As I returned today from cleaning Polish graves at our local cemetery with the scouts, in time for Zaduszki (All Saints and All Souls Days) on 1 and 2 November,...
October 21, 2017
The Danish concept of 'hygge' has been all the rage here in the UK these past two years; it resonates because British people love to find any new way to...
October 11, 2017
The images of Poland we 'English Poles' grew up with in post-war UK were, I suspect, nothing like what our contemporaries in Poland had. Our identity was rooted in the past and...
August 25, 2017
As I've travelled around Poland this summer, I've thought about the many differences between Polish and British culture. Some are quite superficial but others much deeper. Here are the ones...
August 15, 2017
There are two reasons, intertwined due to history and tradition, peasant, church and military. There's a holiday atmosphere to this day, re-established in 1992 and the flags are out in...
August 5, 2017
Here in Britain we love the idea of country life, to see cows and sheep in the fields around our towns and cities. Many dream of one day being able...
July 28, 2017
So kolonie zuchowe (Polish brownie and cub camps) have been going on for nearly a century and certainly for over 60 years in the UK, yet the children play many of...
July 9, 2017
The Wimbledon Championship queue is the queue of the moment, but this weekend for the nth time we visited the Chatsworth Summer Garden Party, hosted by the Duke and Duchess...
June 28, 2017
Since 1928, the last weekend of June has been known as the Święto Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Navy Day). Although Morse Code is no longer used as an international standard for...
June 21, 2017
Although the longest day of the year (the solstice) is today, 21 June, the tradition in medieval England and ongoing in Poland is for midsummer celebrations on Noc Świętojańska (St...
