postcards

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With love from Barcelona (1991)

with love from Barcelona

Dear All, Having a brilliant week in Barcelona with Tony & Ursula. The architecture – Modernist, Gothic & Medieval – is stunning. We’re finding time for plenty of local brews & tapas. We also went to the mountains for a day’s break, & came back laden with lovely old pots. Many congrats on the new baby – I’ll be in touch v. soon. Love Anne x

Anne enjoys art and culture so, naturally, she is loving Barcelona!

The card carries 45 pesetas of stamps featuring King Juan Carlos I from the 1976-84 definitive series and is postmarked ‘BARCELONA 27 JUN 91’, which is several months after the birth of the ‘new’ baby mentioned.

Suddenly, it appears that two  years have passed since I last caught up with Anne… 😦

 

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With love from Eastbourne (circa 1983)

with-love-from-eastbourne

Dear Hilary, thanks very much indeed for your postcard. Are you living in London now? Hope your course is going well. I am doing SRN and am into my last  year now (3rd), I will remember your b.day this yr! love to your family, love Ida xxx

Another perfect little status update from Ida, who appears to have settled in Eastbourne.

The postmark reads ‘SUSSEX COAST 1 OCT 198_’ and I am guessing it’s early eighties.

My ‘course’ and the fact that Ida thinks I might have been living in London are both confusing – I cannot recall the course and I have never lived in London!

Ida and I remain intermittently in touch but we have not met for many years.

 

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With love from Fallingbostel (1979)

With love from Fallingbostel 1979

Dear Hilary! I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a lucky New Year 1980. I’m always totally stressed before Christmas, so I send you only this card with the hope that we can continue our correspondence also 1980. Anyway have a nice holiday, many Christmas presents and perhaps a party at Christmas Eve. Yours Claudia

This card features another Christmas Greeting from Germany – the cards are very similar and sent just a year apart.  The German text roughly translates as ‘A merry Christmas and a happy new Year’.

The postmark is clearly visible and is dated ‘FALLINGBOSTEL 21.12.79’  There is another postmark promoting the town of Fallingbostel with its Kneipp Spa and Luftkurort.

Schloss Rheydt, featured on the 60 pfennig stamp, is a Renaissance palace in Rheydt, Mönchengladbach. The stamp is part of the definitive series issued in 1977 featuring strongholds and castles.

Another card from Claudia who was not ‘stressed’ at all when I met her in London on Sunday! Having not communicated for some 20 years we have now managed to meet up In Real Life twice within the space of twelve months!  Happy Days 🙂

 

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With love from Oslo (1982)

with-love-from-oslo

Thurs, 1st July ’82 Dear Hilary, writing to you on the fiord cruise, but it’s pouring with rain! Mind you it’s almost over & it has been dry. Thanks ever so much for your phone call, great to hear you & I hope you’re still keeping the good work up & smiling! Fantastic to be with family, they’re thoroughly enjoying themselves Unfortunately, though, just as they were leaving home the dog became very ill, worse than ever before! It’s something to do with her womb, most probably have to have an opperation. I just pray she’ll be O.K. & I’ve asked Anne if her dad can do something.  I’ll write again soon, but meanwhile take care lots of love, Wendy xxxx P.S I’ve got you card of midnight sun & also an ‘OSLOVE’ sticker

Lots going on here. Wendy’s enjoying a cruise up the fiords, but the dog is poorly and I’m about to receive an ‘OSLOVE‘ sticker!?

Featuring the Studenterlunden Park in Oslo and postmarked Oslo, the card was presumably posted after Wendy had returned from the cruise.

The two stamps are from the definitive series issued between 1977-1983 which illustrate traditional and historic buildings.

Another card from Wendy,  we were both still in Norway, but I had temporarily relocated, with my employers, to their summer holiday home and Wendy addressed the card to me there.  It is not clear whether Wendy was on the cruise with her own family or with the family that she worked for; I suspect it is the former, as she does sound very pleased to be with them.  We were both coming to the end of our contracts and Anne had already left to start her nursing training.  I cannot recall whether I saw Wendy again before leaving Norway, I certainly never received the ‘OSLOVE’ sticker! Although, we exchanged postcards for a few years, I have lost touch with Wendy and have not yet managed to reconnect with her.

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with love from Chamonix, France (2010)

with-love-from-chamonix

Great snow; off piste most of the time but not much sunshine; good hotel on the main street of Chamonix. Jim came for three nights – he’s going to start his kids (3) off next year.  Give Kev my best wishes! I’m not surprised that your dog won’t run – it’s too fat! Love to you all Jon xxx

The French like photographing their ski resorts at night, don’t they?  This time it’s Chamonix, which also featured a few weeks ago here.

Despite obviously being written in France, the card was posted in the UK as it is postmarked ‘DORSET & W HANTS 8.30pm 23 FEB 2000’ and carries a 26p first class stamp.

In 1992 we went skiing with Andy and Kev; Jon was staying in the same chalet; we all skied together, exchanged addresses and have been skiing together most years since then. We don’t see much of each other between ski trips, although on this occasion Jon must have recently visited us in order to note our slightly overweight dog!

 

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with love from Rio de Janeiro (2016)

with-love-from-rio

Hiya! So Rio has been amazing. I am very excited to have some time off to explore properly, we are definitely going up this monument for the standard Rio photo! I have seen both the gymnastics & judo so far which is already more than I was expecting & both had incredible atmosphere! I can’t quite get over the fact that I am here after our convo 4 years ago! Love you both Tallulah x

A recent card, with a blurred postmark – although the Olympic Rings are just visible on the lower edge of the postmark.

I love the red, 1 riyal stamp with its illustration of a manicurist! More information on this definitive series here.

The picture on the front has to be one of the most famous and iconic views in the world.

Another one from my daughter, Tallulah, who continues to enjoy her job and is seeing some amazing places in the process. During London 2012 the we were lucky enough to be at Dornay Lake and then the Olympic park on Super Saturday but Tallulah was working away, so missed all the excitement. She was quite disappointed and vowed that she would be in Rio for the subsequent games – amazingly work took her there – hence her final comment above 🙂 

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with love from Avignon, France (1988)

avignon

Weds 17 Aug 88 – Avignon “Chères Amies Bonjour d’Avignon!” That’s about as far as I can go after 2 bottles of Vin du Pays de Vauduse! We’re having a lovely holiday and enjoying the many faces of France (especially those with corks in the top!) James has been excellent, he loves travelling, thank Goodness, and seems to grow larger by the hour. Arrived here via Cherbourg, the Loire Valley, the Cévannes Mts & th plateau of Vauduse. Tomorrow we move camp to the Med. coast nr. St Tropez (Le Lavandou). The weather has been first class: Temps in the high 80s and a good cooling breeze. We must try to see you both soon, before James grows up too much more. Hope Si has recovered his fitness Love to you both. Take care now. All our love, Gra, Sheila + James xxx

Loads of information in this status update – a veritable tour of France! The image on the front features the famous Avignon bridge together with the words of the even more famous song.

The card is postmarked ‘CAVALIERE 15H 19-8-1988’ so although written in Avignon, it was, in fact, posted a couple of days and some 200km later when they arrived at the Mediterranean. The stamp is a 2 franc Marianne definitive.

Here’s Gra again, this time with Sheila and baby James. Sadly, shortly after this Gra became estranged from Sheila and the baby. We continued to see Gra, but have now lost touch…

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with love from Kvaenangsfjell, Norway (1988)

norway

8.7.88 Hey Hilary, Greetings from the Nordkapp in Norway. It’s very beautifull to see the sun at midnight. I am in Norway for 3 weeks and it’s nice to see this country again. I hope you’re well. Take care so long Salutations Christine

The beautiful image on the front of the card is possibly the midnight sun mentioned in the text.

Christine has dated the card, which is helpful as the postmark does not give any indication of date.

The stamp is 3.80 kroner and is one of the definitive set issued in 1988

I met Christine in Norway in 1981; unlike me she has returned on at least one occasion! We continue to exchange news and postcards.

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with love from Townsville, Northern Queensland (1988)

townsville

Dear Hilary & Simon, G’day mates! Excellent choice of elective made here I feel. Baking weather mostly, seaview from my bedroom window. Beach 3 mins away – palm trees everywhere and masses to do Aussies have a great attitude – fun first – work much later. Very infectious! We’re planning bush weekend this week. Dying of relaxation. Love Marion xxx Letter soon coming.

Postmarked ‘TOWNSVILLE MAIL CENTRE 4-PM 25 AUG 1988’ this card features ‘a fine example of early North Queensland Architecture’.

Despite it being winter time in Australia, the weather is obviously good and Marion is enjoying full immersion in the Australian way of life.

The 63c stamp is from the Living Together definitive series issued in 1988

Marion was my brother’s girlfriend; she took this extended working trip to Australia as part of her medical degree. They planned to get married, but Marion changed her mind; inevitably we all lost touch. A quick Google search suggests that Marion subsequently emigrated to the Australia that she was so taken with.

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with love from Paignton, Devon (1980)

paignton

Hello Hilary! I send you many greetings from Paignton. It’s really nice here. Also the weather is marvellous. The people I stay at are very kind. What I also like a lot is the beautiful landscape here. But the next time I’ll tell more. Yours Claudia

Claudia is enthusiastic about her visit to Paignton from Germany, although we are left wondering what the purpose of the visit is and how long she is staying.

I love the rhyme on the front of the card and the idea of leaving ‘Household chores’ behind!

The postmark  says ‘SOUTH DEVON’ but the rest is obscured, apart from the ’80 in the lower part; however, the ‘marvellous weather’ suggests summer time.  The stamp is a 10½p dull blue definitive.

Claudia and I recently reconnected as a result of this blog and are in touch regularly via email and Whatsapp – often while watching the same sporting event on TV’s in different countries…