The Brexit referendum happened 8 years ago. I remember that I didn’t believe right to the end that Britain can be stupid enough to do it to itself. What else do I remember about that? I remember the next morning we were driving our car to work (we worked together in one office back then). […]
Scotland
You are not so great, Britain. Chapter 10: So long, and thanks for the fish (and chips)
It’s time to bring the project to a close. In this chapter, we touch on some subjects we haven’t covered and check if Elisa’s British boyfriend still wants to talk to us. Thank you for being with us through those 10 episodes, and let’s hope we’ll meet one day in our new podcast entitled “You’re […]
Leftist Drivel on Scots and Haggis (Guest: MizLiot)
This is an English version of our polish-language podcast. Burns night is coming. On that day Scottish people sit to the table to enjoy their national cuisine. The most important moment of the evening is cutting the haggis and loud reading of the one of the most famous Scottish poems by their national bard Robert […]
You are not so great, Britain. Chapter 9: Hey ho, hey ho, it’s off to work we go.
People from all over the EU until recently were coming to the UK in their thousands to look for work. People from other parts of the world still find Britain an attractive destination. But is the British work market a good place to be an employee? Was it ever? Are salaries really good and workers’ […]
Perhaps re-thinking of our visa politics towards “ordinary Russians” is long overdue?
A sticker with Ukraine appeared on my car just after Russia began its new wave of invasion into Ukraine. I know, it’s just an empty gesture, but I simply wanted to express somehow my solidarity with the victims of Russian imperialism. For the 6 months of 2022, I still lived in Scotland, this sticker was […]
You are not so great Britain. Chapter 7: British Universities. Are they really so good?
We invited professor Jan Čulík, lecturer in Czech from the school of modern languages and cultures at Glasgow University today. We decided to ask him if the British universities, so famous around the world for their teaching quality, are really as good as their places in the rankings show. Turns out, not everything is […]
Russian Invasion of Ukraine as seen from Poland (Special podcast episode in English)
This joint production of Lewackie Pitolenie and West Country Voices is an English translation of the recent episode of the Polish language podcast Lewackie Pitolenie, in which we hear from Polish people engaged in helping Ukrainian refugees – both at the border and in the west part of the country, a Ukrainian protester in Glasgow […]
Linn Botanic Gardens – A tropical jungle in the heart of Scotland
It’s winter. The weather is rainy, the sky is grey, and it is usually at such time when we come back to our memories about visiting beautiful places full of greenery. Despite its fame for bad weather, Scotland is a great place if you are a garden lover, as the country’s gardeners were taking the […]
So are we still in lock-down? Or is that a normal life now?
We just entered March 2021. If you look even at my blog from year ago, I published several texts related to pandemics last March (see here). We all remember panic buy of pasta and hoarding bog rolls or speculation on the soap and hand sanitizer. Then the lockdown came and I remember how, along with […]
I was outside today. Britain is simply asking for it.
I ventured outside today for the first time in two weeks (I’ve been quarantined). I have been to the Polish shop, pharmacy, the supermarket and to drop some groceries to my friend, who’s under quarantine. I saw all those memes about the city being abandoned, I expected to have an “I am Legend” style experience. […]