Getting blood from a stone

Whilst working on the article "Magic Kingdom or Never Never Land?" (p. 18-19) Eurobuild journalist Steven Hitchen spoke to people in South Africa, China, USA, Netherlands, Germany and the UK. Surprisingly only Szczecin City Council's press office seemed unwilling to answer questions and provide opinions. Surely they would have a lot to gain by explaining why the city's officials were so happy to climb into bed with a man of questionable background. Neither telephoning the spokesman's office nor sending e-mails and faxes was effective. The fact that public servants have an obligation to reply to press questions makes the situation more laughable. Although I am sure this is not the case in every Polish city hall, our journalist's experience portray what contact with public officials can often be like, be it organising our personal affairs or in business dealings. Instead of goodwill, a helpful attitude and most importantly - transparency, more frequently the picture resembles those Polish comedies from the late 70's: bored men and women drinking coffee, ignoring ringing telephones and hoping clients go away. Is it funny? Of course it is, though only on television. The end of June was a time of "farewells" for us here at Eurobuild. Fresh challenges that life presented Łukasz Bendkowski (conference manager) and Michał Stąporek (journalist) tempted them to leave the company. We thank them both for the great work that they have done and wish them good luck for the future.