Problems in Poland
In Poland you can’t get hold of a Polish plumber
Where have all the plumbers gone?
Warsaw
‘Hmm, let me see,’ said Tomasz the painter,
rubbing his temples. He was trying to think of a plumber who could install a new bathroom shower. ‘Well, there’s Jacek — no, sorry, he’s gone to Dublin. There’s Lech — no, I’m afraid he’s away, I think in Bristol. There used to be that guy, what was his name, Jackowski — no, he’s in London.’
He thought for a few more minutes. ‘Sorry,’ he said at last. ‘Can’t recommend anyone.’ Thus did I discover that within a hundred-mile radius of my Polish country house — a territory that includes the city of Bydgoszcz (pop. 400,000), and the surrounding Pomeranian countryside (add another 100,000) — there was not, at that moment, a single plumber to be found.
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Lucan C. Heraclitus
December 14th, 2007 8:27pmEeeoooummaarugheroaoghsnoart!
Or
December 18th, 2007 1:14pmIn fact, there are lots of readers of the Spectator in Poland. Hundreds of students of 5 year MA English Studies are forced to read the Spectator in every Polish major city, some of them even like it.
Euripides S Trades
January 4th, 2008 7:53pmAs an English gentleman self educated by necessity in multi-trade DIY skills through many years of capitalism I will be happy to provide my advice and services in this area to my fraternal comrades in Poland and elsewhere.
Henry Barth
January 5th, 2008 5:35amGiven the way building in Ireland has stopped and is disappearing as Ireland enters its economic recession, you'll soon have your plumbers back, along with the plasterers and carpenters. Good luck!
Luc Jones, Moscow
January 8th, 2008 2:09pmGood article, but a few inaccuracies - it's rare to find Kazakhs working as gasterbeiters in other parts of the CIS - they don't need to; they're all in Almaty or Astana, milking the boom, thanks to the high oil price. More likely in Kiev you'll find Ukrainians from poorer parts of the country, as well as Moldovans and Azeris. From Central Asia you'll get Uzbeks and Tajiks moving to Russia & Ukraine, but not Kazakhs. Oh, and Kirghiz is spelt Kyrgyz (which means 40 women, in the Kyrgyz language)