Part 1 - Looking back at the Gypsy and Traveller world, from 2008 to now

Since the publication of my first novel, Gypsies Stop tHere, in the spring of 2008, surely there must have been changes in the Gypsy and Traveller world. The book, along with the sequel / prequel, No Gypsies Served, presents a snapshot of how things were, using a fusion of fact and fiction to weave a story. Romany Gypsies, Irish Travellers and people not from their communities have said lovely things about them – see the reviews on Amazon and more inside each one! But this post is not really about my books.

Firstly, as reminder, let’s take a look back at some blog posts I wrote a while back. You can pick and mix according to what catches your eye and takes your fancy!

My next blog post will take a look at what has gone on since and what is happening now. Have things improved, progressed for the better or do the same problems persist?

 ** Please click on green titles for links **

Sunday, 6 December 2009
 
How come Gypsies and Travellers?

This is what seems to intrigue people. I am not a Gypsy myself. How come I am writing a story with a theme that hinges on Gypsies and Travellers, their origins, culture and present-day problems?

At Yateley a few years ago

At Bourne Hall Museum event

Friday, 12 February 2010

'Gypsy' or Traveller'?

A simple question often asked. But how complicated the answer!!

This looks at terminology and ‘labels’ and how easy it is to unwittingly offend.

Sunday, 19 December 2010

Fiction Slips into Reality

It really is stranger than fiction when fiction becomes reality. I felt as if I had stepped into a scene from my own novel Gypsies Stop tHere. The public meeting was to discuss proposals for an inevitable development at Deepcut.
 

Thursday, 20 January 2011

Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

Could not let TV Channel 4’s Big Fat Gypsy Wedding go by without offering a few thoughts – could I? It wouldn’t be right!
Firstly, these were, going by their accents, Irish Travellers rather than Romany Gypsies.
 

 

Monday, 7 February 2011

Another Grumble on Big Fat Gypsy Weddings

I understand Channel 4’s aim to achieve high ratings. To suck in an audience that might ultimately consider more serious aspects of Gypsy and Traveller life and culture, you need to lighten up first. I get that. But at what cost?

The first paragraphs of this post were published in The Guardian – Letters to the Editor (first one on the page!)
 

Friday, 11 February 2011

 

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings not so bad?

Jake Bowers speaking for the Romany Gypsy community: http://bit.ly/h9TldF on Daybreak.

I may be revising my view of Channel 4 documentary, dubbed ‘mockumentary’. I hope it really does help relations between Gypsies and non-Gypsies, rather than make for more bad feeling. Excellent representation on BBC Breakfast show this week. http://bbc.in/e0kK5J

Wednesday, 23 February 2011

More media stuff on BFGW

Various media links …
 

 

Saturday, 11 June 2011

Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month

Have you heard of Travellers Got Talent?

No? Well, at the time of writing, June is Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month. It began three or four years before. Various events displaying and exploring the culture and traditions of Gypsies, Travellers and Roma take place around the country.
 

 

Monday, 10 October 2011

Why I cannot leave Gypsies and Travellers alone

I could have chosen an easier subject for a novel. Friends and family advised me against it; an agent told me a publisher would not consider a title with ‘Gypsy’ in it. All of this spurred me on. This was around 2006–7.

Since I am not a Gypsy myself, many people ask me how? and why?
 

 

Monday, 2 July 2012

Romany Day - I was away with the Gypsies!



At a Romany Day, Tilford

On Saturday (30 June) I went with a supply of my three books to 'Romany Day', held at the Rural Life Centre in Tilford, a fascinating outdoors museum near Farnham, Surrey, well-worth a visit any time. (The front cover of my third novel has a picture of Tilford Green.)

 

Sunday, 10 March 2013

 

London Roma Nation Day - 7-8 April

This may make uncomfortable, even shocking, reading but I was interested to gather opinions ...

You will find the words: ‘eviction, deportation ... murder, fascism … ethnic cleansing … apartheid … genocide …’, and yes, this was 2013.

Gypsies Stop tHere has an Eastern European character, vital to the plot, who is a Roma immigrant in Britain. No Gypsies Served goes a little further in drawing attention to extreme racism prevalent in parts of Europe. The reality, however, is much worse, as this post reveals.

 

Wednesday, 14 August 2013

The Latest on Gypsy and Traveller Sites

There is to be a great meeting in Westminster in October to discuss the provision of sites for Gypsies and Travellers. 

As you may know, my first two novels, Gypsies Stop tHere and No Gypsies Served have story lines relating to the shortage of Gypsy sites and relationships between.the travelling community and 'mainstream' society. 

 

Thursday, 26 September 2013

Surrey Gypsy Traveller Communities Forum

It is bit of a mouthful, isn't it? But it does say exactly what it is. If you are interested in Gypsy issues but, like me, decided that the meeting in London would be an expensive trip unless you are funded by an organisation, then another October meeting may be for you. For some years now I have attended the Surrey Gypsy Traveller Communities Forum when I can, as an observer.
 

Monday, 26 May 2014

Surrey Life Review

I was delighted to have my books chosen for review in the March issue of  the beautiful, glossy Surrey Life Magazine I thought you might like to see it.

 

That's about it for now; I hope this did not cause too much verbal indigestion. Look out for the next blog post to bring us all up to date. I am intrigued, I hope you are too!

My books are available on Amazon or through Waterstones. Just click on the book covers.

 

Surrey Life Review

I was delighted to have my books chosen for review in the March issue of  the beautiful, glossy Surrey Life magazine. I thought you might like to see it.



Book Corner

Each month, Juliette Foster looks at one of the best new book releases to come out of Surrey, plus we bring you literary dates for your diary and more...

 

 

The Review

Gypsies Stop there & No Gypsies Served by Miriam Wakerly

In 2010, Channel 4 broadcast the 60-minute documentary My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, which became a huge hit with British and American viewers. Audiences got hooked on the over-the-top frocks with enough fabric to wrap around a skyscraper and the sight of eager, young brides being chauffeured to church in Cinderella-style coaches.  Four years on, it seems that anything with 'My Big, Fat, Gypsy...' in the title stands a more than reasonable chance of making it to the small screen, yet in 2007 Surrey author Miriam Wakerly couldn't even find a publisher for her novels Gypsies Stop tHere and No Gypsies Served, thanks to a perceived lack of interest in travellers. She eventually published the books herself and the result is an honest, even-handed attempt to explore the barriers dividing gypsies/travellers from settled communities.

Accurate portrait

Forget the romantic image of gypsies living in painted wagons idling away the evenings around camp fires and instead think Dale Farm meets middle England. In other words, the very real conflict between gypsies/travellers looking for a site to live on, the villagers who don't want them there, and the local councils who are legally obliged to provide permanent sites to accommodate them.

It's a huge theme and one that's skilfully explored through the central character Kay, who in Gypsies Stop tHere moves to the fictitious village of Appley Green after the death of her husband. Appley Green, a mixture of the very real Surrey villages of Pirbright, Elstead, Tilford and Frimley Green, is a friendly, genteel community that is up in arms against a group of travellers occupying council land. The locals accuse them of anti-social behaviour and want them evicted while an activist campaigner demands restraint and compassion. Caught between two emotionally charged factions, Kay tries to be objective although she finds herself drawn to the gypsies after befriending Lena, a vulnerable young traveller woman.

The underlying theme running through this story is that both sides must ultimately learn to live together, yet Wakerly doesn't suffocate the reader with the message or resort to cheap character stereotyping to reinforce it. It would have been easy to present the gypsies as the helpless victims of bigoted nimbyists, yet they come across as proud, spirited people with a love of family that even the residents of Appley Green can identify with. Kay is both gutsy and pragmatic while her friendship with Dunstan, the generous-hearted gardener and all-round good guy, has a teasing 'will they, won't they?' quality about it. Dunstan is a strong, impressive character in his own right and it's fitting that Wakerly uses his heart-piercing struggle for acceptance and reconciliation as the basis for No Gypsies Served.
 

Matter of Balance

The re-emergence of these novels is timely given the current media obsession with gypsies and the struggle to balance their needs against the rights of local communities. The jury's still out on whether the issue will ever be resolved to anyone's satisfaction but the fictitious goings on at Appley Green have an all too authentic ring about them in areas such as Chobham. Gypsies Stop tHere and No Gypsies Served don't have to be read in any particular order as they stand as a sequel or prequel to each other. They've been ably woven together to tell a story that engages while raising important issues: can society ever do enough to atone for the historical wrongs perpetrated against gypsies? How will future generations judge our treatment of this unique community? Perhaps a Big, Fat, Gypsy TV extravaganza is the key to answering those questions.

A topical note from me:  With words such as 'racism' and 'xenophobia' running wild in tandem with the current upsurge of UKIP, perhaps this is a good time to remind ourselves of their meaning. Dictionary definitions are one thing, but constantly people fall into the trap of being 'racist' by labelling a group as homogeneous, usually with derogatory implications, rather than as a collection of different individuals.

How can this give any person respect and the opportunity to fulfil their potential if they are prejudged?

Gypsies Stop there and No Gypsies Served are both available as paperbacks and on Kindle  Amazon

Take a look at some of the reviews there, if you have time.

Do drop in to Appley Green ... as you're passing by!

My three novels are all set in Appley Green – an amalgam of many lovely Surrey villages. I think it is the village green that makes them so special – so English!

Leaves beginning to turn in Frimley Green

I have been lucky enough to take holidays in beautiful, culturally varied and sunny parts of the world.

So, why would I not set my novels in a more exotic location?

A shady spot in Elstead

It is wonderful to see new and exciting places; very stimulating, as I am sure other holiday-makers will agree. For me, a visit does not dig deep enough into everyday lives, try as I may to talk to the locals and soak up their culture, history and traditions; so stretching my imagination into the realms of their reality would be risky.

Surrey is a lovely place to live. There may be prettier places – the chocolate-box honey-stone cottages in the Cotswolds, where I come from originally, for example. But perhaps ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, as the saying goes.

‘Rush-grass and bog-cotton could look bleak on a rainy day though, she knew that; but Steph loved the wilderness she was used to; the golden gorse and purple heather of summer, the all-pervasive bracken that would change its hue from springtime acid green to the copper tones of autumn.’ (from Shades of Appley Green)

I feel blessed to have lived in Surrey for about 35 years – with its relatively low crime rates, desirable homes, good amenities and really rather nice people, as well as an abundance of trees and panoramic views. Traffic can be irksome, in places, but an author can do something about that! This was one of the delights in creating my own village!

Although within easy reach of London, it is  ‘ …a village not blighted by the throb and fumes of through-traffic. Locals generally stuck to an unwritten code that the able-bodied should walk or cycle to local amenities when possible.’



Taken today ...

Anyone living in, say, Chicago, Manchester, Helsinki or Delhi might read about people’s lives in Appley Green and feel  transported to another world; while British residents will recognise a place they know, in some way or another; as well as the sense of community, family relationships and the human spirit rising against the odds.

I set my first novel Gypsies Stop tHere  in Appley Green, giving the village this name for two reasons. I wanted the word Green in it, and I thought Appley would loosely resonate with Appleby in Cumbria famous for the Gypsy Horse Fairs. Later, I stood on Appley Beach on the Isle of Wight and decided then that the name of my fictitious English village would be Appley Green. It just sounded right.

My first two novels, Gypsies Stop tHere and No Gypsies Served  do venture into another world that is on our doorstep all around England, but only as far as I feel I should, as a non-Gypsy.  Shades of Appley Green  is about something else.

‘Steph is a special, but troubled young woman. Chosen by the most venerated man in Appley Green to fulfil his mission, she feels publicly admired rather than privately loved. She certainly does not trust men!

In helping a once famous, elderly architect with Parkinson’s regain a social life, she finds herself taking personal risks, fending off objections, blind to danger. We wait for the moment when it dawns on Steph what is driving her deep-seated obsession; for only then can she find the happiness she deserves.

Appley Green is a charming English village. Everyone says so. But people are still people. With the emotional turmoil that comes with love, birth and death, a close-knit community can harbour betrayal and guilt, as well as joy and laughter.’

The book cover’s summery photograph was taken in Tilford Green. Landlord of this ‘quintessential English Country pub’, The Barley Mow, built in 1705, a stone’s throw from the park benches, told me the reason one of the seat arms was missing. A Gypsy had tied up his horse and … well you can guess. He had no idea about my first two novels, so that was quite strange.

 

“Nestling quietly in a middle-England wasteland of sandy heath, Appley Green straddles the boundaries of two counties south west of London.”

Romany Day - I was away with the Gypsies!

On Saturday (30 June) I went with a supply of my three books to 'Romany Day', held at the Rural Life Centre in Tilford, a fascinating outdoors museum near Farnham, Surrey, well-worth a visit any time.

This was a day for building bridges between Romany Gypsies and non-Gypsies. The sun shone – and the wind blew. Those of us with anything light enough to fly away had a constant battle with sporadic gusts that would suddenly remove stands, papers, balloons and books; even a gazebo took to the air at one point. I see now why ‘flyers’ are called just that!

Everything keeping still at this moment!!

There was a relaxed and friendly atmosphere with a wide variety of things going on, from the Fire Service’s dramatic demonstrations of a fire within a van and its extinguishment, (fire being a major potential hazard on many Travellers' sites); to a group of weavers and spinners from Guildford – not Gypsies, but people with an active interest in traditional skills.

The younger generation of Romany Gypsies were making them-selves seen and heard through a mix of street-dance and country and western music in the barn opposite my post; lovely youngsters showing the talent, enthusiasm and hard work that result in a polished ('Diversity' style) performance. This was far removed from traditional shanties or step-dancing, but shows that time does not stand still and tastes move on.

It was quite a social occasion. I made some new friends and saw some old ones: Ann, who works tirelessly for her community, a matriarchal looking Gypsy I know in old-style dress; wagon builder and painter, Peter Ingram, whom I visited years ago when I began research for No Gypsies Served; Jake Bowers, the well-known Romani journalist now turned blacksmith. I overheard someone congratulating him and shaking him by the hand for speaking up on TV on behalf of Romany people against the Channel 4 Big Fat Gypsy Weddings. I saw John Hockley, Chair of the Surrey Gypsy Traveller Community Relations Forum and West Surrey Rural Communities Officer, who gave my speech for me at the launch of No Gypsies Served when I lost my voice. He said how much he enjoyed Shades of Appley Green. A loyal fan!! Elsewhere there was the tantalising smell of bacon pudding cooking (as referred to in Gypsies Stop tHere!).

I also met up with people from the Romany Family History Society; the ladies from the Rural Life Centre bookshop; and curators from Bourne Hall Museum and Surrey Heritage in Woking, who I think were the main organisers.

Thanks to Surrey Heritage Centre, the Musem in Woking,
 for allowing me to show you some
of their wonderful photographs on their stand.

 A lovely day!  Hope you can be there next time.

Newsy update

For a so-called retired person, life is pretty hectic. My husband and I really did receive our bus passes the other day, though we’ve not tried them out yet.

Since the launch of Shades of Appley Green in March, I have done Waterstone’s book-signings in Windsor, Godalming, Woking, Camberley, Farnham, Basingstoke, Sutton and have more lined up in Dorking - 29 June; Newbury -28 July (for those not glued to the TV for the first full day of the Olympics, taking part or spectating); Guildford – 1 September; Sutton – 22 September.

You never know with signings in book shops, and I must have done over 30 by now since 2008. I should give up trying to analyse factors like weather/holidays/customer demographic/competing events. On my second visit to Camberley on a weekday, I virtually sold out and so left early. Godalming, on Mother’s Day Saturday  (and, for sure, Shades of Appley Green is all about motherhood and the little town so very like Appley Green ) was, by contrast, very quiet and so disappointing.  Since the week-day had worked so well, I reasoned, maybe this was a good time to reach my ‘market’; so I went to Sutton, more South London than Surrey, on a Thursday. It is a superb store with new coffee shop and armchairs to sit and chat to customers in total luxury.  I had a lovely time there, interesting conversations, and signed books for a good percentage of people I spoke to, but it was so peaceful I could hear my own heartbeat; so I am going back there again for a Saturday in September when we hope it will be buzzing with book-loving readers. There will always be folk who pop in out of the rain, or to pick up a map, children’s book or meet a friend for a coffee but do not actually read books! Some are also in there to browse for later Kindle or Amazon purchases. Sorry, Waterstone’s, but it happens. Think on, you browsing researchers, what would life be like without bookshops - or libraries? Waterstone's will be, or already are, selling Kindles anyway, I believe.

I have had two lovely holidays – one in Japan, and another walking on the island of Lipari. I find it important to achieve a balance now between living-in-general, writing, reading, promotion, family and friends.

Shades of Japanese Green

                and Shades of Sicilian Green   

                                                         

  

On Tuesday next week, 12 June, I have been invited to give an after-lunch talk to the Society of Authors local group in Guildford Cathedral refectory - something to do with ebooks. To Kindle or not to Kindle!

Next up after this is an amazing book event in the Cotswolds. 'Summer Audience' on Saturday, 16 June is in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, organised by Love a Happy Ending, an international group of 30 talented and supportive authors, run by the energetic and creative Linn B Halton. When I joined this group a few months ago I had no idea that their main book event of the year was going to be in my old school!  I was born in Tetbury, lived there till I went to University and my father was also a teacher there. I am so looking forward to going back to my roots and meeting the other writers; I will be a speaker in their packed programme, and if you would like to come along to hear me on ‘Coming Full Circle’ I think there may be a few tickets left, if you're quick. As you can see, there will be other fantastic talks and workshops and it will be a thoroughly enjoyable day for anyone interested in books, reading or writing.

Then on 30 June I am off to the fascinating Rural Life Centre in Tilford, Surrey, close to the lovely market town of Farnham. The cover of Shades of Appley Green shows the village green in Tilford. They also have a traditional Gypsy wagon on display and this day will be ‘Romany Day’. Bourne Hall in Epsom are organising this event, in previous years held in the grounds of Bourne Hall museum and library; I have been there with my first two books, Gypsies Stop tHere and No Gypsies Served. It will be another wonderful opportunity to meet many Gypsies, Travellers and other members of the public.

My books are for sale in the gift shop at the Rural Life Centre and the ladies running it suggested that my books and I also take part in another event, Rustic Sunday on 29 July, a craft show filled with live demonstrations of country crafts. I won’t be actively writing – but there to chat to people! I shall probably be stationed near the Gypsy ‘caravan’ – look out for me if you come along. It should be another lovely day out. I shall have to leave by mid-afternoon for a friend’s 60 birthday celebrations, but will be there from early morning until then.

So … there’s always something going on and, as with Kay Brackenbridge, in my Gypsy books, that quiet retirement in the country was never going to happen!

Small package of big news from Appley Green land

Tomorrow I am on BBC Surrey Radio talking to Joe Talbot as his Tea 4 Two guest. You can catch this around 2.10 pm. Maybe I shall talk about how I came to write novels and when it all began. I don’t know yet! I have been to  the Guildford studios three times now, I think, as well as doing telephone interviews, but before it was on the Breakfast Show, usually talking about nitty-gritty Gypsy issues. This time I have a full 20 minute slot to talk about Shades of Appley Green. Wow!


Since the launch of Shades of Appley Green back in March, I have had a wonderful holiday in Japan and managed to squeeze in book signings in Woking, Godalming, back to Camberley and Farnham. This Saturday, 10 May, I am in Festival Place, Basingstoke., Hampshire On Thursday, 31 May I shall be in Sutton for the first time, a bit further away, but still in Surrey. There is a 'dear old chap' with Parkinson's in Shades of Appley Green, indeed he is a key character, and I used to work for what was the Parkinson’s Disease Society (now Parkinson's UK) in Basingstoke and Farnborough areas – I actually retired the day before the launch of  Gypsies Stop tHere in 2008. Off to Dorking on 29 June and will be at the Tilford Rural Life Museum for Romany Day on 30 June.


Tilford? That reminds me, did you know the book cover photo was taken in Tilford, Surrey? And the missing arm of the park bench was allegedly pulled off by a Gypsy horse tethered there!! You heard it first here - or maybe at The Barley Mow in Tilford! 


Also on 16 June I will be at the Love a Happy Ending event Summer Audience in my old school, Sir William Romney’s, Tetbury – you know? Down the road from Highgrove. See the programme, if you are a reader of books, a writer or an aspiring writer and fancy a trip to the delightful Cotswolds. Tetbury is a truly beautiful place and I was blessed to be brought up there.

Shades of Appley Green on Kindle

Amazon.co.uk  


Amazon.com