Life / Am I crazy wanting to buy an FSO Warszawa (in Warsaw) Garbus! [11]

Hello
As a small child I always remember these cars, family and friends owned them in the 70's and I vowed one day I would buy a Garbus!

Must be a mid life crisis!

Are they really as bad as people say they are? (I have had classic cars before so used to old tubs but....)

I have registered on a polish car forum that has an interest in them but no reply/response etc.

Trawled through otomoto and allegro but nothing that I want plus the prices are crazy in some cases? Looked through assorted Classic Car forums ? (Can anyone recommend a good one?)

Bulgaria seems to be a hotspot for them but realistically for me - that is too far to travel (I live in UK)
Why are they all used for wedding hire?

Can anyone advise where is a good place to look?
Is there a small ads type web link somewhere to cross reference local papers or is it still a case of just the locals putting a 'For Sale' sign on the door!

One last question I see some are on a classic car plate type system, what does this entail? Can you only use it over a certain number of months etc?

Thank you very much in advance

Stash

History / Memories of Poland -1978! Not been to Poland since there was a dirty big Wall [3]

Hi
Recently following the thread 'Going back to the Old Country after more than 25 years' encouraged me to post similar here.

Every year we used to go on holiday to Poland and 1978 was the last time I was there!

I know a lot has changed and it has been interesting reading the other thread on this subject.
I was born in the UK but parents both Polish. Brought up as Polish and consider myself Polish. I speak Polish, Polish customs , cook Polish etc. I am rusty on written Polish but living in the UK there has not been much need for that.

Last thing I remember Warszawa Garbus taxis, Jelcz Ogorek buses, rickety old 1930's trams with wooden floors and seats, sunshine and lots of it, concrete flats, steam trains, a new car called Polonez, fantastic icecream, people selling soda drinks on street corners with pipes connected to water mains and CO2 cylinders - the tight gits only ever gave you a teeny amount of cordial so it lasted them all day.........well I was only a boy then and mad on cars and trains!

We used to get the overnight steam train from Hook of Holland to Warsaw stopping at Berlin and having the train inspection by the military Police with dogs before crossing over to the East! Then car or train to Lodz.

Happy days and very much looking back with rose coloured glasses I know.

I always intended to go back but lack of cash, then work and life seem to get in the way. Last year I had the opportunity through work to go back for a week or two but turned it down. Mad I know. People I work with have spent more time there recently me. They say the same think - place is full of bars and lots of tourists getting drunk Krakow in particular is the new Prague. What a shame.

So now I have my own family its time I took that step, show my daughter her family roots.

Ironically now I am searching for a Warszawa Garbus (as posted in my other thread) and suppose using this as an icebreaker to get over to Poland. Its more than a crappy old banger to me its everything I remember about Poland in those days and set my interest in classic cars! Crazy I know.

Its quite interesting to see that ex pats from Poland continued with their customs etc as before in the UK (time stopped for them), yet Poland itself has moved with the times which is of course the way of things.

I see them playing catch up very quickly but I also feel the mass commercialisation from other countries will spoil Poland's rich heritage. I hope I am wrong? In 1978 all I remember were Thompson tape recorders and Pepsi cola!!

Oh well enough ramblings I am sure there are plenty of people have similar memories also?

UK, Ireland / Poles and the English are all the same underneath. Funny really (UK perspective). [8]

Witam!

Not been on here long but it does seem funny how people get very hot under the collar very quickly!

I am sure there are similar forums for other countries on the internet!!

There seems to be a common theme - people making judgement calls on isolated facts or isolated newpaper /media articles often written by people in the press obviosuly to sell newspapers! Sky new is the worst case of this ! Dumbing down news and sensationalising things to make them bigger than they are! They need to fill 24 hours of TV remember so you have to take things with a pinch of salt!

I suppose I am in the weird position of having Polish parents and upbringing but born in the UK and grewing up as English too? Double trouble eh? So I try to see both sides of arguments (well hopefully I do?)

For me the Poles and the English etc are all the same underneath, yes we have some cultural differences thats because we have come from different backgrounds/circumstances and so on. This is normal.

When you see a newspaper article along the lines of 'they are putting up Polish Road signs in North Wales as there are so many of them!!!'

Panic we are being invaded!!!!!!!!! There will be no more Welsh people here they are all Poles/Eastern European!!! DANGER save your children. Stupid I know but people worry and who would'nt?

I dont know about you but from personal experience in my local Polish community we have always blended in with the surroundings, just like most other cultures and got on with the locals like the Italians, Germans, Spanish etc etc this is normal so why do people worry so much? They begin to worry when these visitors start to behave in a less than respectful way, getting drunk all hours and general yobbish behaviour. Is the excuse we work hard we play hard? Well no its not! There is no excuse for that? There are scumballs in Poland as there are in UK, Ireland, Scotland, France anywhere. Trouble is everyone gets tarred with a brush, but the more grown up and sensible amongst us try not to assume everyone is like that.

I am sure there are plenty of Chavs in Poland as much as in the UK!

People in the UK worry jobs go abroad - calls centres to Poland , Hungary etc Sheesh is this something new? My company had a call centre in Hungary for years - it was fekin hopeless! They were rubbish, its gone to India now - they are just as bad if not worse! Call centres no matter where located are low wage high turnover establishments. Its the business accountants that decide these things and all you can do is decide not to shop or use that company unless it has a UK call centre for instance? Thats what I do?

Ok so lets look at something else? You are prepared to leave your family, your country and work in a Costa coffee for minimum wage at a service station where you work all hours and yet (mostly but not always) greet your customers with a smile and a helpful disposition! Poles yes they do that! I remember recently stopping off in Scotland at a service station late at night middle of nowhere. The Polish girl serving (I can spot them a mile off!!) was extremely nice and helpful and I could tell she was shattered and by herself doing all the work. The price of the coffee was probably her hourly rate.

Ok so why are jobs going like this? We all know because the benefits system in the UK is geared up in such a way that it would cost them more to go off benefits? So they stay on them? Fine so that implies you will lose out moneywise and you would rather doss about all day and give up on life? The other answer is nobody wants to do those jobs here - they think that is beneath them? They want to be the next Cheryl Cole or celebrity Chef? But hang on how do you get to be like that ? Oh yes you get off your lazy backside and make it happen? Now I am ranting - hahaha. This is well known but instead we see - eastern europeans are taking the jobs from us?

The other side of course are the arrogant Poles who think the world owes them a favour? You know the ones - they need everyone to hear what they have to say, they complain about everything? Oh its so Boring here in Scotland nothing to do in this town? The Scots just watch TV and drink Whiskey? What? Stereotyping - is this a form of racism? What !!!Panic! How will the human race survive?

There are also the less than friendly Poles in shops who do look down their noses as though they just wiped you off their shoe? No need for it is there? If you are so good /superior why are you working in a cafe serving tables luv? Surely you would be living in your Polish Castle?

Goodness sakes people - take things a little lighter. We all have to get along, yet people have to focus on the bad things which sells papers!

Yes me too I hate anyone regardless of colour or race who does not treat anyone else with respect!!
I have seen lots of Poles who frankly I dont want to mix with or even let on that I can speak Polish and understand them! Always fun when they are slagging someone off in a supermarket and I just come over and tell them thats my cousin your talking about (in polish) the look on their faces is priceless ..... just my little joke!

Please folks dont get too wound up about stuff you read in the press or even the way some people post on here - golden rule with forums - dont get drunk when posting and understand, like email for example your comments can come across differently to people depending how they read things (I know I do)

Ta ra for now (hope the mods did'nt mind me posting this?)