Spain

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With love from Cordoba, Spain (1987)

with love from Cordoba

Dear Hilary – Ursula talked me into a second holiday, so here we are in Spain. Have just arrived in Granada, having been to Cordoba & Seville. We’re going to stay here 2 days, then back to Malaga to souvenir hunt, & lie on a beach for an afternoon. We’re in Spain for a week & it’s a revelation – v. beautiful with wonderful sightseeing and everything v. cheap. Love to Simon x Anne xx

Anne is loving southern Spain and making the most of her visit.

Part of Mezquita Cathedral is pictured on the front of the card and the 40 pesetas of stamps feature King Juan Carlos I from the 1976-84 definitive series.

I must make the effort to see Anne again…

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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 Canary Islands (1982)

with-love-from-canary-islands

Dear Hilary, You will gather I’ve made it to the sun, well some sun, but also cloud, but it is warm.  The Island is beautiful – gorgeous flowers in profusion.  The Atlantic seems always to be in fury.  I tried to swim in it one day but the undercurrents were frightening so have stuck to the pool.  Hope all is well with you, love Auntie Joyce

What an evocative and descriptive status update from back in the day – the picture on the front confirms the colourful flowers and we can imagine the waves crashing to the shore!

Postmarked ’18 FEB 82 TENERIFE’ the card carries 20 pesetas of stamps featuring King Juan Carlos I from the 1976-84 definitive series.

It is unclear which of the Canary Islands Joyce is visiting, but the postmark suggests that it is Tenerife.

This is an earlier card from Auntie Joyce who appears to be holidaying alone on this occasion.  She has always loved cultivating flowers in her garden and is continually on the look out for new varieties.  I remember that Auntie Joyce was a strong swimmer; it seems that she was wise to stick to the pool.  About 6 months ago some of my family met Auntie Joyce with members of her family for a bit of a reunion and a saunter down memory lane – it was good to catch up 🙂

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With love from Costa Brava, Spain (1979)

with-love-from-spain

Dear Hiraly, we are in beautiful sunny Spain and having a great time. We’re staying in the place on the front of the postcard. I’ve put a dot & a cross where I think our villa is. It’s a bit hard to distinguish one from another at that distance but never mind! So far I haven’t had time to write postcards but I’ve got a headache at the moment which really throbs so I haven’t been swimming. Too much sun I expect! I’m convinced I’ve got sunstroke though! I’ve bought myself some snorkelling stuff (very cheap here) and we (me, Neil, Ally, Paula, our friends) went snorkelling off the rocks. It was great fun. We saw shoals of fish, black very spiky sea urchins which I so cleverly got stuck in her big toe despite wearing plastic sandals. Luckily we managed to get most of it out. Trust me. I’d better go there’s not much space left as you can see. Hope to see you at end of summer love Jackie xxx PS Neil saw an octopus. I’ve never got of the sea so fast.

Another card from Jackie with her distinctive method of writing all around the edge and back across the top! Despite feeling under the weather she’s managed to pack a lot of news and anecdotes into the space.  The cross she refers to is just visible to the right of the trunk and on the wooded area in the distance; the dot is just below it.

The postmark date is 16 06 1979 and the stamp is one of a set of three encouraging us all to save energy.

Porta de la Selva is featured on the front and still looks much the same although that tree might have gone now!

Jackie was seemingly quite a prolific card writer and enjoyed many holidays with her family.

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with love from Costa del Sol, Spain (1983)

Costa del Sol Spain 1983

14.10.83 Dear Hilary, Having a super time here in Spain. Weather has been great since we arrived – over 85° every day. Enjoying the cheap food & drink. We met up with another couple but they went back today. We’ve got another week, before it’s back to the grind. Best wishes Janet xx

Algarrobo features on the front of the card – the town is possibly more picturesque than the photo suggests!  There is no postmark, but Janet has helpfully included the date, October 1983

As ever when Brits travel to sunnier climes, the fascination with the temperature prevails and value for money when eating and drinking is an added bonus!

The two 13 peseta stamps feature King Juan Carlos I and are from the 1976-84 definitive series.

Another, earlier one from Janet who I have known for around 45 years!

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with love from Lanzarote (c1999)

With love from Lanzarote

Dear Hilary, Simon + family, Just thought I’d drop you all a line to say ¡Hola! from Lanzarote. Our stay here is nearly over in fact, but it’s been truely lovely. Plenty of sun, sea + sand + vino. We’ve explored much of the island by car, been on a camel ride, down caves, up volcanoes – all the usual sights. Some excellent meals out, lots of fish, mainly lunches easier with the chilblains. We’ve self-catered a lot too. Our appartment is right by the sea with views across the bay + pools downstairs (overleaf pic). Not too crowded anywhere and a nice size island to get about on. Oh well, back to the reality of B…..m soon! We definitely want to stay in your house in August to confirm – for two weeks, but not arriving until the Mon (16th) I believe Ali + Rachael will join us this year + my folks for a day or two. Much love Janice, Adam, Sam + Emily xxxx

Wow! Tons of info crammed onto this card, which sadly lacks a date and a Spanish postmark.  However, the sights and appeal of Lanzarote are elequontly described by Janice, who has obviously enjoyed the trip.

The card has been post mark stamped in Frankfurt, presumably while en route to the UK.  The stamp is an IFCC prepaid for a postcard.

This is an unusual card as I do not recall ever meeting Janice and family; we have never been friends! Janice mentions Ali + Rachael in the text – I am friends with Ali and have known her about 25 years; we were expecting babies around the same time. I stayed in touch with Ali after moving to live closer to the sea.  Despite being near the beach in the UK we would often go to France for two weeks in August, thus it made sense for Ali + Rachael to use our house for a holiday; Ali’s great friend Janice would also stay at ours with her family 🙂 I still see Ali regularly and she keeps me up to date with news of Janice and family!  

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with love from Costa Brava (1986)

With love from Costa Brava

Tuesday  Dear Simon & Hilary, We didn’t quite make it to the Greek Isles but we’re still on the Mediterranean in an apartment outside Estartit. It is very quiet here and not too far from the beach. We’ve been to a local market and a few towns & have booked trips to Montserrat, Gerona and a flamenco show. The weather is very warm – even at night, although it is rather windy which makes swimming in the sea quite tricky. We have been eating out a lot & discovered everything said about the Spanish waiters is true! Love to you both, Sue xxx

Post marked ‘L’Estartit 18 Sept 86 Girona’ with the additional post mark message ‘CONSIGNE EN SUS ENVIOS EL CODIGO POSTAL’ which I believe roughly translates to ‘Always use the post code’.

It carries two 20 peseta stamps featuring King Juan Carlos

Lots of information is being shared, although there is no clue as to why they didn’t make it to Greece; likewise no clue as to who is with her on holiday – their name is excluded from the signature so I can only assume that we did not know her travelling companion.

The picture is not referenced on the reverse but, having visited the area some years ago, I can confirm that it is typical of the rocky coast of the Costa Brava which features many, tiny hidden coves and is probably best explored from the water.

Having studied the sweep of the ‘S’ and the style of the ‘E’ I am confident that this is not the Paris Sue. Amazingly I do not remember this Sue either! As she has addressed Simon first I suspect she was a friend of his, but he cannot shed any light. So, once again, I have to admit to losing touch with Sue 😦 

 

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with love from Ibiza (1984)

with love from Ibiza

Dear Hilary, Despite missing our flight and all the sun tan peeling I’m having a great time out here with the lads. The temperature never gets below the 90’s so I’m having to drink a lot to avoid complete dehydration. The pubs sell draught Guinness and there’s millions of Irish out here so it’s like home from home and the d****s remind me of the locals in Bradford. Love Gerard x

Ever the party island this card emphasises ‘The Sun of Ibiza’ with an eye catching topless sun worshipper supported by a rather incongruous donkey.  On closer inspection this is obviously a photo montage (pre Photoshop) as the various bits of sand, sea and sky do not match up!

Although there is no date or visible postmark, the 16 peseta stamp is, in 1984, commemorating 25 years of CEPT Europa (European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administration).  The bridge design, common to stamps for all CEPT countries, was created by the French engraver Jacky Larrivière.

Another from the summer romancer – Gerard is still enjoying trips ‘with the lads’ and still sending me postcards some eight years after we met as teenagers on holiday! My own discomfort has forced me to asterisk a less than complimentary description of the locals on the island and the people of Bradford. These once commonplace terms are now unacceptable. Despite various social media searches I am still unable to reconnect with Gerard.

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with love from Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca (1985)

Puerto Pollensa 1985

This really is a beautiful island with superb coastlines. Trying to do some sightseeing in the mornings before it gets too hot. The rest of the time we are in the sea. Going to see the caves later this week. Love Jo & John. * Sorry, but I haven’t got your address with me.

Puerto Pollensa still looks very much the same, although 30 years on there are more boats in the harbour and they seem slightly larger! I’m a bit worried about the coach that appears to be hanging over the edge?

My earlier post card from Mallorca was dated 1974, this one is post marked Puerto de Pollensa 9.7.85 and once again the caves feature as a day trip.

Simon and I had just bought our first place together, so I had officially left the family home to where this card was sent, hence the asterisk and apology.

John was my mum’s cousin, and Jo his wife. They sometimes looked after my brother and me when my parents went out.  They taught us to play various card games and excitingly there was always a pot of pennies that were used to make the games more interesting.  We remained close to Jo and John as we grew up.  Sadly, Cousin John died some years ago, but I still see Jo at family events.

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with love from The Balearics (1974)

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Dear Hilary, We are having a lovly time, the weather is fine, we are staying in the Hotel Veracruz, on wednesday we went to a barbecue, Friday we went to the Caves of Drach and the safari and saw a big cat show, Sunday we are going on a boat trip. hope you have made lots of New frends by for now love Tracey x

In the seventies a package holiday to Spain (Mallorca) was still fairly exotic and the picture illustrates images of that country that many of us held.  As girls we coveted and collected flamenco dolls which were brought back as souvenirs by friends and relatives.  Their colourful tiered skirts and dark features were incredibly exciting.

This is another 1974 card from an old friend wishing me well in my new school.

I am sorry to say that I have no recollection of Tracey; this may be the only communication I had from her.