Yet another housing boom
Observations on Poland If you visit the Polish city of Gdansk, there is nothing much to see after you've been to the shipyard wall - at least according to Michael O'Leary, the chief executive of...
View ArticleA funny kind of free market
Observations on the new EU It's midday on a Thursday. More than a week has gone by since Poland joined the European Union. Lorries are queuing for 22 hours to cross the border with Germany at Pomellen....
View ArticleCan taste survive a takeover?
Observations on Polish chocolate In Poland, political systems have come and gone, foreign powers invaded and retreated, wars been won and lost. But one thing has survived for 150 years: E Wedel, the...
View ArticlePoland looks prepared to hang on
Observations on troops in IraqWill Poland follow Spain and withdraw its troops from Iraq? Everyone seems to think it soon will, and the death on 7 May of an award-winning Polish TV reporter, shot in a...
View ArticleDo politicians know the facts?
Observations on abortionAbortion and general elections tend not to mix in the UK. Before each election, politicians discuss whether abortion should be an issue and then decide against it. It is a...
View ArticleGo on, tell us a joke
Tessa Mayes asks: what's your favourite joke?Bernard Manning, comedianI've got a few favourite jokes I tell my mates. Here's one:I went to see Pavarotti sing last week. Terrible, miserable man. He...
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