Language / Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation [1756]

@Chemikiem
It's actually a saying and the translation is kind of tricky - as 'forest' in this case refers to a surname @pawian

Genealogy / How to Find Birth Records in Poland? [16]

@Parys
Do you have his exact date of birth or just the year?
As for Lubelski or Lubelskie, it literally means 'of Lublin', it may apply to the Lublin Voivodeship
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lublin_Voivodeship_(1919-1939)
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lublin_Voivodeship
or several places with 'lubelski' in its name for example Janów Lubelski
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan%C3%B3w_Lubelski_County
or actually any place in the region.

If he was born in 1920, his birth records should be in Urząd Stanu Cywilnego, not the state archives. But you need to find the correct USC before you apply for a copy of his birth record (you may need to apply in advance and pay some fee - not sure if you can do it on the spot ).

Warsaw is far from Lublin.
So before you go to Poland, find as much information about him as possible. Try to contact some governmental offices as well. Right now you have very little information.

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1186]

There are such blocks of flats in the UK as well.

As for familioki and former osiedla robotnicze there is more and more interest in renovating them

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1186]

@Dougpol1
Why don't you move to a place you find more attractive?
@Miloslaw
Caretakers who control the heating?

As for communist period 'slums'. The war ended and people had to face a lot of difficulties - including housing. In cities lots of infrastructure was destroyed. There were no jobs in the countryside. And lots were forced to move. Again finding it hard to find a place to live. Many for years lived in crowded places but they had a roof over their heads. And those ugly looking blocks of flats were a dream come true for many - finally a separate place to live - with a central heating. It was only later that people noticed that they could be more spacious etc.

They aged with time. But lots have been renovated thanks to EU funds in most cases, I suppose.
I grew up in one of them. And honestly, I was quite shocked when I moved to East London. So the idea of slums might be quite subjective.

Language / Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation [1756]

@Chemikiem
Nah, I won't spoil the fun.
But I guess some of the posters here should take the meaning seriously :)

Genealogy / What does my Polish name mean? [401]

@gumishu
Makes sense

Language / Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation [1756]

@Chemikiem
Lol.
But you know what? I saw the preview of your post with a lie has short legs And the first thing that came to my mind was: oh, another one which is the same in Polish :P

Law / A parent born in Poland. Obtaining a Polish birth certificate? [38]

Grabocin is a part of Dąbrowa Górnicza now. You need to contact The civil registry there -urząd stanu cywilnego.
bip.dabrowa-gornicza.pl/BIP.aspx?Sel=5826&ident=889&js=1
It's hard to say if they understand English but try to contact them.
You're usually charged to get certificates but it's hard to say how much if you're applying from abroad.

History / Why do Polish people hate to be called Eastern European? [120]

There are villages all over Poland.

Genealogy / What does my Polish name mean? [401]

@Stephanya
In Polish it'd be spelled Becela. Even though it may look similar to Beczala to a foreigner, it doesn't seem to be derived from the same root. - at least not to me.

Genealogy / Mosiondz/Mosiadz/Mosiedz surname [11]

@The Caucasian
The thing is that the Polish word mosiądz is pronounced mosiondz and there are lots of spelling mistakes when it comes to surnames as in the past not all clerks were good at it.

So if you're talking about someone who immigrated from Poland, there's little likelihood their surname originated in Armenia or Georgia.

Genealogy / KUKULA ancestry [32]

It's kukulka, cuckoo, Kuckuck , coucou, kukushka (plus lots of other koo koos in different languages) because of the sound the bird makes. I doubt the 'original' is German.

Language / Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation [1756]

@Chemikiem
It's the same in Polish. Ryba psuje się od głowy.

Genealogy / KUKULA ancestry [32]

Kukula is derived from kukulka - cuckoo.

Genealogy / What does my Polish name mean? [401]

There are some Beczalas in Poland, some of them in Silesia. I've found an article where they say it comes from beczec (to cry in Silesian)

Genealogy / KUKULA ancestry [32]

@kukula
Poland doesn't border Austria. Katowice is very close to Chorzów but both are far that place in Austria.

@vmcgovern90
Kukula sounds Polish enough to me.
A quick google search shows that there are still Kukulas in Lencze. You may try contacting the parish there. There was a mass for the late Józef and Paulina Kukula on May 3.

lencze.eu/parafia/intencje-mszy-swietych
It's hard to say if it was your grandad's brother as the village is not that small (about 1500 people accordingto wiki ) but there's a chance.

As for the names, the correct spellings would be : Brygida, Stanisław, Józef. The rest are spelled ok.

I think I have found your family's graves in Lencze

Jan and Brygida's
mogily.pl/lencze/kukułabrygida_16399
Other Kukulas including a Józef and a Stanisław
mogily.pl/lencze/pochowani

History / Poland, Ukraine population loss in 20-th century [15]

@delphiandomine
Why do you think there would have been a civil war?

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1422]

I prefer it in my fasolka po bretonsku - have some in the freezer; )

History / Heritage of partitions still present in Poland [107]

I think that due to migrations of people certain phrases are used all over Poland.

Genealogy / What does my Polish name mean? [401]

@holly_13
Ówna was added to the surname of unmarried women/girls . So mr Kucz was married to mrs Kuczowa and their daughter was Kuczówna.
Kucz might have been derived from old Polish kucza (hut) or German Kutsch.
Hełkowna was probably a daughter of Hełko (might have been derived from Helena but I don't know. )

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1422]

Home made stuff is always better because you know what you put in it and you're sure there are no preservatives or other crap. You can control the amount of salt you add etc.

You can use some paper towels to get rid of extra oil etc.

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1422]

@pawian
It seems I've been really unlucky as I can't remember eating soft kotlet schabowy either in restaurant or home made at different places. But I don't like pork anyway.

@johnny reb
Ready made stuff is not that good. Just buy some pork chops (or chicken breast), pound it thin, season it, then dip in flour, egg and fine bread crumbs.

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1422]

@pawian
I've never liked them. They're too chewy for me.
If I have anything fried in bread crumbs it's chicken breast.

@johnny reb
Are they sold in bread crumbs?

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1422]

@rozumiemnic
Kefir is great. Especially on a hot summer day with new potatoes. Or chłodnik, yummy.
I prefer Polish bread to what I could buy in the UK, too.

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1422]

Well, mustard contains sugar. Check the ingredients. Also check the ingredients for the pickles you buy. I'm pretty sure they contain sugar, too. So where's your healthy eating? Cheese on the other hand contains calcium at least.

Of course, moderation is the key.
As I said before, liver is a great source of iron and vitamin a. Check how healthy it is if you don't believe me. You can't have it too often (as I remarked before as well) but once in a while it's not worse than having pork. In fact, I believe it's healthier.

As for your Grandma's cooking, did she die at forty from a heart attack?
It is not about varied home made cooking but snacks, sauces and fizzy drinks people nowadays eat too often.

@Chemikiem
I usually simply eat fish like salmon or mackarel to get my omega 3.

As for the last picture, you have some lean meat, kasza and veggies there, both full of fibre. I don't see any grease on it. I'm not sure, pawian, but is it turkey's neck? I cook it for my dog ; ) I just can't imagine having it on a plate, even though I often buy turkey meat.

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1422]

Moderation is the key.

@Chemikiem
Is it because of Omega 3?

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1422]

Ehhhhm, didn't we discuss veggies that we have with liver etc?
My favourite is sauerkraut salad - not only high in fibre but also probiotics.
I also don't understand your claim about the foods described containing sugars - home made foods with no half products?
Vitamins are dissolved in fats so you need some. Sugars are definitely more dangerous but were they mentioned here?

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1422]

Well, I don't know about American meat, but Polish meat doesn't contain fibre, indeed ; )
That's why you serve it with veggies.
There's more to food than fibre - like vitamins and minerals. Liver is actually known as a great source of iron and vitamin a. You can't have too much of it but once in while it's great.

Life / Child abuse in Poland [64]

@Ironside
It's not about finding employment. It's about convicted pedophiles working with children. It's about priests who were banned from celebrating masses but still do.

Have you seen the documentary? Please do. And you'll hear that priest talking about his private chapel. I could tell you when these words are spoken but it'd be better if you watch everything - including now retired priests admitting to what they did. Watch Dariusz who has dożywotni zakaz pracy z dziećmi, yet is in charge of rekolekcje.

Life / Child abuse in Poland [64]

@Dougpol1
There's always a way to avoid cameras.
They didn't do it in church. It was often their room/car or they would take the kids on 'holiday'. You don't put cameras in someone's room or car.

As terrifying as it is, it may happen everywhere. But as soon as it's reported and they're sentenced with the crime, they just MUSTN'T work with kids ...