The Titanic

A nice painting of the RMS Titanic. Card sent to me by my dear friend Pia.

Happy New Year

Thank you Galina for this pretty card. Wish you a Very Happy New Year too.

Merry Christmas

Thank you Merja. This is indeed a lovely card - Santa at Work and Play - Yes, Merry Christmas to all of you.

Merry Christmas

Thank you Ella for this lovely card. And yes, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you too.

Boqueria market in Barcelona

The Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, often simply referred to as La Boqueria, is a large public market in the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and one of the city's foremost tourist landmarks, with an entrance from La Rambla, not far from the Liceu, Barcelona's opera house. The market has a very diverse selection of goods. This lovely card was sent to me by Anna from Barcelona.

The first mention of the Boqueria market in Barcelona dates from 1217, when tables were installed near the old city gate to sell meat. From December 1470 onwards, a pig market was held at this site; at this time it was known as Mercat Bornet. Later, until 1794, it was known simply as Mercat de la Palla, or straw market. In the beginning, the market was not enclosed and had no official status, being regarded simply as an extension of the Plaça Nova market, which extended to the Plaça del Pi.

Later, the authorities decided to construct a separate market on La Rambla, housing mainly fishmongers and butchers. It was not until 1826 that the market was legally recognized, and a convention held in 1835 decided to build an official structure. Construction began on March 19, 1840 under the direction of the architect Mas Vilà. The market officially opened in the same year, but the plans for the building were modified many times. The inauguration of the structure finally took place in 1853. A new fish market opened in 1911, and the metal roof that still exists today was constructed in 1914.

Old Believers’ manuscript “ The roll from the White Sea Coast region (late18th – early 19th Century)

The roll or scroll shown on on the card is one of many in the National Library of Belarus. This roll is from the collection of Old Believers’ manuscript “ The roll from the White Sea Coast region (late18th – early 19^th Century). This card was sent to me by Alexander from Minsk.

The National Library of Belarus is the main information and cultural centre of the country. Its depository collections include 8 million items of various media. In 1993 the National Library of Belarus started to create its own electronic information resources. It has generated a collection of bibliographic, factual graphic, full-text, graphic, sound and language databases that comprise more than 2 million records. The scope of databases is quite wide: humanities, social sciences, history, art and culture of Belarus. Library users also have access to databases of other libraries and academic institutions, including foreign ones.

Painting by Inge Löök

A lovely painting by Inge Löök (real name Ingeborg Lievonen) gives a real Christmasy feeling to this card. Thank you Pia for this pretty card.