“On a GOLDEN Autumn day” – Van Morrison. “GOLDfinger” – Ash. When the 2024 Olympics in Paris started, I pondered on the previous three Northern Ireland Olympic gold medal winners. I wondered if we could add to that total. It had been 36 years since Seoul in 1988 and suddenly over a magical 16 hour Read more about Who Are Northern Ireland’s Olympic Gold Medal Winners? ☘️🔴✋🥇[…]
“Heaven kicked you out. You wouldn’t wear a tie” – Andy Cairns. Therapy? then. Therapy? live in Warszawa. Therapy? This was to be the wow. Therapy? It was my second time since emigrating to Poland 🇵🇱 that I had the pleasure of watching a Northern Irish rock band live! The first one was Ash, when Read more about Dziwaczne Odkrycia: Northern Irish Band Therapy? Absolutely Rock Warszawa[…]
“Something changed” – Pulp. This post rings some bells, doesn’t it? Well a few years ago, I backpacked all the way to Krakow, then Tarnow, then Zabno, then Zalipie then the tiny village of Nieciecza in Poland! Nieciecza was once the village that has hosted Europe’s smallest ever top flight football club. That post was Read more about Śmieszne Historie o Piłce Nożnej w Polsce: Introducing Loughgall FC, Europe’s Smallest Ever Top Flight Football Club[…]
“Holding back the years” – Simply Red. I rolled the back the years recently in the wake of deep depression. Down in the doldrums, going nowhere in Warszawa, I took a 4 hour train to Swarzędz, about 30 minutes by train from Poland’s perky Pozzie, Poznań. Northern Ireland women’s football team would be playing three Read more about Śmieszne Historie o Piłce Nożnej w Polsce: Republic of Ireland 1-0 Northern Ireland in Swarzędz! Women’s Under 19 Match![…]
“Is this the way to Legia Warsaw? Every night I’ve been eating my coleslaw” – Northern Ireland fans (2005). First of all today is my birthday! Sto lat, happy birthday to me! Ask me fifteen years ago today as my train rolled into the Polish capital city of Warszawa if I expected to live here Read more about Reminiscing My Birthday: My First Ever Visit to Poland, 15 Years Ago Today[…]
“Burn the bridges as you’ve gone, I’m too weak to fight ye. I got my personal hell to deal with” – Peter Cunnah. Northern Ireland still remains unknown to many people around the world and it constantly shocks me why more people didn’t read Atlases, study world history or look at a map when they Read more about 10 Iconic Northern Irish Pop (ular) Songs You Need To Listen To[…]
“Kocham cię jak Irlandię” – Kobranocka. (“I love you like Ireland”) In my series Mieszkam w Polsce, I try to write about situations that arise in my normal life as an immigrant living in Poland. I have a plethora of posts still unwritten in this series, as I will simply never get the time to Read more about Mieszka w Polsce: Most Amusing Differences Between Polish and Northern Irish Culture[…]
“In Dublin’s fair city where the girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on Sweet Molly Malone” – Irish Folk Song. The British, Portuguese, French and Dutch all travelled the world invading other countries and cultures and trying to tell them how to run them, at times killing and enslaving locals. Truth hurts Read more about Piątkowe Picie: Top 5 Irish Pubs in Warsaw (Warszawa)[…]
“All these places feel like home” – Snow Patrol (Northern Irish rock band). I recently wrote about things in Northern Ireland which are actually Polish, differences between Northern Ireland and Poland, and translating Northern Irish slang into Polish. But does it work the opposite? What is there here in Poland that is exclusively Northern Irish? Read more about 10 Things in Poland That Are Actually Northern Irish[…]
As a child growing up in Northern Ireland in the 1980s, my exposure to the big world came via my 1986 Panini World Cup Sticker book. It was the first time I had heard of Poland, or Algeria, or Soviet Union, or Iraq. That book along with 2 Christmas presents from my parents inspired a Read more about 17 Things in Northern Ireland Which Are Actually Polish[…]