Tomasz Kot and me

I recently discovered one thing about Polish actor Tomasz Kot. I know very little about the man, in fact I have never seen (as far as I know) any movie or TV series with him in the cast. I learned of his existence when he was rumoured to be considered for the villain in the last Bond movie, which of course did not happen. But hey, him and me have one thing in common: we were born on the exact same date. Same day, same year. So we have the exact same age. And I just find this kind of a funny coincidence, if completely trivial.

One word about Ukraine

So Putin and Russia are at war with Ukraine. I am not a specialist of international relations, war or geopolitics anywhere, let alone in that oart of the world. And I try to keep this blog cheerful and positive as much as I can. But yes, I try to follow the news, although it depresses me. And it can strike pretty close to home, in a way: one of my colleagues is Polish and now living in Poland and I know they are very worried that the conflict may end up touching them. As in: they might have to make a run for it. She already packed one suitcase of essentials. Absolutely chilling.

Tea, no milk

 We have a newbie at work in our team since last week. She is from Poland, so that evenly put our team to two Brits and two foreigners, including yours truly. But I digress. In our first webcall with her, I saw that she was drinking tea from a gigantic cup. Like a bowl of soup with a handle.But what truly caught my attention is that it looked like tea, and not like tea blurred with milk. She confirmed that she htes milk in tea, as it spoils the taste. So I am glad I am not the only one thinking that. As milk in itself, let alone in tea, is utterly barbaric. Not it feels like I am not the only civilised person (or at least the only person with taste) in the office.

Des beignes polonais

Ces deux photos photo a été prise à Montréal. Mon petit frère avait acheté des beignes polonais au marché Jean-Talon, je crois. Ce sont des beignes polonais, venus de Ponki (correction, Wawel), une pâtisserie que je ne connais pas, mais qui se targue de faire les meilleurs beignes au monde. J'ai eu l'occasion d'essayer durant moin séjour, j'étais trop affamé quand j'en ai mangé pour vraiment apprécier, mais c'est vrai qu'ils ont certains traits: de la confiture fraîche, notamment.

Et puis hasard qui cause la surprise aujourd'hui au travail: un collègue polonais a apporté une douzaine de beignes. Des beignes semblables à ceux que j'ai mangés à Montréal, sauf en plus gros (le double de la taille de ceux-ci je dirais). Il y en avait une douzaine, qui sont partis dans le temps de le dire. Enfin, il en restait un et demie environ quand j'ai quitté le travail, mais ils sont quand même partis vite. J'ai essayé deux morceaux des deux qui restaient. L'un était vide, l'autre plein de confiture de groseille (enfin je crois que c'était de la confiture de groseilles). J'ai bien aimé, sans que ce soit une révélation. Mais si jamais je vais dans le coin du magasin polonais qui vend les beignes, je vais sans doute en acheter, par curiosité. La conclusion de cette mésaventure culinaire: les beignes polonais ont un goût particulièrement exotique, un goût prononcé d'Europe de l'Est. Ca goûte exactement comment on attendrait un dessert polonais de goûter. C'est ce qui m'a le plus frappé.