Poles Apart?
by How Polish and British cultures differ but many of the differences are only because people are different, not cultures or races.
With customary British eccentricity, the Zebra is named not after the animal resident in far flung countries, but after the pedestrian crossing the lies just outside the pub. Pedestrians walk across white stripes painted on the road. This type of pedestrian crossing is known as a “zebra crossing” and hence the name of the pub.
I joined a group of keen Scrabble players and we booked a morning at their pub. The fire lit, we were plied with coffees and drinks while we played Scrabble until lunch. Ralph looked after the drinks, while Ania cooked the food. The couple offered a true blending of the cultures, with a menu of British and Polish food. All the food was cooked from local produce in and around Cambridge and the dishes were authentic recipes from Ania’s homeland, Poland. The menu list offered translation from English to Polish and include hints on how the Polish should be pronounced – How else would we know to pronounce Golabki as gowompki? We were offered a choice of dishes ranging from Home Made Roasted Pyzy (Potato and Cheese Pasta) to Home Made Golonka (Ale Roasted Pork Loin). Other dishes included Beef Stroganoff, Kopytka (Potato and Cottage Cheese Pasta), Pierogi (Past Parcels) and Bigos (Hunter’s Stew with Pork and Sauerkraut). However, the menu also catered for our English tastes and the traditional Fish and Chips were on the menu too, if we wanted them. Even our varied diets were taken care of and fresh fruit salad was produced for those especially concerned with calories.
The food was different but delicious. Herbs seemed to be the most effective for giving a special Polish taste. What made the mean special however, was not so much the excellent service and cooking but the delight Ania showed in sharing with us her Polish traditions. Our Scrabble party took place a few weeks before Easter, so without a touch of embarrassment, Ania brought out a large round cane basket. In the base of the basket were some seeds. These, she told us, are dampened and the wheat grows in time to provide a green base for the Easter eggs at Easter. My immediate thought was that I wished I had though of that when my daughters were younger. They would have loved to watch the wheat grow as they waited for Easter.
Ania’s example is one of many, so, with such enterprise, perhaps British and Polish cultures will not remain “Poles apart” for long. More important than this, cultural integration is an intangible notion that can rarely be fully defined or experienced, but the juxtaposition of different personalities, one element of which is cultural background and the way in which such personalities interact and associate successfully is the way forward for any society, be it Polish people or indeed any people living in Canada, the UK or anywhere in the world other than their own home country.
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