My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding Channel 4

[sailorsgal]

Anyone watching.

Normantebbit-1% of the general poupation die before their 2nd birthday,really? i don't think your statistics are right?

They aren't 'my' stats but there are sources listed below for them. It may be the summary is wrong. Maybe they are all wrong! Maybe wiki is fibbing and everything is Just Fine!

I thought the one that 22% of gypsy and Traveller males die in road traffic accidents was the most horrific stat to come off that list, but possibly not the most surprising now we've witnessed some driving techniques!

In fact, thinking about it. Bridget definitely had at least four children.

Why Judgenet.com serajen? I don't think this thread has been overly judgey at all. There has been some serious debate, some sympathy, some empathy, some grave concern, some light-hearted sneering at horrid frocks, and inevitably questions have been asked about some of the very obvious glaring unanswered issues that the show has thrown up. The things that don't quite add up to ten. But I have't seen any sharpened pitchforks or heard any tub thumping.

they were all overweight - the women anyway

What did the mothers do?? Their daughters brought the kids up and cleaned and cooked....

Fellatio, maybe my misinterpretation, have only speed-read through the thread and Judgenet might be wrong for this particular topic, just recently have been feeling Mumsnet being very judgemental on so many things, kind of puts me off the site

Really? Doesn't put me off - it's half the fun.

thread isnt judgey at all. It is ok to ask questions when things dont add up from a programme.

Also I think it is fine to question cultures and ways of doing things. It is not racism. Im very happy to question any culture that marries women off very early, seems to deny them education and only gives them the role of mother in life.

Oppression should be challenged!

I'm with you Mumfun!

why are there so many people on this programme with their faces blocked out & why do they keep showing them driving without seat belts - also there appears to be a lack of tax discs on some of the vehicles they show -- i must say that a lot of the younger children seem to be very articulate
despite their lack of formal education

I'm really glad everything seems to have calmed down a bit, and I for one would like to apologise for getting on my high horse and stomping bout the place...it's what comes of having one two many glasses of wine of an evening! I agree with what fellationelson was saying above. It's really important to be able to have a place to discuss the content of programmes freely, otherwise it leads to people sitting back and accepting what's shown to them.

However I'll go back to my original point and say that this programme is showing a very small section of a very diverse society and saying it applies to everyone. In fact, loads of gypsies are furious about the programme, and have started a protest and a campaign of complaints to offcom. They say that they are being tarred with the same brush as a minority, and that in reality the majority have never heard of grabbing, and would in no way condone what the children were wearing/doing. I really hope that people listen to what they are saying and don't take the content of the programme as gospel truth. And that is all I have to say about that!

I think we can rest assured that the travellers in this t.v series are making a few hundred thousand for their time on this program, I do agree that this program does not reflect the true lives of the travellers and is merely a well thought out and edited version of their real lives to mass very large veiwing fiqures which the program has.

Some interesting views here

A traveller,s view of the show here

Had to c and p this line from the above article "They say bad journalists never let the facts get in the way of a good story; with this series Channel 4 have gone one worse and let the fiction do it instead".

bubbles, It was intresting that the travellers that had been interveiwed had mostly English accents and not a brogue, this would further confirm that the series is indeed a media set-up.

I have some Irish friends who often refer to "Nackers" (sp?). Would that be a name for these travellers, or are nackers a specific type of traveller?

The term is "Knackers" and is a general term for travellers in R.O.I But it really refers to a person who demolishs old buildings for recycling or to someone who buys old livestock to sell on the skins and meat, these people are not to be confused with Irish Tinkers who are highly skilled mechanicaly minded multi-skilled people who who have travelled around repairing farm machinery and also making pots, pans etc. Tinkers no longer exist in the real meaning but the term has stuck to gypsies which is not correct as tinkers travelled alone and not in groups.

Hello. I am new to this page so haven't managed to read all the comments. There are a lot, but I would like to change the subject slightly.
Don't know if anyone else listens to BBC radio 2 but on Tues. 15th Feb., Jeremy Vine mentioned he was going to be talking about this programme. I was quite pleased as I was expecting him to ask those questions which were so obviously left out of the TV show, but what a disappointment. What I want to know - I apologise if this has already been posted - is:

1. WHERE does the money come from?
2. HOW MUCH do those dresses cost?
3. HOW MUCH does the weddings cost?

Last week one of the men was shown driving a new Audi convertible, saying he buys a NEW CAR twice a year. He was later shown visiting an expensive furniture store with his wife, choosing items and negotiating a discount for cash. WHERE do they keep that amount of cash as I assume they don't have bank accounts?
I watched the TV show out of curiousity, I am open minded, surprised about their strict high morals yet the teenage girls are hardly wearing anything. Also how strict are they all? I can't believe some don't stray away to escape from this pressure.
Jeremy Vine had 2 lady travellers on the show,they were saying how some children had been bullied at school, saying how they felt discriminated, the programme had given the wrong impression on some things. Yet neither Jeremy or any of the callers or emails asked any of my questions. I suspect he was told he wouldn't be allowed to ask, also that callers & emails were prevented to ask. I felt it was a wasted opportunity for someone who isn't usually afraid to question people.
Does anyone have any answers to this please? There is only so much scrap metal or garden work you can do but I don't believe it makes that vast amount of money.

good point tupp...good questions!

I think you are right actually....I don;t think we are allowed to ask awkward quesions. It makes us racist.

Hello again.
I never thought of it about being racist, just getting the bigger picture. The whole thing, and in theory if C4 had included all those unanswered questions, because the programmes were recorded then they could simply cut it all out. On the other hand, Jeremy Vine is a live phone-in/contact show. He has various guests on, asking the questions we want to know the answers, yet on this occasion, I felt a bit short changed because I can't imagine him wanting to be gagged, yet that is what seems to have happened. Shame no-one phoned in to ask the usual questions, but on getting on the show then asked the REAL questions.....Don't you think if there is going to be a TV prog. about a different culture, you would want to know the why's and wherefore's, or is it me? Why bother showing some of the things and not everything? They were willing to be filmed. Like dangling a carrot to get you to watch or listen to it, but letting you down?