im a traveller AMA

[TakeABreak2]

irish traveller ama

evilorty weird questions
i done like snakes and believe witchrsft is straight from the devil

ginghamstarfish some do some dont

Do you move every two weeks from supermarket/Ikea carparks because that’s when the order runs out or is that just the general time line for staying in one place?

Has your child ever been hurt in a car park while you’ve been pitched up there etc? I once saw a group of traveller children playing in a shopping trolley in the road - youngest was about 1 - the trolley tipped over in front of a car and they were very hurt but wouldn’t accept help from anyone. I always wonder about those poor kids

My DP had a pet shop and travellers who came in would spit at the snakes. He just guessed travellers didn’t like snakes.

Witchcraft because of superstition. I’ve got some weird superstitions in our families so just wondered some of yours 😂

Why did Irish travellers ( I live in Northern Ireland and there is a long established Traveller camp in my town) steal my very young kittens for dog baiting? Traveller men were slowly driving past my garden for days before they went missing and even asked me if they could have then. Local police warned me of dog baiting by Travellers :(

i dont pull into carparks as already said.. but that will be dead line of when they are getting moved off

OP, how can I learn more about traveller culture? I have quite a specific reason for asking but it is quite outing and so I don't want to post about it. I don't tend to meet many travellers...or maybe I do but given some of the eye-watering racism on this thread, I see they may have reasons for hiding.

evilmorty alot of travellers due to religion think snakes are from the devil to - because in the garden of eden satan disguised himself as a snake to temp eve to eat the fruit

Splendidcurmudgeon the OP probably doesn't know all the travellers in the world...

splendid i have no idea im not even ireland?!

barbadosgirl i have no idea? alot of travellers are very hidden and wouldnt tell you much tbh - pm me?

ok - and that is my fault because im part of a community?

Do you ever call the police if you need them, or do you not get involved?

My settled neighbour had a funeral service in her garden where the body was displayed in a tent. Is that standard? Can you explain it if so, she was too upset but it was intriguing.

The ceremony I mean. Sorry, very macabre questions!

evilmorty i cant say ido ring the police - they dont usually listen to us
and funeral in a back garden isnt the norm usually a church service car drove to persons favorite places then graveyard

evilmorty usually a wake will be held the night before funeral at their home usually with the coffin there family and friends saying good bye usually drinking can often be more there than the funeral

Ah ok. She had someone come and do some sort of ceremony and the body was outside in a tent. It was very, very busy. Maybe it was just the wake with some readings then. Thanks, I’ve always wondered that.

I’ve never seen such racist and hostile posts on a thread.

You’re being very gracious Op and it’s very interesting reading. Thanks.

There is no logic there. You seem to have made an assumption about me but crack on.

You seem to have made an assumption about the OP - but crack on.

There is every logic. OP has said she doesn't litter/soil/create havoc/support those who do but simply because she is a traveller you are posting about other travellers' behaviour on her thread.

Women could do the same to you - you are a man just like the OP is a traveller so fair game for us all to complain/post - right? Because god knows most of us have been far more affected by bad behaviour from a man than from a traveller.

I actually have a lot of angst about the traveller community (I grew up in Ireland) - mine is mostly about education/opportunities for children - gave far too many punts in the street to women who had uncared-for-looking school-age children sitting next to them to feel ok about the whole thing.

But even I know that the OP and her community have nothing to do with that.

notacooldad wtf does OP have to do
with ANY of that?!! seriously?

you know fine well you are being out of order, piss off.

I've really enjoyed reading this thread! It's fascinating. I'm ashamed to say that most of my understanding and knowledge of the travelling community and culture is from tv!

You said earlier that you are a born again Christian and you don't drink, smoke, swear etc. Does your husband follow this lifestyle too?

Thank you OP! I hope you don't pay attention to the mean comments!

I'm loving this thread. Traveller culture is something I've been really interested in for ages, but I have nobody to ask apart from some of my customers & they're never on the phone long enough!

My question is, how do you decide where you go and when? Do you just wake up one day and decide to move on? Do you have a certain route to follow, and who decides it?

Thanks for the thread, fascinating reading.

notacooldad you do realise you're coming over as a massive racist? How embarrassing.

Hello OP, I think you've been extremely polite and patient answering some of the awful questions and statements on this thread. I cannot see why so many people think it is okay to judge travellers by the actions of a minority of their community,when most travellers are just jormal, law-abiding people like the rest of us.
Both of my sons have friends who are travellers and I am friendly with their mums. They are lovely people, their homes are beautiful, and their children exceptionally well-behaved. Contrary to some of the idiocy being poured across this thread, they are friendly, educated (both the mothers and their siblings all have a secondary education), look after their pets, and are just like anyone else. They are happy for their children to have non-traveller friends and are very welcoming of me and my children.
My only issue is that I live in dread of having them here for playdates,as my house cannot reach the imnaculate standards of their gorgeous homes!

I'm sorry that so many people here think you should be held accountable for the actions of others, they would never dare make such sweeping accusations about any other ethnicity.

Good luck to you OP, you sound like a lovely lady and a great mum.

Sorry to see some of the abuse you're getting on this thread, TakeABreak. You're brave to come on here as a Traveller especially since, in my experience anyway, most Travellers like to keep to themselves and not talk to settled people about how they live.

I grew up in the West of Ireland so Travellers were part and parcel of life growing up. We had local Traveller families that would regularly pass through our area, parking up on certain sites they knew. We had an informal site up the road from us for years when I was a small child and the women would come to our door asking my mother to fill a bucket of water for them to wash clothes or if they could have some milk for the children. She'd always help them out. I think she felt sorry for the women raising their children on the sites in those days when they had no running water or amenities. The town built a more modern halting site about ten years later that had showers, toilets and better facilities.

There were also some Traveller girls at my school, an all-girls school. They kept to themselves but were always well-mannered and looked after. The nuns would give them free uniforms and books and so on. They were never friendly to us but that was purely because of the traditions they came from where they didn't mix with settled people. A couple of the girls went on to secondary school until they were 15 or 16 but most left at 13.

There was an edge to it too though. You knew never to get on the wrong side of the Travellers with disputes because they always had each others' backs as a big clan and weren't shy about getting rough if they had to, whereas most settled people would be wary of fighting anyone, especially Travellers. In general, if you were good to the Travellers, they were good to you and we all got along. Disputes would arise over things like local hotels refusing to book Traveller weddings. I think it's against the law now for businesses to discriminate against Travellers as a result.

Do Travellers still speak the Cant amongst themselves? Or is that only Irish Travelers still living in Ireland?