Off-Topic / Music Thread - part 2 [420]

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Law / Getting a Polish drivers license / Poland's residence permit (how long it might take to get?) [28]

If it's any consolation,you won't need to drive if you're living in Warsaw. The public transport is very good but if you're driving traffic is a nightmare. It will often take you longer to go somewhere by car than on the tram. If you want to travel around Poland sight-seeing etc. the trains are excellent and will get you to most places you'd be interested in visiting while driving on Polish roads is not a pleasant experience. It can be quite dangerous. Also, why would you want the needless expense of running a car, insurance, fuel, parking etc.

Off-Topic / Things We Love [257]

When the chips are down the Guards as we call them are a very efficient and generally well respected police force and they have unmatched physical courage, that's without a doubt. Like our British counterparts they are unarmed and although there are armed response units available to them, there have been several incidents of Gardaí, often off-duty, tackling and disarming gunmen. So, that's more important to me than fifty guards being 'fooled' by a foreign driving licence.

I can also happily report that they're very good at rooting out Polish criminals, in particular drug dealers, operating in Ireland.

Off-Topic / Things We Love [257]


No, that's the whole point. It wasn't one Pole.

Off-Topic / Things We Love [257]


Certainly shows a level of incompetent driving by Poles in Ireland back in 2009. They've improved a bit since then. Incidentally, wonder how Polish police of that time would have dealt with 'Ceadúnas Tiomána' ;)

Off-Topic / Things We Love [257]


I think I know the incident you're referring to :)

Off-Topic / Things We Love [257]


Not anymore you're not. You don't have much of a reputation as horsemen these days, oddly enough.

As for driving, you know quite well that it's a misery compared to your experiences in Ireland and you didn't even go outside Dublin much. You can drive the whole way along the Irish coast at a moderate speed and enjoy the experience without having some ignorant arsehole tail-gaiting and some moron approaching you at speed on the wrong side of the road. Then let's talk about the number of single vehicle accidents in Poland where drivers on completely empty roads end up dying after crashing into a tree or a wall - tells you quite a bit about Polish driving 'skills'.

As for reaction time, that's a bloody laugh. Poles have no concept of reaction time. They don't drive defensively, never watch the road ahead or use their mirrors properly. Useless, useless drivers.

Off-Topic / Things We Love [257]


No. Poles don't drive for pleasure. They drive to get from one place to another. Too much dangerous driving and exceeding the speed limit on comparatively narrow roads so you can't relax while driving in Poland.

Off-Topic / Music Thread - part 2 [420]

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News / Polish military contingent in Lebanon. [169]


Yes, it's one of those wonderful, quintessentially English institutions where Mrs My-Husband-Is-A-Rotarian rolls her sleeves up alongside Mrs My-Old-Man-Is-Down-The-Legion-Again.

In Ireland we had/have our own version of the WI called the Irish Countrywomen's Association. It has is roots in the Irish Independence movement, the United Irishwomen, similar aims of improving the lives of rural women with that mixed focus on education, skills and home making, wrapped up in a nice, sensible package.

News / Polish military contingent in Lebanon. [169]

I have no idea :) It's just a thing we do in Ireland. Somebody says something oblique and we just play along and come back with something related. So we really have no idea what we're talking about, but it's fun :)

Basically Jon is being facetious as the WI (Women's Institute) is a voluntary women's social group which was once summed up as 'jam and Jerusalem' because the hymn 'Jerusalem' is their anthem and they're renowned for their cooking skills especially the making of jams and preserves during World War One, ensuring that no produce was wasted and this was then distributed to the community. It has a reputation for being comprised of 'nice ladies' who knit, bake, craft, generally aim at improving themselves and raise money for charitable causes. Clitheroe is a place in the north of England. I checked and oddly enough they don't have their own WI branch. The nearest one is located in Waddington, a village about 3 miles away :))

JERUSALEM

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?..

simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_did_those_feet_in_ancient_time

It's a lovely hymn, based on the somewhat unlikely premise of an old Cornish legend, that the child Jesus accompanied his uncle Joseph of Arimathea on a voyage. Joseph of Arimathea certainly existed and was a rich man but there is no mention in the Bible of him being an uncle of Jesus, merely a disciple.

News / Polish military contingent in Lebanon. [169]


You'll find that their nearest branch is Waddington ;)

News / Polish military contingent in Lebanon. [169]


The Polish contingent in Lebanon are part of what was originally the Irish Battalion, now called IrishPolBat. The Battalion headquarters are Camp Shamrock but the Irish and Polish troops are deployed in different areas. Ireland is not intending to pull out. If we don't, Poland won't either - and as Jon says it would have to be a joint decision between the Defence Forces of both countries with the UN. I'm pretty sure Ireland won't want to leave.

"THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 380 Irish men and women currently serving as peacekeepers with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) - at the heart of Israel's ground offensive against Hezbollah.

They comprise the majority of the Irish-Polish Battalion - IrishPolBatt - a mechanised infantry battalion, supported by one Polish mechanised infantry company.

Our troops are primarily deployed over two main positions in UNIFIL's Sector West, adjacent to the border with Israel. Battalion Headquarters, Camp Shamrock, is located at UN Position UNP 2-45 close to Bint Jbeil.

Other Irish troops are located at a forward position, UNP 6-52 near Maroun Al Ras - the scene of recent heavy fighting between Israeli Defence Force (IDF) special forces and Hezbollah.

Our Polish counterparts are based at UNP 6-50 south west of Yaroun, again, close to the Israeli border."

Here's the map of the current positions, Irish troops to the left Camp Shamrock Battalion HQ in the middle, Polish troops to the right.

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Off-Topic / Best posters [875]


Yeah, they're great aren't they! It's the most fun we've had on the forum in a long time :)) I love the one of Paulina - I wonder what she'll think of it.


Nothing like! I bet GK told Chat I was Irish, so I was automatically given red hair! Most Irish people have brown hair and blue eyes which is what I have. and her hands are too big - I have tiny hands 😂

Sex change or she's become a nun??

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


Scratches, yes to some extent, gouges no. It doesn't seal the wood like varnish. The purpose of hard wax oil is to nourish the wood and keep it looking lustrous. It works into the wood as opposed to sitting on the surface. You polish it as often as you like with a nice natural wax polish and buff it to a high shine if you want to but there will be a certain amount of sheen even without that. Wooden floors look fine even with some wear and tear. I wouldn't see minor scratches as damage.

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

Yes, olive oil is also a great idea for things like chopping boards, bread boards, anything fairly small.

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


There are various types of wood oils which bring out the natural beauty of the wood and nourish it/stop it from drying out. You just brush it or roll it on using a roller designed for oil. A brush would be fine for small pieces. Europeans tend to go for linseed based oils, but I'd choose a hardwax oil. The wooden floors in our house are hardwaxed using this:

Fiddes Hardwax Oil. It's made in England but available in Poland. You can get it clear or tinted in various shades.

madrona.pl/srodki-do-podlog/olejowosk-fiddes-hard-wax-oil-250ml-detail

News / Polish vodka as a mean of protest [48]


The Queen lived to be 96, was in rude health up until about two years before she died and had a little drink every day - as indeed did her mother who lived to be well over a hundred though she did have a few healh issues in her final years but at 95+ you'd expect that! Even when Elizabeth was only two days away from death she was able to give a genuine smile for the camera and stand on her own two feet to greet the new PM.

Off-Topic / Music Thread - part 2 [420]

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Off-Topic / Let's talk about shoes [296]

In that case, the night before you check out, you could put the things you'd normally store in the safe, into your shoes!

Love / How to make a Polish guy happy? (we're moving to Mexico) [51]


Would you ever get up the yard, ya eejit 😂I'd lose and find you ten times over in the head department, as you well know.

You'll never find a wife if you carry on like this :)

Law / A D-visa required? Info regarding emigrating to Poland. [5]

You need official translations of documents. You can't do them yourself. You have to use a 'sworn translator'. It's very easy to find one and not that expensive.


Get used to it. That's Poland in a nutshell. It's very common to be given completely conflicting information by officials. A lot of them don't know their arse from their elbow. If they don't have the answer to your query they either get annoyed with you (they're often downright rude) or they just make something up.

Love / How to make a Polish guy happy? (we're moving to Mexico) [51]


We don't have that in Ireland. No common marital property.

Love / How to make a Polish guy happy? (we're moving to Mexico) [51]


I'd say it's not usual in Catholic countries but it's not unheard of. However it would usually be more distant cousins, like second or third cousins or cousins 'removed'. The Polish/British actress Rula Lenska had a relationship with a Polish cousin of hers for years.

Love / How to make a Polish guy happy? (we're moving to Mexico) [51]


Worse than that, the smugness!! Imagine having Mr & Mrs Smug for neighbours :))

To be honest, Paulina, I think he lives in his own head, if you know what I mean.

UK, Ireland / Getting a UK state pension in Poland [36]


And HMRC webstie says:

"Contact HMRC to get a letter confirming your National Insurance number - this can take up to 10 working days to arrive"

They have a separate phone line for callers from overseas:

Outside UK:
+ 44 191 203 7010

Feedback / I love this forum - It's so Polish: tolerant, inconsistent, amusing [252]

i can see caps when i'm typing and they disappear after posting - how weird.

Off-Topic / Music Thread - part 2 [420]

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Polonia / Which country is better SPAIN or POLAND [113]


And now they have Polish shops too! I was reading an article recently discussing how Poles nowadays prefer to buy a holiday place in Spain rather than in the traditionally popular resorts of Poland. Some of those interviewed said that apart from the holidays they wanted a home elsewhere in the EU in case Russia invades Poland at some point down the line.

Life / Live-in maids in Poland? [12]


It's the unfortunate result of a rapid series of changes to society, rather than the gradual changes that happened in the west. Poland pretty much accelerated forwards 70 years in the space of 10 or 15.