Pracujące Poniedziałki: A Northern Irish Evening At Klub Dialogu, Warszawa

“Nigdy nie widziałem Warszawy tak pięknej, jak dzisiejszego wieczoru” – King Zygmunt.
(“I never saw Warszawa as beautiful as I saw her tonight”)

When I was asked by my Polish language school (the excellent Klub Dialogu) to do a presentation about Northern Irish culture, I was delighted and honoured to be given such an opportunity. I had attended a few events with the school in the last few months, including the Shakespeare Spectakl , the superb Maria Słodowska film night, the party by the Wisła , Anniversary Party and an exciting Ukranian evening.

This night, no nerves, no lack of confidence either, as simply I buzz off this type of opportunity, especially in my struggles against depression. Sometimes, God shines on us and I have had so many positive moments in my life in Poland, to outweigh those negative, that I need to appreciate them more. This evening, was one such moment. So the date was set, it was to be Friday September 1st 2017 at 18.00 (6pm) at Klub Dialogu on Ordynacka Street in Warszawa (near the swanky Nowy Swiat – New World).

“Don’t be a stranger” – Dina Carroll.

The timing was perfect as that evening, there were two football matches. Both Poland and Northern Ireland were playing away, so we arranged a huge table for my friends and school colleagues to later watch BOTH football matches simultaneously. The evening would take the schedule as thus:

18.00 – Presentation about Northern Irish culture by Jonny Blair at Klub Dialogu.
19.00 – Quiz on Northern Irish culture at Klub Dialogu.
19.15 – Beer sampling of Irish and Polish beer at Klub Dialogu.
20.00 – Arrival at Molly Malone’s Irish Pub on Ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście 41 (Old Town Warszawa).
20.45 – Screening of Denmark v. Poland on big screen.
20.45 – Screening of San Marino v. Northern Ireland on Jonny’s laptop.

And so I invited some friends, got the presentation ready and arrived at Klub Dialogu. Once everybody was in the main room and seated, the presentation began in earnest at 18.15.

I was so grateful for my friend Lauren from England (and a superb Polish speaker), who helped with my presentation at short notice. And especially to Dorota, Jacek, Piotr, Wioleta and Oksana at Klub Dialogu for helping to organise and being there on this special night. Here are some photos from the presentation and beer sampling at Klub Dialogu. I think everybody enjoyed my presentation.

After the presentation came the quiz, with the winner, Julia receiving a bottle of green Irish style beer and the runner up Greta receiving a bottle of Belfast Ale (made in Poland!).

After the fast beer sampling, we headed to Molly Malone’s Irish pub (it is a 10 minute walk from the school) where a lot of my Polish friends were already sat down, to hold the table as it was now almost kick off. We got the beers ordered and the matches began, one on the big screen (Denmark v. Poland) and one on my laptop (San Marino v. Northern Ireland). On the night, my Polish friends (and all of us) were sad about the Denmark v. Poland result (4-0). However where I sat I was overjoyed and often cheering, as Northern Ireland took their time, but finally with 3 goals in 8 minutes to labour our way to a 3-0 away victory. With Czechia losing to Germany at the same time, it meant my team only need a point to be assured of second place in our group. Here are some photos from the bar.

I am not aware of any videos of the event, but if there are please feel free to share them. Thanks to everyone for such an enjoyable evening!

If you are new to Poland and live in Warszawa, I highly recommend coming to Klub Dialogu for lessons, here are their details:

And similarly if you are in Gdańsk, please visit my friend Pani Alina and learn Polish at her school:

• ul. Za Murami 2, p. 121
  80-823 Gdańsk, POLAND
  Email: [email protected]
  Telephone: +48 534 996 030
  Skype: Polish in Gdansk