Seasons Greetings

To All My Dear Friends,

Wish you All the very Best for Christmas and in the New Year. God Bless You All.

Rostislav, a Russian Battleship

Irina of Saint Petersburg sent me this nice card showing ‘cleanship’ being carried out on the Rostislav, a Russian Battleship of the early ‘90s.

Rostislav was a pre-dreadnought battleship built by the Nikolaev Admiralty Shipyard in the 1890s for the Black Sea Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy. She was conceived as a small, inexpensive coastal defence ship, but the Navy abandoned the concept in favor of a compact, seagoing battleship with a displacement of 8,880 long tons (9,020 t). Poor design and construction practices increased her actual displacement by more than 1,600 long tons (1,600 t). Rostislav became the world's first capital ship to burn fuel oil, rather than coal. Her combat ability was compromised by the use of 10-inch (254 mm) main guns instead of the de facto Russian standard of 12 inches (305 mm).

Her hull was launched in September 1896, but non-delivery of the ship's main guns delayed her maiden voyage until 1899 and her completion until 1900. In May 1899 Rostislav became the first ship of the Imperial Navy to be commanded by a member of the House of Romanov, Captain Alexander Mikhailovich. From 1903 to 1912 the ship was the flagship of the second-in-command of the Black Sea Fleet. During the 1905 Russian Revolution her crew was on the verge of mutiny, but ultimately remained loyal to the regime, and actively suppressed the mutiny of the cruiser Ochakov.

Rostislav was actively engaged in World War I until the collapse of the Black Sea Fleet in the beginning of 1918. She was the first Russian ship to fire on enemy targets on land during World War I, the first to be hit by a German airstrike, and the first to destroy a submarine, albeit a Russian one. In April 1918 the fleeing Bolsheviks abandoned Rostislav in Sevastopol. A year later the British occupation forces permanently disabled her engines. The White forces used the ship as a towed floating battery, then scuttled her in the Strait of Kerch in November 1920.

Lord's Media Centre

The Lord's Media Centre, officially known as the J.P. Morgan Media Centre for sponsorship reasons, is a building at Lord's Cricket Ground, London.

It was designed by Future Systems and cost about £5 million.  The Media Centre, which was built by Pendennis Shipyard from the UK in combination with Centraalstaal from The Netherlands, wascommissioned in time for the 1999 Cricket World Cup and was the first all aluminium, semi-monocoque building in the world. It was built and fitted-out in two boatyards and utilises boat-building technology.

The centre stands 15 metres above the ground and its sole support comes from the structure around its two lift shafts – it is approximately the same height as the Pavilion directly opposite it on the other side of the ground. The lower tier of the centre provides accommodation for over 100 journalists and the top tier has radio and television commentary boxes. The Building was awarded the RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture in 1999.

Originally sponsored by NatWest, in 2007 sponsorship was taken over by Investec. Since 31 May 2011, the media centre has been sponsored by J.P Morgan.

Dr. WG Grace

This one’s for lovers of Cricket History.  William Gilbert "W. G." Grace, MRCS, LRCP (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest-ever players. Universally known as "W. G.", he played first-class cricket for a record-equalling 44 seasons, from 1865 to 1908, during which he captained England, Gloucestershire, the Gentlemen, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the United South of England Eleven (USEE) and several other teams. He came from a cricketing family: the appearance in 1880 of W. G. with E. M. Grace, one of his elder brothers, and Fred Grace, his younger brother, was the first time three brothers played together in Test cricket.

Right-handed as both batsman and bowler, Grace dominated the sport during his career. His technical innovations and enormous influence left a lasting legacy. An outstanding all-rounder, he excelled at all the essential skills of batting, bowling and fielding, but it is for his batting that he is most renowned. He is held to have invented modern batsmanship. Usually opening the innings, he was particularly admired for his mastery of all strokes, and his level of expertise was said by contemporary reviewers to be unique. He generally captained the teams he played for at all levels because of his skill and tactical acumen.

Grace qualified as a medical practitioner in 1879. Because of his medical profession, he was nominally an amateur cricketer but he is said to have made more money from his cricketing activities than any professional cricketer. He was an extremely competitive player and, although he was one of the most famous men in England, he was also one of the most controversial on account of his gamesmanship and moneymaking.

He took part in other sports also: he was a champion 440-yard hurdler as a young man and also played football for the Wanderers. In later life, he developed enthusiasm for golf, lawn bowls and curling.

Davis Cup 1927 - India Vs Yugoslavia and Serbia

Karoly sent me this nice card which was issued in Serbia during the Davis Cup Matches between India and Serbia played at NoviSad from 4 to 6 June 2011. The card has A nice postmark of the Davis Cup match at NoviSad. The card also displays the two teams that played against each other in 1927, namely Yugoslavia and India.
In the 2011 edition, the 2013 finalists Serbia avoided relegation with a dramatic 3-2 victory over India. Despite missing a number of their star players, Serbia came out on top against an Indian side blended with experience and youth. Serbia and India were meeting for the first time.

Dusan Lajovic got the Serbs off to a perfect start with a 63 62 75 win over Yuki Bhambri. Filip Krajinovic then upset Somdev Devvarman 61 46 63 62 to give Serbia a 2-0 lead after the opening day's play.

Indian tennis legend Leander Paes then teamed up with Rohan Bopanna to earn a dramatic victory over Ilija Bozoljac and Nenad Zimonjic, coming from two sets down to win 16 67(4) 63 63 86 and keep the tie alive.

Devvarman then defeated Lajovic 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, to send the tie to a deciding fifth rubber. In case the tie had not been dramatic enough, the final rubber was played on the following Monday due to rain. It was Krajinovic who proved to be the hero of the day, defeating Bhambri 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to book Serbia's place in the 2015 World Group.

In the 1927 edition of the Davis Cup Tennis Tournament in the Europe Zone, India defeated Yugoslavia 3-0 in the Second Round. The match was played at the Zagreb Tennis Club Courts. India were subsequently beaten by Denmark in the Third Round 5-0 in Copenhagen.  Later in the World Challenge round played at Germantown Cricket Club grass courts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States 8–10 September 1927, France beat the USA 3-2, ending a 6 year run by the USA.

Hamburg, Germany

This lovely card showing various sites of Hamburg was sent to me by Josefine living in Darmstadt.

Hamburg (Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg), is the second largest city in Germany and the eighth largest city in the European Union. It is also the thirteenth largest German state. Its population is over 1.8 million people, and the Hamburg Metropolitan Region (including parts of the neighbouring Federal States of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein) has more than 5 million inhabitants.

The port of Hamburg, on the river Elbe, is the second largest port in Europe (after the Port of Rotterdam) and tenth largest worldwide.

The official name reflects its history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League, as a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire, a city-state, and one of the 16 states of Germany. Before the 1871 Unification of Germany, it was a fully sovereign state. Prior to the constitutional changes in 1919, the stringent civic republic was ruled by a class of hereditary grand burghers or Hanseaten.

Hamburg is a major transport hub and is one of the most affluent cities in Europe. It has become a media and industrial centre, with plants and facilities belonging to Airbus, Blohm + Voss and Aurubis. The radio and television broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk and publishers such as Gruner + Jahr and Spiegel-Verlag are pillars of the important media industry in Hamburg. Hamburg has been an important financial centre for centuries, and is the seat of the world's second oldest bank, Berenberg Bank. There are more than 120,000 enterprises.

The city is a notable tourist destination for both domestic and overseas visitors; it ranked 17th in the world for livability in 2012.

Russian Engines

For those interested in Railway Engines, here are three of them. These maxi cards were given to me by my friend Ella.

Åland sheep

These two lovely maxi cards were given to me by my friend Ella.

Following an interesting co-operation between Åland Post and Postage Stamp Printing Bureau of China Post Group it is now time for the issue of the miniature sheet featuring Åland sheep. 

For several years, well-known stamp engraver Martin Mörck has instructed Chinese youth in the time-consuming craft of producing an engraved stamp. Initiated by Åland Post, the final exam for the trainees was the participation in a design competition designated to produce two hand-engraved, steel-printed stamp motifs for a miniature sheet featuring the species Åland sheep.  

Bridge in Helsinki

This maxi card depicts a custom house near one of the bridges in Helsinki, Finland. The stamp is one of ten issued on 23.10.2014 featuring bridges in Finland.

For more on this theme please visit http://letstalkstamps.blogspot.in/

Thank you Ella.

Christmas stamps 2014

This maxicard shows his year’s Finnish Christmas stamps, the artwork of Kristina Segercrantz, famous for several award-winning book illustrations. With these stamps executed with watercolor technique, Segercrantz wants to create a true Christmas fairy-tale atmosphere. In the blue-hued Christmas Eve Christmas-tariff stamp, an elf girl enjoys the enchanting atmosphere with a Christmas reindeer in candlelight. In the other Christmas stamp, the orange-hued Christmas Morning 1st-class stamp, an elf rings a large Christmas bell, feet off the ground.

The graphic design of the Christmas stamps comes from Olavi Hankimo. 

Thank you Ella.

Kouvola Railway Station, 1902.

Kouvola is a town and municipality in south-eastern Finland. It is located 134 kilometres (83 mi) northeast of the capital, Helsinki.

The city has a population of 86,943 (31 January 2014) and covers an area of 2,883.30 square kilometres (1,113.25 sq mi) of which 325.06 km²(125.51 sq mi) is water. The population density is 33.99 inhabitants per square kilometre (88.0 /sq mi).

Kouvola's central location within Finland's borders and as a border post between the European Union and Russian Federation makes it a quite lively town.^] The town originally grew up around the junction of the north-south and east-west rail tracks. It was also a major road transport junction.

The card sent to me by Reino shows the Kouvola Railway Station as it was in 1902.

World Post Day in Helsinki

The picture on the card is that of The Market Square in Helsinki at the South Harbour. The market is internationally famous. The booths here sell traditional market foods and treats, as well as handicrafts and souvenirs. There is also a heated café tent where you can comfortably sip steaming hot coffee even on the coldest days in winter.

South Harbour is a bay and harbour area immediately next to the centre of the city of Helsinki, Finland. It is the largest passenger harbour in Finland, and 5.4 million passengers travel through it every year. Most of the harbour's traffic is to Stockholm, Sweden and Tallinn, Estonia, and for cruises. 

Ella sent me this card essentially as it was World Postal or Stamp Day on 9.10.2014. The stamp is a personalised one by the Post Office in Helsinki. The stamp shows an illuminated water front in Helsinki. The postmark is peculiar to Helsinki only on this day.

I had featured a maxi card about Philately Day in Helsinki in 2013 (see my post dated 3.11.2013).

Thank you Ella.

The Salzkammergut, Austria

The Salzkammergut is a resort area located in Austria. It stretches from the City of Salzburg eastwards along the Austrian Alpine Foreland and theNorthern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mountains, spanning the federal states of Upper Austria, Salzburg, and Styria. The main river of the region is the Traun, a right tributary of the Danube. The name Salzkammergut literally means "Estate of the Salt Chamber" and derives from the Imperial Salt Chamber, the authority charged with running the precious salt mines of the Habsburg Monarchy. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

With its numerous lakes and mountains, the Salzkammergut offers many opportunities to take part in water sports, bathing, hiking, cycling, caving, golf and relaxing around lakes such as the Grundlsee orToplitzsee. The Katrinalm, an alpine pasture, is found near Bad Ischl. Typical Salzkammergut culinary specialities include dishes such as Kaiserschmarrn (cut-up and sugared pancake with raisins), Krapfen (similar to doughnuts) or Lebkuchen (gingerbread).

I think this card is one of the most beautiful cards I have ever received. 

Thank you Claudia for sending it to me. I think you are very lucky to be living in this wonderful region.

Socorro, New Mexico

In 1598 Juan de Onate’s Spanish colonization expedition arrived here at the Piro Pueblo at Pialbo. They renamed it Socorro owing to the food and shelter provided by Pialbo’s inhabitants. The pueblo and its Spanish mission were destroyed  during the Pueblo Revolt, and the area was not resettled until 1815. A west bank road connected Socorro to the Camino Real on the east side of the Rio Grande.

Thank you Sam-Quito for this nice card from New Mexico.