UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - victims or criminals?! [243]


That's the mother's paraphrasing. It's not the official verdict.


Seeing as the police, the medical department and the Coroner deal with numerous such cases each year, it seems unlikely that there would be such a massive screw up.

@Paulina, you seem disproportionately upset, almost hysterical. You're accepting every word in the article, listening to a lot of hearsay and making a lot of assumptions. Without seeing the actual police report about the circumstances when they went to the flat you can't judge as to whether they should have secured the scene etc. Anyway, at this stage, discussing the details is becoming distasteful so as you say, let's leave it there and wait to see if there is any update.

In the meantime there is a mechanism for appealing a Coroner's verdict if the mother is not satisfied.

News / Poland's PiS party members and crime [346]


No. I'm just saying that they had a traitor within their favoured friends. There was always a touch of PRL about PIS. They're a weird bunch. There's a definite Soviet vibe from them but I don't think they're pro-Russia, as a group, quite the opposite.

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - victims or criminals?! [243]


Negligence by the police is a possibility, but it would also require negligence by the doctor performing the post mortem and then by the Coroner. Such a combination is fairly unlikely.

Not jumping to any conclusions about the mother, poor lady. Just stating that it's not unusual for a parent in extreme grief to find it impossible to accept that their child died a natural death. They look for reasons 'why did this happen'?

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - victims or criminals?! [243]


I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. There have been plenty of deaths in the Polish community in the UK which have been investigated as suspicious.


Sadly Paulina, ECGs don't detect all heart problems. It's impossible to try a case on a forum like this without proper evidence, sworn witnesses, cross examination etc. It has been known for witnesses, when cross examined, to change their stories.

Just let it go and wait for the Polish prosecutor's opinion.

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - victims or criminals?! [243]


Yes, but that's a layman's way of putting it. The post mortem will have had a clear result and it seems that result was natural causes and that there was nothing discovered which indicated a suspicious death.

Here is the detailed breakdown of what's recorded in the post mortem report and on the Death Certificate which the mother would have received.

coroners.leicester.gov.uk/faqs/when-a-death-is-reported/understanding-the-results/

Food / Polish cakes made in Poland [102]


And some of them went to Ireland - otherwise I wouldn't exist :)

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - victims or criminals?! [243]

Sudden death from cardiac arrest is young people is a well known condition. It's comparatively rare of course but more common, ironically, in athletes or very physically active people. We've had a few cases in Ireland in recent years. The young woman was a dancer and clearly she was having regular check-ups, possible for the very reason that outwardly very fit young people have been known to drop dead from this heart issue.

As to semen on her clothes and her not having a boyfriend, perhaps she didn't want her mother to know about the boyfriend or know that she was sexually active.

Clearly, a post mortem was carried out because the article Paulina linked to, stated that her body will be dissected 'again'. Other than that, everything reported is simply heresay and it is impossible to determine anything concrete from it. As Jon says, cause of death will definitely be shown on the death certificate.

It may simply be that the poor mother can't accept that her lovely, young, apparently healthy daughter died suddenly.

Food / Polish cakes made in Poland [102]


A Quaker family originally from England :) settled in Ireland sometime in the 1600s to escape religious persecution. Amazing how we have the Quakers to thank for some of our most delicious and iconic goodies! Cadbury and Fry for chocolate, Jacobs for biccies and in Ireland the Bewley, family for cakes and tea and coffee blends.

The Quakers are such a nice religious movement, so unlike the Puritans!

News / Poland's PiS party members and crime [346]


Mmmm.......... and he's now saying that Poland should have good and neighbourly relations with Russia and that Lukashenko is a great leader.

Food / Polish cakes made in Poland [102]


Apparently there is an impostor going under the name Lemon Puff which bears no resemblance to the original :( and is sold in Sainsburys and Tesco. What a shame.


Oh yes, the sugar glaze on the 'pastry'! My lemon puff eating method was to separate one of the bics to expose the cream filling and eat the filling first, then finish off with the biccie bits.

I did a bit of research and would you believe they were created in Ireland. William and Robert Jacob, two Irish brothers founded Jacobs Biscuits factory in Waterford in 1851. They didn't open a factory in the UK until 1916 but they used to have decorative tins manufactured in England and here is one from 1912 :) Jacobs biccies in England is an offshoot of the Irish firm but there have been so many changes of ownership etc. over the year that it means very little now. The sad thing is that as soon as mainland European firms or worse still, Americans, take over our British Isles brands, the original taste gets altered and turned utterly bland and sickly sweet.

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Food / Polish cakes made in Poland [102]


I think he means 'marmolada'.

@ Alien, in English marmalade is a jam/spread made only from citrus fruits. The stuff in English biccies is jam - and cherry is not a popular choice. As Jon says it's most likely to be raspberry. I LOVE raspberry jam. I can take or leave strawberry.


I think they're a love or hate biccie. I've never liked them even though I've eaten a fair few of them over the years as I have a sweet tooth and will eat almost anything sweet when desperate! They'd be a sort of last resort for me if they were the only thing left in the biscuit tin.

I used to love lemon puffs when I was a child and for a time there was a McVities biscuit called Royal Scot, I don't know if you remember them Jon, with a white and tartan pack. They were yummy! Sadly they were discontinued.

In Ireland we had a biscuit very similar to custard creams called Kerry Creams filled with a strawberry cream instead of the standard vanilla. Loved those too.

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UK, Ireland / "Strange " English language.. [255]

I would say that Jon, as an Englishman, is far better placed than you to understand the British social order.

Food / Polish cakes made in Poland [102]


Scones don't keep well either. They are best eaten freshly baked. Once upon a time when mothers were at home all day in Ireland and the UK it was very common to have scones at 'teatime'. In Ireland we don't eat them with cream, we prefer butter so we like to eat them warm, straight out of the oven.

Food / Polish cakes made in Poland [102]


Fritters are basically stuff dipped in batter similar to the batter you make for Naleśniki. They can be sweet or savoury. When I was a kid my mother used to make apple fritters, slices of apple dipped in batter and deep fried. In old fashioned cookery British cookery books it's a common recipe.


They certainly look identical in the picture you posted but looks can be deceiving :) I'd like to try American biscuits I must say, but only homemade ones. I see they originate in the South so you must have tasted some good ones in your time :) Lifted from a UK cookery site:

What Are The Differences?

#1. British scones tend to contain more sugar and fat - served with jam and clotted cream. American biscuits are typically served alongside savoury dishes such as chicken, soup or gravy.

#2. British scones will use milk instead of cream or buttermilk.

#3. Scones are more dense and rich compared to the light and flaky consistency of American biscuits.

#4. British scones are made with sugar and dried fruit in the ingredients (although scone purists would argue against including fruit as it breaks tradition)

#5. Biscuits originate from the American South whereas scones originate from Scotland, gaining popularity in England during the 18th and 19th century.

The only thing I disagree with here is that scones are always 'sweet'. You can make cheese scones which are delicious.

Easy peasy recipe, try it:

saturdaykitchenrecipes.com/mary-berry-recipes/mary-berry-scones-collection/

Life / Giving flowers for bereavement and at funeral in Poland [5]

It's perfectly ok to send flowers to the house especially if it is to family. Don't worry. You did nothing wrong. They will appreciate your thoughtful gesture.

What you sent was what's called a condolence bouquet in Poland 'wiązanka kondolencyjna'. These are intended for the family and are sent with an appropriate message of sympathy, exactly as you did. The funeral flowers on the other hand are sent for the deceased.

Life / Giving flowers for bereavement and at funeral in Poland [5]


Not at all. Lilies are perfectly appropriate though they are perhaps more associated with women or the death of a younger person. Nonetheless they are still a very good choice.

Wreaths are either given by a group like work colleagues or close family. A bouquet is fine from a more distant family member. It really depends on how close you were to the deceased and the size of the bunch can range from small to quite large depending on that relationship.

Flowers have different symbolism but you're absolutely safe with chrysanthemums and carnations or if you know what their favourite flower was, you can choose that. Gladioli are popular too.

As for colour, white and cream are very safe choices, purple is for mourning. I was once told by a florist in Poland not to give red flowers as these would only be suitable for a spouse.

Life / The climate for gardening in Poland [291]


I know what you mean about how it was colder generally in those days and winters were certainly colder, that's true.

The Wicklow Mountains have long been lived in though and there was a British Army presence there because of the rebel hideouts which they were always trying to find. There are also a few great 'estates with the vast country house and some smaller but significant gentlemens' residences, so measuring, observing etc. could have been going on there at least on an amateur level but I suppose there may be no official records.

However, the Wicklow Mountains, as mountains go, are not especially cold or snowy. More than anything they're wet. It rains alot. Mostly you only get very cold temps and heavy snow in certain parts and some areas are known for often being impassable for days at a time in December/January.

Life / The climate for gardening in Poland [291]


Strangely enough, it wasn't but then our climate is a bit weird because of being an island in the Atlantic and having the Gulf Stream warming us. Mind you it's cooling now, the Gulf Stream. If we didn't have that, the weather would be even more dismal! Well, it would a lot colder. We'd be more like Iceland or somewhere because we're so far north.

Anyway I checked and that lowest temp was recorded in Sligo which is in the north west of the country at Markree Castle in Collooney where the elevation is only 62 metres :))

In the 20th century the lowest temp of -18.8 degrees was recorded in Kildare in a place with an elevation of only 90 something metres.

Genealogy / Paholak surname [2]

I would say the original name is probably Pacholak. In Polish the 'ch' is pronounced as 'h' so your ancestors probably changed the spelling when they emigrated so that non-Polish people would pronounce it correctly. You may find some relatives or people to connect with here:

geni.com/surnames/pacholak

Life / Primary Education in Poland - Changes Made to Homework? [15]


I've often said that they're all as bad as each other in their different ways. I'd rather see PO at the helm than PIS for various reasons but that doesn't mean that PO are universally wonderful by any means. In any case your main problem now is that you have a coalition which is made up of too many parties, a bit of a 'galimatias' in my opinion.


Politics in Poland are populist by nature. It's not a mature democracy and parties are desperate both to gain power and hold it. They'll do whatever they think it takes to achieve that.

What are your own views on the homework thing?

Life / Primary Education in Poland - Changes Made to Homework? [15]

Think it's a very bad idea. A no homework or limited homework policy can and does work but only if the national curriculum is designed to support it and teachers are properly trained in how to deliver such a curriculum. It requires major educational reform and would take years to implement properly.

If they really wanted to quickly reduce the burden of homework (which I agree is excessive in Poland) they should have looked at what material they could trim from the present curriculum or what kinds of homework could be reduced in volume rather than simply eliminating it completely.

It was just a vote-catching exercise with no real thought behind it.

Off-Topic / What's your hobby? [166]


For some people it's the intricate workmanship of the craftsmen made pieces which are tiny replicas of the real thing but to me I don't mind if they're just mass produced things from a factory. I love the fact that you can recreate any real life setting in miniature and if you're into interior design it's great fun. I'm also sure that it's partly a hangover from my childhood. I have great memories of playing with my little house, maybe that's what it is.


It might have been Modella or Jean of Germany. I wonder if any of this furniture looks familiar to her.

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Off-Topic / What's your hobby? [166]

I wonder if she would recognise this? did she have anything like this in her dolls' house kitchen? They were German tinplate toys which remained in circulation for years after they stopped producing them. You'd find them in dusty boxes in the stockrooms of toyshops. We had one like this in our dolls' house. I loved it, but the door of the oven was an absolute bloody bugger to open. It was on a spring and by standards of modern toys it was a death trap to little fingers :)

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Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 3 [522]

The imperfectly formed letters in the child's handwriting leave a margin for doubt eg. rice could be read as vice, but I don't see anything that conclusively proves the child made an error in transcription. Pray enlighten us.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 3 [522]


That's what I thought too. 'Letis' is very wrong indeed - especially for a Polish learner of English. Letys would be nearer the mark.

Off-Topic / What's your hobby? [166]


Ah, that's sweet :) The little tap is gorgeous.


There is actually a doll and dolls' house museum in Warsaw. It has two locations. I've been to the one in the Pałac Kultury. You'd never know it was there unless you knew it was there if you get my drift! It's hidden away downstairs and there's no signage or anything. It's a lovely place, if quite small.


It was probably homemade or possibly from Germany. Most commercially produced dolls' houses came from the UK or Germany. I had a Triang house when I was a child, handed down from my older sister. This is the model. Oh, how I loved it! Gave it away when I was thirteen and we were moving house, thought I was tool old for 'toys' - always regretted it.

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Off-Topic / What's your hobby? [166]

Now back to the topic of hobbies.

Lenka this might interest you :) Another one of my interests is dolls' houses and miniatures. I used to have a Victorian doll's house but I left it behind in Ireland. I gave it to a charity shop and gave most of the contents to my sister for use in her own. I now have a 1970s Swedish Lundby house. I never seem to have enough time to get stuck into the renovations properly but here is work so far in the kitchen- I can say it actually looks nicer than my real life kitchen!

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Off-Topic / What's your hobby? [166]


Deleted what from where? Tell me and I can advise you on how to recover the deleted material. Just specify what form you saved it in.


Extraordinary isn't it, how somebody who saves old posts of members didn't save what he believed to be my 'identity'.

Off-Topic / What's your hobby? [166]


No.

Just post the title of the book you say you found and the author's name. I really don't care because it's not me.

Off-Topic / What's your hobby? [166]


And yet you're still talking about it.

Let me explain search functions to you. I want to find a particular book. I don't know the author's name and I don't know the title of the book. I can't search for it. It really is that simple.

The only fool here is you.


No wonder normal people eventually stop posting here and new members usually disappear without trace after a few posts.