In the last days of November, I switch my British radio off for good after hearing the voice of George Michael for the first time. The fact that a heartbreak song became a Christmas anthem says a lot about how shallow Christmas became in Anglo-American culture. In Britain you want it all, and you want […]
Great Britain
Losing a friend helped me find my roots in Scotland
Western customs and traditions usually settle well in Poland. Especially fresh after the fall of the Iron Curtain, we were thirsty for all that we could so far only see in American movies. But while Valentine’s Day and other commercial holidays took root almost instantly, there is one tradition that is having a rough path […]
Scotland is one of the best countries to be Polish nowadays
In recent months we have witnessed a significant rise in hate crime against foreigners in England. Many of the victims were Polish. What has escaped the attention of England-centric media (both in Poland and in the UK) is the fact that Poles in Scotland still feel welcome and safe and such acts are almost unheard […]
How anti-Muslim hysteria is being spinned up in Poland
It turns out that you don’t have to do much. It’s enough just to place a suggestion, slight reticence, perhaps even without any wrongdoing in mind, and the shit surfaces immediately. Let’s see how it works on the case study of a news story on the Polish portal onet.pl regarding an event that has happened […]
Is Brexit yet another outgrowth of British throwaway culture?
The dust after Brexit is slowly settling down. Of course, though, everyone still discusses it. My pro-Brexit friends still use every opportunity to point out the flaws in the European Union. It’s usually just a few things — mostly about migration and limiting sovereignty. Some, when pushed, admit that “actually the European Union is not […]
So what was your cunning plan, Brexiters?
On our way to work on Friday morning my girlfriend and me listened to interview with some Leave campaign leader in BBC4. She argued that United Kingdom should not rush to leave European Union, as if it does, it will have no say on many important issues. We both laughed out loudly – isn’t she […]
Brexit: Are Poles in the UK really the ones who should worry?
With Brexit becoming a reality, there is a lot of talk about Poles needing to worry about their future. But are we really the ones who should be afraid of things to come? The first thing that came to my mind on Friday morning was that frame from an old French comic book in which […]
What has happened to ‘better together’ suddenly?
When it comes to Europe, Poland and Britain in 2016 have one thing in common: Attitudes to Europe. It’s not “we Europeans”. It’s “We, the greatest nation ever, versus THEM”. If you read the right-wing media of both countries, you might get the feeling that the European Union is some kind of enemy. They send […]
Brits claim to be music lovers but dance only to the beat of their own drum
Don’t get me wrong. Britain is one of the most important places in the history of popular music. Everyone will find a British band to their taste – from The Beatles to Macc Lads. If you find Iron Maiden too noisy, Capercaillie is there to calm your nerves. But Britain is not the only place […]
If I am British, good soldier Švejk has to be as well.
Today while casually browsing the internet, I popped onto a small video clip in which a comedian Joe Lycett tells a story of how he got off the parking fine by using British Humour: Several comments claimed, that “Only Briton could avoid paying parking ticket by being perfectly polite and at the same time ridicule […]