I recently wrote about the disgusting habit 'travellers' have, of tipping rubbish all around where they stop for a while (until being kicked out).
You will notice in the above photo of me and a couple of my children, sitting in a friend's old Irish Lot wagon, that there is not a single sweet wrapper on the ground; no different to around my own home, a few metres away.
The owners of the above wagon stayed with us for about a month. Their horse 'Joe' ate our grass, and the owners helped around the place, before heading off again for the south coast where they eventually sold the whole caboodle.
When they left, the field I'd lent them was spotless, and being such tidy folk they'd found absolutely no problem finding other places to stay every night on their way down.
Not something one could say about the white van and caravan brigade!
Travellers who travel by horse and caravan have no time for the white van brigade. 'They are not real travellers' they will tell you if you ask them. I went camping near Appelby one time (I'd forgotten the horse fair was on) and was impressed by the unending convoy of brightly painted caravans and well groomed horses going over the moorland road. No rubbish anywhere.
ReplyDeleteMy point exactly, yet people still talk of the two groups in the same breath. Not that our friends were pukka 'Gypsies', but they abided by their rules.
DeleteThere are three types of traveller... the true Romany, the true Irish gypsy and the Didicoy.
ReplyDeleteHere we have an abundance of Romany... they were the original vineyard workforce...
when I lived in Norfolk there was an abundance of didcoy... as untidy as you've described... and also flash-harry in their way of life.
The true Irish Gypsies were as proud as the true Romany... spotless sites, often with wonderful chrome caravans with cut glass or stained glass windows.
All the Gypsy roadside sites were nice to look at, too.... often with little white picket fences.
I was born in a Surrey village where we had a wheelwright who was highly respected by the Gypsy community. He almost specialised in repairing wheels and wagons, and as a result the village became home to gatherings etc. We even boasted a so-called 'King of the Gypsies' in our midst; a certain Mr Nelson Smith, who's wagon became his funeral pyre after he died. As a small child I always remember them being a very pleasant group. Kushti Bok.
DeleteNorfolk is now much worse Pre, full of dids and rural crime capital of the country.
DeleteHere the gypsies are called 'Roma', Romany I guess. They are cheats and thieves and live in dumps. I've never seen any that look roma-ntic around here.
ReplyDeleteThey all own big pick-ups, BMWs and flash gold.
I went to a Roma gypsy town in Moldova. They live in houses like palaces and do no work. A BMW outside one house had a Norfolk number plate. I thought, I know where some of this money comes from.
DeleteThe modern Roma Gypsies are nothing to do with the old Romany Gypsies, although they have mutual distant origins. The Roma go to the UK as criminal gangs, specialising in shoplifting, begging, and thieving in general. They operate in gangs, often flooding town centres and going on massive shoplifting sprees. Nasty people.
DeleteWhile I understand why calling our Aborigines Boongs is offensive and the N word is offensive in Northern America, I don't understand why travellers aren't called gypsies as they used to be called and still are in many parts of the world. I am always cautious about political correctness gone mad, but........
ReplyDeleteAndrew, it's because the 'Travellers' aren't Gypsies. They are usually Irish families who simply live in caravans, and make a living by selling scrap metal or stealing. This may not be very PC, but it's true.
DeleteGo on. Admit it. You hid your sweet wrappers in your beard.
ReplyDeleteI hid them behind the Champagne bottle!
DeleteAs I said - they vary greatly on their way to the Appleby Horse Fair - some are a joy to see and welcome - others leave mess.
ReplyDeleteNot all to be tarred with the same brush, but most of the white van and caravan travellers are pretty messy.
DeleteBefore I decant my rubbish into your comment box let me say that I can get quite militant when it comes to people leaving shit behind. To me it's the height of being inconsiderate. And if there is one type of person I don't like it's the inconsiderate. I have said to people, even those much bigger than me, when they toss that banana skin and other crap over their shoulder/out of the car window: "Who do you think will be cleaning up after you/" Gives me startled looks. Which is better than a punch in the face. Sometimes my intervention appears to spark a light.
ReplyDeleteSo, yes, that was the caveat. Having said that, and to understand: I work in research. Which means that I do a lot of jobs "under cover". Yes, sounds interesting, and it is if you are eternally curious as to the ways of the world, though not always exciting. So, there I was, a few years ago, under cover, having accepted a one night stand, cash in hand - guess what, Yes. I can't believe it either. Comes with the job. There had been a big game in the city (can't remember now which sport it was, Australia was involved against an English team) and, via gumtree, people were roped in to clean the stadium afterwards. Cro, forget all you said about travellers. I had never ever ever ever seen anything like it as I did that night. Remember, we are talking about people going to watch some match. Not travellers. People. You know with homes and rubbish bins and flushing toilets to go back to. There was an army of us picking up after, after these "civilized" people had left to return to their tidy homes. Seriously, it was incredible. They had just dropped, be it cans, Styrofoam cups, empty wrappers, anything. It was Babylon. Sodom and Gomorrah. It was disgusting. And it was an education. And it was very cold. And I learnt something about mankind.
What I am trying to say, without wishing to repeat myself, thoughtlessness in society is rife. If you actually confronted the individual they'd probably be horrified that finding a bin, or taking their rubbish home, was beyond their comprehension.
Yes, sigh, waging war on rubbish, yours,
U
You only have to look at fields after open air concerts. Glastonbury after the darlings have all gone home looks like the Somme. Brighton beach after Fat Boy Slim had played a few records was more like a municipal tip than somewhere you'd spend an afternoon! I suppose the difference is that 'travellers' actually take their rubbish home with them, and only move on when there's no room left.
DeleteI fell slightly ill, but it will pass.
ReplyDelete