History / Scotland and Poland. Mutual connections since 1576 [45]

Apparently I'm one too. My surname is in the lists of reivers, and my people came from the borders (and most still live there).

This online surname map could be useful - some interesting things in it. Occasionally the site gets busy and the surname search goes down for a few minutes.

History / Scotland and Poland. Mutual connections since 1576 [45]

No special attachment, but some interesting history. Polish mercenaries are known to have gone to the British isles with Canute's invasion, almost 1000 years ago, and the marriage between Bonnie Prince Charlie and Princess Clementina Sobieski is interesting enough.

News / British war memorial in/near Trojmiasto? [19]

I don't know about Trojmiasto, but there is a British War Cemetary in Poznan, just off the steps that lead to the Cytadela from Garbary Station, and there is a Memorial in Warsaw (Skaryszewski Park, near the lake) to some of the British airmen who died while dropping supplies during the 1944 uprising. There is usually a ceremony there on 11/11. There are a few similar Memorials round Poland.

Life / Poland peasant or noble tradition? [34]


Between 10 and 12% iat the end of the C18, when their status was abolished. Very difficult to call them nobility, since many were very poor and of basic habits. Gentlefolk is matbe a better translation but still not quite suitable.

News / British war memorial in/near Trojmiasto? [19]

Excellent information, Harry and Piorun!

I remember (earlier this year?) that a primary school (maybe somewhere near Lodz) had been renamed 'the British Airmen's School' in memory of a plane which had crashed in the village. Some of the airmen's remains were exhumed and returned to Britain and there was a ceremony attended by relatives.

I don't remember where it was, though it should be findeable on Google. I think the Air Cadets were involved.

News / British war memorial in/near Trojmiasto? [19]


The British Embassy sell them. If you're in Trojmiasto, try the consulate there.

History / It's a shame that we poles arent making this kind of movies anymore. [8]

Over the years, a lot of historical movies have been made here. Some good, some not. It would be great to see more movies that look forward and not to the past. I've been to the cinema here a few times this tear but not seen anything I liked. It seems not much is happening here in the film industry.

Life / Is Ritalin available in Poland? [22]


There should be a pharmacy at your embassy, and they may be able to help if the Polish system disappoints.

Life / Deadly Roads - "Are polish roads really THAT dangerous?" [139]

I was waiting for someone by the side of a main road (ul Sobieskiego in Warsaw) this week. There are some lights there by a pedestrian crossing (not a junction) and due to being bored, I counted the number of drivers who went through a red light. In ten minutes, I counted 32. And this on a road with flowers and crosses every few yards.

It isn't the roads, it's the drivers. And even worse, the Polish drivers' licence is accepted internationally.

Life / Deadly Roads - "Are polish roads really THAT dangerous?" [139]


I've heard the same from people who've lived there. Scary enough here though.

Real Estate / Foreigners: Please don't buy Polish Land! [823]


Maybe she's bought a house there.....

News / POLES STILL NEED VISAS TO THE U.S.A!! [84]


This is true. The US has clearly defined laws about the visa waiver scheme. People go to the US for many reasons. One of them is that they want to be in a country where the rule of law is observed.

Life / Pro-business and post-commie lawmakers reject Epiphany public holiday [4]

There are already a lot of bank holidays in Poland and Mayday (which is a workers' holiday but not only communist) makes for a very nice long weekend with good weather due to the 3 May holiday.

Epiphany would be a strange holiday at a time when nobody really wants one.

History / Question related to Jews during Saturday night in II Rzeczypospolita [12]


Do you mean Saturday night or Friday night?

Life / Pay as you go SIM - best option ? [19]

Orange is fine. You have to buy a 100zl top up every 150 days, which is hardly a problem.

Life / Pay as you go SIM - best option ? [19]


If you've previously bought lower top-ups (worth it sometimes), they can give you promotions like that to encourage spending.

History / Where did the stereotype of Polish people being stupid come from? [131]

I come from a place in UK where (according to the 2001 census) 50,000 people are of Polish roots and I've never heard this stereotype. Is it an American thing?

News / Rothschilds Open Banking Network in Poland: Allianz Polska [19]

Actually there are quite a few, in two main branches, and they have more than enough money, not that any of them earned a penny of it. Nor are they trying to claim any property back.

And the families who may or may not own a bank are irrelevant to that bank's functioning. Nothing wrong with the Rothschilds.

Law / Resident Permit/NIP? [8]


They have to give you a NIP - they can't refuse one. It can take up to two weeks to wait for, but usually less. Depends on the workload in the town you're at. If a private language school say they can't pay you until you've got it (the oldest trick in the book) remind them that they can submit your tax form with a passport number instead.

You shouldn't need a work permit if you're from an English-speaking country. Opinions differ on this, and Polish-owned schools don't generally know about the latest regulations. Or pretend they don't so they can pop your wages in a term deposit for a month or two. One poor American guy I knew had to wait 5 months to get paid, due to Polish staff in the language school not wanting to make a potential wrong decision.

There's a Yahoogroup called Polang, somewhat defunct now but with a search function, also the ESL Cafe, both of which have information on the work permit issue. You still need a residence permit though.

Remember that in Poland, everything is down to the decisions of capricious minor civil servants, and things vary hugely from town to town, though Warsaw is slowly getting better. I've heard Krakow isn't.

Life / Unusual Sightings in Warsaw - millions of black crows... [22]

This time of year, crows and ravens appear aplenty, even during the day. Always a lovely sight.

Life / Polish Protestants [22]


Adam Malysz is from Wisla, which, as far as I know, is the only town in Poland to be majority protestant. There is also a plethora of protestant churches round Lodz, and quite a lot of Jehovah's Witnesses (8000 in Warsaw)

One of the more unusual homegrown protestant churches is the Mariavites (Kosciol Mariawicki) who have very specific beliefs. I think their Cathedral is in Plock, but they have a rather nice new church in Warsaw.

Life / Unusual Sightings in Warsaw - millions of black crows... [22]


I think the Warsaw ones are ravens (kruki) - quite different to crows of which there are plenty too.

UK, Ireland / Extradition to Poland [11]

Only if the door is made of gold or something! Six month's wages (after tax) for somebody in Warsaw would be 3 or 4 thousand pounds which would be a very nice door indeed.

Maybe the pudding was made of black truffles :-))

Life / Unusual Sightings in Warsaw - millions of black crows... [22]


I saw rooks as well - beautiful birds, but the ones near my home are definitely ravens pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Rooks (and there are plenty round Warsaw) have a very distinctive sound, and also appear this time of year. The part of Warsaw I live in is very green, a lot of wild birds, hedgehogs etc. Not long ago, I saw some sort of mammal at night. Definitely larger than a rat, but nothing I recognised. It could have been a polecat or weasel but was moving too fast (my dog was chasing it) for me to get a good look. Amazing to see something like that so close to the city centre. And counting birds is a fun superstition - One for sorrow, two for joy etc...

News / I support creation of Great Poland [134]


I'm not sure what the people who live there would think about that, but I'm sure they wouldn't like it...


'Liberated' by Russia!! :-))))))


They were very happy to join NATO and The EU.

News / I support creation of Great Poland [134]


Yes, I read them. But only normal mainstream ones, not conspiracy/nationalistic/race hate/extremist/religious ones.

And I, for one, am happy that Poland is in the Union, so are the millions who have gone abroad to work and so are the farmers who have received subsidies that the Polish government would never even have thought about, even if they had the funds.

Life / Talk-sex in Poland...are Poles really prude? [44]

You'd find a big difference between people's attitudes in big cities and in the boondocks.

Life / PAYING TO TAKE A PISS IN POLAND, it's BIZARRE [77]


In McDonalds (Warsaw anyway) they check you have a receipt before letting you into the bog.

The thing that gets me isn't paying the Babcia Klozetowa (no problem there) but is when bars keep the key behind the bar, as if it's some kind of great tragedy if the wrong person uses the loo. In a busy bar, the staff don't remember who's a customer anyway.

I've only seen this here - there must be a reason or at least some underlying cause.

News / I support creation of Great Poland [134]


Indeed I don't, not that most of it can be called racist.


Poland is 'only' in The EU because the Polish government asked to join and their citizens confirmed this in a referendum.

Not sure what you mean about not having 'enough children' in other countries. Poland's birthrate isn't especially high nowadays. By the way, what do you mean by 'dotation'?