Westward Ho

1976: Olympic Games, Montreal

When Canada hosted the Olympics in 1976  inventively the flame was transferred by satellite via an electronic pulse derived from the Olympic flame in Greece.  Some news outlets described it in rather more futuristic terms as a laser beam. Pathe News captured the moment here .

Communication Arts

Thanks to the communication arts we all saw the journey of the flame in Paris by a sure footed messenger amid the deluge of rain.  The veteran Olympians carrying the flame in a speeding boat may have envisioned a balmy Parisian night when they signed up but judging by Carl Lewis' face as the boat bounced along the Seine with spray and rain soaking them this was not the ride he was expecting. Nadia Comaneci with a gymnasts balance looked quite serene, I would be like Serena Williams and know this was the person to grab hold of.

1989: Olympic Games, Barcelona '92

The rain has impacted some events but not

the diving

1990: Olympic Games, Barcelona '92

or volleyball

Sunday Stamps is in the western hemisphere - visit See It On A Postcard

Towers

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is looking for towers

and here a path through the squeeze style leads to St Margaret's Church. The tower has both clock and bell. The saint is St Margaret of Antioch of whom it is told that while in prison the devil came to her in the form of a dragon. The legend goes he swallowed her but fortuitously the cross she carried irritated his throat and he coughed her up.  The church's banner shows her standing on the dragon although in life she was a shepherdess (and sometimes portrayed as such) which would be useful in the Yorkshire Dales where there are lots of sheep.

Defensive castle towers in Antwerp's Het Steen, the medieval fortress is the city's oldest building and was once a gateway to a much larger castle

Ornate towers of the Yenidze Cigarette Factory in Dresden. Built 1907-1909 its oriental style was also used as part of the firms advertising.  Remarkably it survived the carpet bombing of Dresden in WW2 and today it houses offices and a restaurant. The 600 windows must make it a lovely light building to work in.
 

South to North

 

1992: 500th Anniversary of Discovery of America

Time to set sail and

1992: Olympic Games, Barcelona

then take the road

1989: 200th Anniversary of the French Revolution

to Paris and experience the peak of our summer of sport

1984: Olympic Games, Los Angeles

Watch pure speed

1996: Olympic Games, Atlanta

and the killer shot

1964: Olympic Games, Tokyo

or two

Paris's mayor, Anne Hidalgo, has swum in the Seine this week to reassure the open water swimmers it is safe, only time will tell. The triathlon event starts from a floating platoon.  The river on Friday will host the opening ceremony, the parade of boats starting at the Austerlitz Bridge.  It promises to be spectacular and this image got me rather excited.  Some of Team GB got on the train to Paris today and my stamp countries will also be on the way...

 Burundi will be sending a team of 7 (Athletics, Judo and Swimming)

Sao Tome et Principe has 3 (Athletics, Judo and Canoe/kayak sprint) 

Tanzania will be sending 7 (Athletics, Judo and Swimming)

New Zealand has a team of 215 with a wide variety of sports.

Check who is going in your own country here

Sunday Stamps this week is in the southern hemisphere - See It On A Postcard

Cathedrals

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is visiting catherals...

Cathedral of the Virgin Mary and St Chad

All quiet at Litchfield Cathedral, only a lone car.  I wonder if it is the photographer arriving early for the image?  People in the know (not me) will be able to date the card from the car. The three spires of Litchfield cathedral are known as the 'Ladies of the Vale' and will not look like this today as the tallest middle spire is covered in scaffolding after being damaged in Storm Gareth (2019).  Nothing new for this old lady as the cathedral was extensively damaged by human hands in the three Litchfield sieges of the English Civil War (17th Century) despite at the time being moated and fortified.  All work for the craftspeople who have been restoring and constructing here for 800 years.  I believe the scaffolding is due to be removed in October and this summer the Tower Tours have restarted.

Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark

A more famous cathedral and the crowds have arrived in St Mark's square. This is the third church built on this site c1063 (the second one was unintentionally destroyed by fire in an uprising against the Doge). It was the right time for Venice to build on a grand scale and it combines a wonderful array of architectural styles.

Florence Cathedral started to be built in 1296 and was structurally completed in 1436 with the famous dome engineered by Brunelleschi but here we have the west facade and Giotto's campanile

Aussie Sport

 

1956: Olympic Games, Melbourne

Australia has hosted the Olympics twice, starting in Melbourne, although the equestrian events

1987: Agricultural Shows (Design - David Lancashire)

could not be held in Australia due to their strict quarantine regulations so they were held in

1990: World Equestrian Games, Stockholm

Sweden.  It seems there are some interesting additions in equestrian games such as equestrian vaulting, now that is something I'd like to see. It has only appeared once at an Olympic Games.

1996: Centenary of the Australian Football League

Aussie Rules, Australia's most popular sport, is unlikely to appear when Brisbane host the Olympics in 2032 as it is only professionally played in Australia. Its similarity to Gaelic Football leads to an Aussie Rules contingent in Ireland resulting in their lone international fixture played against Ireland. 

Australia is known as a sporty country no doubt aided by all that sunshine,

1989: Sports

open country,

and warm seas.  The second time the Olympics were held in Australia

2000: Paralympic Games, Sydney, New South Wales

the Paralympics were part of the Games and despite early struggles Sydney would prove a turning point in building awareness, attendance and a TV coverage of the Paralympics.

Sunday Stamps theme travels the globe this week in the Eastern Hemisphere - See It On A Postcard



 

Paris Olympics

 

1924: Olympic Games, Paris (Design E Becker; Engraver G Parison

Later this month eyes will be on Paris but I would guess in 1924 one would have to rely on the radio or newspapers. Radio of course was in its infancy and the BBC had many firsts for that year including the first Shipping Forecast which is still telling us what the weather forecast for Viking, North and South  Utsira etc will be as it gradually works its way around the other 29 shipping areas of sea.  The stamp has winged victory and the sights of Paris but I can't see the Eiffel Tower so

1996: Autumn Philatelic Exhibition (Design - Christian Broutin)

here it is. 

1953: Sports (Design Andre Jacquemin

 At this point I discovered I did not have many other Summer Olympic stamps from France,

1996: Centenary of the Modern Olympics

apart from this one of a discus thrower,  however a briefly existing entity which issued stamps for two years, came to my rescue

1968: French Olympic Champions

with a map of France and French champions.

Sunday Stamps theme this week - Norther Hemisphere - See It On A Postcard

Map

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is in need of maps and waymarkers so

lets take the road to Denmark, the second happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Ranking. It must be true look at all those smiling faces.

Sometimes more than maps might be needed in the land of knights, magic spells, fairies and goblins. In the Brocéliande Forest you follow in the steps of King Arthur, Merlin and the fairies Vivien and Morgan le Fey,

The mysterious Nine Standards cairns, no one knows their origin only that they are very old.  For the day walker reaching Nine Standards Rigg there are excellent viewpoints and to coast to coast walkers these sentinels are a welcome sight because it means

they are almost at the half way point.