News / British moved to POLAND on BBC tonight [74]


sorry for correcting you incorrectly then :o))) ..... but from what you had written I understood that the two were different people :o)

my apologies :o))))

News / Poland 2007 Elections: PO Won, PIS second [232]


is this by any chance a piece from Father Rydzyk (Radio Maryja) last sermon !!!!!!!



Maybe now Poland will taken more seriously on the political scene, and not a laughing stock.

Having the Kaczynski twins in charge was like having 'Bill and Ben' or Laurel and Hardy' leading the country ...... but having said that the latter would have done a better job !!

Now we only have one Kaczynski to worry about !

News / British moved to POLAND on BBC tonight [74]


the two people are one and the same .... the British guy called Kevin became a firemen ... and also a tv personality ! :o)


i wish they had showed a bit more about Krakow ..... but enjoyed watching the Wieliczka salt mines ..... i've been there and think it's absolutely amazing .... the chapel made out of salt !

News / Poland 2007 Elections: PO Won, PIS second [232]


Great result .... PO win !!!!! Good days ahead for Polska !!

Glad to see the back of Samoobrona & Liga Polskich Rodzin !!


Quite the contrary ....... PO win the election .... well done Donald ...... nothing but a bright future for Poland !

News / Polish Election Poll (according to PolishForums) [237]

they've just started 'Taniec z Gwiazdami' (Dancing with the Stars) ..... time to go and make a cup of tea and then get ready for Michael Palin :o)

need to give the eyes a rest from the comp screen !
bye for now :o)

just heard ..... voting in Warsaw has been extended to 23.00 in Poland .. that's 22.00 here in UK !

News / Polish Election Poll (according to PolishForums) [237]

i understand there was over 90% turnout to vote in US !!! Wow !

News / Polish Election Poll (according to PolishForums) [237]

come 9pm here in London I'll be watching Michael Palin in Poland .... and flicking back every so often to the Polish channel for election news :o)

News / Polish Election Poll (according to PolishForums) [237]

8pm here in London ...... still waiting and it appears they have no time when the first results (public opinion/unofficial) will be due !

News / British moved to POLAND on BBC tonight [74]


should prove interesting ! I will be watching :o)

Polonia / Polonia - will you vote? [14]


How many Poles do you know in UK ?

Just got back from the voting booth (POSK in Hammersmith) ! There have been long queues since they opened this morning.

At midday the line went all the way round the building and into the adjoining park. The majority of people in the line were aged 20yrs-40yrs. Many of the older generation appear to have voted very early according to the stewards controlling the lines, at around 5-6am !

Anyone wanting to vote has up to around 7pm :o) I believe there are 3 locations to vote in London .... Polish Embassy, POSK (Polish Cultural Centre) in Hammersmith and one other which I can't remember.

Most of the major cities with large Polish population such as Southampton will also have voting booths.

From what I have seen .... the young and older Poles have got off their arses and gone to vote !

UK, Ireland / Michael Palin visits Poland tonight. [19]


Thanks for the reminder Vincent ..... i was waiting for the Poland episode !

My wife always watches 'Taniec z Gwiazdami' on a Sunday evening, but I believe that is at 7pm;

Life / Sending teabags to Poland as a gift [20]


don't know where you're buying your bread from in Poland ... there is such a variety of breads and buns .... and they never taste stale or hard to me :o)

the bread you get in Polish shops in UK is not the same as the bread you get in the bakeries/market stalls/supermarkets in Poland,

News / Made in Poland products? [66]

Ordered a desk from Argos and had it delivered earlier today ....... surprise surprise , it was 'Made in Poland' !

Polonia / Polonia - will you vote? [14]

I have heard that a record number of Poles living in UK have registered to vote in the upcoming elections - whether they actually go out and vote on the day is another matter !

The reason for so many registering (and hopefully voting) is that they want to see Tusk win the elction.

My wife for one will be voting as will all our friends who have the right to vote.

Life / Sending teabags to Poland as a gift [20]

I always bring back about 2-3 loaves of Polish bread ..... can't seem to get the good stuff here in UK ! ........ buy the latest Polish women's magazine for my wife ... much cheaper than buying them here in London !

Life / Sending teabags to Poland as a gift [20]

Every time I go to Poland .. which is about once a month, I take various items from the UK to Poland as gifts for friends and family - tea is one of the most frequent asked after items.

Branston Pickle, curry paste/sauces are other items I bring over to Poland.

Never had any problems taking these items into Poland.

Work / Im thinking about moving to Poland and need advice on teaching english [18]


i'm in the same boat as You Sapphire .... planning to relocate with my family to Poland for a number of reasons , but the one you mention above is why so many of my friends have either moved out of London, or out of England completely !

I'm in Warsaw at the moment, should be flying back to Heathrow tomorrow at 7.30am, but have been emailed and txted by BA that my flight is cancelled !!

Where in Lodon are you Sapphire ? I'm in West London, not far from POSK, the big grey Polish building in Hammersmith.

News / Made in Poland products? [66]

Here in the Uk you can buy most Polish foods .... there has always been a 'Polski Sklep' for as long as I can remember .... and i am now in my ??'s, selling Polish produce like kielbasa, mushrooms, ogorki etc...

In the past it was just the 'Polski Sklep', but now I have seen sections in most of the major supermarkets stocking Polish produce ..... e.g. Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury ..... shouldn't really be surprised as most of the people working in these stores seem to be Polish !!!

I have seen furniture 'Made in Poland' also ..... and this dining table and 4 chairs has lasted longer than others I have bought in the past !

There is also Polish crystal, glassware, cutlery, etc ...... and most of the Polish products are of excellent quality and workmanship.

Life / WHY POLISH PEOPLE DON'T USE THEIR NATIVE FIRST NAME WHEN ABROAD? [136]


what a load of c**p ! It is nothing to do with being ashamed of ones Polish name - in most cases it is to make life easier for English people who have a problem with grasping foreign languages, and not being able to pronounce the Polish names properly .... after all there are so many sz's, rz's, cz's and certain letters which are pronounced differently in Polish than in English , and some which do not even exist in the English alphabet.

I was born in UK and have lived there all my life - my parents and grandparents were born in Poland so I see myself as a Polish guy who just happened to be born in UK - my blood is Polish !

When my son was born my wife and I gave him a name which is typically Polish (Tomasz) but can be shortened to Tom for when he went to school;

Even though we have pointed out on numerous occasions that the correct spelling of his name is T..O..M..A..S..Z, the teachers more often than not refer to him as Thomas !

I have a Polish surname with 'sz' in it and yes .. it does end in 'ski' .... and after all these years English people who have known me for over 20 years still can't get the name spelt correctly !!

UK, Ireland / Polish newspapers in the UK / advertising [6]


there are a few ..... the oldest being 'Polski Dzennik' or Polish Daily, there is also Polish Express, and LAIF. You have to pay for Dzennik but the other two are free i think :o)

There are also weekly magazines like Kultura, Goniec etc...

Life / Expats in Poland: Are you going to live in Poland long or short term? [65]


I am also planning to move my family over to Poland , hopefully in the next year or two. My wife is Polish born (Wroclaw), whilst I consider myself a Pole who was born in England; (parents and grandparents are Polish born).

We have two young children, aged 5 and 4 who are already bi-lingual; they are in a very good Roman Catholic school here in London, and the only concern is that they get a good education once we go to live in Poland.

What would people recommend - once we move to Poland, it will be either Warsaw or Krakow; is an international (English speaking) school better than the Polish state schools ? I know the International schools are quite expensive, but when it comes to my kids education one will make sacrifices to make sure they get the best :o)

England has changed considerably over the last 5-10 years, unfortunately for the worse, and I feel that Poland will give us a better quality of life. I am in Poland nearly every month and feel very much at home there; I suppose being able to speak the language fluently helps.

I am in Poland next 29th Sept to 12th October, in Krakow for about 3-4 days and then mostly in Warsaw. Anyone want to meet up for a drink or two send me an email.

Polanglik

Life / Why don't Polish service workers smile? [36]


I have to agree that most service workers in Poland do not smile and appear quite grim - they also have a lot to learn about customer service !

I was born in England, but speak Polish fluently due to parents/grandparents being Polish, so I don't believe it's anything to do with anyone not being able to speak Polish properly.

recently when I was purchasing numerous items in Carrefour supermarket, the check-out girl was scanning all the items until she came across a dvd that wouldn't scan - instead of calling a colleague for assistance, she threw the dvd away. I said I wanted to purchase that dvd, to which she replied "go get one that scans properly then"!

This could be an age related behaviour, because I have noticed that the younger generation and those working in better class shops do have better customer service skills.

News / Eurovision Dance Contest; the Polish band was quite good [21]

Hi,

I watched the show and thought that Poland did well to get fourth place, although i found the commentary by the English dance judges hillarious as they kept repeating how they couldn't understand why UK were not getting more points !! They made fun of Switzerland not getting any points but they didn't fair much better !

For some reason UK has this idea that they are best at most things .... :o)

My wife and I always watch the Celebrity Come Dancing ... both English and Polish versions, and overall the Polish dancers are better by a mile !

Real Estate / Advice on what Polish city to invest in.... [101]


krn.pl is a good site, although only Polish version.

Quite a few developers now have both English and Polish versions of their site.

There are plenty of developments to choose from, but make sure you go with a reputable developer, and always use a lawyer to check any agreements you sign, preferably in notarial form.

A few of the bigger developers give favourable payments plans on off-plan apartments, such as 10/90 or 20/80.

If you want any info. send me an email : anglopol@aol.com

Real Estate / Advice on what Polish city to invest in.... [101]

Hi Nick & Anna,

As I understand it, if one buys a property (ie. signs the final agreement) after 1st January 2007, the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is now 19% on the profit irrespective of

how long one has owned the property.
The rule of owning a property for a period of 5 years resulting in a CGT
of zero is no longer applicable. However if one is resident at the
property for a period of 12 months this makes one exempt from CGT.

I also believe investing the funds from a sale will no longer make you exempt from paying CGT - I will check with my contact in Poland for verification.

This is for Polish residents, but for anyone residing in UK , then the Inland Revenue will want there cut !

If you pay the 19% in Poland then Mr Taxman here in UK will want the remaining 21% !

Most property analysts have said that 2007 will be a good year for Poznan and Lodz in terms of capital appreciation.

What is the location for the apartments you are considering buying ? .... are there good transport links,shops, recreational areas nearby ?

Work / Culinary-Art's degree, thinking about Moving back to Poland from the US [10]


are you sure it's 6months .... i thought it was a year ?

Work / Culinary-Art's degree, thinking about Moving back to Poland from the US [10]


I believe it depends whether you have permanent residency (Green Card) or whether you have US citizenship .... if you only have a green card it entitles you to live and work in US , and assumes you are resident in US.

If you don't have US citizenship and stay out of US for longer than a year, you may have your Green Card revoked .

If I am mistaken I am sure someone will correct me !

Life / Popular Polish classic Songs [18]


Thanks for the correction :o)

Life / Jaywalking in Poland ? [38]


I agree with you .... it appears you took due care and attention when crossing the road. I always thought jaywalking was crossing the road without any consideration for traffic ...

Real Estate / property in Lodz - anyone any experience [102]

check out if Ober-Haus has offices in Lodz ... not sure how good they are at management ... i have found most agencies will find you a tenant (or at least try!) but not do management.

130 sq meters is quite a considerable size .... i think you'll have difficulty letting it out ... unless you get students sharing ...

as for what rent you should ask ... i'll look into this for you.:o)

Second flooding in Lodz
June 15, 2007
Enormous downpour has went through the Lodz city twice in two days time. Heavy rain caused flooding in the city center making it unable for cars to pass through and moreover it paralysed the urban means of transport.

I read this on expats Poland ; just wondered if anyone knows how bad it was ?