SM42

Easter breakfast especially. Kociolek, as it is known in Poznan is a delight of pure protein. Fried bacon, ham sausage some shredded horseradish ( i think) with hard boiled eggs and bread if you want. This is preceeded by zurek ( sour soup and a shock to the empty stomach) with white sausage and hard boiled eggs This takes you through to lunchtime when the cakes come out. I still have a few things to pack in the car but all I really want to do is sprawl in front of the telly. The Expendables 3 is on now Andy

Which one? We have the Half Blood Prince here. It has occurred to me that Hogwart's has a terrible attitude to safeguarding and would not do well in an Ofsted assessment. Andy

There's only about half left and then everyone else has to have some too. 😁 Emigrate is a better option. More cake opportunities Andy

Here we go again Andy

We are in that hiatus between late Sunday lunch and cake. Breakfast finished with cakes at around 1 o'clock. Total protein shock followed by a sugar rush. A brief break ( 4 hours) before we sat down for lunch and now family members are lounging around the flat before more cake and vodka are served. Meanwhile, on TV, Harry Potter has developed a very deep voice and a Polish accent. I don't think I'll need to eat for a week. But then again I didn't get this fine figure by depriving myself Andy

Well you know what they say in those washing tablets ads and on every plastic bag. " always keep away from children" Andy

Cakes and booze tomorrow. Easter day is when you let it all go. Easter breakfast at the SiL's tomorrow will probably be about a kilo of pork products and eggs each. Dinner at ours later rounded off with cake and vodka It is also an early celebration of Mrs SM42's birthday next week However as we have to return to Blighty on Monday ( work Tuesday ☹️) I won't be drinking much at all. Andy

We have just returned from the Easter basket blessing at church. I was a little bit early, so sat by the car park entrance to await the arrival of Mrs SM42 from her parents where she had been helping prepare the baskets. Chaos does not begin to describe the traffic. Cars parked down each side of the street. Cars stopping in the middle of the road so two healthy adults could get out and then parking 20 ft further along the road. Angry nuns in a Fiat Panda blowing the horn as the gap twice the width of their car was too narrow for them. They were then blocking the traffic blocking the car they were blowing their horn at. Hilarious stuff and great entertainment. It's probably been like that since 9 this morning with blessings every 15 minutes or so. Its probably still going on now Meanwhile, numerous places in the carpark went unfilled as it was just to far too cross the road. This is one reason why I didn't drive past the church this morning en route to the cake shop, but went the long way round Andy

We all do stupid. We do it quite often and get away with it most of the time. It's part of the human condition. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. There is a very good line in the Hidden report on Clapham, that I keep for just such an occasion, the exact wording I forget, but goes something like: There is no action or inaction that cant be made to look incorrect after the event. I always wonder why there is so much emphasis put on human failings and the need to do something about the individual by the people who weren't there and have had several weeks to get all the information from witnesses that were not available or not known at the time. I have no problem with these issues being investigated. How else would we learn? What I do have issue with is trying to apportion blame to people acting in good faith with a fraction of the information and time any investigation had. Media reporting doesn't help, nor does the ambulance chasing legal culture that have developed. It gets to the point where people are afraid to make decisions but are loathe not to and always have one eye on the inquiry rather than what needs doing now. Any investigation should be what happened, why did it happen how can we do better to avoid a recurrence or react better next time. Andy

I was going to let this go but it's been bugging me as some things are not quite correct in my opinion 1. Poland doesn't use the Euro. After 2006 when I first visited, the exchange rate fell from 7- 8 PLN to the pound to between 5 and 6 and apart from a blip in 2008 where it was down towards 4, it has by and large remained in the 5.2 - 5.7 range. It's currently around 5.25 The exchange rates available in the UK are worse, but if you wanted to send money out here ( if you have any left) there are banks that let you do so in Sterling and you'll get a better rate when exchanging through them later. 2. Children of Polish parents can obtain Polish nationality. A friend's son has got his Polish passport through his grandfather being Polish. There are also very well organised educational facilities for Polish parents to keep their UK born kids up on the language and culture, although these have been hit hard by the pandemic and rising costs. Our Polish Saturday school was forced to close last year due to it being no longer financially viable. Many parents just took their kids to the next nearest 3. Displace is a very devisive choice of word. It seems odd that farmers can't get UK workers to get up at 5am and do a full day's hard graft for above minimum wage that other nationalities seem quite happy to do. Sorry to say it, but us Brits are getting lazier and it's starting to rub off on some non British workers too. A Polish friend gave up a well paid shift managers job as the mainly UK workforce wouldn't do any productive work in the first hour ( In fact on an 8 hour day she reckoned on about 4.5 hours work would be done with the rest spent drinking tea and chatting) and around 25% of what was produced was not up to spec. She could see the company was losing money through poor quality output that was rejected by the customer, the work force didn't care and couldn't be made to care so she got out before it drove her mad It is true they face the same financial pressure as everyone else, but the reasons I've heard from Polish acquaintances who have gone back to the motherland is that they have had a better offer, with the bonus they will be closer to family ( ageing parents mainly) and Brexit and its negative connotations for the perception of being welcome. Most I know have got past the initial shock and the barbed comments have abated but still feel the atmosphere has changed permanently Others have gone elsewhere in Europe for better paid work. Some friends are moving to Germany this summer for that very reason and of course they can without a lot of paperwork. Many have also remained in the UK as they have built a life here, have mortgages, kids in schools, friends and whilst one day dream of returning have no intention to do so soon. 4. Can't comment on this. I have no information to compare 5. I have no evidence on this either, but nepotism certainly happens everywhere. Corruption, who knows? Andy

You might find that the transfer won't sit flat on the model either. Moistening the carrier slightly while holding in place with a cocktail stock or similar will flatten it. It takes a bit of getting used to and a bit more patience is needed but once you've done one, it gets easier Andy

The luck is when the plan isn't the first casualty of kitchen combat and DH isn't either Andy

For pressfix that have lost their tack. Brush it onto the transfer sheet on the side that sits on the model. I.e the reverse. Let it dry, be careful of dust getting onto it and then just cut out the transfer. Lay it on the model and soak the carrier off. It could well move when the carrier is removed but can be coaxed back in to place before a final press down Also be aware that the transfer sheet will probably curl up as it dries so best not do the whole sheet in one unless it is still on the card backing and you can secure it flat Andy

Good luck DH. Andy

Microscale do a product called Liquid Decal Film that you can brush onto the transfer that is effectively a new layer of glue. They won't stick like the original press fix but become more of a waterslide transfer They can /will move about when you soak the carrier paper off, so a little care is needed but once pressed in place like a waterslide they stay there. Use of Microscale's other transfer setting products helps. Andy

I have spent the day travelling the highways of Poland recording various bits of railway nfrastructure for posterity and trains when they appeared. The motorway discipline in quite good here and unless they are doing 140 - 160kph they move back to the right. Too many trucks about if you are making good progress to keep moving past the middle lane. On the lesser roads the frequent speed limit changes for the slightest hazard generally get ignored. 90 down to 50 due to a slight bend for instance Limits in towns are pretty well observed. I have been down some roads today that had warnings about the surface condition and they were right. The wheels met the suspension coming the other way and it's not often you can get sea sick in a car. I was in one town following the sat nav and it suggested an unpaved road. OK fair enough, it was a well maintained gravel that gave way to some tarmac, that gave way to more gravel Nothing unusual out here When the gravel got sandier with added pine comes and twigs with long grass in the centre line and still 3 miles to the main road I decided discretion was required and did a quick turn round to find another way. It is definitely a country where you need your wits about you on the roads. The Poles don't hang around. Some are positively suicidal and sometimes it is hard to tell if those headlights coming towards you are on your side or not. But in general if you drive your own drive and let the others do their thing, make allowances and room for them, you'll be fine. Finally, pedestrian crossings are also observed in general. Those stripes on the road are where it is recommended to cross. You have to wait for the traffic to stop for you, ( which it does usually) not expect it to stop just cos you are there. Andy

It's Good Friday. ( a cold and wet one here) Across the land preparations for Easter are in full swing and eggs will be boiled ready for food basket blessing tomorrow and breakfast on Sunday. Eggs are coloured by boiling them with onion skins, amongst other things. The loose onions in the supermarket yesterday were looking very green, having been stripped of their brown exteriors by many a shopper, ( Mrs SM42 included) Why buy onions for the skins, when you can get it for free? And they say the British are tight. Andy

It seems to me that the French public know something needs to be done about the increasingly unaffordable state pension provision, ( the options as I see it are get it later, get less or pay more tax) but don't want anything done that will affect them personally. Getting it later seems to be the more platable option of the three. But As I don't live in France and have no idea how the pension system works, I could be wrong. Andy

Whilst out on my travels yesterday, as I whizzed along the motorway south of Poznan, it came to my attention that the overhead signs were flashing up the warning : "Pamiemtaj, jedz na prawa strona" Remember drive on the right. now we are something like 930 miles from Calais so this is a little bit late if you've got this far driving on the left and it's in Polish, which may not be the best language to communicate with normally left side drivers. I'm not sure how you correct such a mistake on a motorway neither Andy Perhaps they knew I was coming

The promotion of incompetence is a recognised ( if in a humorous way) business practice. It is known as the Dilbert Principle. And is described thus: "The least effective workers are systematically moved to where they can do least damage; management" It is very effective and seen all over the business world. Incompetence at the coal face is expensive. Incompetence further up has the check that those who know a thing or two are at the coal face and adjust orders from above to make it work and thus we all bumble along moaning about each other but ultimately getting stuff done. Having said that, we do seem to be getting top heavy in many walks of business and public service industries. Andy

Going back to this for a moment, I passed through this area yesterday, turning right at the junction behind the tram by the Bosch sign. ( to the left as we look at it) Where the tram is currently a building site. The tram tracks are in the process of being renewed from here through to Plac Wolnosci. Andy

There is talk of snow here, but most on line forecasts show rain. One says rain, but radar forecast shows none, so who knows what will happen. I suspect it will be wet. Tonight is last chance for a beer till Sunday, as we go meat and alcohol free till Easter day. I'm off to the fridge now. Andy

I've just checked and June is the predicted date for the return of regular steam services. Just for a change this year's steam parade is in August (19 -20th I think, just after my summer holiday finishes, typically) not the usual long May holiday weekend. They might even get Stary Rynek, Poznan rebuilt by the end of the year too, so the tourists will have to brave the building site for another summer season. Andy

Yes and no. The Wolsztyn - Poznan service ran on Saturdays. In the week it ran to Leszno. AIUI, the only serviceable loco failed early November and is not expected back in traffic till June. Here it is running round at Leszno in October last year The situation may have changed of course. I haven't checked of late Andy

It's was a gloriously sunny, if a bit chilly, day in Poznan today. After shopping this morning, I was given the afternoon off, so headed off to Gadki again. 17 trains in just over 2 hours was not at all bad I thought It's surprising what you find dumped at the side of the road. (I was stood on the public highway when I took this) ET22 1178 pulls into the loop with a mostly tank train (12 tanks and 5 bogie stake opens) EU07 128 in a heritage livery pulls in ( just as I was about to call it a day) with what was a very mixed train; Gas tank, covered steel wagon, NACCO 4 wheel hopper, covered steel wagon, ex works eaos gondolas, one ex works PKP fals coal hopper, a side dump wagon, bogie stake open, a Slovakian hopper wagon, bogie stake open, more gas tanks, another side dump wagon, two container flats, another side dump wagon, a roll top gondola and a bogie covered hopper to finish then there was the Polish air force from the nearby airfield keeping us entertained, doing what air forces do ( not the waiting around bit) Trains and F16s. What's not to like? Andy