Issue 1
FREE
ENGLISH EDITION
Stereotypes demolished! WWW.PMAGAZYN.CO.UK
Polish cuisine – top dishes
ISSN 2045-6409
Polish abstract art in Peterborough
LOCAL COMMUNITY MAGAZINE
WWW.PMAGAZYN.CO.UK
Editor’s letter editor@pmagazyn.pl It was one of those lazy afternoons, when you are sitting at work, in front of your computer, trying to find literally anything to do to keep you going till 5pm. - You really don’t want to know or SEE IT – whispered Kate when I asked her what she is doing. Kate is one of my best friends; we know each other inside out. One look at her face and I was certain that whatever is displayed on her laptop - should definitely become my object of interest too. I came up to her desk and looked down on the screen. Kate was logged on the local forum. I couldn’t figure out the topic of the conversation – all I saw was a big, bold sentence announcing: ‘WATCH OUT FOR THE POLES, THEY ARE COMING TO OUR CITY’. Kate seemed to be worried. - I’m so sorry Anna – she said. – I don’t think they want you over here. – They just didn’t have a chance to get to know us better – I smiled in response. Is there a reason to be concerned? Are we, Polish people, actually here to take all available job vacancies? Or live on benefits only? Stereotypes? What is the truth about us? There are more than 20,000 Polish residents in and around Peterborough. Some of them are employees but many run their own successful businesses. We have a beautiful Polish church in Welland Road. The Polish Club on Stanground is fantastic place for all generations. There is a restaurant, serving traditional Polish food, many shops with original Polish products. Polish art is present in the form of a choir, bands, writers, painters and photographers. We do have our own website and newspaper. The main purpose of the first English edition of ‘P Magazyn’ is to introduce the Polish community to all the other ones. To present our traditions, culture and our country. We hope this will be a good beginning of a bigger, regular and free project, involving all communities in the future. If you are interested in contributing towards ‘P Magazine’, please do not hesitate to contact us on the email address stated above. Together, we can create a unique platform that all communities can use and benefit from. And for now, sit back, relax and enjoy the read! Anna Dziuba
Working together for community Polish Community Organisation in Peterborough is a newly created, non-profit organisation acting for and on behalf of the Polish community. The main aim of this association is to provide a comprehensive support and help for people willing to assimilate in Peterborough and its surroundings. In addition, members of PCOP are dealing with training and development, promoting Polish traditions and working towards intercultural dialogue. Contact: plcom@mail.com
A locally-run and locally-target lifestyle magazine for Polish community in and around Peterborough. This A4 full color glossy monthly publication provides the readers with a bunch of local information, news, list of events, interesting interviews, business directory and many, many more. High quality paper version is distributed for free – also a digital edition is popular and receives loads of hits every month. Contact: www.pmagazyn.pl / redakcja@pmagazyn.pl
The largest and most popular website for Polish community in our region. Exists since 2006, supports local businesses and is the best source of practical information regarding day-to-day living in Peterborough for Polish people. The website includes free classified section with a high number of new adverts being added on a daily basis and a job vacancies section where details of local posts are available in Polish language. Also contains popular forum – a place where users are discussing their problems, opinions and thoughts. The website can be viewed and translated into fifteen different languages. Contact: www.peterboroughpl.com / info@peterboroughpl.com
Check out our famous tongue twister
W SZCZEBRZESZYNIE CHRZĄSZCZ BRZMI W TRZCINIE
(Vuh Shchebsheshinyeh kshanshch bshmee fuh tchuchynyeh) which means
In the town of Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reeds.
Good luck! Jarosław Jacek Sokół, an
abstract artist, was born in Łuków (Poland). He came to Peterborough in 2005 together with his wife and two sons. His fascination in abstraction can be seen in large, vibrant works and is the first step in viewers’ journey to the unknown world of imagination. Jarosław is continuously seeking different ways of expression – he is not afraid to create paintings using rice and seeds. He even mixes paint with aromatic spices to move all the senses of people admiring his pictures. If you are interested in his art, please contact us by email on editor@pmagazyn.pl
Top 6 Polish dishes...
You can taste the described dishes at:
...with a bit strange names but fantastic taste-wise! How do people usually describe traditional Polish cuisine? Heavy? High caloric? Full of fat, meat, cabbage and garlic? That’s all correct! This is what we love about it and we hope you’ll love it, too!
PIEROGI – DUMPLINGS
Often the first (and tastiest!) stop on the journey through Polish cuisine. In most of the cases, people translates the name as filled dumplings or ravioli – please be aware that neither term expresses the real nature of pierogi. This dish appears in few kinds and different filling types. Those crescent-shaped
LARD
BIGOS – POLISH HUNTER’S STEW
The main ingredient of this extraordinary, traditional dish is sliced cabbage (fresh or acidified). As there are various ways of preparing bigos, the rest of the elements can vary. Bigos usually contains: diced sausage, bacon, dried mushrooms, onion, carrots, dried plums, bay leaf and other spices. Critics
POLISH PEA SOUP
HUNTER’S STEW
DILL PICKLES
SMALEC – LARD
Smalec is a bacon grease with seasonings, scratchings and hummus similar texture, being used as a spread. Its cholesterol content is off the charts! Lard, once very popular, especially during lean times, is eaten willingly with bread - a plate of lard ready with dipping bread is still a common sight in tra-
DUMPLINGS
GUTS
parcels can be crispy or boiled. Filling varies from potato and cheese (Ruthenian), meat and cabbage or mushroom. For those of you, who have a sweet tooth, we recommend pierogi with a filling made of a sweet curd cheese or fresh fruit like bilberries or strawberries.
are even ironically saying that all leftovers can be added to this dish. The preparation of bigos can sometimes be a timeconsuming activity as it can take up to a couple of days to finish off the cooking. We are saying that bigos needs to ‘get saturated’. Polish first course bigos is usually eaten with bread.
ditional Polish eateries of all budgets. There is a Polish expression ‘bread with lard’, which means living in poverty. When we say: ‘You will be eating bread with lard’, we predict that this person will be so poor that they won’t be able to afford any proper food.
OGÓRKI KISZONE – DILL PICKLES/ SOUR CUCUMBERS
FLACZKI – GUTS
GROCHÓWKA – POLISH PEA SOUP
Trust us, there is nothing better as an appetizer to vodka than ogórki kiszone! Their strong, sour taste is truly exceptional. But let’s start from the beginning. Dill pickles are made of soil-grown cucumbers which are put into jars, along with dill, horseradish, garlic and spices (bay leaves, grains of mustard and pepper). All needs to be covered with water, salted and put away for a few weeks. Dill pickles can be used as an addition to potatoes, sandwiches or as an element of salads, as well as the basic ingredient of cucumber soup.
Nothing more to add. In a word – tripe. Let’s face it: this won’t be vegetarians’ favourite dish. Even meat-eaters could possibly struggle with this dish due to its distinctive smell, strengthened by nutmeg and marjoram. The ingredients of flaczki are different parts of the stomach, cut in stripes, and while beef tripe is most common, the stomachs of sheep, pigs, chickens, deer, and goats can also be added. Other typical ingredients include tomatoes, carrots, parsley root, bay leaves, onions, and occasionally pieces of chicken or bacon. For those who don’t like the idea of eating the tripe, in a homemade flaczki recipe stomachs can be replaced with strips of chicken.
Polish pea soup is prepared of pea and cooked with bacon on beef stock. Garlic and marjoram are important spices. Depending on a recipe, grochówka can be from semitransparent and thin to a very dense mousse soup. It is usually served with bread or cubes of baked bread called grzanki. Grochówka is also called ‘military soup’, because it has been served in the army in the times of communism. Up to this day, allegedly traditionally, pea soup is dished up during any army or charity event. As a very nourishing and hearty dish, pea soup is then prepared and eaten on a large scale.
What are they talking about? STEREOTYPES DEMOLISHED
A typical Polish person, according to stereotypes, is big on family, hypocritical with religion, rude in queues, a cabbage and cheap vodka lover, who can also be an awesome cook with a very blunt sense of humour and the look of a sleazy gangster! It’s time to shed some light on several stereotypes regarding Poles.
POLES ABUSE ALCOHOL
Well... Let’s put it in a diplomatic way: undoubtedly, the culture of drinking alcohol is highly developed in Poland and this way of spending time is very popular. In other words – alcohol is something that we, as a nation, really like. Traditionally, the most popular alcoholic drink was vodka, but today more people, especially younger generations, choose beer - and beer is now decent in Poland! It doesn’t mean that our (or your) streets are full of drunk people. Just like in any other country; some of us know their limits and some don’t.
POLES EAT SWANS
That’s false. We eat pigeons only. Joking! Custom of eating swans does not exist in our culture – we honestly just don’t do it. But we do eat fresh fish from our lovely lakes and rivers.
POLES ARE HARD WORKERS
Yes, can agree with that. Most of us like to carry out any work duties in a quick and efficient way. And we are not afraid of hard, demanding work as we usually have clear goals to achieve.
POLES ARE EXTREMELY RELIGIOUS
Basic Polish vocabulary Dzień dobry - dzhehn dobri
- Good morning and Good afternoon
Do widzenia - do veedzehnah - Good bye
Catholic religion had and still has a great impact on our everyday life. You can be surprised when you see us attending the church on regular basis, celebrating Christian holidays and having at least one cross or holy picture at home. Researches estimate the level of faithful practising people in Poland at around 98%. The responders, however, are declaring one thing, while - in fact - doing something opposite. This needs to be taken into account, if we want to discover the real figure. Anyway, we can see this level dropping down for years but there is no reason to be worried as Catholic religion remains strong in our tradition and has many, many passionate believers.
Do zobaczenia - do zobahchehnah
POLISH GIRLS ARE BEAUTIFUL
- Thank you
As we just cannot be objective on this one – shall we leave you to judge yourselves? Currently, there is a beauty competition going on in order to choose our Miss of Polish community in Peterborough. You can view our contestants’ profiles along with some pictures and find out further details on www.peterboroughpl. com . Results will be announced at the final on 3rd September.
- See you later
Cześć! – cheshch – Hi! Przepraszam – pshehprahshahm - Excuse me/I’m sorry
Tak – tahk - Yes Nie – neh – No Proszę – prosheh - Please Dziękuję – dzhehnkooyeh Jak się masz? - yahk syeh mash – How are you?
Miło mi - meewo mee - Nice to meet you.
W porządku – fpozhontku - That’s all right.
Rozumiem – rozoomyehm - I understand.
Polish Home Baking only on polish products wedding cakes birthday cakes
www.plackipeterborough.pl
MIEJSCE NA TWOJĄ
REKLAMĘ
Attach more customers to your business – target Polish clients
Advertise in Polish edition of P Magazyn advert@pmagazyn.pl
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