The aim of the Scottish Polish Cultural Association is to introduce Poland and Polish culture to Scottish people and to make Scotland more accessible for Polish visitors and emigrants.
We organise exhibitions, performances, excursions and events such as lectures, meetings, national celebrations etc.
We use English as the main language for all events in order to make it easier for our friends who represent many different nationalities.
Activities 2010/2011
Annual Trip - Floors Castle
Our annual trip in June was so successful that the Scottish-Polish Cultural Association decided to organize another one in September.
Yet again they chose the Borders, which is one of the most picturesque regions of Scotland. And so on 11th of September we went to Kelso. First we stopped in beautiful and very attractive Melrose.
Afterwards we headed for The George and Abbotsford Hotel, where with a nice cup of coffee we could have a chat and make friends. Then some of us went to see the magnificent ruins of Melrose Abbey while others stayed near a little market square to admire a performance by some folk dancers. They were wearing very original hats made of flowers, leaves and little twigs.
Photo: Zdzislaw Browarczyk
The main aim of our trip, Floors Castle, belonging to the Roxburghe family, looks like a romantic fairy-tale place. There is so much to admire here, beautiful state rooms with outstanding collections of paintings, tapestries and furniture which encourage you to spend hours inside. When we decided to go out to the gardens we were very surprised to see the folk dancers again. It seemed as if they were following us.
It was a really great day out and we enjoyed relaxing in the grounds and gardens. The weather was also lovely and the youngest participants had a great time playing with a kite.
Wioleta Browarczyk
Mikołajki – Christmas Party
On 12th December 2010 in Polish Ex-Serviceman Club, we celebrated Mikołajki. Despite the fact that the event was postponed due to severe weather conditions at the beginning of December, many of our members and friends joined us to celebrate the advent of Christmas. The event was prepared by the Committee Members of the SPCA. Honorary Vice-President of the SPCA, Michael Borland, prepared a fantastic buffet, Elizabeth Rychlik-Sharp shared her secret of how to prepare delicious mulled wine, Wioleta Browarczyk and Izabella Brodzinska baked traditional Polish cakes.
Mrs Izabella Brodzinska, her husband Witold and Mr Jan Jasinski beautifully decorated the venue. Mrs Megan Readman organised fun and entertainment for the youngest ones. Gathered around a real Christmas tree we sang carols to the piano accompaniment of Dr Colin Kingsley.
The Christmas celebrations were followed by a heart warming performance given by tenor Andy Fraser from Scottish Opera. Thanks to all involved in making this event such a great success, Christmas came earlier last year.
Joanna Zawadzka
Chopin Year - Charity Concert
The Charity Concert took place at St Mary's Cathedral on the 30th October 2010. The event featured great musicians including composer, author and pianist Iwo Załuski, Simon Nieminski the cathedral's resident organist, and noted tenor Bartek Matuszak.
Photo: Piotr Kobylecki
The concert was free, as was an accompanying art project by Hanna Zbroniec. The concert was organised as a part of wider celebrations of Chopin Year in Scotland. Extreme weather in the summer of 2010 caused extensive flooding across much of Poland, which killed some people and displaced others. A retiring collection was donated to a Polish charity to help deal with the damage caused by widespread flooding. The concert was organised in cooperation with the Scottish Polish Cultural Association.
Joanna Zawadzka
Photo Competition
Polish community website Edinburgh.com.pl is running a competition to search out Polish memorabilia in Scotland. The history of travel between our two great nations stretches back for more than 500 years.
By this competition we want the photographers across the country to find places of Polish influence in Scotland.
These traces of Polish history – monuments, memorials, buildings, documents, cemeteries, stories and people who still remember the old days – are called polonica. Some of them like Chopin's tour in Scotland, soldier bear Wojtek and the arrival of Polish Soldiers during the war are well known.
Your job is to find them, take a picture and describe the item and win great prizes!!!
The competition is supported by Polish Consulate General in Edinburgh and the fotopolis.pl
Jaromir Gąsiorek
The Solidarity Stories at Pani Solinska
Back in November 2010 I was asked to do a talk on the Solidarity movement in Poland. This coincided with the 30th Anniversary of the legendary Union Solidarity in 1980.
I was asked to write an article on my own talk on Solidarity. The event's idea came from Dorothy Nowak Solinska the owner of the Pani Solinska Restaurant in Broughton Street. She tirelessly advocates for publicity of the Polish history in Scotland. She invited Bogna Smerecka and myself to give a two part talk on the Solidarity Stories. Without hesitation I took on the challenging subject of how to make a talk on the Union which is the symbol of democracy far beyond Poland. After a pleasant meal everyone was ready for the talk.
Bogna took the first half an hour and gave an interesting account of her personal experience of living through the era of Solidarity in the 1980s. Her talk was enhanced by singing a popular song by Krystyna Pronko. Bogna reminded us about the times in 1980s particularly during Martial Law when people were queuing for everything as the supplies were short. Food, coal, fuel were heavily rationed and bartering of items was common. It's fascinating how quickly human beings forget the bad times.
The talk took place on Tuesday 16th November and it was open to the public. The audience was small but very keen to find out more about the legendary movement whose leader Lech Walesa became one of the contemporary famous faces of Poland. As the subject was and still remains a fascination to me I have made some research on Solidarity in Poland since its birth in 1980 as well as on earlier revolts in Poznan in 1956, March 1968 and in Gdansk 1970. My aim was to present a logical order of events which culminated in the spectacular victory of the workers' Union. Without Solidarity there would not have been the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Velvet Revolution and the wide spread democratic changes across Eastern/Middle Europe. As I'm not a historian I aimed to present the subject in an approachable manner, particularly concentrating on those people in Solidarity who remain nameless as they didn't seek fame or the spotlight. However, without them Solidarity would not have succeeded. One of them was Anna Walentynowicz whose loss of job prompted her fellow workers to start the famous protest in the Gdansk shipyard.
Preparing for the talk I have discovered that the Solidarity movement went through a few developmental stages: from an informal movement, into a Union, then into a party and finally went back to the origins and remains as one of the largest workers' unions in Poland. Ironically even in Poland people have forgotten how much we owe to Solidarity. The Polish democracy which was born through peoples' perseverance and desire for civil liberties despite the odds. Sadly many people were persecuted, many people lost lives and many people had to emigrate to start new lives abroad as they were not wanted in their own country.
The audience at Pani Solinska asked pertinent and interesting questions. Dorothy Solinska also added her own account of these times which was fascinating. Many thanks to those who came. Especially I would like to thank Dorothy Solinska for her encouragement and support. Without her this talk would not have happened.
Jola Debicka-MacLennan