Our Forgotten Years

A Gypsy Woman's Life on the Road

Maggie Smith-Bendell

• Publisher: University Of Hertfordshire Press
• Year: 2010
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781905313884
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

Full of the language and lore of the Gypsies, this remarkable memoir offers insight into the Romani way of life from an insider's perspective. Maggie Smith-Bendell shares stories from her traditional Gypsy childhood in the rural South of England, from traveling the countryside and facing hardships, such as the death of a family member, to catching wild animals and earning a living from the woods, hedgerows, and fieldwork in the area. Moving and inspiring, this account also reflects upon the changes in the law and agriculture that have undermined the Gypsies' sense of freedom and have contributed to the author's position as a prominent campaigner for Gypsy rights. Filled with traditional recipes, crafts, old songs, and Romani words, this record includes the knowledge and skills that have been passed on from generation to generation.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Copyright
• Contents
• Chapter One: My Family
• Chapter Two: A Fearful Winter
• Chapter Three: The War Years
• Chapter Four: Snowdrop Woods
• Chapter Five: Wild Daffodils
• Chapter Six: The Old Granny
• Chapter Seven: The Swine’s Jump Road
• Chapter Eight: Pea-Picking Time
• Chapter Nine: The Prince Lane
• Chapter Ten: Dad’s Magic Flowers
• Chapter Eleven: The Hop Gardens
• Chapter Twelve: Lenard’s Dilemma
• Chapter Thirteen: School Days
• Chapter Fourteen: The Squatters’ Hut
• Chapter Fifteen: On the Road Again
• Chapter Sixteen: Death in the Family
• Chapter Seventeen: Saying Farewell
• Chapter Eighteen: Little Jess
• Chapter Nineteen: On to Devonshire
• Chapter Twenty: A Family Reunion
• Chapter Twenty-one: Village Life
• Chapter Twenty-two: Planning Permission
• Chapter Twenty-three: Growing Up
• Chapter Twenty-four: A New Life
• Chapter Twenty-five: Romani Rights
• Chapter Twenty-six: The ‘Land Grab’
• Chapter Twenty-seven: Organising Change
• Chapter Twenty-eight: The Work Goes On
• Chapter Twenty-nine: Our Forgotten Years
• Photo Album
• Culture, Customs and Traditions
• Romani Cooking
• Traditional Romani Crafts
• Wagon Songs
• Common Romani Words