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Archiver > YORKSGEN > 2001-04 > 0986116965


From: Time limited account <>
Subject: Re: Gypies
Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2001 10:22:45 +0100
In-Reply-To: <000001c0ba1b$d22fb880$0e163c3e@brad.ac.uk>


In message <000001c0ba1b$d22fb880$>, dandaeb
<> writes
>Depends if you are speaking of 'Gypsies' i.e. tinkers and itinerants or
>'Roma' i.e. an ethic group with origins in what is now northern India or
>there abouts.
>
>Of the former there are still many in England, they have roots in the
>fairground people and the travelling horse dealers. For the latter go to
>Appleby (Brough Hill) Horse Fair.
>
>Of the Roma, I don't think I have seen any in UK. However Eastern Europe
>and the Balkans have large populations who seemed to be able to cross
>frontiers without problems even in the darkest days of Stalinism. Many even
>survived the Nazis.

That's not how I remember it. When I was a child, I used to sell
Parkinson's 'Royal Doncaster Butterscotch' outside the race course
during 'race week' in Doncaster - the week in which the St Leger took
place. I could write quite a lot on race week itself - most local
factories shut down, including 'the plant' and many people let out their
houses to racegoers whilst they went on holiday to the seaside. However
I digress. The couple for whom I worked had a great deal of respect for
the gypsies (a corruption of 'Egyptian', because of their oriental
appearance) but were scathing about the 'travellers' whom they saw as
cheats and layabouts and who often capitalised on the goodwill most
people had for the gypsies.

John

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