On the way to church in Bristol, we saw this caravan of gypsies beside the road. (I wish I had done a better job of taking the pictures.) There were 4 or 5 wagons and 6 or 7 horses.
When Julie was here, we saw a gypsy wagon stopped right in the middle of a walkway in the shopping area in Yeovil.
Gypsies are fairly common in England. They do not have any better reputation here than in the states----they are known for petty crimes, theft, fortune telling, begging and, as I read somewhere, "allergy to work". (Have you ever thought about the origin the word "gyp"?) Gypsies sometimes do seasonal farm work. They are known for their family loyalty and for their music.
The local governments continue to have problems deciding what to do about gypsies, because they really don't want them in their towns. One of the things that has been done is limiting areas where camping is allowed. But, of course, some people complain that it is discrimination, so there is a lot of debate about what to do, and laws are constantly being changed.
The history of gypsies is quite interesting, if you have time to look it up. One thing I learned was that gypsies were the 2nd largest group to be sent to concentration camps and put to death by the Nazis.
3 comments:
I never thought about where "gyp" came from! I also didn't know they were a group targetd by the Nazis. Very interesting. I don't know if I've ever seen a Gypsie in real life!
Your blogs are very interesting. I will read more about gypsies. Steve loaned me a monitor, so I am back on line.
I wonder if they pass those wagons down forever.
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