News / PiS candidates are losing positions in EU Parliament. Will they keep power in Poland? [358]


Harmless, if one overlooks the little matter that Korwin-Mikke thinks child pornography should be legalized.

Though it pains me to say it, I think it's quite likely that PIS will be re-elected, Kaczyński will become PM (in other words, declare himself supreme ruler of Poland) and it's downhill all the way from there. The 'reforms' will really start to kick in. Remember Kaczyński's declaration that the first term of office for PIS was just the first in his plan of twenty years in power for PIS. Stalin had his five year plans and Mr K has his four year plans.

Off-Topic / The "Anglicization" of Europe [132]


Have to agree, in relation to Polish anyway. There is a tremendous amount of "Ponglish" spoken here by younger Poles. The English of the older Poles who learned in PRL times may be somewhat limited and a bit overly formal and somewhat quaint at times, but at least it IS English!

The Ponglish thing is rampant in the world of IT and technology. Basically they take English words and terminology and Policize them, using Polish phonetics and applying Polish grammatical structures to them. A technology related sentence may contain verbs and nouns that could be translated into Polish, but instead of doing so they use the English form and Policize it. It's because it's a greater cognitive burden to divide the sentence into those words which do not have an obvious Polish equivalent and those which do. The brain would have to do a lot of switching, so instinctively the speaker makes it easier for themselves by applying the rules of their native language to the whole utterance. I predict that in time, some of these English verbs and nouns will replace the Polish ones completely and become true loan words, absorbed into the Polish language.

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]

I also forgot to mention that Dealz have Aero chocolate and some Sharwoods products :-))

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]


I don't. But they're very popular in the British Isles. They're much better than the Polish version, lovely in the winter with hot milk! And considering I loathe milk.....

Also, forget to mention they had Crunchies, Double-Deckers, Bakewell tarts (made by someone called The Tasty Bake Company, didn't look that appetising though). Finally, they had mini teacakes, you know those dome shaped delights with marshmallow covered in choc, but I didn't recognize the brand. For me, it has to be Tunnocks Tea Cakes, so I wasn't tempted. I'll wait and order the box of 36 from the UK at Christmas :))


Life is good :))

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]

Well, I went to Dealz in Gocław today and I noted the following products:

Kellogs Cornflakes both regular and crunchy nut @ 12zł per box for the 750g size.
Cadbury's Twirl (made in Ireland) 6zł for a five pack, but only five single sticks not five bars.
Cadbury's Fingers (biccies) made in the UK, 5zł per pack.
Terry's Chocolate Orange (milk variety only) 6zł each.
Fox's biccies, various, I bought ginger nuts, 4zł
Burtons biccies, various, didn't buy any of those.
Tea, Tetleys, PG Tips and Typhoo teabags, I'm a loose tea person so didn't buy so didn't notice price.
McVities chocolate digestives, milk choc only as far as I could see.

The thing I was happiest about were the cornflakes, the Twirls and the Cadbury's fingers :-)) I really cannot express the joy of finding Cadbury's fingers!

History / Modern myths and legends about communist past in Poland [250]


Auchan still sells both of those products. I imagine the Brutal was supposed to be based on the popular Western aftershave, Brute.

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]


Sometimes you get the real stuff, the one made at the Cadbury factory in Ireland. It uses Irish milk. I bought a few giant bars of it in Biedronka about two years ago. They stocked it on and off for a while.

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]


I haven't been there yet but somebody I know has. They got Walker's crisps, Colman's mustard (but the stuff already made up, not the dried mustard which is what I use), Marmite (gross) and Cadbury's chocolate (yum!). They had Cadbury's buttons apparently, but no Twirl - sigh. I loves me Twirls :))


Don't forget lamb, proper centre loin lamb cops on the bone, even gigot chops are delicious, pot roasted for an hour or so. You could cut them with a spoon, they're so tender cooked that way. And then gravy made from the juices...........

UK, Ireland / Why are Polish people, especially women, so disrespectful toward the English? [442]


Poles aren't especially lanky, nor swarthy - many of them are quite fair in fact - nor do they have particularly jutting chins. To be fair, their teeth vary.


I think you're confusing Romanians with Roma, a mistake commonly made by ignorant gobsh*tes. Mind how you go, careful now......... down with that sort of thing :))

History / Polish Guard Companies in Britain for POW Camps [7]

Hi Budworth. Do you know about Cultybraggan in Scotland? It housed some of the most extreme SS men. The British guards there were replaced by Polish guards in 1944. A prisoner there kept a book of sketches, one of which depicts Polish soldiers.

sundaypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2018/10/IMG_1948-e1540557145118.jpg

"The Polish hated the Germans, and drawings in the book of images by Peter depict the Polish soldiers in a much tenser light to the British and Scots depicted beforehand."

There is also a Red Cross record of a German soldier being shot in the head by a Polish guard for getting too close to the camp perimeter.

Full article is here:
sundaypost.com/fp/watch-cultybraggan-the-story-of-scotlands-prisoners-of-war/

Some of the Polish guards settled in the nearby village of Comrie, so there should be some local knowledge about them. The camp is the only remaining POW camp in the UK which is fully intact and it's administered by the Comrie Development Trust. You might be able to get further information from them about the Polish staff.

This is a nice site about POW camps which may be useful to you, lots of photos.
ukpow.it/442268345

Life / Do you know these characters from Polish movies? [223]

The costume is 17th century so I can only think of Jan Sobieski (and he had a moustache!). There's Mikołaj Radziwil (he was a redhead) but he's a century earlier. Mind you, film makers weren't always very careful about authenticity where costumes are concerned.

Law / How do I verify a Polish company's existence? [249]

No probs :) business matters in foreign languages/countries can melt one's head a bit.

Just a note of caution, the International Recycling Company is owned by guys with Russian surnames, not Polish. Of course there are legitimate Russian entrepreneurs but the old Rooskies do have a bit of reputation. They might be Ukrainian of course. Lots of Ukrainians in Poland. I checked out the address and it's a business park with many different companies located there at number 5.

"BiznesPark is a complex of office buildings and business premises located in Rzeszów at ul. Przemysłowa 5. Within BiznesPark there are two office buildings, a warehouse with a ramp and a large parking lot. The excellent location provides ideal conditions for business development."

International Recycling Company also has another address at Stanisława Trembeckiego 11a, 35-235 Rzeszów but it's not clear what's there, looks light industrial neighbourhood.

instantstreetview.com/@50.053792,22.015341,342.42h,-6.49p,0z

The fact that they've been in business a year and haven't got even a basic website raises a few questions, but they could be getting plenty of business locally and with Russia/Ukraine. Bear in mind that the "International" title was probably just selected to sound impressive, rather than having any actual significance.

Law / How do I verify a Polish company's existence? [249]


I said it seems to be genuine ;))


I followed the link you provided and the Regon, Nip etc are not the same.

NDEVR SP Z O O (KRS: 0000524535, NIP: 7352861153, REGON: 123217508)

INTERNATIONAL RECYCLING COMPANY SP Z O O (KRS: 0000720061, NIP: 8133774058, REGON: 369677811)

Life / Getting a Polish Heritage tattoo - how would Poles react? [26]

@Jansemanse, your question has cropped up on the forum many times previously so search and you'll find opinions about it. As for Rich Mazur's comment, he's just trolling. Tattoos are very common in Poland both for guys and girls and there are tattoo parlours all over the place.

Work / Indian moving to Poland has a few questions. [9]


You've answered your own question in terms of how you'll be treated. You found people friendly. There's no reason to expect that it'll be any different when you live there.


Most people, white, brown, Polish or foreign are treated with the bare minimum of courtesy in Polish government offices.


Poland is a post-Communist, young democracy with a right wing government. Rather than worrying about the politics of the EU and Poland's neighbours, worry about Polish politics.

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

Absolutely. The fact is that the majority of Polish people in cities around Poland live in those blocks and they're just normal communities. The residents are basically a combination of working class, middle class and some upwardly mobile professional types taking their first steps on the property ladder and getting more value for money in terms of space. I've been in many of those estates in Warsaw and they are often very pleasant places, with loads of trees, play areas for the children and benches to sit on, well lit at night and completely safe to stroll through at any time of day.

Law / How do I verify a Polish company's existence? [249]

I just googled them. Here are their registration details. At the top of the page are their NIP, REGON and KRS numbers. NIP is the tax identifier and KRS is social insurance. It's KRS for agricultural /farmers and ZUS for other types of business. They seem to be genuine.

krs-online.com.pl/ndevr-sp-z-o-o-krs-1380978.html

Here's a view of their location from Google street view:

instantstreetview.com/@49.681031,21.717795,282.74h,-11.42p,1z

And this is their website:

ndevrspzoo.com/index.html

Food / Polish Dinner for Boyfriend - what to cook? [34]


I bet your granny didn't make it that way! You don't change the water. You just skim it to remove the scum from the top. If you throw the water away and add new, you'll lose the flavour.


You add the veggies at the beginning after you've skimmed the water, again for maximum flavour, carrot, leek, parsnip and some celeriac (włoszczyzna basically,which is the base for the stock of almost every Polish soup), garlic to your taste, onion and very importantly ziele angielskie (allspice, whole berries, not powdered),pepper to taste and you can chuck in a chicken stock cube.

Serve it garnished with chopped parsely or koperek (dill).

Some people eat the pasta and broth as a first course and then fry the chicken and serve it with mashed spuds and carrots as the main course. I personally prefer the chicken shredded into the soup Jewish style.


Can your boyfriend cook?? A lot of Polish men are really good cooks. You could suggest having a Polish food evening and making a couple of recipes together :)) If he can't cook at all, then you could get the recipes on a Polish cookery site (for authenticity, Polish-American versions are often not quite the same) and he could translate.

When I met my husband I hadn't a clue about Polish food though I was a fairly competent cook in general terms. It was my husband who taught me the basics of making chicken soup. He'd never actually made it himself but he based the recipe on how he remembered his granny and his father making it. Then I tweaked it as the years went by, and now we have our own 'family' recipe, which he claims is better than his granny's, so let that be an encouragement to you :D

History / Unforgettable quotes about Poland and Poles from Polish and world`s history and culture [99]

Oh, I love his short stories :)) The first one I read was The Lumber Room when I was about thirteen. I don't think he spent that long in Warsaw though Jon. His first Warsaw byline for the Morning Post was in early 1904 and by the Autumn he was in Russia and seems to have spent the next two years there. He apparently frequently referred in his dispatches to Slavic indifference to major events, bloody or peaceful, local or international and the apathy of merchants whom he says would rather spend their time sipping tea than making a sale - shades of that still to be found in some Polish establishments :) He said he found it easier to do business with the Jewish merchants in Warsaw than their Christian counterparts. He also said "To the Jew in Warsaw is meted out a wealth of disfavour and contempt that is hardly pleasant to witness. The British visitor however, who normally lives far from any personal contact with these huge Jewish populations, is not altogether in a position to pass judgement on this anti-Semitic rancour. It pervades all classes of Polish society."

History / Unforgettable quotes about Poland and Poles from Polish and world`s history and culture [99]


It's nothing to do with being publicly acceptable. Such a statement as the one about temporary mobility disorder wouldn't even be privately acceptable. It's sheer stupidity and it's not as if he has a catalogue of extraordinary achievements to counterbalance it and place it in the category of 'eccentric'.

History / Unforgettable quotes about Poland and Poles from Polish and world`s history and culture [99]


He doesn't impress me. The remark regarding temporary mobility disorder was pure nonsense, not the comment of a truly intelligent person.


Churchill led a nation through WWII. No comparison really.


I think you'll find that nowadays people have a fairly balanced view of Churchill, his strengths and his failings.

History / Unforgettable quotes about Poland and Poles from Polish and world`s history and culture [99]


Ah yes, the man who said that watching disabled athletes should be avoided as it leads to 'temporary mobility disorder' in healthy people.

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1450]


I know. I wonder if they did before the war?? There were a good few Polish guys in Ireland over the last few years, training as butchers, probably a good few in the UK too. I wonder if any of them will come back to Poland and start opening traditional butcher's shops and introduce some of the British Isles cuts and maybe aged meat.


The clip below is FX Buckley where I used to buy my meat in Dublin, over the last few years he employed a few Poles, a Bulgarian and a couple of Romanian as juniors, under the watchful eye of the Dubs :)) I remember once going in and asking for golonki, there were none on display and one of the old fellas there hauled a pig's carcass out of the back and chopped them off for me - now that's what I call a butcher. Just feast your eyes on those beef carcasses and when he shows the rib roast on the bone, beautiful - that's what I really miss, you can't get a decent joint of beef for roasting in Poland :(

youtube.com/watch?v=Jq6UxOayORE

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1450]


I'm very easy to please, just give me a plate of delicious cakes and a nice pot of tea! You can't go wrong with sweetie treaties :))

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1450]


Poison, pure salt. As for the beef, I wouldn't touch Polish beef anymore following the most recent beef scandal. As for eating itraw............. In any case, I find that Polish beef lacks flavour maybe because the meat isn't hung/aged but I think it's also because of the feed used and the lack of outdoor grazing during the winter months.

History / Unforgettable quotes about Poland and Poles from Polish and world`s history and culture [99]


Still waiting for you to do that on the Nice treaty thread.


Another lie from Sh*tty. Anybody who has read about the life of Chopin knows how much he loved Poland. Why did he want his heart returned to Poland after his death, that says it all really. His last public performance was in aid of a Polish charity. On his deathbed he was surrounded by his Polish friends.

In 1848 he wrote:

"our people are gathering in Poznań. Czartoryski was the first to go there, but God only knows what direction events will take for Poland to exist again...horrible things are likely to happen, but at the end of the day there will be Poland, great and magnificent, in short: Poland."

Well Paw, there are only two options, either Sh*tty, really is a complete ignoramus or he's a liar. I'd say a bit of both :)

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [676]


I think that's an American usage Lyzko. In British English, aggressive has three meanings but is generally used to indicate hostility and belligerence.

1. Hostility and antipathy (which is how Weimarer used it, quite correctly).
2. Attack without provocation.
3. Forcefulness (that's the usage which you're referring to above).

The word aggressive has its roots in the Latin verb 'to attack'.

Assertive on the other hand indicates confidence and self-assurance and at times forcefulness, but always with an air of respect for others. When being assertive one is able to state one's case firmly or stand up for one's self but without being rude or threatening in manner.

UK, Ireland / Why Poles will never belong in England [283]

I think Dirk doesn't really know which he's more upset by:

The number of Muslims in the school.
The sex education curriculum.

Then there's the terrible confusion of finding himself on the same side as the Muslims for once and added to that, the carrot of the hope that this new law might end up making them leave the country. Oh the dilemma.

It's actually a 98% Muslim school btw, Dirk, not 80%. The old speed reading is your downfall. Did you notice that the headmaster is gay??

Apparently the kids at the school are aged from 4 to 14. It doesn't make it clear to what extent the younger ones are being subjected to this. I wouldn't want anybody other than myself, giving my child, aged under 12, sex education of any kind but I accept that it's necessary in order to protect children and some parents either won't or don't know how to talk about such things. However, it should be as minimal as possible so that a child can remain a child, and I think the LGBT stuff can wait till they're teenagers. Also if there's going to be a sex education program in a school, it should be discussed with the parents beforehand and the parents should have a vote to approve or reject the content, ask for modifications etc.

There's the question of whether parents should have an opt-out right, if they don't like the sex education program in their child's school. But the government can rightly claim that the state has a responsibility from a public health point of view to educate children on sexual matters for their own protection, from abuse, stds etc. and also that a parent has an equal responsibility to fulfil that duty.

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1049]

I don't think Lilana is a teacher (hope not anyway!), more likely a childcare assistant in a creche or nursery. She says 'setting' as opposed to classroom, or she might be a nanny/nursery nurse. Either way, she should stick to English.

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1049]

Lilana, if you're not a Polish speaker, don't try communicating in Polish or translating into Polish for the child. It is not always possible to translate directly from English to Polish. Stick to English as otherwise you can end up teaching the child incorrect forms of his native language and that is not good. You could use Google Translate but it doesn't always get the grammar right. Polish grammar is very complex even in a short sentence or sequence of words. There can be up to seven different forms of a single noun such as 'swing' depending on how it's used in a sentence (and fourteen when you add the plural forms).

The child will see that the Book of Colours is a book of colours. He doesn't need it translated. I'm a trained Montessori teacher btw and I've taught a lot of children of different nationalities whose languages I didn't speak.