Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Telly addicts

Related: Film discussion forum.

Original poster

Big fat gypsy christenings

77 replies

JazzAnnNonMouse · 01/10/2013 21:31

Anyone watching?

Obviously not all travellers agree with the views and This isn't representative of travellers in general...
However - I'm surprised by the statistics and the opinions on breast feeding.

Also that man being killed 5 days after his baby was born Sad

OP posts:
deepfriedsage · 02/10/2013 10:18

The people who appear in these shows must be the Jordie shores equivalent in their community. They people attending their events would have similar behavior and dress. If Ch4 chose to film different people who were more mature etc there wouldn't be as much shock value.

TheWinterOne · 02/10/2013 11:13

Why do I always miss things on TV! Will have to look at 4OD for this.

Vivacia · 02/10/2013 11:20

I don't find it amusing. The only thing that made me laugh in the latest episode was said by Ronnie, the christening-gown maker. Can anyone guess what made me unexpectedly laugh out loud?

Greydog · 02/10/2013 11:33

I don't understand where these so called traditions come from. Dressing like a whore is surely not traditional? Not all this behaviour can be blamed on ignorance - the pregnant girl was told not to drink redbull, but ignored all advice. Smoking around the children was awful, woman driving whilst on the phone, children not strapped in. They seem to think they are above the law. And don't get me started on travellers treatment of animals. However, it all seems to be dismissed under the "it's their culture" - well FMG is a cultural thing too, and no-one thinks that's right.

CadleCrap · 02/10/2013 11:37

Viv Have't seen the programme - what was it?

CostaLady · 02/10/2013 11:55

Vivacia was it when she said a few frills won't make a boy gay - she'd asked a doctor!?

Primrose123 · 02/10/2013 12:02

CostaLady - that made me laugh too. I couldn't believe she actually said it, I'm not sure if it was meant to be a joke or not. To be fair to Ronnie she did try to persuade the little girl to wear a T shirt instead of a bikini top. I don't like the stuff in her shop though. Shock

Ronnie was on a different show years ago, does anybody remember? It was sort of an early wife swap type thing, but the whole families swapped and it was on TV every day for a week. I'm sure I've seen her on something else since then too.

Sparklysilversequins · 02/10/2013 12:17

My overriding impression was that the traveller babies featured are suffering varying levels of pain from the moment they are born, rough handling, ear piercing, being forced and contained in rough decorative fabrics. Treated like dolls not babies.

I had dd at the same time as a traveller woman in the hospital. The baby was HUGE, looked way older than newborn and the mother basically just walked round the wards talking to everyone or sat at the nurses desk talking at the nurses with this new born in only a nappy and being chucked around like a sack of potatoes. There seemed to be no gentleness.

I felt sorry for the woman who wants her babies to study and get degrees. What a twat she is married to Angry.

Dillydollydaydream · 02/10/2013 12:19

I caught the very end where they turned up to church late with no godparents for the christening. Might look for it on 4od to see the rest.

FreckledLeopard · 02/10/2013 12:24

The programme was sad, shocking and ultimately depressing. The lack of education, lack of access to housing, healthcare, domestic violence, lack of aspiration. How on earth that can be tackled, especially when it would no doubt be deemed 'racist' to do so - it's an uphill struggle.

How on earth could any authority or public body even begin to try to deal with some of those issues? I suppose the easiest thing to do is to ignore the problem and pass the buck.

Vivacia · 02/10/2013 12:39

Costa got it in one. Ronnie knew that frills on a pram wouldn't turn a boy gay because she got the information from a doctor, so there.

I also felt sorry for the new mother with aspirations for her (male) child to become a heart surgeon. "If there was no traveller work around, he could always walk in to the hospital and say "I'm a heart surgeon, give me some work" because there's always work for a docter".

Vivacia · 02/10/2013 12:41

Freckled I think it would need to be led by women such as the one I just mentioned. Give her education and support. She would know how to bring about change.

Primrose123 · 02/10/2013 13:07

I felt sorry for the woman who had twins. They were 7lb each!

BuzzardBirdBloodBath · 02/10/2013 13:33

Unfortunately Viv that was the only part of the programme that didn't depress the hell out of me :(

YoureBeingADick · 02/10/2013 13:44

Tbf to helen, she wanted her daughter to get a degree aswell- yes she said hair and nails rather than a doctor but its an aspiration many of them dont have for their dcs. Sadly i dont think she'll have any support there to help her get her dcs on that path.

pigletmania · 02/10/2013 22:42

My goodness where do I start. Myths being passed down about where babies come from, babies sucking on jewel encrusted dummies, attitudes on breastfeeding, weaning on curry and chips. Oh a bit f frills on a ram won't make him gay, I know because the doctor told me Shock. The list goes on

pigletmania · 02/10/2013 22:43

The ignorance especially of breastfeeding

deepfriedsage · 03/10/2013 02:51

I flinched at a comment of newborns gums knawing on a lamb chop bone like a dog.

You know you have a point regarding there being no gentle nurturing. If you never were handled as if you were precious, why would you handle others that way. They were very rough from cradle onwards, no wonder there are such issues with violence in the community.

pigletmania · 03/10/2013 08:10

I agree deep, was it newborns Shock, the ignorance and te lack of knowledge is astounding. That shop owner should stop selling those tacky dummies as those who buy them cannt be trusted to use them properly (decoration and nothing else)

pigletmania · 03/10/2013 08:11

What if bone fragments go into the babies throats, or a baby chokes on those jewels. No wonder teir is a high rate of infant mortality

Dillydollydaydream · 03/10/2013 11:11

It's very sad to hear the mortality rate is 4x higher :(
I was shocked at the birds and the bees chats the children get! The girl was 9, surely they hear in sex ed at school where babies come from or do they get pulled out of those lessons?

deepfriedsage · 03/10/2013 14:31

It makes you wonder with grabbing and all the roughness, lack of sex ed, what their sex lives are like?

Nancy66 · 03/10/2013 14:51

deepfried - pretty unfulfilling for the women I'd say. I would imagine it's about the men getting their gratification and not a lot else

Wickedgirl · 05/10/2013 09:43

Did anyone find this on 4OD? I can't find it

GreenShadow · 06/10/2013 19:40

It was on again this evening and is available here (it's listed under 'weddings').
Must admit to finding it very depressing....

Swipe left for the next trending thread