsburg, the research station of Ny-Ålesund, and the mining outpost of Sveagruva. Ny-Ålesund is the northernmost settlement in the world with a permanent civilian population.

This two beautiful birds on stamps are White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), issued on 3.10.2015. And there is fantastic postmark from main settlement Longyearbyen.


Thank you so much, Rune!