AUNT ANNA

MONDAY 19th SEPTEMBER

  Breakfast, Truffles for a walk and then cab ordered for 11.30am to take me to Bemowo to visit 91 year old Aunt Anna (Jerzy's sister).  Coffee and cakes awaited me when I arrived.  I knew it was flat 15, but no idea which floor it was on, so went up floor by floor until I found it on the 3rd.  Showed photos of my trip from Machu Pichu as well as the grandchildren.  Anna remembered Adam's arrival, one of the last off the plane, he eventually appeared reading a book and pushing his suitcase with his foot.  Some interestin conversations all round,  Ordered a cab back to Peter's after about an hour and a half.
  Received my PESEL details from the lawyers, they had apparently applied for one some time ago.  So at Peter's suggestion I strolled down to the Council Offices and went to the passport section and asked what was now required for a passport.  I said I undersood that a PESEL number was now a requisite, and I had obtained one of those, but what else was required?  She told me I would need a "Dowod Osobisty" ie an identity card, and asked me for my PESEL number.  I gave it to her and she keyed it in.  She looked at the screen and then turned towards me and stared in silence,  I stared back.  Eventually she said, "Should I be saluting you?"  I told her that was absolutely not necessary.  She told me I would have to go to the Srodmiescie offices to get an ID card, but I should go over to the ID section to check what was required.  She added that for Poles living abroad they had to get their passports renewed in the countries of their residence, but for someone like myself they might do it on the spot here in Warsaw.  Any such hopes were dashed when the man at the ID counter told me I would need to produce my marriage certificate, with a Polish translation in order to get an ID card.  I returned to the house and reported back on my trip to Peter.  He suggested that I should get photos taken here in Warsaw both for the ID card and my new passport as they knew the exact requirements here for these photos.
  I managed to get through to Ms Dorota Swiderek re the royalties, who said she would look into the matter and get back to me.  I also managed to get through to Belona, where the lady I spoke to asked me to ring back on Friday.
  Peter and I spent the evening listening to some blues music whilst I demolished a large portion of the "Ozechowka", home flavoured nut vodka that Jadzia had brought me round along with the book on General Rozwadowski.