Well done Howard!

As some of our TDP readers may recall, back in December Howard Marshall travelled over to Toruń to take part in the Santa Claus Half Marathon. He managed to raise 500GBP for the UK charity Global Footsteps.

You can read our coverage of his visit to Toruń here:

http://torundailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/12/santa-half-marathon.html

http://torundailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/12/santas-in-town.html

Here he is a couple of weeks ago presenting the cheque. Global Footsteps is an educational charity which aims to foster inter-cultural relations between linked communities. It is based in Cheltenham, UK which is twinned with Gottingen, Germany which itself is twinned with Toruń!

You can read more about Global Footsteps at www.global-footsteps.org .

Election Day over in the UK

I know it has nothing to do with Poland...but just got back from the UK and here are 2 posters for today's UK general election. A new PM or no new PM? That's the question!!

Elementary My Dear Watson...

On Saturday, I led a special English language workshop about Sherlock Holmes. Dressed in Victorian outfit complete with a bright yellow pipe (sadly the deerstalker hat was absent)...I certainly looked the part. The students learnt all about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous literary character and even took part in their own murder mystery! Then after the workshop we went next door to the new 'Sherlock Holmes' movie starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law. Great fun was had by all!

CULTURAL OBSERVATIONS: For Sale

Here is a cultural difference between England and Poland. You will notice from this estate agent's board...that all the images depict the interiors of the homes and not the exteriors. This is because in Poland, the inside is the most homely part of the house and let's face it a lot of the communist style flats are very uninteresting from the outside.

Since Poland joined the EU, real estate prices have shot up. One cause for this, is the fact that many English people have now invested in property over in Poland and indeed in other parts of central/eastern Europe. They don't even live here and just rent the accommodation out at a high percentage. They shouldn't be allowed to do this! Many Poles currently working in England to try and save money to buy property back in their homeland, will now find that they cannot afford it.

It's a vicious circle!