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 […]
Poland
Meanwhile in Cuckooland 3

Click here for previous chapter from the series Click here to see all from the series so far PiS’ relentness march towards the peaks of absurd ensure, that fans of Monty Python will be kept amused. It would be really funny if not for the fact that it is going on for real. Remember that […]
Meanwhile in Cuckooland 2

Click here for previous chapter from the series Click here to see all from the series so far Recent weeks in Poland made atmosphere of absurd even thicker. Of course the opposition parties can also deliver some fun (my favourite one was announcements from the party .Nowoczesna in which they declare that they will “de-legalise […]
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 […]
Meanwhile in Cuckooland

Click here to see all from the series so far Brexit, Euro Footbal cup, series of attacks in Western Europe and coup in Turkey overshadowed events in Poland. Only a desperate attempt of state TV ruled by PiS to censor President Obama speech in which he expressed concerns about the state of Polish democracy made […]
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 […]
I feel sorry for today’s Scoutmasters

Scouting is great. This is the best adventure that young man can have. One can learn how to be resourceful, how to be responsible for oneself and others and how to cooperate. But – perhaps most importantly – this is where friendships for life are born. My generation already has kids in scouting age and as during every summer […]
Is fuelling hate in Poland PiS’s way to toughen its power?

The situation that had place in Warsaw is really a sad illustration of the current anti-migrants tensions in Poland. On the huge district heating pipe a mural (or rather “rural” – from Polish rura – pipe) was painted. It depicted kids of all nations and races holding hands. Soon the painting became a target of […]
Why I stopped writing about Polish politics for a while

One of my readers e-mailed me with question why I am not writing about Polish politics for Britske listy any more. He said that there is so much going on in Poland and that the coverage in Czech media is pretty chaotic. The fact is that I gave up covering this events not only on […]
Invisible Poles: How the Polish community in Scotland is changing

After the first huge wave of arrivals from Poland in 2004, Eastern Europeans never really stopped coming to the UK. The Polish language nowadays can be heard everywhere from the Isles of Scilly to the Outer Hebrides. It makes Nigel Farage very uncomfortable during his daily commute. I have to say I do understand […]