the POLSKI blog

I’ve been asked several times recently whether it’s true that Poles in the UK are going back home for good. The simplest answer is: I don’t know.
To start with, it’s never been clear how many Poles have actually settled in the UK since Poland joined the EU. I remember reporting on the influx of Polish [...]

Poland has never introduced a music single. Whether in its vinyl or CD form. There have always been singles, but mainly as songs on the radio rather than physical items you’d buy from a music shop. Therefore Poland has never had ‘proper’ charts based on record sales.
With piracy in Poland in the 80s and 90s [...]

‘So what?’, I hear you say. After all, all Londoners share free evening papers all the time.
Yes, but they are free. You wouldn’t share your Economist or Marie Claire with the same carelessness and ease, would you?
Polish InterCity and EuroCity trains still often have compartments – with six seats in the first class and eight [...]

I wrote about it some time ago here, so I won’t be repeating myself. The short answer is: they can be, but in general nowadays they are only slightly colder than their British equivalents.
Anyway, all this is just a lame excuse to share this video with you. Enjoy.

SEE MORE:
→ Kraków in winter

Yes, it would seem that – although we still celebrate birthdays – we seem to enjoy our name days a lot.
Quite often people will throw a party on their name day and they’d expect flowers and even gifts from family, friends and/or colleagues.
But what exactly is a name day? It’s a custom which goes back [...]

So, is it true that the Polish Santa Claus visits twice? Yes. Lucky Poles, eh? Let me explain.
6th December is St. Nicolaus day (Mikołajki), and traditionally it’s been a day when people give their children small gifts. But only those who’d behaved themselves, obviously. Santa Claus for most people in Poland will more likely be [...]

No, not flapping. Clapping.
Is it true that – when you are on a plane full of Poles – people will start cheering and clapping their hands upon landing? Sadly, yes.
Sorry, I still cannot comprehend why people treat landing like the biggest achievement of the human race. Get over it! Do you clap when you park your car?
Image [...]

Is Carrie Bradshaw from “Sex and the City” a man? Does Ugly Betty speak like a middle-aged, slightly bored and cynical man? Yes. And yes. If you are in Poland, that is. Let me explain.
I’ve been asked a few times – and heard people talk about – the fact that Polish TV airs foreign shows [...]