im a traveller AMA

[TakeABreak2]

irish traveller ama

OP this is an interesting thread and you sound like a lovely person. One of my dds has a close friend who is from a nearby traveller community who she met when they had riding lessons together. Dd taught friend to read and write properly and while the friend’s parents were not pleased they have not stopped the friendship, which has been ongoing for 15 years. Would you mind your dc having non traveller friends?

bevelino that wpuld depend on the friend if they were drinking/meeting boys/trouble makers she wouldnt be allowed with them no if they werent then sure but id have to know them well enough first

Takeabreak I completely understand your views. My dd and her friend are mostly into makeup, films, cooking and window shopping and because friend’s parents have known us for so long they are content with that. Friend also stays over at our house quite a bit and her parents completely trust us.

Even though my dd will hopefully start University in September I think the friendship will continue as they have been mates since early childhood.

This has really challenged me, OP. I realise that a small minority of Travellers are causing the problems. I think when people are prejudiced against Travellers, it is that subset that they have an issue with.

I will continue to have issues with the ones who camp in country parks, trash them, costing us ££s to clear up and making it inaccessible to everyone else until it's been cleaned. Also the ones who collect scrap from driveways, and aren't fussy about whether it is scrap or actually a lawnmower waiting to be put away/a kid's bike thrown down while the kid plays elsewhere. And the criminal gangs like the family of the man who died trying to rob an elderly couple.

What I need to remember is that there are lots of Travellers out there who are not behaving that way, but I don't hear about them.

Who do you identify most with, Travellers who are anti social or law abiding non Travellers? I'd hate it if members of my 'group' behaved badly. I'm a Christian and get really bothered by the intolerant unkindness of some small groups of Christians.

Are most of you Roman Catholic?
How many children do you want to have?

Fascinating OP.

Do you ever feel sad that your lifestyle excludes you from a lot of the world around you e.g. your children are unlikely to get a job in a global company or travel the world and be exposed to those experiences or is that something that your community isn't bothered about because you've never been 'in' it?

No judgement - just an honest question about whether you ever look to the settled community and wonder what life might be like?

xenia mat are roman catholics and i dont know i havent got my mind made up yet maybe 5?

rollonweekend
alot of travellers travel the world they just dont work when they do it its a holliday.... i can honestly say ive never looked at the settled community and wondered what life would be like...

picklemepopcorn
ok o you say your a christian? if you were you wouldnt have issuses with anyone - forgive everyone that you shall be forgived, right?
i understand there is travellers like this - so are there non travellers like this! scrap man at the min around selby at 4am taking stuff , hea not a traveller... and there not members of no ones group but there own.

Take, I'm a Catholic and I have 5 - great number to have; they are lots of fun.

I wonder what the differences were between my Irish ancestors who came over to the UK but settled some in about 1820 and quite a few around 1850 compared with irish travellers who came from Ireland to the UK perhaps more recently? Probably your ancestors travelled around Ireland and I think mine were settled but it is hard to get to records of a lot of them. Actually one was a travelling linen draper although is family did settle and he just went off selling and then came back.

Thank you OP. I was touched by the turn out at the funeral, everyone from the local Round Table to the families that run the ice cream vans and the donkeys on the beach.
It's nice to know that he was well thought of in a number of different cultures.
Another question for you.
Do travellers make much money from horses these days or is it more a nostalgia / keeping true to their roots thing to keep and deal horses?
Also, do you ever attend Priddy or Bridgwater fairs?

I was at an antique auction last week and in the jewellery section were lots of men's gypsy gold rings

Also, lots of men's gold chains that I think had come from same place cos they were same style

Huge gold rings, some with diamonds, very thick gold chains etc they were called gypsy jewellery but don't know if it was just a name for the style or traditional gypsy jewellery

Do the men in your community wear these rings, necklaces and bracelets?

Good question, I"ve noticed traveller men wear big thick gold chains and rings and yet I cannot believe that in this day and age travellers don't have bank accounts. Is it hard to open a bank account? I wonder if that's why the tradition of wearing jewellery exists?

subtitles tariu
I'll try and answer this one as best I can.
I married into a Romany family and this is my understanding.
Unlike some of the settled community, you don't have bricks and mortar's to show wealth.
Motors and trailers are your badge of success, as is gold.
Motors and trailers depreciate in value.
Bricks and mortar appreciate in value, usually.
Gold holds fairly steady.
Buy gold when you're on the up.
Sell it when you're on the down.
However.
Just like everyone, there are some things are too precious to let go and they get passed down to future generations.

(Hope this makes sense. On my phone and it's like typing through a letterbox)

On the subject of style, if I may subtitles
Big buckle or saddle rings for the gents.
Hoops for the ladies.
Dollar earings, heirlooms.
Chains for everyone!
And if you've got a trailer full of rare Crown Derby, you're work is done.

Damien le Bas has written a book, for those interested in Gypsy life
The Stopping Places.
A Journey Through Gypsy Britain.
It explains a lot and I recommend it.
I don't know him, but his book is a good, well written read.

I wish you'd been able to get more of an education and stretch your wings a little before settling in as a wife and mum, as you're obviously clever in spite of the rather slapdash approach to grammar and punctuation.

Even when you were young, and even if it was just idle daydreaming, did you ever think of any sort of career or life other than the one you have now?

I know this thread is a week old- does that qualify as zombie or not? I have not read the whole thread but I am halfway through-ish and am finding it very interesting.

I am sorry to read that so many of the comments directed towards TakeABreak2 have been harsh. I think it is sad that a few bad apples in the TRaveller community mean that often the whole commuinty gets tarred with the same brush. very sad.

I do have a question though, and I hope it isn't offensive, TakeABreak2. Why is it that travellers do not learn to read or write? Is it because children miss school due to moving so often?

Unfortunately, where I live, travellers have a bad reputation. Most recently a group of some 10 caravans broke a gate and moved a deliberately placed tree trunk to access land (a common), and set up camp for five days. Police were involved in moving them on, and they then moved to a nature reserve (again illegally entering). Police moved them on again and they are currently illegally camped on private land belonging to a local religious group.

In the places they'd set up camp they have left broken fridges, mattresses, animal and human excrement and have broken glass deliberately on footpaths.

What tends to anger people is a) the mess that is always left, and b) the fact that there are permitted temporary sites which are not used.

I realise that these people are in the minority but I wonder what you as a traveller, think of this behaviour, and what can be done to improve relationships with the general public in light of it?

I don't mind travellers we have a site not far from here. They've always been nice to me well apart from when I traveller asked me what my granddaughters name was and I had to explain it was my daughter. Gosh I must look old.
I used to work in a designer children's wear shop and we used to get a lot in there. Most were friendly and polite and they did spend a lot of money in there. One group stole from there and the owner of the shop put it all on Facebook and it could have turned nasty so she had to take the posts down.

Why do you travel around, not paying for anything, not having proper schooling for your kids, and pitching up on our parks (paid for with our council tax)and places? There's an article today in the Daily Mail about travellers barging into an Asda carpark!

OP, very interesting to read about the Irish travellers and your family.

I do, however, feel very sad that you would save money for the wedding and the first car but nothing for the education. Wouldn't you be happy if your DD or DS would finish at least a secondary school or did A-levels?
It's so sad that you take away this opportunity from them. Education in the UK is free unlike some countries. Some children in other countries would never have an opportunity to go to school because their parents don't have enough money or the nearest school is miles away. Some would walk for hours to attend the school.
I am sure you can study and keep traditions. If that's about sex in secondary schools then how do you sleep with your DH in the caravan when the children are nearby? Also, once they're teenagers they find out about it anyway either from friends or from porn. You cannot runaway from hormones and you can teach your child what's not to do.

OP, some people have been selling Spanish clothes on FB. I thought it was a bit silly to not write a brand but just Spanish clothes. At the time I didn't know that Spanish clothes were very popular amongst the travellers. Any particular brands? Is it the cut or the colours?
Thank you again for taking your time to answer so many questions.

My personal experience of travellers is positive. I buy logs for the fire from a family of travellers and they are really lovely. Witty and interesting too.

It would have been easier if the travellers would also find jobs through FB and not just through knocking on the doors. I definitely know that in our area people don't like men who knock on the doors. I think it is mainly because of the burglaries which happen after casual visitors, e.g. one knocks on the door and another one is looking around outside checking gates, locks etc.