Life / Communion money in Poland [27]


More than enough Smurf. Would you give more than 100 euros to an Irish child?? I certainly wouldn't. In fact I wouldnt' give money at all. It's a disgusting practice that's got completely out of hand in recent years. A gift to mark the occasion by all means but money, no. Actually it's becoming fashionable now for a lot of Irish kids to give some of the money they get to charity because they collect obscene amounts. I would say a nice silver medal or religious themed thingy and a few book tokens as Jon suggests, 100zl is plenty. The medal is a gentle reminder to the parents that this is supposed to be a religious occasion (after all if it's tee-total out of respect to the Almighty, let's go the whole hog - no alcohol, no cash).

Food / Where can I find halal butchery in Warsaw? [28]

Ask them if 'Mick' has been in recently. You might have better luck. Perhaps they can't understand y'all's accent?? Or maybe they couldn't hear you properly shouting at them through the window......

Food / Where can I find halal butchery in Warsaw? [28]


You're a rude little creature aren't you.....


A butcher's store is a shop and Muddina is a restaurant. If you'd really gone there you'd have said 'I went to Muddina and guess what dumb ass it ain't a butcher's store, it's a dumb ass mother f*ckin diner or some sh*t' or something to that effect in your own vernacular.


I don't believe Harry is English. He's a Wild Colonial Boy and bears a striking resemblance to Mick Jagger.

News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]


For hundreds of years girls were taught that and it didn't stop them getting pregnant. What about teaching boys not to go pestering and pressurising young girls to sleep with them? Anyway no matter how much teaching you do, human nature is human nature. Nature has designed young men with a drive to procreate and that's that. So the sensible thing to do is to protect the young women by educating them about contraception and sexual health/hygiene together with the kind of education that encourages them to think about what they're doing and have the confidence and self respect to say 'no' if they don't want to.

Plus what about married women with more children than they can already cope with or afford to support? It's not just young single women who suffer crisis pregnancies. In Polly's world such women wouldn't have access to contraception so how are they supposed to limit their families. My paternal great grandmother had six children, a baby every eighteen months or so and it only stopped because her husband died after they'd been married ten years. My maternal great grandmother had thirteen children and died in childbirth leaving her youngest children motherless and the family split up between various relations and institutions, great society that was. With modern medical science she probably wouldn't have died and would have gone on to have God knows how many more...

News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]


The problem is that it's difficult to force societal change through legislation if it doesn't have popular support. You can't co-erce people into being liberal any more than Fascists or Commies managed to truly convert the masses to their philosophy. Trying to force change before a society is ready for it never works. That's why I feel the government should put the matter before the people. But that will never happen. To jest Polska.....

News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]


Isn't it more likely that they're done illegally by midwives or obstetric nurses?? Not saying that people don't try DIY abortions but there's a long tradition in the British Isles of nurses doing abortions privately so why not in Poland. Obviously these services come at a price but it's cheaper than going abroad. Also many 'working class' Polish families have at least one nurse in the extended family.Just to clarify, I'm not saying it's right. Obviously it's not, just saying that I don't know if that many people are going down the knitting needle route.

News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]

Wouldn't agree that people don't talk about sex in Poland. They often talk about it in quite graphic terms, a bit shocking really. Even Mr Atch is stunned, after being in Ireland for ten years, to hear the way his colleagues talk in the office. You would never, never hear men and women discussing sexual positions over lunch in an Irish office! These are not the sausage eating, vodka swilling members of Polish society but the 'educated', 20s, 30s, 40s. The caretaker in our building asked Mr Atch what 'the ass is like' in the office and he's over sixty.......they're all the same.

News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]


The crucial difference though is that in Ireland it's the people who decide, not the government. The people must be consulted as it requires a change to the constitution and no changes can be made to the Irish consitution without the consent of the people. That's how divorce was introduced, that's how same sex marriage was introduced. That's how abortion will be introduced. There have been three referendums on the issue since 1982 and a fourth is imminent. It's only a matter of time before we see wider availabilty of abortion in Ireland. Abortions have already been performed in Ireland where a mother's life was at risk due to physiological reasons, the only situation where abortion is currently permitted.

However there was a very high profile case in 2011 where a pregnant woman died in a Galway hospital. It seems that an abortion wouldn't necessarily have saved her (it seems that it was other medical negligence that caused her death) but the fact that her husband requested one and was denied it was a major issue. He claimed that he was told 'this is a Catholic country'. They were Indian and not Christian. The public was very upset about her death and like the beating to death of a gay man 30 years ago, this I believe will be a turning point in public opinion. It will definitely affect the next referendum but I think it will be some time yet before people are comfortable with the idea of abortion on demand. But just as we've gone from homophobia to same sex marriage by the will of people, so other changes will come about by the will of the people.

As regards Poland it's a great shame that they don't seem to believe in referendums here. Allow the Polish people to decide, that's my view. That's how democracy works. If a majority are against abortion so be it for now, present the issue again every five years and if it's what the people want it will happen.

Life / St Patrick's day in Poland [272]


Thank you Dolno!


Yes but I wouldn't advise you to go in any case as you don't like Irish music. I had a friend whose mother (Irish) detested traditional music especially the jigs and the reels 'God Almighty, it's pure torture listening to them sawin' away on those old fiddles'........

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

Hi Lyzko, just noticed your question now.

I suppose it's a bit hard for me to be objective about it. I started learning Irish when I was three and it feels so natural to me now. Also I always had a feel for the pronunciation. The interesting thing about Irish is that of course most Irish people have to learn it as they would any foreign language and as far as pronunciation goes, yes Irish people actually struggle to say those sounds! It doesn't come naturally just because they're Irish. Many people who speak Irish quite fluently don't have what's known as the 'blas', very hard to explain but it's an authenticity in pronunciation that is usually confined to native speakers from the Gaeltacht areas. For example, if you ever heard our former Taosieach Bertie Aherne speaking Irish he does it with a Dublin accent which just doesn't sound right. On the other hand my brother-in-law is American and he learned Irish in Donegal from native speakers and his accent is much better than Bertie's!

But yes, it's a difficult language, definitely comparable in difficulty to Polish. I've met a few people who've learned Welsh, then tried Irish and found it much harder. Irish grammar is difficult and like German, the sentences can be of an interminable length. Also of course it's not phonetic and it's very difficult to learn how to read in Irish. So hope that's of some help to you!

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


Yes. In what I would call a 'normal' country the film would be screened first and discussed or reviewed afterwards by a panel, either in a one-off special or on a regular arts show, with an impartial presenter. If the issue of historical accuracy is considered important then surely they could find two experts in the field with opposing views which would make for an interesting discussion.

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]

This is what drives me nuts about politics in Poland, the amount of time and energy that needs to be deflected into each 'scandal' while Social Policy for example is ignored, or appears to be.

Life / Why Do You Love Poland? [907]

Well food isn't that much cheaper here. Not sure what you mean about the accommodation. I don't drink beer or much alcohol at all. I don't watch television. Gave that up about maybe six or seven years ago I think. Clothes are a lot cheaper in Ireland, lots of sales and discounts all year round and lots of cheap and cheerful stores if you just want a few basics, shoes about the same price as Poland.

Life / Why Do You Love Poland? [907]

Now I really don't care if I'm banned for life for saying this, but it's quite obvious to anyone that our friend the K Man has his issues. If I were an FBI profiler - and who's to say I'm not - I'd say he's at least somewhere on the Autistic spectrum, (hence the lack of any ability to empathise), the tone of giving orders and telling people what to think and how to behave is also very common in people with Autism. However having worked with Autistic children I can say from experience that the high functioning ones are quite capable of learning how to modify their behaviours so being on the spectrum is not an excuse for his behaviour.

He's also quite possibly on meds for paranoid Schizophrenia which is a common disorder in young men of what I imagine to be his age. His posts certainly show many of the symptoms. This would also account for why he is no longer in the Army, if he ever was. But if he was, that's one of the places where a disorder such as that is picked up on very quickly and is a big no-no. He may be in some form of residential unit as his access to a computer seems to be sporadic and may be based on periods of responding well to treatment and being allowed computer privileges.

Or of course I may be talking utter nonsense - we'll never know will we? Anyway, whatever his mental health issues, he can overcome them.

Life / Why Do You Love Poland? [907]

Of course it's ok and if it's too poetic and romantic for the cynics and pragmatists of this world, well, that' just too bad for them.

'Lives there the man with soul so dead
That never to himself hath said
This is my own, my native land.'

News / Poland to return to Catholic tradition? [177]

It's not that you're forced to perform anything, it's that your civil liberties are interfered with because there are certain things which are against the teachings of the Catholic Church or can be perceived as being in conflict with Catholic ideals. For example look at situation regarding IVF treatment in Poland.

News / Poland to return to Catholic tradition? [177]


That's what I thought too Harry but apparently if you're excommunicated (which is extremely rare) you can still attend mass (though you can't take Communion) and you are encouraged to maintain a relationship with the Church. In the old days I would say that the threat of excommunication was used very cleverly to exploit the fear that Catholics had of dying without being in 'a state of Grace'. If you made a death bed repentance even without a priest present, you'd be ok but you might not get that chance. That's why Catholics even during my own childhood trotted off to Confession on a Saturday and then tried to behave themselves in case they died before their next Confession!

I'll tell you something interesting. It's not actually shown in the film 'Michael Collins' but when he was shot, one of his comrades Commandant Sean O'Connell knelt by him and asked him 'Mick do you repent your sins' and then recited the Act of Contrition on Collins' behalf. This is routinely done when a Catholic can't speak for themselves. He was holding Collins' hand as he did so and he claimed that he felt Collins squeeze his hand in response but he may simply have imagined it as it seems that Collins died almost instantly from a pretty massive head wound.


In light of this discussion I did a quick bit of research last night and you're not allowed to do that anymore. It was abolished in October 2010. Here's the official statement given to journalists by the Catholic Church in Ireland, that was read out on RTE, the national TV channel:

The Holy See confirmed at the end of August that it was introducing changes to Canon Law and as a result it will no longer be possible to formally defect from the Catholic Church. This will not alter the fact that many people can defect from the Church, and continue to do so, albeit not through a formal process. This is a change that will affect the Church throughout the world. The Archdiocese of Dublin plans to maintain a register to note the expressed desire of those who wish to defect. Details will be communicated to those involved in the process when they are finalised. Last year 229 people formally defected from the Church through the Archdiocese of Dublin. 312 have done so, so far this year.

Despite the instructions from the Vatican, Ireland continued to record defections for the next few years but I think they stopped in 2014. Anyway they no longer accept them, that's for sure.

News / Poland to return to Catholic tradition? [177]


And it seems I was wrong! I just checked and even if you're excommunicated you're still a Catholic. You're barred from Communion and the other sacraments but you are still considered a Catholic and can be allowed back to full membership so to speak, if you get the all clear.

News / Poland to return to Catholic tradition? [177]

Johnny is right you know. To the best of my knowledge, you only cease to be a Catholic if you're excommunicated or you decide for yourself that you are no longer a Catholic.

News / Poland to return to Catholic tradition? [177]

One Irish comedian, forget who now, says 'How do you know you're Irish? You're a Catholic but you never go to mass'. The joke could work in Poland too!

News / Poland to return to Catholic tradition? [177]

Unless you commit it again of course!


That's absolutely true.

News / Poland to return to Catholic tradition? [177]


Halloween has nothing to do with Satan or devil worship. It long pre-dates Christianity. I'm afraid it's the Americans in their simple minded fashion who created this idea.


Well where Halloween originates in my own part of the world, the two have co-existed happily for about 1500 years. That's because it's part of our culture. In Poland it's just one more cheap, meaningless American import and has absolutely no cultural significance for Poles. But it's hardly a threat to society.


Yes I'm an acknowledged expert not only on the Liturgical Calendar but on all matters relating to scripture.

Genealogy / Do I look Polish? (my picture) [375]

The girl was showing the courtesy to answer all the posters, including the three women, of which I am one, who responded to her. It was actually largely the women who commented on her 'posing' and gave her a bit of sisterly advice to avoid it. None of the men here called her dumb except you who implied it and none of them called her slutty. You seem to be making a clumsy attempt at pulling her pigtails because you lack the finesse and social skills to have an ordinary conversation with a young woman and this is your way of engaging her attention. But I'm afraid it just comes across as nasty and highly inappropriate.


Yes of course they do darling. Where do you live in America? I bet if you went to New York you'd fit in just fine!

Genealogy / Do I look Polish? (my picture) [375]

Tenebaum, as another 'lady', I don't see why you had problems growing up. You look normal to me.


Agree


A bit of motherly advice there from Roz......don't be too hard on her Mammy, she's still very young and a bit self conscious hence the 'posing'.

@ Tenebaum, that thing you're doing where you purse up your lips is very common amongst Polish girls, in my opinion. A lot of them look a bit haughty and stand-offish. I suppose it's an attempt at a super model face but try to avoid it if you can darling - just be your natural sweet self and you'll look lovely. Pursing up your lips like that will give you tiny lines around the mouth by the way, no need to look like a shrivelled apple or a walnut before you have to! What do you say girls?

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

The average person doesn't think about it much, if at all, it's just so natural to them. But if you were to ask them to consider it though, I'd say Irish people love their Hiberno-English. It's so richly expressive and of course there's such a great Anglo-Irish literary tradition. It definitely wouldn't be seen as 'sub-standard' or something to be frowned upon. It's found at all levels of society and each part of the country has its own regional variations quite apart from the general usages common to all. It's a very important part of Irish cultural identity.

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]


That's a very good point Ziemowit and you're close enough to the mark as indeed that's often the case in Hiberno-English. 'Oftentimes' is not so much incorrect as an archaism, many of which are still found in Irish speech. You know how the word 'oft' was used and sometimes expressed as 'oft times'. It morphed into 'often times' and the Irish continued using it in that form.


Indeed and twas 'herself' if it be pleasin' you kind sir and me a lovely colleen and all and all.

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]


Lyzko I really must share this with you. When I was in secondary school in Ireland I had a wonderful English teacher, beloved by us all, a great lady with a very, dry sardonic outlook on life. There were some aspects of Hiberno-English which really galled her and 'often times' was on of her pet hates. Anyway I well remember the day she informed us 'Girls, Irish people have a regrettable tendency to use the expression 'often times'. This is incorrect. The word 'often' stands alone and does not require the addition of 'times' as time is implied in itself by the use of the word 'often'. Lyzko, do you have Irish blood by any chance......

UK, Ireland / British guy refused work because of Polish workers [39]


Yosemite you have to look at things in context. Communism or really to be more accurate Stalinism was a profound evil that did damage on an epic scale not just to Poland but to a huge chunk of Europe. It was far worse in my view than WWII because it continued for fifty years. Whilst other European countries had the luxury of rejuvenating and rebuilding themselves, creating the old EEC etc, strengthening their economies, developing themselves, the population of countries under Soviet domination suffered greatly. We're talking about billions of lives adversely affected over those generations, if you include the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries. You mentioned the German economy. Think about the difference between the Federal Republic and the Democratic Republic during those years........Polish peoples' values system is not the Polish values system that existed for centuries. That was destroyed by communism.


Yes, they're not big on the social graces.


They are indeed appalling drivers.


I don't think they believe themselves to be superior but I do think they believe that Brits perceive them as inferior. And of course there's a certain measure of resentment and emotional turmoil that colours their perception of life, because they chose to leave their own country purely for economic reasons. Many of them would basically prefer to be in their own land but they're not prepared to go back there and live in reduced circumstances.


No, it's a mis-quote. I beg your pardon. My error. Much of a muchness though and wouldn't change my view.


You may think you are, but it's not just about reading history books you know. I don't think you are truly 'aware' in the sense of understanding the position of privilege your country's history places you in. There are very few countries in the modern world Yosemite who have been free of invasions by foreign armies for the span of a thousand years. Also as a Brit, in any country in the world that you emigrate to, you will be perceived and treated differently, than an immigrant from 'Eastern Europe'. Most of the time it will be to your advantage to be British. As Jack Dee the comedian once said 'You don't show officials a British passport, you slap them with it and say 'Out of my way Johnny Foreigner, I'm British'.


Well that's fine. Employ them and stop getting yourself all worked up over Poles whom you don't have to have anything to do with if you don't want to.

UK, Ireland / British guy refused work because of Polish workers [39]


Could that be a legacy of Communism? There was no way you could be fired under that system, no matter how bad a job you did. My husband says there were loads of guys who were heavy drinkers and went AWOL for weeks and even months at a time and then returned to their jobs. The most that might happen is that you'd be moved to another employer. Also under Communism there were no tangible rewards for hard work, no improvements in your material situation, no promotion, no pay increases, no building yourself up professionally, no chance to start your own business etc.

I wouldn't agree that Poles have no work ethic. It's true of some Poles, but probably more of Poles in Poland than abroad. Like most immigrants they work pretty hard. In Poland I think there is quite a high level of incompetence and 'coasting' but you know it's a post-communist society, still in recovery. Who knows what the future holds.


Cultural thing. Awful bunch of hypochondriacs. When I first lived with my husband, he used to report on the state of his mental and physical wellbeing every morning - it cracked me up. I joked that we should have a chart hanging at the end of the bed. But they can be trained out of this Yosemite, take my word for it!


Agree 100%.


It starts with the education system. Polish schools still rely a lot on rote learning, memorising, ticking boxes in multiple choice questions etc rather than any form of independent thinking. That's not a problem only in Poland. There are far too many countries where education consists of learning to follow instructions. As for the workplace, Husband (the source of all wisdom!) says that even today, in some Polish companies run along old strictly hierarchical lines, you're not encouraged to have ideas or show initiative. Management generally don't like it. If you're too much of an innovator it can work against you rather than for you.


Yes Adolf.


Read 'The Polish Way' by Adam Zamoyski (sic). I'm afraid that's the worst kind of British ignorance/arrogance, which thankfully is rare enough.


Enjoying a thousand years of peace at home without being invaded gives a country a chance to build an economy. Also of course, colonising other lands, taking their crops, their minerals, engaging in the slave trade, smuggling the tea plant from China and planting it in one of your colonies etc. All that contributes to a nice healthy bank balance.


Ja, Herr Ober Leutnant. Reasons for that too.

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]


Interesting theory Ziemusz but Poggy is normally more careful about his articles. As he informed us that it's the least difficult aspect of English (not for Poles it isn't) he's honour bound to watch out for that. Of course if he's upset about being suspended that would explain it. You know how when Poles get 'upset' the articles etc tend to fly out the window. That's one area where you score very strongly with English and it demonstrates the quality of your language skills.You retain control of your syntax and grammar even when you're making a point you feel strongly about - or should I say 'a point about which you feel strongly!

Which leads me on to something that non-native speakers of English have a problem with - they simply can't grasp the fact that native speakers do not use text book grammar all the time, even people with a command of standard English like the majority of posters on this forum. Perfect grammar can sound unbearably stilted and we simply choose to use the vernacular. That's why the Poggies of this world get so hot under the collar and start lecturing us about tenses etc. People like yourself not only understand but enjoy that aspect of English and I think that's one the reasons you enjoy this forum, because it is English as it is spoken and not as an academic discipline.