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| 05 Jan 2010 06:54 |
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No room at the inns By Jake Bowers (extract from the Travellers Times)
The Romany Gypsy community of Surrey
has reacted angrily after scores of pubs bolted their doors on the day of a
funeral of a well-respected community member. The funeral for Joe Matthews, 89,
took place at St Nicolas parish church in Bookham, Surrey on Monday
afternoon.
Nearly 400 mourners attended the funeral for Mr Matthews, a Romany Gipsy who
had lived in nearby Effingham for 45 years. One of those who attended was his
great-niece Ann Wilson who works as a Gypsy and Traveller Community Development
Worker for Surrey Community Action. But she said the occasion was tainted by the fact that many of the pubs in
Bookham, Fetcham and Leatherhead decided to close after hearing about the
funeral.
She said: "There may have been one or two that would go into a pub, but
because of driving issues, no one was going to drink.
"I don't understand because a wake was ready anyway, it was at the Church
Hall in Leatherhead, and people would have gone straight there and not anywhere
else. "There was somewhere for people to go."
She added: "It put an atmosphere around the funeral that we didn't
need." Mr Matthews' daughter Rose Brazil, 66, of Chester Road, Effingham, said: "It
wasn't nice, was it? We have never been in any trouble before or anything like
that."
Many landlords said they decided to close the pubs saying they acted on
advice given to them by Surrey Police.
Keith Huddlestone, the manager of The Running Horse, in Bridge Street,
Leatherhead, claims he had a warning from police about the funeral. He said: "We were warned that there was a travellers' funeral going
on.
"Since the wake finished at about 5.30pm, we closed until 7.30pm just in case
it did come into town. "We opened again at 7.30pm. We were the only pub open."
The holding manager of The Bell in Fetcham, who did not wish to be named,
said: "We closed at 2pm and didn't open all evening.
"We were advised to stay shut by the police and our area manager. "It was because of the travellers' funeral. They said there could be a number
of travellers looking for somewhere to drink."We were told all the pubs in Bookham would shut through the afternoon to the
evening."But Surrey Police has denied it advised pubs to shut.Mole Valley Neighbourhood Inspector John Tadman said: "More than 200 mourners
were expected to attend the service, which is why officers approached local pubs
in Bookham in a bid to secure their car parking facilities for the large
procession, and to ease congestion around Bookham village."We also felt it was responsible to notify local licensees they may have
several hundred customers using their premises at once."Local pubs in Bookham, and Leatherhead, where the wake was taking place,
decided of their own volition to close." |
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Moderator
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| 18 Feb 2010 13:37 |
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Thursday 04 February 2010 http://www.channel4.com/programmes/my-big-fat-gypsy-wedding/articles/a-traveller-by-any-other-name
Former editor of Voice of the Traveller - Jenny McArdle
Gypsies or Gypos, Pavees or Pikeys. But do you know which of these words are insults? Or how Travellers refer to each other amongst themselves?
They have ways that 'settled people' struggle to understand and traditions that still hold as strong today as they did a hundred years ago. Here are a few things you might not know about these pavee people...
Travellers are a group of people who are, or were once, nomadic. Gypsies are similar because of their lifestyle, but they're usually of Romani origin whilst most Travellers are Irish or English. Travellers didn't mind being called gypsies until the word 'gypo' became a common insult. You're not being politically correct by calling Travellers 'itinerants'; this is a name they despise. They were originally referred to as 'tinkers' because many were skilled tinsmiths; mending the pots, pans and tools of local people as they moved from place to place – however with the influx of plastic and machinery this trade quickly became redundant. They'll call each other 'pavees' amongst themselves but it wouldn't be appreciated if a 'settled person' (someone who has always lived in a house) called them that! So call a Traveller a Traveller.
Origins
The largest groups of Travellers live in Great Britain and Ireland. There is much debate about their origin, some say they came from families who were evicted during famine times in Ireland – with no fixed home they moved from place to place. Other historians claim Travellers were around long before that. Travellers have great pride in their history and culture.
'Settled' Travellers
To be called a Traveller doesn't necessarily mean you move from place to place, in fact most have settled down, hence the term 'settled Traveller'. But some Travellers resent being called 'settled'. They say if you're born a Traveller, that's who you are for life, regardless of whether you live in a caravan or a house. Others shy away from even being identified as a Traveller because of the negative connotations that go with it.
Faith and Beliefs
Mainly they have strong Catholic values with a somewhat conservative view of the world. They're faithful to their own traditions and customs with religion playing a very important part life. Homosexuality is greatly frowned upon. Honour means a great deal in this community, particularly when it comes to sex outside marriage. A Traveller man will expect his wife to be a virgin when they get married. A woman who has lost her virginity won't have an easy job finding a husband in the Traveller community. That's why young Traveller girls have such a strict upbringing, being closely watched by their families, never left alone with another man to make sure their honour is never called into question.
Looking for a Husband
Most people are familiar with the very distinct fashion of a young Traveller girl; fake tan, hooped earrings, short skirts and belly tops adorn many a Traveller teenager. Some may say their dress is provocative but it's very much a case of 'look but don't touch'. These ladies are proud of their bodies and comfortable in themselves and see no reason to stay covered up, they're looking out for a husband and want to look their best. However many will admit that they marry as teenagers to get more freedom, desperate to move out of the family home and escape the strict influence of their parents.
Arranged marriages are less frequent now but not unheard of, there are still a few matchmakers within the community. Many Travellers have married their first cousins but that's not common practise any more. Large families are still very much the norm, with some couples having over 10 children!
Reputation
The Traveller trouble makers have made the headlines, leaving other decent people to suffer with an unjustified negative reputation.
This is a proud community with great loyalty to their own families and people. Once a very insular community, but as this documentary demonstrates, some Travellers are now ready to open up and speak for themselves.
Jenny McArdle is a freelance communications consultant who specialises in radio production and PR. She previously worked as a talk show producer with Ireland's national broadcaster and editor of Voice of the Traveller magazine. |
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Moderator
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| 05 Mar 2010 19:51 |
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From a caravan to Cambridge
alice.ryan@cambridge-news.co.uk
“PEOPLE quite often come up to me and say ‘Er, Zoah, I heard you live on a circus’. I start to explain and then, about half an hour later, realise I’m surrounded by a small crowd, all listening to me waxing about my life . . . “Part of me thinks it’s a great ice-breaker. Another part thinks ‘Why are they so interested? It’s just my life’.” Though she may not realise it, Zoah Hedges-Stocks has got the kind of life story that has movie producers reaching for their chequebooks. Born three and a half months premature to a single mum, she almost died as a baby. And her childhood was unusual, to say the least. Zoah is a traveller (or a travelling showman, to use the proper title); her family has been working on fairgrounds since the 1800s, probably earlier. She grew up in a caravan. And she’s never completed a full year at school: every summer term was spent working on her mum’s food van, selling burgers, toffee apples and candy floss to fairgoers. Yet, as a tiny little girl, Zoah set her heart on going to Cambridge University. Nobody in her family or, indeed, her entire community had ever gone to university before; just a few generations ago, some of her forebears could neither read nor write. But now, aged 20, Zoah is indeed a student at Cambridge. In her first year at Murray Edwards College, she’s studying history – and she’s living the dream. “I am very strange,” admits Zoah, with a laugh. “Among travelling showmen it’s often felt that education isn’t that relevant: you know what you’re going to do with your life – settle down with a nice traveller boy and work on the fairs – so once you’ve got the basics you don’t need any more than that.
“But, before I even knew what university was, a primary school teacher said ‘You’re bright. You could go to university’. And I thought ‘Yes. That’s what I’m going to do’.” Sitting in a Cambridge café, Zoah pauses to take a sip of her latte. Brushing her bright blonde hair out of her eyes, she takes a deep breath, and begins to tell her story. “My mother thought she couldn’t have children,” Zoah explains. “She’d been married when she was very young, and they’d tried and tried and nothing happened. “Then, when she was 31, she got pregnant with me. I was born three and a half months premature. The doctors didn’t think I’d survive and, in the unlikely event I did survive, they said I would be brain damaged or blind or wheelchair bound. “A surgeon told my mother a caesarean might help, but ‘I really don’t think it’s worth scarring your uterus for a baby of this gestation’ – meaning ‘What’s the point? It’s going to die’. Nice chap. She nearly slapped him.” Weighing in at just 995g, newborn Zoah was impossibly tiny. Falling ill, her bodyweight dropped even further. But, against all the odds, she rallied and, little by little, began to thrive. Born in January, Zoah left hospital at Easter (still a few weeks before her actual due date in May). Her mother’s family have been travelling showmen since at least 1821 and, when they’re not on the road, they live on their own plot – known as a yard – in Suffolk. “We lived in a caravan until I was about 14,” continues Zoah. “I still don’t understand people who want to go on holiday in one when they could go to a nice hotel, but anyway. “My mum saved up and got a trailer, which we live in now. It was amazing. We had free-standing furniture which was really exciting: I used to watch Changing Rooms as a kid and dream about having it. “And I had my own bedroom for the first time, complete with a four-poster bed. I didn’t care that I was a teenager – I’d always wanted a princess bed and now was my chance to have one.” Determined to give her daughter the best possible start in life, Zoah’s mum Bernice decided to cut the fair season short so her little girl only had to miss one term of schooling a year. “The reaction was ‘Okay, Bernice, you do that’,” adds Zoah. Although she came from a very different background to her school friends, Zoah says she never felt out of place in the classroom. “It was never really a big deal; people have been more interested since I came to Cambridge than they were at school,” she says. “Where we live, at the end of a cul-de-sac, is right next to my old middle school. Whenever we had leftover candy floss my mum used to throw it over the wall for us at break time; that’s a great way to win friends and influence people. “Where we live is nice and leafy but it’s not remote – we’re only five minutes from a supermarket.” During the summers, Zoah and her family travel to fairs across East Anglia. While she and her mum run the burger van, her uncle has a set of dodgems, inherited from Zoah’s grandfather, and a whole set of children’s rides. “He’s done a lot of work on the dodgems, they’re amazing,” she says. “There’s a Formula One theme. When Lewis Hamilton started doing well my uncle took a punt and got a 6ft mural of his face painted on the dodgems; thankfully he kept winning races. The burger van is called Pit Stop Diner to match.” Though working at a fair is incredibly hard work – Zoah cites 14-hour days and fat burns from frying burgers among the downsides – the uni student says being a showman is very much a part of her – a part she’d never forsake. “Travellers have a very strong sense of family, unity and loyalty,” she explains. “We even have a bit of our own dialect: joskin, for example, means someone who lives in a house. “I can remember staying in a friend’s house when I was about 13. I went downstairs to have breakfast, looked out of the window and saw that it was raining; I remember being so shocked that I’d been up for an hour and hadn’t a clue rain was falling outside. I actually love the sound of rain on a caravan roof. It helps me get to sleep . . .” Although showmen travel during the fair season, Zoah explains their existence isn’t really nomadic: year in, year out, they know exactly where they’re going to be and when. “I can tell you now where I’m going to be in June in five years’ time, within about six feet of the exact spot,” she says. “My mother’s burger van stands on the site where her mother’s van stood, and where great-grandma Violet’s sideshow stood before that.” Among Zoah’s favourite destinations is Midsummer Fair; she has many happy childhood memories, including watching May Ball fireworks from the Fort St George. “The reason I wanted to go to Cambridge University in the first place was because it was the only university I knew,” she adds, with a laugh. Despite missing so much school, Zoah excelled academically. On completing her GCSEs, her ambition to reach Cambridge was stronger than ever; putting herself under increasing pressure, she admits cracks started to show. “I wasn’t very well between GCSEs and A-levels,” Zoah explains. “I took my GCSEs too seriously and got really stressed out: I wasn’t sleeping or eating properly and then, you know, I was crying all the time. “I was low and very anxious; at one point it was a big deal to go outside. But now here I am at the most intense university in the country, having made the most stressful transition of my life, and I’m doing fine. It’s proof things like that don’t have to hold you back.” Going on to get top grades in her A-levels, Zoah credits a summer school at Eton, the famously smart boys’ school, with helping her win a place at Cambridge. One of just 120 Oxbridge candidates in state education accepted on to the summer school, she says “for a group of young people seriously into learning, it was like Disneyland”. From lectures and daytrips to plenty of parties, Zoah says the 11-day school really opened her eyes. “I’d gone from thinking ‘Cambridge would be wonderful’, to thinking ‘I need it! I have to go’.” Given a straight-As offer by Murray Edwards, Zoah was over the moon. But then, after one of her teachers had to leave suddenly (she too had a premature baby), she missed out on an A in Philosophy and Ethics by a nail-biting 11 marks. “I called the college straight away and they said they’d let me know next day,” she says. “It was the most nerve-wracking 24 hours of my life. When they called to say I had got a place I cried, my mum cried . . .” Her first week at Cambridge was, Zoah admits, “terrifying”. “Now nothing scares me,” she laughs. “I know now that I can be given a whole load of reading about something I’ve never heard of before and, while it might be a bit of a struggle, I can force out 3,000 words on the subject by the end of the week. “In fact, I was up at 6am this morning finishing an essay: it had to be in at 10am and I got it done by half eight, so I was ahead of schedule.” As well as throwing herself into her studies, Zoah is clearly loving the social side of student life: she has a big group of friends and has been out five nights already this week. A highlight of her time in Cambridge so far was meeting Stephen Fry at a free student talk: “I tell people I saw Stephen Hawking on the street, but it’s not until I say I’ve met Stephen Fry that they really get interested.” Though Zoah will always be a showman, she would love to become a journalist in the future. “I’m actually not the first travelling showman to come to Cambridge, in fact I think I’m the third,” continues Zoah. “It shows that really different people can thrive here: my parents aren’t doctors, I didn’t go to private school, and I don’t have a pony. But I really do love it. “And I’ve never felt any sense of division. If you get lost round here and ask someone for directions, they take you where you want to go and, within five minutes of chatting, you’ve found a new friend.”
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 16 Mar 2010 12:03 |
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GRTHM 2010
Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month is fast approaching. Already in its third year, GRTHM 2010 promises to be bigger and better than ever. Many events have become firmly established and others are following their lead.
Preparations for this year's events have begun. Once again there will be a National Competition for schools and this year it will be a POETRY competition. As in previous years entries will need to be in before the end of June. We are in the process of finalising where the entries need to be sent and where the award ceremony will be held.
Exhibitions
This year the GRTHM team will be bringing to Britain for the first time two important exhibitions from Europe concerning the Holocaust against the Roma Sinti.
Read more on the exhibitions >
Get in touch with your regional representative > |
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 16 Mar 2010 12:07 |
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*Extract from the GRTHM Website*
"For 2 days only you will be able to purchase Royal Crown Derby at incredible prices. This event only happens once a year, and is the ideal opportunity to add or complete your collection of this beautiful Fine English Bone China." said Amanda Bushell of Royal Crown Derby.
Established in 1750, Royal Crown Derby is the only manufacturer producing luxury, branded English Fine Bone China made exclusively in England. In 1755, King George III honoured the company by granting the use of the crown in the back stamp. The title "Royal" came later in 1890 from Queen Victoria, giving the company the unique title of "Royal Crown Derby". Queen Elizabeth granted the company the Royal Warrant in 1978. So any china from the Royal Crown Derby that you see today - may it be on display on stores or in the dining rooms of brighton hotels - already has the Queen's stamp of approval.
"Much of the early production dating back to the early 1750s consisted of figurines popular as table decorations. The range of tableware was soon to expand and many of today's patterns have their origins in early designs," says Bushell.
Of particular interest to the Gypsy and Traveller community is pattern number 1128, or "Old Imari", which was first recorded around 1882. 1128 is the original pattern number recorded in the pattern books held in the Royal Crown Derby Museum archives.
The highly collectable Royal Crown Derby pieces are hand finished in 22ct Gold.
During the 2 day sale prices started from only £10 and 100s of items are significantly reduced.
Royal Crown Derby Visitors Centre, 194 Osmaston Road, Derby, DE23 8JZ or online at
www.royalcrownderby.co.uk |
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 31 Mar 2010 05:19 |
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What is this Country Coming too ?
GRANDMOTHER FINED £1K FOR SELLING GOLDFISH TO
CHILD
ABOVE: A grandmother has been fined £1k for selling a goldfish to a
child
31st March 2010
By Lauren Veevers
A GREAT grandmother was ordered to wear an
electronic tag for selling a goldfish to a 14-year-old boy.
Pet shop owner Joan Higgins, 66, was snared by
council bosses in an undercover sting.
She was
subjected to an eight-month court ordeal and threatened with jail before
being fined £1,000 and slapped with a curfew.
Joan can no longer babysit her great
grandson at his mother’s home or go to bingo. She also missed a Rod
Stewart concert, bought as a treat by her actor nephew Will Mellor, 33,
star of Two Pints Of Lager.
Her son Mark, 47, was fined £750 and ordered to
complete 120 hours of unpaid work. He condemned the prosecution, which
has cost an estimated £20,000, as a “joke.” Mr Higgins, 47, of Sale,
Greater Manchester, said: “I think it’s a farce and legal lunacy and I
told the council that. “What gets me so cross is that they put my mum on
a tag. She’s nearly 70, for goodness’ sake.”
Mother and
son were caught out by a bill passed in 2005 which makes it illegal to
sell goldfish to under-16s and threatens offenders with up to 12 months
in jail.
In
July 2009, Trafford council sent a 14-year-old boy to the shop to do a
test purchase.
The pair pleaded guilty at Trafford Magistrates to
selling the fish.
Mr Higgins added: “Mum has been running the shop for
28 years and this is the first time that anything like this has ever
happened.” |
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kilby
Posts:520
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| 01 Apr 2010 16:31 |
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| hi mod, jus goes to show what a crazy ol world it is when it comes to sumthin like this eh, how does it affect ppl winnin goldfish on fairgrounds ?? |
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 01 Apr 2010 16:48 |
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Never thought of that kilby? Ridiculous though isent it when some get a 3 year sentence for a really serious crime think all this health and safety and
PC Correctness is or rather has ruined this Country ? |
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kilby
Posts:520
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| 02 Apr 2010 15:41 |
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| true enough mod, friend of ours was beaten to death by drugged up bums an they ony got 3yrs, crazy eh, happy easter my frient. |
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 05 May 2010 07:51 |
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Female campaigner for gipsy rights 'ran £2.6m benefit scam for
Romanians'
[script removed]
By
Dan Newling and Stephen Wright
Last updated at 3:25 AM on 8th March 2010
A campaigner for Roma gipsies' rights has
been charged with helping scores of Romanians illegally claim millions
in benefits.
Lavinia Olmazu, 30, and her boyfriend Alin Enachi, 29, are said
to have masterminded a scam by which 172 Romanians claimed £2.6million.
Olmazu, who was arrested last week, was working as an
'inclusivity outreach worker' to Roma gipsies for both Haringey and
Waltham Forest councils in North London.
Fake documents:
Lavinia Olmazu allegedly helped Romanian migrants to claim millions in
benefits
The academic, who has campaigned for greater understanding of gipsy
culture, is accused with Enachi of using a supposedly charitable
organisation called Roma Concern to help coordinate the fraud.
The couple appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday
alongside six gipsies, each of whom is alleged to have pocketed
thousands of pounds from the scam.
Under rules
introduced when Romania joined the EU in 2006, Romanian migrants cannot
get a National Insurance number - which is the key to getting benefits -
unless they can prove they have paid employment lined up.
Olmazu
and her boyfriend are accused of giving unemployed Romanians false
documentation which purported to offer them work. They are also said to
have provided false invoices and references purportedly showing they
were working.
Scores then used fraudulently obtained NI numbers to claim child
benefit, working tax credit and child tax credit, the court heard.
The fraud was allegedly facilitated by Enachi, who attended
Benefits Agency interviews with Romanians as a translator.
Alin Enachi is also
accused of masterminding the £2.6billion benefits scam
Prosecutor Matthew McCabe revealed that over a 17-month period to
last July, Enachi attended 356 interviews, mainly at the Jobcentre Plus
office in Tooting, South London. And 172 of these individuals went on to
claim benefit.
Mr McCabe said Olmazu 'saw Roma gipsies to advise them in how to
apply for a National Insurance number and benefit'.
While the couple, who moved to Britain in 2007 and live in
Woodford Green, Essex, were said to be living here legally, they
appeared in court with six jobless Roma gipsies whom District Judge
Nicholas Evans said had 'no right to be here'.
Stelian Dumitru, 23, and his brothers Ardelean, 24, Daniel, 20,
and Cristian, 29, appeared alongside Stelian's girlfriend Leventica
Vasile, 24, and Cristian's girlfriend Paula Mihai, 29. They all live in
council properties in Tottenham, North London.
Stelian and Vasile - who is a beggar - were said to have obtained
£27,000 from the scam. Cristian, a Big Issue vendor, and his girlfriend
- who have six children between the ages of nine months and 11 -
allegedly obtained £36,000. Daniel, a father of two, is said to have
obtained £12,515. Mr McCabe said:
'This case concerns an organised campaign to obtain benefit. 'The
two main defendants, under the umbrella of a supposed charitable
organisation called Roma Concern, facilitated the obtaining of National
Insurance numbers.
'The offences came to light as a result of an internal Department
of Work and Pensions investigation into an unusually high number of
applications involving Roma applicants.'
Olmazu, who has a ten-year-old son, has dedicated her life to
studying Roma gipsies and has addressed the UN on their rights.
The defendants are all charged with conspiracy to defraud and
fraud by misrepresentation.
They were all remanded in custody and will appear at Southwark
Crown Court, in South London, on May 6.
The Charity Commission has no record of Roma Concern, but Olmazu
and Enachi are listed at Companies House as directors of a company with
the same name.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1256175/Campaigner-gipsy-rights-ran-2-6m-benefit-scam.html#ixzz0n3TcB6Hf |
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 07 May 2010 19:08 |
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From Times Online
May 8, 2010
Pitch battle: Middle England squares up to the Gypsy
fixer
 Image
:1 of 2
There are two popular opinions of “land-grab granny” Maggie
Smith-Bendell.
Either she is a heroic Gypsy queen, railing against the injustices
delivered upon “her people”. Or she is a local councillor’s worst
nightmare. The 68-year-old campaigner has helped to develop a
controversial approach to planning law that goes something like this:
buy a plot of land, wait until 4.55pm on the Friday before a Bank
Holiday before lodging a development application, then roll in as many
caravans and lorries as you can.
By the time the councillors have returned to their desks on Tuesday,
an entire community will be connected to the water mains, sewage system
and electricity supply, asking for forgiveness, rather than permission,
and presenting their new site as a fait accompli.
“We do not have two heads and green blood in our veins,” Mrs
Smith-Bendell told The Times. “We are not out to hurt anybody, we
are just trying to help ourselves.
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“Everybody is looking for land, but the perfect piece of land
doesn’t exist. So what do you do? You take the chance. That is the
predicament my people are in.”
Exploiting this loophole of retrospective planning applications is
the only option available, says the Romany Gypsy, who claims that
travellers rarely receive a fair hearing if they apply like everyone
else. “They will not disturb the community, if the community welcomes
them in.”
A welcome, however, was the last thing awaiting the latest group of
travellers, whose attempted development on a green belt site came
unstuck in Warwickshire this week. This time, it appears, they chose the
wrong community. The village of Meriden does not just represent Middle
England; it is Middle England.
As the plinth on the village green will tell you, this rural spot
between Coventry and Birmingham was said for centuries to be the
geographical centre of the country.
It is a polite, Cameron-friendly village, where retired couples walk
golden retrievers along bluebelled lanes. It is exactly the kind of
place, in short, where the sudden, unauthorised arrival of Gypsy
travellers on an empty pasture is guaranteed to have even the gentlest
amateur gardeners reaching for their pitchforks.
Prompting their fury is the last-minute application, lodged by a
traveller Noah Burton with Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, to
develop a 14-pitch site on his own land.
Overnight, a group of residents formed a human barricade, turning
away dozens of lorries trying to deposit hundreds of tonnes of hard core
on their doorsteps. They hope that their campaign will be followed by
others facing similar alleged “land grabs” across the country.
Mrs Smith-Bendell, who is advising the travellers, said that the
group was “inches away from connecting up the sewers” when the council
served a stop notice, outlawing any further development for the next 28
days.
Until then, more than 600 furious residents will be keeping a
24-hour vigil in a bitter stand-off that they are threatening to take to
the highest levels of the new government.
“They’ve got no pride,” said Tom Beattie, a local farmer who said
that he was left to clear up bin bags filled with nappies and human
excrement after another group tried to move on to his land a few years
ago.
“We are in a beautiful part of the country and there isn’t room, as
it is. We need that green belt. Why can’t they apply like everyone
else?”
He was one of dozens of protesters out on a drizzly midweek
afternoon, manning two marquees known as Camp Barbara and Camp Nancy —
after the women providing the tea and cakes. Rotas had been drawn up as
residents took it in turns to stay overnight.
“If someone had told me a year ago, I’d be standing on a picket
line, I’d have never believed them,” laughed a genial fellow — not the
only one who, despite his outrage, appeared to be ever so slightly
enjoying himself. Others warned that it could turn ugly; the Ramblers’
Association may get involved.
On the other side of the hedgerow the travellers waited. Lines of
washing hung between the caravans. In the churned-up field, two children
played among the ditches. Meanwhile, Camp Nancy resounded with a chorus
of the same complaint: “Why should they get away with what we can’t?”
If residents so much as consider an extension, the villagers argue,
the council clamps down before they can say “conservatory”. If
travellers bend the rules their human rights come first.
“We’re hopping mad,” said Liz Burk, a retired resident whose
15th-century cottage faces the site. “It takes a lot to get Middle
England going, but when they do, they stand up for themselves.”
“Why should the rights of the minority ride roughshod over the
rights of the majority?”
About 15,000 to 20,000 travellers live in Britain. The latest
government figures counted 2,192 caravans on unauthorised sites owned by
Gypsies across England, with a further 1,537 on land belonging to
others.
While local authorities must provide adequate authorised sites for
travellers, campaigners say that the number of places where they can
stop legally is shrinking.
In Meriden the siege is likely to continue into next month. While
villagers lobby for changes in the law, the priority will be to keep the
uneasy peace with their new neighbours, said David McGrath, 50, the
leader of their action group, Residents Against Inappropriate
Developments.
“The settled community should be the people who plan and determine
their own destiny. We have human rights too,” he said.
Less than 5 miles (8km) away, concealed behind a hedge on the hard
shoulder of the motorway, lies another traveller’s camp. The Haven
Caravan Park, in Bickenhill, appears neat, quiet and populated by
pretty, extravagantly made-up teenage girls. Its 25 pitches are also
full.
It was built 50 years ago on green belt land. Thanks to good
relations with neighbours and the council, there have been few problems,
Lawrence Boswell, the landowner, claims.
“Judgment, that’s what it’s about,” said Mr Boswell, 76, a striking
grandfather of 15, with a white, handlebar moustache and hangdog eyes.
He sits in a modern mobile home, resplendent with ornaments, frosted
glass peacocks and family photographs, including one of him and his late
wife, Silver, next to a painted wagon “telling fortunes at the
exhibition centre”.
“You can find room anywhere, but people will only take you as they
find you,” he told The Times. Mr Boswell said that he expected
more stand-offs as a decline in the traditional pattern of migrant work
meant that more travellers were trying to settle on fewer sites.
“You could pull up all over one time. Now, you can’t travel with
horses because the roads are too busy.
“I done everything: sold bangles, painted door knockers, was going
out and getting scrap. But the work’s not there any more. Things will
only get worse and worse.”
Crystal Docherty, 16, who lives with her mother on Mr Boswell’s
park, shared his bleak outlook. She claimed that she had recently been
sacked from two jobs serving coffee when her employers found out that
she lived on a travellers’ site.
“It’s got to the stage where people are going to settle anywhere,
because where else are they going to go?” she said.
Another traveller, who asked not to be named, admitted, however,
that some places would forever remain no-go zones. “It is always going
to be tough in Middle England. Who is ever going to let Gypsies in
there?”
Site life
— 13,708 caravans on sites with planning permission in England (July
2009)
— 3,729 on sites without planning permission
— North East 445/36 North West 1,164/251
— Yorkshire & the Humber 1,308/274
— East Midlands 1,007/395
— West Midlands 1,472/294
— East 3,176/849
— London 711/98
— South East 2,859/612
— South West 1,566/920
Source: Dept for Communities and Local Government
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Moderator
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| 10 May 2010 10:00 |
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Planning for Appleby Horse Fair in full flow
Planning for this year’s Appleby Horse Fair is well underway with
police and partner agencies hosting a string of meetings to ensure that
full and thorough plans are in place so that everyone can enjoy a safe
and enjoyable event. Cumbria Constabulary, South Lakeland District
Council (SLDC) and other agencies involved in the Multi-Agency
Strategic Coordinating Group (MASCG) have held a number of meetings at
this early stage to discuss issues and learning points from last year’s
event to ensure that they are equipped and share a joined up approach to
the upcoming Fair set to take place between Thursday 3 June – Thursday
10 June. SLDC’s Corporate Director, Lawrence Conway, said, “As the
largest event of its kind in Europe, Appleby Horse Fair is a unique
event that poses some equally unique challenges. “With no official
organisers, the multi-agency strategic coordination group has been set
up for the third year running, chaired by Eden District Council and
supported by the Police, SLDC, County Council, Trading Standards, RSPCA,
Fire Service, North West Ambulance Service, Environment Agency and
Customs & Exercise. “The police, local councils and other
partners are responsible for making sure it all runs smoothly and that a
sense of normality for local residents is a priority, before during and
after the event. “We are working closely with police to address
the concerns that South Lakeland residents voiced after last year’s
event and will do all we can to ensure that the upcoming Appleby Horse
Fair is managed more effectively than last year and that our local
community suffers as little disruption as possible. South Lakeland
District Council, along with police and our other partners will be on
hand to deal with any issues or concerns that may arise during the
fair.” Cumbria Constabulary’s Assistant Chief Constable, Jerry
Graham, is the officer who is leading the policing operation for Appleby
Horse Fair this year. He said: “Our number one priority is
supporting local communities so that they remain safe and confident in
our service. However it is also important to respect the long standing
tradition of the Fair in Cumbria that has been around for over two
hundred years. “We have listened to the concerns of our
communities following last year’s event and from a policing perspective;
our approach to this year’s Fair will be different. Instead of planning
for the event in traditional North, South or West policing divisions,
from 4 June – 7 June 2010, Cumbria Constabulary will create a ‘virtual’
policing area to ensure that we reach out to each and every community
that is affected in one way, shape or form by Appleby Fair. “This
will mean we manage resources centrally so that our communities receive
the same high level of service – regardless of where you are in the
county. Whether you live in South Lakeland or in Eden, you can expect to
see a high-visibility policing presence and receive a proportionate
policing response to concerns or issues surrounding the Fair. “While
only a minority of the people who visit the Fair cause problems, we
will be adopting a zero tolerance approach to crime and disorder and
will take early, positive action to ensure that locals and visitors
remain safe. Fortunately, crime levels are low in Cumbria and we will do
our absolute best to ensure that this remains the case throughout 2010. “We
are proud of our beautiful county and want to keep it that way but need
the support and cooperation of our local residents. This will be my
first Appleby Horse Fair but I am assured that it is a unique, enjoyable
experience that is not to be missed. It is up to each and every one of
us to make the event successful by being patient, tolerant and showing
respect for each others differences.” http://www.cumbria.police.uk/news/latest-news/planning-for-appleby-horse-fair
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 14 May 2010 06:29 |
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Two arrested over Stow Horse Fair stabbing
10:41am Friday 14th May 2010
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* Photograph of the Author
* By Andy Woolfoot »
TWO people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the stabbing at the Stow Gypsy Horse Fair yesterday.
A 33-year-old man from Dunstable was left with wounds to his chest and hands following the attack just after noon in the field where the fair takes place twice a year.
The incident was reported to police by a member of the public at approximately 12.20pm and officers were at the scene within minutes administering first aid.
Paramedics treated the man at the scene before taking him to Cheltenham General Hospital. His condition is described as stable.
In the early hours of this morning, Friday May 14, officers arrested a 51-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man at an address in Luton on suspicion of attempted murder. They are currently helping police with their enquiries.
Investigating officers are asking anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them as soon as possible if they have not already done so.
Contact Gloucestershire Constabulary on 0845 090 1234 quoting incident number 236 of May 13. |
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 14 May 2010 06:34 |
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| I would like to add to the above report ,unfortuanately this iccident at Stow is not the norm!! as with any crime it can happen anywhere at anytime and by anyone! this should not detract from the many people who had a great time at the show and were all well behaved and peacefull !! Dont let the few spoil it for the good people who attend. |
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Moderator
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| 29 Jun 2010 06:23 |
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New book just published
 Acclaimed
for her autobiographical trilogy, "Jessie's Journey", Jess is on a
mission to pass on the stories she heard as a girl to the young readers
of today.
'What I'd like you to do in this book is to come with me on
the road; back to those days when it was time to pack up and get going,
and to take the way of our ancestors. I want you to imagine that, as my
friend, you are by the campfire listening to the magical Scottish
stories that have been handed down through generations of travellers'.
You can buy Jess's new book via her website. The book
is also available from Amazon and Waterstones' online stores.
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 14 Jul 2010 07:10 |
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HOUSE OF HOPE ORGANIZATION AIUD - ROMANIA
OUR VISION
The integration of the Roma people ( Gypsies ) in the society,
on the spiritual, educational, and social level, in order that they
could be responsible citizens of their country and of God's Kingdom. We
want to see the Gypsies changed and their communities transformed by
the power of God. MEMBERS
INVOLVED Anna Schiffer ---- Honorary President
---- USA Eva Edl ---- Honorary President ---- USA Rostas
Ciucur ---- President ---- Romania Paul Schnell
---- Vicepresident ---- Canada Ciprian Bogdan ----
Secretary -Public Relations---Romania Ely Loghin ----
Member ---- Romania Bogdan Maria ---- Accountant ----Romania Rostas
Bianca ---- Chidren's Co-Ordinator ---- Romania OUR MISSIONWE DO ALL DO OUT OF
LOVE AND PASSION
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 05 Oct 2010 17:26 |
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| By Efrem Graham
News Anchor & Reporter CBN News
ORADEA, Romania -- The European Union has deported more than 1,000
gypsy people in recent weeks, and most are being sent back to Romania
where they face a life of poverty and deprivation.
But Christian groups are working to bring hope to Romania's gypsies. For many, it has led to a relationship with God.
After years of mission work in Romania, Kevin Hoy realized gypsies have often struggled with advancing in Romanian society.
"What you realize as you travel around is so many of the gypsy
communities haven't moved forward at all," he said. "They are exactly
where they were, whether its 10 years, 20 years -- they haven't moved at
all."
For example, the village of Salard is home to about 500 gypsy people
and is one of the poorest areas in Romania. Homes are made of mud
bricks, which are easy to crumble. And children don't have the
opportunity to go to school.
"I think the only way I can make some money is to be there when
people need us to help them picking the crops and so on," said
27-year-old gypsy Robert Mogiori.
Hoy founded The Smile Foundation, a ministry dedicated to helping people in Romani like Mogiori who are struggling to fulfill their dreams.
"Education is a big factor. But prejudice also plays a major part in
the fact that they are just trapped," Hoy said. "And whatever we are
trapped by, at the end of the day, the truth of the Gospel can release
us."
Building Relationships
In 2000, Hoy met a young boy in the Tileagd gypsy village, which was once known for crime and violence.
"We were on our way to eat," he recalled. "This little boy was hungry. He came with us."
"Over the two hours, we learned a lot about his community, his
family," Hoy continued. "And he ended up taking us back to meet his mom
and dad, and his eight brothers and sisters."
In the 10 years following that meeting, Hoy has worked to get running
water for the Tileagd village, a neighborhood store, a school, and a
church where many gypsies have come to know Christ.
"When people have lost hope, which so many have here in Romania, you
realize that in the economic circumstances of this country and the
social limitations of it, their only hope is Christ," Hoy said.
Miraculous Revival
The growing gypsy revival in Tileagd was documented by Tudor Petan and Romania's Alfa Omega television network.
"God in His mercy decided now to work in strong power to this group," Petan said.
In 2009, he witnessed what many call the "Toflea miracle," where 500
gypsies in southeast Romania were baptized after accepting Christ. It
was the largest baptism in Romania's history.
Hundreds more in Tileagd answered the call to Christ this year.
Hoy prays revival will soon reach the residents of Salard as well. In
the meantime, he and his team preach the gospel -- without words.
"There is a place for talking and in an educated society, preaching
the word is fundamental. But many of the people we are dealing with here
are uneducated," Hoy said.
"We could talk to them all day long and they would not be able to
grasp what we are trying to say," he explained. "Practical evidence of
God's love is what the people need."
Original broadcast on Christian World News, Sept. 20, 2010.
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 24 Nov 2010 20:04 |
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X Factor 2010: Cher Lloyd suffered 'pikey' taunts at school because of gypsy roots
By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:00 PM on 1st November 2010
Cher Lloyd's family have revealed she started life on the road as a
gypsy - and endured 'pikey' taunts by her cruel classmates at school. The X Factor star was just four months old when she went to live in a second-hand caravan with parents Diane and Darren. They lived in a Buccaneer six-berth caravan in lay-bys around Wales, towed around with a battered Ford Transit Mark II pick-up.
From rags to riches? Cher Lloyd, pictured here
performing on the X Factor on Saturday, started life travelling around
in a caravan with her parents
Cher was given hand-me-downs by her Romany gypsy aunt Lisa and was branded a 'pikey' at school by her fellow classmates. It's a far cry from the lifestyle she is living now, where she hoping to make the big time as a pop star.
The 17-year-old hopeful, who is mentored by Cheryl Cole, was
praised for her performance on Saturday, which saw her break down after
singing the 1992 Shakespears Sister hit Stay.
Humble abode: A Buccaneer caravan similar to the one Cher and her young parents lived in It
was a particularly emotional night for the contestant, who is grieving
the recent deaths of her great-grandmother and her uncle Edward, 34.
Safe for another week: Cher leaves the X Factor studios last night
It's the second time the fragile star has broken down on camera after
initially losing the plot at the judges houses stages of the contest. Cher's
uncle, Jessy Smith, 37, lifted the lid on her Romany roots, revealing
how proud he was of his niece for overcoming the hardship of her early
life to make it on to the X Factor. He told the Mirror 'Cher must be one in a million. You never see a traveller doing well on
TV, let alone become a pop star. All you hear about travellers is that
they leave litter, go out robbing and start fights.
'From the age of two all she wanted to do was sing. Now she's just the same as any other teenager.' Cher's family lived the Romany lifestyle for generations with her maternal grandmother Liz, now 56, being born in a wagon.
She raised her eight children in traveller traditions before accepting council accommodation when Cher's mother Diane turned 11. They went to live in Malvern, Worcestershire, where Diane eventually met Darren and aged 19 gave birth to Cher. At just four months old she hit the road with her young parents and lived the gypsy lifestyle for a year. 'The
caravan had a toilet, shower and gas cooker,' Jessy recalled. 'They set off around Wales,
parking at the roadside for a week at a time around Swansea, Brecon and
Merthyr Tydfil. 'Darren and
Diane were in constant fear of someone throwing a brick through their
window or of being stoned by locals who didn't want them there.'
High praise: Cher was given the thumbs by the judges following her rendition of the 1992 song
Jessy
said the couple liked to dress Cher in pretty dresses with frills and
lace and were given clothes handed down by Diane's sister Lisa. Jobless
landscape gardener Jessy also told how his mother's side of the family
sold pegs and scrap metal while Darren did gardening work. 'When it came to
Christmas there was just enough to buy Cher a rattle or a teddy bear,' he added. But
after a year on the road Cher and her parents moved back in with her
grandmother Liz before later moving into a two-bedroom flat in Malvern,
becoming neighbours with Jessy and his wife Hayley. But despite
settling in a house, Cher and family still visited their Romany friends
and family members, and attended annual travellers' fairs in Appleby,
Cumbria. As a result Cher was often branded a 'gypo' and a 'pikey' at school, Jessy said. Speaking
of his hopes for his niece on the X Factor, he added: 'We're all
rooting for her. If Cher wins I reckon I know the first
thing she will do - buy her mum and dad a house of their own.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1325479/X-FACTOR-2010-Cher-Lloyd-bullied-pikey-gypsy-roots-school.html#ixzz16FfgQxqD |
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xjenx
Posts:4
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| 25 Nov 2010 05:55 |
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| I think she is a great singer but prefer Rebecca or mat ! |
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 03 Jan 2011 14:52 |
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Hedgehogs suffer in the bitter cold snap
Dec 31 2010
By Polly Manser
YOU MAY think you and your gas bill have been suffering during this
very cold winter – but spare a thought for the humble hedgehog for whom
the plummeting temperatures have caused all sorts of problems.
Hedgehogs across the county have been caught out this season by the
early onset of winter because they have failed to make their hibernation
nests early.
Householders across Bucks – where temperatures have the coldest in
the UK on some nights reaching minus 19.6 in December – have been
discovering the shivering creatures in their back gardens unable to get
warm or find food.
The plight of the prickly mammals have melted hearts with residents
wrapping them up in towels and taking them into rescue centres.
The Tiggle Winkles Wildlife Hospital near Aylesbury is currently
looking after more than 500 hedgehogs who might otherwise have died what
is expected to be the UK's worst winter for 50 years.
Les Stocker, founder and CEO of Tiggy Winkles, said: "Normally
hedgehogs hibernate around Christmas time, but we've had a lot of cold
weather since the end of October. The little ones are inexperienced and
they haven't built decent nests."
Not only are the creatures terribly cold, but many are also suffering from a lung disease brought on by the weather, he said.
Mr Stocker, who is clearly very attached to the hedgehogs in his
care, one of which has two tongues, said: "They are fascinating
creatures. You've got to admire them, the most horrendous things happen
to them and they plod on, they don't give anybody any trouble."
Although his hedgehogs are not named, they do have different
characters, he said: "Some are relaxed, and some are grumpy and curl up
on balls and don't like being picked up."
But while smaller hedgehogs – those under 450g – are at risk in very
cold temperatures, a recent warning by the Hedgehog Preservation
Society that they are being strangled by elastic bands discarded by
postmen is alarmist, he believes, as no hedgehog would mistake an
elastic band for food.
His advice to people who find hedgehogs in their garden is to help
them hibernate by leaning a wooden box against a wall or a fence. The
enterprising hedgehog will find its own leaves. If you think the
hedgehog needs food, dog food and water is best.
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Moderator
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| 01/05/2010 6:54 AM |
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No room at the inns By Jake Bowers (extract from the Travellers Times)
The Romany Gypsy community of Surrey
has reacted angrily after scores of pubs bolted their doors on the day of a
funeral of a well-respected community member. The funeral for Joe Matthews, 89,
took place at St Nicolas parish church in Bookham, Surrey on Monday
afternoon.
Nearly 400 mourners attended the funeral for Mr Matthews, a Romany Gipsy who
had lived in nearby Effingham for 45 years. One of those who attended was his
great-niece Ann Wilson who works as a Gypsy and Traveller Community Development
Worker for Surrey Community Action. But she said the occasion was tainted by the fact that many of the pubs in
Bookham, Fetcham and Leatherhead decided to close after hearing about the
funeral.
She said: "There may have been one or two that would go into a pub, but
because of driving issues, no one was going to drink.
"I don't understand because a wake was ready anyway, it was at the Church
Hall in Leatherhead, and people would have gone straight there and not anywhere
else. "There was somewhere for people to go."
She added: "It put an atmosphere around the funeral that we didn't
need." Mr Matthews' daughter Rose Brazil, 66, of Chester Road, Effingham, said: "It
wasn't nice, was it? We have never been in any trouble before or anything like
that."
Many landlords said they decided to close the pubs saying they acted on
advice given to them by Surrey Police.
Keith Huddlestone, the manager of The Running Horse, in Bridge Street,
Leatherhead, claims he had a warning from police about the funeral. He said: "We were warned that there was a travellers' funeral going
on.
"Since the wake finished at about 5.30pm, we closed until 7.30pm just in case
it did come into town. "We opened again at 7.30pm. We were the only pub open."
The holding manager of The Bell in Fetcham, who did not wish to be named,
said: "We closed at 2pm and didn't open all evening.
"We were advised to stay shut by the police and our area manager. "It was because of the travellers' funeral. They said there could be a number
of travellers looking for somewhere to drink."We were told all the pubs in Bookham would shut through the afternoon to the
evening."But Surrey Police has denied it advised pubs to shut.Mole Valley Neighbourhood Inspector John Tadman said: "More than 200 mourners
were expected to attend the service, which is why officers approached local pubs
in Bookham in a bid to secure their car parking facilities for the large
procession, and to ease congestion around Bookham village."We also felt it was responsible to notify local licensees they may have
several hundred customers using their premises at once."Local pubs in Bookham, and Leatherhead, where the wake was taking place,
decided of their own volition to close." |
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| 02/18/2010 1:37 PM |
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Thursday 04 February 2010 http://www.channel4.com/programmes/my-big-fat-gypsy-wedding/articles/a-traveller-by-any-other-name
Former editor of Voice of the Traveller - Jenny McArdle
Gypsies or Gypos, Pavees or Pikeys. But do you know which of these words are insults? Or how Travellers refer to each other amongst themselves?
They have ways that 'settled people' struggle to understand and traditions that still hold as strong today as they did a hundred years ago. Here are a few things you might not know about these pavee people...
Travellers are a group of people who are, or were once, nomadic. Gypsies are similar because of their lifestyle, but they're usually of Romani origin whilst most Travellers are Irish or English. Travellers didn't mind being called gypsies until the word 'gypo' became a common insult. You're not being politically correct by calling Travellers 'itinerants'; this is a name they despise. They were originally referred to as 'tinkers' because many were skilled tinsmiths; mending the pots, pans and tools of local people as they moved from place to place – however with the influx of plastic and machinery this trade quickly became redundant. They'll call each other 'pavees' amongst themselves but it wouldn't be appreciated if a 'settled person' (someone who has always lived in a house) called them that! So call a Traveller a Traveller.
Origins
The largest groups of Travellers live in Great Britain and Ireland. There is much debate about their origin, some say they came from families who were evicted during famine times in Ireland – with no fixed home they moved from place to place. Other historians claim Travellers were around long before that. Travellers have great pride in their history and culture.
'Settled' Travellers
To be called a Traveller doesn't necessarily mean you move from place to place, in fact most have settled down, hence the term 'settled Traveller'. But some Travellers resent being called 'settled'. They say if you're born a Traveller, that's who you are for life, regardless of whether you live in a caravan or a house. Others shy away from even being identified as a Traveller because of the negative connotations that go with it.
Faith and Beliefs
Mainly they have strong Catholic values with a somewhat conservative view of the world. They're faithful to their own traditions and customs with religion playing a very important part life. Homosexuality is greatly frowned upon. Honour means a great deal in this community, particularly when it comes to sex outside marriage. A Traveller man will expect his wife to be a virgin when they get married. A woman who has lost her virginity won't have an easy job finding a husband in the Traveller community. That's why young Traveller girls have such a strict upbringing, being closely watched by their families, never left alone with another man to make sure their honour is never called into question.
Looking for a Husband
Most people are familiar with the very distinct fashion of a young Traveller girl; fake tan, hooped earrings, short skirts and belly tops adorn many a Traveller teenager. Some may say their dress is provocative but it's very much a case of 'look but don't touch'. These ladies are proud of their bodies and comfortable in themselves and see no reason to stay covered up, they're looking out for a husband and want to look their best. However many will admit that they marry as teenagers to get more freedom, desperate to move out of the family home and escape the strict influence of their parents.
Arranged marriages are less frequent now but not unheard of, there are still a few matchmakers within the community. Many Travellers have married their first cousins but that's not common practise any more. Large families are still very much the norm, with some couples having over 10 children!
Reputation
The Traveller trouble makers have made the headlines, leaving other decent people to suffer with an unjustified negative reputation.
This is a proud community with great loyalty to their own families and people. Once a very insular community, but as this documentary demonstrates, some Travellers are now ready to open up and speak for themselves.
Jenny McArdle is a freelance communications consultant who specialises in radio production and PR. She previously worked as a talk show producer with Ireland's national broadcaster and editor of Voice of the Traveller magazine. |
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| 03/05/2010 7:51 PM |
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From a caravan to Cambridge
alice.ryan@cambridge-news.co.uk
“PEOPLE quite often come up to me and say ‘Er, Zoah, I heard you live on a circus’. I start to explain and then, about half an hour later, realise I’m surrounded by a small crowd, all listening to me waxing about my life . . . “Part of me thinks it’s a great ice-breaker. Another part thinks ‘Why are they so interested? It’s just my life’.” Though she may not realise it, Zoah Hedges-Stocks has got the kind of life story that has movie producers reaching for their chequebooks. Born three and a half months premature to a single mum, she almost died as a baby. And her childhood was unusual, to say the least. Zoah is a traveller (or a travelling showman, to use the proper title); her family has been working on fairgrounds since the 1800s, probably earlier. She grew up in a caravan. And she’s never completed a full year at school: every summer term was spent working on her mum’s food van, selling burgers, toffee apples and candy floss to fairgoers. Yet, as a tiny little girl, Zoah set her heart on going to Cambridge University. Nobody in her family or, indeed, her entire community had ever gone to university before; just a few generations ago, some of her forebears could neither read nor write. But now, aged 20, Zoah is indeed a student at Cambridge. In her first year at Murray Edwards College, she’s studying history – and she’s living the dream. “I am very strange,” admits Zoah, with a laugh. “Among travelling showmen it’s often felt that education isn’t that relevant: you know what you’re going to do with your life – settle down with a nice traveller boy and work on the fairs – so once you’ve got the basics you don’t need any more than that.
“But, before I even knew what university was, a primary school teacher said ‘You’re bright. You could go to university’. And I thought ‘Yes. That’s what I’m going to do’.” Sitting in a Cambridge café, Zoah pauses to take a sip of her latte. Brushing her bright blonde hair out of her eyes, she takes a deep breath, and begins to tell her story. “My mother thought she couldn’t have children,” Zoah explains. “She’d been married when she was very young, and they’d tried and tried and nothing happened. “Then, when she was 31, she got pregnant with me. I was born three and a half months premature. The doctors didn’t think I’d survive and, in the unlikely event I did survive, they said I would be brain damaged or blind or wheelchair bound. “A surgeon told my mother a caesarean might help, but ‘I really don’t think it’s worth scarring your uterus for a baby of this gestation’ – meaning ‘What’s the point? It’s going to die’. Nice chap. She nearly slapped him.” Weighing in at just 995g, newborn Zoah was impossibly tiny. Falling ill, her bodyweight dropped even further. But, against all the odds, she rallied and, little by little, began to thrive. Born in January, Zoah left hospital at Easter (still a few weeks before her actual due date in May). Her mother’s family have been travelling showmen since at least 1821 and, when they’re not on the road, they live on their own plot – known as a yard – in Suffolk. “We lived in a caravan until I was about 14,” continues Zoah. “I still don’t understand people who want to go on holiday in one when they could go to a nice hotel, but anyway. “My mum saved up and got a trailer, which we live in now. It was amazing. We had free-standing furniture which was really exciting: I used to watch Changing Rooms as a kid and dream about having it. “And I had my own bedroom for the first time, complete with a four-poster bed. I didn’t care that I was a teenager – I’d always wanted a princess bed and now was my chance to have one.” Determined to give her daughter the best possible start in life, Zoah’s mum Bernice decided to cut the fair season short so her little girl only had to miss one term of schooling a year. “The reaction was ‘Okay, Bernice, you do that’,” adds Zoah. Although she came from a very different background to her school friends, Zoah says she never felt out of place in the classroom. “It was never really a big deal; people have been more interested since I came to Cambridge than they were at school,” she says. “Where we live, at the end of a cul-de-sac, is right next to my old middle school. Whenever we had leftover candy floss my mum used to throw it over the wall for us at break time; that’s a great way to win friends and influence people. “Where we live is nice and leafy but it’s not remote – we’re only five minutes from a supermarket.” During the summers, Zoah and her family travel to fairs across East Anglia. While she and her mum run the burger van, her uncle has a set of dodgems, inherited from Zoah’s grandfather, and a whole set of children’s rides. “He’s done a lot of work on the dodgems, they’re amazing,” she says. “There’s a Formula One theme. When Lewis Hamilton started doing well my uncle took a punt and got a 6ft mural of his face painted on the dodgems; thankfully he kept winning races. The burger van is called Pit Stop Diner to match.” Though working at a fair is incredibly hard work – Zoah cites 14-hour days and fat burns from frying burgers among the downsides – the uni student says being a showman is very much a part of her – a part she’d never forsake. “Travellers have a very strong sense of family, unity and loyalty,” she explains. “We even have a bit of our own dialect: joskin, for example, means someone who lives in a house. “I can remember staying in a friend’s house when I was about 13. I went downstairs to have breakfast, looked out of the window and saw that it was raining; I remember being so shocked that I’d been up for an hour and hadn’t a clue rain was falling outside. I actually love the sound of rain on a caravan roof. It helps me get to sleep . . .” Although showmen travel during the fair season, Zoah explains their existence isn’t really nomadic: year in, year out, they know exactly where they’re going to be and when. “I can tell you now where I’m going to be in June in five years’ time, within about six feet of the exact spot,” she says. “My mother’s burger van stands on the site where her mother’s van stood, and where great-grandma Violet’s sideshow stood before that.” Among Zoah’s favourite destinations is Midsummer Fair; she has many happy childhood memories, including watching May Ball fireworks from the Fort St George. “The reason I wanted to go to Cambridge University in the first place was because it was the only university I knew,” she adds, with a laugh. Despite missing so much school, Zoah excelled academically. On completing her GCSEs, her ambition to reach Cambridge was stronger than ever; putting herself under increasing pressure, she admits cracks started to show. “I wasn’t very well between GCSEs and A-levels,” Zoah explains. “I took my GCSEs too seriously and got really stressed out: I wasn’t sleeping or eating properly and then, you know, I was crying all the time. “I was low and very anxious; at one point it was a big deal to go outside. But now here I am at the most intense university in the country, having made the most stressful transition of my life, and I’m doing fine. It’s proof things like that don’t have to hold you back.” Going on to get top grades in her A-levels, Zoah credits a summer school at Eton, the famously smart boys’ school, with helping her win a place at Cambridge. One of just 120 Oxbridge candidates in state education accepted on to the summer school, she says “for a group of young people seriously into learning, it was like Disneyland”. From lectures and daytrips to plenty of parties, Zoah says the 11-day school really opened her eyes. “I’d gone from thinking ‘Cambridge would be wonderful’, to thinking ‘I need it! I have to go’.” Given a straight-As offer by Murray Edwards, Zoah was over the moon. But then, after one of her teachers had to leave suddenly (she too had a premature baby), she missed out on an A in Philosophy and Ethics by a nail-biting 11 marks. “I called the college straight away and they said they’d let me know next day,” she says. “It was the most nerve-wracking 24 hours of my life. When they called to say I had got a place I cried, my mum cried . . .” Her first week at Cambridge was, Zoah admits, “terrifying”. “Now nothing scares me,” she laughs. “I know now that I can be given a whole load of reading about something I’ve never heard of before and, while it might be a bit of a struggle, I can force out 3,000 words on the subject by the end of the week. “In fact, I was up at 6am this morning finishing an essay: it had to be in at 10am and I got it done by half eight, so I was ahead of schedule.” As well as throwing herself into her studies, Zoah is clearly loving the social side of student life: she has a big group of friends and has been out five nights already this week. A highlight of her time in Cambridge so far was meeting Stephen Fry at a free student talk: “I tell people I saw Stephen Hawking on the street, but it’s not until I say I’ve met Stephen Fry that they really get interested.” Though Zoah will always be a showman, she would love to become a journalist in the future. “I’m actually not the first travelling showman to come to Cambridge, in fact I think I’m the third,” continues Zoah. “It shows that really different people can thrive here: my parents aren’t doctors, I didn’t go to private school, and I don’t have a pony. But I really do love it. “And I’ve never felt any sense of division. If you get lost round here and ask someone for directions, they take you where you want to go and, within five minutes of chatting, you’ve found a new friend.”
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 03/16/2010 12:03 PM |
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GRTHM 2010
Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month is fast approaching. Already in its third year, GRTHM 2010 promises to be bigger and better than ever. Many events have become firmly established and others are following their lead.
Preparations for this year's events have begun. Once again there will be a National Competition for schools and this year it will be a POETRY competition. As in previous years entries will need to be in before the end of June. We are in the process of finalising where the entries need to be sent and where the award ceremony will be held.
Exhibitions
This year the GRTHM team will be bringing to Britain for the first time two important exhibitions from Europe concerning the Holocaust against the Roma Sinti.
Read more on the exhibitions >
Get in touch with your regional representative > |
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 03/16/2010 12:07 PM |
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*Extract from the GRTHM Website*
"For 2 days only you will be able to purchase Royal Crown Derby at incredible prices. This event only happens once a year, and is the ideal opportunity to add or complete your collection of this beautiful Fine English Bone China." said Amanda Bushell of Royal Crown Derby.
Established in 1750, Royal Crown Derby is the only manufacturer producing luxury, branded English Fine Bone China made exclusively in England. In 1755, King George III honoured the company by granting the use of the crown in the back stamp. The title "Royal" came later in 1890 from Queen Victoria, giving the company the unique title of "Royal Crown Derby". Queen Elizabeth granted the company the Royal Warrant in 1978. So any china from the Royal Crown Derby that you see today - may it be on display on stores or in the dining rooms of brighton hotels - already has the Queen's stamp of approval.
"Much of the early production dating back to the early 1750s consisted of figurines popular as table decorations. The range of tableware was soon to expand and many of today's patterns have their origins in early designs," says Bushell.
Of particular interest to the Gypsy and Traveller community is pattern number 1128, or "Old Imari", which was first recorded around 1882. 1128 is the original pattern number recorded in the pattern books held in the Royal Crown Derby Museum archives.
The highly collectable Royal Crown Derby pieces are hand finished in 22ct Gold.
During the 2 day sale prices started from only £10 and 100s of items are significantly reduced.
Royal Crown Derby Visitors Centre, 194 Osmaston Road, Derby, DE23 8JZ or online at
www.royalcrownderby.co.uk |
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 03/31/2010 5:19 AM |
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What is this Country Coming too ?
GRANDMOTHER FINED £1K FOR SELLING GOLDFISH TO
CHILD
ABOVE: A grandmother has been fined £1k for selling a goldfish to a
child
31st March 2010
By Lauren Veevers
A GREAT grandmother was ordered to wear an
electronic tag for selling a goldfish to a 14-year-old boy.
Pet shop owner Joan Higgins, 66, was snared by
council bosses in an undercover sting.
She was
subjected to an eight-month court ordeal and threatened with jail before
being fined £1,000 and slapped with a curfew.
Joan can no longer babysit her great
grandson at his mother’s home or go to bingo. She also missed a Rod
Stewart concert, bought as a treat by her actor nephew Will Mellor, 33,
star of Two Pints Of Lager.
Her son Mark, 47, was fined £750 and ordered to
complete 120 hours of unpaid work. He condemned the prosecution, which
has cost an estimated £20,000, as a “joke.” Mr Higgins, 47, of Sale,
Greater Manchester, said: “I think it’s a farce and legal lunacy and I
told the council that. “What gets me so cross is that they put my mum on
a tag. She’s nearly 70, for goodness’ sake.”
Mother and
son were caught out by a bill passed in 2005 which makes it illegal to
sell goldfish to under-16s and threatens offenders with up to 12 months
in jail.
In
July 2009, Trafford council sent a 14-year-old boy to the shop to do a
test purchase.
The pair pleaded guilty at Trafford Magistrates to
selling the fish.
Mr Higgins added: “Mum has been running the shop for
28 years and this is the first time that anything like this has ever
happened.” |
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kilby
Posts:520
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| 04/01/2010 4:31 PM |
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| hi mod, jus goes to show what a crazy ol world it is when it comes to sumthin like this eh, how does it affect ppl winnin goldfish on fairgrounds ?? |
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 04/01/2010 4:48 PM |
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Never thought of that kilby? Ridiculous though isent it when some get a 3 year sentence for a really serious crime think all this health and safety and
PC Correctness is or rather has ruined this Country ? |
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kilby
Posts:520
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| 04/02/2010 3:41 PM |
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| true enough mod, friend of ours was beaten to death by drugged up bums an they ony got 3yrs, crazy eh, happy easter my frient. |
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 05/05/2010 7:51 AM |
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Female campaigner for gipsy rights 'ran £2.6m benefit scam for
Romanians'
[script removed]
By
Dan Newling and Stephen Wright
Last updated at 3:25 AM on 8th March 2010
A campaigner for Roma gipsies' rights has
been charged with helping scores of Romanians illegally claim millions
in benefits.
Lavinia Olmazu, 30, and her boyfriend Alin Enachi, 29, are said
to have masterminded a scam by which 172 Romanians claimed £2.6million.
Olmazu, who was arrested last week, was working as an
'inclusivity outreach worker' to Roma gipsies for both Haringey and
Waltham Forest councils in North London.
Fake documents:
Lavinia Olmazu allegedly helped Romanian migrants to claim millions in
benefits
The academic, who has campaigned for greater understanding of gipsy
culture, is accused with Enachi of using a supposedly charitable
organisation called Roma Concern to help coordinate the fraud.
The couple appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday
alongside six gipsies, each of whom is alleged to have pocketed
thousands of pounds from the scam.
Under rules
introduced when Romania joined the EU in 2006, Romanian migrants cannot
get a National Insurance number - which is the key to getting benefits -
unless they can prove they have paid employment lined up.
Olmazu
and her boyfriend are accused of giving unemployed Romanians false
documentation which purported to offer them work. They are also said to
have provided false invoices and references purportedly showing they
were working.
Scores then used fraudulently obtained NI numbers to claim child
benefit, working tax credit and child tax credit, the court heard.
The fraud was allegedly facilitated by Enachi, who attended
Benefits Agency interviews with Romanians as a translator.
Alin Enachi is also
accused of masterminding the £2.6billion benefits scam
Prosecutor Matthew McCabe revealed that over a 17-month period to
last July, Enachi attended 356 interviews, mainly at the Jobcentre Plus
office in Tooting, South London. And 172 of these individuals went on to
claim benefit.
Mr McCabe said Olmazu 'saw Roma gipsies to advise them in how to
apply for a National Insurance number and benefit'.
While the couple, who moved to Britain in 2007 and live in
Woodford Green, Essex, were said to be living here legally, they
appeared in court with six jobless Roma gipsies whom District Judge
Nicholas Evans said had 'no right to be here'.
Stelian Dumitru, 23, and his brothers Ardelean, 24, Daniel, 20,
and Cristian, 29, appeared alongside Stelian's girlfriend Leventica
Vasile, 24, and Cristian's girlfriend Paula Mihai, 29. They all live in
council properties in Tottenham, North London.
Stelian and Vasile - who is a beggar - were said to have obtained
£27,000 from the scam. Cristian, a Big Issue vendor, and his girlfriend
- who have six children between the ages of nine months and 11 -
allegedly obtained £36,000. Daniel, a father of two, is said to have
obtained £12,515. Mr McCabe said:
'This case concerns an organised campaign to obtain benefit. 'The
two main defendants, under the umbrella of a supposed charitable
organisation called Roma Concern, facilitated the obtaining of National
Insurance numbers.
'The offences came to light as a result of an internal Department
of Work and Pensions investigation into an unusually high number of
applications involving Roma applicants.'
Olmazu, who has a ten-year-old son, has dedicated her life to
studying Roma gipsies and has addressed the UN on their rights.
The defendants are all charged with conspiracy to defraud and
fraud by misrepresentation.
They were all remanded in custody and will appear at Southwark
Crown Court, in South London, on May 6.
The Charity Commission has no record of Roma Concern, but Olmazu
and Enachi are listed at Companies House as directors of a company with
the same name.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1256175/Campaigner-gipsy-rights-ran-2-6m-benefit-scam.html#ixzz0n3TcB6Hf |
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 05/07/2010 7:08 PM |
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From Times Online
May 8, 2010
Pitch battle: Middle England squares up to the Gypsy
fixer
Image
:1 of 2
There are two popular opinions of “land-grab granny” Maggie
Smith-Bendell.
Either she is a heroic Gypsy queen, railing against the injustices
delivered upon “her people”. Or she is a local councillor’s worst
nightmare. The 68-year-old campaigner has helped to develop a
controversial approach to planning law that goes something like this:
buy a plot of land, wait until 4.55pm on the Friday before a Bank
Holiday before lodging a development application, then roll in as many
caravans and lorries as you can.
By the time the councillors have returned to their desks on Tuesday,
an entire community will be connected to the water mains, sewage system
and electricity supply, asking for forgiveness, rather than permission,
and presenting their new site as a fait accompli.
“We do not have two heads and green blood in our veins,” Mrs
Smith-Bendell told The Times. “We are not out to hurt anybody, we
are just trying to help ourselves.
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“Everybody is looking for land, but the perfect piece of land
doesn’t exist. So what do you do? You take the chance. That is the
predicament my people are in.”
Exploiting this loophole of retrospective planning applications is
the only option available, says the Romany Gypsy, who claims that
travellers rarely receive a fair hearing if they apply like everyone
else. “They will not disturb the community, if the community welcomes
them in.”
A welcome, however, was the last thing awaiting the latest group of
travellers, whose attempted development on a green belt site came
unstuck in Warwickshire this week. This time, it appears, they chose the
wrong community. The village of Meriden does not just represent Middle
England; it is Middle England.
As the plinth on the village green will tell you, this rural spot
between Coventry and Birmingham was said for centuries to be the
geographical centre of the country.
It is a polite, Cameron-friendly village, where retired couples walk
golden retrievers along bluebelled lanes. It is exactly the kind of
place, in short, where the sudden, unauthorised arrival of Gypsy
travellers on an empty pasture is guaranteed to have even the gentlest
amateur gardeners reaching for their pitchforks.
Prompting their fury is the last-minute application, lodged by a
traveller Noah Burton with Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, to
develop a 14-pitch site on his own land.
Overnight, a group of residents formed a human barricade, turning
away dozens of lorries trying to deposit hundreds of tonnes of hard core
on their doorsteps. They hope that their campaign will be followed by
others facing similar alleged “land grabs” across the country.
Mrs Smith-Bendell, who is advising the travellers, said that the
group was “inches away from connecting up the sewers” when the council
served a stop notice, outlawing any further development for the next 28
days.
Until then, more than 600 furious residents will be keeping a
24-hour vigil in a bitter stand-off that they are threatening to take to
the highest levels of the new government.
“They’ve got no pride,” said Tom Beattie, a local farmer who said
that he was left to clear up bin bags filled with nappies and human
excrement after another group tried to move on to his land a few years
ago.
“We are in a beautiful part of the country and there isn’t room, as
it is. We need that green belt. Why can’t they apply like everyone
else?”
He was one of dozens of protesters out on a drizzly midweek
afternoon, manning two marquees known as Camp Barbara and Camp Nancy —
after the women providing the tea and cakes. Rotas had been drawn up as
residents took it in turns to stay overnight.
“If someone had told me a year ago, I’d be standing on a picket
line, I’d have never believed them,” laughed a genial fellow — not the
only one who, despite his outrage, appeared to be ever so slightly
enjoying himself. Others warned that it could turn ugly; the Ramblers’
Association may get involved.
On the other side of the hedgerow the travellers waited. Lines of
washing hung between the caravans. In the churned-up field, two children
played among the ditches. Meanwhile, Camp Nancy resounded with a chorus
of the same complaint: “Why should they get away with what we can’t?”
If residents so much as consider an extension, the villagers argue,
the council clamps down before they can say “conservatory”. If
travellers bend the rules their human rights come first.
“We’re hopping mad,” said Liz Burk, a retired resident whose
15th-century cottage faces the site. “It takes a lot to get Middle
England going, but when they do, they stand up for themselves.”
“Why should the rights of the minority ride roughshod over the
rights of the majority?”
About 15,000 to 20,000 travellers live in Britain. The latest
government figures counted 2,192 caravans on unauthorised sites owned by
Gypsies across England, with a further 1,537 on land belonging to
others.
While local authorities must provide adequate authorised sites for
travellers, campaigners say that the number of places where they can
stop legally is shrinking.
In Meriden the siege is likely to continue into next month. While
villagers lobby for changes in the law, the priority will be to keep the
uneasy peace with their new neighbours, said David McGrath, 50, the
leader of their action group, Residents Against Inappropriate
Developments.
“The settled community should be the people who plan and determine
their own destiny. We have human rights too,” he said.
Less than 5 miles (8km) away, concealed behind a hedge on the hard
shoulder of the motorway, lies another traveller’s camp. The Haven
Caravan Park, in Bickenhill, appears neat, quiet and populated by
pretty, extravagantly made-up teenage girls. Its 25 pitches are also
full.
It was built 50 years ago on green belt land. Thanks to good
relations with neighbours and the council, there have been few problems,
Lawrence Boswell, the landowner, claims.
“Judgment, that’s what it’s about,” said Mr Boswell, 76, a striking
grandfather of 15, with a white, handlebar moustache and hangdog eyes.
He sits in a modern mobile home, resplendent with ornaments, frosted
glass peacocks and family photographs, including one of him and his late
wife, Silver, next to a painted wagon “telling fortunes at the
exhibition centre”.
“You can find room anywhere, but people will only take you as they
find you,” he told The Times. Mr Boswell said that he expected
more stand-offs as a decline in the traditional pattern of migrant work
meant that more travellers were trying to settle on fewer sites.
“You could pull up all over one time. Now, you can’t travel with
horses because the roads are too busy.
“I done everything: sold bangles, painted door knockers, was going
out and getting scrap. But the work’s not there any more. Things will
only get worse and worse.”
Crystal Docherty, 16, who lives with her mother on Mr Boswell’s
park, shared his bleak outlook. She claimed that she had recently been
sacked from two jobs serving coffee when her employers found out that
she lived on a travellers’ site.
“It’s got to the stage where people are going to settle anywhere,
because where else are they going to go?” she said.
Another traveller, who asked not to be named, admitted, however,
that some places would forever remain no-go zones. “It is always going
to be tough in Middle England. Who is ever going to let Gypsies in
there?”
Site life
— 13,708 caravans on sites with planning permission in England (July
2009)
— 3,729 on sites without planning permission
— North East 445/36 North West 1,164/251
— Yorkshire & the Humber 1,308/274
— East Midlands 1,007/395
— West Midlands 1,472/294
— East 3,176/849
— London 711/98
— South East 2,859/612
— South West 1,566/920
Source: Dept for Communities and Local Government
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 05/10/2010 10:00 AM |
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Planning for Appleby Horse Fair in full flow
Planning for this year’s Appleby Horse Fair is well underway with
police and partner agencies hosting a string of meetings to ensure that
full and thorough plans are in place so that everyone can enjoy a safe
and enjoyable event. Cumbria Constabulary, South Lakeland District
Council (SLDC) and other agencies involved in the Multi-Agency
Strategic Coordinating Group (MASCG) have held a number of meetings at
this early stage to discuss issues and learning points from last year’s
event to ensure that they are equipped and share a joined up approach to
the upcoming Fair set to take place between Thursday 3 June – Thursday
10 June. SLDC’s Corporate Director, Lawrence Conway, said, “As the
largest event of its kind in Europe, Appleby Horse Fair is a unique
event that poses some equally unique challenges. “With no official
organisers, the multi-agency strategic coordination group has been set
up for the third year running, chaired by Eden District Council and
supported by the Police, SLDC, County Council, Trading Standards, RSPCA,
Fire Service, North West Ambulance Service, Environment Agency and
Customs & Exercise. “The police, local councils and other
partners are responsible for making sure it all runs smoothly and that a
sense of normality for local residents is a priority, before during and
after the event. “We are working closely with police to address
the concerns that South Lakeland residents voiced after last year’s
event and will do all we can to ensure that the upcoming Appleby Horse
Fair is managed more effectively than last year and that our local
community suffers as little disruption as possible. South Lakeland
District Council, along with police and our other partners will be on
hand to deal with any issues or concerns that may arise during the
fair.” Cumbria Constabulary’s Assistant Chief Constable, Jerry
Graham, is the officer who is leading the policing operation for Appleby
Horse Fair this year. He said: “Our number one priority is
supporting local communities so that they remain safe and confident in
our service. However it is also important to respect the long standing
tradition of the Fair in Cumbria that has been around for over two
hundred years. “We have listened to the concerns of our
communities following last year’s event and from a policing perspective;
our approach to this year’s Fair will be different. Instead of planning
for the event in traditional North, South or West policing divisions,
from 4 June – 7 June 2010, Cumbria Constabulary will create a ‘virtual’
policing area to ensure that we reach out to each and every community
that is affected in one way, shape or form by Appleby Fair. “This
will mean we manage resources centrally so that our communities receive
the same high level of service – regardless of where you are in the
county. Whether you live in South Lakeland or in Eden, you can expect to
see a high-visibility policing presence and receive a proportionate
policing response to concerns or issues surrounding the Fair. “While
only a minority of the people who visit the Fair cause problems, we
will be adopting a zero tolerance approach to crime and disorder and
will take early, positive action to ensure that locals and visitors
remain safe. Fortunately, crime levels are low in Cumbria and we will do
our absolute best to ensure that this remains the case throughout 2010. “We
are proud of our beautiful county and want to keep it that way but need
the support and cooperation of our local residents. This will be my
first Appleby Horse Fair but I am assured that it is a unique, enjoyable
experience that is not to be missed. It is up to each and every one of
us to make the event successful by being patient, tolerant and showing
respect for each others differences.” http://www.cumbria.police.uk/news/latest-news/planning-for-appleby-horse-fair
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 05/14/2010 6:29 AM |
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Two arrested over Stow Horse Fair stabbing
10:41am Friday 14th May 2010
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* By Andy Woolfoot »
TWO people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the stabbing at the Stow Gypsy Horse Fair yesterday.
A 33-year-old man from Dunstable was left with wounds to his chest and hands following the attack just after noon in the field where the fair takes place twice a year.
The incident was reported to police by a member of the public at approximately 12.20pm and officers were at the scene within minutes administering first aid.
Paramedics treated the man at the scene before taking him to Cheltenham General Hospital. His condition is described as stable.
In the early hours of this morning, Friday May 14, officers arrested a 51-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man at an address in Luton on suspicion of attempted murder. They are currently helping police with their enquiries.
Investigating officers are asking anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them as soon as possible if they have not already done so.
Contact Gloucestershire Constabulary on 0845 090 1234 quoting incident number 236 of May 13. |
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Moderator
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| 05/14/2010 6:34 AM |
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| I would like to add to the above report ,unfortuanately this iccident at Stow is not the norm!! as with any crime it can happen anywhere at anytime and by anyone! this should not detract from the many people who had a great time at the show and were all well behaved and peacefull !! Dont let the few spoil it for the good people who attend. |
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Moderator
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| 06/29/2010 6:23 AM |
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New book just published
Acclaimed
for her autobiographical trilogy, "Jessie's Journey", Jess is on a
mission to pass on the stories she heard as a girl to the young readers
of today.
'What I'd like you to do in this book is to come with me on
the road; back to those days when it was time to pack up and get going,
and to take the way of our ancestors. I want you to imagine that, as my
friend, you are by the campfire listening to the magical Scottish
stories that have been handed down through generations of travellers'.
You can buy Jess's new book via her website. The book
is also available from Amazon and Waterstones' online stores.
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 07/14/2010 7:10 AM |
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HOUSE OF HOPE ORGANIZATION AIUD - ROMANIA
OUR VISION
The integration of the Roma people ( Gypsies ) in the society,
on the spiritual, educational, and social level, in order that they
could be responsible citizens of their country and of God's Kingdom. We
want to see the Gypsies changed and their communities transformed by
the power of God. MEMBERS
INVOLVED Anna Schiffer ---- Honorary President
---- USA Eva Edl ---- Honorary President ---- USA Rostas
Ciucur ---- President ---- Romania Paul Schnell
---- Vicepresident ---- Canada Ciprian Bogdan ----
Secretary -Public Relations---Romania Ely Loghin ----
Member ---- Romania Bogdan Maria ---- Accountant ----Romania Rostas
Bianca ---- Chidren's Co-Ordinator ---- Romania OUR MISSIONWE DO ALL DO OUT OF
LOVE AND PASSION
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 10/05/2010 5:26 PM |
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| By Efrem Graham
News Anchor & Reporter CBN News
ORADEA, Romania -- The European Union has deported more than 1,000
gypsy people in recent weeks, and most are being sent back to Romania
where they face a life of poverty and deprivation.
But Christian groups are working to bring hope to Romania's gypsies. For many, it has led to a relationship with God.
After years of mission work in Romania, Kevin Hoy realized gypsies have often struggled with advancing in Romanian society.
"What you realize as you travel around is so many of the gypsy
communities haven't moved forward at all," he said. "They are exactly
where they were, whether its 10 years, 20 years -- they haven't moved at
all."
For example, the village of Salard is home to about 500 gypsy people
and is one of the poorest areas in Romania. Homes are made of mud
bricks, which are easy to crumble. And children don't have the
opportunity to go to school.
"I think the only way I can make some money is to be there when
people need us to help them picking the crops and so on," said
27-year-old gypsy Robert Mogiori.
Hoy founded The Smile Foundation, a ministry dedicated to helping people in Romani like Mogiori who are struggling to fulfill their dreams.
"Education is a big factor. But prejudice also plays a major part in
the fact that they are just trapped," Hoy said. "And whatever we are
trapped by, at the end of the day, the truth of the Gospel can release
us."
Building Relationships
In 2000, Hoy met a young boy in the Tileagd gypsy village, which was once known for crime and violence.
"We were on our way to eat," he recalled. "This little boy was hungry. He came with us."
"Over the two hours, we learned a lot about his community, his
family," Hoy continued. "And he ended up taking us back to meet his mom
and dad, and his eight brothers and sisters."
In the 10 years following that meeting, Hoy has worked to get running
water for the Tileagd village, a neighborhood store, a school, and a
church where many gypsies have come to know Christ.
"When people have lost hope, which so many have here in Romania, you
realize that in the economic circumstances of this country and the
social limitations of it, their only hope is Christ," Hoy said.
Miraculous Revival
The growing gypsy revival in Tileagd was documented by Tudor Petan and Romania's Alfa Omega television network.
"God in His mercy decided now to work in strong power to this group," Petan said.
In 2009, he witnessed what many call the "Toflea miracle," where 500
gypsies in southeast Romania were baptized after accepting Christ. It
was the largest baptism in Romania's history.
Hundreds more in Tileagd answered the call to Christ this year.
Hoy prays revival will soon reach the residents of Salard as well. In
the meantime, he and his team preach the gospel -- without words.
"There is a place for talking and in an educated society, preaching
the word is fundamental. But many of the people we are dealing with here
are uneducated," Hoy said.
"We could talk to them all day long and they would not be able to
grasp what we are trying to say," he explained. "Practical evidence of
God's love is what the people need."
Original broadcast on Christian World News, Sept. 20, 2010.
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 11/24/2010 8:04 PM |
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X Factor 2010: Cher Lloyd suffered 'pikey' taunts at school because of gypsy roots
By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:00 PM on 1st November 2010
Cher Lloyd's family have revealed she started life on the road as a
gypsy - and endured 'pikey' taunts by her cruel classmates at school. The X Factor star was just four months old when she went to live in a second-hand caravan with parents Diane and Darren. They lived in a Buccaneer six-berth caravan in lay-bys around Wales, towed around with a battered Ford Transit Mark II pick-up.
From rags to riches? Cher Lloyd, pictured here
performing on the X Factor on Saturday, started life travelling around
in a caravan with her parents
Cher was given hand-me-downs by her Romany gypsy aunt Lisa and was branded a 'pikey' at school by her fellow classmates. It's a far cry from the lifestyle she is living now, where she hoping to make the big time as a pop star.
The 17-year-old hopeful, who is mentored by Cheryl Cole, was
praised for her performance on Saturday, which saw her break down after
singing the 1992 Shakespears Sister hit Stay.
Humble abode: A Buccaneer caravan similar to the one Cher and her young parents lived in It
was a particularly emotional night for the contestant, who is grieving
the recent deaths of her great-grandmother and her uncle Edward, 34.
Safe for another week: Cher leaves the X Factor studios last night
It's the second time the fragile star has broken down on camera after
initially losing the plot at the judges houses stages of the contest. Cher's
uncle, Jessy Smith, 37, lifted the lid on her Romany roots, revealing
how proud he was of his niece for overcoming the hardship of her early
life to make it on to the X Factor. He told the Mirror 'Cher must be one in a million. You never see a traveller doing well on
TV, let alone become a pop star. All you hear about travellers is that
they leave litter, go out robbing and start fights.
'From the age of two all she wanted to do was sing. Now she's just the same as any other teenager.' Cher's family lived the Romany lifestyle for generations with her maternal grandmother Liz, now 56, being born in a wagon.
She raised her eight children in traveller traditions before accepting council accommodation when Cher's mother Diane turned 11. They went to live in Malvern, Worcestershire, where Diane eventually met Darren and aged 19 gave birth to Cher. At just four months old she hit the road with her young parents and lived the gypsy lifestyle for a year. 'The
caravan had a toilet, shower and gas cooker,' Jessy recalled. 'They set off around Wales,
parking at the roadside for a week at a time around Swansea, Brecon and
Merthyr Tydfil. 'Darren and
Diane were in constant fear of someone throwing a brick through their
window or of being stoned by locals who didn't want them there.'
High praise: Cher was given the thumbs by the judges following her rendition of the 1992 song
Jessy
said the couple liked to dress Cher in pretty dresses with frills and
lace and were given clothes handed down by Diane's sister Lisa. Jobless
landscape gardener Jessy also told how his mother's side of the family
sold pegs and scrap metal while Darren did gardening work. 'When it came to
Christmas there was just enough to buy Cher a rattle or a teddy bear,' he added. But
after a year on the road Cher and her parents moved back in with her
grandmother Liz before later moving into a two-bedroom flat in Malvern,
becoming neighbours with Jessy and his wife Hayley. But despite
settling in a house, Cher and family still visited their Romany friends
and family members, and attended annual travellers' fairs in Appleby,
Cumbria. As a result Cher was often branded a 'gypo' and a 'pikey' at school, Jessy said. Speaking
of his hopes for his niece on the X Factor, he added: 'We're all
rooting for her. If Cher wins I reckon I know the first
thing she will do - buy her mum and dad a house of their own.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1325479/X-FACTOR-2010-Cher-Lloyd-bullied-pikey-gypsy-roots-school.html#ixzz16FfgQxqD |
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xjenx
Posts:4
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| 11/25/2010 5:55 AM |
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| I think she is a great singer but prefer Rebecca or mat ! |
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Moderator
Posts:680
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| 01/03/2011 2:52 PM |
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Hedgehogs suffer in the bitter cold snap
Dec 31 2010
By Polly Manser
YOU MAY think you and your gas bill have been suffering during this
very cold winter – but spare a thought for the humble hedgehog for whom
the plummeting temperatures have caused all sorts of problems.
Hedgehogs across the county have been caught out this season by the
early onset of winter because they have failed to make their hibernation
nests early.
Householders across Bucks – where temperatures have the coldest in
the UK on some nights reaching minus 19.6 in December – have been
discovering the shivering creatures in their back gardens unable to get
warm or find food.
The plight of the prickly mammals have melted hearts with residents
wrapping them up in towels and taking them into rescue centres.
The Tiggle Winkles Wildlife Hospital near Aylesbury is currently
looking after more than 500 hedgehogs who might otherwise have died what
is expected to be the UK's worst winter for 50 years.
Les Stocker, founder and CEO of Tiggy Winkles, said: "Normally
hedgehogs hibernate around Christmas time, but we've had a lot of cold
weather since the end of October. The little ones are inexperienced and
they haven't built decent nests."
Not only are the creatures terribly cold, but many are also suffering from a lung disease brought on by the weather, he said.
Mr Stocker, who is clearly very attached to the hedgehogs in his
care, one of which has two tongues, said: "They are fascinating
creatures. You've got to admire them, the most horrendous things happen
to them and they plod on, they don't give anybody any trouble."
Although his hedgehogs are not named, they do have different
characters, he said: "Some are relaxed, and some are grumpy and curl up
on balls and don't like being picked up."
But while smaller hedgehogs – those under 450g – are at risk in very
cold temperatures, a recent warning by the Hedgehog Preservation
Society that they are being strangled by elastic bands discarded by
postmen is alarmist, he believes, as no hedgehog would mistake an
elastic band for food.
His advice to people who find hedgehogs in their garden is to help
them hibernate by leaning a wooden box against a wall or a fence. The
enterprising hedgehog will find its own leaves. If you think the
hedgehog needs food, dog food and water is best.
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