Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.
Well I won't say it was a spur of the moment thing, the thought actually occurring to me on Sunday but today I had the day off and needed to go to Bridgend Town to pay a bill at the bank. But after having done that a few doors along the same street there is a Polish delicatessen, (one of the two in the town) and for the first time ever I went inside.
There was a demonstration in support of the EU in Cardiff this evening which I couldn't attend. So decided that today I was going to make a smaller gesture. I was going to shop Polish.
I've said before that gestures are emotional. Buying a few goods from the local deli is not marching with other right minded people about the darkness that has begun to descend on the United Kingdom.As a tweet I saw quite rightly said. The vast majority of people who voted for Brexit are not racists. But they have unwittingly begun to unleash upon the nation people who use it as an excuse to commit racist acts.
So as well in my faltering way learning Polish I wanted to shop in a Polish delicatessen. As if to say, I have no problems with people emigrating to Britain. I will in my very little way support a business in a town which has declined and many shops have closed I would argue from the neglect of the Labour council and Welsh assembly (that is the Labour party that is disintegrating as we speak before our very eyes). I will not ignore.
And so I went in.
It was a small shop, but at first glance well stocked with various food and drink. The first question was of course what to get? Instantly I knew that certain things should automatically be crossed off even if they were in Polish as they were just versions of groceries you can get in Britain. So bottles of Pepsi and Lays crisps (ie Walkers in the UK) wouldn't be bought. And besides Pizza crisps? Oh no.
It had also an impressive fresh meat and a cheese selection. If this was the weekend I'd have been tempted to have given them a go. But it was a grey (soon to be very wet) Tuesday and I knew that if I'd had bought them today they wouldn't have been eaten until Saturday. So they were given a miss.
Eventually bought four items:
Taking each item from top left Deserowe seems to be a sort of biscuit sprinkled with sugar. Hopefully it's the sort you can dip into a hot drink.
There was a demonstration in support of the EU in Cardiff this evening which I couldn't attend. So decided that today I was going to make a smaller gesture. I was going to shop Polish.
I've said before that gestures are emotional. Buying a few goods from the local deli is not marching with other right minded people about the darkness that has begun to descend on the United Kingdom.As a tweet I saw quite rightly said. The vast majority of people who voted for Brexit are not racists. But they have unwittingly begun to unleash upon the nation people who use it as an excuse to commit racist acts.
So as well in my faltering way learning Polish I wanted to shop in a Polish delicatessen. As if to say, I have no problems with people emigrating to Britain. I will in my very little way support a business in a town which has declined and many shops have closed I would argue from the neglect of the Labour council and Welsh assembly (that is the Labour party that is disintegrating as we speak before our very eyes). I will not ignore.
And so I went in.
It was a small shop, but at first glance well stocked with various food and drink. The first question was of course what to get? Instantly I knew that certain things should automatically be crossed off even if they were in Polish as they were just versions of groceries you can get in Britain. So bottles of Pepsi and Lays crisps (ie Walkers in the UK) wouldn't be bought. And besides Pizza crisps? Oh no.
It had also an impressive fresh meat and a cheese selection. If this was the weekend I'd have been tempted to have given them a go. But it was a grey (soon to be very wet) Tuesday and I knew that if I'd had bought them today they wouldn't have been eaten until Saturday. So they were given a miss.
Eventually bought four items:
 |
| The Polish Shop |
Taking each item from top left Deserowe seems to be a sort of biscuit sprinkled with sugar. Hopefully it's the sort you can dip into a hot drink.
The magazine is one for toddlers. I'd thought that learning the language as I am it seemed like a good idea at the time to buy a magazine like this. However at £6.35 (!) I feel now that I might have made a mistake buying it in my enthusiasm. We shall see.
Goralaki (by the way I don't know how to do the Polish accents on the computer yet) on the right is a chocolate wafer bar. The chocolate is one I've never tasted before but not only did I like it but so did my wife. Definitely buying this again.
Jezyki are milk coated chocolate biscuits with caramel, hazelnuts,raisins and rice crisps. I know this because I've googled it. I bought it because it said "classic" on the packaging in my hope that it's a classic Polish biscuit. Haven't tried it yet.
Leaving aside the magazine it cost me roughly two pound sixty six which was not unreasonable given that it had been sent from Poland.
Next time I'm in Bridgend Town will go into the other Polish deli. And from now on when I'm in the town will buy something from one of the two.
A gesture. I know it is.But I'll not walk away from the racism that this vote has brought.
I will not ignore.
Until the next time.
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