| 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, and another group at Cobham, Kent.
Track 1: one of the men talks about travelling extensively over Scotland and the islands, and in Ireland and the United States, and being treated well by people who didn't know he was a traveller 1.36 mins
Track 2: a woman talks about being born in a wagon, a horse drawn caravan in Armagh, Northern Ireland, leaving Ireland when she was young, travelling to Australia and attending a convent school with her sister 2.25 mins
Tracks 3-4: another woman talks about attending a convent school and being taught by nuns, and the widespread prejudice against travellers in Australia. The women talk about being teased at school and called names like 'gypsy' or 'tinker', and being free to go out to dances without people knowing they are travellers
Track 5: one of the women talks about attending school until she was fourteen, and her experiences of being bullied, both in Australia and Scotland because she was a traveller. She says that she and her friends are not allowed to go out with boys and that her father does not agree with girls bringing boys home to meet the family. Another woman talks about the necessity of courting in secret, and that travellers generally elope or run away with each other 1.57 mins
Track 6: one of the women explains the courting customs and the need to conduct relationships in secret 1.21 mins
Track 7: one of the men discusses traveller courting customs, the absence of prostitution amongst the travelling community, and discusses courting local people from the settled community when they are young rather than 'insulting' their own people 2.05 mins
Track 8: he explains what he means when he describes travellers as being a distinct 'race' 2.18 mins
Track 9: one of the women talks about 'proper gypsies' being dark skinned, and one of the men talks about the survival of 'proper gypsies' in the north of Scotland in the McPhee family. He talks about the different words and customs they use, which he thinks show traces of Indian heritage. One of the women talks about differnt dialects of 'Romany' and 'Cant' in the north of Scotland 2.00 mins
Tracks 10-11: another woman talks about the importance of using clean water, the difficulties she has in getting it from people, and the unfairness of people's attitudes. The women talk about their wish for a place to stay with clean water and a school for their children, without being moved on all the time, and their treatment by the settled community, despite many travellers fighting in the armed services
Tracks 12-14: the women talk about their sense of being herded like animals and the unfairness of this. They think the British are selfish and greedy, and are unfriendly to people of other nationalities, and think that attitudes to travellers are worse in England than Scotland and describe being chased out of various districts by police when they tried to stop at the roadside for the night. They do not understand why they are persecuted because they do no harm to other people
Track 15: a fifteen year old girl talks about her mother's attempts to get a cup of water from houses in Doncaster, being refused, and having to pay for it at a petrol station. She says that people treat travellers like dogs and has had doors slammed in her face despite having a pedlars certificate
Tracks 16-18: she talks about her future prospects and her inability to settle down in a house. She acknowledges that life is changing for travellers but she has been travelling all her life and cannot settle down. She says it will be hard to survive if they cannot do farm work. She talks about starting school when she was eight, being able to read and write her name, but not getting much education because of the constant travelling, despite her enjoyment of school
Ewan MacColl interviews another group of travellers, possibly at Cobham, Kent, including Mr Bignall and his sons
Track 19: a woman talks about her caravan and the origins of the 'real gypsies' who she thinks came from Romania 1.47 mins
Track 20: a man talks about 'real gypsies' being fortune tellers and selling clothes pegs 1.42 mins
Track 21: the woman and man talks about other family members 0.45 mins
Track 22: they discuss some of the musical instruments they play, and the man talks about playing the fiddle. The woman talks about making and selling clothes pegs, and telling fortunes if they are asked, by reading palms. She says they do not believe in using crystals 2.25 mins
Track 23: a woman reads Peggy Seeger's palm to tell her fortune 3.00 mins
Tracks 24-25: they talk about the prejudice shown to traveller children when they attend school in Cobham, and the influence of parents attitudes on children. The man talks about his child who was bullied at school by local children and the involvement of the Education Officer
Tracks 26-27: one of the men talks about one of his relatives who is working at Wisbech, and the travelling life being hard for children
Tracks 28-29: another man talks about the necessity of travellers visiting houses to sell goods in order to get money for food, and says that it is a hard life for women. He sometimes thinks he would be better off in prison. Another man talks about his difficulties in getting a doctor
Track 30: Mr Bignall talks about the importance of give and take in relationships with other people, and one of the women talks about her ancestors being Romanian 2.04 mins
Track 31: the woman talks about a man who accused travellers of eating rats, and shops and public houses in Cobham refusing entry to travellers 1.42 mins
Track 32: some of the men talk about a local doctor who is friendly towards the travellers and will come out to give medical treatment, and the difficulty in getting medical assistance for women in labour 1.32 mins
Track 33: one of the men thinks that if the travellers lived in houses they might get better treatment, and recounts an instance where a traveller friend was refused treatment in hospital because he did not have the requisite National Insurance stamps 2.08 mins
Track 34: another man talks about 'going on the Assistance' and the costs of daily living 0.39 mins
Track 35: Mr Bignall thinks that the situation is hopeless and that there is no chance of change. He thinks that people will always oppress travellers 1.00 mins
Track 36: the other men think that education is the key to better treatment, and that being able to read might give them more opportunities. They talk about the attitudes of local councils towards travellers, and their power over people 2.00 mins
Total: 1.08.35 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF549C0333280 |