"Cześć!"

 

Consulate of the Republic of Poland for the West Midlands
PRESS RELEASE

WOLVERHAMPTON CORNER SHIP WINS NEW AWARD!

A Wolverhampton corner shop has won a major new Polish community award.

Tucked away at the far end of Rugby Street in the Whitmore Reans area of Wolverhampton Casper Stores has been named as "Greatest new contribution to Polish Community life in the West Midlands, 2005-2006" by the Consulate of the Republic of Poland for the West Midlands.

Polish Honorary Consul for the West Midlands Cllr Mike Oborski explained today "The West Midlands has a vibrant and growing Polish community and we decided to launch this Annual Award to mark major new contributions to the life and well being of the Polish Community in the region".

"Casper Stores is a classic example of enterprising oung Poles launching a first rate business nitiative. They offer a wide and imaginative range of
high quality Polish goods and delicacies at very easonable prices together with a friendly and helpful ervice to customers."

"We hope that everyone in the area, not just Poles, ill discover this excellent little shop and explore nd enjoy what they have to offer. It is a pleasure to
present them with this well deserved Award."

Opened in October 2005 Casper Stores was launched by rzysztof Kolasa and Renata Jaskiewicz both originally rom South Eastern Poland.

The store, which is open from 9.00 am to 9.00 pm six ays a week and 10.00 am till 8.00 pm on Sundays, tocks Polish sausage, meats, herring, bread, cakes, anned goods, jams, preserves, soups, dried and ickled mushrooms, beers, vodkas, chocolates, sweets, eas and magazines as well as a wide range of British oods.

ENDS ===

posted by: Oborski at 21:46 | link | comments |

Poland has become the first former Warsaw Pact country to take responsibility for patrolling the air space of the three Baltic states...

Polish pilots took over the rotating Nato mission from the US at a ceremony in northern Lithuania. Seventy Polish air force personnel will serve there.

Poland joined Nato six years ago and it is the first time its pilots will patrol air space bordering Russia.

Four Russian-made MiG-29 jets will be flown during the three-month mission.

The planes have been specially upgraded by Nato to meet the alliance's standards.

Nato member states have taken it in turns to patrol the Baltic skies since the three nations joined the alliance in March last year.

But it is the first time a former Warsaw Pact member has taken over the job and it has caused fears here that the Russians may take advantage of it to test the Polish pilots' skills.

Relations between the two countries are at their worst in years following Poland's support of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.

In September, a Russian fighter breached Lithuania's air space during Germany's watch and eventually crashed.

Earlier this week one newspaper in Warsaw printed a large picture of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, on its front page and asked "is confrontation imminent"?

posted by: Oborski at 02:08 | link | comments |

Did Polish Turkeys vote for Christmas?

Poland by Peter Gentle. From Radio Polonia...

Christmas dinner tables around these parts did not groan under the weight of a 10-kilogramme bird stuffed with horse chestnuts and sage. Christmas tables in Poland groan under the weight of (traditionally) twelve different dishes, the centrepiece of which is a carp.

They eat the Christmas carp in many different ways. You can bake it, steam it, fry it. You can stew it in beer and raisons, have it accompanied with a sweet and sour source, stuff it with almonds, or even have it (yum, yum!) jellied in aspic.

Not really my cup of tea, but most Poles just love the Christmas carp. Total production of farmed carp in Poland amounts to around 22,000 tons annually, most of which is consumed at this time of the year.

The best way to buy your carp (say fishy aficionados) is alive and kicking and swimming around a small tank at your local grocers. The fish is then taken home, and, quite often, kept in the bath until it has to be cooked.

The problem then comes, of course, when you have to kill the wriggling, slimy little beast. The best method, I am assured, is by a quick and accurate whack over the head with a small hammer.

But not everyone can face this most brutal of tasks. It’s the man’s job, traditionally. But not all men are man enough to get hold of a fish that is as determined to see what’s in its Christmas stocking as the rest of us, haul it out of its watery Death Row, and put an end to its misery.

So many try to find novel ways of doing the deed. Getting drunk before you have to is, understandably, one of the favourites. Another way is to not drink the vodka yourself, but give a bottle of it to the fish – that way at least the poor thing will die with a smile on its face.

I have even heard of one traumatised carp killer who decided that he was not going to bash it over the head after all, but electrocute it. This bought him more than he bargained for when. After putting a steam iron plugged into the shaving socket into the bath with the carp, the whole of the block of flats where he was living plunged into darkness.

But concern is growing among ecologists and fishy freedom fighters about the treatment of carp during the Christmas period. An organisation called Gaja has been organising marches in Poland in protest at, what they say, is the cruel and barbaric conditions in which the carp are reared, transported and killed. Gaja (known to their friends, possibly, as the Carp Liberation Front) have been buying up lots of these fish from supermarkets and then liberating them back into rivers.

And this year I swear that one carp caught my eye in the shop this morning. It was trying to tell me something. It was saying that it was not looking forward to Christmas in Poland, would not have voted for it if it had been asked, and wished, just wished, that it were a turkey.

posted by: Oborski at 18:55 | link | comments |

Ice shots!

From Radio Polonia...

Two enterprising young IT and economic majors have come up with a novel way of serving vodka with ice. The young men say they stumbled on the idea of making shot glasses out of ice purely by chance…

Report by Bogdan zaryn

Janusz Kunkowski and Gracjan Wilczewski are two innovative IT and economic majors at Torun University in northern Poland.

“We came up with the idea while cramming for exams. We wanted to take a break and relax so we thought about a quick way to freeze alcohol. The first thing that came to mind was ice.”

So how do you make a shot glass out of ice?
As Janusz Kunkowski told me it was easier said than done

“At first our ice glass was very primitive and plain. Then we realized that our body temperature was a pretty poor mix. The ice glass started to melt and then started slipping out of our hands.”

But with every great idea comes a suitable solution.

“We made the ice glass narrower at the bottom and wider at the top. The glass now has a stem so it is easier to hold The ice glass is made from the same type of plastic form used for an ice tray.”

But how do you keep the ice shot from dripping. The answer was worth its weight in gold.

“We also introduced an ice coaster that is fitted under the shot glass .You can pour the water downed substance into a glass and drink it later.”

It takes six hours to freeze roughly 50 ice made shot glasses. To the astonishment of the investors , they have managed to sell over 2000 ice glass trays. So from the looks of it shot glasses made from ice may not only be great way of drink vodka , but these ice cubed glasses make great conversational pieces too.

posted by: Oborski at 18:50 | link | comments |

 

Peter Vella, BIA’s Business Development Director said, “Krakow has become a major tourist hotspot in Central Europe, primarily fuelled by the introduction of low fare air services. Krakow’s visitor numbers are growing year on year and more than 3 million people are expected to flock to the city this year to experience its many attractions. We are therefore really pleased to add this popular tourist spot to our hundred plus destinations available from Birmingham and give Midlanders more opportunities to experience the delights of Krakow from their doorsteps."

 

Christian Mandl, SkyEurope’s CEO said: “Since the opening of our base in Krakow, we have seen a tremendous increase in passenger volume by providing low fare flights to many exciting destinations in Europe. Our promise to develop Krakow as a base and to contribute to the huge upturn of the whole region has been kept and we are pleased to open the first scheduled connection between Birmingham and Krakow. “

With Krakow International Airport just 11 miles from the city centre, the new flights will be ideal for leisure travellers wanting a short city break in this well established tourist destination. Krakow has also become popular with British people wanting dentistry at a fraction of the price of that in the UK. It is such a popular market; specialist tours are now available which include transfers, accommodation and access to fully qualified Polish dentists!

 

Krakow city centre is situated in the southeast of the country, between the Jura uplands and the Tatra Mountains on the banks of the Vistula River. It has one of the best-preserved medieval city centres in Europe with dozens of churches, monasteries and abbeys covering almost every architectural period. For those looking for a relaxing break, there are countless pavement cafés that seem to occupy every cobble of the main market square - one of Europe’s most impressive public spaces.

Mike Oborski, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland, based in Kidderminster, UK, said, “I am absolutely delighted that BIA and SkyEurope have announced this new service to Krakow. As well as the large Polish Community which has been here since World War II there are now thousands of young Poles who have come to the West Midlands since Poland joined the EU. Now there will be easy access for those wanting to visit friends and relatives in Poland without having to travel miles to catch a flight. It will also help to boost tourism in both centres, providing new or wider markets for local tourism. With friends, we've just booked up for May break in Krakow via SkyEurope from Birmingham at a really super bargain price. It's too good to miss!!"

SkyEurope is the leading Central European low-cost airline, with bases in Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. It is also the first multi-based airline in Central Europe and operates a route network of 64 destinations throughout Europe. Flights from Birmingham will be operated by the airline’s 133 seat 737-500 aircraft.

Prices start from £17 one way (excl. taxes). Reservations can be made via skyeurope.com, by calling SkyEurope’s reservations on 0905 7222 747 or by emailing reservations@skyeurope.com.

 

Notes to Editors:

BIA is the UK’s second largest airport outside London, the third largest for charter traffic, and the UK’s fifth largest overall.

In 2004, BIA handled 8,870,204 passengers.

BIA is currently consulting on long-term development proposals. The draft Master Plan includes an extension to the existing runway and a new second runway to cope with a forecast 33 million passengers a year by 2030. The development could support as many as 27,430 job opportunities and generate income of £957 million in the West Midlands region.

BIA Ltd is a public/private partnership. The shareholders include the seven West Midlands district councils (49%), Aer Rianta (24.125%), Macquarie Airports Group (24.125%) and the Employee Share Trust (2.75%).

SkyEurope Airlines was founded on 6 September 2001 by Christian Mandl and Alain Skowronek. With bases in Bratislava, Budapest, Krakow and Warsaw, SkyEurope is one of the largest low cost low fare airlines in Central & Eastern Europe, currently offering in total 16 scheduled flights from Krakow.  SkyEurope operates a network of 64 routes to 38 destinations in 19 European countries, with its fleet of 15 aircraft.

SkyEurope Airlines recently announced an order of up to 32 Boeing Next-Generation 737-700 aircraft (of which 16 are subject to purchase rights). This aircraft order will reinforce and enlarge the Company’s aircraft fleet during the period 2006 - 2009. 

SkyEurope is listed on Vienna and Warsaw Stock Exchanges since September 27^th 2005.  

posted by: Oborski at 09:18 | link | comments |

News from Poland

Benedict XVI receives Poland's president in private audience

Vatican City, Dec. 11: Pope Benedict XVI received President Aleksander Kwasniewski in a private audience on Friday morning. President Kwasniewski assured the pope that Poles are eagerly awaiting his visit next spring. Kwasniewski said after the audience that the earlier planned visit for June may be moved up to May to avoid coinciding with the World Cup soccer games in Germany. The president neither confirmed nor denied a question as to his role of a witness in the John Paul II's beatification process, but added he felt honoured by the proposal. According to the president, the pope thanked him for good relations between Poland and the Catholic church, as well as for his efforts for the Polish-German and Polish-Jewish reconciliation, and for the cause of democracy in Ukraine. Later the pope met a Polish delegation, including president's wife Jolanta, Poland's ambassador to the Vatican Hanna Suchocka and head of the presidential cabinet Waldemar Dubaniowski. After the audience the president met Vatican undersecretary of state cardinal Angelo Sodano. Before the audience with the Pope President Kwasniewski met Italy's President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. The outgoing President also said in Rome that if the central and eastern Europe was able to propose its own candidate for the UN Secretary-General he would treat such a proposal "very seriously". He added however that for the time being any discussion on the subject would be just theoretical. The president laid flowers at the tomb of Pope John Paul II in the Vatican Grottoes. During the ten years of his term in office, President Kwasniewski met Pope John Paul II eleven times, during eight audiences in the Vatican and the Pontiff's three pilgrimages to Poland. The visit to the Vatican was President Kwasniewski's last foreign trip.

Read more...

posted by: Oborski at 00:36 | link | comments |

Radio Polonia reports...

Poles in the city

For the last 18 months after EU enlargement Britain has been taking on a few thousand workers from Eastern European countries every month. Poles account for 58% of the total, says the UK Home Office. The real numbers have far outstripped all earlier estimations, however, the number of the much-feared proverbial Polish plumbers registered is not high at all. As a matter of fact it rather the number of professional Polish employees that is growing in the British Isles recently.

Just a handful of the 15 original EU members made 15 allow in workers from the new EU member states. One reason is that Poland is a country of millions of young people, mobile and well educated, while Polish unemployment remains very high. It’s only Britain, Ireland and Sweden which not only didn’t bar access to Eastern Europeans but also created a fully flexible labour market for all EU members, filling holes wherever hands are needed and welcoming all kinds of professions. The hundreds of thousands of job vacancies that the Brits have had have been consistently filled up by Poles, Czechs, Lithuanians, and other new EU nationalities.

168 thousand of Polish nationals have gone to register to work in the UK, mainly in London. Many insist that it isn’t just money that is luring them.They perceive the English capital city as a place of unlimited opportunities to develop their carriers. Marta Kochanowska, is a young lawyer who works for Hogan and Hartson, an international company. She enjoys the prestige the job offers her. Now that Poles are on a par with the citizens of the old EU member states, she feels she really is an equal.

In some professions it’s just a matter of luck where you’re currently placed, says Maciek Mochol, an IT consultant. After spending 4 years in Germany and India he was finally sent to London.

First Poles filled shortages mainly in catering and nursing homes. Now they seem to be snapping up jobs in their professions, says the Christopher Thompson, the political secretary of British Embassy in Warsaw.

Obviously, the growing number of Poles both in London and outside of the city don’t just mean filling shortages in jobs in the British labour market. It also means opening new businesses which would satisfy the needs of the newcomers starting from shops with traditional Polish food, and ending with bank products.

posted by: Oborski at 00:30 | link | comments |