Lech Wałęsa

Biography

Lech Wałęsa was born on September 29, 1943 in Popowo, Poland. He attended primary and vocational school, before entering Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk (Stocznia Gdańska im. Lenina, now Stocznia Gdańska) as an electrical technician in 1967. In 1969 he married Danuta Gołoś, and the couple now have eight children.

Solidarity

He was a member of the illegal strike committee in Gdańsk Shipyard in 1970. After the bloody end of the strike, resulting in over 80 workers killed by the riot police, Wałęsa was arrested and convicted of "anti-social behavior" and spent one year in prison.

Presidency and afterwards

On December 9, 1990, Wałęsa won the presidential election to become president of Poland for the next five years. During his presidency, he started a so-called "war at the top" which practically meant changing the government annually. His style of presidency was strongly criticized by most of the political parties, and he lost most of the initial public support by the end of 1995.

Name: Robert Kubica

Born: December 7, 1984 in Krakow, Poland

Team: BMW Sauber

Height: 6'

Weight: 160 lbs.

Hobbies: Bowling, computer games, indoor karting.

Previous F1 Teams:
2006 - 2007 BMW Sauber

Victories: 0

Background:

Robert won six Polish karting championships before he moved to Italy at age 13 to pursue his kart racing career in the heart of world karting. He continued winning races and championships in Italy and elsewhere, racing as a salaried driver for a kart team.

First Polish F1 Driver:

In the middle of the 2006 season, Mario Theissen, the BMW Sauber team director, decided to try a daring, if

unorthodox test. He invited Jacques Villeneuve, one of the regular BMW drivers, to hand over his seat to Robert at an upcoming race in order for the team to see how Robert could handle a race. Villeneuve, a world champion with more than a decade of F1 experience, decided to retire rather than to cede his seat. Robert became the regular Grand Prix driver. At his first race, the Hungarian Grand Prix, he finished eighth and would have scored a point, but post race scrutineering found the car to be under weight. Even so, by his third race he finished on the podium, taking second place at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

BEETROOT SOUP (Barszcz)

This is a classic beetroot soup.

2 litres beef stock or vegetable stock

2 onions, peeled and chopped
1 bouquet garni

1 can mushrooms (or fresh)

3 uncooked medium-sized beetroot, peeled and sliced thickly

300 ml kwas

1 tsp sugar

Heat beef stock in a large pan. Add the onions, bouquet garni, mushrooms and beetroot. Boil for an hour. Strain the soup and stir in the kwas into the clear soup. Add sugar to taste and reheat, if necessary without boiling. Serves 8.

HUNTERS STEW (Bigos)

Poland's national dish, and one of my favourite dishes. There is a variety in ingredients, some have mushrooms and juniper berries, while others contain apples, venison, lamb or beef. It is best made a two days in advance and reheated on low heat before serving. This enhances the flavour.

50g butter

2 onions, peeled and chopped

1 jar sauerkraut

1 can tomatoes, peeled

1 small white cabbage

300 ml strong beef stock

250g smoked sausage

5 to 6 pork ribs salt and pepper

Melt butter in a saucepan and fry the onions until golden. Rinse the sauerkraut in cold water, drain thoroughly and mix with the onions. Add the tomatoes. Chop the cabbage finely and mix in. Add the stock, stirring well, and then the pork ribs. Slice the sausage and add into the stew. Allow to simmer on low heat for one hour. Season to taste. Remove from heat and leave covered for 24 hours. Refrigerate and reheat before serving. Serves 8. Note: If you prefer the dish to be more sour, add more sauerkraut.