"Other soldiers were here in transit and had a 'return ticket' home. The Poles acted as if they had come home. Why? Because they had no home. Poland had been...
Finally everything is coming to life. In Polish culture, spring is a time to reawaken in ourselves the poet, the artist. Polish poets of the 20th century used spring to...
It is 85 years since the first of four mass deportations to Siberia and other areas, carried out by the NKVD of the Soviet Union. They began on 10 February...
The twelve dishes of Wigilia are a wonderful mix of savoury and sweet delights some with a hint of spice. So here are twelve books variously seasoned to keep you...
Often on Andrzejki (St Andrew's Eve), when the nights are dark, according to Polish tradition I gather a group of young girls and amongst hoots of laughter and hysterics they...
What do you do when after two weeks of fighting one enemy (Germany), your country is stabbed in the back by another (Russia). Your troops are shielding retreating infantry troops...
Each August or September the harvest takes place, according to the laws of nature. Our traditional dances and processions often now taking place in October are based on this end...
To truly understand why the people of Warsaw were prepared to risk their lives in the Uprising against German occupation in August 1944, it's worth looking at the youth. Young...
"No British person loved Poland more than Sue Ryder. She saw your pain as her pain, your resistance as her resistance" Sir Nick Young recently recounted during his talk about...
As temperatures soar and official summer has begun, Polish life is very much grounded in nature and the outdoors. All the traditional and christian feasts take place in the fresh...
Czerwone Maki (Red Poppies) was written in the night of 17 - 18 May 1944, whilst the author watched the artillery fire on Monte Cassino. It was inspired by being...
Whilst the massacre of 22,000 Polish officers in 1940 at Katyń is commemorated every year in April, it was just the beginning of further horror - deportation and exile for...
Our heritage is often formed or rekindled in the kitchen. We find great pleasure in creating traditional Polish cakes, evoking memories of childhood when delicious scents emanated from the oven,...
In Poland it’s difficult to consider Lent and preparations for Wielkanoc (Easter), without also thinking of the annual 'spring clean' at home. The aim of course, is for your house to gleam...
Many people say that it would be impossible to establish an independent Polish state in 1918 without the sacrifices made during the Powstanie Styczniowe (January Uprising)of 1863. Józef Piłsudski, like many...