Today, my Polish friend Agnes took me to Tooting’s biggest Polski Sklep, Delight, on Mitcham Road. It’s the south London outpost of a mini chain, www.delight-wedlinka.co.uk, with other branches in Greenford and Neasden (Neasden! You won’t be sorry that you breezed in! I miss Willie Rushton: http://tinyurl.com/m2t42o3 )

As with many Polish shops, frustratingly, you can’t see in from outside. It’s sizeable indoors, with tall shelves, big chillers, a small bakery section (bought-in bread only) and a biiiig counter, running all the way round the back of the shop, of inviting fresh deli produce. There’s a good-looking fruit and veg section, and…. pickle barrels!

Not that you could get close. The place was heaving with men, women, infants and babies, and a bit sticky. “Oh,” said Agnes, “did I not tell you? Today is Tłusty czwartek, so it will be very busy. Everyone is buying lots of food, especially…” (at this point, a small man in a boiler suit edged past us with an entire baker’s tray of massive, shiny sugar-glazed doughnuts, and I began to get the picture) “…these!”

Tłusty czwartek, Fat Thursday, is the last Thursday before Lent. We make pancakes on Shrove Tuesday to use up the eggs, butter and milk before Lent: Polish people like to get their partying in early. The doughnuts are called Paczki, and though they look similar to the Brit version, the taste, and particularly the texture, is quite different, being lighter, spongier and less fat-drenched (so you can eat more). This is thanks to a shot of preserving alcohol (http://tinyurl.com/lz8peam) added to the mix – apparently this prevents the dough absorbing too much fat while it cooks.

We bought lots. Ours were sugar glazed and filled with a generous blob of thick, sharp-tasting rose petal preserve, but creamy/custardy and fruit fillings are all popular too. Just the job for a gloomy February Thursday.