Re: Travellers

Gypsies are brought up to live life differently to us. The girls often do not complete their education, but they are taught how to keep the home clean and tidy, and their main purpose is to produce children.
The men make money, any way they can, to care for their family... even if they have to break the law to do so!
I have met some really nice travelers, but I have also met some that I wouldn't want to come closer than 100 miles from my home!
As with all groups of people, there are good and bad ones, but we judge them all the same! I try to judge them as individuals!
Ten years ago, one gave me a quote to replace a couple of slate tiles that fell from my roof in the winds and I agreed that he could do them. He brought 2 young teenagers with him and, as there was no work for them, he said he would get them to check my lower roofing to make sure all the tiles were secure. I asked how much and he said "No charge, I just don't want them sitting around doing nothing"
Ten years later, the tiles he replaced an the ones they checked, are still secure, and he charged me a very low price for the work. I would be happy to have him do more work for me..... but they don't tend to carry and hand out business cards.

Re: Travellers

Im a Romany Gypsy , and proud of my back ground .We never left litter ,stole or bothered any one living in a house . I wish i could say the same about those that live in houses who fill their hearts with hatred and always want to be bashing someone that is different to them .

Re: Travellers

There were 2 Romany's who had a house in the village. They were a really nice old couple - Joe and his wife Dolly.
Everyone liked them but they were completely different to the Irish travellers who I do not trust one bit.
I lived along the road from them for years, so this comes from experience, not hearsay.

Re: Travellers

Years ago it was the Romany Gypsies who picked a lot of our produce travelling from place to place with the season.
Much of that work was lost to them as EU workers were employed instead.

I have been a 'picker' myself, word used to get around where pickers were needed and you just turn up at 5am when a number of pickers were selected. So I have worked along side the Gypsies and got on well with them .

Chatting to them was interesting, they had their own standards of cleanliness and considered some of our habits 'dirty' like washing clothes in the same bowl we use to wash dishes and prepare food. They had separate bowls for each purpose. They left little mess when they moved on.
They also had a strict family code where all family members were cared for.

Things may have changed and the Romanies classed along with the itinerant travellers who are a different group entirely. They do leave a mess everywhere and don't have the same ancient 'codes' of the Romanies.

I remember when I was a little girl living in the wilds of Derbyshire, the Gypsies used to come around selling clothes pegs , bunches of heather, other odds and ends.
We always bought something from them, it was said if you did they would never be any trouble to you.

Re: Travellers

The local authority's have a duty to provide sites for travellers.
If there are not enough then parking on unauthorised sites is the result. Camping in school grounds got the hostile response they might have expected.

Re: Travellers

I think as with most cultures that we don't understand [Muslim, Travellers, Mormons to name just a few] we tend to paint them with the same brush. They're different. I have never known any Gypsies personally, and they have always been a bit of a mystery to me. I have seen the mess that some of them leave behind, but last week during a regular walk, I was alarmed to find a selection of caravans on a piece of waste ground. Rubbish was strewn around and snarling dogs bared their teeth as I walked past. The caravans looked brand new, and either a Transit or Truck was parked up beside most of them. I glanced inside as I passed by and was struck by how clean they were.
The children were all dressed in designer clothes, and the whole site looked like there was no shortage of money......I received a few stern looks and felt intimidated, so I hurried on by. I hope they've moved on the next time I do that walk....

Re: Travellers

I've found a great difference between true gypsies and those we call "travelers"

There's no comparison, they're a different race, totally.

imho, that is.

Re: Travellers

They can't drive into a dump like others that's simply not true.

And many have bought legally tracks of land they aren't setting up just any where in a wood. They are usually in caravans that can be moved , no one else needs planning permission for a caravan.

Re: Travellers

When we had the kennels one day after collecting staff from the bus stop there was a huge great stallion cart horse in the road. So we led it to our top field for safety and called the police to report it. To cut a long story short the horse belonged to a gipsy lad who lived om a fixed site not far away. The police told him we had it safe and he came to collect it. the horse was grazing on common land and someone had cut the chain.


We lent lead rope to the lad and thought we would never see it or him again. how wrong were we? he came back next day with a huge bunch of flowers for Sue and said no one from their site would ever bother us and if there was any trouble from elsewhere let him know and they will sort it.

Just goes to show do them a kindness and they don't forget

Re: Travellers

Of course they can....It's a public amenity.

As long as they don't look like or admit to being trade.