A little help from our friends
From Brighton to London, Cambridge and Worcestershire, last weekend thousands of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers and their supporters in public bodies celebrated the second weekend in Gypsy History Month. In Brighton, members of the local Gypsy community came together with members of Sussex Police at the city’s Brighthelm Centre to put on a show of music, poetry, food, fashion and history. As an old Romany vardo was wheeled into place with help of police staff, a local street drinker couldn’t quite believe his eyes. “That what I like to see, police helping the Travellers!” he exclaimed before wandering off to finish his beer in peace.
Photo: Geoff Foster – Equality and Diversity Liaison Officer – Sussex Police
The Sussex Gypsy Heritage also featured the premiere of a new film about the changing relationship between Gypsies, Traveller and Sussex Police called Gavver Round.
Inside the centre’s large hall, members of the Romany and Traveller Family History Society put up display of rare community photographs alongside an exhibition of modern Irish Traveller wedding dresses as hundreds of the city’s residents grabbed the opportunity to learn about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history and culture. Entertainment by Polish Roma band the Romany Diamonds and Irish/Manush singer Kerieva was complimented by poetry from Romany poets Damian Le Bas and Chris Penfold-Brown.
Diamond geezers: Romany Diamonds wowed the crowds with their traditional Roma music. Photo: Geoff Foster – Equality and Diversity Liaison Officer – Sussex Police
In Cambridgeshire, the organisers of the “Big Fat Gypsy Festival” in Milton Country Park combined a traditional gathering of wagons, horses, trailers and trucks with the eastern regional final of Travellers Got Talent. One of the visitors was local man Chris Thomas whose pictures accompany this article. He said: “I had to return home to get my camera as the photographic opportunities were fantastic. Candy Sheridan who had organised the event told me "We wanted to have a meeting going back to the old values!" And consequently the fields of the Country Park now housed an assortment of caravans and vehicles that shouted out the pride of their owners through the lovingly and highly decorated and furnished interiors of the painted caravans to the gleaming spaceships of the road in chrome and steel of the seventies, with their cut crystal glass windows.”
A slideshow of Chris’s pictures can be seen at:
http://www.grthm.co.uk/event-big-fat-gypsy-festival.php
The event was organised by Sarah Bayliss of the Romany Theatre Company and Irish Traveller councillor Candy Sheridan. Judges Joe Jones, Yvette Gaskin and Breda Doran picked three winners from the eastern regional final of Travellers Got Talent which were 8 year old dancer Jean O'Brien, singer Charmaine Upton and stepdancer Leo Temple. All three will now go through the national final to be held at the Museum of East Anglian Life on July 9th in Stowmarket, Suffolk.
The Gypsies - Who Are Ya? showcase event at the Worcestershire County Museum in Hartlebury featured guests John Barker and Peter Ingram, who signed copies of their book Romany Relics which features more than 550 photos of Gypsy wagons throughout the ages
Visitors can also enjoyed artwork made by twelve talented local people with learning disabilities, who have worked with textile artist Tracey Ayre-Massey. Each created an individually-crafted patrin, which is a message traditionally left by travelling Gypsies for those that follow behind them.
The museum also showed off its permanent collection of seven restored Gypsy wagons.
Philip Gretton,Worcestershire County Council's cabinet member for adult and community services, said: "Worcestershire has a proud tradition of Gypsy communities and we appreciate the depth of culture that makes up their heritage.
“I'm delighted that we haved offered this insight into an often misunderstood world in such a fun and enjoyable way."
This weekend will also feature the north-west regional final for Travellers Got Talent in Winsford Cheshire and the south-east regional final for Travellers Got Talent in West Ewell, Surrey. See http://www.grthm.co.uk/events.php for details of these and many other events near you.