UK, Ireland / Ireland and Poland - ways of struggling for independence [43]

If by 'their whole war' you mean the War of Independence, then you need to clarify what you mean by 'bigger'. Do you mean more troops were involved?? That's a very simplistic view.

In time scale, the Polish uprising of 1919 took place over a period of about three months and was fought, if I'm correct, by Polish soldiers. The Irish war was fought over a period of two and a half years and was in preparation for some time before that as it was comprised of civilians who had to be trained and armed. These civilian volunteers comprised a force of around 15,000 against a professional British force of over 35,000. A very small nation with no army of their own, against the British army and police force....it was very courageous and a very valid victory.

UK, Ireland / Ireland and Poland - ways of struggling for independence [43]

Oh Ziemowit, you're a naughty one and no mistake! I was just yanking your chain you know. I regard you as a 'friend' in this virtual world.

You know quite well that if you want to learn about Irish history (or Polish history) this forum is not the place to do it.

Life / Where to buy cosmetic items such as razor and pumice in Poland? [39]

Not at all Interface, you're very welcome. Here's an article you might enjoy and it contains a link to an Amazon page with a huge selection of such razors. I am sure you can get something suitable on the internet.

telegraph.co.uk/men/fashion-and-style/11477964/A-close-shave-my-cut-throat-razor-disaster.html

Life / Where to buy cosmetic items such as razor and pumice in Poland? [39]

They're often known as a cut-throat razor and with good reason! My husband wanted one years ago and we were living in Dublin at the time. They were simply not available in a high street chemist or drugstore because, not surprisingly, they're not very popular. They were replaced in general use by the safety razor about a hundred years ago. We finally tracked them down by going to a traditional barber's shop where they also sold them. They were extremely expensive and the barber actually advised Mr Atch not to buy one as he said many people find they simply can't learn how to use them and he sold him a much cheaper version which would be ok for a few uses, just to practise and see whether he liked it (he didn't!). If you were buying the 100 euro version they gave you a practical tutorial in how to shave with it. I imagine the one for 30zł shown above, is the disposable version where the blade will be ok for a few uses.

Genealogy / I am hoping to find a woman in Warsaw but I need a little help... [16]

Sorry Matt I don't know what it's called in the States. In the British Isles the post office provides a track and trace option for letters and then it's signed for on delivery, so whatever your equivalent is in America. Or of course some courier service like DHL can be used.


This wouldn't go down too well in Poland! Not in my opinion anyway. Poles are quite suspicious of strangers and somebody turning up on their doorstep with enquiries of that kind would get a pretty cool reception. I doubt that they would give any information even if they had it. A letter is your best bet.

Genealogy / I am hoping to find a woman in Warsaw but I need a little help... [16]

Matt, whilst your quest is very sweet and touching, I must say that the chances of her still being single are almost nil. Polish women still tend to marry quite young and start a family before the age of thirty.


Quite possibly because she now goes under a married name.
However, on the positive side, if you have her address from all those years ago and it was her family home, then the chances are her family/parents still live there. Why don't you send a letter there and see what happens. Be sure to send it by registered post or courier as the Polish postal system is notoriously unreliable.

Or you could try the email address. I have a Polish friend, she's 28 now and she's had the same email address since she was a teenager even though she's since married and changed her name.

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

Polish guys are average height, 5'10 is the average apparently but there are loads of shorter guys here. Really, I see them every day. And in the south of Poland they're shorter than average. Go and live there, grow your hair and you'll look like a Viking amongst them! They tend to be short and dark.

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

Well I'm living here with my Irish hair and nobody has attacked me yet :D The girls would probably love you because you'd look different but if you wanted to you could just keep it very short. But honestly it wouldn't be a problem.

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

Oh, I don't know, Poleboy, I've seen a few sadly bare heads in Ireland! It could be more the hair type, there's a particular type of Polish very fair hair, that's very fine and fluffy, like the downy feathers on a duckling. Those poor guys go bald very early.

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

At the moment, with you hair very short, you'd pass for 100% Polish I think. A lot of Polish guys wear their hair very short in summer. Some of them shave their heads completely and then let it grow back. It's a kind of superstition they have that it helps the hair growth, you know, stops you from going bald.

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

Well I have to say it's unusual. You don't see that often. I lived in London for six years and saw loads of trannies and drag queens etc but they usually wore make up etc and tried to look a bit feminine. This guy was like a truck driver in a skirt :D

Anyway, as to whether Poles prefer Russians or Germans I can only speak for my own husband who is Polish, and he much prefers Russians. He really likes them. I suppose it's the thing of all being Slavs and having some sense of 'brotherhood'. However, he wouldn't have any big problem with Germans, he just feels more of a connection with Russians.

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

Poleboy, nobody would look twice at you, in terms of your features. You'd blend in completely. The only thing likely to make you stand out would be if you dressed very differently. Please don't ask 'how do Poles dress?'!! It varies, same as the USA I'm sure:)

But for example the other day in Warsaw I saw a young guy, about twenty, fair bit of jewellery, bracelets, rings etc with his head shaved on the sides, and then worn long in a ponytail on the top, he had really skinny black jeans and a denim apron (!!!) over them. Nobody was taking any notice of him. I also saw a man with a moustache wearing a skirt in the local supermarket recently!!! Now, another guy had stopped to stare at him in utter disbelief but it didn't kick off or anything, no blood was shed, so I reckon as long as you're wearing trousers of some kind or shorts you'll defintiely be ok!

Life / Where to buy cosmetic items such as razor and pumice in Poland? [39]


They sell pumice stones in Auchan. They're not great quality (surprise, surprise) but as Basil Fawltly would say they could certainly be used in an emergency!

Classifieds / Random Classifieds Ads Poland [261]

Hi Chimp. I would suggest you contact these people, the Jewish Community of Warsaw, their site is in English:

warszawa.jewish.org.pl/en

They could probably point you in the right direction. Mława is a small town and English is not widely spoken there. There might be some younger people who speak some English. However they would lack the specialist knowledge regarding the Jewish community.

Life / Consumer Rights & Returns in Poland [22]

Mr Atch and I were accused of shop lifting when we tried to return goods to a branch of Castorama once upon a time! We had bought some electrical fittings. Anyway they were the wrong ones. Next day we went back and decided that we'd better check first and see if they had the ones we actually needed. They didn't so we'd have to ask for a refund.

However when we went to customer service with our items and the receipt, she asked us to hang on a minute and then fetched a uniformed security guard who requested us to follow him to a sort of loading bay area at the back of the shop. We were then held there for 20 mins while they inspected CCTV footage. The bizarre logic was that we had bought one set of fittings and thus got a receipt, gone back into the store and shoplifted a second lot of the same ones which we were now trying to return using the receipt from the original purchase, thus getting our money back and the fittings for free!

Apparently their suspicions were aroused because we hadn't come straight to customer service but had gone to the shelves first. Pani Kommandant on the desk had noted that we had come from the direction of the shelves and her razor sharp instincts were triggered by this. I was beside myself with fury which expressed itself Atch style in high pitched indignant squeaking po Angielsku as I stalked out of the shop vowing never to return. Naturally due to necessity I've shopped at Castorama many times since though maintaining my lofty principles, not at that branch!

Life / Consumer Rights & Returns in Poland [22]

A few months ago my husband bought a pair of shoes at a reputable shop, one of a large chain in Warsaw. They were just for wearing indoors in the office, so they weren't subjected to much wear and tear. After about three weeks they started to fall apart so he returned them. Being the absent minded scientific genius that he is he went to the wrong branch! However they accepted the shoes which I thought was good customer service. They could have told him to go back to the branch where he'd bought them.

However they still did that weird thing where he had to specify whether he would prefer a repair(!!!), replacement or refund. This is perfectly proper within consumer law but most retailers know that it's better customer service to offer the replacement or refund and not even suggest a repair for a brand new item. Anyway he got the refund but had to wait two weeks. I had a similar experience about ten years ago so I couldn't say that customer service has improved. On that occasion I would have been happy to take a replacement as I really liked the style of the shoes but even then she couldn't give me a pair out of the stockroom. I had to fill in sheets of A4 forms and then come back two weeks later only to be told 'buty nie ma', without even a 'niestety', let alone a 'przepraszamy'.

Around the same time we had a problem with a pair of speakers we'd bought at Media Markt. They simply didn't work. We went back next day and they gave us another set with no paperwork and no quibbling. So top marks to them. Mabye it's because they're German? On the other hand both 'shoe' incidents occurred with Polish retailers. Obviously the quality of custormer service is largely determined less by the law and more by company policy. and I don't think Poland has really caught up yet in that respect. They don't quite understand what it means to value your customers and customers themselves have fairly low expectations.

Love / Woman 28 single, too late for a relationship with a Polish man? [67]

Englishman you're absolutely right and also Kez is talking as if seeing women as equal is some weird extremist view held by a minority, whereas it's pretty much the norm for most men nowadays.

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

No, I don't think he means that you look like a potato! I think he's referring to the fact that many rather, let's say, ordinary looking men from 'the West' find it easy to get an attractive Polish girl who would otherwise be out of their league, because allegedly the Polish girl thinks all Western guys have money. You know that thing which exists the world over, where a beautiful young woman will get together with an elderly potato man if he can keep her in diamonds.

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

Re the Afro - oh I hear you Poleboy. Being a 'lady' I have my hair long and use straighteners so I keep the Irish frizzies under control that way but otherwise I'd look like one of the Jackson Five. If I wash my hair and sleep on it without plaiting it or straightening it first, when I wake up in the morning it looks like something somebody knitted out of weird wool!!

Life / Do you think that Polish people are rude? [951]


Oh I know that but they weren't officially at war. and didn't send troops until early 1942.

I think you're referring only to this forum and the fact that nobody mentioned D-Day at all despite the anniversary. But that's a separate matter. To suggest that Europe ignores or diminshes the sacrifice of American lives when commemorating the war is completely untrue. Anyway we're well and truly off-topic now so let's leave it there, not least out of respect to the dead. They shouldn't be used for point scoring in frivolous arguments on chat forums.

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


I thought it might derive from the German 'Jaeger' but apparently having googled around a bit, it seems that it's a medieval English name peculiar to Yorkshire and deriving from the occupation of 'jagger', a type of carter/carrier/hawker. Apparently 'jag' was the local dialect for the load which they carried thus someone who carries a load is a 'jagger'. Fascinating isn't it?

@Poleboy you look a bit Polish around the eyes. The deep set eyes are quite a Slavic thing. Poles tend to have thinner lips though and your hair (which we can see properly in your earlier photos) is typically Irish. Does it go frizzy in humid/damp weather?


As for height the average height for an Irish man is the same as Poland. Irish guys are not especially short though the women tend to be on the smallish side.

Life / Do you think that Polish people are rude? [951]


Actually Johnny America only joined the war after Hitler declared war on the USA, a few days after Pearl Harbour. America fought because they were under threat as much as Europe. Having said that, all respect, honour and gratitude to those service men and women who gave their lives. Oh and a special mention should be made of those Americans who prior to that, individually volunteered for the Allied forces, often by changing their citizenship.

Life / Stereotypes about Polish people being stupid? [281]


Fair point Roz. I only know the term from my London days and I never heard it used in a derogatory way but I suppose things have changed.

Life / Stereotypes about Polish people being stupid? [281]

Spade wasn't originally a racist term. It was the 'cool' word for a black person amongst the youth of the 1960s, particularly in musical circles, a bit like calling a woman a 'chic' or another man a 'cat'. I suppose that at some point a white person decided to be offended on behalf of black people and the next thing is the term is 'racist'.......

Genealogy / Want to find a person [770]

It could be the son of Zbigniew senior? That would make him Marika's cousin.

Life / Communion money in Poland [27]

On my communion day I didn't get any money that I can recall but I got a silver bangle with my name and the date engraved on it. I was beside myself with joy, what with that and my handbag! I still have the bangle somewhere. Actually a watch used to be a popular communion/confirmation gift. But the problem nowadays is that kids pretty much have all that stuff already. Nothing feels special anymore.

Smurf, here are some of the suggestions from our countrymen which I quickly assembled via the magic of the good old interweb - some great ideas here but it may make you homesick:

Suggested Communion gifts:

Richard Dawkin's book.
'Something made of wood like Jesus would have given them, maybe a spice rack, kids love that'.
A card and an IOU.
A scratch card.
A euro for every question they can answer correctly from the Cathechism.
Forty pieces of silver.

Language / NAMES POLES GIVE THEIR DOGS [76]

That's a good theory. Back then I hardly had a word of Polish and was nervous about talking to people but now I'd ask her - although of course there's no guarantee I'd understand the answer! Usually people understand more than they speak but with me it's a case of 'mowię ale nie rozumiem'!

Language / NAMES POLES GIVE THEIR DOGS [76]

Thank you Wulkan. That's still an extraordinary name for a dog though isn't it? It was a Boxer. Now if it was an Irish Setter or an Irish Wolfhound I'd see the humour in calling it Spud but I can't see any reason to call a Boxer 'Potato'?? Ah well, we'll never know.

Language / NAMES POLES GIVE THEIR DOGS [76]

Once in the park I heard a very respectable looking woman roaring what sounded like 'K*rwa' at a dog in the distance but it turned out to be 'Bulwa'. Doesn't that mean bulb?? Rather odd name even for a dog.

Life / Communion money in Poland [27]

Well if you don't like him the book tokens are an ideal punishment :) Or I just had a brilliant idea - a donation to a childrens' charity on his behalf. Can you imagine the parents' faces?!


Did a bit of googling and the going rate in Ireland now is up to 50 euros for a nephew/niece but 30 euros seems average. I think the recession kind of put a stop to the Communion/Confirmation madness.A few people said 50 euros for a nephew if he's also your godchild. I don't know what the cultural norm is in Poland but I just think 400zl seems crazy. Up to yourself though.