UK, Ireland / Moving to england from Poland? I'm making a documentary [23]

That's a bit of a generalisation, aphrodisiac. I don't think it's really true. Some older English folk can appear aloof as they are just content with their lot. I imagine many to be very good to chat with.

Life / Retire in Poland - Good or Bad Idea? [74]

He meant that they were the only defeated nation, I think. Hmm...odd thought indeed :(

Take time?? Like 65 years? This is the nonsense that some spout here. He might just be too lazy to analyse current trends.

Life / Retire in Poland - Good or Bad Idea? [74]

ZUS will diddle you somehow. Poles have many stories about the pitfalls of this institution. Sorry to belittle it but it really doesn't seem as secure as a UK-based package would be. Still, the retirement options themselves are plentiful, you just need to know what you want to do. You could take up flying or open a steak house, whatever takes your fancy.

UK, Ireland / British news: The Poles might be leaving but the prejudice remains [52]

Some are prejudiced and some aren't. I don't like people trying to cash in with vague articles, laden with platitudes and out with the tar brush.

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

I get your point, BE, but this is the way of the world. Generations of Americans will be paying for the folly of Bush and his cronies. Germans will seemingly always bear the brunt of what that Austrian did etc etc.

Food / Who drinks fruit juices in Poland? Best Polish juice makers? [25]

I'll try it out. Barszcz czerwony is pretty tasty so I'll just be changing salt for sugar :)

Hortex make some really good stuff. They go beyond Poland, I saw them in one of the Baltic countries too.

UK, Ireland / British news: The Poles might be leaving but the prejudice remains [52]

Britain abandoned splendid isolation in 1902. Being an island culture is a lame excuse in today's global village. Telecommunications and the EU have put paid to that.

Outsiders have given Britain a wealth of options and diversity.

Life / DO ADULT CHILDREN EXPLOIT THEIR PARENTS IN POLAND? [22]

Main concern in that area :)

Sometimes the government messes up :)

Life / Where is a good place to find people in Poland who don't speak English? [13]

There are 'practise your Polish' threads here but they seem to have disappeared from the first page. Bar one :)

Life / DO ADULT CHILDREN EXPLOIT THEIR PARENTS IN POLAND? [22]

I meant in Holland but I think it may exist here :)

Life / Most overpriced things in Poland? [72]

Very true. He had around a 100, we're having much less than that. His lasted for 3 days, ours will last for 1 day. We're not going for the full works. Think smart, think Scottish ;) ;)

Life / Most overpriced things in Poland? [72]

Marriages for sure. Holy smoke, what an expense! My fiancee's bro's cost 30,000PLN. My fiancee and I are a cunning pair. I have the Scottishness and she has the ability to talk and haggle.

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

BritishEmpire, right enough. Still, a little taste of their own medicine is just desserts.

Life / Where is a good place to find people in Poland who don't speak English? [13]

Good strategy! That's how I learned a lot of Japanese in 9 months, by living in a city of only 88,000 people. The moment I started to speak English to them, the crossbones came out, followed by 'dame da' which means no, bad bad.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and the bane of the flock :)

Food / Who drinks fruit juices in Poland? Best Polish juice makers? [25]

Beetroot as juice? Dude, what gives? I know cranberry is for women with cystitis but does beetroot improve virility? It's likely good for blood circulation.

UK, Ireland / Moving to england from Poland? I'm making a documentary [23]

Thanks, Sean. That's a potential thread killer, tho. There are so many auxiliaries. Some are, some do, some can etc etc.

A documentary should be a well-balanced presentation. Do you have enough exposure to make it well rounded??? For example, I met a couple from Szczecin and they said that people often open the doors for others there. Here in Silesia, they seem to take great delight in letting the door shut in your face.

As long as it's objective and broad I guess.

News / What needs to happen in the world so that Poland and Russia form alliance? [297]

Crow, you have to question why Putin sat back on the issue of Kosovo, didn't criticise the US heavily for going into Iraq and had no qualms about cutting off the gas to Serbia. He's a businessman and you know that as well as I do. I read the other day that he has plans to run for the top spot in Russia in 2012. His ethnicity is not that big a deal for him. Territory and money are. If their ambitions don't become more modest, Tusk simply won't take him on.

Life / Expensive brand retail outlets in Poland - how do they survive? [19]

Kuchnia Świat? I don't think so. Hmm...I don't really disagree with what you said but I see it another way. There are so many places you can buy what that deli is selling. Dom Chleba, a range of supermarkets, Społem shops and some other markets to name but a few. They are staples for most Poles. It is these shops which do the bulk of the trade in those goods, about 95% I'd guess. The profit margin is about 5 times larger for most products in the deli and that doesn't make up for their lack of sales. For bread and pickles, much less.

The Poles just aren't adventurous enough to try some new brands. They prefer blander stuff. So long as they maintain that attitude, the deli doesn't stand a chance of becoming a flourishing enterprise.

UK, Ireland / British news: The Poles might be leaving but the prejudice remains [52]

The British government can hardly moan as it's a central theme of the EU treaty. The Van Binsbergen case was the seminal one that established the free movement of workers. I think it was the Dassonville case that established the general free movement principle. You give people attractive options, they invariably take them.

The big problem is that we are two stubborn peoples. Most Brits will cling to English as it's all they know. Many Poles stick to their own. I was arranging my wedding meal today and he kept speaking to my fiancee, even though he heard me speak Polish. It didn't seem to dawn on him that it my input was needed to.

Many people have become caught up in this so-called rat race and they have become selfish. They turn away from that which will make them uncomfortable.

Life / DO ADULT CHILDREN EXPLOIT THEIR PARENTS IN POLAND? [22]

The Dutch have yet another approach. I've heard that your main concern is caring for the elderly who have cared for you in the past. In fact, it's enshrined in your legal system, it's obligatory. That's what I learned. Am I wrong?

Life / Expensive brand retail outlets in Poland - how do they survive? [19]

Another cracking thread by WB. I was in the deli on the market square a short time ago and saw the crazy prices that they had. A small jar of Colmans for 10PLN. There's a hot copy from Roleski which, although not as good, costs much less (2PLN) and is pretty tasty.

I bought two packets of biscuits for 25PLN. OK, they were McVities Hobnobs and Cadbury's Choc Chip but still.

Anyway, I always seem to be the only guy in there. There are quite a few rich types here but I think it comes down to two things. Preference for their own Polish brands (complete with all kinds of quality standards) and also the desire to keep building up their bank balances by not buying expensive products. They either haven't experienced just how good some international brands are or they overestimate/exaggerate how good their own brands are.

News / The Poles working abroad are raking it in [35]

I wonder if they skipped their training sessions on that matter. As for Poles abroad raking it in, some can work and get benefits too. They are good at minimising their overheads as they've had a lifetime's training. It is their main objective to save up. They still get almost 5PLN to the pound so 5000PLN for a 1000 pound job. They buy a lot of the przecena/okazja (bargain) items which are coming up to or at their best before date.

News / How do people react when you tell them you are Polish? [71]

What intimidation tactics do you employ, Justy? ;)

Life / DO ADULT CHILDREN EXPLOIT THEIR PARENTS IN POLAND? [22]

Pol3, please don't use a sweeping brush to mark the West. There are major differences between European countries and this diversity is what we pride ourselves on.

Wow, one Scotsman. We also have a close sense of family which broadly resembles that in Poland. We were instilled with family values, both through government drives and important calendar events.

I do applaud the tightness of the family unit here but it's not as big a chasm as you think from some other countries of the West.

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

A manifesto is a series of pledges, aka propaganda. We should never hold our breath over such proposals. Prevarication is the way that they avoid what they formally signed up to. Ducking and dodging.

UK, Ireland / Leaving gift for Polish guy at work [15]

I think you are thinking of a jollywog, RN ;) ;) ;)

Give him sth from your local region, Shell. The more local, the better. The UK is very good for local products.

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

It depends on the costs involved :)

Life / Doing laundry in Poland [66]

Here's one for Pol3. It may form the basis of a study, LOL

Life / DO ADULT CHILDREN EXPLOIT THEIR PARENTS IN POLAND? [22]

Pol3, dirty laundry studies?? Are you having a laugh? If parents didn't want to do the washing, they'd say so. Many help out their family members a lot here.

News / The most spectacular errors in Polish politics. [264]

The key is not to stray off the beaten track. Go with what you know (or think you know). Let them tell you what they think and, as a teacher, fulfil your steering role. Give them food for thought and pitch your questions in a neutral fashion. You are not going in with axes to grind (I presume) and they will pick up on that.

Be tactful and err on the side of caution :)