UK, Ireland / Car Shipment from Poland to the UK [19]

Wouldn't it be less aggro to buy a British registered car ?

As long as you look carefully enough, there are some good bargains to be had on the 2nd hand car market.

UK, Ireland / Friend told "just allow your son to forget Polish" by school. [96]


Just tried to send you a PM to apologise for being a moody git earlier, but your setting don't seem to allow for them, so I'm doing it this way instead.

Sorry !


I'm too tired to respond fully, so will have to pick up on this another time.

Night all x

UK, Ireland / Friend told "just allow your son to forget Polish" by school. [96]


Your remarks about foreign language teaching and teachers wasn't exactly friendly.


To a certain extent in that the other languages I was taught at school (French, German and Spanish) has gone by the wayside somewhat as I've never really needed it.


I think that might be true. It's quite likely that the teacher involved may have been relieved that the parents were teaching the child English and wanted that encouraged.

I don't know what area of the country this is happening in, but in some places the sudden influx of foreign children into schools was something they were not expecting and given very little help or support with. It's perfectly possible that this person was just thinking on their feet and doesn't really know what to suggest.

Maybe try and see things from the teacher's point of view ?

UK, Ireland / Friend told "just allow your son to forget Polish" by school. [96]


Apologies, I must have missed that bit.


I don't think anyone is doubting the benefits of him being bilingual. The issue seems to be around which language should be given any kind of priority.


Thanks. Are you trying to be offensive ?

UK, Ireland / Friend told "just allow your son to forget Polish" by school. [96]

Lexi, I'm giving you my opinion, based on what's been said.

I'm sorry if you don't appreciate it or cannot at least see another person's point of view.

I may not agree with you, but you should at least allow me the courtesy of having an opinion.

Please refrain from discussing any futher matters with me if you can't engage in a debate.

UK, Ireland / Friend told "just allow your son to forget Polish" by school. [96]


Then tell the teacher to p!ss off and mind her own business.

Why was the teacher / teaching assistant involved if there is no real problem ?

UK, Ireland / Friend told "just allow your son to forget Polish" by school. [96]


You seem to be getting the impression that I'm saying he shoudn't be taught Polish at all and I'm not saying that.

All I am saying is that if the child is struggling, which you seem to be saying he is, then they should concentrate on his English.

The English he is learning is not something to be "picked up naturally" as you put it as though it's happen through some kind of osmosis, he needs to be taught it both at school and at home.

I agree that the parents are expecting a bit too much and it probably is some inner-city school where about 50 odd different languages are spoken and the teachers have to try and do their best by everybody.

Do you think that Polish parents are the only foreign parents that this teacher has to consider and try to accomodate ?

What do these parents want ? Everyone else to learn Polish so that they and their children can be understood properly, because they're finding managing both languages a struggle ?

UK, Ireland / Friend told "just allow your son to forget Polish" by school. [96]


I do agree with you on that point and don't think that this kid shouldn't be learning Polish, just that the emphasis should be on English as that will, ultimately, be his first language.

If he can manage both in tandem, then fine, but he seems he is having a few problems.

If he is struggling with his Polish, then they should but the brakes on that for a bit and come back to it later. I would be saying the same the other way around if he was being brought up in Poland by English parents.

UK, Ireland / Friend told "just allow your son to forget Polish" by school. [96]


Sorry, but I don't agree with this.

The parents should be learning English along with the child, so they're all speaking it to a such a level that it eventually becomes their first language.

UK, Ireland / Friend told "just allow your son to forget Polish" by school. [96]


I think it depends on how quickly the child is at learning. He's only five, poor lad, so he shouldn't have too much pressure at such a young age.

I'm all for someone in his situation being kept in touch with his roots and all that, but his parents decided to bring him to another country, so they must have thought something like this would happen ?

His English skills has to be given priority at the moment (in my opinion), so he doesn't fall behind his classmates and end up feeling left out at school.

I can appreciate it's a difficult balancing act.


There are pros and cons of emigrating and something like this is on the 'con' side.

Surely these parents you speak of are not surprised that this is happening ?

UK, Ireland / Father's Day cards banned in Scottish schools [64]


Me too, however, while they might only be a small group of people, they don't seem to be stopping anytime soon.


I agree, we all want the cottage in the country, roses around the door, a chicken or two to lay you an egg for your breakfast and so on......

I know that there are lots of different types of families nowadays and all that, but I still maintain that basic standards are slipping - and I don't mean that people have to be married and have 2.4 children to maintain standards.


I agree with that too. I'm not talking about what I read in the Daily Mail, more what I know and have seen real people I know get up too.

UK, Ireland / Polish language lessons wanted - Bradford area [5]


Wasn't that was a little too sarcastic a response to someone's first post ?

Get back in your basket :-)

I'm sure Rad realised that the original poster was after classes. Rad's more than likely asking what sort of level etc.

Welcome to the forum, Rad :-;

UK, Ireland / Polish workers in England, advice need to find a place to live and a job. [10]


It will certainly give her a much better chance and it's heartening to hear that she obviously wants a career rather just a job, however, as Shelley said, it's not a good time here at the moment for someone to walk into a job.

I also know of people that have lost their jobs and good jobs are hard to come by. Your friend needs to do some serious research and have a job to come to, rather than come here to look for a job.

As I said before, I would suggest a holiday first, maybe send her CV out a bit while she is here, test the water and see what sort of reaction she gets. Tell her not to burn any bridges just yet.

UK, Ireland / Father's Day cards banned in Scottish schools [64]


Quite likely, but surely that means that the women concerned could have been a little more selective who they let father their child(ren) ?

You only have to watch a few minutes of "Jeremy Kyle" to see the sorts of people that are reproducing these days.

Children are seen by many nowadays as a right and an entitlement; the latest "must have" accessory. I think that this is partly due to seeing so-called celebrities like Jordan and Ulrika Jonsson having kids all over the place with different blokes and the fact that the more children a person has, the more it entitles them to from the state.

There are also too many "babies raising babies" in this country.

UK, Ireland / Renewing Polish Passport in London or Manchester [18]

If it is so urgent for it to be replaced, why didn't she renew it before it expired? Sorry to be blunt, but someone living in another country should never let their passport expire.

Related: Renewing a Polish passport in Manchester


Unfortunately, as recent improved ... it is best to agree on a meeting because of the cheats sorry do not mean you. but it was a British television channel BBC1 redeem the woman at the time of the rape each EU passports.

UK, Ireland / England, Dirty, Expensive and a dangerous place to live? [205]


Sell it when you retire and spend the money as you see fit and don't leave it to your children.

That's what I would do ;-)

UK, Ireland / England, Dirty, Expensive and a dangerous place to live? [205]


I know Horsham very well and was only there the other evening.

I've been to the Jazz Rooms too, but that was so long ago and not sure if it's still there. I just remember that it was a time when not only could you smoke in nightclubs, it was pretty much against the rules not too !

Great days !

UK, Ireland / Polish meat in English supermarkets? [73]


Gotta have your gravy ;-)


And your sausages !


Why indeed, but Jihozapad saying that 99% of the Polish people he knows hates English food seemed very high.

UK, Ireland / Polish meat in English supermarkets? [73]


Then they've been eating in the wrong places.

You can't beat a good old Sunday dinner or a full English breakfast.

UK, Ireland / England, Dirty, Expensive and a dangerous place to live? [205]


That was more of a private joke between me and niejestemcapita as we found out recently that we live two streets away from each other :-)


I've never lived in London, but lived in Brighton for almost 10 years and have been in Hove for just over five.

I grew up not very faraway so have always had a close association with the two towns/one city and what you wrote about London rings very true with my experiences of Brighton.


Too much of that and you'll go blind ;-)

Oh and don't forget Mr Apostrophe !

UK, Ireland / England, Dirty, Expensive and a dangerous place to live? [205]

Shelley, who started the thread, is British and you'll probably find that a lot of those that replied are, like me, British too.

UK, Ireland / England, Dirty, Expensive and a dangerous place to live? [205]


Oh I know it. Sounds like the sort of place that people at parties say they were born and bred in, in their broad Yorkshire accent ;-)


Very good, did you write that ?

UK, Ireland / Father's Day cards banned in Scottish schools [64]


I appreciate that and they're just as much to blame for this situation.


Rubbish !

It has nothing to do with the attitude towards single-parents, that's just an excuse.

Of course people shouldn't stereotype, but kids grow up to be trouble if they have had no rules or proper boundaries laid out. Plenty of women manage to do it on their own.


I think that Grandparents' Day has been around for some years now, but I don't think it gets much notice ....... thank goodness !


You never appreciate what you've got until it's not there :-(

UK, Ireland / England, Dirty, Expensive and a dangerous place to live? [205]

And where do you live NOW prey tell ? ;-)

UK, Ireland / Polish workers in England, advice need to find a place to live and a job. [10]


Yes, this is very important. I gave a figure of £3000 which may seem more than enough, but that might only last someone a few months, unless they're sleeping on someone's floor.

Don't come all this way to sofa surf.


A willingness to take a few lessons or at least get a book or two from the library to help develop better English would probably help too.

To get anywhere, this guy need a job, a place to stay and a bank account and speaking little or no English would leave him very vulnerable.

UK, Ireland / Father's Day cards banned in Scottish schools [64]


We'll have to beg to differ on that one :-)


I agree and I'm not doubting your statistics at all, but I just think it is too easy (and lazy) for the media to almost forgive dreadful behaviour on account of someone being raised by a single-parent.

It seems almost the norm these days for young women, many barely not even out of education, to copulate like spaniels with anyone and everyone and end up with about three or four children from various different blokes.

Is it any wonder something like a Fathers' Day card becomes such a difficult issue ?

People make their beds, they need to lie in them and if that means they have some explaining to do to little John or Janet as to why they don't have a Dad to make a card for, then that's what they must do.

UK, Ireland / Father's Day cards banned in Scottish schools [64]


It's a dreadful name that is also the name of a cat food.


I was raised in a single parent household, by my Dad, after my Mum died and neither me nor my brother have ever been in prison thank you very much.

UK, Ireland / England, Dirty, Expensive and a dangerous place to live? [205]


I agree to a certain extent.

Is it dirty ? Well, it depends where you live, but it's certainly not very clean, but that is because many people don't care and see any kind of mess as someone else's job to sort out.

There are certainly too many cars and too many people, so it's never going to be that clean unless you can afford to live away from the rat-race.

Is it expensive ?

Considering how many people have been living off credit for years and years and are now being forced to live within their means, I would say that with the exception of property, it's not so much expensive, more that people seem to want everything.

Is it dangerous ?

In certain places yes, but that's because we have a Police force that have to do their job with one hand tied behind their back the whole time. If the thought of prison sent shivers down the spines of those that murdered Ben Kinsella, it would probably have never happened in the first place.

People like that don't carry knives for protection, they carry them because it makes their tiny c**ks hard and gives their useless existences some kind of sick meaning.

Of course there will be danger when the only people that don't step out of line are the sorts of people that would never step out of line anyway.

UK, Ireland / Polish workers in England, advice need to find a place to live and a job. [10]

As no one as replied to your question yet, I thought I would bump your thread.

My words of wisdom may not count for much as I'm not Polish, but I've come across quite a few through my work and I can certainly suggest a few situations your friend should avoid.

Firstly, what's his English like ?

I only ask because if it's not great, he will end up being ripped off either by an employer, a landlord or a bank (or all three). Banks have a very bad habit of throwing credit cards, loans and complicated fee charging bank accounts to foreigners who have no idea what they're getting themselves into. It ends badly I can tell you.

Any job worth doing or house worth living in will come with paperwork to sign and he needs to be able to know what he is reading and signing. Despite everything you might have heard, the only things that get translated into other languages tend to be a few leaflets from the local council etc.

Has he ever been to England ? I would suggest a holiday first so he has some time to check things out, without the pressure of needing to find a job there and then. He needs to do some thorough research and have enough money be able to live somewhere nice. Cheap places to live are cheap for a reason and the UK, especially the south, is a very expensive to live.

If he decides to move here, he might need as much as £3,000 to keep him going until he finds a job as unemployment is high and there is no welfare state for someone that has never worked here before. He should also give himself a deadline and if it's not working by such and such date, he gives up and goes home.

I don't know if this is any use to him, but all I can really say is don't be a stereotype. If he's a plumber or a builder, speaks hardly any English, asks for everything to be translated, has a pregnant wife, two children and not much of a plan, people will groan.

If, on the other hand, he has something to offer, wants a decent job with prospects, has great spoken and written English and the only baggage he has is his luggage, I'm sure he will have a really good chance of doing well.

UK, Ireland / Father's Day cards banned in Scottish schools [64]

"Tina Woolnough, 45, whose son Felix attends Edinburgh's Blackhall primary school, said several teachers there had not allowed children to make Father's Day cards this year.

Mrs Woolnough, a member of the school's parent-teacher council, said: "This is something I know they do on a class-by-class basis at my son Felix's school. Some classes send Father's Day cards and some do not."

I think Mrs Woolnough should be taken to task for naming her child 'Felix' rather than get worked up about the Fathers' Day card hoo-har.

For what it's worth (bearing in mind this article refers to last year's Fathers' Day and not this year's - who knows what has changed since then) I think that the children that don't have a dad to give a card to, for whatever reason, should be given something else to do.

The article refers to "one in four" children living with a lone parent, so why be so heavy handed with the other 75% ?


I agree.

I've worked in plenty of places where Muslims give and receive Christmas cards and generally join in. In fact it was after one Christmas a few years ago, during the usual "How was yours?" discussion that the only person that said they had a "traditional" Christmas was a Muslim. True story.

If people spent half as much time worrying about stuff that really mattered as they do about some folded cardboard, the world would be a much better place.