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Gipsy Kings to tour UK!
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Ron.M
Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland
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 RE: Gipsy Kings to tour UK! (in reply to Kate)
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Kate,
Actually on Radio 4 this year there have been quite a few programmes about travelling Romany Gypsies in the UK.
On the whole, most of their regular stopping sites here, have now been closed by local councils and they are now encouraged (by the Police) to move on.
(To where... I know not!)
There are very few places for them to go now and they are mostly despised by ordinary Asda shopping and weekend B&Q frequenting UK homeowners, with their eye on moving "up market".
It's obvious that, that way of life is no longer an option in the UK now IMO.
You need a postcode (and in the future), an ID Card in order to be citizen.
If not, then you are either a criminal or potential criminal, in the eyes of the State.
Strange how things change over time..
I remember, lots of years ago the Gypsies coming around the houses offering to sharpen knives or scissors, sell stuff, tell fortunes etc .. and were accepted by the locals as part of the seasonal landscape...and the best of all, was to put on the local Carnival, with all the rides and games that we all enjoyed...roll-a-penny, coconuts..The Waltzers, with the guy hanging on the back to spin it to make you even more sick than you were feeling...and the only place in town you could hear Rock n Roll played at it's "correct" level ..LOL!
I must admit , we were always a little bit "suspicious" of them though, since they were not part of the community, but we respected their ways back then.. appreciated their services and gave them room to do what they wanted to do in a free society.
(Interesting thing here...they were playing some Traditional British Gypsy music ..and in it there were these weird Arabic/Indian microtones from time to time.)
cheers
Ron
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Apr. 1 2006 21:43:41
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Kate
Posts: 1827
Joined: Jul. 8 2003
From: Living in Granada, Andalucía
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RE: Gipsy Kings to tour UK! (in reply to Ron.M)
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Hi Ron,
Dont get me started on UK politics towards Gypsies. So many laws exist simply to try and eradicate the Gypsy. The Vagrancy Act, the Commons Act, the Public Health Act ( although enforced on Caravans it makes no mention of people who live and travel in boats and barges). The Town and Country planning Act 1960 which states that no-one can camp on land, even if they own it, without a license ( so Caravan dwellers in effect became the first UK ID holders in the form of this license) then the law chaged subtly in 1962 stating councils have the right to remove Gypsies even with licenses and from their own land. The Highway act 1959 which has often been accused of being racist as it specifically states that Gypsies are forbidden to camp on highways. Then in 68 The Caravans Act changed again stating that a Gypsy found on an unofficial site be fined 25 pounds, and 5 pounds for every day after that. Not unlike Germany 1933. Ironically this often meant the only time a Gypsy was not breaking the law was when he was on the move. Stopping made him a criminal. Many official camps do not allow the residents to stay full time, and so they have to move on.
A UK court case in 67 did a lot of damage in that it defined a Gypsy as ' a person with a nomadic way of life, no fixed abode' at which point Gypsies became defined by lifestyle and not by ethnicity. ie Councils cannot be accused of racism for removing Gypsy camps. The law states that when this happens the Gypsies should be compensated but to date this has never happened.
Now anyone can claim to be a 'Gypsy traveller' and only last year a politician (accused of racism for closing down a traditional settled Gypsy camp where the Gypsies owned the land) officially registered himself as a 'traveller' in order to refute claims of racism.
In the UK at least 20,000 Gypsies live in settled camps, they often own the land, and only move on when forced, which is frequent. About 25,000 live in houses and so no longer fit the official description of ' Gypsy', and so officially they disappear as a race.
Different laws apply to showmen and circus people (who are not necesarily Gypsy, but most people do assume so). In fact showmen and circus folk are exempt from being prosecuted for camping during the winter season.
Kate
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Apr. 2 2006 11:41:41
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so yes you could call it a stereotype. In a way travelling becomes a metaphor for freedom, which is why it probably features so much in cante. 