UK, Ireland / Marriage in Sweden, divorce in Poland (applying from Ireland?) [40]

I don't think he needs an international divorce lawyer. Poland, Sweden and Ireland, the three countries involved are all in the EU. It's relatively straightforward. USA is a different kettle of fish.

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]


Englishman, if you read more of Crow's posts you would see that he's not homophobic. He has quite an easygoing attitude about it. I think you've misunderstood. Although he's a bit of a crazed pan-Slavic nationalist he seems quite sensible in some respects!

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]

Johnny, the posters as we know, are talking about the views of a particular person on this forum, not about Christians in general. That person really seems to loathe homosexuals. I can honestly say that living in a Catholic country myself, I have never heard such bitter, angry, hostile words coming out of the mouths of my fellow Christians as I have from you-know-who. You certainly don't come across that way. You come across to me anyway, as a conservative, traditional person with some fears and concerns for the future of the USA but you don't seem to be a hateful person. In fact I would say you are a kind-hearted individual with more good feeling towards your fellow man than bad feeling. You have a sense of humour and enjoy a good old confrontation. The other poster never seems to show anything other than disgust, contempt and anger towards almost everyone on this forum and the world at large.

UK, Ireland / Marriage in Sweden, divorce in Poland (applying from Ireland?) [40]


Yes, that's true but you don't have to provide any proof. They take your word for it (typically Irish isn't it!). Also they will accept that you may have been living under the same roof but not living as man and wife. As you've been married six years you could say that you realized early on that you'd made a mistake, parted for a while, got back together, split up again.........worth a try considering that it would cost very little.

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]


Now here once again Polonius I am in agreement with you and Johnny. I know the type of woman you're referring to, utterly po-faced, humourless and unfeminine. They don't even seem to like other women very much, if they catch a woman wearing lipstick or a pair of earrrings she's in big trouble. Did you ever see the movie Borat where he's talking with a group of 'feminists' of this type and the voice-over says 'I could not concentrate on what this old man was saying to me'? Great stuff!

I remember when I was living in London and policitcal correctness was going crazy. There were objections from a group of feminists about the term 'manhole'. I don't know if you call them that in the States, you know the entry from the pavement to the sewers. Anyway, as a result of this nonsense the local council renamed manholes something ridiculous like 'personal access chamber'. As Johnny Reb would say WTF?? Sorry for using my 'barn voice' me bein' a lady and all but honestly...

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]

Yes I know. It's completely ludicrous and any confident, sensible woman would have nothing to do with such nonsense in my opinion. I can't see what's wrong with steward/stewardess, actor/actress and so on. It's normal to have the masculine and feminine forms of words. As a woman I have the right to acknowledged as such, that's how I see it.

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]

I don't think Englishman is talking about feminists in the sense of political activists with a feminist agenda. I think he's talking about the average modern woman who's independent, not needing a man to 'take care' of her but being happy to have a man to share life with on equal terms.

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]

Well, yes, that's one definition but what's feminism? People would vary in their definition of that I think. Anyway, it's off topic so we'd best leave it I suppose.

News / There is no Poland without the Church! [178]


Heresy - all true Poles love paperwork.

Law / Inheritance and taking care of elderly parents in Poland [7]

Terence, I'm surprised at your attitude, with an Irish name. I'd expect you to be a bit more generous. It's common practice in Ireland for the one who stayed home with the aging parents to inherit the house.

Law / The right to own guns: would you support such legislation in Poland? [2810]


Well you should be.


I'm interested to know do you have bars/shutter type things. Most people in Warsaw have something of the kind. Otherwise there's no way I'd leave my window open, it's really asking for trouble.

News / There is no Poland without the Church! [178]


Yes but so is Polonius.

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]


What about the time you referred to 'slutty unwed mothers' and called for them to be 'socially sigmatised and blackballed'?
Changed your tune haven't you? What a fibber you are, thoroughly unwholesome, one of the most smug, self-satisfied and dishonest people I have encountered.

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]


No but they definitely tend to be more sensitive and empathic as you've just demonstrated!

Study / The quality of study in Warsaw University of Technology (Politechnika Warszawska) / Polish in one year [20]


I would have said a lot longer than that. I lived in Poland for two years, I had already learned three other languages and I found Polish very difficult. I never got beyond pretty basic conversation about banalities. I know I couldn't have studied at third level. I did one intensive Polish course which gave me the basics. If I'd studied to a similar intensity at intermediate level I'm sure I would have improved, but to get to a point where you could complete assignments in a university, I don't know............quite a tall order I'd say.

Study / The quality of study in Warsaw University of Technology (Politechnika Warszawska) / Polish in one year [20]

Yes, but the poster says he's already been accepted by the university so presumably he would have to decide to study in either Polish or English. I don't see how he could start studying there through Polish if he hasn't learned the language yet?

History / History of European and Poland's anti-semitism [192]


But I have. Before I was a teacher I worked for a Jewish company in London.


The company was a large one with several branch offices around London. A little over half the staff in my branch were Jewish. That was because the senior ones had been there since the company was set up by two Jewish guys. The mid-level employees were a mixture of all sorts including an Indian, an Egyptian, a Greek, regular Brits and Irish Catholic me. The juniors were mostly Jewish because entry level positions were rarely advertised and tended to be filled through word of mouth. The company certainly didn't discriminate but they had a reputation as a 'Jewish' company so they didn't get many applications from 'Goys'. I was promoted and very well treated there.

News / LGBT hate speech to be banned in Poland [208]


I think you're talking about America surely, not Poland. In any case tolerance simply means accepting difference.


Spoken like a true homosexual darling and I mean that as a compliment. Where would we be without you guys to uphold standards in fashion, interior design and all things fabulous?

Life / Life in Poland - feeling lonely and don't want to socialize much! (anyone feeling same?) [93]

I'm interested Luke, did you spend much time in Poland before you decided to move there? It's a great place for a holiday but living there is a very different kettle of fish.

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


Yes this is true. Polish women never conceal their feelings. If they're in a bad mood they don't make an effort to put on a brave face in public. When they suffer, everyone suffers! That's one of the reasons my Polish husband is happy to have an Irish wife!


Yes, in my experience they're just not friendly to strangers. You have to get to know Polish people before they crack a genuine smile. Sometimes the younger ones are a bit more open and welcoming but not always.

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]


This is absolutely true. Having taught in various inner city schools, with a high proportion of single mothers, alcoholic and substance abuser parents, our focus was always on how best to help the children. The only way we could do that was by befriending these women as much as we could. You don't get anywhere by shouting the odds at them or shunning them. Simple example. A four year old boy in my class was coming to school with no breakfast because mother couldn't get out of bed and a neighbour was bringing the child to school. So I simply chatted sympathetically to the young mother and then suggested that she leave a box of cereal on the kitchen table at night before she went to bed and keep some dishes in one of the low level cupboards, milk in the bottom of the fridge, so that the child could get something to eat. She actually managed to do that. A very small thing but a big difference for the child. If I'd simply lectured her about her shortcomings she would have avoided me from then on (that's what they always do) and the child would have continued to come to school on an empty stomach.

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]


Yes indeed it does and together with the short-term strategies we use, the schools I taught in all had quite an extensive network of supports in place. It's too detailed to go into here but it includes a home/school liaison program involving home visits by teachers, an anti-drugs/alcohol program which starts when children are four years old and a program that identifies individual children at risk of dropping out of school. We try to get them as early as possible, even at pre-school level and start working with them and the parents at that stage. There's one pilot program in Dublin targeting young pregnant women and trying to start the process even before the children are born.

The moderators will no doubt think this is off-topic as I've mentioned Ireland! But such initiatives can be set up anywhere and Poland definitely needs something similar. Another thing that proved very helpful was getting the older women in the community to mentor the younger ones. We set up cookery lessons in the school for example where local women taught the younger ones basic cooking. Some of the young mothers have almost zero parenting/home-making skills. When you get to know them and they talk about their own childhoods, you find that many of them had alcoholic or violent parents, were placed in care or lost their mothers at an early age, so never had a stable home life themselves.

News / Secularism = a dying society. How this phenomenon affects birth rate in Poland? [20]

As far as I can see Polish families have been quite small, for a Catholic country, generally no more than three children even forty or fifty years ago. I would say that Poles have been regulating the number of children they have, for economic reasons, for decades now.

Life / Top 5 things I like about Poland [55]


There are some delicious Polish dishes but few are 'healthy' all that pork for example, not very good for the colon. Poles usually overcook their veggies too. Very high salt and fat content in many traditional Polish dishes, loads of additives and E numbers in the processed foods.


Depends on where in Poland you are. I lived in Warsaw and although I never had my pocket picked or anything of that kind, I did have my shopping stolen twice! Once from outside my front door, when I went inside with a couple of bags and left the other outside for literally half a minute! Also had my hat nicked by a secretary in a solictor's office, now that's amazing!

Life / What are the things which cause culture shock in Poland? [164]

As a teacher in Irish primary schools I've seen the tights on boys business with Polish and Romanian boys. Also the Indian and African boys usually wear woolly tights under their trousers for most of the year. The foreign national parents are wary of the damp, rainy climate here and are convinced the children will succumb to pneumonia or something if they're not swaddled. Polish mothers are definitely the worst offenders for keeping children home if it's raining! The other nationalities I've noticed, tend to invest in hooded raincoats and wellies but not the Polish mothers.

Life / Living Expenses in Krakow [42]


My dear girl if you don't actually know how much you spend on food then I'm not sure you're the best person to be advising people on budgeting! However, having said that I agree that prices in Poland are high considering the low wages and you certainly can't live as cheaply as people imagine.

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]


In fairness, some people are nicer than others and they will appreciate you making an effort to speak Polish. Some of the younger people are quite friendly and curious about Western Europe. The gym though is not the friendliest place. Working class Polish guys are very into the whole macho thing. They take the gym pretty seriously and there's quite a bit of staring you down and mentally getting out the measuring tape to compare muscle sizes! (That's what my husband says anyway).

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]


He's pretty well built actually, used to box in Poland, was a great gymnast in his youth, still likes to work out and runs a few times a week. He's always been physically active for the fitness,not for his appearance. He says it's also for his mental health. He just feels better when he's active. As for the 'serious' guys in the gym,you know quite well Wulkan, the kind of Polish guy I'm talking about (and not just Poles, they're everywhere but there are a lot of them in Poland and Eastern Europe). I call them Warsaw Pact heads (head is Dublin slang for a random guy, Smurf will know the word, I have a feeling he's a Dub). The shaved head, the tatoos, the stare, the swagger, the shouldering people out of the way when they walk down the street.


Yes, but the OP is from England so I was just making the point that in my experience people I've met are interested in where I come from and they ask me about Ireland so I imagine they'll ask John a bit about England. That's all. You do sound like a bit of a cross-patch. I'm afraid Wulkan that you're perpetuating a Polish stereotype, the touchy, narky Pole, taking umbrage for no reason whatsoever.

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]

Howaya head, now that's classic Dublinese. The Dubs, a great bunch o' lads! Can't imagine what life is like for a Dub in Katowice.....

News / Poland's President-Elect Duda leads in public trust - CBOS poll [185]


You do realize that you're quoting Oscar Wilde, whom you don't like very much seeing as he was in your own words 'an old perv'. Careful now........


Be fair now Pol. Most people like their creature comforts, if they can get them. I'm sure you do yourself. Wanting nice surroundings, clothes, spending money on a hobby or enjoying little treats and luxuries is normal. Hyper-materialism is something else entirely and something that few ordinary people can indulge in. Also having or wanting to have material pleasures is not wrong in itself. It's only 'wrong' when it's coupled with general selfishness and no thought for the comforts or needs of others.