Thousands celebrate Polish Heritage in Gloucester
Thousands of people have celebrated Polish food and culture during the annual Polish Heritage Day.Organisers said the event had become a huge date in Gloucester's calendar since it began in 2017.Speaking to BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Mr Silarski said the heritage day had always been about bringing people together.He said: "We wanted to do something to show our culture, to introduce ourselves to British people, and show we weren't here to grab their jobs but give something back as well."
This year's festival included a headline band from Poland, as well as Polish food and drink.Marcin Silarski, chairman of Polish Association Gloucester, said: "It's a great atmosphere, everything going as we want it, it's really good."
For Ola Bladyko, who has lived in Gloucester for 20 years, the day was a chance to revisit and celebrate her heritage.She said: "It's so nice to feel at home."Ever since they started doing it in the park everything is just so beautiful, you feel like you're back in Poland."
Alicia Hainrych is originally from Poland while partner Mike Meredith was born and grew up in Cheltenham.She said: "The sun is shining, the atmosphere is good, and everyone is very friendly."Their daughter Maya, who Alicia said describes herself as "half and half", was also somewhere enjoying the day."She's off somewhere looking at the stalls, probably spending lots of money."
'Full of energy'
The day was hosted by Natasza Tyka from Gloucester who returned for another year, along with BBC Radio Gloucestershire's Breakfast Presenter, Jon Smith.Ms Tyka said: "Every year it gets bigger and bigger."It's full of energy but it's also a really nice family day with lots of people bringing blankets, trying different food, enjoying the Polish music and culture."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
33 minutes ago
- The Independent
Popular children's character to feature on new 50p coins
A popular children's character is to be celebrated with a brand new coin. The Royal Mint will be launching a 50p coin featuring Zog, the beloved dragon from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's cherished children's book. The collectable coin commemorates 15 years since the accident-prone but enthusiastic dragon first soared into the hearts of readers. The coin design depicts Zog in flight, showcasing his tiny wings. Zog joins the Royal Mint's collection of childhood characters, which already includes The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child. Rebecca Morgan, director of commemorative coin at the Royal Mint, said: "We're thrilled to welcome Zog onto an official UK 50p and as part of our childhood characters coin series. 'As the dragon who tries his very best – despite his mishaps – Zog represents determination and perseverance, qualities we can all admire. 'This coin celebrates a character who has become a firm favourite in households across the UK and continues our tradition of honouring beloved children's literature on our nation's coinage.' Zog author Ms Donaldson said she is 'delighted' that Zog is being celebrated on a coin. 'When I wrote his story 15 years ago, I never imagined he would fly so far into people's imaginations. 'Seeing our determined dragon on a 50p piece would definitely earn him a golden star from Madam Dragon.' Illustrator Mr Scheffler said: 'Drawing Zog with his big friendly face and clumsiness has always been such a joy. To see my illustrations transformed onto a coin is an incredible honour.' Previous character coins from the Royal Mint also include the Snowman, Paddington Bear, and Wallace and Gromit. The Zog 50p coin was created in partnership with Magic Light Pictures, the company behind the animated adaptation of the story. Its release on Thursday coincides with Zog Day 2025. The coin is available to buy from the Royal Mint's website in a range of precious metal finishes, with colour versions also available in Zog's orange hue. The range starts at £15 with colour version 50ps priced from £25.
The Sun
35 minutes ago
- The Sun
Horoscope today, June 12 2025: Daily star sign guide from Mystic Meg
OUR much-loved astrologer Meg sadly died in 2023 but her column is being kept alive by her friend and protégée Maggie Innes. Read on to see what's written in the stars for you today. ♈ ARIES March 21 to April 20 You may think you are sailing through a set of tasks, thanks to Saturn – but Neptune is now also on team Aries, and asking you to stop, look and listen. A better set of steps may ask more but reward you more too, especially emotionally. Love and money could set each other off so try to keep them apart. 2 ♉ TAURUS April 21 to May 21 The first step on a journey can be the hardest – but you've spent a long time planning this and you are ready. As soon as you start, you can feel how right this route is for you, so start now. In love? Two names can find a unique way to become one. Single? The One waits at desk number one. Get all the latest Taurus horoscope new s including your weekly and monthly predictions ♊ GEMINI May 22 to June 21 Switching off your ever-busy mind and tuning in to the rhythms of your body can set up a day of peaceful togetherness. Overthinking may have created a distance between partners that spontaneity can easily close. If you're single, ignoring a physical pull towards someone so different could be a mistake. Get all the latest Gemini horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♋ CANCER June 22 to July 22 Your fresh and sparkling Jupiter personality is a lot more outgoing – test this out when a chance appears to speak, or maybe sing, in public. You also have a gift for seeing straight through a love list of 'maybes' and landing on a name that could change your world. But do keep your attention focused on just one. Get all the latest Cancer horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♌ LEO July 23 to August 23 When you need to work hard, you can and you will – but this must be your own decision. A set of demands that are coming your way right now may feel hard to handle. Focus on your own inner feelings. In love? A fantasy date can be written into reality. Single? Love crosses a finish line. ♍ VIRGO August 24 to September 22 Maybe a parent-child bond isn't always perfect – but it is unique. Remember this if you are tempted to compare stories with a stranger. Making sure forms are properly filled in comes naturally to you – consider taking this skill in the direction of a new career or maybe even your own business at some point. Get all the latest Virgo horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♎ LIBRA September 23 to October 23 The more convinced you may be that you have found The One – in terms of love or work, or maybe property – the more you should make sure you do the right research. Jupiter enthusiasm can cause you to get carried away – so tick all your boxes first, then share your excitement. Luck circles 'R'. ♏ SCORPIO October 24 to November 22 Guided by the moon in your chart, make the time to contact someone you have been thinking about a lot. Whatever happened in the past, the future can be good, if you allow yourself to try. You could be a little gung-ho about physical risks, so beware of saying 'yes' before you check everything out. Get all the latest Scorpio horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♐ SAGITTARIUS November 23 to December 21 You might suddenly care about a cost that has never bothered you before. This can be because of who is connected to this cash, and what they really mean to you. Exploring this further is easier when you bounce off a trusted friend. A delayed call may annoy you, but do find out the cause. Get all the latest Sagittarius horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♑ CAPRICORN December 22 to January 20 You usually avoid emotional insight if you can – but now is the time to go deeper into it. All the reasons why certain people have surprised or shocked you can start to become clear when you let yourself ask the questions you usually swerve. You can discover so much that's great about yourself through this process. Get all the latest Capricorn horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions 2 ♒ AQUARIUS January 21 to February 18 You recognise how much power a work secret could give you – and this is why you need to share it. You can achieve success in the right way, not by short cuts or sly moves – and the result will mean so much more. On the question of love, a bond may seem boring, but so much is happening under the surface. Get all the latest Aquarius horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions ♓ PISCES February 19 to March 20 When friends who love to create things together form a team, victory in a competition can be within their grasp – but the best prize is the deepening of bonds and trust. Venus helps you hear the truth in words of love, even if it is concealed by haste or hesitation. The luck factor links to names with a double 'L'.
Times
35 minutes ago
- Times
Keir Starmer is flushed with humility about where his portrait might be
Sir Keir Starmer is perturbed by something in Downing Street. In an interview published in this week's New Statesman, he walks along the pictures of past PMs and notes that Rishi Sunak is yet to take his place, but also that there doesn't seem to be any space for Starmer himself. 'Presumably,' he says, 'I'm in the downstairs bog.' It is a brave politician who confesses that his legacy is heading down the toilet, but the PM will be relieved (no pun intended) to hear that the portraits move down with each new arrival. 'It's quite a big operation,' says the historian Sir Anthony Seldon. 'Not too bad if they changed every five years, but seven in the last 15 has meant a lot of rearranging.' On the grapevine Sarah Vine's publicity tour for her memoir How Not To Be a Political Wife will reach its apotheosis at the end of the month when she appears on stage with her ex-husband Michael Gove for a Spectator event. The book has lit little fires throughout Notting Hill, and the event called 'Living With a Politician' should be the final conflagration. Also speaking is Hugo Swire, the ex-MP whose wife Sasha called Vine a whinger in The Sunday Times, while Vine herself called Hugo 'bumptious'. It promises to be a dignified occasion. Rachel Johnson is on the panel, despite not being married to a politician, and is worried by the advert for this event 'Will people think I'm married to Michael Gove?' she asks. The cognoscenti know that contingency to be a remote one. Common ground The Tories and Reform are not getting closer to an electoral pact, but they are getting nearer the dessert trolley. Lunchers at a Mayfair restaurant were turning heads every which way on Tuesday as the Tories' Robert Jenrick, David Cameron and George Osborne ate only feet away from Reform leader and people's champion Nigel Farage. He and his treasurer Nick Candy were with the former chief scout Bear Grylls, who later denied this was a recruitment chat. Watching from a third table was former Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, who felt the whole thing didn't live up to the description of Mayfair given by the 19th century wit Sydney Smith, who said it 'enclosed more intelligence and human ability, to say nothing of wealth and beauty, than the world has ever collected in such a space before'. There was a grand gathering at the Locarno Room in the Foreign Office as the permanent secretary at the Department for Transport Dame Bernadette Kelly held farewell drinks after eight years in post. The place was rammed with ex-colleagues, not least as Kelly had six secretaries of state in her tumultuous time. Rumours abounded about a five-figure catering bill which was footed by Kelly — though, as the woman who oversaw HS2, she's used to inflated budgets. No word on whether her party, unlike the rail route, went on to further destinations. A wealth of pain Thank you again for your exam howlers for which medicine, it seems, is fertile ground. Sandy McLennan proved this with his offerings. 'Gout is a disease of affluence,' one of his candidates wrote. 'Women rarely suffer from it.' Other pearls of wisdom he's read included 'urine is often made by the kidneys' and 'proteins are all different, some more so than others.'
