General Chat

Annie, I couldn't agree more! (I'm not sure if there is a correct way to spell gorga!). Pat

And so you should be Pat. I work with a lot of romany children and I always try to make them feel proud of their wonderful culture, this is not always easy when they are permantly being put down by 'Gorgios' [sp!] You can definitly tell which children have racist parents. All the families I work with are lovely people and their site is immaculate. However, I realise this is not always the case, as with any type of people, be they black, white yellow or green, some will be good, some bad, some clean, some dirty.

I am a 'gypsy'. I was born in a caravan. I am descended from true Romany's. My g grandparents came from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Their tribe was the Ludar tribe, I can speak the Ludar language. Most true Romany's settled years ago because of the stigma attatched to gypsies. My family settled in houses, they changed their names to English ones so that they could fit in with everyone else. I am very proud of my heritage. Pat

Tina in Lincs I don't think you really want to know the answer to that question about human waste! We have 2 gipsy sites in Epsom & Ewell owned by the council. Most of the residents are law abiding, decent folks, who just want to be left alone to lead their lives. There are of course some baduns, as there are in all societies. I really don't have a problem with the 'official' sites. I also don't have a problem with the most of the gipsies camping on Epsom Downs during the Derby. However, what really annoys me, along with most other decent law-abiding people, are the illegal camps on peoples private property. The police are scared to go in to the camps, frightened to try to arrest anyone for fear of being called racist. The mess that gets left behind when they eventually move on - it's us that pays the costs of the court cases and clean ups. My daughter has got it right - she calls them 'Do as you likeys' (pikeys) and that's certainly what they do! Sue xx

in lincolnshire where i now live a man built a large extension to house foriegn workers, all the taxes would have been paid and all the service charges but he did not have prmission and quite rightly so the building was demolished by local council who are now persuing him for the cost of the demolishing,around where i live are three illegal gypsie sites where thay have bought land and moved on to it lock stock and barrel and john presscot conciders this to be perfectly aceptable no matter what the impact on local people and services. i always thought the laws of this country were the same for every one, the law that rightly so was applied to the man should also apply to the gypsies and anyone else that breaks the same law. also a bit off the point but out of interest what do they do with the human waste that they generate when they have no sewwers?

If anyone would like to throw some sh*t in Prescott's garden, I can show you where he lives! lol

This is one of those threads where we all have a view, different or otherwise. Surely we have some professional people who are GR members, ie, legal folk, police, local councellors who could give advice where wanted. When living in England, some travellers broke into factory grounds, security guarded, and within days wrecked it, every window smashed, carrier bags of human s**t thrown over the wall into adjacent gardens, locals abused and threatened and nobody could/would lift a hand. My pal told the police the next person who threw something awful into his garden, he would take the law into his own hands and was promptly arrested. People like Prescott do not understand our world. Derek in France

Interesting little snippet in one of the newspapers......... Comic Relief have been criticised as it has come to light that gypsies and travellers have been given £100,000 by the charity. In Cambridge where up to 800 illegal travellers have been living since 2003, the Residents Assoc is asking if there will be any money available for the settled communities whose lives have been completely destroyed by these sites. Don't hold your breath folks. Comic Relief when questioned said it had been a 'pilot project' which is now closed to new applicants and they would not be receiving any funding from this year's appeal. Wonder why! Oh thank you Aunty Pat, I stand corrected. Cheers Aileen

I couldn't agree more Paul! lol

ps There are places that people who like to travel round in caravans can use..... Such as haven and the like, If its good enough for people to holiday at such sites...its good enough for travellers. The only difference is that travellers want something for nothing.....then claim its their rights. Elaine x

david essex is a gypsy. now if there was ever a case for throwing them all out......

As said before True romany Gypsies ok (S)tinkers not. If anyone is to use land to live on, they should pay like the rest of us have to. For rent of the site they are dwelling on, council tax Water bills Gas and electricity They should be liable for any mess and damage they incur while on the site, and should be treated with the same anti social behavior laws that house dwellers face when causing trouble. Also there should be a clamp down on untaxed cars some use......one warning like the rest of us....then the crusher ! Elaine x

There are nice ones and there are awful ones - be they travellers or not. I find it interesting that people seem to like the 'Traditional' 'home grown' Romanies, but object to the 'New age Travellers'!! Those New age Travellers quite possibly come from some 'nice' midddle class family - and are more 'British' than the Romany! With the cost of housing, more and more people are taking to buying caravans - through necessity. If you have wheels - why not use them and travel around!! If enough sites were provided (as they should be by law) then we would have less of the Irish Gypsies buying up land - and councils would have more say over what went on on their sites. The problem with the 'powers that be' in this country is so much time is spent trying (rather unsuccesfully) to understand the ways of life of immigrant races and ethnicities, that they forget there are many different 'home grown' ethnic ways. maggie

Aileen, I agree with just about everything you have just said. These same Irish Travellers travel back and forth all the time; they have beautiful Caravans and Vehicles as you say how can they afford it? Well maybe because they pay absolutely nothing into the Economy of either England or Ireland. They also can be very intimidating to local people, as they never travel alone but in droves of twenty Caravans at a time. They leave the land they have camped on in a disgraceful state only for local Councils to pick up the bill (which means us) for the huge clean up of the area after them. The one thing I would say about your statement Aileen is it isn’t pastures new they have been in England for decades but most Travellers would have settled down and would have been integrated into the local Communities, These Travellers we see today are not really Travellers they are Traders and opportunists. Last year there was a Police operation to remove 50 Caravans from a local Football Pitch in a Park!!! The Travellers refused to leave there was a stand off, eventually when the Travellers left, (probably at the time they would have left themselves anyway) the clean up operation cost many thousands. This happens once or twice a year somewhere near where I live, one year they camped in the Car Park of a Cemetery that was absolutely terrible with people not being able to get to their loved ones graves, because they felt so intimidated passing 20-30 Caravans, it took months to sort it all out, and again thousands of pounds of tax payers money, and a lot of damage to the Cemetery. Oh and if these “Travellers” feel they are being intimidated they run to the European Parliament to ensure their rights as a minority group, claiming to be true Travellers and they are not, it is disgusting in my opinion, so I won't go on. In a perfect world Jim we would all have the same rights, but it isn't an ideal World, not when some have more rights then others. Rant over....... Pat x

proper gypsies ok--tinkers dreadful

I have met lots of Gypsies...some nice, some AWFUL!!! well i suppose that goes with any typoe of person really doesnt it. But the ones round the corner to my mums place are awful!! they steal from the local supermarket, terrorise people in Lakeside, and are often round my mums way stealing cars, tyres, stole my dads bike which was chained up by our front door, these ones are not nice people....but i have met Gypsies who are nice and very interesting to talk to xx

Hi Grampa Jim Like millions of others I have enjoyed the camping/caravaning round the UK, parking on common land and having a wonderful time. The difference is that we respect the law and leave the common land as we found it. Not as a cess pit of filth and rubbish. This Prescott initiative is a joke. It has been instigated only because of the attention being focused on travellers, mainly Irish, who are buying up tracts of land, and building without planning permission. Local communities are having their way of life destroyed by the antics of these people. What Human Rights do they have? When people seek planning permission to add to their existing homes, surely the majority do so because it is a necessity. How many of us really pay out thousands of pounds for decoration purposes or to impress the neighbours. Very few are “gypsies” in the real sense. They are not Romanies who are a centuries old honourable tribe of travellers. This new breed are new age and economic travellers. Paul mentioned their native land. They are reported in the media to be mainly from Ireland. Have both north/south got wise to them, and they are seeking new pastures to exploit Where do they get the money from to buy land? Most don’t work, pay taxes, they don’t even have taxed vehicles but drive top of the range cars. They don’t get bills for utilities because they tap into the mains supply. Talk about taking the P. Someone who liaises a lot with the gypsy community once told me they were the people with the hidden wealth in the UK. After seeing the inside of some of their caravans with their state of the art luxury I quite believe it. Actually, I might just go and put some wheels on my house and go travelling. If my house isn't here they can't charge me £1700 council tax can they. Now there's a thought. Aileen

Bendy try explaining that to a community that does not give a toss about preservation or regard - they would rather spit in your eye believe me. Lin

I firmly believe all travellers should have the right to camp in peace on common land. I also have the equally firm belief that the travellers have a duty to leave the common land as they found it.

Borrow my camper Grampa! set it up anywhere and see how long you last! £10 a night? when did you last camp - £20 more like and thats basic ammenities! Would love to try the local roundbout but cant see anything pleasurable about it! jess