Popular Polish / English Baby Names

While trying to decide on baby names for my forthcoming arrival and I came across this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_popular_given_names

According to the list these were the most popular boy names given in the UK and Poland in 2010:

Most popular boys names in the UK 2010

Oliver
Jack
Harry
Charlie
Alfie
Thomas
Joshua
William
Daniel
James

Most popular boys names in Poland 2010
Jakub
Szymon
Kacper
Filip
Michał
Mateusz
Bartosz
Wojciech
Adam
Wiktor


Most popular girls names in the UK 2010
Olivia
Sophie
Lily
Emily
Ruby
Jessica
Chloe
Ava
Grace
Amelia

Most popular girls names in Poland 2010
Julia
Maja
Zuzanna
Lena
Wiktoria
Amelia
Oliwia
Aleksandra
Natalia
Zofia

Names I especially like which work well in both Polish and English (names which retain the same spelling and where pronunciation differs only slightly) include:

Boys: Albert, Bernard, Edward, Edmund, Gabriel and Sebastian
Girls: Barbara, Isabella, Joanna, Julia, Pauline and Sabina

At the moment frontrunners for me are Otto (if my baby is a boy) and Klementyna (Clementine) (if the baby is a girl).

Baby and Children's Brands in the UK and Poland

In some of the interviews and conversations I have had with Polish parents, informants have compared popular baby brands in Poland to Britain.

Here’s a useful list of babycare manufacturers, brands and websites popular in Poland:

For buggies and car safety
Implast: www.implast.com.pl/
Deltim: www.deltim.com.pl/
Aro Karon: http://www.aro.pl/
Wampol http://www.wampol.com.pl/

For babycare products
Canpol: http://canpolbabies.com/pl/

For children’s toys
Smyk: http://smyk.com/

For children’s clothes
Reserved: http://www.reserved.com/pl/kids
5.10.15: http://www.51015kids.eu/pl
Wójcik: http://www.wojcik.com.pl/
Takko: http://www.takko-fashion.com/pl/kids/index.php
Coccodrillo: http://www.coccodrillo.pl/

Children’s shoes
Bartek: http://www.bartek.com.pl/

And popular in the UK...

For buggies and car safety
Silver Cross: http://www.silvercross.co.uk/
Phil and Teds: http://philandteds.com/
Bugaboo: http://www.bugaboo.com/home
Quinny: http://www.quinny.com/gb-en
* useful buggy and pram price comparision site: http://www.kelkoo.co.uk/*

For babycare products
Mothercare: http://www.mothercare.com/
Boots: http://www.boots.com/en/Mother-Baby
Mamas and Papas: http://www.mamasandpapas.com/

For children’s toys
Early Learning Centre: http://www.elc.co.uk/

For children’s clothes
H&M: http://www.hm.com/gb/department/KIDS
John Lewis: http://www.johnlewis.com/Baby+and+Child
Marks and Spencer: http://www.marksandspencer.com/Kids/
Next: http://www.next.co.uk/

TKMaxx: http://www.tkmaxx.com/kids-baby

Children’s shoes
Clarks: http://www.clarks.co.uk/kids

Try these supermarkets for a good range of cheaper children and baby clothes:
Asda: http://direct.asda.com/asda-babyshop
Tesco: http://direct.tesco.com/homepage/babytoddler
Sainsburys: http://www.sainsburys-tu-clothing.co.uk/

Buying and Selling Children's Wear and Toys

Here are some useful websites to help you buy and sell children’s wear and toys in and around Newcastle.

http://www.gumtree.com/newcastle - (especially good for finding cheap accommodation to rent (in my experience) and for sourcing cheap furniture)

http://www.netmums.com/boards/nearlynew/newcastle - (especially good for finding cheap baby equipment in your immediate location, particularly prams and buggies)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/ - (I’m not such a fan of ebay as I’ve been out-bidded too many times! Prices can get quite high so be careful, and always check the pick-up location or delivery charges for items you’re interested in)

http://groups.freecycle.org/toon/posts/all - (good for passing on furniture and electrical equipment, but you have to sign up for an account and be 'accepted' as a user)

http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/2000icbargains/freeads - (if you’re selling an expensive or specialist item you may wish to consider paying for an advert in the local newspaper. Follow the link here if so.)

Also, there’s a shop in Whitley Bay, ‘Cherished Toys’, who will sell your good quality children’s clothes and toys on your behalf. I’ve heard that the shop is very popular with mums-to-be looking to buy second hand baby and nursery equipment: http://www.cherishedtoys.co.uk/default.html

Lastly, I thoroughly recommend the British parenting institution of the ‘nearly new sale’. Here, huge amounts of clothes and toys are donated or sold to the sale organisers who hold a morning or afternoon event selling off all the goods, usually in a sports hall, village hall or church hall. These events are usually well attended and a good way to find very cheap clothes and toys. Baby cardigans can sell for as little as 10p for example.

The National Childbirth Trust organise the best quality events. Here’s how to find an NCT nearly new sale event near you: www.nct.org.uk/branches/events/nearly-new-sales

*Finally, help raise funds for the North East’s neonatal baby care service by supporting the Tiny Lives Fund Nearly New Sale from 10am-1pm on Saturday 9th July 2011, to be held at Trinity Church, Gosforth High Street, Newcastle. Go to the website for more details: www.tinylivesnearlynewsales.org.uk *

Support the Migration Museum Project

(The logo being used to promote the Migration Museum Project (UK), from The Free Movement Blog - http://freemovement.wordpress.com/)


A distinguished team of migration experts including former government minister and MP, Barbara Roche, the director of the Royal Commonwealth Society, Danny Sriskandarajah, and the deputy director of the Museum of Liverpool, Zelda Baveystock, to name but a few, are backing a project aiming to establish Britain’s first major migration museum. The museum will seek to address the question of ‘who we are, where we come from, and where we are going to’ and in so, aiming to be ‘the museum of all our stories.’ To read more about this fantastic project and to back the bid, please visit: http://www.migrationmuseum.org/

You can also support the project by entering the ‘100 images of migration competition’ launched by the Guardian newspaper. Upload your photos celebrating and exploring the richness British migration here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/may/04/migration-museum-photography-competition

The migration museum project website already includes various archived images on the theme of Polish migration in the UK, including the touching image of a woman holding a Polish bible taken by the imminent photojournalist Tim Smith. (Tim Smith and Michelle Winslow produced an excellent photojournal called ‘Keeping the Faith- the Polish community in Britain’ in 2000: learn more about the publication here - http://www.timsmithphotos.com/books/index.html or purchase a copy from Amazon at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Keeping-Faith-Polish-Community-Britain/dp/090773457X).

You’ll also be able to view the certificate of nationality issued to Juda Herse Phiszer, a Polish born umbrella maker in 1920; an image that has been kindly contributed by the Museum of London.

Lastly, here's a link to the Melbourne Immigration Museum website: http://museumvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum. I visited the museum a few times during my stay in Australia and like to think of the museum as having fuelled my own academic interest the migration experience.

Childcare Options

Here’s some useful websites to help you know your child care options when resident in the UK:

http://www.childcare.co.uk/
http://www.netmums.com/childcare
http://www.daynurseries.co.uk/
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Childcare/index.htm

If you are looking for quality Polish specific childcare in this region please contact Agnieszka Czekajło who runs ‘Aga's Little Stars’ in Newcastle:

More about the options that Aga’s Little Stars offers can be found here:
http://www.polnews.co.uk/index.php/polskie-uslugi/1310-agas-little-stars-opiekunka-newcastle.html

Made In Poland Festival 2011

It's time for the North East's fifth annual 'Made In Poland Festival'. A great line up of Polish cultural events will land on your doorstep from 14th May - 25th June, so here's a sneak preview of what to expect.

Saturday 14th May, 7pm
The Polish Comedy Show by Limo: The Space, Newcastle College, Rye Hill Campus, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, NE4 7SA

The festival kicks off with The Polish Comedy Show featuring “Limo”. Join us for a night of laughter with this hugely popular comedy group. Limo have been the mainstay of festival line-ups for the past 12 years, they've appeared on TV shows and have three PAKA Comedy Festival awards. No taboos! A night of laughter gauranteed.

(please note: This performance is in Polish).

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Saturday 28th May, 12-3.30pm
International Children's Day Celebration: Newcastle Exhibition Park, Claremont Road, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

A popular annual event for all the family.The Polish Saturday School ( part of NEPCO CIC) and Wonderland Children’s Place in co-operation with Challenger Multicultural Organisation, invite you all to a family picnic and barbecue in Exhibition Park. There will be games and competitions for all age ranges. All refreshments will be supplied by the North East's leading Polish food retailers, Malgosia’s, European Foods and Groszek.

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Wednesday 8th June, 6pm
Polish Shorts and Docs: Tyneside Cinema, 10 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6QG

A night of short films and documentary from young filmmaking talent in Poland.

This is your opportunity to see screenings of ‘Twist and Blood’ and ‘Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Room’ by short film director Kuba Czekaj, and ‘Warsaw Available’ by documentary makers Karolina Bielawska and Julia Ruszkiewicz.
The screenings are followed by a qusetion & answer session with director Kuba Czekaj.

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Sunday 19th June, 6-9pm
Polish Art Exhibition and Poetry Recital: The Cloister Café, St. Mary's Cathedral, Clayton Street West, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 5HH

Enjoy an evening of Polish art by some of the North East's leading Polish artists including Malgorzata Chalupka, Jadwiga Jasinek, Marcin Reweda, Artur Burchardt and Tymoteusz Sulek. This event is accompanied by a poetry reading and a concert from PoEzja Londyn (Poetry London).

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Saturday 25th June, 8pm
Warsaw Village Band - A concert: The Sage Gateshead St Mary's Square, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 2JR

Influenced by the musical genres of ‘hardcore folk’, ‘bio-techno’ and ‘Polish folk rock’, Warsaw Village Band offer a diverse and contempoary sound. They mix their traditional Polish grassroots with hints of reggae, rock, hip-hop, the blues, Indian raga and Swedish polka played out on traditional accoustic instruments including hammered dulcimers and violins, while singing in the Polish ‘white voice’ style.
Tickets: £16.50 - £7.50, available online from http://www.thesagegateshead.org/

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Rusza Festiwal ‘Made In Poland’ 2011!
14 maja – 25 czerwca

Z ogromną przyjemnością chcielibyśmy zaprosić Cię na tegoroczną edycję festiwalu promującego Polskę i inspirowanego polską kulturą Made in Poland. W tym roku będziemy starali odciągnąć Cię od szarości dnia codziennego i przeniesiemy w inne rzeczywistości. Daj się nam porwać!

Festiwal zaczynamy od występu polskiego kabaretu Limo – zabawny komentarz do rzeczywistości. Gwarantujemy zrywanie boków i przecieranie oczu z niedowierzania. Mnóstwo dobrej zabawy!
Występ Kabaretu już za 2 tygodnie w sobotę 14 maja o 19.00 , The Space (Newcastle College).

Razem z nami będziecie mogli świetować Dzień Dziecka w Newcastle Exhibition Park. Będą gry i zabawy dla wszystkich grup wiekowych oraz przekąski, napoje i słodycze ufundowane przez sklepy: Malgosia’s, European Food i Groszek. Planujemy rozłożenie namiotu – zapraszamy więc bez względu na pogodę! Start już 28 maja o 12.00.

W ramach festiwalu zaprezentujemy młode talenty polskiego kina. Krótkie filmy: ‘Twist and Blood’ i ‘Ciemnego pokoju nie trzeba się bać’ reż. Kuba Czekaj oraz dokument: ‘Warszawa do wzięcia” reż. Karolina Bielawska i Julia Ruszkiewicz
Uwaga! Zaprosiliśmy reżysera krótkich filmów Kubę Czekaja na spotkanie z widzami. Nieczęsta okazja na rozmowę z twórcą młodego kina. Tego nie można przegapić! Pokazy - 8 czerwca o 18.00 w kinie Tyneside.

W tym roku nie zabraknie wieczoru poświęconego sztuce. 19 czerwca zapraszamy na wystawę prac lokalnych polskich artystów: Małgorzaty Chałupki, Jadwigi Jasinek, Marcina Rewedy, Artura Burchardta and Tymoteusza Sułka.
Pozwól przenieść się do krainy słowa. W ten sam wieczór odbędzie się czytanie poezji przez członków grupy PoEzja Londyn. Impreza odbędzie się w the Cloister Cafe, w niedzielę 19 maja od 18.00.

Jednym z najbardziej emocjonujących wydarzeń tegoroczej edycji festiwalu będzie koncert Kapeli ze Wsi Warszawa w The Sage Gateshead 25 czerwca. Folkowa grupa, której muzyka jest określana jako „harcorowa muzyka folkowa”, „bio-techno” czy „polski rock folkowy”. Grupa powstała, żeby zachować tradycyjne polskie piosenki folkowe, ale muzycy nie stronią od reggae, indyjskiego raga, szwedzkiej polki, rocka, hip-hopu czy bluesa. Uczta dla ucha!
Po więcej szczegółów zapraszamy na stronę www.madeinpolandfestival.co.uk i na strony naszych partnerów. Prosimy przekazać to zaproszenie Waszym przyjaciołom i każdemu, kto może być zainteresowany.

Do zobaczenia na imprezach!


Organizatorzy Made in Poland Festival
http://www.madeinpolandfestival.co.uk/

Wesołych Świąt Wielkanocnych!

Here's a photo of the eggs that my little boy and his friend Nicholas painted on Friday. Nicholas's mum showed me how to scratch the shell of the egg and dye the eggs with the papery outside of an onion, as is the Easter egg decorating tradition in Poland.

Wesołych Świąt Wielkanocnych!

Websites for pregnant women and expectant fathers

Here is a list of excellent websites for pregnant women and expectant fathers. I’m looking forward to the arrival of my second child later this summer!

Tutaj jest lista doskonałych stron internetowych (w języku angielskim) dla kobiet w ciąży. Cieszę się powiedzieć że, jestem w ciąży (znowu), a moje następnie dziecko urodzi się w tym latem.

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/

http://pregnancy.about.com/

http://www.emmasdiary.co.uk/pregnancy/article/pregnancy

http://www.bounty.com/pregnancy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/tools/pregnancy_calendar/

http://www.babyworld.co.uk/pregnancy/pregnancy.asp

The websites above give good advice on your entitlements as a parent-to-be, and what you can expect in pregnancy and the first few weeks of parenthood.

This is a great website for all fathers and fathers-to-be: http://www.dad.info/

And here are details of an online community group for Polish mums resident in the UK: http://community.babycentre.co.uk/groups/a966885/polish_mums_in_the_uk

Most importantly, find other Polish parents resident in the North East of England by contributing to this brilliant thread on the highly acclaimed Polnews Forum - (rodzice w północno-wschodniej Anglii - poznajmy się):

http://www.polnews.co.uk/forum/dzien-dobry-rodzice-poznajmy-sie-vt2224.htm

Useful Information for parents in Newcastle, UK

Here’s a list of some useful websites for families living Newcastle upon Tyne. Some of these websites may also be useful to parents living more broadly in and around the North East of England.

Netmums (Newcastle) - parenting advice and local listings:

http://www.netmums.com/local//newcastle

The Little Pages - free magazine for parents in the North East and Yorkshire listings events and activities for families:

http://the-little-pages.co.uk/

Sure Start Centres (Newcastle):

http://www.surestartnewcastlecc.org.uk/site

Baby Dines Out (North East) - child and baby friendly restaurant reviews and advice:

http://www.babydinesout.com/location/the-north-east

Newcastle Children’s Information Service:

http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/core.nsf/a/childrensinformationservice

Families Recommend - reviews of family friendly days out in the North East (including some useful reviews for families with special or additional needs):

http://www.familiesrecommend.co.uk/things-to-do-north-east

Newcastle Toy and Leisure Library - supporting children with disabilities:

http://ntll.co.uk/

Family learning courses in Newcastle - including courses on crafts, sports, literacy, numeracy, budgeting and ESOL:

http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/core.nsf/a/familylearning

What’s On North East - up-to-date events and activities listings:

http://www.whatsonnortheast.com/listings

Kids Days Out (Tyne and Wear) - events and activities listings for the family:

http://www.kidsdaysout.co.uk/tyne_and_wear.htm

**More useful websites for parents in the UK, and specifically in the North East, can be found here:

http://polishfamiliesnewcastle.blogspot.com/p/about-my-family.html

'Łódź Ghetto Album by Henryk Ross’

Last week I stumbled upon an exhibition at the Side Gallery in Newcastle entitled ‘Łódź Ghetto Album by Henryk Ross’. It is a touring exhibition from the Archive of Modern Conflict. Sadly this is the last week that the exhibition runs in Newcastle, so if you’re interested in Polish and / or Jewish history, in photojournalism or wartime photography do visit now. Exhibition details are as follows:

‘Łódź Ghetto Album by Henryk Ross’ Thursday 27th January – Saturday 26th March 2011 Gallery opening times: Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm, Exhibition Free. 5-9 Side, Newcastle upon Tyne. NE1 3JE

To find out more please visit: http://www.amber-online.com/exhibitions/lodz-ghetto-album-by-henryk-ross