News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]


Exactly. The majority of the population in both Poland and Ireland are Catholics but neither country is a theocracy.

News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]

This is really a pointless debate. Poland (let's not forget we're talking about Poland, not the USA or anywhere else) should simply do what we did in Ireland and let the people decide - have a referendum.

News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]


In which case you'd be barren and disenfranchised :)



For a sixteen year old, foreign ballet student you have a rather singular way of expressing yourself in English.

Life / Famous Polish people (that we have actually heard of) [231]


She was quite well known, not really as an actress, more as a 'celebrity' - and as Jon says, Denis Waterman's wife. She was one of those celebs who did 'tv appearances' on chat shows and things, rather than actual acting roles from what I recall anyway. Maybe she did/does theatre work. Lots of British actors who have brief tv fame actually do a lot of other work.

Actually, I once saw an interesting interview with Rula Lenska where she talked about her grandmothers, one of whom who had been in Ravensbruck concentration camp during the war and apparently granny said to Rula 'It is your enemy's duty to destroy you; it is your duty to survive.'

Life / Famous Polish people (that we have actually heard of) [231]


She was the mistress of Nicholas II before his marriage. Later she married one of his cousins.

Food / Polish cakes made in Poland [102]

I ate it anyway :) I'll eat anything sweet!

Life / Top 5 things I like about Poland [56]

Probably. Living in Warsaw for a year your lungs absorb the same level of toxin as you get from smoking a thousand cigarettes. That makes me really angry because I don't smoke but the Warsaw air is f*cking up my lungs.

Food / Polish cakes made in Poland [102]

Take a look here :)

//culture.pl/en/article/7-must-try-polish-cakes-and-pastries

This cake, Makowiec, made with poppy seed filling is very popular:

//culture.pl/en/article/makowiec-the-most-scandalous-cake-in-the-world

Years ago I had Russian honey cake (??) layers of cake with a honey and cream filling. It was delicious, so I tried making some myself for Easter. It took me a whole day and it was a disaster!! And I'm very good at baking. I don't know where I went wrong!

Life / Top 5 things I like about Poland [56]

Compared to where? China? India? The air is Poland is toxic - all year round.

Law / Divorce in Poland - birth certificate issue? [5]


No action is needed to register a foreign marriage in the UK. If it's a legal marriage in the country where it took place, then It's automatically valid in the UK.


But that's Germany, English law is different :) The OP has a valid divorce already obtained in the UK. It's legal. The OP's problem is getting the Polish court to understand that it's legal!

Classifieds / Looking for property to rent or accommodation in Gdansk [10]


Noisy neighbours are very common in Poland. Banging, hammering, in the middle of the night or very early morning, playing loud music etc is extremely common especially from May to August. They seem to go completely nuts in the summer months.

News / R. Trzaskowski, current mayor of Warsaw, future President of Poland [285]


Absolutely. A couple of years ago, I can't remember what was going on around Nowy Swiat and Krakowskie Przedmiescie but they stopped traffic there for a week or two and it was blissful. So lovely to meander quietly down an historically important street, minus cars and buses, towards the Stare Miasto. It really needs proper redevelopment along there. Considering that the Chopin museum is located just off Nowy Swiat and it's the home of Blikle and so on, it should be a real little jewel in the crown, instead of the slightly down-at-heel, tatty thoroughfare it is at present.

The relentless traffic absolutely destroys Warsaw.

Law / Divorce in Poland - birth certificate issue? [5]


Is your Polish lawyer based in Poland? You need a UK based Polish lawyer, you know, a Polish lawyer employed in a British family law practice who understands both systems and can confer with British colleagues for advice if necessary. Polish lawyers based in Poland tend to be very confused about foreign legal systems.


Like I said, they're inexperienced with cross-border family law. They're afraid of making a mistake so they apply Polish requirements. In Poland if you get married abroad you're supposed to register your marriage (even if it's in another EU country!) in order for it to be recognised in Poland, so he's expecting the same system from the UK. Clearly he doesn't really know what he's at so you need to change lawyers.

UK, Ireland / Is it good for Poland as Sinn Fein will win today in Northen Ireland [282]


I'm not sure what you mean Barney. If you mean a united Ireland we can only get that through a border poll and we won't have one of those for a long time.


Doubt it very much. The elections are three years away and a lot will depend on how they conduct themselves in NI over that time. Personally I'd hate to see SF in power in the Republic even in a coalition but they're needed in the north. While the last remnants of the DUP fanatics and friends are still around, you need SF. That's how I feel anyway.

Real Estate / Renovation for a twin family house...how much do this cost now? [3]

This is a really useful site. Gives all the current prices for everything, materials and labour in different parts of Poland.

//kb.pl/

UK, Ireland / Is it good for Poland as Sinn Fein will win today in Northen Ireland [282]


But Sinn Fein is not in government in the Republic and although they've cleaned up their image they're still seen as far too extreme and left wing by most people. There is definitely a sense in Ireland that SF would run the country into the ground.

As for the other parties, right wing is a bit of a stretch. Irish politics has always been pretty much centrist. I would say it used be Fianna Fail was the socially conservative party, Fine Gael was like the equivalent of the English liberal party, then you had a small presence of the Labour party and a small but important group of independents. Again, to call them corrupt by international standards of corruption is a stretch. The old brown envelopes for planning and the banking crisis, and of course nepotism and cronyism because Ireland is so tiny but there's a lot worse places in the world.

UK, Ireland / Is it good for Poland as Sinn Fein will win today in Northen Ireland [282]


People don't go to Ireland for the weather. They go for the history and the culture and mostly to meet the people.


Where did you go? There are many very old and beautiful buildings in Ireland, older than Poland, and lots of quaint little villages, some are very pretty. Poland does have some impressive public buildings but to be honest now, there are alot of incredibly depressing fugly settlements that pass for villages. It's because of your history and the fact that many of your original, beautiful wooden buildings were destroyed and you don't have enough conservation/preservation orders for the remaining ones.

Anyway, it's mostly for the natural beauty that people visit Ireland, not the buildings.


Again, in Ireland, men don't go for the 'prettiest' women. They prefer women who have a bit of personality. Irish men like women who can drink them under the table and have a laugh :))

UK, Ireland / Is it good for Poland as Sinn Fein will win today in Northen Ireland [282]


And you never went to Ireland - bad, bad, Alien :))


How so??


Agree. Except for Irish/Polish businesses that would be affected by the customs issue.

@Alien, this might interest you:

A 40 min video in Polish made by Onet about the second generation of Poles, living and working in Ireland. It might convince you to visit Ireland for your 'holiday land' :))

irishpolish.pl/member-news/

UK, Ireland / Is it good for Poland as Sinn Fein will win today in Northen Ireland [282]


Well, I care because I'm Irish. I mean, I care about any kind of border in Ireland - but I agree it really has very little relevance for Poland either way. At least I can't think of any off the top of my head.


You mean you want to improve your English skills? Fair enoughski :))

UK, Ireland / Is it good for Poland as Sinn Fein will win today in Northen Ireland [282]

It won't affect Poland in any way whatsoever. However, it's a very significant day in the history of NI because for the first time in a hundred years, a Nationalist party will be the largest single party in the Assembly. That's hugely important and symbolic for the people of NI but as Vincent says, it will be a long time before anything much changes there. You won't see NI leaving the UK for a long time yet, if ever.

News / Should Poland pay for gas in rubles? [169]


I'm a much better informed person than you are and I never repeat platitudes. My platitudes are all my own - wry smile. Sixty percent of the gas imported into the EU from Russia is paid for in euros, the rest in dollars. Actually it's Russia who is in breach of contract, not the EU. The proof of that is the fact that PGNIG is bringing a legal case against Gazprom.


Can you not see the moral implications of doing so?

News / Should Poland pay for gas in rubles? [169]


It's a pity you didn't get a proper education. I made a very simple statement and, as usual, you appear unable to understand it. If the contract says roubles, you pay in roubles. If it says euros, you pay euros.


Do you mean literally or figuratively?

News / Should Poland pay for gas in rubles? [169]


You pay the currency agreed in your contract.


Sorry, wrong edit

News / Should Poland pay for gas in rubles? [169]

No. Poland should not pay for gas in roubles.

Law / POLISH BEER IMPORT TO UK [37]

Just be sure you're dealing with a reputable supplier - there's nothing wrong with the beer. Some of it is excellent.

Genealogy / Did Polish last names derive from city / village names? [9]


It's quite common.

Law / Advice on partners access to his child in Poland 🙏🏻 [6]

You're very welcome Becky. Btw if your partner is not already sending money because the ex won't accept it, I would ignore her and send money anyway. She can return it if she doesn't want it. If he doesn't have a bank account number for her, he can send it via Western Union if he has her address. Then if the case goes through the Polish courts, she can't claim that he failed to support the child. He will have the evidence that he attempted to and that she rejected the attempts. He would need to send the money every month consistently and let her keep returning it.

He should pick an amount that he would be able to pay regularly if that amount were fixed by the court. Polish courts don't have any system in determining the amount. They do it randomly, basically the judge just picks a figure out of the air. The only law they have as a benchmark is that the child is supposed to enjoy the same standard of living as they would if their parents were living together which is clearly impossible for most ordinary working people especially if they have a second family. In general however, it seems that the Polish court will set an amount of around 1500zl - 2,000zl per month to begin with. Your partner should also send birthday, Christmas, and other presents if he wants to, but keep receipts and evidence of postage. Sometimes if the ex gets very vindictive she won't allow the child to have the presents but it's important to send them anyway. And he should contact the child's school, if he hasn't already, on a fairly regular basis to find out how the little one is doing. Once again, it doesn't matter if they blank him, he needs to keep doing it and present evidence of it, because otherwise the ex will say he takes no interest in the child's education and may get a letter from the school saying that he never gets in touch.

If he ever has a chance to Skype again, did you know that there is 'record' option where you can record the call? Use that, so that the ex can't claim things, as in the case of saying the child was distressed. Even though you're not allowed to talk to the child at the moment, the ex could decide to say that the dad is stressing the child out. Btw I would be prepared, if I were you Becky, to call their bluff on you being 'dangerous' by telling her lawyer that you will submit to a psychological evaluation by a Polish psychiatrist :) A character reference from a Catholic priest or nuns would be a help too :)) Maybe you could do a bit of volunteering for a local Catholic charity and make a few contacts in the world of religion while helping those in need.

I'm assuming that the UK divorce was unable to stipulate anything about visitation as the ex wouldn't cooperate?

Law / Advice on partners access to his child in Poland 🙏🏻 [6]

Hi Becky. There is always a lot of confusion in Poland regarding anything 'international'. Unless the ex's lawyer is an expert in European law, which he is obviously not, then he'll talk out of his arse quite confidently about things he doesn't understand. Of course your partner's divorce is valid. Since Brexit, the mechanism by which the British divorce is recognised is The Hague Convention of 1970 to which Poland is a signatory. So, yes your partner's divorce is legal in Poland. If you partner's lawyer doesn't know that, then that would worry me as he doesn't seem very competent to handle the case. You need a family lawyer based in the UK who knows both legal systems well.

As for the other stuff, I'm afraid the Polish legal system is a mess when it comes to custody, visitation etc. You may get a favourable judgement but it's very difficult to enforce. You don't say whether there is an order from the English courts regarding contact and you're trying to enforce it? Either way, this government link can be used to access more information about what to do. It's for parents who either have an abducted child or are like your partner and have a child living abroad.

gov.uk/return-or-contact-abducted-child/y

Just to warn you there is a well known pattern of behaviour that some Polish women use where they won't allow the man to pay them child support and won't allow him even to speak to the child on the phone. They wait a while and then go to the Polish court saying that the father has abandoned the child, doesn't send money, doesn't contact them and they use this 'abandonment' to try to get his parental rights removed completely. It's actually called parental responsibility but it really means his right to have any involvement in the child's life. She'll then take a case in the Polish court to seek a judgement for child support. The Polish court doesn't take into account the father's income and expenses as they would in the UK, they base the amount on his potential earnings. They will also count your earnings. They will definitely count your earnings if you marry him, I'm not sure about co-habiting. So basically he ends up paying child support but has no contact or relationship with his child.

So I would say Becky that you need to try to get this sorted out ASAP through the English courts if at all possible and certainly with a very good solicitor. Best of luck with it all.

Life / Is it normal for men to abandon their children in Poland? [26]

@Romans Mom, what country is your court case in? Anyway, I'd say it's more to do with him being a musician and his lifestyle rather than him being Polish.

Life / Thank You from the U.S. for being so kind to refugees. [14]


They won't be staying there though. The Red Cross and various other organizations will help them to reach any family they have in other parts of Europe and if they have nobody - God it's heartbreaking, especially the old people - they will be sent to different EU countries.


But the people of England, that's a different story.

youtube.com/watch?v=ieVOzJnf29g