General Chat

the ones we have in Cardiff are always in the news for some misdemeanour or another - most recently for enslaving a man for years - making him live in an unheated shed with no pay - a man is now serving four years in prison for that offence

:-D :-D :-D

It was in reply to Dermot, Joy.

I don't think they where poor

they never scrimped one bit on the Funeral I seen :-D :-D
it was a beautiful send off

Travellers are not always poor these days.

A lot of them own property in Ireland where they go for the winter in places like Rathkeale.

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/a-tale-of-two-communities-in-rathkeale-we-live-in-the-same-space-but-different-worlds-1.1863276

one of my friends come from Romanian gypsys :-D :-D

The Travellers, as they are known in Ireland & sometimes called by the derogatory term - ‘Tinkers‘, are a minority community who have existed on the margins of Irish society for many generations. Legend has it that their ancestors were thrown off their land by merciless landlords.

As the name implies, they created a living for themselves on the highways & byways of the country. They used to come to our area probably twice a year, usually under the cover of darkness. In the morning, you would find them firmly encamped on the roadside. Their canvas tents would be erected & their motley group of animals would be busily feeding on the grass verges. That was known as ‘grazing the long acre’.

Children of all ages could be seen & heard running to & fro, dogs barking & babies crying. Some of the women would be busy with their chores, cooking on open fires outside their tents with upturned boxes serving as chairs. They were wise enough to camp near a stream or river which provided adequate water for washing purposes.

The hedgerows acted as clothes lines with an array of garments drying under the open sunny skies. Other women would visit each house in the area begging for food stuffs. In general, the generosity of the local people meant that the Travellers would have enough food for a week or so before they upped sticks & moved on.

The men were usually tin-smiths & were masters of their craft. In the pre-disposable age, many items were fixed by these chaps such as holes in buckets. They could renovate pots, pans & the like for a small fee.

My mum was always generous to them & she would explain to us youngsters that the Travellers had no roof over their heads while they slept by the wayside & no place to call home. There were no state benefits at the time that we take for granted now.

There's the world of difference between genuine gypsies and Irish travellers and also a lot of difference in their traditions.

Travellers may call themselves gypsies but they aren't Romany - they were called tinkers in my day.

Years ago when I lived in Tunbridge Wells, Kent there were gypsies that lived in a lay-by. After one of them died the others set fire to his caravan and the remains just stayed there on the lay-by for years.

I remember there being one when I worked in a big garage years ago.

The man used to take our scrap and we sent our wrecker to join the column of lorries behind the coffin.

I did wonder to be honest :-D :-D

Didn't think so.

Travellers' funerals are not womens' business.

Didn't think so.

Travellers' funerals are not womens' business.

Didn't think so.

Travellers' funerals are not womens' business.

to be honest now you mention it sharron

I never saw a woman :-D :-D

Ultimately, what gives a Christian funeral its definitive substance is the Easter event, the faith in another life that helps us to conduct our loved ones over the last great threshold of their earthly lives with meaning & dignity. And it is too what makes our funerals real. Grief, loss, desolation, the whole works.

I would want people to cry at my funeral & if there’s no one there to manage a tear, maybe someone might raise a cheer. It’s that mix that a humanist funeral will never get because there’s always that important ingredient missing.

funny you should say that Sharron - there wasn't one female in the picture in the local paper

Were there any women there?

I thought it was beautiful :-D :-D
what a send off :-D :-D

The last big one around here they closed all the pubs in Chichester and the held the wake at Fontwell Park racecourse.

We went to see the flowers later and there were wreaths in the shape of Guinness and lager glasses (Joey liked a drink), horses, mobile phones and then there was the board with flowers on it and nailed to it were two Fray Bentos pies.