| Description | Charles Parker talks to Mr Tom Baker.
Track 1: He describes making things in the winter: they used to make a barricade to keep the weather off and sitting round a fire in a fire kettle making tables, stands, and mops. He says that there might be four wagons together in a circle, 3.22 mins
Track 2: He says that they would always spend the winter with their family - they were brought up to 'keep to their own place'. He says he turned away from his family after his father died - he and his mother couldn't agree. He talks about asking farmers to let them 'pull in for the winter', then start travelling on 1st March, 2.08 mins
Track 3: He explains about digging lavatories and getting water from the house. In the old days they used to get water from the farm. Charles Parker asks how many would live in each wagon: he talks about the people in his families. He says they had six or eight horses, usually Shires and Welsh horses. The horses would be turned out in the winter and they would pay the farmer for his hay, 2.41 mins
Track 4: He explains that they would settle for the winter from October to February, after they finished hopping. He says it felt good to get settled - there was always fear of trouble on the road. He talks about the wages earned from hopping and picking fruit, 2.20 mins
Track 5: He says that they had plenty of money to take them through the winter. He talks about working during the winter - the boys would work on the farm picking potatoes and tells him how much he earned. He says they call their wagon an 'open lot' and explains what it is made of and how the boards are cut. He talks about the size of a wagon and says his wagon will hold four, 3.03 mins
Track 6: He describes the wagon he lived in as a child - wagons usually have drawers and cupboards. He talks about painting the wagons and says that families had their own colours - his is blue and red. He wanted to paint flowers inside but he hasn't. He talks about the decorations, often flowers and scrolls. He says his mother's side, the Clarks, would have red and black. He talks about the boiler on the front of the van and the Romany word for it, 3.15 mins
Charles Parker talks to Katie Cole and Billy Cole from Poole, Dorset.
Track 7: Katie Cole says that people should not call gypsies dirty and she feels bitter about it. She shows Charles Parker how clean her home is, 2.14 mins
Track 8: She says that she is a Romany but she has always lived in a house. Her parents travelled in the early years, but then settled down in Council property so that their children could have education. She says she was born in Andover but came to settle down in Poole when she was a baby. Charles Parker asks about the Romany traditions: she says her parents don't like mixing with other travellers, 2.18 mins
Track 9: She says that no-one at the school knew that she was a gypsy and talks about the schools she went to. She talks about her work making lamps in a factory. She says that she was always glad to come home and she wouldn't change places with her friends. There are seven in her family. She talks about liking china and colour, 2.42 mins
Track 10: She says that her mother used to 'go out with pegs and flowers' in about 1936. She says that her mother was always made welcome because she had a heart of gold. She says her mother's home doesn't look like a traveller's home. Her parents still sell logs and work ragging but they have bought a wagon and piece of ground and they want to leave their house and 'settle back into the life again', 3.09 mins
Track 11: She talks about getting her ears pierced and getting her little girl's ears pierced when she was two. Charles Parker asks how she met her husband - he gives the children some sweets. She says that she went strawberry picking and bumped into her husband there, 2.16 mins
Track 12: She says she does not regret giving up her home and 'living the life' in a van. Her husband's father had his own licence but used to travel around but they settled down when the law got stricter. She talks about her husband's family's education. She says she goes away to sell strawberries, 4.07 mins
Track 13: She talks about selling strawberries, which gives her husband a break from hard work - this is the only time they move out of the area. Her husband's work is scrap dealing, with occasional tarmacking. She explains how they organize the strawberry selling, they have a pitch on the roadside and never have any bother, 2.35 mins
Track 14: She explains where they put their caravan on a farm near their pitch and says that they left the place clean and the farmer would welcome them back. She talks about the strict regulations regarding caravans since she 'moved off', 2.34 mins
Track 15: She says that they 'moved off' in 1961, shortly after the Caravans Act and explains where she stopped before she came to Canford Heath. She has been on her present ground for two years and says that she has stopped in a place for six to eight months. She says her husband doesn't want to live in a house, but he would like a piece of ground so he can carry on with his work. She says that she would like the convenience of living in a house and it's hard to keep the children clean without sanitation and running water, 3.14 mins
Track 16: They talk about the difficulty of keeping clean - she says that there is no excuse for filth. She says that she cooks on a calor gas and washes in a tub. They use a shed as a kitchen and they use the tubs to boil hot water. Charles Parker talks to her husband Billy Cole - he says that he was born a traveller, 1.58 mins
Track 17: He says that travelling is in the blood and he could never become a house dweller - he could not live in someone else's place. He would like a piece of ground or a house but he can't get a loan from a bank. He says that everyone depends on one another, 2.15 mins
Track 18: Charles Parker asks about the scrap trade: he says he goes out and searches for something by going round garages and farms, and judges how much he can get for it. He says he always pays ready cash and 'gypsies' can't go on National Assistance and a 'true gypsy' would not sink so low to go on 'parish keeping'. He says they keep ready cash for doctor's bills. He explains why he needs to have ready cash and says that people who work in factories earn more money, 3.17 mins
Total: 49.39 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF549C0502680 |