At about 9:30 this morning all the phones in our house started to ring - friends and family calling to ask if we'd seen the news. BBC News was on in the background and I heard "plane crash... Polish President....presumed dead." I called to my husband to switch on TVN24, but he already had. It now appears (10:50 am) that Poland's worst fears are confirmed, all passengers have been killed including President Kaczynski, his wife, many Parliament Ministers and Bishops - perhaps as many as 87 in total.
The plane was heading for Smolensk, about 20 km from Katyn where the Polish delegation was heading. Katyn or Katyn Forrest was the place where almost 22,000 Polish Officers were murdered in 1940 under the orders of the Soviet Regime and Joseph Stalin. Todays visit was intended to commemorate those killed in Katyn as we approach the 70th anniversary.
The news today has left the country in shock. We still don't have the facts and nothing is official at this time, but this is a national tragedy and Katyn will once again be a reminder to Poles of a day of sadness.
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Sunday, 4 April 2010
Tricity Easter
Easter is perhaps the most important part of the Roman Catholic calendar and no more so than here in Poland. You won't see self-flagellation as you do in the Philippines, but the churches are bursting at the seams.,
Preparation for today, Easter Sunday, began in earnest on Good Friday, surprisingly not a holiday here, when the supermarket queues saw what looked like preparation for 'Armageddon.' I joined the masses in the '10 items or less' aisle making sure I hadn't exceeded my limit, while the woman behind me huffed and puffed impatiently to such an extent that I let her go before me - she only had 4 items after all! Is it worth the aggravation I ask you?
Queues at the car wash were equally long; it's not unusual to see 10 cars waiting at this time of year. A clean car is part of the Easter tradition.
On Saturday, we brought our Easter baskets to church to be blessed. This is called a 'swieconka' and traditionally contains painted eggs, salt, horseradish, bread and sausage.
Today, we celebrated with the traditional Easter breakfast which usually consists of cold meat platters and other regional specialties. Families first share the food that was blessed the day before and there are hard-boiled eggs with mayonnaise, 'zurek' soup and sausages.
After breakfast, which is more like 'brunch', many Poles bring flowers and candles to the cemetery. Here, in the Tricity, the weather was lovely and many headed for a walk on the beach.
Taking part in another nations' traditions is interesting, yet I can't help thinking about childhood Easter-egg hunts, chocolate eggs and Easter bunnies! Happy Easter to you all!
Preparation for today, Easter Sunday, began in earnest on Good Friday, surprisingly not a holiday here, when the supermarket queues saw what looked like preparation for 'Armageddon.' I joined the masses in the '10 items or less' aisle making sure I hadn't exceeded my limit, while the woman behind me huffed and puffed impatiently to such an extent that I let her go before me - she only had 4 items after all! Is it worth the aggravation I ask you?
Queues at the car wash were equally long; it's not unusual to see 10 cars waiting at this time of year. A clean car is part of the Easter tradition.
On Saturday, we brought our Easter baskets to church to be blessed. This is called a 'swieconka' and traditionally contains painted eggs, salt, horseradish, bread and sausage.
Today, we celebrated with the traditional Easter breakfast which usually consists of cold meat platters and other regional specialties. Families first share the food that was blessed the day before and there are hard-boiled eggs with mayonnaise, 'zurek' soup and sausages.
After breakfast, which is more like 'brunch', many Poles bring flowers and candles to the cemetery. Here, in the Tricity, the weather was lovely and many headed for a walk on the beach.
Taking part in another nations' traditions is interesting, yet I can't help thinking about childhood Easter-egg hunts, chocolate eggs and Easter bunnies! Happy Easter to you all!
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Have You Cleaned Your Windows Yet?
Do you know the children's song 'The Sun Has Got His Hat On' ?....Well, hip-hip-hip-hooray it has here and instead of going out to play, I got the ladder from the garage and started cleaning windows! It's quite a momentous occasion, let me explain why.
You see, Easter is a week away and as every good Polish housewife knows you have to have your spring clean done, including windows, before then. Window cleaning appears to be a very important part of the Polish tradition and high up on the list, somewhere after 'When guests come to visit it's important to put the entire contents of the fridge/larder onto the coffee table just to be sure there is something that he/she likes.' Where this originates I cannot say and welcome comments. I can only report on my own experiences, that never before moving here did I have such intense and purposeful discussions on the best way to achieve a streak-free pane. Vinegar, newspaper, windolene, fairy liquid, magic cloths - all had their supporters and detractors. Personally, I find the window liquid I put in the car works best - obviously without the anti-freeze.
So, why am I so pleased with myself, because, for the first time in 15 years, when someone asks me 'Have you cleaned your windows yet?', I'll be able to proudly answer in the affirmative.
You see, Easter is a week away and as every good Polish housewife knows you have to have your spring clean done, including windows, before then. Window cleaning appears to be a very important part of the Polish tradition and high up on the list, somewhere after 'When guests come to visit it's important to put the entire contents of the fridge/larder onto the coffee table just to be sure there is something that he/she likes.' Where this originates I cannot say and welcome comments. I can only report on my own experiences, that never before moving here did I have such intense and purposeful discussions on the best way to achieve a streak-free pane. Vinegar, newspaper, windolene, fairy liquid, magic cloths - all had their supporters and detractors. Personally, I find the window liquid I put in the car works best - obviously without the anti-freeze.
So, why am I so pleased with myself, because, for the first time in 15 years, when someone asks me 'Have you cleaned your windows yet?', I'll be able to proudly answer in the affirmative.
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
The Home Front
I've been feeling a little guilty for the past few days. Is it because I don't blog as often as I should? Only partly. No, the main reason is that I've been taking pleasure in the knowledge that our resident mole has been wintering in my neighbour's garden. I do feel terrible when I look over the fence and see her front lawn covered in mounds of soil, but at the same time I breathe a sigh of relief. I take heart in knowing that her husband is a better mole-catcher than we are, although we have tried everything that Castorama has to offer. We've even given 'bottles on sticks' a try, but alas it's a fact that moles love our neighbourhood and pay no attention to property boundaries for last year our lawn fared worse. If there is any justice, next year we'll both be mole-free and our resident, or residents (judging by the Citadel of mole burrows) will have relocated. Just a quick heads-up (no pun intended) for any blog-reading moles out there. The lady who lives over the fence at the bottom of my garden has been spotted on mole stake-out in the early hours....wielding a shovel. You have been warned!
It's my advice not to let the little critters get you down. It's only a lawn after all. Rake over the soil and be pleased that 5 months of snow has finally melted, hence the sudden appearance of mole hillocks. Get out in the garden and play a little fetch with the dogs.
Facts you never wanted to know about moles - unless you do a lot of pub quizzes.
It's my advice not to let the little critters get you down. It's only a lawn after all. Rake over the soil and be pleased that 5 months of snow has finally melted, hence the sudden appearance of mole hillocks. Get out in the garden and play a little fetch with the dogs.
Facts you never wanted to know about moles - unless you do a lot of pub quizzes.
- Males are called boars and females are called sows. Apart from mating season they are solitary.
- 'Citadel' is the name for a collection of mole hillocks or tunnels. Each tunnel is owned by different moles who mark their territory.
- The most famous mole I know is Kenneth Grahame's from "The Wind in the Willows" - dear friend of Toad and Ratty.
Friday, 19 March 2010
Royal Visit Sparks Discussion
HRH Prince Charles has just spent 3 days in Poland as part of a 9-day trip which includes Hungary and the Czech Republic. Originally, my plan was to talk about his visit, tell you where he went and who he met, but as I started to do my research I was struck by the vitriol his visit has sparked among the expats. For the past 4 days I've been following a heated discussion on-line.
It started on day 1 of the visit. Prince Charles, accompanied by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, met with President Lech Kaczynski and his wife and with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his wife. There was the usual press photo call and as you would expect Prince Charles obliged with a fixed-smile, cuff link-fiddling pose. Camilla looked more like a deer caught in headlights. Afterwards, they all moved behind closed doors to talk about environmental issues and Charles admiration for Poland's soldiers during WWII, especially with the RAF. A gala dinner followed, where, we were proudly told, EU approved goat's cheese from the mountains was served.
It all sounds pretty par for the course, so why did people get hot under the collar? First-off, the Duchess of Cornwall was called 'Camilla Parker Bowles' a couple of times. I heard it once on TVN24 and remember commenting to my husband and apparently it was in the press, too. That's where the first on-line comment began, "please note......should always be referred to as Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall," they said. So that's pretty tame isn't it? However, someone then tried to explain that their marriage (Prince Charles and Camilla) was constitutionally illegal, for if it was legal Camilla would be called Princess Camilla, Princess of Wales. This led to another comment that there was only one Princess of Wales and she died in Paris. Finally, the subject was put to bed by another comment explaining to all that "Tony Blair changed the law so the marriage of Charles/jug eared loony heir to the throne could marry Camilla/horse face so it's a constitutionally legal marriage" - I kid you not and not my words by the way!
More feathers were ruffled that first day, too. It seems that at least one opinion is that Prince Charles has no business here "except to apologize for his country not keeping it's word during and after WWII," but this was countered by another explaining that Britain was "the junior allied power, bankrupt at the end of the war" and had little to back up any protest. So much emotion and that's only after day 1.
The next day, Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall (I don't want to offend anyone), had planned a visit to the Bialowieza Primeval Forest - sounds fun doesn't it girls! No surprise to me, Camilla begged-off. The British Embassy official saying she had 'back problems'. I have absolutely no proof, but if you ask me, she woke up (probably far too early because the forest is a fair way from Warsaw), saw the weather and said ' Darling, you go alone. You'll have so much more fun without me'!! Alone he did go, to see the largest remaining herd of European Bison or Zubr and to discuss ways of preserving the areas natural environment. Prince Charles also visited an 18th century mosque in the village of Kruszyniany which is populated by descendants of Tatars who make up much of Poland's Muslim population. The Duchess of Cornwall spent the day in the capital 'lying low'. It appears this is a woman who gets what she wants, as there were plans for her to visit the newly-opened Chopin museum alone, but as far as I know this didn't happen.
On their last day, the royal couple met with Polish troops from the 1st Armoured Brigade, who are about to be deployed to Afghanistan. There was an inspection and small demonstration of the soldiers' military skills. The royal visit was seen as confirmation of the UK's appreciation of Poland's contribution to the NATO-led mission. The on-line discussion continued here. One person angrily wrote that Polish soldiers "don't belong to (the) failed empire of the UK. What is the purpose of this meeting?" The answer came back quickly that the UK and Poland were NATO allies, that there were "strong military ties" and that "at least the royal couple were taking notice of Polish sacrifices" in Afghanistan.
I wouldn't really say that this visit has been a resounding success. Perhaps such visits are simply to promote Britain's relations with ex-communist countries which are now EU members, as British newspapers have been suggesting. The final word goes to, the appropriately named 'Kamila' who wrote "these trips are quite costly (for Poland). I don't mind foreign visitors as long as they help promote the image of this country." Which ever side of the fence you sit though, I'm pretty sure that had Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall omitted Poland on their tour and chosen to go to Slovakia instead, it would have been taken as a snub and discussion on-line would have tripled.
P.S. I do have an inkling that HRH just wanted to see the zubr.
It started on day 1 of the visit. Prince Charles, accompanied by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, met with President Lech Kaczynski and his wife and with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his wife. There was the usual press photo call and as you would expect Prince Charles obliged with a fixed-smile, cuff link-fiddling pose. Camilla looked more like a deer caught in headlights. Afterwards, they all moved behind closed doors to talk about environmental issues and Charles admiration for Poland's soldiers during WWII, especially with the RAF. A gala dinner followed, where, we were proudly told, EU approved goat's cheese from the mountains was served.
It all sounds pretty par for the course, so why did people get hot under the collar? First-off, the Duchess of Cornwall was called 'Camilla Parker Bowles' a couple of times. I heard it once on TVN24 and remember commenting to my husband and apparently it was in the press, too. That's where the first on-line comment began, "please note......should always be referred to as Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall," they said. So that's pretty tame isn't it? However, someone then tried to explain that their marriage (Prince Charles and Camilla) was constitutionally illegal, for if it was legal Camilla would be called Princess Camilla, Princess of Wales. This led to another comment that there was only one Princess of Wales and she died in Paris. Finally, the subject was put to bed by another comment explaining to all that "Tony Blair changed the law so the marriage of Charles/jug eared loony heir to the throne could marry Camilla/horse face so it's a constitutionally legal marriage" - I kid you not and not my words by the way!
More feathers were ruffled that first day, too. It seems that at least one opinion is that Prince Charles has no business here "except to apologize for his country not keeping it's word during and after WWII," but this was countered by another explaining that Britain was "the junior allied power, bankrupt at the end of the war" and had little to back up any protest. So much emotion and that's only after day 1.
The next day, Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall (I don't want to offend anyone), had planned a visit to the Bialowieza Primeval Forest - sounds fun doesn't it girls! No surprise to me, Camilla begged-off. The British Embassy official saying she had 'back problems'. I have absolutely no proof, but if you ask me, she woke up (probably far too early because the forest is a fair way from Warsaw), saw the weather and said ' Darling, you go alone. You'll have so much more fun without me'!! Alone he did go, to see the largest remaining herd of European Bison or Zubr and to discuss ways of preserving the areas natural environment. Prince Charles also visited an 18th century mosque in the village of Kruszyniany which is populated by descendants of Tatars who make up much of Poland's Muslim population. The Duchess of Cornwall spent the day in the capital 'lying low'. It appears this is a woman who gets what she wants, as there were plans for her to visit the newly-opened Chopin museum alone, but as far as I know this didn't happen.
On their last day, the royal couple met with Polish troops from the 1st Armoured Brigade, who are about to be deployed to Afghanistan. There was an inspection and small demonstration of the soldiers' military skills. The royal visit was seen as confirmation of the UK's appreciation of Poland's contribution to the NATO-led mission. The on-line discussion continued here. One person angrily wrote that Polish soldiers "don't belong to (the) failed empire of the UK. What is the purpose of this meeting?" The answer came back quickly that the UK and Poland were NATO allies, that there were "strong military ties" and that "at least the royal couple were taking notice of Polish sacrifices" in Afghanistan.
I wouldn't really say that this visit has been a resounding success. Perhaps such visits are simply to promote Britain's relations with ex-communist countries which are now EU members, as British newspapers have been suggesting. The final word goes to, the appropriately named 'Kamila' who wrote "these trips are quite costly (for Poland). I don't mind foreign visitors as long as they help promote the image of this country." Which ever side of the fence you sit though, I'm pretty sure that had Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall omitted Poland on their tour and chosen to go to Slovakia instead, it would have been taken as a snub and discussion on-line would have tripled.
P.S. I do have an inkling that HRH just wanted to see the zubr.
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Do I need to speak Polish to work here?
The phone rang yesterday afternoon and an unrecognisable male voice said "Dzien dobry" (hello). I hesitated as the caller didn't identify himself and there was silence on the line "Yes, hello?" I said in Polish and then I heard snickering "It's me, Dad. I've decided to learn Polish as it seems to be the only way to get a job here in England!"
What's that, I hear some of you asking, is my septuagenarian father looking for work? No, he was simply referring to an article in the Mail On Sunday about a cooked meat manufacturer who advertised for Polish speaking shift-workers because all the training and safety instructions would be in Polish. Adverts in local shops were in Polish only and stated that knowledge of English was not necessary. Naturally, a furor followed - complaints of discrimination against the British worker and of Eastern Europeans stealing jobs, but can we blame British employers for hiring the most hard-working, efficient job applicant?
I saw recently a BBC documentary The Day the Immigrants Left, where Brits took over migrant workers low paid jobs. Three different employers, the owner of an Indian restaurant, an asparagus grower (supplier to England's well-known supermarkets) and a potato-packing factory. The result was embarrassing beyond belief. After saying on camera how desperate they were to work and how grateful they were to be given this opportunity, three of the unemployed didn't even bother to show up for the first day. One 20 year old even thought it was acceptable to text his manager explaining that he wouldn't be coming in because he had had a late night. Only one person turned up at the restaurant to work as a waiter, but deemed it so 'stressful' that he couldn't continue. Ali, the restaurant owner appeared to possess great foresight however, for he had told his permanent staff that they had the day off but that they must be on stand-by. One phone call and they were all back to work. At the asparagus grower's it was slightly better. Here they did turn up for work, but that's where the improvement ends. The workers were payed by the ton of asparagus picked, but our English bunch didn't even manage to pick a ton between them. The Lithuanian foreman tried to impress on them the importance of speed (the asparagus season only lasts 8 weeks) but they were slow and wasteful, leaving half the vegetable still in the soil. The potato-packing plant scenario was similar. They were slow and where there should have been 12 bags in a crate, many only had 10. All of their work had to be recounted.
After seeing the program I'm not surprised Eastern Europeans are being hired over the English and if that means the first language at a factory in East Anglia is Polish then so be it. Many of today's unemployed don't know what a hard days work is but they are the first to tell you about labour law and their 'rights'. It's not just the UK who are suffering from this malaise though. In Germany, Arno Duebel has become notorious. He proudly admits that at the age of 54 he has been claiming benefits for 36 years!
What's that, I hear some of you asking, is my septuagenarian father looking for work? No, he was simply referring to an article in the Mail On Sunday about a cooked meat manufacturer who advertised for Polish speaking shift-workers because all the training and safety instructions would be in Polish. Adverts in local shops were in Polish only and stated that knowledge of English was not necessary. Naturally, a furor followed - complaints of discrimination against the British worker and of Eastern Europeans stealing jobs, but can we blame British employers for hiring the most hard-working, efficient job applicant?
I saw recently a BBC documentary The Day the Immigrants Left, where Brits took over migrant workers low paid jobs. Three different employers, the owner of an Indian restaurant, an asparagus grower (supplier to England's well-known supermarkets) and a potato-packing factory. The result was embarrassing beyond belief. After saying on camera how desperate they were to work and how grateful they were to be given this opportunity, three of the unemployed didn't even bother to show up for the first day. One 20 year old even thought it was acceptable to text his manager explaining that he wouldn't be coming in because he had had a late night. Only one person turned up at the restaurant to work as a waiter, but deemed it so 'stressful' that he couldn't continue. Ali, the restaurant owner appeared to possess great foresight however, for he had told his permanent staff that they had the day off but that they must be on stand-by. One phone call and they were all back to work. At the asparagus grower's it was slightly better. Here they did turn up for work, but that's where the improvement ends. The workers were payed by the ton of asparagus picked, but our English bunch didn't even manage to pick a ton between them. The Lithuanian foreman tried to impress on them the importance of speed (the asparagus season only lasts 8 weeks) but they were slow and wasteful, leaving half the vegetable still in the soil. The potato-packing plant scenario was similar. They were slow and where there should have been 12 bags in a crate, many only had 10. All of their work had to be recounted.
After seeing the program I'm not surprised Eastern Europeans are being hired over the English and if that means the first language at a factory in East Anglia is Polish then so be it. Many of today's unemployed don't know what a hard days work is but they are the first to tell you about labour law and their 'rights'. It's not just the UK who are suffering from this malaise though. In Germany, Arno Duebel has become notorious. He proudly admits that at the age of 54 he has been claiming benefits for 36 years!
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Are we getting a good service from film distributors?
Another year and another batch of Oscars handed out. I find myself, however, ever so slightly disappointed and not because my favourites didn't win.
Firstly and I say this every year, couldn't they hold the ceremony on Saturday so those of us on this side of the pond could watch guilt-free instead of worrying about how we are going to function at work or school the next day.
Secondly and most definitely the reason for my disappointment, is because I haven't yet seen the films that were nominated for awards. What's going on with the film distributors in Poland? In Gdynia we've got one multi-screen complex (another planned for Rumia), in Sopot there is one and in Gdansk there are three(!), so why is it that we are so far behind? Poles love going to the cinema, so much so that for big film releases here it is best to reserve tickets in advance. Nevertheless, Best Film winner 'The Hurt Locker' didn't come to our theatres at all. In fact it's already available on DVD and Canal + are showing it on TV now. 'An Education', with Bafta winner Carey Mulligan, is another example of a nominated film which soon will be out on DVD but which hasn't been shown here. Jeff Bridges won for 'Crazy Heart', Sandra Bullock won for 'The Blind Side', Mo'Nique won for 'Precious' and none of these films have reached Poland yet!
I truly hope that film distributors are made aware of how they have failed us this year. We are waiting for something good to see and are offered mediocre films from 2009. This weekend, those of us in the Tri-City will be treated to Jackie Chan's 'The Spy Next Door' (2009) whilst films like 'A Single Man' with Colin Firth or 'Invictus' with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon have come and gone elsewhere.
P.S. My apologies to Jackie Chan fans, my intention was not to offend, in fact I will probably be seeing that film on Friday as my husband is one of you!
Firstly and I say this every year, couldn't they hold the ceremony on Saturday so those of us on this side of the pond could watch guilt-free instead of worrying about how we are going to function at work or school the next day.
Secondly and most definitely the reason for my disappointment, is because I haven't yet seen the films that were nominated for awards. What's going on with the film distributors in Poland? In Gdynia we've got one multi-screen complex (another planned for Rumia), in Sopot there is one and in Gdansk there are three(!), so why is it that we are so far behind? Poles love going to the cinema, so much so that for big film releases here it is best to reserve tickets in advance. Nevertheless, Best Film winner 'The Hurt Locker' didn't come to our theatres at all. In fact it's already available on DVD and Canal + are showing it on TV now. 'An Education', with Bafta winner Carey Mulligan, is another example of a nominated film which soon will be out on DVD but which hasn't been shown here. Jeff Bridges won for 'Crazy Heart', Sandra Bullock won for 'The Blind Side', Mo'Nique won for 'Precious' and none of these films have reached Poland yet!
I truly hope that film distributors are made aware of how they have failed us this year. We are waiting for something good to see and are offered mediocre films from 2009. This weekend, those of us in the Tri-City will be treated to Jackie Chan's 'The Spy Next Door' (2009) whilst films like 'A Single Man' with Colin Firth or 'Invictus' with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon have come and gone elsewhere.
P.S. My apologies to Jackie Chan fans, my intention was not to offend, in fact I will probably be seeing that film on Friday as my husband is one of you!
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