After I was an RAF Twister navigator, the phrase ‘going to Poland’ would have meant the Chilly Conflict had turned sizzling and we have been on a one-way journey to ship nuclear Armageddon.
In my early days within the army, communist-ruled Poland was on our goal listing for destruction, and positively a rustic forbidden to go to.
How occasions have modified. British stag events head off to cities corresponding to Warsaw for a weekend of debauchery, and we now have a lot of Poles settled in Britain.
Pleased visitors: John visited Poland together with his household to attend the marriage of an outdated good friend
Extra importantly, a couple of years in the past my outdated good friend Terence met Asia, a fantastic Polish woman working as a nanny in Sunderland.
And so it got here to move that I finally went to Poland – not in an RAF Twister, however with my spouse and daughter, who’re each referred to as Suzie, on a extra snug Ryanair flight and armed solely with a marriage current for Terence and his bride.
Asia (the Polish nickname for any woman named Joanna) comes from Slawa, a small city 70 miles southwest of Poznan.
As we neared her house, her household and neighbours got here out to offer us a incredible welcome, setting the scene for a weekend of enthusiastic friendliness and unbridled hospitality.
Water fans flock to the Lake Slawskie – the focus of the city and its growing vacationer trade
We have been staying at Bar U Dudka within the centre of Slawa, which was additionally the situation for the marriage feast.
The proprietor, Jerzy Dudek, was a most convivial host, whereas the rooms have been clear, snug and extremely good worth at about £50 an evening, together with breakfast for all three of us.
As we found, meals was to play an ever growing a part of our temporary keep in Poland.
Our first expertise was on the native pizza restaurant, the place 14 of us feasted on big pizzas washed down with copious portions of beer and crimson wine. The invoice got here to an embarrassingly small £100.
Breakfast the subsequent morning took practically an hour to finish, with platters of chilly meats, cheeses, eggs and pastries flowing from the kitchen till we needed to name a halt to the infinite procession.
In an effort to decrease the calorific consumption, we strolled by way of the dense pine forest all the way down to the gorgeous Lake Slawskie, the focus of the city and its growing vacationer trade.
Watersports fans flock right here in the course of the summer season for crusing and water-skiing, and within the winter for iceskating tournaments.
Again at Dudka’s for the marriage celebrations, I used to be amazed to see tables already groaning below the burden of salads, fish dishes, breads, chilly cuts and numerous bottles of vodka for the toasts.
To my astonishment, this was simply the starter, and for the subsequent ten hours an array of luxurious dishes marched from the kitchen.
Flagons of soup have been adopted by infinite platters of roast meats, fried potatoes and extra fish.
Every course was interspersed with more and more enthusiastic dancing, toasts, speeches and singing.
Whereas the British contingent was small, we gave hearty renditions of Jerusalem and the Nationwide Anthem.
In the direction of the tip of the night time, our repertoire had pale, so we resorted to We Want You A Merry Christmas and that Scout favorite Ging Gang Goolie.
I wish to assume we gave an honest account of ourselves, however the vodka might have affected my reasoning.
Lastly, at 3am, as a huge marriage ceremony cake was introduced in, I dragged myself off to mattress, harbouring the uncomfortable thought that one other big breakfast was only some hours away.
Our household journey to Poland was an exquisite perception right into a bygone tradition of openness and unimaginable hospitality. I simply hope stag events do not spoil it for the remainder of us.
John Nichol’s newest e book, The Pink Line, is revealed by Collins, priced £8.99.
