In film, when two strangers meet, they often introduce themselves formally.
In reality, this almost never happens.
For the conservation often just gets going in a rate and a pace all of its own that names are sometimes left behind.
I went to an informal concert in the Kitchen of The Storyhouse in Chester the other night and fell into conversation with a guy one seat away.
He was Polish and worked for an Engineering company and had lived here just eight weeks.
He had rosacea on his cheeks which he felt embarrassed by and said
he felt that many people didn't take to Polish people in the UK.
I found all this about him within the first couple of minutes of conversation.
He liked history and had travelled and worked in New Zealand and Australia before coming to the UK.
He wasn't homesick but he was lonely and we chatted over coffee cups in the interval
He looked sad and we shook hands when it was time to go
He introduced himself as "Łukasz"
And I when I got into the car I regretted not suggesting that we had coffee again
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It's always lovely to make a connection. A shame that you didn't suggest meeting again ... but perhaps you could trace him via Facebook!
ReplyDeletei've had this same thing happen a lot of times. i started carrying cards with my contact info on them. people can just throw them out but they have it if they want it.
ReplyDeleteWhat will I have written on my cards?
DeleteYour name and phone number and an invite for coffee or a drink! 😊
DeleteI have only ever met kind hard working polish people in my lifetime. Mostly they made a good lasting impression on me . From school days onwards XX
ReplyDeleteMy maternal grandfather was born (Jewish) in the Polish/German border region (pre WW2) and was rounded up by the Nazis on commencement of the annexing of Poland. It's a long story, but he ended up in the UK and married my Yorkshire grandmother. He suffered some prejudice in this country despite changing his name, learning impeccable English and opting to leave his religion behind. He just couldn't shake his accent and retained a twang until his death. I like to think that the world has moved on a lot, but the legitimising of xenophobia in recent political times has seen a huge rise in prejudicial behaviour. I wouldn't want to be a migrant.
ReplyDeleteYou will see Lukasz again at the storyhouse if you are meant to become friends. Trust in your fate and all that karma shit. Blah blah blah...
Sending love to you.
Fucking hell. I have revealed.
DeleteMave....you have Yorkshire and polish roots!
DeleteExcellent
I will miss all the Eastern Europeans when/if they either get kicked out or leave because they feel unwanted. All the ones I have come across are fantastically good at their work and have an ethic which is far stronger than the average Brits of a certain age.
ReplyDeleteAgreed... I am working with a Hungarian support worker... cracking woman
DeleteI once read that "tolerance" isn't good enough because it can too easily change to "intolerance". Seeing all people as equals is essential.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Lucas noticed Bluebell and will manage to find you?
Hugs!
I am sure we may meet again
DeleteWe had a Polish man re-do our bathroom a few years ago. He was a really nice, highly skilled young man, with an excellent sense of humour. Did a superb job, too. I don't suppose he'll still be around when I get around to organising a kitchen re-fit.
ReplyDeleteI hope they all will
DeleteSuch a shame. I've done the same thing. As for the rosacea... Rosacura works wonders. Really.
ReplyDeleteI never really noticed it. I have rosy cheeks too
DeleteI wonder what that tactless Samaritan trainee would have said to Lukasz about his rosacea.
ReplyDeleteI'm working with him later onight
DeleteSounds good. He should come here, lots of Polish people in the east. It is a myth that they are all going home, they aren't. I was speaking to a Polish woman at the station the other day who was over visiting her daughter. I practiced some of my Polish words with her and made her laugh. Her daughter lives here, is very happy, and in the process of buying her first house. Going home? No.
ReplyDeleteOutside Wrexham there is one of the biggest Polish areas in uk
DeleteHope you run into him again. Hard to make friends. That’s why there are so many lonely people. Since my children flew out of the nest, I am alone and lonely too. I need to get out more but don’t like doing things alone.
ReplyDeleteI've always managed to do theatre and cinema on my own, but I am getting a little better at doing all of the other things
DeleteChance encounters can be so special.
ReplyDeleteI have so much respect for the Polish people I meet, such hard workers.
There are chance encounters you remember for years...and others you feel you have known for years...and occasionally one you meet again. maybe lukasz will be one of those.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you know George Smiley!
ReplyDeleteOnly through the blog
DeleteOnce in a blue moon, you start chatting with someone not all that different than Lucasz and it can be life changing. When my husband and I were on a cross country trip a few months ago, I happened to strike up a conversation with a hotel desk clerk as I was checking out. That chat (which revolved mainly about her husband's health issues), led to a side trip and the discovery of a place we'd never have found otherwise. A place we now hope to retire to. It didn't happen with Lucasz, but it can happen when you least expect it if you're just open to talking to strangers. The thing our mothers taught us never to do.
ReplyDeleteIt's just practice I guess
DeleteAh talking to strangers - something I do all the time now. I used to be acutely embarrassed when my mother struck up conversations in bus queues but I now see the wisdom of her ways. I hope you find Lucasz again. And with regard to the photos - that little lad in the last picture is adorable.
ReplyDeleteYes I am Rosie! Thank you.
DeleteI have a Polish daughter in law and my favourite mechanic is also Polish. I looked after the mechanics Yorkshire terrier for a week when he went home for a wedding. He is 6'4, has muscles on his muscles and told me it was his wife's dog and that he had nothing to do with it. When he and his wife returned and collected the dog he picked it up and cuddled it like a baby, I have no idea what he was saying to the dog but it was definitely baby talk.
ReplyDeleteAaawww, that is so sweet!
DeleteYes, definitely have a nice card printed and carry a few with you always. As you are a nursing professional it won't seem pompous to hand out a card, just a way to locate you for a coffee perhaps, and who knows what might follow.
ReplyDeleteMany people have really liked when I hand them my card (and I'm not a professional anything!). Some have checked my blog and responded. . . . some have come to tea in the gazebo!
Good luck regarding Lucasz - he sounds in need of a friend in the UK, and you could be that person John.
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ReplyDeleteThere are so many, many people who can identify with 'Eleanor Rigby'. You gave him a genuine connection with another human being, be proud of that, John.
ReplyDeleteEleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
DeleteIn the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face
That she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for
Hopefully you will meet again. We can all use a friend or even a good acquaintance.
ReplyDeleteThe cat with the leg up reminds me of one of Anne Marie's cats. Lovely pictures.
ReplyDeleteAs for your new friend, do you have a number to call him? I'm sure he'd meet you again.
Maddie, that is Honey. She is my inheritance from late mother
DeleteShe is young ,huge , and heavy with this tiny cat meow that makes me laugh all the time💕
When we moved several thousand miles 17 years ago we had cards printed up. Just our names, address, e mail and 'phone number. If we meet someone we'd really enjoy seeing again we will give them one and say " this is us if you'd like to keep in touch". It has worked well.
ReplyDeleteI hope you meet again.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos - especially the last one.
ReplyDeleteYes, like the comment above, I hope you meet again.
LOL Rosie,regarding talking to strangers I try not to but I will just talk to anyone...but the good part is I have no memories of a bad experience, and weirdly, one of the best things to ever happen to me began with me speaking to a stranger on the street💕
ReplyDeleteMy adult sons are now understanding what I meant when I said it's hard to make friends once you get older.
ReplyDeleteYou might meet him again at other cultural events. If you see him chat. An acquaintance can quickly become a friend.
I hope you meet again..
ReplyDeleteOur house was insulation wrapped by a Polish team, father and sons..we've seen them since and always get a wave and smile. I hope they can stay in Scotland (after living here for 10 years) They are such a good and generous part of society
Happenstance can lead to the most unexpected events. Great happenstance event!
ReplyDeleteI was told not to talk to strangers when visiting my daughter in Toronto but I can't help myself sat beside this nice gentleman on the subway and got stuck in a conversation and the poor bloke missed his stop but he was very good about it. I think Lukasz could probably do with a friend having just arrived you may run into him again.
ReplyDeleteLOL I will talk to anyone.
ReplyDeleteMy husband thought it was funny and my son was embarrassed...until I met Vincent Price and I got his autograph on a menu.
That last photo (of you?) reminds me of me! I was that scruffy kid.
ReplyDeleteNever under estimate striking up a conversation with a stranger. My mum did just that with a lost and bewildered looking lady on London Bridge Station many years ago. She was Canadian and tracing her family tree in SE London. Mum gave her our address and she actually popped in for tea. They had a life long friendship which led to her having a fantastic trip to Canada and Alaska and I accompanied mum to her youngest daughters wedding too; whom we are still in touch with. Mum also traced her distant cousin through the local newspaper.
ReplyDeleteLoving the 'this is me'
Toni x
My Mom had a similar experience. Touring by motorbike in Germany just 2 years after the war, she and Len met a pair of German bikers, Gertrude and Hans, who took them to stay with friends deep in the Black Forest. THe following year, Gretrude and Hans sent their two children to stay with Mom for the summer, to improve their English. For the following 50 years until Gertrude's death), either Mom visited Gertrude, or she came over here to stay. Mom always said they were sisters! Not bad for a chance meeting far from home.
DeleteMaybe you'll run into him again if you attend another event at that venue? Hopefully!
ReplyDeleteI love all these pictures people are sending in!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you struck up a conversation with Lukasz, it probably made him feel better too.
Perhaps Victorian calling cards should make a comeback?
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ReplyDeleteI do like those shoulders. This is a wonderful series.
ReplyDelete