| Description | Track 1: Part of a discussion between Charles Parker and an unidentified man about 'gypsies' working in the local area - he says that they are usually good workers, 0.50 mins
Charles Parker talks about 'gypsies' with the vicar of North Baddesley.
Track 2: He tells Charles Parker why and how travellers first came to North Baddesley, 2.00 mins
Track 3: He says that the travellers want to be near Southampton, where there is a market for scrap. They discuss local people's reactions to the travellers' arrival and complaints made about them to the police. He says that local people signed a petition to the local Council and the Council took the view that the travellers' site was not licensed, 2.13 mins
Track 4: They talk about the Caravans Act and the Public Health Act. The vicar says that there is no running water or toilets on the site. He says that the landowner is being prosecuted for allowing travellers on his land. He believes this is a social problem, not a legal problem, 2.07 mins
Track 5: Charles Parker asks how the problem should be tackled: he says that the Welfare Committee is trying to find sites in Hampshire for permanent residence. Charles Parker says that this will not work because they need to be near a town to deal in scrap and they will not be able to keep their site tidy because scrap dealing makes a mess. They discuss the distinctions between Romanies and other travellers, 2.05 mins
Track 6: They talk about different groups among travellers and discuss whether some of them are tidier than others. The vicar says that their way of life will not improve until they are settled. Charles Parker says that travellers' dignity is under threat and asks how he thinks social attitudes towards travellers can be improved. The vicar says that most travellers he met would like to send their children to school and talks about children he know who have gone to school, 2.27 mins
Track 7: The vicar says that travellers in his parish have been settled for more than eighteen months. He says that travellers are a mixed group and it is hard to say that one family or group's views are typical. He says that most of them are not 'true Romany', many are 'misfits' and there is an 'Irish element'. Charles Parker suggests that it is tragic that they have no organization and leader, 2.32 mins
Track 8: They talk about the lack of organization among travellers. Charles Parker suggests that this is a consequence of oppression among any group of people and this could be the situation in the slums. The vicar says that someone from outside needs to help them, 1.38 mins
Track 9: He says that the public authority should make facilities available for 'gypsies' but it is difficult for it to do this if the law is being broken. He suggests that peripatetic teachers should be made available to travellers, but he says that by doing this the Council would suggest that they are allowed to remain on illegal sites, 1.45 mins
Track 10: They discuss settled people's reaction to travellers - they resent them because they do not pay rates. He talks about Christian responsibility towards 'the weaker brethren' and says we should lay out money as an investment in society. He talks about legal action taken against travellers under the Caravan Act, 2.55 mins
Track 11: He says that we know very little about 'gypsies' and there is very little mixing between local residents and 'gypsies', which causes irrational fears and doubts. He talks about the Hampshire Welfare Committee's census of travellers, which has been published. He says that the local district has 'gone up in tone' and this means that 'gypsies' are seen as an 'irritation', 3.24 mins
Track 12: They talk about the use of the term 'gypsy' which lumps together many different groups of people and the vicar says that Christians should protest about this, 1.15 mins
Track 13: Sounds of a horse's hoofs and cars, 4.06 mins
Track 14: Charles Parker talks to a little girl and her mother about 'gypsies', 1.04 mins
Charles Parker talks to a traveller called Mr Baker
Tracks 15-16: An unidentified man introduces Charles Parker to Mr Baker. Mr Baker says that he has lived in this place for 30 years and they can't drive him out and he will pay for water and a lavatory. He says that his place is clean and respectable, 1.36 mins
Track 17: Charles Parker talks to an unidentified man about 'gypsies' who are in business in Bournemouth, 0.27 mins
Total: 33.06 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF549C0515580 |