Flags of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia

Hello my fellow readers!
I was wondering if I'd ever get the chance to find an occasion to share these stamps with you and then dear host of Viridian's blog jumps in choosing that perfect topic!
So here we are, with the flags of my dear former Yugoslavia...the amazing country that had to crumble to pieces..and the country that many people feel nostalgic for, including me.
I won't deal with politics here, even though that's the main reason why everything went to hell...I just want to share with you these stamps and a small piece of where i used to live for the first 10/11 years of my life...yeah, im old actually :P

I have these awesome stamps thanks to Goran, who was so kind to send them to me....I absolutely love love love them! I know that there is nothing particular about their design maybe since they just portray flags, but to me they are special coz of the emotional bond we have.

the stamps depict the flags of all the 6 former Yugoslav republics, as well as the stamp of SFRJ (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), the country which existed from the end of WW2 until the beginning of the 1990's, when there was an outbreak of civil wars.

As you can notice, most of the flags are based on the three stripes principle, except for the Macedonian one, but they certainly include the five-pointed star fringed with a golden line, which represents the symbol of the state-economic system of the Federation - the socialism as well as the aspiration to achieve its highest level, the communism.
You can see the Yugoslav flag at the bottom line, shown on both the left and the middle stamp, where on the first one the name of the country is depicted in Latin while on the middle one, in Cyrillic letters, since both of the alphabets were used in the country. The flag of Yugoslavia was adopted on 31 January 1946, and it consists of three parallel lines, where the order is blue, white, red. It is based on the previous Pan-Slavic one, whose basis is identical. The three lines represent the nature of Yugoslavia as a Community or according to the version i like more, the blue colour represents the Adriatic sea, the white one - the freedom and the sky and the red one represents the blood shed during the wars.

Then, starting from the top, first you have the flag of the Socialist Republic of Serbia, while next to it is the one of Socialist Republic of Macedonia, the only one not following the 3 stripes principle. Macedonia got its independence on September 8 1991
In the middle you have the flags of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Slovenia, while at the bottom, apart from the SFRJ flags I had already mentioned, you also have the flag of SR Croatia.

All stamps have face value of 2,50 dinars (the currency of SFRJ), and were issued in 1980. The year when Josip Broz Tito died and which was the starting point for the breaking up of the country.

For more flags and patriotic stamps from around the world, click on the image below...and have a great Sunday :)

Portuguese Cheese, Portugal

Been a long while since Ive participated in Viridian's Sunday stamps, but here I am back again...with something mouthwatering..at least for me :)
I totally love cheese, both white and yellow ones. It is not like the healthiest food on Earth but it can be very delicious! Too bad there are not really Macedonian cheese stamps, coz the Macedonian cheese is just luscious! Yum yum yumm!

I received this AWESOME from Sam, who unfortunately has disappeared. I hope he is ok, and if anyone has any news, please share.
The cover contains all the 5 stamps issues in this set, as well as the souvenir sheet.

Both the s/s and the €0,32 stamp on the top left depict cheese produced in the Serra de Estrela mountain range in Portugal.
It is made of pure, raw sheep’s milk, of the Bordaleira race, Serra da Estrela variety, curdled with cardoon, aged between 30 to 45 days (for the soft cheese).
Cylindrical shape, about 6 cm high and 15 in diameter and weighing between 300 and 1 500 g.
Ivory coloured paste, soft, creamy, “blind” or with a few small holes, exquisite flavour, slightly acidulated. The legally defined area of production, which better opinions considered to be excessive, covers the municipalities of Carregal do Sal, Celorico da Beira, Fornos de Algodres, Gouveia, Mangualde, Manteigas, Nelas, Oliveira do Hospital, Penalva do Castelo and Seia, and a few administrative parishes in the municipalities of Aguiar da Beira, Arganil, Covilhã, Guarda, Tábua, Tondela, Trancoso and Viseu, in the centre-north of Portugal.
This one seems sooo creamy, it is driving me insane!

The €0,32 stamp at the right bottom part depicts the Rabaçal Cheese.
This one is made from sheep’s and goat’s milk, in the ideal proportion of 75% of the first to 25% of the second, raw, curdled with animal rennet, it is aged for at least three weeks. Cylindrical shape, about 5 cm high and 12 cm in diameter, it weighs between 300 and 500 g. Whitish-unpolished paste, semi-hard, with little or no holes, it has a particular flavour. The production area is mostly concentrated in the old village of Rabaçal (Penela municipality, Coimbra district) and a few neighbouring villages. The certificate that instituted the POD includes the municipalities of Alvaiázere, Ansião, Condeixa-a-Nova, Penela, Pombal and Soure, in the centre of Portugal.

The €0,47 stamp depicts the Azeitão cheese.
It is made from the milk of the Bordaleira sheep race, sub-race Saloia (in present times from other imported races as well), raw, curdled with cardoon, three weeks normal aging time. Shaped as small cylinders – 5 cm high, 8 cm in diameter –, weighing in average between 250 to 300 g (smaller ones are now appearing on the market). Pale-yellow or whitish paste, soft, creamy, with a stronger milky taste than the Serra da Estrela cheese (from which it descends). The production area established by law stretches to the municipalities of Palmela, Sesimbra and Setúbal, in the Lisbon region.

The €0,68 stamp depicts the Cabra Transmontano cheese.
It is made from raw goat’s milk of the Serrana race, curdled with animal rennet, aged during two months at least. Cylindrical shape, 4 to 6 cm high and 12 to 15 cm in diameter, weighing between 600 and 900 g. Hard whitish “blind” paste that has the characteristic flavour of goat’s cheese and a light peppery touch. Produced in the municipalities of Âlfandega da Fé, Carrazeda de Ansiães, Freixo de Espada à Cinta, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Mirandela, Mogadouro, Torre de Moncorvo and Vila Flor (Bragança district), as well as Murça and Valpaços (Vila Real district), located in the north-east of Portugal.

And the last, €0,80 stamp, depicts the São Jorge Cheese.
It is made of raw cow’s milk curdled with animal rennet. Shaped as a sort of wheel-type big cylinder between 10 to 15 cm high, its diameter varies between 25 and 35 cm and its weight between 8 to 12 kg. Hard, straw-yellow paste with many tiny irregular holes, brittle, with an individual flavour and slightly spicy touch. Minimum aging three month. The production area is that of the whole Island of São Jorge, Azores


technical details regarding the stamps:
- Date of Issue: 21 June 2010
- Width:            40.0 mm
   Height:           30.6 mm
  Size of the s/s: 13cm x 10cm
- Perforations:   13 by 13
- Process:         Llithography

My favourite for now would definitely be the Serra de Estrela one. Whats yours?

hope you have a yummie Sunday! for more delicacies, take a peek at Viridian;s kitchen :)

Purebred dogs, France

Just yesterday I realized that I have not yet posted something French here, despite having a number of stamps and covers from there....i should really reconsider the whole concept and how come i so much put forward some countries and sequentially totally neglect others....so to start repairing that, here comes something extra beautiful coming from France! Im just in love with this sheet! (btw, yesterday the discussion has opened up again...what's the difference btw a mini and a souvenir sheet...and in which category this one belongs to....I would put it in the mini-sheet, but then again, it may be a souvenir sheet too...arghhhh...HELP!)

this beauty was sent by Eric, from whom I also stole some of the info regarding it.
He says that these stamps were probably issued to remember that French households have nearly 10 million pet dogs. 1,650,000 souvenir sheets (composed of 4 stamps) and 4.7 million of the "Labrador" stamps were for this occasion.
The four stamps on this sheet are depicting some breeds of dogs belonging to 4 of the 10 distinct groups, identified in the LOF and defined by the World Canine Organisation ("Fédération Cynologique Internationale" or FCI in French) : the Yorkshire (€ 0.95) for the group of Terriers, the Labrador Retriever (€ 0.58) for the group of retrievers, flushing and water dogs, the German Shepherd (€ 0.58) for the group of sheep dogs and the Poodle (€ 0.75) for the group of companion and toy dogs. The other breeds appearing in the margins of this sheet : Dalmatian, Golden retriever, Jack Russell and Bull Terrier.

the size of the Yorkshire and the German Shepherd is 30mm x 40mm, while of the Labrador and the Poodle, 40mm x 30mm, The perforation of all is 13x13.

Merci Beaucoup Eric!

Local Fruits, Barbados

Boy...it's been so long since I've uttered something here...I mean, I know I have neglected this blog much more than my postcards' one, but i didnt even grasp it's been more than 3 months....ouch ouch ouch =/

You know, when you get off-track with something, it feels a bit more difficult to get back ON track...and the more time goes by, the worse it gets instead being vice-versa...I really can't explain this phenomenon, but it seems to be applicable to other issues in life as well.
The other day I got down to scanning the bunch of stamps/covers I have received in the past months since all I've been doing was piling them up all over my desk and shelves, and one day I realized that I had no idea what I already have and what I don;t...so as you all know it very well, procrastination will make your life just complicated :)

Anyways, let's see what I chose for today as a kick-off for the new beginning (posting for the first time after 3 months, does feel like a new beginning).

I got this beautiful cover as a surprise from Holger and his Barbados trip. It was a really nice and pleasant surprise for my mailbox since this is my first cover ever from Barbados.
Holger used 3 stamps which were issued on February 7th, 2011 in a set of  16...pretty lovely stamps, but I don't think these would ever manage to be contained as a whole set on one cover...even if it is an A4 envelope....
The stamps represent local fruits from Barbados and on this cover you have:

- at the left, the $1 stamp represents the Tamarind (Tamarindus indica))- this plant is indigenous to tropical Africa, where in the 16th century it was introduced to Mexico and South America (I guess that's how it reached Barbados). It reminds me of groundnuts a lot, though I can't tell if they taste the same, never ever tried Tamarind, though its use seems to be really wide.
This tree produces edible, pod-like fruit which are used extensively in cuisines around the world. It is a long-lived, medium-growth, bushy tree, which attains a maximum crown height of 12.1 to 18.3 metres.
The tamarind is best described as sweet and sour in taste, and is high in acid, sugar, B vitamins and, oddly for a fruit, calcium

- the 80c stamp shows Sea Grapes (Coccoloba uvifera)- this plant is native to coastal beaches throughout tropical America and the Caribbean, including southern Florida, the Bahamas, Barbados and Bermuda.
This plant is a sprawling evergreen shrub or small tree that reaches a maximum height of 8 m, but most specimens are little more than 2 m  tall. It has large, round, leathery leaves (up to 25 cm in diameter) with a primary vein that has a red color extending from the base, and the entire leaf turns red as it ages. The bark is smooth and yellowish. In late summer it bears green fruit, about 2 cm  diameter, in large grape-like clusters. The fruit gradually ripen to a purplish color. Each contains a large pit that constitutes most of the volume of the fruit

- the 40c stamp shows a Mammy Apple - this fruit is large and round weighing up to 7lbs. It has a thick light brown skin and its taste can be compared to that of a mango. Each tree can grow up to 75 feet and can yield 300 to 400 fruits. Powder made from mammey apple seeds can be used either as a dusting agant or in a solution as a spray

the size of stamps is 36x36 mm, while perforations are 13.25 by 13.25.

Trams, Belgium

this week's theme at Viridian's is Streetcars, or any kind of public transport. As someone might guess, i was on the verge of posting something related to trains (again) but i do have these set of 3 tram stamps, so it would be the best occasion to use them now :)

So here we have the tram set from Belgium issued in 2008.

the first one shows De kustttram, or the Belgian coast tram, which is a public transport service connecting the cities and towns along the entire Belgian (West Flanders) coast, between De Panne near the French border and Knokke-Heist near the Dutch border. At 68 km in length, it is the longest tram line in the world, as well as one of the few interurban tramways in the world to remain in operation. The service makes 70 stops with a tram running every ten minutes during the peak summer months, during which it is used by over 3 million passengers.

the second, 0,90 stamp shows a tram operating in Brussels, whose system is one of the ten largest in the world, with 17 routes totalling 133.4 km.

the third, 0,80 stamp portrays the Charleroi Metro, which is a 25 km express tram network in Belgium, consisting of a horseshoe-shaped line around central Charleroi and two branches towards the suburbs of Gilly and Anderlues.

the technical details regarding the stamps:

- Date of Issue: 14 April
- Width:            40.2 mm
- Height:          27.66 mm
- Perforations: 11.5 by 11.5


for more rides around, get off at the Viridian's station, by clicking on the button below:

Cats, Poland

I had some hard time in choosing the stamps for today....I have some ADORABLE cats and dogs' stamps, and I didnt know which ones to show...but in the end, the choice fell on these Polish felines..

I am a huge cats and dogs' lover...I have been one since I was born...in the majority of pictures I have from when I was little, a dog or a cat is present too...i used to have a dog too, but someone had stolen him and unfortunately we never managed to find him...it was an adorable Collie, or more popularly known as Lassie...now I have two cats which I absolutely adore, but still, i long for a dog too...at least dogs are genuinely happy when they see you :)

as for today's stamps, this is a set of 10 Polish stamps issued in 1964. I dont have many details regarding them, but I can tell you that they are big-sized stamps (over 4cm x 5cm), that is, bigger than the usual, standard sized stamps...and from top to bottom, from left to right, this is what they represent (sorry for the disorder, but this was somewhat most convenient for the scan...)

50gr stamp - Siamese cat
1.55 zl  - European cat
2.50 zl  - European cat
6.50 zl - European cat
3.40 zl - Persian cat
40 gr - European cat
30 gr - European cat
90 gr - Persian cat
60 gr - European cat
1.35 zl - Persian cat

 Some additional info...the European cat is also known as the European short-hair and is said to have its origins in Sweden.
Persian catsis are a long-haired breed of cat characterized by its round face and shortened muzzle. Its name refers to Persia, the former name of Iran, where similar cats are found. I love these coz they are so fluffy and chubby! Adorable!!
Unlike Persian, Siamese cats are not so attractive to me...at least not all of them..probably coz of their face-shape and the big pointed-out ears. Makes them cold....The origins of the breed are unknown, but it is believed to be from Thailand, where they are referred to as 'moon diamonds'...

Hope you have a nice Sunday folks! Here we finally have some sun and some warm weather! (by warm I mean, 6 degrees...but it is lovely compared to all that snow and ice and freezing cold temperatures!)

for some more adorable companions, click on the button below...and if you dont have a pet, you can always adopt one and give them a chance for a new home and lots of mutual love...you'd be surprised how much pets can change your life..

Protection of the Polar Regions & Glaciers, Croatia

well, this Sunday's theme at Viridan's is 'anything you wish', so here I thought Id post something related to the weather outside...we've been having these polar temperatures and snow for days now...ok, not to the extent in order to earn the title 'polar region' but still :) It is beautiful outside indeed, when everything is so white, and the air feels clear....the only problem is the traffic chaos, but we'll live....as always :)

before we begin, i would like to make two questions:


1. What is it that YOU do to contribute to the protection of the environment?

2. According to you, what is a mini sheet and what is a souvenir sheet? For me, this above would be a mini sheet but the HP says it is a souvenir sheet, so I would like some input from your side

thanks! :)


I love the theme of Polar Regions and Glaciers' Protection and it is really a pity the Macedonian post office has not issued any. I mean, you don't have to be a country to be facing this problem...as far as I know, many of our neighbouring countries do pay attention to this and have issued such thematic stamps....and they are all so lovely!
I have had my eyes on this Croatian issue for a long while, and then one day it surprised me in my mailbox since dear Agi decided to send it to me for Lori's NCC RR!

What the HP had to say about the issue:
When polar areas and their endangered condition due to climatic changes are mentioned, most people immediately think of a sad picture of a polar bear that is compelled to swim over large distances in search for an iceberg somewhere in the North Pole region. Although being excellent swimmers, polar bears are unable to survive in those regions without ice. Disappearance of the ice cap during summer months and the threat to ice bear habitats have become the symbol of endangered condition of the ice-covered regions caused by recent climatic changes. The scientific community is unanimous in their confirmation of the existence of global warming, as well as of the responsibility of humans for recent changes, which has been confirmed also by the latest report of the United Nations’ committee on which several thousands of scientists worked. Of course, there are also natural exchanges of ice ages caused by the change of the Earth’s orbit or by the tipping of the Earth’s orbit, the so-called Milanković’s cycles. However, they do happen on time-scales of thousands of years and cannot be taken as an explanation for the recent accelerated increase of temperature. Although these changes are global, they do not affect equally all the regions. The most threatened ones are those in the polar circle. In summertime, almost all ice melts in the North, whereas the coastal regions in the distant South experience one of the highest temperature increases on the Earth i.e. 2.5 °C in one hundred years, on the top of Antarctic Peninsula. For instance, disintegration and melting of the ice shelf Larsen B 2002 on the Antarctic Shelf, an ice shelf with an area eight times the area of Croatia’s island of Krk, caused a surprise among the scientific community because no one could foresee such a rapid development in that direction. For all the above mentioned reasons, the period 2007/2008 was proclaimed the International Polar Year, on the occasion of which the scientists carried out a number of projects and measurements, with the specific purpose of better understanding and protecting the polar areas and glaciers. In the last 125 years of modern science, it has been the third time that the world joined its forces in the research of the polar areas, the last time in the distant year 1957/1958 on the occasion of the World Geophysical Year. The projects related to the Polar Year are due to be finished in March 2009 and therefore it is very convenient that the issue of a commemorative stamp on the protection of the polar areas coincides with the end of great effort in science to research and protect them better. An important issue has been left open: what we as individuals can do to protect the polar areas. Although we are very far away from them and our country is small, we can still make quite a difference. The atmosphere is getting warmer and warmer under the influence of glasshouse gases and it is not irrelevant where they arise from. The Western world generates enormous quantities of these gases and a fair part of them is superfluous and their emission can be reduced. As a nation we can plan the sustainable development which will not be an additional threat to the Earth and as individuals we can save and more efficiently use the energy; we can plan better and reduce our "imprint" in the emission of glasshouse gases, in order to help everyone on the planet to keep their habitats, even the polar bears. It is believed that this commemorative stamp will have a certain impact and contribute to raising of awareness on the necessity of protection of the polar regions and glaciers.

Technical details:

5kn of each stamp
Size: 112 x 73 (31,24 x 35,50) mm
Paper: white 102g, gummed
Perforation: Harrow, 14 Tehnique: Multicoloured Offsetprint + Embossed print and Varnish
Date of issue: 27.3.2009

for other random themes, pay a visit to Viridian's blog

have a great snowy or sunny Sunday everyone (depending on where you live) :)

 I Agi, još jednom, hvala i najviše!!! <3