Life / Poland is something special [9]

It should be pointed out that the poster Avalon sadly died only four months after starting this thread.

Off-Topic / Things We Love [330]

Oh, gosh, yes, I'd forgotten the 'lashings' :) Thanks so much for the recipe! And I'll definitely be trying to get a copy of the cookbook.

Off-Topic / Things We Love [330]


I remember in the Famous Five books they always had ginger beer :) The homemade stuff sounds like a nice idea. I might try that!

News / R. Trzaskowski, current mayor of Warsaw, future President of Poland [354]


Not quite, but of course Hungary has to observe sanctions against Russia, so they could hardly do that and support them at the same time - and there is an EU common defence policy (except for Ireland, we have an opt-out).

Off-Topic / Things We Love [330]


Now I didn't know about ginger wine - how interesting. I think I meant ginger ale, not beer. You see it's not really an Irish thing. Take an Englishman to know the difference :)

News / R. Trzaskowski, current mayor of Warsaw, future President of Poland [354]


Not really. A country must implement EU directives and must abide by EU laws.

Off-Topic / Things We Love [330]


Ah yes, the old 'hot toddy' :) very popular remedy for a cold in Ireland. I heat the whiskey in a ladle over the gas flame and add it to the hot water. Put a bit of sugar or honey and a few cloves in it too. It's best taken at bedtime.


Sounds lovely - I'd give that a try if I could get decent ginger beer.

Travel / Being Transgender and visiting Wroclaw [467]


Where do Americans get the idea that a republic is not a democracy?? Republics are a mixed bag.


Well, my first thought is that it's an international organisation and some countries like Saudi Arabia are pretty strict on segregating men and women, so it means that women from such countries can still compete at international level. Must see if I can find out if that's the case.

Off-Topic / Things We Love [330]


No, that would be Jamesons. Black Bush is actually made by Bushmills.

Off-Topic / Things We Love [330]


Whiskey and soda is perfectly acceptable. A gentleman's drink. Give Bushmills a try if you haven't already. It kills me to say it but it's better than Jamesons. Bushmills is the 'Protestant' whiskey you see :)

Off-Topic / Things We Love [330]


In the Mapp and Lucia books by E F Benson, the Major and Captain Puffin meet in the evenings for whiskey and gossip. The Major takes it neat while Puffin keeps a kettle of warm water in the fender and adds a sugar cube and lemon juice.


Yes, you're right. Apparently it helped a rough whiskey to go down more easily. But Irish whiskey is never that rough. Historically it's much smoother than Scotch.

I prefer to take whiskey in a cup of tea, that's very Irish :) Years ago the lady of the house would always ask the male guests 'Will you take a drop of something in that?' meaning whiskey.

Off-Topic / Things We Love [330]


Certainly not! If anything you'd take it with a drop of water for that purpose. You might hear older people in the UK ordering a Scotch or an Irish 'and a threat' meaning a tiny squirt of water. Mostly though the Scottish and Irish don't add water, let alone ice. It's drunk neat.

Life / Polish fences - complete anthology [74]


I didn't know about it - thank you so much for that Jon :)

Life / Polish fences - complete anthology [74]


Of course in England you also had the idea of common grazing lands, public rights of way through private land etc. which still exist today of course. In Scotland too there was a perception of the land as belonging to all.

Life / Polish fences - complete anthology [74]


The US is a bit different isn't it? I mean those completely open plan gardens with no obvious boundaries at all. You don't see those so much in the UK - or Ireland, though many people in towns demolish the front garden wall to park their car more easily. The front gardens of houses in the British Isles are often about creating something beautiful to be admired and enjoyed by all who pass by. You want to share your lovely flowers and plants.


That's very true.

News / Referendum to decide about exotic immigrants in Poland [559]


So we now have three questions which will be asked within a matter of weeks of a completely uninformed public. Regarding the retirement age for example, voters need to know the consequences of their vote either way. What implications does it have for them and their children if they vote not to raise the retirement age? These decisions by voters need to be made on the basis of knowing all the facts and deciding, based on those facts, what they want to do.

News / Referendum to decide about exotic immigrants in Poland [559]


The whole point of referendums is that people have to make an informed decision. The key thing is that they must understand the question they're being asked. In Ireland the two sides of the question are presented and publicly debated for months beforehand. People can contact the referendum commission directly with questions etc. People must understand the potential consequences of their vote. Unfortunately that won't happen in Poland.

Language / When do I use certain characters? [33]


You probably know this already but every noun in Polish has a gender, male, female or neutral. The adjective has to agree with the noun so:

Mała torba (feminine)
Mały kubek (masculine)
Małe krzesło (neutral)

There is also something called noun cases which change the ending of the nouns and their accompanying adjectives depending on the structure of the sentence.

So for example:

Torba - bag, but 'I have a bag' becomes 'Mam torbę' and 'I have a little bag' will be 'Mam małą torebkę'.

Life / In Poland on holiday - need help with bad case of homesickness [108]


I think it's the gradual recovery from having been a communist country and the shedding of the post-communist mentality for a healthier outlook.


Yes, that's the bottom line really. Having lived in Ireland yourself you may understand when I say that what bothers me is not living in Poland but the thoughts of dying here, away from my own people. Anyway, I'll be cremated so hopefully somebody will be left in my little circle of loved ones to take my ashes and scatter them on the Atlantic coastline, back to the sea where I grew up, where I belong.

Life / Poetry and Poets of Poland [58]


The term 'well read' does not require a hyphen.

Life / In Poland on holiday - need help with bad case of homesickness [108]


But they're not - not if you don't have very expensive medical insurance. And don't call the ambulance - average cost is over a thousand dollars just to get to the hospital.

Life / In Poland on holiday - need help with bad case of homesickness [108]


Oh Lenka - really! The UK has one of the most diverse and stunning architectural heritages in the world. Are you seriously suggesting that Poland's streets en masse, are older and more beautiful than those of the UK?


Maybe it's because you're getting older. You may not be in a position to move back now but you could retire back to Poland. Your UK pension etc. would support you quite well.


Well, we're talking about chavs in that case and you'll find them everywhere. They have their own dress code which varies in different places around the world.

Life / Poetry and Poets of Poland [58]


That's because you're not very well read.

Life / In Poland on holiday - need help with bad case of homesickness [108]

Well Lenka, you could start making plans to return permanently. Why not?


Oh come on now Lenka. Plenty of 'buraks' wandering around the place in Poland and at this time of year most men go the shops in shorts. Plenty of tats on view too :)

Off-Topic / Things We Love [330]


Have been part of Irish culture since ancient times and have served us well enough.


And I say to my people's masters: Beware
Beware of the thing that is coming, beware of the risen people
Who shall take what ye would not give.
Did ye think to conquer the people, or that law is stronger than life,
And than men's desire to be free?
We will try it out with you ye that have harried and held,
Ye that have bullied and bribed.
Tyrants... hypocrites... liars!

(Patrick Pearse)

Off-Topic / Things We Love [330]


You wouldn't like to be Irish Novi. You despise most of the things that we value. Words and poetry and weaving tapestries with language, we love that. It's a big part of the culture stemming from the old Bardic tradition.

On Raglan Road, on an autumn day
I saw her first and knew
That her dark hair
Would weave a snare
That I would one day rue
I saw the danger
And I passed
Along the enchanted way
And I said grief be a fallen leaf
At the dawning of the day

Raglan Road is an ordinary street in the centre of Dublin and yet Patrick Kavanagh romanticizes it in a way that touches all Dublin people, in fact all Irish people. When I was teaching in an inner city primary school, one of the stand out moments for me was hearing that poem, sung in its song form, by an eight year old local boy. His parents were heroin addicts and he lived with his grandparents. Lovely kid. He sang it at a teacher's retirement do and he sang his heart out with such reverence for the words and music, the song 'given' to him, as we say in Ireland, by his grandfather. The poetry, the music must pass on from generation to generation.

youtube.com/watch?v=FdHr6jdQyTM

Life / Owning a house in true countryside of Poland - stories [692]


I suggest it's the farmer, knocking together the heads of incalcitrant farm labourers.

UK, Ireland / Should I worry going to Ireland as a Pole? [37]


You do have to exercise caution there. Even thirty years ago, I wouldn't walk down the main thoroughfare, O'Connell Street, after ten o'clock at night. You would in a group, but not on your own. On the other hand I'd have no problem even now, walking down Grafton Street at eleven o'clock at night. Obviously it helps to know the city well. The city centre is generally quite safe during the day but at night you have to be very careful and even during the day there are streets you should avoid. Unfortunately tourists often forget when they're on holiday to take the kind of precautions they would at home. I once saw an elderly American man standing in the middle of the street with his wallet open, sorting through it. He was standing outside the Pro-Cathedral in Marlborough Street. The funny thing is he probably feels 'safe' because he's outside a church, the Department of Education offices are directly across from it and there's a priests' outfitters right next door. The buildings are old and gracious and the street looks pleasant but it's the north inner city which has a host of social problems. I went up to him and told him 'it's not wise to open your wallet in the middle of the street anywhere in the city centre but especially round here, this neigbourhood is not the safest' .


Ireland as a whole is very safe, much safer than the USA. Dublin has unique problems resulting from a huge underclass of teenage scumbags and a very weak response to them by the courts.

UK, Ireland / Polish Visa from London Embassy [9]


It's the Consulate you want, not the embassy. You can make the appointment online.

secure.e-konsulat.gov.pl/placowki/105

Life / Are Polish Women very promiscuous towards foreigners and refugees? [197]


Excuse me, why are you bringing my name into this discussion? The thread is about Polish women; I'm not Polish and even if I were, I don't wish to have my name mentioned in this kind of context. Don't do it again please.