im a traveller AMA

[TakeABreak2]

irish traveller ama

Sorry that should be “ travellers are”

what aboutbob
yes we are the same non travellers usually just call us all gypsys itsbonly usually 'us' as in travellers/gypsys which call irish travellers or engish gypsys

OK so someone describing themself as a gypsy or rom you would feel was basically from the same community as you?

yes defo just they would be describing them self as english/irish

Thanks for that. Can I also ask, do you feel Irish, as in when you’re in Ireland you feel this is home, you have a sense of being comfortable there with the things that make up a country , such as the landscape, the food, and generally the people ?

Oh really interesting thread.
I will be honest travellers are hated where I live because we have one particular group who come who are awful. (criminal damage, smearing poo up walls, leaving poo on play area, damaging stuff, stealing etc).

Which is a real shame as the other groups we have are fine and leave the place tidy, cause no damage and leave bags at the side of the bins for easy collection.
We had a group a few weeks ago and the whole village was out with pitchforks because the kids snapped a branch and made some kind of swing (meanwhile local kids were setting fires and smashing glass everywhere!)

Anyway I haven't read all the thread yet so apologies if it's been asked but how accepted would members of the non travelling community be if marrying a traveller or such?

And basically do you have friends who are non travellers or are you encouraged to stick within your own community?

And by the Irish people I mean Irish non travellers as well as Irish travellers .

whataboutbob
i do, even though i was born in england ill say 'going back to ireland' as in back home

people always get married to nontravellers with some its a big deal and others its not, i dont have any friends thats not travellers to be honest i know a girl of when i was younger instill talk to now and then but thats about.. no other reason than opportunity really

Thanks takeabreak, I’ve really appreciated your answers. Like many non travellers/ gypsies I’ve always been a little fascinated by travellers.
Finally, one more question if you have time. Do you/ your community come across Eastern European gypsies ? And do you see any commonality or are they just too different culturally?

romany gypsys (not english) if that makes sense dont mix with them we did have some staying on this site a few weeks ago for a week tho

I usually hate these AMAs but have been following this one with interest.

I live in an area of the country with a high traveller population - both permanent traveller sites and seemingly a popular part of the country for travellers to stop.

In my experience, there are 4 kinds of travellers:

1. The settled travellers. They live in houses, they work, children go to the local schools, they are ordinary members of the local community. Generally locally, the ones to have settled are now the grandparent generation. You wouldn't know their children and grandchildren were travellers although their surnames are a give away (like OP mentioned, there's a small number of large family groups).

1. Those who travel for business - those who travel with the circus and the fairs. They arrive, set up, work long hours (preparing, doing their thing, dismantling everything again) and then move on. There is zero evidence they've been there (besides the mess the locals leave behind after visiting the attraction) and there's never any trouble - obviously, or the council would never let them back the following year.

1. The bad ones. The ones who make the stereotype then blow it out of the water. Over the last decade, locally there has been horrific assaults committed by travellers (one that springs to mind is a 90+ year old war veteran who was burgled in his home and left for dead after being attacked by claw hammer), murder (interestingly between two traveller families rather than travellers and non travellers), crime (it's estimated that crime committed by travellers in the county amounts to over £2 million a year), they commit animal cruelty (I work in animal care and deal with the abused and neglected dogs that they leave behind, the unvaccinated puppies with parvovirus and distemper that are dumped) they cause unnecessary destruction and mess when they pitch up illegally (it cost £20k to get the local park and ride back up and running after a recent bunch showed up). These are the stories we hear about. These are the travellers who set the stereotypes that people believe. These stereotypes fit some travellers living on illegal camps and permanent sites locally.

1. The rest - the travellers who live largely under the radar and go unnoticed. They turn up somewhere (an official site or occasionally you see them spend a few days in a layby or public car park), they live their life, they pack up and move on. No fuss, no drama, no damage, no mess. There's one family in particular who pitch up at the end of a country lane (dead end) near where I live, a few times a year - it's on one of my running and cycling routes. They're friendly, chatty, hospitable (I'm always asked if I need my water bottles refilled or a snack or anything!) and I'm always conscious that I'm effectively running/cycling through the middle of their living room!

To me, it seems such a shame that #1 #2 and #4 constantly have to live in the shadow of #3, especially in 2018 when we're more accepting of minority groups than ever.

Thank you for making their thread OP, and seeing it through, despite the prejudices that you have received.

My question to you - if you could travel anywhere in the world - where would you go?

We have travellers camping illegally near us at the moment. They have taken over a football field / play area and have 6 dogs running around. They are spoiling the area for local residents. I don't understand why travellers need to be so disruptive? Or make & leave so much mess? We have dog poo, wood lying around, open bin bags etc that weren't there before. We foolishly paid one gypsy man to clean our gutters, he took the money and never came back. I thought I'd try not to judge but he never came back.

I also find it sad that traveller kids don't go to school and have such poor grammar and spelling as demonstrated by your own posts. Home schooling is clearly not good enough and I don't understand why more isn't done to ensure the children get a full proper education up to age 16.

another original username i agree with all but 2. they arent 'travellers' yes the travel for work ect but their parents and family isnt travellers - so they are non travellers. i agree with the rest though. if i could chose one place to go to would be america im dying to go but to travel would be what my husbands been telling me sinse we got married wed do - another thing he never got round to doing yet 😂 would be to drive across to france through southern frace and into spain in a camper van maybe one day

flopsyandjim
youve litterally told me the same things alot more people has told me. please read my previous replys to find that this is a AMA not tell me what youve expierienced with travellers! also my reading/writing skills is better than this - why would i need to put a capitail letter at the beggining of every sentance or use the right punctuation? its an online thread not a letter to a company im hoping for a job off!

you said it's getting harder to get a job...so give your children a proper education, learn proper grammar and spelling, and it won't be as hard.

If you have to change schools regularly due to travel, so be it. I've seen plenty of CVs from traveller teenagers based at the fixed traveller site / council site. They are appallingly bad. Poor spelling and barely legible.

Sorry but I can't be sympathetic when I can't take my daughter to her local park anymore because your peers have taken over it. A friend works in a school and tells me the children are often dirty, foul mouthed, hit other kids and sometimes have bruises themselves, but if you say anything the parents become aggressive themselves and move on without any forwarding addresses. So the children do not get the support they need. It's a real child welfare concern.

@flopsyandjim I find your reply to OP extremely insulting! I am by no means a traveller, however am close acquaintances with some. And the way you degrade OPs spelling/grammar is disgusting. Why would she or her husband need educating to degree level, she is raising the kids and her husband is making the money. It's worked for generations so why make major changes now. And correct me if I'm wrong OP but you probably drive a better car than these racist dossers. And I've very rarely met a traveller that doesn't wear a Rolex. So flopsy wind your neck in and thanks once again for this brilliant informative thread

im sorry but your really starting to upset me now!! peers would be a friendship group not some strangers that could live hundreds of mile from me!! if you read my reply i said i would be getting my ds educated at least for a back up plan!! the reason your park is destroyed is not my fault, i assume there still there? go take that up with them - not me! if school had true concerns on the welfare of children they should 100% be contacting social services like they are supposed to! even with out a forwarding adress ss would be able to pick them up(attending gps,new schools ect)

TakeaBreak, your thread had been really interesting and I love the way you reply. It’s heartwarming and It’s like sitting with you and having a blether. Please ignore the likes of FlopsysndChopsy and post around them.

Agree with @Floradoranora

i firther agree

i firther agreegrin

😂

You’ve had me thinking about my grans cabbage, tatties and ham since you mentioned it pages ago. We could tell the days of the week by our meals and Wednesday was cabbage, tatties and ham followed by stove top rice pudding with a dollop of jam in it.

Ps - she’s been dead for decades now but I can still taste it to this day.

*TakeABreak2

another original username i agree with all but 2. they arent 'travellers' yes the travel for work ect but their parents and family isnt travellers - so they are non travellers.*

Ah, but to the locals, anyone who rocks up in a caravan is a "traveller"

Unless they're a tourist, then they're Grockles jamming up the roads with their damn Grockle boxes 😂