poland_exile

Hi All, apologies in advance if this is the wrong home for this thread, if so, admin please re-house to the correct place! 

Am based in Warsaw, and we've obviously been hit by a huge wave of people fleeing the war. The response has been amazing from both Poles and expats here, but it remains utterly heartbreaking seeing this first-hand. The news does not tell even a fraction of the stories.

Anyhow, many of the kids are arriving with nothing; have been raising toys and suchlike for some of them, but was thinking it would be great to give out some City (or other teams!) related stuff - NOT kits or scarves. This being Poland, it's not inconceivable some moron will mistake theses colours for a rival Polish team! Instead, am thinking of little things kids can keep private and just treasure as something personal: key fobs, stickers, penants, even any old programmes. Obviously any postage fees would be covered by myself in advance. If you can help, please drop me a private message.

Thanks! 

12 minutes ago, Lew-T said:

Going by recent clips, I’d guess he is.

Personally am strongly of the opinion that I'd rather have no football than games behind closed doors, but wouldn't it be something if Benik fired us to Wembley! 

2 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Those nasty, pesky German ultras eh...

(Granted there's a lot wrong with ultras too).

It's no exaggeration to say that practically every single hooligan gang in Poland has mobilized to raise money for their respective local hospitals. I've said many times in differing circumstances on this page, that having an unsavoury hobby does not necessarily make you a bad person and have been slammed by several who prefer to think in black-and-white. But there is much heartening evidence of great kindness from unexpected sources, and it's made all the warmer given these wild, strange times. It gives food for thought when thinking of the sheer selfishness of some. 

16 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

Look at what other leaders are doing and how they are acting. This is their first crisis like this as well. Stop apologising for him. 

Problem is, pretty much every world leader is culpable and a staggering amount of countries have acted late - Italy being the prime example. But you can also refer to the delayed response of practically everyone in Europe. Don't get me started on the United States, and Trump's impersonation of King Canute. Despite all scientific proof to the contrary, people sat back and thought "oh, it'll never be that bad". Well welcome to big school. 

Boris has played a stinker so far, don't get me wrong, but you are barking up the wrong tree if you think he's the only one. On a global scale this has been grossly mishandled, and especially by the WHO - I think they've matched the League of Nations when it comes to fluff, flannel and hot air. 

The world will get through this, but panic and finger pointing are not the answer and have no place at this time. 

On 12/03/2020 at 16:16, harvey54 said:

Currently self-isolating. Came back from Malta and a week later I started sweating, aching and feeling wiped out. Lots of Italians on Malta as it's only a ferry ride away. Feels like the start of a heavy cold to be honest but my Mrs works in the NHS so I'm housebound. 

Box set heaven

all the best to ya' mate - we're in state of emergency right now in Warsaw with everything shutdown and rumours of imminent curfew being introduced tomorrow - heard a mate of mine earlier carted off by the men in white coats and you can feel the city in a genuine state of panic and paranoia. This is a very real issue, and it's unbelievable people are still casual and offhand about it all - or worse, using it to point score and settle either political or personal agendas. 

We will get through this, but it needs concerted effort from absolute everyone. More so, we need to learn lessons - i.e. firstly, as a planet we learn to work collectively and effectively to respond to such situations in the future; and b, that our individual governments don't use every budget to slash the **** out of our emergency services. 

Wishing you a speedy recovery! 

9 minutes ago, Super said:

Just had the former FA Chief on TS he says that the season has to finish even if it means putting back the start of next season.

suits the world cup in quatar nicely! the plot thickens! 

3 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

A lot of people were saying the season would not be CANCELLED. Now it is effectively postponed we see posters throwing mud even though it hasn’t been CANCELLED.  There is a difference between cancellation and postponement.  Not sure if it’s ignorance or posters wilfully being wrong.

If anyone would like to explain how a cancellation would work, I’d be most interested.  Just cannot see it but willing to listen to views on how it could happen 

 

to be honest, i really don't give a toss about the difference between cancellation or postponement. This transcends football and should be treated accordingly. Watching from afar, am horrified by Britain's response to what is a major world crisis. 

1 hour ago, Bedred31 said:

Things moving v quickly now. A couple of days ago, I did not  think it possible that season would be cancelled. Think it’s quite  likely now that City have played their last competitive game until August. Expect Euros to go too. Medical situation worrying, obviously but, without losing perspective, it’s the economic situation that is really terrifying. V few small to medium size retailers, pubs, restaurants or other leisure businesses will survive this without massive government intervention. Footfall in London already down 27%, in Newcastle it’s 47%.  

Living on the other side of Europe, it's astonishing and alarming how quickly this has moved. Just on Saturday I was having a right blast at a completely nutty lower league match, rubbing my (disinfected) hands at the rich bounty promised by the rest of the season. Now... well... that's my last game for the god knows how long.

Warsaw is in a complete state of paranoia with schools, cinemas and various institutions closed,  streets deserted, strong rumours of an imminent city lockdown, etc. Dark times that I would be certain shall hit Britain within a short space of time - though, of course, i sincerely hope not. 

Personally though, whilst the economy the world is over is going to get completely torpedoed, I think the medical situation - a combination of the sheer amount of unknowns matched with the rapid and dynamic movement of this virus - is the most worrying aspect and I just hope that we can see this through without certain scenarios developing. 

I have no doubt that cancelling football is the right thing to do, and frankly if that means just drawing a line on the season and rendering it void, so be it - only draconian measures are going to stem this. 

I just hope that flipping bat soup was worth it 

15 hours ago, AppyDAZE said:

Especially when surely everybody has heard by now that those mask things do NOTHING to protect you. Madness.

That's not true and another indication of how limited public knowledge is. 

Some more facts that you might find useful before spreading more misinformation:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/09/can-a-face-mask-stop-coronavirus-covid-19-facts-checked

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks

it's the sort of thing I'd have found hilarious about 15 or 20 years ago, now it looks like a cheap move from the bargain bucket. Skulking in to vandalize property under the cover of the night is the action of a scabby little rat! but that said, not going to lose any sleep over it. 

2 hours ago, phantom said:

Cardiff were told this morning there will be no extension to the window 

beautiful. 

53 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

For sure- would have had big problems even had they made it to the island.

Could it have been searched on foot during daylight though  sooner than it has been- if indeed it has been? This Tweet was sent 10.36am on 22nd January- nearly 48 hours ago. No criticism at all of anyone searching, but in these things time can really make all the difference.

It's one of those damned if you, damned if you don't situations. My dog works for our local fire brigade searching for missing people, and a lot of misconceptions exist about the job. At the end of the day, you're talking about making the most of the limited resources / team you have whilst the clock ticks against you. You can't be everywhere. Whilst it seems odd these flares (or whatever they turn out to be) coming from the island weren't investigated earlier, there's sure to be a very good reason for that (lack of) action, i.e. it would have taken resources away from a more pertinent area of search. Mistakes are often made, that goes without saying, but all searches - whether they be land or sea - are highly complex and intricate things with an extremely solid methodology behind them (and I imagine in the UK the level, knowledge and expertise is even higher).

Incidentally, I realize you're not having a pop Mr P, am just giving a different side here! 

30 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

The other thing is you trust the pilot. I once boarded a commercial flight that was delayed for two hours, then had what was announced as a “final attempt to to see if we can fix it tonight” and then, once we had all boarded, had a power cut-out when they turned it on before taxiing. I was scared and concerned when they still carried on anyway but said nothing as I rationalised the pilots knew what they were doing, it was a commercial air company that had a reputation to protect and so it must be safe or else they would not be doing it. Often you just assume and trust professionals know what they are doing.

totally - it's in our nature to trust that others know what they're doing in their profession of choosing.

I'm not, incidentally, casting aspersions on the pilot - it's just that when i board a plane, no matter what the conditions, I'm fully expecting to land in one piece. No-one in their right mind would fly if they were told, 'by the way, there's a good chance we might not make it.' I imagine Sala was the same. Likewise, I'd be pretty confident that the pilot had every expectation of completing the flight. 

I can't get my head round this story. Feel so sorry for all those personally effected. 

6 minutes ago, reddogkev said:

I've been considering that, and it's the reason I don't believe the veracity of these messages.  You simply wouldn't risk getting on a plane that you didn't feel comfortable with, and the pilot wouldn't fly it if there were any issues, you would presume.

This is probably all fabricated on the internet.

I wouldn't agree, I think there's many instances in life you do things you're uncomfortable with under the reasoning "it'll never happen to me".

You simply don't expect to die while travelling in the developed world. 

Further, I'd speculate a lot goes down to a person's character. Doubt he wanted to miss his first day in training because he was 'scared of getting on a plane' or look like a skiving big time charlie by missing his first session, etc., etc. 

43 minutes ago, Dollymarie said:

"I'm on a plane that looks like it's going to fall apart, and I'm leaving for Cardiff," Sala said in a WhatsApp audio message carried by Argentine media.

"If in an hour and a half you have no news from me, I don't know if they will send people to look for me, because they will not find me, you know. Dad, I'm so scared," he added.

 Surely someone checks that planes are fit to fly? 

bloody hell, that's just beyond crazy.... 

Fingers crossed for those on board. Just horrible to think about. 

1 minute ago, pillred said:

stopped working after 5 minutes shame!

still working this end - fingers crossed 

4 minutes ago, IAmNick said:

Live stream: https://www.vipbox.fi/watch-swansea-city-vs-bristol-city-stream-1

cheers Nick! 

1 minute ago, JamesBCFC said:

Bizarre how the ref didnt see it, right in plain view.

 

These Bein commentators are ******* awful, apparently Diedhiou was injured for 3 weeks.

and LJ got his tactics right against Wolves? 

that Fammy goal had a touch of Wayne Allison about him  thought he had totally screwed that up, I'll take it though! 

it's no surprise the gas have their knickers in a twist. Rovers are so far off the map that commentators have started to call us Bristol. 

don't care if it's the jammiest, ugliest 1-0 win we've ever recorded, but after the kick in the balls we took against Wolves a flukey 1-0 win would be a pleasing tonic. In fairness, even a grisly 0-0 would work for me. 

I do wish the cameras would have gone to our fans, looks like there were some scenes in the away end. Hats off all who travelled: great result, the perfect mugging! 

that was a magic two minutes - my mate is doing the commentary on Polish TV and just dropped my name into the comms, then immediately after we get a mental goal. BOOM!  

4 minutes ago, slartibartfast said:

Ywah, I see what you mean !

I love reading through the threads after a turnaround, brilliant reading. That said, it'd be a dull place if everyone kept their tongue in check until the final whistle.