2018
Weight: 1.02 lbs
Method of Disposal: Giving Away
I bought this book on my last trip to England, along with too many others. I am just trying to collect all the information I can about all the things I do not know and, of course, read anything that brings me closer to Harriet. Not that her upbringing has much to do with Gypsy Britain. It has very little, though people identifying themselves as Romani did stay on her grandparent's land periodically, there were horse sales, and sometimes caravans of people passing through in the North.
I have occasionally heard about gypsies. In Russia, in England, in Ireland, in Victor Hugo. It is not uncommon to hear a sneer along with the word. When pressed, people will tell me about theft and people who leave trash in their wake, but these same people seem to know very little about where the people they label "gypsies" come from, what motivates them, what they find important, how they identify. Now, clearly not all gypsies are the same or come from the same bloodlines or even countries, so why all the generalizations. Like all other groups of people, there is so much more than the stereotypes you were raised with. Look around you, take a peek into history. All I know for sure is that, if anyone claims to be able to sum up a group of people in a few sentences, you should not trust them.
I have so many questions. This book is just a scratch on the surface, but it is a start. More to come! I will leave this book in a lending library because you never know who might pick it up without a care or a thought and then learn something new.
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