UK, Ireland / No Poles Allowed! - Latest Polonophobic Outrage Out of Britain [660]

He also doesn't understand the difference between people who don't have white skin but whose families have lived in a predominantly white country for two or three generations. He actually believes that the Muslim population of London came over on a boat a couptle of years ago. He also knows nothing about the laws in different countries governing employment etc for asylum seekers, refugees et al. He's a certain kind of parochially minded American Bratty - may I call you Bratty? :) and there is no point in trying to explain anything to him.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]

The European Network of Councils for the Judiciary will take a vote on 17 September on whether to suspend Poland on the basis that the National Judicial Council of Poland (KRS) no longer fulfils the conditions for membership:

encj.eu/node/492

Life / Are there any Muslim areas in Poland? [173]

Jon! Hello! Nice to see you in the virtual sense :)) Mr Atch says they banned the sale of loo paper during JPII's visit.

UK, Ireland / No Poles Allowed! - Latest Polonophobic Outrage Out of Britain [660]


Your cousin is far more likely to be killed in his homeland by a Polish lunatic driving at excessive speed and it's even more likely it will happen on a pedestrian crossing. Now THAT'S a fact. Read the shocking stats for road deaths in Poland. Still one of the worst in the EU and carnage on the roads every 1 November. I can't recall the exact numbers for last year but it was over a thousand and most of the fatalities of pedestrians occurred on pedestrian crossings and in car parks - car parks for God's sake where people should be driving at a snail's pace. But anyone who lives in Poland doesn't need to read stats to know those facts. Every time I step outside the door I see it for myself.


You're wrong. Here are some accurate figures for you though I know you can't do anything other than speed read a few articles on the net and believe everything.

ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/work-pay-and-benefits/benefits/state-support/latest

As Chemikiem points out you don't understand the British benefits system anyway nor do you want to, but the type of Benefit which you're probably thinking of is Jobseekers Allowance, a payment given to unemployed people either on the basis of their social insurance record or if they don't have enough contributions, a means tested payment.

White British people were more likely than than any other ethnicity to claim JSA for the longest time period studied (104 weeks or more)

So basically white British people are more likely to be out of work for more than two years than any other ethnic group - and that's based on the percentage of each community, not on the overall population.

Anwyay I think we've all indulged you enough at this stage. As Maf says it's like having a screaming toddler in the room while the adults try to have a conversation.

UK, Ireland / No Poles Allowed! - Latest Polonophobic Outrage Out of Britain [660]

@ Dirk , ah pipe down. You sound hysterical. No wonder you need Xanex or whatever it is. As for the story about the Great Dane, more like Big Liar :)


I seriously doubt it. Great Danes are the most ridiculous looking, lanky objects. Not noted for their intelligence or savagery either, not much use against marauding Muslims. What you you need is a few Jack Russells to nip at their ankles :D

UK, Ireland / No Poles Allowed! - Latest Polonophobic Outrage Out of Britain [660]


Actually on a serious note, that figure refers to tax credits which are a form of benefit given to people who work but are on a low income. You really don't know what you're talking about because you rely on headlines and flimsy articles instead of doing proper research.

UK, Ireland / No Poles Allowed! - Latest Polonophobic Outrage Out of Britain [660]


No Adrian you don't. Wandering around Tower Hamlets with a Great Dane (or was that Newcastle??) doesn't give one an insight into the British class system.


"One in seven of the 2,733,000 EU migrants aged 16-64 - a total of 390,000 - are unemployed or "inactive".
(Source, The Daily Telegraph, 12 April 2017)
Yes, it seems you're fairly close to the mark on that one :)

UK, Ireland / No Poles Allowed! - Latest Polonophobic Outrage Out of Britain [660]


Most of them are not 'migrants'as in recently arrived Muslim hordes. They were born in London. And the actual stats don't really bear out what you say about more foreigners claiming benefits than Brits but I couldn't be bothered having a protracted argument about it. There's no point in discussing stats with a person who won't for example accept a black person whose grandparents or great grandparents settled in the UK 60 years ago as British. To you they're 'migrants' so one can't have a discussion based on data which classifies them as British.


You don't understand the British class system. Upper middle class in the UK really means untitled landed gentry and the junior un-landed branches of such families. Many of them now have to work for a living but they come from a background of privilege and trust funds abound which give them a nice chunk of the purchase price for their multi-million pound properties. Anybody else is plain middle class or lower middle class. Then you have the working classes who themselves have their own nuances.


When oh when will you register the fact that I am not British. I am Irish. So it's not 'you guys' when addressing me about the perceived ills of Britain.

Love / Help me figure out if she might like me? Or if she is just easy going and nice with me? [3]

I'm afraid if you're a lesbian my dear, you'll be chased off this forum by a howling mob of angry men! As I'm a woman, I'm a bit more tolerant so, no I don't think she fancies you. If she's bi-sexual which I presume is what you're hoping, she would have made a move on you when you visited recently. But even if she did, you'd be very silly to respond. Bi women don't leave their man for a woman as a rule. They just want a bit of fun on the side. So just forget about her and try to find a nice girlfriend where you live.

UK, Ireland / No Poles Allowed! - Latest Polonophobic Outrage Out of Britain [660]


I think all civilized countries in the developed world have made their contribution to humanitarian aid, including taking some genuine refugees.

As for deporting, people are deported from the UK you know. Not all applications for asylum are successful.

You can read about Ireland for yourself. I bang on about the Emerald Isle far too much as it is :))

UK, Ireland / No Poles Allowed! - Latest Polonophobic Outrage Out of Britain [660]


It says that I'm Irish so it's their country, not mine :)

UK, Ireland / No Poles Allowed! - Latest Polonophobic Outrage Out of Britain [660]


The bulk of Somalians in the UK are legal residents and many of the present generation are citizens. They are not recent arrivals and have all been processed if you want to call it that (otherwise they wouldn't be entitled to claim benefits).

Also if a government agrees to allow destitute people into their country, then they have to take some responsibilty for those people rather than allowing them to wander the streets as vagrants and street urchins - unless of course you'd like to see the UK go the way of places like South America where you have children living on rubbish dumps.

UK, Ireland / No Poles Allowed! - Latest Polonophobic Outrage Out of Britain [660]


That's an assumption on your part. I differentiate between decent white British working class people who are born into or end up, in challenging socio-economic circumstances and the arrogant, loud-mouthed and bone idle from the same socio-economic grouping, who have had considerable advantages from birth compared to the Somalian refugees and sit around on their fat arses all day watching telly or shuffling between the betting shop, pub and chipper. When you're talking about social ills in the UK you can't just ignore them. They are a significant group. I deeply pity their children because having had the teaching of the Irish equivalent for years, they frequently show a lot of potential in their early years at school and it just dissolves as time goes by.

UK, Ireland / No Poles Allowed! - Latest Polonophobic Outrage Out of Britain [660]


Look, I just think one needs to take a balanced attitude about these things. Making false statements about hordes of rampaging Muslims etc as Dirk constantly does is just silly and pointless. First of all it has nothing to do with someone who lives in America and not in the UK, especially as America has vast social problems of its own. Secondly, for the government and people of the UK for whom it is a concern, the actual facts are the starting point, not headlines in a tabloid. Then it's a question of looking at each group, asking as you just did, what is the reason for the situation and then making some plan to tackle it. The Brits are actually quite good at that. But whatever you do, there will always be people who slip through the net, always have been, always will be.

What tends to go unreported by the tabloids is success stories. Speaking of Tower Hamlets, they made huge leaps in the standard of education in their secondary schools in recent years, going from way below average exam results in the state exams to above average. But certain kinds of people don't want to hear about that and when they do hear about it, they prefer to ignore it. Certain kinds of people don't actually want to see those communities improve themselves.


In the case of the Somalis, most of them are women and yes, their culture plays a role. Women stay at home and look after the kids so their education is not a priority. But then look at the native Brit white chavs who are just the same. What excuse is there for them?? Pig ignorant, lazy and proud of it. What's the reason for their failure Maf?

I think the key with immgirant communities is not to focus on why some fail, but why some succeed. Look at the Somalians in the UK who ARE successful and see how that can be extended to a wider range of the community. The Somalian community is relatively new, only a generation and their profile has the possibilty of changing over the next generation. For example in 2013, nearly half of the Somali students in Leicestershire secondary schools received top marks in their secondary education qualifications, compared to less than one-third in 2008. And remember that many of their parents, the mothers in particular had no formal education at all. So there's two steps forward for that community, firstly access to education and secondly improved educational outcome.

UK, Ireland / No Poles Allowed! - Latest Polonophobic Outrage Out of Britain [660]


Actually most Somalians in the UK came at the height of the Somali civil war well over twenty years ago. Hardly any have settled in the UK in the last ten years. Most non-white people claiming state support in Britain are not recent immigrants but part of long established communities. If you don't like the ethnic profile of British cities that's your pregorative but it's not true to say that the UK is full of economic migrants.

It is true to say however that the most overwhelming influx of economic migrants in recent years has come from Poland and that about a quarter of families from Poland receive some sort of state benefits. That's not to say they're unemployed. Their rate of unemployment is about equivalent to native Brits but as the UK has a much more comprehensive and generous welfare system than the USA you might be unaware of the plethora of income supports for lower earners or non-means tested benefits which are part of social policy. The Polish communiity has taken full advantage of that. No reason why they shouldn't.


Tower Hamlets is a weird place. One of the poorest boroughs of London but also full of white collar 'city' guys and girls who live there for the convenience but it's always been a very 'ethnic' place, used to be a big Jewish community as well. London has always been very mixed socially, unlike American cities where you have good and bad neighbourhoods, black and white neighbourhoods. Even in very posh parts of London there is social housing and I don't mean tower blocks. Apart from a few areas and streets that are owned by the Crown or by the Duke of Westminster or the Tavistocks or whoever, there are many houses in those beautiful old Victorian houses that are owned by the Council or a housing association. You can pay a couple of million for a place and have a council tenant for your neighbour. Notting Hill Gate is a great example of a place where you'll find an old Etonian living next door to a plumber. Generally it works pretty well. It's part of the charm and uniqeuness of London. It's a wonderful city.

Tower Hamlets is ok. A few nutters of course but in general it's quite a safe place. I remember when I'd been living in Hampstead Village which was very white, upper middle class, herbal teas and yoga, you get the vibe. I moved across the Finchley Road to West Hampstead which is a bit more downmarket, went for a stroll up Kilburn High Road and it was like stepping into Calcutta :)) But it was a completely safe place and you soon get used to it. Never had a bit of bother there. London is ethnically and socially mixed and has been particularly so for a good fifty years. Parts of London like Tower Hamlets have been a melting pot for much longer than that.

Life / What are your experiences of care for your loved ones in hospitals here? [75]


Yes but the toast was in an Irish hospital :)) we're much nicer than the English :D


To be honest Jaskier, Polish mothers tend to be seen by the Brits (and the Irish too) as a bit over-fussy about their kids. If a child has a cough we'd generally go along to the pharmacist (in Ireland anyway they're very helpful) and then if it doesn't clear up we'd go to the doc if necessary. The thing to watch for is their temp. If that's normal it's generally nothing much to worry about. It's not an emergency until it's an emergency if you get my drift. If you get really worried you can go to the emergency room but it's usually not necessary.

Same goes for the movements (by the way I wouldn't use that term, it's taken to mean his stools!!). When I first read it, I thought you wanted the doctor to look at your son's bowel movements - I thought, I'm not surprised he wasn't too keen, how did you get them to the surgery! With issues like that, the baby nurse as we call her in Ireland, or in your case the health visitor, is the first point of call. They really are very experienced and know when to take further action or when to wait. They're your follow up service after birth so that you're not taking up valuable appointment time at the GP service when maybe somebody has a lump in her breast or blood in his urine. Mothers worrying about their newborns and toddlers development is very common and very natural but it's usually groundless. That's why the GP service generally doesn't share your concerns and doesn't see it as a matter that needs immediate attention.

Anyway, glad the little chap is doing ok now :)

Life / What are your experiences of care for your loved ones in hospitals here? [75]


That's an assumption you're making which could be influenced by your perceptions as a Polish person because Poles are quite prone to thinking that smiles and a friendly manner are fake.


If your son almost died that's a serious case of negligence and would be actionable. I hope you're suing them?

As to the rest, you have to take a bit of responsiblity for yourself. You can't expect busy staff to notice if you've missed a meal. They probably have a policy of not waking patients who are sleeping. Did you tell them you'd missed your meal and that you were hungry? Could you walk? Sometimes, they'll let you go down to the kitchen and get something if they're too busy to bring it. Or another patient will go for you if they can get about. People in hospitals generally bring some biccies or chocolate or something to snack on.

Waiting to be transferred or signed out is just part and parcel of hospital life. We can't be too precious about ourselves.

The thing that would really concern me is the medical care you received throughout your pregnancy, during the birth and the follow-up care.

The fact that your child was neglected to the point of death is very serious. Did you see any signs that he was unwell? How did you find out that he was on the point of death?? Did they actually admit it? What kind of enquiry is taking place into this?

Life / What are your experiences of care for your loved ones in hospitals here? [75]


Source??


Well then you'll be very happy as a public patient in Poland.


We do have those in Ireland you know, the tea and toast and repsect for the patient are a bonus.

No matter what you say, every person in the UK has access to a full range of health services on an equal basis regardless of income or social insurance record and the quality of care is generally good.

Life / What are your experiences of care for your loved ones in hospitals here? [75]


Oh I don't know about that now. The Polish government were in cahoots with them (lovely word that, cahoots) and what about trying to send Polish Jews to Madagascar :D

Go on, admit it, you would have loved a few colonies :))

Life / What are your experiences of care for your loved ones in hospitals here? [75]


The quality of care under the UK NHS system is high. Quality of care is also about more than the latest machinery or the waiting lists, it's how the medical and administrative staff treat you and your family during time of illness or emergency.

Look, a little example. When I was on the ward waiting to go down and have my tonsilectomy there was an elderly man who'd just had a cataract removed as a day patient. His wife was with him and the pair of them were about to head back to Wexford, a considerable journey by bus from Dublin, about 2 and a half hours. The nurse insisted on making tea and toast for them before they left, even though the ward was very busy and it was the nice way she did it 'Michael love, you'll have a cup of tea now before you go, you and Mrs Murphy. Will you have toast or do you prefer bread and butter?' 'I like a bit of toast' the old fellow replied :) 'Grand so, I'll see to that for you now'. On the contrary Mr Atch wasn't even offered a glass of water in the seven hours he spent in the spzital even though they told him that he was dehydrated - the mind boggles. I wasn't allowed to be with him so I couldn't look after him and get him some water. In Ireland he was allowed to stay with me the whole day from 8.30am until 9.30 that night.

Regarding free medicines, I know you don't have the patience to read and take in much information but here is a link about free medicines under the NHS. You don't have to be a certain age. That's just one of the groups who are entitled.

nhsbsa.nhs.uk/help-nhs-prescription-costs/free-nhs-prescriptions


Generic medicines in the developed world are of the same quality as branded ones. You can check it out online if you want to. There has been plenty of research carried out into this topic over the years. Personally I would much rather see my national health service shoppping sensibly and not spending a fortune on branded goods. The money they save can be better spent elsewhere in improving other aspects of the service.

Life / What are your experiences of care for your loved ones in hospitals here? [75]


No of course. But in Ireland you don't have to pay anything to be covered...........but then on the other hand we have the hospital bed charge, it's sometimes known as 'the bed tax'!


Not in the least - and I DID point out to him how the UK NHS is underfunded and needs to raise extra money to provide the quality of service which it does.


Well sadly now Ziem, if history had unfolded differently Poland would have liked very much to be somebody's master. What about all that business of demanding 'colonies' from the League of Nations between the wars?? You'd earmarked a few likely places and wanted to be given them!! Wasn't the first time either. Apparently you'd been angling for colonies since the middle of the 1500s but couldn't get yourselves together sufficiently to make it a reality. The problem may partly have been not being a maritime nation.

Life / What are your experiences of care for your loved ones in hospitals here? [75]


Yes it is. However, there's never enough money for the health service anywhere in the world I think - maybe it's different in Scandanavia or Switzerland, I'd have to check that out but anyway............ British hospitals, including amazing places like Great Ormond Street, have to constantly raise funds and seek charitable donations. If they were relying purely on government funding they wouldn't be able to provide the services they do.

Regarding the Irish charge, that's a relatively recent thing. I think it came in as a result of the banks fiasco and the austerity budget thing. They're now talking about abolishing it.

Language / How do Poles feel about foreigners learning their language? [105]


It's used with your mother though. Mr Atch's granny was very old fashioned and she insisted on the Pani form with her son-in-laws,they couldn't address her with 'ty' but she certainly didn't require such a thing from her own children.

I would posit the theory that as Maf has lived in Poland for yonks and translates professionally we can take his word for things.


Mr Atch says 'Oh God, no, no, no!'. He says 'zostaw to' is 'the correct, non-rude form'. He says a kid might say 'niech mama to zostawi' but he says 'we are grown ups, nobody talks like that' :))

He says the variations are:

Mamo zostaw to
Zostaw to Mamo

He says 'niech' etc blah, blah is very old fashioned and only heard in 'the village'.

Life / What are your experiences of care for your loved ones in hospitals here? [75]


It absolutely should.


The major issue in Ireland is the length of waiting lists to access surgery for non-life threatening but chronic and often very painful conditions. The other issue is shortage of hosptial beds leading to people on trollies in corridors for protracted periods of time. It's more to do with poor management and a badly organized system. There's certainly no suggestion of a 'Ponzi' scheme which suggests deliberate fraud.

Also for years people abused the fact that you were seen for free at an emergency room 24hrs a day and turned up with kids who had a scratch on their finger, that type of thing. 'Jaysus doctor, she'll get blood poisonin' or a queasy tummy after stuffing themselves with sweeties and Tayto crisps at a birthday party. Now there's a charge of 100 euros in the emergency room which people complain about. We also have a charge of about 80 euros per night for a hospital bed (but there's a cap on how much you can be charged if you're in for a long stay or have to go back for further treatment, can't remember how much but it's under a grand over the course of a year). Nobody pays for surgery.

However, certain groups of people are exempt from any charges. In Ireland we have the system of the Medical Card which is issued to people of limited means and entitles them to free treatment in the emergency room and free hospital beds in all circumstances. You also pay a max of 20 euros per month for prescribed medicines if you have the medical card. If you have a chronic, incurable or long term illness your meds are all free.

So for example when I had to have a tonsil out for biopsy it went like this:

I was a working person and not entitled to a medical card.
I went to see my GP, paid 40 euros for the consultation.
She looked at my throat, said 'ooh don't like the look of that, I'd better refer you to a specialist.'
Now because it could have been cancer, I needed to be seen quickly. If I'd gone public, the consultation would have been free butI wouldn't have a choice of specialist and I would have had to take the next available appointment with the first person who could see me, it would have been a two/three week wait.

I decided to go privately and paid 180 euros for an appointment within about ten days.
I saw the Prof at the Blackrock Clinic where he had his private practice.
He said 'that needs to come out immediately so we can see whether it's malignant.'
I said 'can't afford to have the op here, no private health insurance.'
He said 'no problem, I'll see you as a public patient at the Eye and Ear hospital. How soon can you come in?'
Two weeks later I had the op, one night's stay in the hospital. 60 euros was the charge back then.
Total time form GP visit to biopsy, under four weeks. Total cost 280 euros. I'm happy with that.
No further charges for follow up visits.

Bear in mind, all of this would have been free of charge if I'd had a medical card.

However, there is definitely an issue in Ireland with private health insurance providers because everyone I knew who had it (usually VHI) complained about the amount they were charged for x, y and z despite paying a fortune each month. And certainly there is no difference in the quality of care you receive privately to publicly. Private hospitals and clinics are few and far between and all the surgeons work in the public hospitals alongside their private practices.

Life / What are your experiences of care for your loved ones in hospitals here? [75]


Well you see he was covered by private health insurance in his job. When he left the job he knew he'd be starting another one in about two months. What neither of us realised was that he should have gone along to some office or other and registered in some shape or form because your additonal entitlement to public health care apparently lapses within 30 days of finishing a job.

In Ireland if you just exist you're covered! Your employment status has nothing to do with your entitlement to heath care. If you're not entitled to an unemployment payment for whatever reason, you can still sign on for credits to keep your social insurance record going for your state pension and of course you don't pay anything. But your social insurance contributions don't affect your right to health care. Same in the UK isn't it? The idea that a Polish citizen is not automatically covered but has to be either employed or 'unemployed' is completely weird. I cannot see the point of it. What does it say about a society when they don't take care of their own flesh and blood when they're ill?

You should see what Mr Atch paid in ZUS last year alone and he was entitled to nothing, not even an ambulance let alone treatment. Most of his money is going on the 500+ program probably, to support the children of people who can't afford to have kids in the first place and whom the government is encouraging to have more.

Just another point, in Ireland if you have a medical emergency you call 999, no private hotline for people with private health insurance. Everyone gets equal access to the ambulance service. I was looking at Medicare's emergency hotline info and they explicitly state that they can:

"organise medical interventions by the Emergency Service in cases of a medical crisis or accidents"

That's an absolute disgrace. The idea of calling a middleman who negotiates an amublance for you.................outrageous. Nobody should be getting an ambulance because they can pull strings.


It won't happen under PIS Dolno. That kind of thing is not their priority.


Yes, that sums it up perfectly. That's exactly what Mr Atch was trying to express when he said he was treated ok-ish because he looked respectable.

The Polish healthcare system is terribly patchy and inconsistent. Years ago I had strep throat while I was living in Warsaw and the fuss that was made. You'd think I had something terminal, the swab tests and lab reports etc before I got a few antibiotics. On the other hand you can die of a burst appendix because they won't send an ambulance. God Almighty, I told the doctor myself, look it's strep throat, I've had it twice before. Of course they wanted to get the 285 zl out of me for the swab test. As a result I had to wait three days before I was prescribed anything for it and it got much worse in the meantime. Any GP with basic experience would recognise it on spot for what it was and treat it accordingly, not faff around with unneccessary, expensive lab tests whilst the infection gets worse, very irresponsible and unprofessional.

Thank you for your kind thoughts Doug and Donlo - Mr Atch is on the mend now but he lost 7kgs in five days.

Life / What are your experiences of care for your loved ones in hospitals here? [75]


No, sorry not always the case. Mr Atch had a colleague with EnelMed who was told, following some scan or other that his heart was on the right side of his body - yes the doctor himself told him this. They subsequently discovered they had the image turned round the wrong way. Another colleague had an eye problem incorrectly treated by EnelMed again, switched to Medicover who sorted it. Mr Atch has been with both and never needed the services of either up this point when of course it had lapsed. He's now with Medicover again - fingers crossed we stay healthy.

When I had minor surgery in Ireland at the Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin (look it up, it's great) I had superb treatment on the Irish public health system. I had actually seen the specialist privately and as I didn't have private health insurance he immediately said 'I'll see you at the Eye and Ear'. This guy is a top internationally renowned head and neck surgeon. I had the surgery within two weeks. That would never happen in Poland. The chief anaesthetist came down to see me before the operation too. Great treatment.

Life / What are your experiences of care for your loved ones in hospitals here? [75]


Golly Dolno, I'm so sorry to hear that. You poor thing. All the best to you and Mrs Dolno and get well soon.


Well now here's my own story from just a couple of weeks and this really beggars belief.

Mr Atch's health insurance (and thus mine as spouse) is normally covered by his job. However it had lapsed as he was in the process of changing jobs and decided to take the summer off. As we're both in good health without any chronic conditions health insurance never enters out heads as a rule (silly I know) and what should happen but a medical emergency at 5 o' clock in the morning, so we had to call 911 as opposed to the hotline that normally goes with an insurance package (although I didn't even know there was such a thing!). Anyway - you won't belive this, he's lying on the floor, in the worst pain of his life, on the verge of losing consciousness and your woman on the switchboard says 'do you think we send ambulances to people just because they have a pain in their stomach. Go to the Apteka and get ibuprofen and No-Spa'.

When we finally managed to get to the hospital a couple of hours later, they told him it was stress. Next day he was back there - more tests - kidney stones.

Now, ok, kidney stones are not life threatening but how did the old cow on the switchboard know what he had? It could have been a burst ulcer or appendix and he could have died. To be refused an ambulance is outrageous. My sister worked as a volunteer paramedic in Germany and as she said, it's not up to the switchboard to make a medical diagnosis, even if the switchboard were being manned by a trained paramedic or nurse. A diagnosis cannot be made over the phone. Their role is to send the ambulance who make an assessment and decide whether the person can be treated on the spot or needs to be admitted to hospital.

I'm also not satisfied with the treatment he received on his initial visit as they did a scan which included the kidneys and missed the presence of the kidney stone. There were also a couple of other minor things that showed up which he wasn't told about and which I only spotted because I read the test results (had to put them in Google translate, my Polish is not THAT good!). They're not serious things but could potentially be if they're not monitored. He should have been told about them and given advice.

By the way he wasn't covered by ZUS despite having paid a fortune in contributions as he wasn't registered as 'unemployed' so we had to pay for the tests, a few hundred.

Anyway, on the second visit he was prescribed the necessary meds (although for some bizarre reason he was given a course of antibiotics in addition to the other stuff. The doctor had said there was no sign of infection so I wouldn't let him take the anti-biotics. You shouldn't take them unless you really need them) and thankfully the stones dissolved enough to be passed without needing intervention.

Mr Atch said that the staff in the first hospital were 'quite nice' though with the usual brusque manner. However he was then transferred to a second hospital where he said it was Poland B despite being in Warsaw. He said the place was in a shocking state and that the staff were at best socially inept, including the doctor who dealt with him. He said 'I was treated ok, because I looked 'respectable' but their manner with other patients..........'

But to me, the worst part of the whole thing was the refusal to send an ambulance. I find that utterly shocking and really frightening.

I'm afraid it's that Banana Republic vibe which crops up all the time in PoIand that can't I cope with. If you have money and can afford a private ambulance you're ok. If you're just an 'ordinary' person you could die on the floor of your own home. It disgusts me. Ireland may have its faults but you would never, never be refused an ambulance.

Life / Meeting new people in Warsaw [10]

You could try going to a dancing class. I'm not joking. They're always short of men for stuff like Salsa.

Language / Polish words that sound funny? [224]


Yes that's the whole point. Spoken with an American or English accent, they sound different- but not when spoken with a Polish accent. Poles say the two words amost identically. They don't have an 'oh' sound in Polish, only an 'o' sound so Poles have difficult producing the 'oh' sound in the English word 'no' and say it pretty much the same way as Polish 'no'.

Another example is the English words 'want' and 'won't'. Poles frequently pronounce them identically. I have a Polish friend whose English is very fluent and clear but she told me she never says 'I won't'. Instead she uses 'I will not' as confusion arises because of her accent.

Language / Polish words that sound funny? [224]


That is absolutely true. Mr Atch doesn't have a typical Polish accent when he speaks English though he does have AN accent but he says Polish 'no' and English 'no' almost exactly the same. I often have to ask him 'is that Polish 'no' or English 'no' :)


The bottom line is that native English speakers don't hear the difference and native Polish speakers do. May God strike me dead if I'm lying. You are super sensitive about being seen as Polish which is why you can't accept it and think we're arguing for the sake of it but it's a fact that if you had grown up in Poland you would hear the difference. You grew up immersed in the English language so you hear with 'English' ears.