Locomotives EXPO '86 Vancouver, Cuba

this weather outside has kinda totally ruined my plans for the day, so if we're gonna stay at home, at least lets spend it in some productive way (where productive doesn't mean cleaning or working).

And being that no Cuban stamps have seen the light of the day here, here comes something Cuban, which in a way is related to everything else but Cuba :D

On May 2, 1986, Cuba Postal issued a set of 6 railway stamps, plus one souvenir sheet, representing different kind of steam engines, which were exhibited during the 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication held in Vancouver, Canada from Friday, May 2 until Monday, October 13, 1986. The theme of the Fair was "Transportation and Communication: World in Motion - World in Touch.


And here for display we have the mint stamps (shown above already), the FDCs (shown below), and also the maxicards (even further below). Couldn't be any happier regarding this possession :D

Out of all these, it is just the souvenir sheet that represents a Cuban steam engine from 1837.

The rest of the steam engines:

-The first Russian locomotive from 1845

-next is the Stephenson's Rocket steam engine from 1829 (Great Britain)

-from the same year of 1829, below you can see the Stourbridge steam engine from the US

-next is a French one from 1830, depicting Seguin's steam engine

- here we have the first Canadian locomotive from 1836






- and the last one is dedicated to Belgium, showing an urban locomotive from 1872 pulling a train at the Belgian Grand Central Railway.

*fun fact no. 1 - it is not that fun actually - but I have totally lost track of who has actually sent these to me. I find it embarrassing and kinda rude, but unfortunately I just cannot remember =/ So a big big thank you to the sender, and if you remember being the 'guilty' one for these in my collection, please drop me a line!

* fun fact no. 2 - Depeche Mode had had a concert during this EXPO!!! Seriously!! Back in their early days still, as part of the Black Celebration tour... damn, that setlist looks soooo good! Nowadays I would never probably hear live songs like Fly on the Windscreen or Christmas Island or Leave in Silence or Blasphemous Rumours
(weeps in silence)

* fun fact no. 3 - Apart from DM, A-ha have performed here as well!
(weeps in silence a bit more)

* fun fact no. 4 - Death Cab for Cutie have a song called 'Expo 86', and just now I know what it actually refers to - I've never really liked that one so never really cared to google for more info. It is from their Transantlanticism album (2003), where you can find my favourite DCC song, called Transantlanticism as well, but I wonder how an EXPO could actually serve as an inspiration for someone writing a song....

Flora, Macedonia

If there is something I don't lack when it comes to stamps, that is definitely flowers. But then another dilemma came up and that was, which ones to actually choose for today's Sunday Stamps edition.
In the end I decided to go with this set of Macedonian maxi-cards, mainly cos I knew I wouldn't be overlapping with someone else's post ;-)

Actually maxi-cards are not so commonly issued by the Macedonian post and I can consider myself lucky to even have these in the first place. (I don't think these are even available any longer)
This set of flora stamps was issued on 25 September 2003 and consists of four stamps, where you can see two of them above and two below.
The above stamps show the 'Cochicum macedonicum Kosanin' (on the left),  and the 'Viola allchariensis' (g. Beck) on the right

The other two stamps show 'Tulipa mariannae Lindther' (left), and Thymus oehmianus Ronniger & Soska (right).

I am terrible when it comes to plants and flowers and all, so the most I can do is just show the stamps, but I am far from being up to any discussions or analysis when it comes to them.

For more floral beauties, check out today's episode of Sunday Stamps.