POSK, the Polish Social and Cultural Association at 238 King Street in Hammersmith
Next time you bump into the Polish neighbours down the street, greet them with a hearty Dzień dobry!
Your thoughtful Good morning! will probably earn a response of Piękny cię zobaczyć (Lovely to see you).
In an initiative aimed at encouraging neighbourliness, Hammersmith & Fulham Council is funding an event called Meet Your Polish Neighbours, to build bridges in the community.
Run by London Spark – a group which promotes Polish culture – the initiative has its own Facebook page.
The first workshop has already been staged at POSK, the Polish Social and Cultural Association at 238 King Street, Hammersmith.
Led by Joseph Conrad, Paweł Pawlikowski and Zygmunt Bauman, it focused on the history of Polish immigration into the UK, and its contribution to British culture.
Meet Your Polish Neighbours organiser Anna Magryta-Urban explaned that the next event will concentrate on Polish customs and traditions.
“This time we will recreate some picturesque folk traditions,” she said. “We will be making Marzanna (a straw doll representing evil winter), palma (Eastern decorations some 40 metres high) and kraszanki (painted eggs).
“The workshop will also track the traces of national patterns in the cosmopolitan art; from the hut in Lipniki to the halls of the most luxury palaces. And of course there will be delicious food prepared by our hosts and occasions to sing in Polish together.”
The workshops are free of charge, and are open to anyone – especially families with children and students – who are interested in sharing the best of British and Polish cultures.
The workshop takes place on Wednesday 29 March at 6pm at the centre in King Street.
