On Saturday, 20 June, the annual “Summer Fête” picnic was held in the gardens of the Brompton Oratory Catholic Church in London. The Polish stall, organised for several years by the British Poles media, was a great success, attracting crowds eager to taste our excellent traditional products.

Once a year, the church opens its gardens to welcome the Catholic community for a picnic. The goal is to strengthen the community and raise funds for the church’s upkeep. The garden fills with stalls selling food, drinks, books, jewellery—anything that can help fulfil the charitable mission of the event.

The picnic always attracts key figures from the worlds of politics and culture, mostly from London. It is an exclusive event, and only trusted individuals from the Catholic circles in London are allowed to host a stall. The Oratorians have welcomed our Polish representation for several years now.

The Brompton Oratory, a stunning neoclassical Roman Catholic church dedicated to St. Philip Neri, is located in South Kensington. Construction began in 1878, with its striking dome completed in 1896 in a flamboyant Baroque style.

The church has been well-known to the Polish community since World War II. After the war, tens of thousands of soldiers did not return to occupied Poland, fearing persecution.

South Kensington was then the heart of Polish life, hosting Polish community organisations, the Polish government offices, the White Eagle Club, the Ognisko Polskie Club, the Airmen’s Club, the Veterans’ Club, the “Dziennik Polski” newspaper office, the Polish Institute, and the Sikorski Museum, as well as some of London’s oldest Polish restaurants like Daquise and Ognisko (where General Władysław Anders had his favourite table). These were meeting points for Polish emigrants. The Brompton Oratory held a significant place on this list. Thanks to excellent co-operation with the Oratorian fathers, from 1945 to 1962, a Polish Mass was held every Sunday at 1pm. In 1962, the Polish Catholic Mission established its own parish, St. Andrew Bobola, in Hammersmith.

As the picnic is guided by a charitable mission, sponsors came forward to support the event in response to our appeal. We are deeply grateful to Lady Halina Munster and Janusz Sikora-Sikorski for their generous donation, which enabled us to make the essential purchases needed for the picnic.

We also received a donation from FTSpot in the form of several varieties of Polish beer, which remained in high demand, with a queue forming almost continuously. Great interest was also shown in the fermented fruit lemonades from Ferment Fizz, which proved excellent at quenching thirst on a hot day.

We would also like to thank the Embassy of the Republic of Poland for donating a wide range of promotional materials showcasing the beauty of Poland. These excellent English-language publications generated great interest in our country among visitors.

Our stall looked impressive, with beautifully arranged Polish products. We decorated it with the Polish flag, making it easy for anyone entering the garden to spot and identify us instantly.

Sales were a huge success, and our charitable collection surpassed the results of previous years. No surprise—Brits have long known and appreciated the taste of Polish food.

As every year, we were also visited by many Poles. We were honoured by the presence of the Consul of the Republic of Poland, Agnieszka Fabryczewska, Blanka Konopka from the Polish Cultural Institute, Father Marek Gałuszka, parish priest of the Church of Christ the King in Balham, British councillors as well as many friends.

The Polish community in London is closely tied to Brompton Oratory. Almost everyone knows someone who was baptised there, took First Communion, or got married there. Many Poles still attend the Latin Mass, held every Sunday at 11:00 a.m

The Oratorian Fathers repeatedly came over to express their delight at the success of our stand, which truly captured the hearts of the visitors. It is satisfying to be able to fulfil the picnic’s charitable mission in this way.

All proceeds from the sales were donated to the church. We wholeheartedly thank all our sponsors for such an outstanding promotion of Poland among the British public.

See you next year!

Maria Byczynski

Photos: British Poles