Since gaining my licence I’ve usually just had basic cards which have sufficed – I guess all new Amateurs don’t know where to start when it comes to what and how etc… then when they receive their first QSL card all hell breaks loose with a “WTF am I going to do for a card?” thought…
For my first one it was simple – a flag of the Island of Guernsey interlaced with the relevant information – I asked around and found the basics then came up with this…
This was a simple and sufficient solution. However I had made an error in the size as when I sent it off for printing there was a gap at the bottom because the paper was 0.5″ bigger than I had accounted for but that was useful for writing in extra station details. I only held the Intermediate call for a few months; April to August and then I got my Full call sign so I updated the QSL card…
DOH! – I made the same mistake with the size and printing AGAIN.
Enjoying my photography as I do I thought it could be a brilliant way to show off some of my work – however I’m not a pretty picture taker – I like documentary / social history / street type photography. I have a favourite from my “Bridge” project BUT it isn’t really child friendly, showing a chap pouring out whisky to feed his thirst so I needed one for the younger generation – I’d had a couple of QSOs with some scout groups and thought it best not to send the whisky one so I refreshed my earlier WLV card (at the same time I fixed the sizing error and made them the correct size (5″ x 3.5″ being the smallest size my printers can do)) see below…
I’ve had the above for a while now and reconsidered the photos from my project – they mean a lot to me but not so much to the world.. Now I wanted something funny – different and strange… I think I’ve managed that…
Years ago (March 2016) we went beach combing with the kids on the east coast of Guernsey along the shoreline of a bay called Belle Greve, we were looking for sea glass, they are like little gem stones – I’ve made jewellery out of some bits and other presents too, its lovely stuff. Belle Greve is not the best beach in Guernsey as just off shore we pump our sewage in to the sea… I know right, it’s the 21st century and yet we are still polluting the sea (despite protests)… a fantastic process considering we are an Island that tends to go for platinum/gold plated civil infrastructure – pumping sewage in to the sea is just wrong… one day our local government will take some responsibility for the pollution they are creating…
Below are a couple of things I have made from the sea glass…
Anyway… walking up the shore I found these false teeth… Den hates them and thinks I’m mad for keeping them ha ha ha… When I got them home I gave them a quick clean up – lots of speculation of how they came about to be on the beach… someone lost them down the toilet, may be from a burial at sea but I think that’s unlikely… but who knows…!
Whilst sorting my latest batch of QSL cards from the Bureau it became evident that I would need to order some more so I rustled up this new one. For my cards I use a local photo printing company www.snapmad.com who will print anything you send them at the same cost or slightly cheaper (if you order 50x or more I think) than a 1,000 print run from a QSL card printing company so chopping and changing designs is easy and cheap…
I wanted the first one of the new cards to go to a special ‘worthy’ recipient. My twitter friend Jayney (M0JNE – @EmZeroJayney) has had a particularly rough time lately and so I thought it would cheer her up – the problem was getting her out and on the radio as she has no home station at the moment and waning radio mojo (I know what that’s like)… it took a while but with her friend’s help (Krystyna – G5YL & Paul – M0PCF) today we managed it.. so she gets the prize of the first person to receive one of my new cards… I wonder what she thinks of it…? I Hope she likes it 🙂 BUT, due to my tardiness I forgot to pop it in the post on Monday 14th but I did eventually remember to do it Friday 18th – I’m hoping she gets it on Tuesday 22nd October as I can then post this blog entry 🙂 Just found out she is away until Sunday 27th, ahh well this post will wait 🙂
I think life is too short for being serious – hopefully you find the card amusing too… To this day the teeth are still sitting on top of my master power switch for the shack desk / work bench. Useful to ward off evil… 😉
What’s going to be the next picture I use… hummm….
73 – Adam
I got to hand it to you buddy – those teeth are amazing, I’m still rolling on the kitchen floor looking at it!! Well done on a brill QSL card!! Hmm wonder what eQSL will make of it if u upload it on there to send out!!
Hey Kev… thanks as always for your positive comments 🙂
Note, I’m not a paid user of eQSL so that’s not going to happen….
All the best eh!
It was a pleasure to work you finally, Adam, even if it was a borrowed station! Life is too short, you are absolutely right on that, and it sometimes takes something life changing in order to realise that. Or two things in my case.
Keep doing the photography, and the not so serious QSL cards! And thank you for issuing the first of the teeth cards too me! By the way, it’s the first QSL card I’ve actually received since being licenced (I had dozens as an 11m bad girl), so two firsts in one 🙂
Here’s to many more QSO’s in the future, 73’s (and an 88 on the cheek) de Jayne, M0JNE
Hey Jayney – so sorry, I missed your comment… it was brill to work you (borrowed station or not) also nice to get G5YL in the log too and an honour to be your first QSL card sender 🙂 even better you get the first teeth, ha ha ha As for 11m – nothing bad about it… I never really played with CB after 1982/83 as I found girls, cars and pubs… all very distracting – came back to radio after 30 years to get away from girls, cars and pubs, the latter being very tough ha ha ha so I’ve a lot of catching up to do 🙂 73 & 88 back at ya (& 10-10 till we do it again) 😉