Life / Do you collect mushrooms in your country? Poles in Poland do. [69]


Would that be Lejkowiec dęty/Craterellus cornucopioides? Unfortunately, they don't grow (or don't grow in abundance) round our way (Podlasie). My wife says they need a chalky soil. Where are you?

Boczniak (Pleurotus ostreatus) are seldom picked around her; there just isn't a local tradition for collecting them. As a result, we are able to find lots of them, usually growing on the sawn stumps of poplars. Once we took three kilos from one stump. People buy them in the shops for quite a lot but don't think to just stop by the side of the road and pick them. These Oyster mushrooms fetch a very good price in western Europe. I wonder how they cultivate them there.

It has been another poor season for Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius) in our region. I'm looking forward to zielonki (Tricholoma equestre) season. For me they make the most wonderful soup as they keep a little al dente texture and have a lovely flavour. Now I'm salivating like a bloodhound.

Polonia / Inquiry about invitation letter to Poland (I'm from the Philippines) [12]

I saw a film called Trade last night. Be careful Jasmin. Be very careful. btw my sister-in-law is a filipina so I mean well for you.

Life / Do you collect mushrooms in your country? Poles in Poland do. [69]


Most of them. We took the pic because it was an exceptionally good day!


Be careful when looking for morels (Morchella esculenta). There is a similar-looking one, Turban Fungus (Gyromitra esculenta) which can be fatal. Both are pretty much the same colour and have a similar stem, but The Turban Fungus looks a bit like a brain, while the morel is more honeycomb-like.


Look out for poplars at the side of the road which were felled a few years ago. Boczniak spread all over the stump and can be found at any time of the year.

plk123


According to a spokesman for the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate Jan Bondar, 80 people were treated in hospital last year for serious mushroom poisoning. Seven people died. Source: thenews.pl

In the autumn (fall, if you prefer) literally tens of thousands of people go mushrooming in a single day. Seven deaths is a very small number when you consider that each incident of poisoning probably affects several family members. When you consider the huge number of active mushroomers in Poland, the casualty rate is in fact astonishingly low, and is itself a tribute to Poles' knowledge of nature.

Life / Do you collect mushrooms in your country? Poles in Poland do. [69]

Six in 2002, but no more than three a year since then have died from eating Blowfish.

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]


Not only Poles. I'll vote for the bugger too. Or rather vote against the others. I havent voted for anyone for thirty years.

Real Estate / Building a house in Poland need advice from anyone that has built [100]

Check out Unibud. They offer a comprehensive service. Pretty impressive actually. You might be able to find their promo vid in English (I did the voiceover-my first one so mock ye not). The company offers a 30-year guarantee and can knock up a house faster than you can say knife. Personally though, what with the weather here and all, traditional building methods are best unless you need something really fast (and have a lot of money to spend-Unibud houses don't come cheap).

Life / Do you collect mushrooms in your country? Poles in Poland do. [69]

Just a selection of nature's bounty in wonderful Podlasie.

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  Boczniak on a Poplar stump
  
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  Giant Puffball
  
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  Impressed Paw?
  
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  We love cats as much as mushrooms
  

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]


You certainly sound like a PiS supporter.


I don't own a TV. I read. It improves the mind.

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]


Illogical nonsense with an insult thrown in. That's what I meant when I said you sound like a PiS supporter.


I'm not quite sure what you mean as what you write is unclear. If you mean something like, "You/your statement are/is crazy. Is voting for a certain party a crime?", then my answer is no, as far as I know, voting for a certain party is not a crime. I think, however, that you should be prohibited from voting because you are an American.

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]

Ironside. Yes, insult is your stock-in-trade. You can barely post anything without personally insulting another member. Believe me, this does not make you look reasonable or intelligent.

If you knew anything about contemporary Poland, you would know that it is as far from being a banana republic as it is possible to be. Your prediction will not come true. When the PiS-lead coalition was in power Poland was a laughing stock abroad; now it is a respected partner in international affairs.

Sorry if I was mistaken when I described you as an American. I was under the impression that you had U.S. citizenship and had pledged alliegance to that country.


That's right, although I don't catch the significance of 'even'. I just live here (in Poland), where I work hard, pay my taxes, take part in society and make informed choices at election time.

Work / Professional development for teachers? the options in Poland? [11]

I have to disagree with the opinion voiced by a couple of posters that an MA in English Philology from a Polish university is worthless. If you mean that it isn't as highly valued as one from, e.g. a British uni, then you may have a point, but in terms of education, the two-year course is much more intensive than people might think. I teach MA students at a state uni and I can tell you that the course is no joke. At the end of it students not only have a thorough education in three branches of linguistics (synchronic, diachronic and phonology), but they will also have studied teaching methodology, literature, academic writing, grammar at a deep level, and several other subjects. I doubt that MA programmes from UK uni's offer anything as comprehensive.

I agree that almost all private uni's offer worthless degrees.

DELTA is an interesting but exhausting course and well worth doing if you want to get into EFL management or senior teaching positions. UK summer schools usually require DELTA or MA for DOS positions, which can be very lucrative.

As for publisher-organised seminars, they are very hit and miss, and frankly I haven't bothered for years.

So come on guys, tell me why a Polish MA is a waste of time.

Work / Professional development for teachers? the options in Poland? [11]


Good for them. All good teachers are magpies. I'm pleased if someone asks for a copy of my materials to use in their classes.


My comments about MA concerned knowledge gained, not money. If you want to make a lot of money, don't teach.

Life / People living in Warsaw are rootless peasants! [41]

Why use the hospitality of this site simply to provoke people?


Sure about that? If so, you certainly don't show noblesse oblige.

Life / People living in Warsaw are rootless peasants! [41]


I heard an English guy on the radio who had lived in Australia for 25 years. An aussi asked him how long he'd been there, and when told he said, "D'ye think you're gonna like it?"

Life / Worlds most liveable cities (Krakow or Warsaw don't even hit the radar screens) [104]


You must have approached people the wrong way. Londoners are friendly, helpful and love a laugh. They smile in the street and in the shops, and you can easily strike up a conversation at the bus stop. Having said that, a lot of the people who live in London come from elsewhere, just like most big cities. As for Warsaw I haven't been there in six years, although I live 2.5 hours away. I'd be frightened to bump into amonia.

Life / Do you collect mushrooms in your country? Poles in Poland do. [69]

A giant fungus of the species Armillaria solidipes (honey mushrooms) in the Malheur National Forest in Oregon was found to span 8.9 km2 (2,200 acres),[4] which would make it the largest organism by area. Whether or not this is an actual individual organism, however, is disputed: some tests have indicated that they have the same genetic makeup,[5] but unless its mycelia are fully connected, it is a clonal colony of numerous smaller individuals. Source: Wiki

Becksi. Do you mean the tall thing near the right-hand corner of the building? What is it?

Life / Worlds most liveable cities (Krakow or Warsaw don't even hit the radar screens) [104]


Speak for yourself. I'm a south Londoner myself.


With an attitude like that perhaps Londoners have indeed changed since my day.

Life / Worlds most liveable cities (Krakow or Warsaw don't even hit the radar screens) [104]

The safest city in Poland, there's nothing 'B' about Białystok except its initial letter. Two-and-a-half hours from the capital, rich cultural mix, renowned theatres and orchestras, parks and gardens, good restaurants and cheap beer.

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Life / The Blame Game (Have you ever noticed that a Polish person is never wrong!?) [205]


Bit strong, old chap, what? I live in a village in eastern Poland (mostly PO as it happens) and some of my neighbours must have voted PiS, but they're basically decent people. I think gullibility and lack of education plays a big part in people voting for a lobotomized gibbon like JK.

News / Why Is French On Poczta Parcel Waybills? [13]


Not a bad idea; hope it works. I'm waiting for some classroom wall posters which I know were send from the UK two weeks ago. I don't hold out much hope for them now, but it won't be any great surprise if they don't come, as it won't be the first (or tenth) time. I suppose that's anti-Polish.

I can only guess that par avion is on air-mail letters because the French perhaps pioneered the service. France used to be a much bigger player in the world of diplomacy and French was the lingua france of diplomats for a long time.

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]


I know two brothers, in their forties, who cycle 18km six days a week to get their MOPS lunch. They have coal delivered free every winter. They are fitter than me but have repeatedly turned down offers of work. Why should they? Live isn't too bad for them.

News / Why Is French On Poczta Parcel Waybills? [13]


My stuff arrived today. Apologies to Poczta Polska who are, of course, wonderful!
Re: Royal Mail. Amazon wanted 13.50 to mail the posters, so I opted for free delivery to a UK address, my brother's. His wife took the posters to the post office. They wanted 26 quid (I siht you not) to mail them. They said that now it's about size and not weight. She (a Royal Mail employee) took the poster tube home, cut a bit off and went back to the post office. New charge 4.50. wtf

Life / 'Turkish' Conmen on the A4/E40 Krakow-Wrocław stretch.... [25]

I advise anyone who experiences this to be extra helpful and call the police to the scene to offer assistance.

Life / The Blame Game (Have you ever noticed that a Polish person is never wrong!?) [205]

Avalon. Give it up, mate. You'll never get some people to admit that the bureaucracy here is often primitive compared with other countries. Their comments only confirm your observations.

From a personal point of view I'm happy to say that things are slowly getting better in many areas. When we were building a house here we found some offices very efficient and helpful; the staff had obviously been on training courses. My wife asked one guy what vodka he drank-she wanted to thank him, not bribe him- but he insisted that he was only doing his job. We were very impressed. It'll take a while for every place to become like this but I'm optimistic.

Love / Polish women are the most beautiful in the world! [1718]

Not, etc. Over eight hours banging on about how ugly Polish women are. You are going to feel terrible when the drugs wear off.

History / 'Battle of Britain' won thanks to Polish aces !! [158]


By a Pole, if I remember right.

Work / British English teacher moving to Poznan - work opportunities? [25]

Sidliste_Chodov
You're not including the op of course.

Work / British English teacher moving to Poznan - work opportunities? [25]

I'm pretty sure he's not an English teacher; just a guy trying to pick up a bit of work along the way.
You're right. If you want to hear good, clear English, go to Edinburgh. (Not Wester Hailes, though.)

Travel / Overstay in Poland (banned from entering Shengen for a few years?) [8]

polishfool. How about arriving early at the airport and declaring the situation yourself? That way the officials would be obliged (obligated if you prefer) to stamp your passport.

Work / British English teacher moving to Poznan - work opportunities? [25]


Ungrammatical but sound in a culinary sense. Chips should be dressed with malt vinegar and salt.