Life / Which Polish product you can easily do without? [51]

I can't think of one polish product i ever use.... Oh yeah the maluch and thats broken,
Our flat which is a year old and already starting to subside,

Actually come to think of it does "made in poland" translate to "made to a poor standard by an incompetent drunk idiot who has no idea about quality" ?

We know the entire workforce at British leyland were workshy incompentent idiots but at least they had the decency to stand around outside the factory until the company went bust thus not producing any more terrible contraptions. (polish manufacturers take note)

News / Crucifixes to stay in Polish schools [364]

Good on Poland for sticking up for its identity, If only the UK had such a patriotic leader we wouldn't be in the mess we are today.

I'm not religious in the slightest but understand a lot of people are and Christianity is part of european life which should be preserved.

News / RHD cars in Poland - my campaign to change the rules in Poland [128]

Thats ridiculous, what grounds did they give you for not allowing registration? Also are they aware that they are in violation of eu laws by not allowing this?

How cheap is cheap?

News / RHD cars in Poland - my campaign to change the rules in Poland [128]

Whats the price in sterling mate,

News / RHD cars in Poland - my campaign to change the rules in Poland [128]


At that price its a bargain whatever way you look at it,

Could you not just MOT it again and keep it?

Also if it helps CIS cooperative insurance now do 12 months eu cover :)

Good luck with the sale,

Delphian, fancy helping me register the BMW here out of spite to the antiquated and ridiculous polish DVLA? :)

Off-Topic / PF members MEETUPS.....everyone welcome! [52]


I guess we will be as always :)

Law / "FART" shop in Poland - WHAT DOES THIS SHOP SELL? [55]


This one?

Food / Burgers, why not in Poland? [54]

We make our own from minced beef, failing that if theres a branch of rodeo drive where you are they do amazing burgers, the one in poznan is truly excellent.

News / Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport to close in September [27]

This country really is the epitome of incompetence, its just laughable.

Travel / Driving to Poland from Ireland end of jan, Need Advice [26]

Get winter tyres fitted, we struggle back the other week on summer tyres and ze germans don't seem to grit or plow the roads very often. If you are thinking of travelling in a BMW forget it as they are utterly useless in the snow as we found out! 30 mph most of the way back.

As for hotels, essen is a good half way point to stop and there is an etap hotel which is reasonable, well actually really basic and **** but its clean and really cheap.

Make sure you keep your tank topped up as you could be stuck in traffic for hours if the weather is bad and you will need to keep your engine running for heat. Regarding towing a trailer if you can avoid it but be prepared to take it really really steady.

In good weather I normally do North Cornwall to Poznan in one hit and it takes around 15 hours and costs around £180 each way in fuel. Get the ferry from Dover to Dunkirk as its much cheaper £25 each way and top up with fuel before you leave the UK as fuel in the euro currency zone is really expensive.

If you need any more advice drop me a pm as I do the trip quite regularly and would be happy to help.

Travel / Driving to Poland from Ireland end of jan, Need Advice [26]

I couldn't agree more, we havent got them and our car is now beached on the driveway, Definitely a must!

News / Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport to close in September [27]


Nothings incompetent about closing the runway when it needs to be repaired, They should have probably told the airlines who use the runway that it is being closed to avoid any problems.

They have telephones and the internet in Poland why is communication such a big deal? If communication was utilised here then there wouldn't be a string of engineering fuc k ups ie the train tunnel which isn't big enough to run a train through, the motorway which the 2 halves miss each other by miles etc. I know Poland is still developing its infra structure but it seems to be undertaken by corrupt and mindless officials who don't have a clue. Add to that bone idle workers with the don't give a damn attitude which is so profound in Polish culture and cases like this just keep happening.

That said once they have repaired the runway they will probably make such a hash of it they will have to close it again 3 weeks later to replace the lot in true polish style.

Travel / Driving to Poland from Ireland end of jan, Need Advice [26]


Are they 205 60 15? Wanna sell? :) I can't chage the bloody tyres now anyway as i left the locking wheel nut in the UK without realising :(


Yes I agree, Coming back through Germany the other week it was strange to see that the BMW lane had moved from the outside lane to the crawler lane where all the rwd cars were practically stuck or the drivers were to scared to even breathe on the accelerator pedal for fear of spinning off in a ball of flames.

It was really funny to see one of those utterly ridiculous porsche cayenne 4x4 things stuck in the snow though, I still fail to see the point of such a creation.

Remember to top your washers up with fluid that won't freeze too, Mine has been frozen for weeks after filling it with water and i can't get it out until it melts :)

News / Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport to close in September [27]

By which time the oil will have run out and there won't be any planes to use these runways or cars to use these newly built roads.

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]

I take it you was driving a polish car? I've had tints on most of my cars and never had any trouble anywhere. The police in poland are corrupt uneducated morons I've been asked for a bribe several times and on a few occasions when they've flagged me over to stop for no reason I just floor it. The police in Poland are not to be trusted at all they are just Kurwa boys with a badge.

as for the you are in poland you must speak polish its always handy to remind them how many idiots from pl live in the UK with no understanding of English.

God i'm starting to hate this place more and more by the day, Roll on Australia :)

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]


What here? I havent seen any?

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]


The ANPR system in the UK is nearly 100% foolproof All MOTs are computerised from the exact second the test certificate is printed and handed to the customer, Insurance is updated on to the MID system instantly and the road tax is also, The UK system which allows drivers to not have to carry their documents is a much better system than any I have ever experienced, Having to carry your log book, insurance documents etc everywhere is simply barbaric and encourages car crime.

Often if a car pings an ANPR camera and shows as not insured they will telephone the insurer to find out what the problem is and thats done on the spot.

I don't agree with road tax though but then I guess its a necessary evil and I would much rather pay £100 a year and have good roads like the UK (albeit with roadworks every 200 yards) that roads like the ones here in Poland.

Anyway the ANPR system isn't foolproof but i've never heard of anyone pinging up on a camera who was 100% legal.

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]

Just out of interest what level of tint did you have on your windows?

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]

Whats wrong with tints? As long as you don't take the **** they are fine and an excellent security feature and also prevent glass hitting the occupants in the event of an accident, I've always had them fitted to keep the car cooler in the summer and to preserve the interior from fading and the leather from cracking.

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]

I never carry my ID in Poland, Only my driving licence which clearly has printed on it EU. Theres no way I would take my passport anywhere where there are likely to be dishonest Police who stop me simply for driving a UK registered car.


How do you know if your tints are illegal? Many manufactueres ie BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar and lots of the Japanese manufacturers fit tinted glass as OE equipment.


When I get stopped I demand they speak to me in English, If they stop a UK registered car with the steering wheel on the right hand side what language do they expect the occupants to speak?

For an english person to learn a language such as polish which is spoken in one country with a tiny population it seems somewhat pointless. Poland seems to be trying to promote itself as a new business centre in Europe and as the international language of Business is in fact English the logical thing would be to learn it really.


I agree but the police should really speak English, They do in every other EU country and the Feds in the UK have even been forced to speak Polish.

The law in the UK isn't upheld by a bunch of incompetent money grabbing corrupt idiots who pull over drivers and ask where their table is? Also the Police in the UK seem to lead by example I've seen a Polish policeman swigging a bottle of Vodka whilst sat in his marked Police car. How can you possibly have respect for such utter morons?

Personally I think a car with tinted windows driven by someone from a civilised country is much safer than a car driven by the average Pole?

Also its not illegal to not speak the language of the country you are in and the police should have a system in place should the person being targeted not be able to speak the local language, Every civilized country has such a system but then again that approach would be far to logical for Poland.

Travel / Driving to Poland from Ireland end of jan, Need Advice [26]


What totally clear? it was shocking when we drove through the other week,

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]

Driving licence is an acceptable form of ID when applying for a job, Fact!. Which agency did you try and use?


Yes I agree with this statement in its entirety speed cameras are a way of soley making money.

On the other hand I've never had a policeman in the UK stop me for driving at the speed limit only to throw me in the back of his car and demand money from me on the spot.


Yes or supply a translator so that the person in question understands what is going on. English is spoken worldwide and polish is spoken only in Poland. I also speak Spanish which is spoken by the vast majority of the non english speaking world. Also learning Polish is a pointless exercise really as its only spoken in Poland which limits you to well Poland, Its like coming from Basque country and expecting everyone to learn your language which is spoken by 3 people.

I learnt a bit of polish which is enough to get by and also understand the majority of what is said.

The UK police have to be able to speak Polish among several other languages so why should it be any different in Poland?

You go to Germany and everyone I have met there speaks English, The same applies to Sweden (in fact they get offended when you ask them if you speak english as they assume that you know they do)

The european union really only applies to Poland when it comes to sending half your population to other countries to do menial jobs or poor quality building work, Or when it comes to getting grants to improve the infrastructure by building motorways that don't meet in the middle and train tunnels which won't fit a train through. (the rest goes on bribes making Poland one of the most expensive places to build roads in the world)

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]


I've never been to Croatia and Hungary but in France Spain and Italy most of the people I have encountered speak to me in English, the French do begrudgingly but they do although French is a fairly easy language to learn anyway.

I can safely say that in the above countries I've never had anyone give me hassle for being English. I wish I could say the same about Poland.

Most people here are generally warm and welcoming, well the ones which have experienced different cultures anyway.

Maybe its just the fact that Britain is too nice to people who are from outside the UK.

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]


We have to learn a second language from the age of 12 but generally not to many as the majority of things worldwide are done in English, Also when we go abroad and try to speak to people in Spain etc they would rather speak to us in English in order to practice their English skills. When I've been to spain i tried to speak to people in Spanish in order to practice for my spanish exam and people simply spoke to me in English.

The main reason English speaking people don't speak other languages very well is because English is the international language, Look at the switches etc in your car, they are all labelled in English or with an English abbreviation, Computers are programmed in English, Nearly all products are named in English for example CD - Compact disc, The language of the internet is English as is the language of Aviation, Air traffic control worldwide are made to speak English as it is the most widely spoken language.

As a result I speak fluent Antigua and Barbuda, Australian, Bahamas Barbados Belizian Botswanan Brunein Cameroonian Canadian Dominica Ethiopian Fijiin Gambian Ghanan
Grenadan Guyanan Indian etc,

All the below are countries where English is an official language.

jamaican
Kenyan
Kiribatian
Lesothoian
Liberian
Malawian
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Micronesia
Namibia
Nauru
New Zealand
Nigeria
Pakistan
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Solomon Islands
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanzania
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tuvalu
Uganda
United Kingdom
United States
Vanuatu
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]

I agree with you on this fully, The labour government have got a lot to answer for, The same applies to signs in urdu etc the only difference being that they did demonstrate. At least Poles in the UK don't try to change our beliefs and customs to suit them.

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]

Harry don't you learn? Poles can't take criticism at all, If they could they would listen to constructive advice and bring their country out of the dark ages. But they are always right and have to go on the defensive all the time blaming others for their misfortune or trying to find someone to blame when things go wrong. This occurs on a national level and on a social level and as a nation they only pretend to listen when they are being offered EU handouts of some description and then ignore all advice when it comes down to it.

Maybe if they took advice from other nations they would have a fantastic road network, Dynamic cities and it would be generally a fantastic place to be.

I personally can't wait for 2012 when they get the European cup taken away due to not having the infrastructure to support such an event It will also be interesting to see who's to blame for that :) Will it be the Germans, the French or even the Chinese? I know it certainly won't be Poland.

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]


What do poles define as long term? I had that after a few weeks here.

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]

Fair comment really but I have friends who have lived in Germany and Sweden and nobody has put pressure on them to learn German or Swedish , I wonder why its different in Poland?

UK, Ireland / Coming to England - should my friend get passport/driving licence here or in PL? [10]


+1

If she is planning on staying in the UK long term than she should learn to drive in the UK as she will learn the correct way of driving, She won't get a UK passport though.