Postcrossing.com - a great way to make international friends

If, like me you enjoy communicating with people, travelling - virtually via postcards in this case - and maybe collecting stamps and postcards, postcrossing.com is a great thing to join!  You can send as many or as few cards as suits you. I have had to cut down recently due to the increased postage costs, but  you are guaranteed to receive as many as you send.  You may establish friendships through mutual interests or indeed diverse lifestyles across the world, and who knows if one day you may meet your new friends. Children and adults alike are involved, and some school groups also participate.
  The above is a selection of cards I have received over the years, from places including Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Japan, Latvia  and Germany.  I've learned about traditions, crafts, artists and beautiful places I'll probably never visit, but can through Postcrossing.com .  Many people are keen to swap stamps, small collectable items or just stories! 

Sorry, no postcards sent from Guatemala

I found a post office while I was in Antigua,  Guatemala, but there were no stamps for sale, and  no way to send postcards, due to a long dispute between the Government and the Postal Service. I had heard about this from a friend in Guatemala, but wanted to double check that nothing had changed, which sadly, it hadn't. There are private couriers and methods of sending mail, but I'm not sure how reliable these are. There was  only one member of staff in this reasonably sized Post Office, and I was the only customer.  I was told the only place to  buy stamps is Guatemala City but we weren't able to go there this time.
I do have some  beautiful old Guatemalan stamps from a collection which was my dad's and these seem  even more precious now that we've visited this wonderful country!  More about the stamps  and locations  we visited coming soo

This  Guatemalan postbox  hasn't been used for a while!

Send a postcard - brighten someone's day!

As a stamp collector and traveller,  I appreciate very much receiving postcards,  but it doesn't happen so much these days and when it does, it's a real treat.  Internet, social media, whatsapp,  have provided instant ways to communicate, from almost everywhere that has wi-fi.  I do this too,  but I always try to find a few interesting postcards to send, provided I can locate a post office. On a 10 day trip around the Baltic capital cities of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia I was lucky  to find cards, stamps and post offices!

In Vilnius, I purchased two rather lovely woollen jumpers at bargain prices but soon realised they would be too heavy and bulky to included in our luggage, so had to find a Post office in order to send them home. It had interesting Commemorative stamps on sale, but sadly I wasn't able to put these on my parcel, having to make do with a rather boring label and customs declaration!  The jumpers arrived  home long before we did though! The postcards were sent a few day later, from a  post box near the main bus depot, but  took much longer to arrive at their various destinations.

The historic post office in Tallinn, opposite the Cathedral, was a beautiful building, and also had a wonderful selection of postcards and a wide range of beautiful Estonian stamps, and  this proved to be a very efficient postal service!

Brighten up your post! A little slower than e mail but it's lovely to receive a real letter or postcard.

Having joined in the wonderful activity of  Postcrossing.com a few years ago, which anyone can join for free,  instead of just boring brown envelopes,  I now frequently  receive  mail like this from all parts of the world and have gained some lovely regular penfriends :

I decided to get started with writing some letters to many of my overseas friends before the Christmas rush starts, and chose some pretty stamps and decorations to add to the envelopes, so my pile of post looked like this:

You don't have to stick (excuse the pun!) to the small definitive stamps to put on your letters, ask at the post office for Commemoratives (the ones with a picture of an event or historical reference.  which will always make your post look far more interesting! Zoom in on this image to see the latest stamps issued including the toys and children's story books, windmills etc.  And you can pick up interesting cards anywhere you go, and can often also find them very cheaply in Charity shops.  

Postcrossing : a wonderful way to communicate and make new friends!

I often mention  Postcrossing.com  as it's become a real interest of mine,  and if you haven't already heard of it you may like to investigate by following the links to give it a try - completely free to join - all you need is to choose a postcard to send and buy a stamp!

I first discovered Postcrossing through research I was carrying out online while making a stamp collage and wanting to find out about a certain stamp I was including. I came across a site which gave me all the information I needed, but also mentioned Postcrossing as a way of communicating with all sorts of people in practically every country in the world! It's really nice to receive mail of this sort - not just the brown envelopes, or junk mail variety!  Some people become penfriends and regularly exchange letters, cards and also become friends on facebook!!  Hello! You know who you are!!It's been quite amazing to discover that so many have similar interests and my Postcrossing friends are based in Russia, Finland, Estonia,Canada, Poland,  the Netherlands,  Kazakhstan, Ukraine, France, Japan, USA  ...and as well as stamps we have exchanged Tea Bags, sewing patterns, sugar packets, magazines,  serviettes and endless stories!! If you speak any foreign languages and want to practise, some people will definitely appreciate your attempts!   Families the world over are more or less the same, with the same concerns, happy and sad times and it's great to share stories, and at the same time learn about our different cultures, celebrations and lifestyles. You may also find that many share your interests too!  I love it!

Boars of Belarus

My recent blogpost about the Boar connection with the Markwick family brought a lovely card from Belarus today! (From Maria, my  friend via Postcrossing! Thanks, Maria!).  She tells me that apparently there were 81,500 wild boars in Belarus a year ago, but now there are only 13,000 as they were said to have caused an epidemic of Swine flu in 2013 and hunters were issued cheap licences, resulting in the drastic reduction of the board population.

However, you can now see wild  boars in the Beloroczskaya puscha, which is an area of protected woodland near Brest, not far from the Polish border.

Closer to home, we've recently heard about the wild boars in the Forest of Dean, which have been causing devastation to gardens in various local villages. But there is a certain fondness for these creatures in spite of their activities.

The attractive stamps on the postcard are from the series, Zoos in Belarus:

Who says nobody writes letters any more?

Postcrossing card  received from Germany

Beautiful hand made card received from the Netherlands - thanks to Helma!

More about postcrossing - and I'm so pleased I joined and now receive interesting things in the mail instead of just brown envelopes and junk mail - although this can also have its uses, as some very creative people  turn it into works of art!  I send and receive postcards to people all over the world and also exchange stamps with other collectors. It's not restricted to stamps either as people often request other items they like to collect, such as beer labels, fridge magnets, and I've just been asked if I have any bow ties I could exchange for stamps! Hoping I can oblige!

My postbox yesterday contained letters from Russia and the Philippines, and also this week I've had mail from the Netherlands and Belarus!

Cards and beautifully decorated envelope received from Jose in the Philippines

English/Philippino dictionary

A little late, but also have to include this beautifully hand made card from Ada in the Netherlands - note the hand sewn Christmas tree!

Not only do we receive cards, letters and stamps and make friends with other postcrossers, we even learn a few words in other languages such as Philippino!    I will have to find the word to say , "Thanks" when I send my reply along with my postcards and stamps!

Postcrossing - I love it!

I've been a member of Postcrossing.com for just a few months but already I've made some great friends in all corners of the world.  We may never meet but it's really nice to exchange news and information and also swap postcards, stamps and .. er, beer labels! It's so lovely to receive interesting post and if you send postcards to others, you will receive cards back too and you can specify what you would prefer to receive.
Take a look at the website for further details.  It costs nothing to join, just the price of a stamp and the postcard of course, but if you are anything like me, you probably have some you've gathered on your travels and you can sometimes find something that someone else will really appreciate. Currently it's  88p to post a card to most parts of the world for a postcard - but do check first, and be sure to attach an air mail label or it may take some time to arrive!

I received this card from Berlin, which gave me the final push to create my own version of the Brandenberg gate (see previous post - work in progress).                I've been hard at work trying to finish my stamp collage, and trying to track down the horses to make my own version of the Quadriga on the top of the gate.  Also searching for suitable stamps to make up the visitors - still lots to do, and I still haven't found a suitable sized John F Kennedy stamp!

Images of horses on stamps - JS Bach and JF Kennedy - all with a connection to the Brandenburg gate

Crowd of visitors to the Brandenburg gate - not sure if Sir Rowland Hill ever visited!

Back to Postcrossing - since receiving the cards from Berlin, I've exchanged some cards with the sender, and have received many more from countries including Russia, Belarus, New Zealand, Lithuania, Ukraine, Singapore,  China, Taiwan, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany and the USA.  Some of the cards I've received have been beautifully hand crafted and I will post separately about this!

April Fool (Poisson d'Avril) cards

A few spoof posts on facebook and in the papers today, but I don't think anyone sends postcards in the mail anymore.

Our old postcard collection contains these lovely examples of French postcards sent to loved ones on 1st April.  In France April Fool's day is known as "Poisson d'Avril" (April Fish) and the cards were often sent anonymously, or with a cryptic message.

The beautiful card (top left) is a more romantic design and like the one at the bottom, contains the words, "Devinez qui vous l'envoie - 1er Avril" - Guess who sends you this - 1st April.
The humorous card (top right)also carries a very romantic message on the back from a "fair haired young man"!

Taunton Stamp Shop also sells my cards!

Just one of the card designs now stocked by Taunton Stamp Shop.

I'm often in Taunton now as one of our daughters is at college there.  I found there is also a stamp shop in the town!   Taunton Stamp Shop,( 66 Bridge Street, Taunton TA1 1UD)  is a lovely old shop which has been run by the same family for more than 35 years.  It has a wide range of philatelic material, including a vast amount of stamps as well as accessories for stamp collectors, postcards, cigarette cards, coins  and model vehicles. They now also have some of my stamp collage greetings cards in stock, so if you're in Taunton call in and have a look around!  It's easy to find, just slightly out of the town centre and a short walk over the bridge, near the Antiques centre, which is also worth a visit.