Wife Carrying in Finland

Yes that’s right. This is no joke. In Finland this sport is taken very seriously and there is an annual event for it. There are many thoughts as to how this sport first originated in Finland. Tales have been passed down from one person to another about a man named Herkko Rosvo-Ronkainen. This man was considered a robber in the late 1800s, lived in a forest, and ran around with his gang of thieves causing harm to the villages. From what has been found, there are three ideas to why/how this sport was invented. First, Rosvo-Ronkainen and his thieves were accused of stealing food and women from villages in the area he lived in; then carried these women on their backs as they ran away, (hence the “wife” or women carrying). For the second idea, it has been said that young men would go to villages near their own, steal other men’s wives, and then have the woman become their own wife. These wives were also carried on the backs of the young men; this was referred to as “the practice of wife stealing." Lastly, there was the idea that Rosvo-Ronkainen trained his thieves to be “faster and stronger” by carrying big, heavy sacks on their backs, which could have eventually evolved to a sport because of the hard labour (endurance), and muscle strengthening; which most sports ensure. Even though this sport has been considered by some as a joke, competitors take it very seriously, just like any other sport. Wife carrying is now practiced in the United States of America, Hong Kong, and other parts of the world besides Finland, and has a category in the Guinness Book of Records. Merja who sent me this card wanted to convince me about this sport. I am convinced, and I genuinely feel that this event must be included in the next Olympic games.

Fanfan la Tulipe

Fanfan la Tulipe is a 1952 French comedy adventure film directed by Christian-Jaque. It has also been categorized under swashbuckler films. The film starred Gérard Philipe and Gina Lollobrigida. The film was remade in 2003 with Penélope Cruz in Lollobrigida's role.

Directed by Christian-Jaque Produced by Francis Cosne
Georges Dancigers
Alexandre Mnouchkine Written by René Wheeler
René Fallet
Christian-Jaque
Henri Jeanson
René Wheeler

Starring Gérard Philipe & Gina Lollobrigida

Music by Maurice ThirietGeorges Van Parys Cinematography Christian Matras

Editing by Jacques Desagneaux

Distributed by Filmsonor.

Release date 21 March 1952.

Running time 102 minutes.

The film is set in France during the Seven Years' War. As the film begins, Fanfan (Gérard Philipe) is a charming, attractive young man who is trying to escape a shotgun marriage. At this vulnerable point in his life, he is approached by the daughter of a recruiting officer, Adeline (played by Gina Lollobrigida), who tells him that if he joins the army, he will find fame, fortune, and will marry the king's daughter. Accordingly he joins the army, only to discover that she made the whole thing up in order for her father to get a recruiting bonus. Nevertheless, encouraged by a series of improbable circumstances, he accepts her prediction as his destiny. A series of events ensues which shows off to great advantage his athleticism and leadership ability. As the film progresses, we become aware of a developing attraction between himself and Adeline which however conflicts with his perceived “destiny” of marrying a king's daughter. Thank you Maria for a lovely card.

John Wayne in The Oregon Trail

For those of you who, like me, are still interested in vintage English films, especially those with the Legendary Great Actors, then The Oregon Trail a 1936 Western film starring John Wayne is a must. Incidently this card is much sought after. I won’t spoil the fun by telling you the story, but a few details of this film given below would go a long way in whetting your appetite for it :-

Directed by Scott Pembroke;

Produced by Trem Carr;

Written by Jack Natteford, Lindsley Parsons and Robert Emmett Tansey

Starring John Wayne & Ann Rutherford

Cinematography Gus Peterson

Editing by Carl Pierson

Release date(s) 18 January 1936.

Running time 59 minutes.

This nice Card was given to me by my dear friend Maria.

The Dambuster's

The Lancaster was the RAF’s best heavy bomber of World War II. It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within RAF Bomber Command., The "Lanc", as it was affectionately known, became the most famous and most successful of the Second World War night bombers, "delivering 608,612 tons of bombs in 156,000 sorties." Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles including daylight precision bombing, and gained worldwide renown as the "Dam Buster" used in the 1943 Operation Chastise raids on Germany's Ruhr Valley dams. Originally designed to carry an 1800kg bomb, the adaptable Lancaster was later equipped to carry a variety of bombs, most memorably the spinning, bouncing bombs of ”Dambusters” fame. Designed by Barnes Wallis, they were carried by the Lancasters of 617 squadron led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, to breach the Ruhr dams. Thank you Maria for this wonderful card, where the aircraft is in embossed plastic. Surely a collector’s item.

San Juan Capistrano, California

Mission San Juan Capistrano was a Spanish mission in Southern California, located in present-day San Juan Capistrano. It was founded on All Saints Day November 1, 1776, by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order. Named for Giovanni da Capistrano, a 15th century theologian and "warrior priest" who resided in the Abruzzo region of Italy, San Juan Capistrano has the distinction of being home to the oldest building in California still in use, a chapel built in 1782; known alternately as "Serra's Chapel" and "Father Serra's Church," it is the only extant structure where it has been documented that the padre Junipero Serra celebrated mass. One of the best known of the Alta California missions (and one of the few missions to have actually been founded twice—others being Mission San Gabriel Arcángel and Mission La Purísima Concepción)—the site was originally consecrated on October 30, 1775, by Father Fermín Lasuén, but was quickly abandoned due to unrest among the indigenous population in San Diego.

San Juan Capistrano is a city in southern Orange County, California, located approximately 23 miles (37 km) southeast of Downtown Santa Ana. The current OMB metropolitan designation for San Juan Capistrano and the Orange County Area is “Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA.” The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census, up from 33,826 at the 2000 census. The city was created around Mission San Juan Capistrano, and many of the homes and strip malls resemble the Spanish architecture that compose the building. It is home to the widest variety of homes in Orange County, including those built prior to 1900 in its central district (some being adobes from the 18th century), a number of 10 million-dollar homes in the gated communities of the hills, and working ranches in its foothills. San Juan Capistrano is probably best known for the annual migration of the cliff swallows that reputedly migrate each year from Argentina to the Mission San Juan Capistrano. This pretty card was sent to me by Gina.

An Old Beauty on Rails

One of the old time beauties. Manufactured at the Krupp Locomotive works in 1957. This engine was then the pride of the the German Railways. This card was sent to me by my dear friend Maria.

Oporto, Portugal

Porto, also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits (an area of 41.66 km²/16 sq.mi) include a population of 237,559 (2011) inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes. The Porto Metropolitan Area includes approximately 1.7 million people, and is recognized as a Gamma-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Study Group, being one of the four cities in the peninsula with global city status (the others being Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon).

Located along the Douro river estuary in northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, and registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. Its settlement dates back many centuries, when it was an outpost of the Roman Empire. Its Latin name, Portus Cale, has been referred to as the origin for the name "Portugal," based on transliteration and oral evolution from Latin. In Portuguese the city is spelled with a definite article as "o Porto" (English: the port). Consequently, its English name evolved from a misinterpretation of the oral pronunciation and referred to as"Oporto" in modern literature and by many speakers.

One of Portugal's internationally famous exports, port wine, is named for Porto, since the metropolitan area, and in particular the adegas of Vila Nova de Gaia, were responsible for the production and export of the fortified wine. This card shows a few very nice views of Oporto.This card was sent to me by Maria of Oporto.