| Description | Ewan MacColl interviews a group of travellers at New Alyth, Perthshire, including members of the Stewart family and Margaret Cameron, who discuss aspects of their lives.
Track 1: a woman traveller talks about her school life and the different schools she attended 1.21 mins
Track 2: she talks about prejudice shown by other children towards travellers at school and the kind treatment by some teachers 2.16 mins
Track 3: the women discuss their experiences of their own children being treated differently because they are 'tinkers', being given inferior stationery and teaching equipment 1.21 mins
Tracks 4-5: she talks about her children who are now grown up, and the pointlessness of traveller children attending schools if they are not going to be taught anything. Another woman joins the conversation to talk about her own experiences at school and the negative attitudes of some of the teachers towards traveller children
Track 6: another woman talks about the need to separate people from the travelling community if they are settled in housing, particularly people with alcohol problems, which she thinks is a weakness amongst some 'tinker people' 1.21 mins
Track 7: she talks about her reluctance to be settled in a house near other 'tinker people', because she thinks that people in the community today do not try to help each other 1.41 mins
Tracks 8-9: she thinks it is better to stay within individual families, despite the quarrels that family members have, because of the danger in getting involved in arguments with neighbours. She thinks that housing is probably better for younger people
Track 10: she talks about the difficulties involved for women travellers in giving birth to children, and the support that women receive from their families. Another woman points out the medical support that travelling people can get from clinics now 1.48 mins
Track 11: the women talk about the decline in the numbers of travellers who stay outside with young children in the wintertime. She says that many people stay in Glasgow during the winter, or in holiday homes in West Kilbride, after the potato picking season is over 1.34 mins
Track 12: indistinct voices 0.51 mins
Track 13: the women discuss the legislation they would like to see introduced to make the lives of travellers easier and to protect them. They would like to have more freedom to live their lives undisturbed 2.07 mins
Track 14: one of the women talks about how she might get people to rethink their prejudices towards travellers, particularly in the cities 1.25 mins
Track 15: she thinks there are some people who can't be made to change their views. Another woman joins the conversation to talk about the reasons for her companion's embarrassment at the reactions of people in Glasgow and other cities. Some travellers do not mix with city dwellers and prefer to live in more remote, rural areas 1.45 mins
Track 16: One of the Stewart women talks about the benefits for younger people in getting a house and getting a stable job, and the difficulties in getting farm work during the wintertime 1.08 mins
Tracks 17-19: she discusses the housing shortage and her accommodation needs, the difficulties in living outside during the winter with the frost and frozen ground, and in finding somewhere to camp that is not private land. A man joins the conversation to talk about being made to move on by the police during the winter, when it was snowing
Track 20: one of the women talks about the ill treatment of travellers in England who were forced to move on. She says that travellers have to be careful about their sanitary arrangements in order to avoid being prosecuted, but that this is difficult when they are not given a place to camp 1.27 mins
Track 21: she talks about the feelings of some of her companions about being settled in a house. She thinks that 'tinkers' today are becoming 'modernised' 1.05 mins
Tracks 22-23: she talks about a group of travellers in Perth who were asked to move away, their refusal to move during the winter, and their court summons for sitting on private ground. She discusses their chances of winning their court case
Track 24: one of the men talks about the 'tinkers' being an ancient 'race' of people.
Tracks 25-27: a man talks about his pleasure in the companionship and advice of his wife, despite emphasising that he is the boss. He explains that the man is the figurehead of the family but the wife looks after the family and runs the household because the traveller man is out all day looking for work. Another man talks about agreeing with his wife that he would give up boxing if she gave up her dance career
Tracks 28-31: one of the other men talks about the rarity of divorce in the traveller community, and the prevalence of arguments where the woman is 'the boss' in the family. They talk about the importance of confiding in their wives, and getting advice from them but being the ones to make the final decision. They do not think marriage is a partnership for travellers; the men make the decisions and the women and children follow. They emphasise the loyalty of their wives
Tracks 32-36: the men talk about the definition of the word 'tinker' as someone who works with pots and pans, discuss the history of travellers in Scotland and talk about their attitude towards work, which they think is the same as anyone else's. They think that people from the settled community travel more now, especially those who have caravans, and that businesspeople travel for their work. Travellers lifestyles have also changed, and some have married people from the settled community. They refute some of the superstitions about travellers, and question why the travelling community are persecuted
Tracks 37-40: the men talk about the isolation of their children because of the stigma attached to having traveller parents, and compare their treatment with the treatment of the Jews before the Second World War. One of the men describes how he tries to hide his background in order to get work, and talks about the travellers' knowledge of herbs to make medicines. He talks about the number of wealthy travellers there are who run their own businesses and the reluctance of travellers to take welfare payments
Tracks 41-42: the men talk about the different words used for travellers, including 'diddicoys', and the universality of the travellers' language, 'Romany' or 'Cant' regardless of the area of the country they come from. One of the men talks about the impression of the settled community that travellers commit crimes and the prejudices of middle class people towards travellers
Tracks 43-44: one of the men discusses the provision of cattle rest grounds in every town for travellers, the removal of this ancient privilege in Scotland and the implications of byelaws for travellers
Track 45: one of the men talks about not being able to read or write, but managing in everyday life
Total: 1.09.25 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF549C0332880 |