alison the wilca Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 hey, does anyone here know a gypsy? I'm super curious what they're like in this modern day in age. Wikipedia just told me that there are many thousands of them in the UK. All I have to go off of are the gypsy circus people in the U2 'All I Want Is You' video. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pillowy star Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I'm 1/4 Hungarian Gipsy if that helps? I've got absolutely nothing in common with them though, can't understand any of their lifestyle and kind of stay away from them, so I am probably not a good example Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RaspberryJam Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 A group of them used to camp out down the road from where I lived in Germany. I never met any of them, but they must've had permission, because they were there a few weeks. That's all I've got. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HungryHippo Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 if you wanna meet some gypsies, go to Gare du Nord in Paris. they have these wrinkled postcards of "letters" written from "sick children" who need money for an operation, or else they will die. the gypsies can recite the letter in almost every language! within a 1.5 hour time, I was stopped by 4-5 gypsies with these postcards. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mrs. Peel Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I have Czech gypsy ancestors on my mother's side. Of course that has nothing to do with your question. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winston Legthigh Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I went to a Roma bar in Madrid. Crazy place. The real party seemed to be happening downstairs - lots of singing and guitars, but you had to be a Roma to get down there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gogo Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 The travellers in the UK and Ireland aren't all ethnic Romany, I don't think. Most of the Irish ones aren't, anyway. Alison, did you ever see the show The Riches (I think it's cancelled now) on FX a couple of seasons ago? There are lots of Irish traveller camps in the US, and some of them still speak a form of Gaelic. A cousin of mine in Ireland worked for a while at a school that served the travelling community. Classes were actually held on a bus, they'd follow the camp wherever it went. There's a huge bias against the travellers in Ireland, so their lifestyle is a big political issue too, and has been for years. The singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl (father of Kirsty MacColl, and the writer of both First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Dirty Old Town ) was a real radical type, he wrote and performed lots of songs about the travellers. Some people in Ireland still call them "tinkers", although I think that's pretty politically incorrect. I was in the Disney Store before Christmas, they're now marketing a "fairys" line (next big marketing scheme after the Princesses, I guess), featuring Tinkerbell, and there was a thing about how Tinkerbell's skills include mending pots and pans. I had never put her name together with that before! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mrs. Peel Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Some people in Ireland still call them "tinkers", although I think that's pretty politically incorrect. I was in the Disney Store before Christmas, they're now marketing a "fairys" line (next big marketing scheme after the Princesses, I guess), featuring Tinkerbell, and there was a thing about how Tinkerbell's skills include mending pots and pans. I had never put her name together with that before! Wow, that's an interesting observation! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NightOfJoy Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I read a book about European gypsies called "Bury Me Standing Up" many years ago that will give you a lot of insight into them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sunken mountain Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Egyptian origin.The Spanish gypsies are, -more or less-,normally integrated.If someone of us loves flamenco music or dance,these musicians are,mostly,gypsies (Joaqu Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mfwahl Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Parents:"If you don't finish your vegetables, I'm sending you off to live with the gypsies." I ate my vegetables. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mrs. Peel Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 My mom never liked us to use the term "gypped" because it's an insult to her ancestors. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Multi-media presentation from National Geographic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mfwahl Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 My mom never liked us to use the term "gypped" because it's an insult to her ancestors.My buddy from the Czech Republic said his grandparents hated gypsies with a passion. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alison the wilca Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 The travellers in the UK and Ireland aren't all ethnic Romany, I don't think. Most of the Irish ones aren't, anyway. Alison, did you ever see the show The Riches (I think it's cancelled now) on FX a couple of seasons ago? There are lots of Irish traveller camps in the US, and some of them still speak a form of Gaelic.I never did see that show... thats nuts that they're in the US, how interesting! I wonder where they are most often found? A cousin of mine in Ireland worked for a while at a school that served the travelling community. Classes were actually held on a bus, they'd follow the camp wherever it went. There's a huge bias against the travellers in Ireland, so their lifestyle is a big political issue too, and has been for years. The singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl (father of Kirsty MacColl, and the writer of both First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Dirty Old Town ) was a real radical type, he wrote and performed lots of songs about the travellers.What a lifestyle... school on a bus! that actually sounds pretty fun... are the Travellers against going to school in a building, though? I'm curious why it was done that way. Some people in Ireland still call them "tinkers", although I think that's pretty politically incorrect. I was in the Disney Store before Christmas, they're now marketing a "fairys" line (next big marketing scheme after the Princesses, I guess), featuring Tinkerbell, and there was a thing about how Tinkerbell's skills include mending pots and pans. I had never put her name together with that before!wow, that is a very cool observation... she doesn't seem like the type to be mending anything! My mom is a fan of some band called the Wicked Tinkers. So from their name I would guess they either really love or really despise gypsies. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alison the wilca Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 Multi-media presentation from National Geographic.that was informative... i am really glad my parents didn't give me away on my wedding day wrapped in a gold coin chain. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I thought of that because I saw a National Geographic - or a Smithsonian magazine once which had a big spread about them. As I recall, they were covered in gold jewelry. I am surprised they don't have an OG. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gogo Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I never did see that show... thats nuts that they're in the US, how interesting! I wonder where they are most often found? What a lifestyle... school on a bus! that actually sounds pretty fun... are the Travellers against going to school in a building, though? I'm curious why it was done that way. wow, that is a very cool observation... she doesn't seem like the type to be mending anything! My mom is a fan of some band called the Wicked Tinkers. So from their name I would guess they either really love or really despise gypsies.I want to say the travellers in the US are mostly in the south, I think it's Tennessee that has a big community. If you google "travellers scams" you'll find a ton of stuff about people getting scammed by traveller con-artists in the U.S. (this was the premise of The Riches; it's worth seeing for the scenes in the traveller camp, but the plot got kind of out of control by the end). They turn up semi-regularly on shows like 20/20, too. I'm always fascinated by those reports. The whole lifestyle is just incredible, they seem to be very insular people, with some unique traditions. You'll see reports that some of these families have made millions off of these scams, and that there are communities full of mini-mansions with RVs parked outside. The story is that they won't sleep in real houses, they have to sleep in the caravans. I don't know how much of those kinds of stories are just urban myths, though. I think that was the thing with the school in the bus, too. It was partly because the school had to follow the camp, in case they picked up and moved, and partly because they just were more comfortable in a bus than in a school building. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I want to say the travellers in the US are mostly in the south, I think it's Tennessee that has a big community. If you google "travellers scams" you'll find a ton of stuff about people getting scammed by traveller con-artists in the U.S. (this was the premise of The Riches; it's worth seeing for the scenes in the traveller camp, but the plot got kind of out of control by the end). They turn up semi-regularly on shows like 20/20, too. I'm always fascinated by those reports. The whole lifestyle is just incredible, they seem to be very insular people, with some unique traditions. You'll see reports that some of these families have made millions off of these scams, and that there are communities full of mini-mansions with RVs parked outside. The story is that they won't sleep in real houses, they have to sleep in the caravans. I don't know how much of those kinds of stories are just urban myths, though. I think that was the thing with the school in the bus, too. It was partly because the school had to follow the camp, in case they picked up and moved, and partly because they just were more comfortable in a bus than in a school building. There was also a movie - Traveller (1997). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NightOfJoy Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 My buddy from the Czech Republic said his grandparents hated gypsies with a passion. One of my old roommates, a guy from Romania who swam the Danube river to escape the Iron Curtain, told me that his village kicked all the gypsies out and burned their homes because a village girl got mistakenly run over by a local gypsy. Crazy stuff... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gogo Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 The gypsies were one of the groups targeted by Hitler, too. I've read that the Nazis killed half a million ethnic gypsies. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viatroy Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Another good Irish gypsy movie -- Into the West. I'll have to bring back my caravan avatar. And maybe post once in awhile. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stooka Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I think Anthony Quinn played a gypsy in La strada. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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