Post by Dave on Jun 6, 2009 13:38:13 GMT
A Traveller Who Is A Joy To See
With the local news full about the travellers who camped on Galmpton Common last week and all the letters in the H.E. about how we stop them etc, it got me thinking about a traveller who is a joy to see.
Many of you may well have seen him on you own travels around Devon and Cornwall, but I see him about three times a year in one of his favourite spots. I’m always really pleased to see him as I know he has survived yet another winter.
Before I come on to that gentleman of the road I want to just share my thoughts about today’s travellers and a few memories about them, or gypsies has we always called them.
I’m sure merse will remember the times as a young child growing up in Newton Abbot during the late 50’s and early 60’s. Then it was commonplace during the summer months to answer a knock on your door. Only to find a gypsy standing there.
It was mostly a lady gypsy who had pegs to sell or lucky heather, or just asked you to cross their palm with silver. The funny thing was people were really scared not to buy from them and my mother always told me even if was your last sixpence in your pocket, hand it over to the gypsy.
The reason was people back them believed that failure to buy from them or cross their hand with silver would mean that gypsy would put a life long curse on you. I’m sure in my early twenties and being a young married man that gypsies had stopped calling at peoples doors and must have all found a better and more profitable way to earn a living.
Today’s fear when you look out of your window on to an open space outside you house and see a group of travellers caravans all parked up, is mostly one of complete distrust and a fear you are going to get robbed.
The other thing you do know is when they do move on they will leave a disgusting mess behind and the local council will have to pick up the bill to not only clean the site but rid it of the many unpleasant things that the travellers leave behind.
I’m sure if they made a bit more effort to leave any site as they found it, people might just warm slightly to them and just make sure they ensure their homes are secure and might then just put up with them for the short time they do stay.
I’m not trying to suggest that travellers are criminals who would be looking to break into nearby houses etc, but that is the view so many people do have of them. The thing that needs answering is what to do with them so they do not impacted on so many other peoples lives when they move into your town.
I believe as much as some might protest about such a plan, we need to provide proper camps that they can use and make sure all is done to prevent travellers being able to gain access onto places like Galmpton Common.
For the last six years a group of four caravans have been parked on grass right in the middle of Sowton Trading Est. They stay the whole summer and last year when they left, the site was left in the worst mess I have ever seen in left in. Bags and bags of waste and other things, piled up as high as you could see.
The piece of grass had Jewsons yard behind it and on a small roundabout, I know as they are customers of Toolfix the concern they have had for much of their out door stock, Its not hard to get over the low walls they have, but what I have always wondered is why the only grass on the other side of the road, had big boulders all around it that stopped the travellers getting on to it.
Five weeks ago Exeter City Council has at last not put big boulders all around the edge of the grass on the Jewson side and as you would expect that has now put an end to them being able to set up camp on there again.
So why are the Torbay Council not taking these simple steps that will enable those living on the edges of places like commons be able to live their life’s in peace and fear free that travellers will be camping at the bottoms of their gardens.
It will cost far less to do that then all the costs in having to keep getting eviction orders to move people who should not even be on the land in the first place. We all know they wait until the order is served and then move on. To be fair they never cause trouble when they leave but they know how it all works and stay as long as they know will be possible to do so.
Same problems every single year and yet no one does anything to prevent it happening, well maybe Dave R should run for mayor next time.
So on to the traveller I do love to see, for many years during the summer months he would be seem going up and back down the A361 between Tiverton and Barnstaple. It was common to hear the news traffic reports on BBC radio two, warn motorists that he was using that road.
I do believe the police finally got him to stop using the main road over five years ago as I have never seen him on that road for a very long time now. Between Tiverton and Bickley (I did days out thread about Bickley a few weeks ago) is a piece of grass right on a sweeping bend about 400 yards from the entrance to the local recycling centre.
This is the spot I see him now about three times during the summer months, I have a feeling he moves to Cornwall during the winter months. I have often wished there was a place I could park nearby as I really would love to talk with him.
I’m not sure if he would talk to strangers as I have never seen anybody with him or even near him. He has a very plainly painted light green wooden caravan and an old white horse and I believe it’s the same horse I saw when I first saw him so many years ago.
I would love to know what he eats, what he does for any form of pleasure and more importantly why he choose to live the way he does. I bet he would be a fascinating person to have a chat with.
He is also not very tall and looks very thin, has long grey hair and a scuffy grey beard, I bet even living the way he has, he would have great stories to tell.
One other person people my age will remember is Smokie Joe; he lived his life beside the road near the top of Telegraph Hill near Exeter. He was called Smokie Joe due to his blackened face, caused by sitting near the camp fires he had.
People going up the hill would always look out for Smokie Joe and mostly you would always get to see him. Near the end of his life he became ill and was taken into hospital.
There was a story in the local paper about how they had to give him a bath and shave plus a haircut. I believe there was also a picture in the paper showing the new clean Smokie Joe.
He went back to live on the hill and I think that is where he died and he is someone who so many will always remember
With the local news full about the travellers who camped on Galmpton Common last week and all the letters in the H.E. about how we stop them etc, it got me thinking about a traveller who is a joy to see.
Many of you may well have seen him on you own travels around Devon and Cornwall, but I see him about three times a year in one of his favourite spots. I’m always really pleased to see him as I know he has survived yet another winter.
Before I come on to that gentleman of the road I want to just share my thoughts about today’s travellers and a few memories about them, or gypsies has we always called them.
I’m sure merse will remember the times as a young child growing up in Newton Abbot during the late 50’s and early 60’s. Then it was commonplace during the summer months to answer a knock on your door. Only to find a gypsy standing there.
It was mostly a lady gypsy who had pegs to sell or lucky heather, or just asked you to cross their palm with silver. The funny thing was people were really scared not to buy from them and my mother always told me even if was your last sixpence in your pocket, hand it over to the gypsy.
The reason was people back them believed that failure to buy from them or cross their hand with silver would mean that gypsy would put a life long curse on you. I’m sure in my early twenties and being a young married man that gypsies had stopped calling at peoples doors and must have all found a better and more profitable way to earn a living.
Today’s fear when you look out of your window on to an open space outside you house and see a group of travellers caravans all parked up, is mostly one of complete distrust and a fear you are going to get robbed.
The other thing you do know is when they do move on they will leave a disgusting mess behind and the local council will have to pick up the bill to not only clean the site but rid it of the many unpleasant things that the travellers leave behind.
I’m sure if they made a bit more effort to leave any site as they found it, people might just warm slightly to them and just make sure they ensure their homes are secure and might then just put up with them for the short time they do stay.
I’m not trying to suggest that travellers are criminals who would be looking to break into nearby houses etc, but that is the view so many people do have of them. The thing that needs answering is what to do with them so they do not impacted on so many other peoples lives when they move into your town.
I believe as much as some might protest about such a plan, we need to provide proper camps that they can use and make sure all is done to prevent travellers being able to gain access onto places like Galmpton Common.
For the last six years a group of four caravans have been parked on grass right in the middle of Sowton Trading Est. They stay the whole summer and last year when they left, the site was left in the worst mess I have ever seen in left in. Bags and bags of waste and other things, piled up as high as you could see.
The piece of grass had Jewsons yard behind it and on a small roundabout, I know as they are customers of Toolfix the concern they have had for much of their out door stock, Its not hard to get over the low walls they have, but what I have always wondered is why the only grass on the other side of the road, had big boulders all around it that stopped the travellers getting on to it.
Five weeks ago Exeter City Council has at last not put big boulders all around the edge of the grass on the Jewson side and as you would expect that has now put an end to them being able to set up camp on there again.
So why are the Torbay Council not taking these simple steps that will enable those living on the edges of places like commons be able to live their life’s in peace and fear free that travellers will be camping at the bottoms of their gardens.
It will cost far less to do that then all the costs in having to keep getting eviction orders to move people who should not even be on the land in the first place. We all know they wait until the order is served and then move on. To be fair they never cause trouble when they leave but they know how it all works and stay as long as they know will be possible to do so.
Same problems every single year and yet no one does anything to prevent it happening, well maybe Dave R should run for mayor next time.
So on to the traveller I do love to see, for many years during the summer months he would be seem going up and back down the A361 between Tiverton and Barnstaple. It was common to hear the news traffic reports on BBC radio two, warn motorists that he was using that road.
I do believe the police finally got him to stop using the main road over five years ago as I have never seen him on that road for a very long time now. Between Tiverton and Bickley (I did days out thread about Bickley a few weeks ago) is a piece of grass right on a sweeping bend about 400 yards from the entrance to the local recycling centre.
This is the spot I see him now about three times during the summer months, I have a feeling he moves to Cornwall during the winter months. I have often wished there was a place I could park nearby as I really would love to talk with him.
I’m not sure if he would talk to strangers as I have never seen anybody with him or even near him. He has a very plainly painted light green wooden caravan and an old white horse and I believe it’s the same horse I saw when I first saw him so many years ago.
I would love to know what he eats, what he does for any form of pleasure and more importantly why he choose to live the way he does. I bet he would be a fascinating person to have a chat with.
He is also not very tall and looks very thin, has long grey hair and a scuffy grey beard, I bet even living the way he has, he would have great stories to tell.
One other person people my age will remember is Smokie Joe; he lived his life beside the road near the top of Telegraph Hill near Exeter. He was called Smokie Joe due to his blackened face, caused by sitting near the camp fires he had.
People going up the hill would always look out for Smokie Joe and mostly you would always get to see him. Near the end of his life he became ill and was taken into hospital.
There was a story in the local paper about how they had to give him a bath and shave plus a haircut. I believe there was also a picture in the paper showing the new clean Smokie Joe.
He went back to live on the hill and I think that is where he died and he is someone who so many will always remember
My missus is a descendant of the Roma people on her father's side and her family name is Rwamani.
