For the last few days I’ve been in the beautiful English countryside on an obóz harcerski (scout camp). I have been on well over 30 obozy at least, a tally...
July 20, 2018
Ready for a fairytale? Or is there some truth in the legend of the three brothers, one of whom set up the Polish nation? Recently my harcerki (girl scouts) were...
June 15, 2018
"To Moscow, to Moscow" said the sisters who languished at home, bored of their country life in Chekhov's "Three Sisters". The long days of June do seem to go on...
May 18, 2018
As Royal Wedding fervour reaches fever pitch, the young couple will be spending their last night apart. Prince Harry may for a moment, reflect on some of his previous relationships,...
May 11, 2018
International Nurses Day is celebrated annually on 12 May, Florence Nightingale's date of birth. My great-grandmother's sister was a nurse during WWI and there are medics in my wider family,...
May 3, 2018
It's a lovely sunny day and it's the Third of May, the day the Polish Constitution was born in 1791. It's a national celebration so in Poland no one is...
May 2, 2018
All of us with Polish heritage have in common a unique set of chances of birth. Not for us the comfort of our grandparents living in the same town of...
April 10, 2018
Do you remember where you were, when you heard the news? This week we commemorate two incredibly sad days for the Poles: 10 April, the 8th anniversary of the Smolensk...
March 29, 2018
It's time to hunt out the basket for the annual Święcone (Easter basket blessing). This tradition dates back many centuries when priests would visit homes blessing all the Easter food....
March 9, 2018
My mother told me she was going to polish church this week to get a real feeing of Polish Lent, which made me think about how the whole period of...
February 10, 2018
For years few spoke about it. Many shared the feeling “they wouldn’t understand or would laugh so you just closed yourself up.” The story of the horrifying crime carried out...
February 3, 2018
A childminder friend carried out a vote on what to celebrate: Chinese New Year, Pancake Day or Fat Thursday and guess which one was the favourite! What a sweet way...
January 27, 2018
Last year John Lewis declared that the tablecloth is on its “dying out” list. In store, many are permanently on offer. Clearly there are fewer families eating meals together at...
December 27, 2017
Carollers (Kolędnicy) on the whole sing about the Nativity, but in Poland the tradition of Kolęda doesn't just focus on the birth of Jesus. From 26th December, St Szczepan's (St Stephen's)...
December 14, 2017
Christmas Greeting Guide Stuck on those Polish Christmas cards greetings? Feel that there's nothing to add in English to the "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" already in that...
About This Site
Polish identity, culture, history and heritage for those of us born around the world. For more click here.
FREE DOWNLOADS
1.Tracing Family History pre-WW2
2. Tracing Family History WW2