stamps

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With love from Pafos, Cyprus (2005)

with love from Paphos

Friday, Dear S,H,T,S,J&G. Just come out of the pool in Bob & Chris’s villa. They have a lovely house and are showing us the sights of Cyprus. Today we went inland & had spectacular views of the countryside. Last night we did quite well in the local quiz – home from home. It’s lovely to relax after our busy schedule – hope all are well. Much love, Mum & Dad

My in-laws are visiting friends who’ve recently moved to Cyprus – they are big quiz fans! Although the card features Pafos (Paphos), it is not clear if this where they are staying.

Interesting to see that the postmark here also reminds us (in English) to use the postcode. The postmark date is 16.05.05 and the stamps are the Refugee Stamp, which continues to be obligatory on all mail, together with a 25 cent stamp from the Jewellery definitive set issued in 2000

An earlier card from Simon’s parents.

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With love from Lagos, Portugal (1991)

With love from Algarve

Dear Hilary & Simon It’s really lovely here, and although we waited a long time – the holiday was worth waiting for! We are off to Lisbon tomorrow for two days – really looking forward to that. Hope all is well with, and look forward to seeing you on the 25th. Take care. Love Doreen & Jimmy x

This long anticipated trip to the Algarve is meeting expectations!

Carrying a 60 escudos stamp from the Portuguese Navigators series issued in March 1991 and featuring an aerial shot of Lagos, the card is postmarked 2-10-1991

Doreen used to work with my husband, Simon. They stayed in touch after Simon left the company and we used to see Doreen & Jimmy quite regularly. We have not seen them for some time as we no longer live so close, but we still exchange Christmas cards and news once a year 🙂

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With love from Denmark (1981)

with love from Denmark

Hello Hilary! I send you many greetings from the danish island Møn. I stay here with 5 friends. We rent a house very near to the sea and the beach. The weather has been very good for the whole week and I got very brown. I’ll soon write more. Yours Claudia

This card from Møn is postmarked ‘STEGE 14.30 8 8 1981’ and carries a 1 krone 30 stamp commemorating the oldest Danish coin.

Claudia is enjoying some good weather in Denmark; she sent this card to me not long after I’d arrived in Norway.

There are now many cards posted here from Claudia – she continues to communicate regularly although these days it is usually via WhatsApp 🙂

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With love from London (1981)

with love from London

22-X-81 [Sailboard enthusiasts ‘en-masse’] Dear Guess, message received from krautland today. Hope “operation Clean-Up” is going ok – years supply of rubber yellow gloves will be parachuted in on specified date.  Am “checking out” pictured hideaway for possible ‘Leftie’ infiltrators or anti-royal ‘Moles’. DAM

DAM obviously had a supply of these cards, as the same picture also features here and although it shows Romsey, this message is postmarked ‘LONDON 22 OCT 1981’ the same day that it was written.

The 18p stamp depicts fishermen hauling in a trawl net and not windsurfers as DAM suggests! The stamp is from a commemorative set issued in 1981

I had been in Norway a few months by this time, working as children’s nanny, hence the reference to rubber gloves 🙂

I believe that DAM is still in Australia, but I continue to avoid reconnecting…

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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 California (2017)

with-love-from-california-2017

Hi Hilary! It’s raining here for a week which gives me terrible.  Christmas week was nice: did a lot of decorations and sat looking at the Christmas trees and listening to Christmas music. How was your Xmas? Happy New Year

Another original design created by crazyruthie in postcard format; it must have taken ages to colour all those little shapes!

The postmark is barely visible, you can just make out the number 7 on the right which, along with the text, indicates that this card was received early in 2017 (this year).

The stamp is that Global universal stamp which, it occurs to me, may soon include the head and shoulders of the president! (Anything is possible).

Another card from CBC who I have become postcard pals with since starting this blog 🙂

 

 

 

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With love from Antibes (1983)

with-love-from-antibes

Sun 29/5/83 Dear Hilary, Hi! The journey by coach wasn’t too bad & we arrived with beautiful weather at about 3.30pm yesterday. The site & facilities are very nice & clean & the caravan is ideal. Right now we’re sitting on our little grass patch with table & chairs. The beach is just across the rd & the sea looks beautiful. On Wed 1/6 we’re going to St. Tropez & Port Grimaud. We also hope to visit Monte Carlo some time. Hope you and your family are all well. Lots of love, Wendy xx Hope you had a lovely time in Cyprus. BYE xx

Clearly postmarked ‘ANTIBES 15H 31-5 1983′ this card was written promptly on arrival to ensure that it would reach the UK before the travellers returned home.  Despite only arriving ‘yesterday’ Wendy has plenty to say about her surroundings and the weather, both of which she is obviously enjoying.  I suspect her travelling companion is her boyfriend at the time.

The stamp is a 1 franc 60 centime Marianne Liberté de Gandon engraved by Pierre Gandon.

This is another card from Wendy; I’m still trying to recall a surname for her, so at the moment we’ve not reconnected 😦

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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 Val d’Isère (1991)

with-love-from-val-disere

Dear Hilary & Simon, sorry you are not here, skiing and resort are absolutely 1st class, Only bad part so far was a 9 hour coach transfer. chalet idea is really good, food excellent. Andy & Kevin both wish you could have made it, but who knows, next year? Hope things are under control with you. Take care, love John.

Another card from Val d’Isère and John, together with Kevin and Andy, is obviously enjoying the resort.  The text here indicates that we should have been with them on the trip.

The card is postmarked 1991 and carries the 1989 Marianne de Briat definitive stamp.

John is my brother; we learnt to ski as children in the 1970’s with our forward thinking parents, who took us on several package trips to Austria, when ‘winter sports’ holidays were something of a novelty.  Simon and I were due to be on this trip to Val d’Isère, but the UK was in the midst of a recession at the time and our bank manager, more or less, forbade us to go.  We should have ignored him and gone anyway; the end result was the same!Â