20 November 1959
MRS DOBROWSKA VISITS PONTEFRACT

"Good evening", I said. "Dobry wieczor",  replied the attractive, dark haired lady I greeted.

I was talking to Mrs Polo Debrowska, of Swidnica, South-west Poland, who arrived in England three weeks ago to stay with her brother and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs U. Schmidt, of The Close, Chequerfield, Pontefract.  It is Mrs Dobrowska's first visit to this country; indeed the first time she has been out of Poland; and she hopes to stay long enough to enjoy a good English Christmas. As she speaks no English, Anglo-Polish relations were interpreted by Mr. Schmidt.

What was the first thing, I inquired, that struck Mrs Dobrowska about this country?  "The shop", was the prompt reply. She was impressed by the amount of stock our shops carry, which makes her native shops look empty by comparison. One of the things she enjoys most here is to wander round dress shops and shoe-shops. What did she think of the way British people dress?

Mrs Dobrowska thinks they dress very well, but although Polish women look quite as well turned out, their clothes are not of such good quality as ours.

Make up? No, Polish women do not use as much as we do.

With Mr. Schmidt still holding the interpreting fort, we moved on to talk of houses, and I learn that there are many more flats than houses in Poland, and only the well-to-do can enjoy the modern kitchen facilities of the average British housewife. Furniture is almost the only commodity that can be obtained on the hire-purchase system. Cars may also be bought that way, but only if they are necessary for work. Like us, people go in for television in a big way but Mrs Dobrowska says that the shows are better in England.