UK, Ireland / Why English do not like Polish? [417]

The Daily Mail is the worst culprit but not the only one.

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2017817/Poles-sending-home-3bn-year--pay-4-5m-week-benefits.html
Scroll to the bottom of this page and view the comments but first select the most popular (or best) for a snapshot as to popular reaction to the story.

express.co.uk/news/uk/412968/No-benefits-here-for-you-Poles-tell-jobless-Briton
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2309885/Shocking-survey-reveals-Polish-high-school-pupils-anti-Semitic.html


I wish that were true. It may apply to people who have any semblance of intelligence but in my experience they lump all "Eastern Europeans" together :(

UK, Ireland / Why English do not like Polish? [417]

No, it's a fair point. Most other papers take a much more balanced approach to Poles in the UK.

What bothers me about the Daily Mail isn't so much the editorial itself but the feelings it stirs up in people which can be clearly seen from many of the comments.......maybe it isn't even "stirring" up ANY feelings but instead reflecting the thoughts of many Britons.

Travel / Monuments, statues, memorials of Poland [25]

Merged: Bronze statues all over Poland

I am trying to add content to a website of mine showcasing attractions around Poland and along my travels I have come across a number of bronze (or are they bronze ?) statues which seem to be very popular in the country.

Does anyone have any other examples of them and ideally what they may be called in Polish ?

The image below was taken in Czestochowa.

Travel / Flights from Warsaw, Poland to the Northern UK are getting expensive - alternative suggestions? [13]

Wizzair removed the Liverpool to Katowice route last year despite the plane being full every time I flew. I think routes are being scaled back not increased.

UK, Ireland / City management - differences between Poland and UK [20]

Yes-I'm not expecting a definitive "Poland is better than the UK" conclusion but I'm just curious as to what things work better and which things are worse.

Straza Miejska is a good idea I think. A police force that deals with secondary crime.
Grafitti is indeed a problem in Poland although there are some real works of art out there too ! I find Polish towns generally cleaner than their UK counterparts specifically in terms of litter and fly tipping (which is becoming a real problem here in the UK).

Does anyone know if waste collection is provided by the city and paid for by local taxes or whether it is privatised ?

Regarding your comment about local councillors I think it mostly depends on the constituent being interested in wanting to know the name of their local constituent rather than the councillor making an effort for their name to be known. I really like the idea of having city presidents/mayors who appear to be more accountable than faceless councils here in the UK.

UK, Ireland / City management - differences between Poland and UK [20]


I beg to differ. They are not very similar at all. Straza Miejska seem to be a fully developed police department with their own fleet of vehicles and have high visibility in practically every Polish town I have ever visited. PCSO's on the other hand are lucky if they get a bicycle (literally-I'm not being sarcastic) and you are having a lucky day if you spot one walking the streets.


How does that work in apartment blocks ? In theory, residents in apartment blocks could arguably produce the same amount of waste (sometimes more) than someone in a small house but apartment blocks have a communal bin. How does the city know who is recycling and who isn't ?

History / WWII - who really was the first to help Poland? [901]


I'm bored so I'll take the bait.

Poland should be grateful for what exactly ? Declaring war on Germany but not actually taking any action until a year later ? For Britain fighting to defend Poland's freedom and allowing the Poles to be part of the war effort against the Germans but then effectively signing away Polish freedom to Stalin ? Gee......dziekuje bardzo !

The German invasion of Poland just happened to be the line in the sand that Britain and France had drawn. Hitler had to be stopped and Poland was our ultimatum.

The Poles weren't even invited to the VE parade in London in 1945.

History / WWII - who really was the first to help Poland? [901]


"....the truth" ? Listen Douglas old chap. History is not a science and 2+2 do not always make 4 in the context of history. It can be interpreted many different ways.


A fact I agree on but completely unnecessary for you to mention in relation to my point. If Britain and the US were resigned to leaving Poland to Stalin then why did they not just let Hitler keep Poland and thereby save so many servicemen's lives. This is why I say that Poland's freedom was not the motive although I admit it was the trigger point.


Well...if we're judging Allied success on their primary goal of "liberating" Poland then it was a failure.

Life / Poles close to grandparents [32]

Grandparents looking after their grandchildren (and I don't mean babysitting) seems to be very common in Poland

Life / Bribery and corruption 'fact of life' in Poland? [152]

Merged: Corruption in every day life in Poland

We have many good friends in Poland. Today, one lady was telling us that it is customary that when the postman delivers her pension then he gets a tip, in fact, it's expected. She said something along the lines of if she gets 105PLN then he gets the scraps i.e. 5 PLN (as an example). So I'm not sure if that means she tips him or he just takes it himself (which I'd find hard to believe).

She also said that she recently bought a brand new cooker but within a few days some of the burners stopped working. She reported the fault and an engineer was called out but he insisted on charging her 100PLN when he arrived claiming that he doesn't work for the store so therefore she had to pay him for his time. Are consumer laws weak in Poland or is there still a strong tendency to give back handers out ?

Life / Bribery and corruption 'fact of life' in Poland? [152]


I can never understand why some people think it is "customary" to tip. If someone delivers a service over and above what is expected then yes but a postman ? Would you tip a bus driver ?

Life / Expats` opinion on alien immigration to Poland - for or against? [87]


There are very many indeed but how many of them raise funds for non-muslims ? good luck trying to find them

Life / Expats` opinion on alien immigration to Poland - for or against? [87]


Nice try.

Twenty years ago I would have listened with an open mind.

The peaceful spread of Islam in Europe and America has lost it's advantage of surprise as there are many countries that have witnessed first hand how this will all play out.

Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, England, France have all seen how muslims first arrive and settle and actually integrate pretty well during the first generation of settlers. It's only subsequent generations that become more hardline and more orthodox-burkas are only a recent development here in the UK.

You can try to soften up your target countries by extolling the virtues of Islam in relevant forums and Facebook pages but the rest of us know all we need to know.

Life / Expats` opinion on alien immigration to Poland - for or against? [87]

there is a perverse type of hypocrisy here in that so many muslims are clamouring to settle in the West yet once they are here they clearly resent Western values (yet not so much that they would actually want to go back to their ancestor's homes).


And here is another credible source confirming that hospitals were used as far back as Roman times
vhi.org/hguide_beginning.asp
and another
britannica.com/topic/hospital

You clearly have an agenda you are trying to push.

I have read the page you link to and your comment that "hospitals were a Medieval Islamic development" is very misleading. The article you refer to writes about the development of hospitals in Islamic countries during the medieval times but your comment is very clearly trying to claim that hospitals were developed during Medieval Islam.............which it clearly wasn't.

Nice try though and please keep them coming........

Life / Expats` opinion on alien immigration to Poland - for or against? [87]


but most of the "refugees" are not from Syria and therefore it is arguable if many of them are even refugees. Why are there so few women too ?

Life / Expats` opinion on alien immigration to Poland - for or against? [87]


Ok. I don't entirely disagree with you.

However, I think you are over simplifying matters.

Life / Expats` opinion on alien immigration to Poland - for or against? [87]


Aha. So the journey to safety is considered more dangerous than staying in their war ravaged country ? I expect you will respond by saying how many migrants have died in the Med trying to reach Europe but my response to that would be that Europe is not the only land mass where safety can be reached. There are many Arabic/Islamic countries that do not require dangerous sea crossings.

Life / Why are Polish people such hypocrites about immigration? [36]


Correction. We are ALL hypocrites but that doesn't stop us from being right occasionally.

In this case I don't agree that Poles are being hypocrites. The Polish emigrees moved abroad to build a better life for themselves and their families by embracing the culture and work ethic of the host country. This current wave of economic migrants do not share that philosophy as has been proven time and time again in other European countries where people from an Islamic culture have arrived.

Ironically, Muslims in the UK often complain about the influx of Eastern European immigrants.

News / Polish priest sacked by Vatican for being openly gay [54]


Hmmm. I think the word "homosexual" from that bible passage can be interpreted many different ways.

According to the bible, adulterers and therefore divorcees are thought of pretty badly but the CC seems to have an ambivalent attitude towards them with many church goers being divorced previously.

I think many good priests would turn a blind eye to the sexuality of their parishioners.

News / Wizz Air to start new routes between the UK and Poland [13]

Agreed. The headline price may appear attractive but once you start adding luggage and taxes then I nearly always pay around £ 180 - £ 220 for return flights to Poland.

Not sure what you mean about "northern England" as I couldn't see any new flights from this area ??

Travel / I'm so bored in Poland! [129]


I'm not entirely clear if you are in Poland on vacation or you're living there but nevertheless.......

Boredom is a state of mind. I know people who also complain about boredom but it's because they don't do anything !

Cut down on the beers...........seriously.

News / Wizz Air to start new routes between the UK and Poland [13]


I wonder if the location of the UK airport could be a factor. London airports might be cheaper than say. Liverpool or Manchester

UK, Ireland / What are these ex tenants from Poland doing? Crammed into apartments - scams? [18]

It's not exactly rocket science is it ?

Polish men share space in houses and apartments to save money. It's cheaper that way then to buy a house or even rent somewhere on their own. Poles are in the UK to make money and this is one way of doing it.

Polish couples on the other hand will generally try to find their own place once finances allow.

The sub-letting thing is quite commone-I know a guy who paid £ 550 rent for a terraced house and then let every room out. Not only did this provide him with free accommodation but he made a tidy profit of £ 400+ a month. Once thing the Poles are is resourceful :)

Life / Polish culture versus rotten West [279]

It's a symptom of the "global village" that we all live in. Cultures are becoming merged, blended, diluted and in some cases will disappear.

Is it me or did the world seem better when I was younger ? :(

News / Referendum in Poland about so called refugees. [56]

A referendum is not required.

What constitutes a humane obligation to allow non-EU foreigners to repatriate in Poland ? The fact that they are economically less well off than Europeans ? Maybe we should all find out where our local millionaire lives and turn up at their mansion and demand the right for a better life ?

Of course, if they are genuine refugees fleeing a war torn area then every country should do their share. The problem is most of them have mysteriously lost their ID papers and equally mysteriously is that they do not want to live in the first safe country they land in but prefer to choose where they want to live...............

News / Referendum in Poland about so called refugees. [56]


Good question.

If they have failed to prove their refugee/asylum in Sweden then they must have lied about their country of origin so how on earth is Sweden going to know where to send them to ??

I can see it now "yes, you are right. I do not come from Syria. I actually came here from Germany/England. I really hope you don't send me back there"

Travel / Starbucks in Wawel Castle, Krakow. Is this a joke or true? [42]

Merged:

Has the Lady with Ermine painting been moved permanently to Wawel castle now ?

Used to be at Czartoryski Palace and was a great venue for it. Not sure if it's been moved permanently.

Travel / Optimal order of Warsaw-Gdansk-Krakow for train travel September [8]

The thing that's complicating your plan is that you are flying in and out of Warsaw.

I visited all three cities two years ago but flew into Gdansk and then out of Krakow. Is this an option or is it too late now ?