Stone cold
Anyone used to living in a trailer or a horse-drawn wagon has a highly developed second sense for finding places to stop for the night. But those Gypsy and Traveller families about to make their way to Appleby Fair won’t need it. The well used routes to the fair are known by all and so are the places to stop along the way. But this year those places are being shut down. Gypsy and Traveller campaigners say that the crackdown is having a massive impact on the entire culture surrounding Appleby Fair.
Earlier this week, Joe Hurn was passing through Cumbria when he noticed that traditional stopping places were being closed off. His photos will be depressingly familiar to Gypsies and Travellers looking in vain for somewhere to stop. As chair of the Northern Network of Travelling People, Joe knows a problem when he sees it. “It goes to show that while the council may be working hard to improve relationships at the fair itself, the routes and places people used to get to the fair are really under threat.”
The aggressive move to close the traditional stopping places comes as Cumbria’s Multi Agency Strategic Co-ordinating Group (MASCG) for Appleby Horse Fair released details of where it said it was OK for Gypsies and Travellers to camp. They are encouraging Gypsies and Travellers to not arrive too early and check where the stopping places are online at www.applebyfair.org
Kevin Douglas, Chair of the MASCG and Chief Executive of Eden District Council, said: “We are encouraging people planning to attend the 2010 Horse Fair to use the dedicated website so they can plan their journey safely and have a positive and enjoyable experience at this unique Gypsy and Traveller event.”
He said that information on the transit sites and when they open, including areas in South Lakeland were available online and that the main licensed encampments for Appleby Fair would not open until 4am on Thursday 3 June 2010. He added that encampments within a 1.5 mile zone around Appleby would not be permitted ahead of that time.
But while the increasingly tight management of the fair might be good news for local communities it doesn’t impress the Gypsy and Traveller community itself. Siobhan Spencer MBE of the Derbyshire Gypsy Liaison Group says: “The excitement of seeing the hotch potch of the lanes as you approach Appleby from no matter what direction is Appleby. That is the excitement of it and it is the start of it. What is it with the powers that be that they have to 'control'. It’s just about the only time Gypsy people can be Gypsies.”
Jodi, who has commented at the Facebook page set up to protest about the crackdown agrees. “The Police should leave the Fair go on as it has been for years- Undisturbed!!! Horses need to be rested and watered...Wonder what the police would think if they got no breaks?”
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