Random Dress

Would anyone still want to buy this dress after it's been standing outside the shop all day?!!

The Polish Devil

This rather dirty-looking truck was driving through Toruń yesterday and I couldn't resist taking a picture due to the hand-drawn English writing on the back. You know this was written by a Pole due to the lack of the definite article (the) in "Im Devil on the Run". There is only one devil... I hope!!! Like all Slavonic languages articles (an/an/the) do not exist in Polish, and therefore is one of the biggest problem areas for Polish learners of English.

The Toruń Dragon

This is a sculpture of the Toruń dragon. Legend has it that in the spring of 1746 two Toruń citizens saw a dark grey, shiny dragon (2 meters in length) flying low over the city. Love to know what they had been smoking!!! ;-)

Machine vs. Beast!

A few days ago these young Polish lads were seen having fun pushing this elaborate looking-motorcycle in the Old Town. They needed several guys to actually push it around the old square...as the engine didn't work. It couldn't go far...but it was still a real nice set of wheels. Here they are comparing it to Toruń's famous asinine scultpure...the legendary 'Toruń Donkey'!

Don't want to be associated!!

Funny how most Polish shops are written in Polish...except when it comes to sex shops!

The Skin-head Mannequin!

This mannequin standing on the step of a local clothes shop is more menacing than enticing!

The Attack of the Killer Pussy Cats (or Juwenalia)

It's that time of the year again when most of the university students don fancy dress and roam the streets in search of beer money (well asking fellow passers-by for a kind donation!). Some of the costumes this year have been rather imaginative...we've already spotted a mobile phone, 2 guys dressed as a tank and even a guy looking like a carrot!!

The other day, we were waiting at the traffic lights, on our way to Inowrocław, when we were pounced upon by these black cats (well I actually thought they were bunnies at first)...must need my eyes examined!! LOL!!

What an original name!

Green in colour and green in name. Obviously, the owners of this hostel couldn't think of an original name. We now have 2 orange hostels and a green hostel in Toruń. What next? A "pink and yellow polkadot hostel"?!!

Snack Bar Makeover

You may recall this snack bar from an earlier TDP post 4 years ago (http://torundailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/05/hod-dog.html). It was featured as it once displayed some dodgy English spelling ('hod dog' instead of 'hot dog'!).

Well you'll be pleased to know that since then the snack bar has undergone a major transformation. The hod dog sign has long gone and in its place is a rather modern digital sign. It's also had a new lick of paint.

The new name 'Mini-bar' is a little misleading though. We're not in a hotel room!!! ;-)

Cemetry lights or BBQ Candles?

Next weekend will be All Saints' Day when all the Poles descend on their local cememtries and leave candles and flowers. It's a really moving occassion, especially walking through the graves and night (with all the twinkling candles).

Talking of which...the grave lights are very popular here...as you can see with the above advertisement. A few years ago, an English friend of mine came to Toruń and but about 20 of these lights thinking they were BBQ lights. He then went back to the UK and invited some Polish friends of his around for the evening. You can imagine the shock and surprise when they entered his garden!! They must have wondered who had just died!!! Hee hee!!!

Remodelled with...Chickens!!!

Here is a great artistic way of giving a face-lift to an old, ruined building. What could potentially be an eye-sore has now been spruced up with these 3 cheerful chickens.

They are just part of many quirky sculptures around town.

What were they thinking?!!...

These guys must have either been drunk, done it in the dark or simply forgot their glasses!! This upside down sign advertising a local garden market was spotted by my eagle-eyed wife on her way to work. Bang in the middle of the road, it may be a potential hazard for drivers who try and work out what it says!!! Ha ha!!!

The Furry Uniform!

Meet a member of the Mohair Army...

Typical age: 65-85 years old
Typical sex: female
Typical clothes: fur coat, mohair or fur hat
Typical accessory: 1 x large handbag (often used in force)
Typical habits: pushing in front of you in queues and generally trying to get their own way!!

For more information about the 'beloved' Mohair berets, check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohair_berets

FIRE STARTER!

Following on from our successful post yesterday which attracted numerous comments from around the world...we have followed suit again with a similar 'native speakers enjoying a Polish pub' pic!! This time it is English lecturer Bob France and yours truly...captured early morning in some local Polish pub!

Apologies for the blurred image but that was how we were feeling!!! lol!!

And really why was Bob's hair on fire?!!!!

British humour in the heart of Poland!

There's nothing like being in the company of two pissed up Brits in the middle of Poland! Here is Toruń Daily Photo regular Patrick Skipton messing about with his pal Shaun Branson.

It's difficult to say how many native English speakers live in Toruń...but compared to the larger cities of Krakow and Warsaw the number is still very low. It's still quite rare to come across other native speakers here in Toruń...though the days when the Poles swung around at the faintest sound of native English has long since passed.

Hod dog

Either they ran out of 'the letter t' or this snack bar serves a whole new version of the beloved hot dog!