In February 2017 he was offered a job on a farm in Elk, in the north-east, milking cows and cleaning their sheds, but doesn’t take it. One would have expected the former to highlight how Poland differs from England, but, in fact, they are disappointingly deficient in that respect. In June, his job as a teacher came to an end (we are not told why – perhaps because he was so often unpunctual? It wasn’t love that took him but curiosity: he wanted to know what the Poles in the UK had left behind.

As a slight spoiler, there's a Christmas custom of an empty place at each table for a (hungry) stranger, so he "invites" himself to a random family's dinner! Descriptions and the way he noticed little things and him commenting what he took photos of was cool.

This is something I think everyone should take into account when forming their critique of this book, and I would like to start by thanking the author for giving us a view into his time and experiences in Poland. One minor complaint I have here is that one of the goals that Aitken had for himself was to see what it's like to live in Poland as if he too were Polish - but his lack of concern for how much he spends along the way means that much of what he sees and does would be completely unattainable for others - myself included. As I stated before, for the author to put himself out into the public is admirable and I don't think it should be met with excessive judgement. In accordance with The Post Office, the last recommended date for Christmas posting is 18th December (2nd Class) and 20th December (First class).

For instance, chapter 12 highlights Aitken’s experiences roaming around Freedom Square in Poznań to hear people’s opinions on Brexit. There are also times when reading this you wonder should Ben be left leave the country considering the daft and dangerous situations he manages to find himself in. The Marmalade Diaries (2022) is the story of an unlikely friendship during an unlikely time, and stems from the author’s decision to move in with an 85 year old widow ten days before a national lockdown.In particular, I really enjoyed how well the author could describe a scene he was observing or participating in; this is a really nice touch for a memoir because it makes it feel like you're there, experiencing these things with him. I believe in this case that it is the publisher who is more at fault, so my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt, in case it was tainted by false promises. It's a great pleasure seeing your own country through the beady-eyes of an author who decided to leave a' comfort zone' to gain a true life experience. There are many footnotes, some explaining historical references, others amusing extensions of the main text. He soon discovered for himself how low much Polish pay was and how expensive things like coffee and beer were.