District News

Holey Soles Rambling Group’s next walk is on March 25 and will be from Cardross to Balloch. The coach will leave from outside St Bernadette’s church hall, Logan’s Road, Motherwell at 10.30am. For enquiries about the group, contact Margaret Campbell on 01698 269277. Public meeting The campaign for an independent Scotland gained support at the meeting, organised by the Lanarkshire Forum for Independence in the Bentley Hotel, Motherwell on Wednesday, March 7. The large audience found it to be a “thoroughly informative and entertaining evening - first class political insight delivered with great humour” and “engaging discussion with an enthusiastic audience”. Billed as “winning the argument on independence,” guest speaker, writer and newspaper columnist Paul Kavanagh said: “It was fantastic to see so many people turn out to the meeting in Motherwell. The venue was packed out. It proves that when politicians claim that there is no appetite for independence, they’re wrong. Lanarkshire is full of passionate and talented people who are doing their best to tackle the many problems and issues that post-industrial areas face, but only when Scotland is able to decide its own path will the great potential of Lanarkshire be unleashed.” Rotary Club The guest speaker at last week’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Motherwell and Wishaw was Michal Zawisza, the Polish vice consul based in the Polish Consulate General office, Edinburgh. Michal works in the legal and consular section and is married with a young son. He informed the members that a history of occupation over the past two centuries has given the Poles a profound sympathy with those fighting for freedom and independence. But links between Poland and Scotland go far deeper than romantic sentiment. One of Scottish history’s greatest figures, Charles Edward Stuart known as Bonnie Prince Charlie - who led an ill-fated attempt to regain the British throne in 1745 - was half Polish. His mother Maria Klementyna Sobieska was the granddaughter of King Jan III Sobieski. The long history of Scottish migration to Poland began in the 15th century, and several villages and districts are named Nowa Szkocja or Szkocja (New Scotland). Scottish merchants and craftsmen arrived in Poland in the 15th century and religious tolerance made it an attractive place for Scots of all denominations. By the 17th century 30,000 Scots were living in the country and settled in the city of Krakow, and to reflect this in 1576, King Stefan Batory assigned a district of the city to them. Seventeenth century records include several references to Scots becoming citizens. Under King Stefan Scottish merchants supplied the royal court in Krakow and one Scot, Alexander Chalmers (known as Alexander Czamer) became mayor of Warsaw between 1691 and 1702 and a commemoration plaque can be found in the city’s old town. In 1940, after the fall of Poland to the Nazis, the Polish army was forced to regroup. In agreement with the exiled Polish government, many soldiers were sent to eastern Scottish seaboard towns to help defend the coastline from invasion. An estimated 38,000 Polish soldiers arrived in Scotland between 1940 and 1944, and many chose to stay after the war rather than return to a Soviet-occupied Poland. One soldier Cracovian Jan Tomasik stationed near Barony Castle, Peeblesshire bought it many years later and opened a hotel. He then embarked on an extraordinary tribute to his adopted country by constructing a giant, three-dimensional map of Scotland moulded from concrete. Known as the Great Polish Map of