41 isle of man
I was really excited to find this next envelope in my mailbox! My project is not about collecting cards, it's about meeting great people who understand that I am just really curious about all the islands, and that's why I was so happy when I found someone who wanted to share this much about his island! :)
The envelope and all those cards have travelled all the way from the Isle of Man, the self-governing British Crown dependency located between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. Big, big thanks to Ryan, who lives there, and who was so kind to show me all those things from the island.
The Isle of Man (also called Mann) has its own government, money and language - Gaelg. In the end of this post, I enclosed also the Coat of Arms of the Isle of Man, which seems especially interesting and may remind you of the flag of Sicily, where there was also the characteristic triskelion (the symbol with three legs).
The Castle that you can see on the first card is located in Castletown, and it is said to be haunted, as Ryan explains in the letter. Apparently, you can sometimes see a hooded lady by the flag pole, of course on a foggy, grey days.
On the coin is the Tower of Refuge on the St Mary's Isle, where a rescue happened in 1830. On the other side there is of course Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. Some of the other Manx coins show also e.g celtic Gaut's cross, the Manx sheep, Triskeles with map or Medieval Norse armoury.
The stamp on the left side celebrates the life of Archibald Knox, who was a Manx artist and designer, born 1864, and his influence and work can be seen on some of the island's buildings.
The card with the bike shows John McGuinness, a TT rider. TT (International Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Race) is said to be the fastest and most dangerous road race in the world, and it attracts lots of tourists. The first race was held in 1907, and there have been 95 of them until today.
On the second postcard you can see the Manx Loaghtan sheep, that have characteristic dark brown wool and four or even six horns.
I hope you all enjoyed this small 'tour' of Isle of Man, and if you want to know more, have a look here.
Coat of Arms. source
- postcard sent
- postcard received
- distance travelled
- ~1830km
- sent from
- Douglas (the capital)
3 comments
Nice gift!
ReplyDeleteThe Isle of Man is a place of its own in many different ways. The parliament is the world's oldest.
ReplyDeleteThe island is often unfairly stereotyped and ridiculed when it should be celebrated for retaining its eccentricity.
Great post on Isle of Man! Thanks for sharing.
Ooo gratuluję tak rzadkiej wyspy (nie każdy może sobie na nią pozwolić w swojej kolekcji ;) ) i od razu zgarnięcia trzech kartek z niej :)
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