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Posts by JWB  

Joined: 30 Sep 2007 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: -
Threads: Total: 1 / In This Archive: 1
Posts: Total: 12 / In This Archive: 12 		From: UK
Speaks Polish?: Yes

Displayed posts: 13
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JWB   
2 Oct 2007
UK, Ireland / First generation Pole in the UK [24]

I've noticed the same thing, it's almost as if they are aware of the deportations but thats about it and they don't really think about where all the people who were deported ended up.

I've also found that quite often Poles won't accept me as a Pole despite the fact that both my parents are Polish and my family history in the UK only goes back as far as Hull docks in October 1950. I sometimes jokingly refer to myself as a 'Plastic Polak' because that seems to be the opinion that people have.

I know that sounds terribly negative but it's not as bad as it sounds.
JWB   
2 Oct 2007
UK, Ireland / First generation Pole in the UK [24]

If thats the case JWB.....since you were born in the UK and bought up in the UK.... wouldn't it make more sense to see yourself as British?...at least being a Brit you've got more things to be proud off!!

More things? I think every nation has plenty of things to be proud of and to say one has more than another and is therefore better is in my opinion a tad jingoistic and distasteful.

You are right of course in that I am British in so much as that is what it says in my passport and I would say that I and all the other second and third generation Poles are a shining beacon of integration, but my ethnic origin will always be Slav and I think it would be pretty sad to lose touch with that.
JWB   
27 Oct 2007
Love / What to do, should I forget her? [14]

A couple of months ago I found myself having a few beers with some friends in a bar in a foreign country. It turned out that one of the waitresses in the bar was Polish and she was more than happy to meet some fellow Poles as where she was she didn't meet many.

To be honest I didn't really notice her to start with beyond the usual pleasantries and the fact that I'm more than happy to chat away in Polish to anybody. I've also been in a relationship for the best part of thirteen years which means I don't really notice other women and I certainly wasn't on the lookout for anyone new, however I did have to agree with my friends that she was pretty darn gorgeous.

So I ordered some beers and food and settled down to watch a football match on the tv without giving another thought to this girl. However everytime she came past she always had a little smile for me or she would catch my eye in quite a flirtatious way, even from across the other side of the room. Now having been in a relationship for as long as I have and never once thinking about straying, it's just not in my nature, I suddenly started to wonder about the signals I was picking up until one of my buddies tapped me on the shoulder and confirmed exactly what I was thinking.

Whenever she had a spare moment she would come over and chat and I now really started to notice her and probably started to flirt with her a little. I told her that I was flying home first thing the next morning and she seemed pretty disappointed but she did tell me that she was finishing work in a couple of hours. My friends and I were due to leave the bar quite soon and I seriously considered cancelling my plans for the night and staying with her but I simply couldn't do it because as I have said infidelity is not my thing and I really could not cheat on my girlfriend waiting for me at home. I decided therefore to walk away content in the knowledge that I've still 'got it' and enjoy the rest of my evening.

Unfortunatley this wasn't so easy and I couldn't get her out of my head, so much so that when I got home the following day I found the bar online and sent an email to her basically thanking her for contributing to a fun night. This failed to draw a responce so I decided to let her know exactly how I felt by sending her a huge bouquet of flowers with a note that left her in no doubt as to how I felt. This also failed to elicit a responce so a week later I phoned the bar and spoke to her. She was polite and friendly but I knew within a few words that she wasn't interested and I can truthfully say that I was heartbroken. My friends couldn't believe this as we were all sure she was seriously interested but there you go it seems we had either read the signals wrong or she had just changed her mind and I had to deal with it and get over it. My only guess is that she does not want a long distance relationship, which is fair enough but being a 'glass half full' kind of guy I believe you can work anything out if you want it enough.

So a couple of months later and she still dominates my thoughts which considering this is from a few snatched minutes chatting in a bar seems totally stupid as well as the fact that I'm a 35 years bloke who has been around the block a few times. It's also highlighted some major shortcomings in my current relationship which I really don't have the enthusiam to sort out as I think they've been left to linger too long and are now so rooted that I don't think I could ever or even want to sort them out.

So the question is what do I do now? I've tried to forget her and move on but I simply can't. My head tells me that that is exactly what I should do whilst my heart is telling me to get on a plane and go and find out exactly how she feels. I'm at a bit of a loss and any thoughts or advice would be most appreciated.

Many thanks and sorry for the long post.
JWB   
27 Oct 2007
Love / What to do, should I forget her? [14]

Cheers folks, straight forward, honest and to the point. Precisely what I needed to hear. My sincere thanks.

The e-mail, flowers and phone call are a form of cheating on your present partner.

To a point but this was all after I told my partner everything that happened and we ended up having a blazing row. This despite the fact that I regulary listen to her tell me about the guys who give her their phone number or the conferences she attends and the guys who tell her what hotel room they are staying in.

You haven't mentioned the bit where you broke up with your long term partner, so I'm assuming you are still with her, despite acknowledging problems you can't be assed to do anything about......why are you still with your curent partner?....keeping her in reserve in case it doesn't work out with the barmaid?

Actually I was trying not to flush the last 13 years of my life away but the crap I've had to put up with of late on top of many other skeletons that have come rattling out of various closets makes me less inclined to do so.

My guess is she found out about your partner and doesn't want to go out with a cheat

There was no way for her to find out and anyway I am not a cheat, I simply responded to a jealous outburst, perhaps not in the best way but do we ever in these situations?
JWB   
19 Nov 2007
Work / Average Polish Income is 2700zl per month [65]

I had a call today from a company in Poland after they saw my CV and they asked how much I'd be prepared to work for. I told them 8000 a month (gross) which is quite a pay cut for me. Even so, I guess I won't be hearing from them again although I have discovered the company is in fact American.
JWB   
28 Nov 2007
History / The Impossible Escape - Proposed Feature Film about Polish GULAG survivor [8]

You are probably thinking of 'The Long Walk' by Slavomir Rawicz, that would be a good film as would the stories of pretty much everyone who was deported and survived.

David, I will PM you some info tomorrow. I don't know if it will be of any use but may help you.
JWB   
29 Nov 2007
UK, Ireland / Polish Restaurant - Polski Kuchnia in the Greater Manchester area [48]

I wish you every success with this venture, I used to go to Cafe Lech in Altrincham quite a bit until it closed down, what a loss that was. I don't know why it closed as it always seemed quite busy.

When are you hoping to open and whereabouts in Greater Manchester are you?
JWB   
30 Nov 2007
UK, Ireland / Polish Restaurant - Polski Kuchnia in the Greater Manchester area [48]

I had to travel about 30 miles to get to Cafe Lech and was happy to do so, it was a great place for meeting up with my Polish friends in and around Manchester. It's a complete mystery as to why is closed down as it had been going for a good few years and the food was well priced and of an excellent standard.
JWB   
12 Mar 2008
UK, Ireland / Polish shops and restaurants in Bristol / Bath (Somerset) [10]

There is, or at least was last time I looked, one in the Haymarket in the subway underneath the Travel Inn. Sorry I can't be more specific but I'm not from Bristol but have stayed in that particular Travel Inn more times then I would really have liked to.
JWB   
9 Apr 2008
UK, Ireland / UKPL TV on sky digital [5]

red-tv.co.uk/hellopoland/index.php - More information here. It's been running for a while now and is quite interesting although the format seems to have changed to all most completely showing music videos.
JWB   
23 Jul 2008
UK, Ireland / Foreign drivers in the UK escape speeding fines [39]

I know an Englishman who spent a few years working in Luxembourg and when he returned to the UK he kept the Luxembourg plates on his car for as long as possible for just that reason. Good luck to him and for the record I'd do exactly the same thing.