Hello, Obligatory shilling. What a busy month! (Well, five weeks.) I wrote for my paying Substack subscribers about Ukraine and truth, fertility rates, the War on Terror, Polish food, pseudo-trends, transgression and heterodoxy, gentrification, the worst film ever made
When I moved to Britain in 2004, it was definitely materially richer AND culturally richer. While it has succeeded in catching up economically (it had been projected it would be as rich as Britain by 2030, but recent events will probably slow that progress). But wrt to culture: IMHO Poland is rich, but not rich-er. Here, there’s is a book club in every village (plus many other societies) and most women I know are members of one or two of such societies/clubs, and some are also volunteers. In Poland only one is s member of a book club and they are mostly limited to large cities. I’ve never heard of events such as open heritage days/open gardens/open artists studios happening in small towns or even cities, and they are common here. Volunteering in Britain is massive, fetes, cake sales, charity events etc have a long and rich history, while in Poland, it’s a fledgling sector and the scale and frequency of charity events is far smaller. Britain still publishes a higher no of titles per year and has many more literary festivals (I think when I left there was one - there are more now, but still fewer). In hindsight, I think the most shameful aspect of the behaviour of people in charge of culture was the destruction and neglect of the remnants of the Prussian and Jewish culture, and I’m talking about the first democratic decade, not communists - I remember the sadness of Jewish friends visiting in the late 1990s and seeing the total neglect of Jewish cemeteries - I’m glad it’s changing. My friend works in a museum in one of the largest cities - they have no outreach programme, no evening/fundraising events, no volunteers - all of which applies to my local museum. Poland has no equivalent of the many heritage trusts so all historic properties, museums, gardens etc have to be financed from ticket sales and from the central budget, so some historic properties have gone to seed and can be purchased for a song. The horticultural and gastronomic culture had both been destroyed in the war and then under communism. Even the tiny Denmark has 28 Michelin-starred restaurants, while there was only one in Warsaw and I’ve heard it’s closed (I’m setting aside the question how valid this guide still is). Yes, it does feel like Britain doesn’t work, certainly the police, education and the NHS need massive reforms and everything is skewed to benefit the old in the way it isn’t in Poland. My brother has an ordinary job yet was able to buy a big house - land and property prices are, in my view, Poland’s biggest advantage over Britain. I couldn’t be happier the Polish food and dining scene are flourishing and I sing their praises whenever I can, but it is in Britain that I discovered high-quality food scholarship, writing and criticism. I feel like I’m rambling, sorry, it’s a huge subject that far outstrips the comment section which is why I’m writing a book that does take on the pros and cons of both countries🙂
When I moved to Britain in 2004, it was definitely materially richer AND culturally richer. While it has succeeded in catching up economically (it had been projected it would be as rich as Britain by 2030, but recent events will probably slow that progress). But wrt to culture: IMHO Poland is rich, but not rich-er. Here, there’s is a book club in every village (plus many other societies) and most women I know are members of one or two of such societies/clubs, and some are also volunteers. In Poland only one is s member of a book club and they are mostly limited to large cities. I’ve never heard of events such as open heritage days/open gardens/open artists studios happening in small towns or even cities, and they are common here. Volunteering in Britain is massive, fetes, cake sales, charity events etc have a long and rich history, while in Poland, it’s a fledgling sector and the scale and frequency of charity events is far smaller. Britain still publishes a higher no of titles per year and has many more literary festivals (I think when I left there was one - there are more now, but still fewer). In hindsight, I think the most shameful aspect of the behaviour of people in charge of culture was the destruction and neglect of the remnants of the Prussian and Jewish culture, and I’m talking about the first democratic decade, not communists - I remember the sadness of Jewish friends visiting in the late 1990s and seeing the total neglect of Jewish cemeteries - I’m glad it’s changing. My friend works in a museum in one of the largest cities - they have no outreach programme, no evening/fundraising events, no volunteers - all of which applies to my local museum. Poland has no equivalent of the many heritage trusts so all historic properties, museums, gardens etc have to be financed from ticket sales and from the central budget, so some historic properties have gone to seed and can be purchased for a song. The horticultural and gastronomic culture had both been destroyed in the war and then under communism. Even the tiny Denmark has 28 Michelin-starred restaurants, while there was only one in Warsaw and I’ve heard it’s closed (I’m setting aside the question how valid this guide still is). Yes, it does feel like Britain doesn’t work, certainly the police, education and the NHS need massive reforms and everything is skewed to benefit the old in the way it isn’t in Poland. My brother has an ordinary job yet was able to buy a big house - land and property prices are, in my view, Poland’s biggest advantage over Britain. I couldn’t be happier the Polish food and dining scene are flourishing and I sing their praises whenever I can, but it is in Britain that I discovered high-quality food scholarship, writing and criticism. I feel like I’m rambling, sorry, it’s a huge subject that far outstrips the comment section which is why I’m writing a book that does take on the pros and cons of both countries🙂