I have encountered people called Roma; Travelers; Gypsies all my life and never in any one of them have they ever done anything to me, physical or verbal. This blog is a short story of my encounters.
I am now seventy eight, so I will take you back some time when I was living in England, then on to Pakistan and on to France and on to this day.
England-------- One of my school pal's lived near a place named Hanbury in Worcestershire, near a Pub called 'The Gate Hangs Well'. John is his name and I know him still. John lived in a large farmhouse as I remember and one day some one said 'The Gypsies are here', just down the lane.
Off I went with my pals to see and sure enough there was a couple of caravans ,with horses graising near by.some adults and children watching us and like all youngsters do at first, assess each other, they were ok.
I was told they picked apples as it was the cider making time. A summer at the end of the Fourties.
Did this group of Gypsies do anything Physical or Verbal to us------No. Just accepted us for who we were.
Oh dear I am a little ahead of my self. There was an earlier encounter in the mid fourties, when I lived in Lydney Gloucestershire and occasionally on a Saturday, with my Mum and dad, we went by train to Gloucester and just before entering the station we went over a kind of viaduct or bridge and down below was a Gypsie camp which facinated me and my ,mother said they made wood clothes pegs we would buy, plus they also came for the Plum picking near Newnham.
Did this group of Gipsies do anything Physical or Verbal to us------I do not think so, or my Mother would definately have said.
Right at the end of the fourties we had moved to Worcestershiore and there was a Horse Fair on ground now occupied by a technical college. Of course it was mainly a Gypsie event and I was now about fifteen. Lots of noise by auctioneers and horses plus their handlers. All went well, but I think the world moved on and that was really the last of these events'
Did this group of Gypsies do anything Physical or Verbal to us ----No.
Pakistan.-------- From the mid fifties lots of things happend. Thru Technical Colleges and University on to joining The Austin Motor Company later to become The British Motor Corporation and Mason representing them around the World, what a life. One day in the mid sixties I happened to be in the Swat Valley and I was in the company of a distributors directors having tea, when there appeared a long line of people with horses; wagons walking through the town. Bells tinkled with very colourful ladies all with their children and menfolk. Ah, said my hosts Gypsies or was it Travellers ?. They are coming down from high altitudes for the winter and will set up in the valley.
No one appeared to be disturbed by this event.
Did this group of Gypsies do anything Physical or Verbal to us. ------ Of course not.
Life went on of course and I arrive in France 2002.
France---------In the summer of 2002 or maybe it was the next visit a few years later the on a summer visit to the Dordonge area of south west France, we were driving down a side road not far from the town of Riberac and came up behind two horse drawn caravans. They approached a small stone bridge over a stream and then it happened.
With an explosion of children's happiness, boys and girls, appeared, ran to the bridge and stream and jumped in clothes and all. What a wonderful scene it was,to see them so happy.Just over the bridge the road divided and we passed the caravans with parents not the least disturbed at the scene of their children playing in the water fully clothed.
As we used this road quite lot that summer we encountered and waved as we passed. They had cut Willow sticks which lay soaking in the stream, they were basket makers and presumably grape pickers at the end of summer, Bordeaux being about 60 kilometres away.
Friday is the big market day in Riberac and so each week we visisted to buy Trout; vegetables and of course lunch at the main cafe, the name of which defies me. Hang on, was the Colonnes, something like that One friday we witnessed the market security ordering a group of people off the market. They were , our Gypsie families, it was disturbing when my French was not good enough to try to intervene. Apparantly they did not have the correct or any trading licience for that market.
We encountered their camp a few times after and as we visiters could not purchase a basket as they were very sturdy. And then they were gone.
Did this group of Gypsies do anything Physical or Verbal to us ------ No, simply took life as it came.
I have left Australia for last as it includes encounters from the early 1970's to now and it is where we live and how lucky we are.
Australia-------
Our little family arrived in Australia on a Qantas flight September 1971 at a time when new arrived were welcomed by Government and people alike and I mean physically with a handshake and a G'Day..
Ah yes encounters. In 72 there was a goup of families Gypsy, camped near Banktown Airport in Sydney,s west and they were there some time as I recall with the usual horses ;caravans and vehicles of various kinds. Very nice I thought and suddenly they were gone, where I know not. Fast forward to the 1980,s and on a forest road near where we now live on the river Clyde, we encountered a horse drawn caravan with two dogs and a young couple , I,m not certain, if there were children. They too settled near here, although I have not seen the lady for some time. Whoop's I have a flash back to Lydney in the fourties and a picture of Gypsies coming to our front door selling flowers and furtune telling. My mum I think had both.
Did this group of Gypsies do anything Physical or Verbal to us -------No, not in the least.
We are in the NOW, 2013 and I have being asking friends and strangers alike Have you ever met a Gypsie? and any experiences with them. I can tell you the normal answer from young people, is no,at least I don't think so and they have all heard about what is going in Europe at the moment and in the main 'thats hard'.
Older people like me say Ah, yes I remember them coming through this or the town on the way to fruit picking and the like ,depending on the season of the year.
Not one person I have met had anything nasty to say about Gypsies; Travellers or Roma's.
The older ones of course knew about what happened in Europe before the second world war and during it, when Roma's ; Jews and Gays were pescecuted terribly. Now we are hearing about Neo Right groups are having another go at them. How sad. What have they done to deserve such treatment.
Roma's and the like have a very strong sense of family and that could well have been behind the compassion for the mother and child of that reported incident in Greece. Was there any other peoples in Greece that would have given a home and a life to that child and its desperate Mum, probably without paperwork and into a family that would treat her as their own. We should praise that family for its compassion.
As we all know, there are many societies and /or ethnic around the World that follow a tradition of rearing children of other members of that group, who cannot raise the child themselves. I have encountered two incidence,s one in Tunisia many years agoe and one here in Australia in the 1980,s, I am damned if I can remember there names. They simply implied that that was the way for the happiness of all concerned.
I wiil close here with a message of hope.
I Hope,that every one in the World can sit quietly for a moment and endeavour to understand the Ways,Apprehensions; Faiths;Cultures and Ideas of others. We can do this,hopefully not just this Armistice Day Eleventh November 2013, at the Eleventh Hour, but at all times.
There are two books which may interest you all.
1. From my wife Patricia's library-------The English Gypsy Caravan - Its Origins; Builders; Technology and Construction. By C H Ward-Jackson and Denis E Harvey Drake Publishers Inc NY 1973.
2. Hopefully will be in my library at Christmas.-------No Place to Call Home: Inside the Real Lives of Gypsies and Travellers By Katharine Quarmby. Published by Oneworld Publications..
I have not read the book as yet, only the review in the Weekly Guardian, which of course is part of the Guardian group. "The Paper That Stops the World and makes it 'think'". I try, it succeeds admirably.
All the best, until next time.
Malcolm E Mason 11/11/2013.
eo
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Think- An Essay on Governance
At last I publish the first of my trilogy of 'think' essay's.
This one written in 2004, the longest and most detailed, which say's all of how I THINK.
I do hope you enjoy the read and agree that its content is as relevant today as it was when written.
And so at seventy eight years, they are published for all to see, not just Heads of State and people in high office, but all of you. They were.
1. Think-An Essay on Governance. 2004--Blue.
2. Think-A Proposal for a major change within the world financial system and matters relating. 2008--Green
3. Think-The Finite Planet and Matters Relating. 2011--Orange
Oh Happy Day
Malcolm E Mason.
.
Think- Governance
At last I publish the first of my trilogy of 'think' essay's.
This one written in 2004, the longest and most detailed, which say's all of how I THINK.
I do hope you enjoy the read and agree that its content is as relevant today as it was when written.
And so at seventy eight years, they are published for all to see, not just Heads of State and people in high office, but all of you. They were.
1. Think-An Essay on Governance. 2004--Blue.
2. Think-A Proposal for a major change within the world financial system and matters relating. 2008--Green
3. Think-The Finite Planet and Matters Relating. 2011--Orange
Oh Happy Day
Malcolm E Mason.
.
Think- Governance
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Think- A Proposal for a Major Change within the World Financial System and Matters Relating September 2013
This essay, the second in the 'think' trilogy, was a call for the EURO to stand tall against the US dollar. In spite of recent criticism the Euro shows distinct signs of growth and importance. Three countries to my knowledge have changed to the EURO and pleased with their decision.
I publish my essay in this blog ,as what I said is as true today as it was then.
If I read it correctly Google has said it would direct blogs to possible interested people. I hope so, then they can read the third essay think - The Finite Planet and Matters Relating on this blog Sept 2012. All about putting Caps on Extraction Quantities per Unit of Time on Non Renewable Resources and Rare Earths.
The first of the trilogy think- An Essay on Governance will appear in October.
Please read the attachment and I hope, enjoy.
Malcolm E Mason.
Think - A Proposal for a major change within the world financial system and matters relating
I publish my essay in this blog ,as what I said is as true today as it was then.
If I read it correctly Google has said it would direct blogs to possible interested people. I hope so, then they can read the third essay think - The Finite Planet and Matters Relating on this blog Sept 2012. All about putting Caps on Extraction Quantities per Unit of Time on Non Renewable Resources and Rare Earths.
The first of the trilogy think- An Essay on Governance will appear in October.
Please read the attachment and I hope, enjoy.
Malcolm E Mason.
Think - A Proposal for a major change within the world financial system and matters relating
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Period of Change 2012 - 2013
Period of Change 2012 - 2013
Goodness what a year 2012 was and to me 2013 is heading for events and human thought never experienced in living memory, well not mine anyway. Write on Malcolm, write on --------------
Australia over the old and new year period, has and is experiencing, devastating Fires and now floods.
Climate change due to human activities of burning fossil fuels of Oil; Coal; Plastics etc appears to be the main culprit by far with cyclic weather patterns thrown in. My blog Critical Decisions published Sept 28 2012 covers my take on the decisions we must make at these terrible times. Whoops I made a technical error with the SAT-NAV detail , here is the correct location 150-12-02E by 35-31-00S. Because I took the word of an expert I mixed the detail with the local grid used by forrestry in this area, I think, or should I say I did not think or question. Anyway the local Helicopter resque pilot and local flying club straightend it all out for me.
Now, the big wet I can understand, but it was the extreme of those days in January that got me puzzled and more than a little angry,you see it was like this ----When I watched the event on television and the heat patterns it was like looking at a massive Blow Torch directed at the centre of Australia, which ensuing winds blew over the continent. One wonders if it was an opening of the OZONE layer at one particular spot.
No mention of any such thing in the official media or scientific columns. I wonder!!!!!. Any ideas.
My recent twitters, require expansion, or is it explanation. Here goes.
11January 2013. My opinion. Radio Broadcasting Champions. Andrew Ogilvie,General,Gold; Margaret Throsby Music/Interviews,Silver;John Hall, Newsreader, Bronz. Andrew was and now fills in occasionaly at week ends, on a local abc radio station. He with deliberation and integrety run the early edition 6.00 to 9.00 am. Very clear voice with a distinct hint of enjoyment, he took us for many years through the local weather, community events present and future. In the early years as I remember he performed short theatrical sketches, what a delight they were. Are they still on record somewhere in an archive. The powers that be in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, should recognise this fello and award him accordingly. Local broadcasting at its best.
Margaret Throsby has been around classical music and interviewing people in the music field and others for many years. A very kind sounding lady with of course a clear voice, who even when one of her interviewees does not warrant a pleasnt reception, she always manages to get the best out of them. I remember one of her most memorable events she broadcast was a music feastival of voice, years agoe. On it was a Canadian chior who made the sound of the artic wind and it went on for some little while,. how they changed from vocal group to vocal group, with the audience never detecting the change overs I will never know. Again broadcasting at its best.
John Hall is a news reader again on the abc, who has that clarity of voice and diction, we dream of acheiving . I personally have never heard him hessitate or miss a beat, when reading any news bulettin no matter how difficult some names of people and places can be. I think it can only be a dedication to the job in hand . A truely long and much appreciated performance.
All three you see are long time veterens of my era , who enjoy what they do and do it well.
26 January 2013. Concerning children Sexually abused by Church or Youth Group leaders.What WHIMPS the parents and or guardians must be, not to act directly.
We have all seen images of children who have been abused as children and now grown up. For the life of me I fail to understand why the parents did not sort out the Priests or whoever at the time they knew or suspected incidents and more so that when they grew up the abused appear not to do it themselves.
One chap, a big lad was still traumatised in adulthood and had his own family. Surely he could have found out where the offender lived, even if retired. If no more than a loud verbal in public, it would be something for the victim to be partally satisfied. Not clergy abuse--- I sorted out three people over the years, they did not like it and knew what it ment to be traumatised by someone who will not go away.
A few words on the perpertrators of these abuses. They all appear to part of what I call institutional organisations. May I take two in different worlds as it were. The Roman Catholic church and the Military both are succesful in recruiting members at a young age. As ,my mun used to say if you get them young you get them for ever and so a young Catholic grows up ,is educated to be loyal and dedicated in the faith. some go on to be members of the clergy and on and up through the ranks of the church, finally through being a Bishop to Arch- Bishop up up to a Cardinal and maybe to the top job, which is vacant at the moment.
Ok, somewhere in their career there could come the day when in charge, with a capital C of young boys, the urges and feelings become overbearing and boys are interfered with. Parents who have something about them, complain to the the fellows senior. All they see is the priest moved to somewhere else and he does it again and again growing in confidence.
The moral of the story is that at all levels there is hempathy by the senior clergy, because they have been there and there is no one higher who has come in from the Outside World , to correct matters. Finally the world is seeing the scenario being played out , right now, around the Globe.
A very similar story is seen in the Military, when personnel either abuse civilian women or acts of brutality by firepower and torture. Both these are and have been seen around the world and corrently in Afghanistan, all too often, its the same story career soldiers going up through the ranks to the top Generals. offening officers or whoever are simply moved to a different war zone or in the case of the top men, simply retired. They always say, 'We these matters seriously' the rest is standard self interest and denial.
Let us hope that we all wise up and take action- thats enough from me on that subject.
Now for a little fun and the lastet additions to my library. Presents at christmas and new year.
A History of the World in Twelve Maps by Jerry Brotton 2012 Penguin.
A very academicaly written book, almost too difficult to follow at times. The maps were the old Bristish ;American plus of course the classics of Spain and Portugal. It was rather disapointing in that it had many maps, around twenty nine I as I recall, BUT the fello never defined the TWELVE maps in the title, plus for the high price it would have been terrific if the major could have been pull outs and enlarged.
The Quest by Daniel Yergin 2011 Penguin
The multi award winnig auther cover most of his story from The Prize and went on to discuss alternative sources of energy most of us know about and their possible future. I conclude that Mr Yergin is indeed a brilliant historian on energy, which I always enjoy reading. However he completley ommitted my favourite. that of FUSION. Oh dear what a disappointment.
Houseof Fun - 20 glorious years in Parliament by Simon HoggartGuardian Books 2012
The British parliament of course and sent to me by my dear big sister in the UK this January, she thought I might like the fun and indeed I did. This is reading for all politions around the globe plus citizens awake enough to to interested in the daftness of many of our leaders. Great fun Mr Hoggart.
Thats it for now. March with see my thoughts on Guns and violence plus Animal slaughter/animal rights there to.
Malcolm E Mason February 2013
Goodness what a year 2012 was and to me 2013 is heading for events and human thought never experienced in living memory, well not mine anyway. Write on Malcolm, write on --------------
Australia over the old and new year period, has and is experiencing, devastating Fires and now floods.
Climate change due to human activities of burning fossil fuels of Oil; Coal; Plastics etc appears to be the main culprit by far with cyclic weather patterns thrown in. My blog Critical Decisions published Sept 28 2012 covers my take on the decisions we must make at these terrible times. Whoops I made a technical error with the SAT-NAV detail , here is the correct location 150-12-02E by 35-31-00S. Because I took the word of an expert I mixed the detail with the local grid used by forrestry in this area, I think, or should I say I did not think or question. Anyway the local Helicopter resque pilot and local flying club straightend it all out for me.
Now, the big wet I can understand, but it was the extreme of those days in January that got me puzzled and more than a little angry,you see it was like this ----When I watched the event on television and the heat patterns it was like looking at a massive Blow Torch directed at the centre of Australia, which ensuing winds blew over the continent. One wonders if it was an opening of the OZONE layer at one particular spot.
No mention of any such thing in the official media or scientific columns. I wonder!!!!!. Any ideas.
My recent twitters, require expansion, or is it explanation. Here goes.
11January 2013. My opinion. Radio Broadcasting Champions. Andrew Ogilvie,General,Gold; Margaret Throsby Music/Interviews,Silver;John Hall, Newsreader, Bronz. Andrew was and now fills in occasionaly at week ends, on a local abc radio station. He with deliberation and integrety run the early edition 6.00 to 9.00 am. Very clear voice with a distinct hint of enjoyment, he took us for many years through the local weather, community events present and future. In the early years as I remember he performed short theatrical sketches, what a delight they were. Are they still on record somewhere in an archive. The powers that be in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, should recognise this fello and award him accordingly. Local broadcasting at its best.
Margaret Throsby has been around classical music and interviewing people in the music field and others for many years. A very kind sounding lady with of course a clear voice, who even when one of her interviewees does not warrant a pleasnt reception, she always manages to get the best out of them. I remember one of her most memorable events she broadcast was a music feastival of voice, years agoe. On it was a Canadian chior who made the sound of the artic wind and it went on for some little while,. how they changed from vocal group to vocal group, with the audience never detecting the change overs I will never know. Again broadcasting at its best.
John Hall is a news reader again on the abc, who has that clarity of voice and diction, we dream of acheiving . I personally have never heard him hessitate or miss a beat, when reading any news bulettin no matter how difficult some names of people and places can be. I think it can only be a dedication to the job in hand . A truely long and much appreciated performance.
All three you see are long time veterens of my era , who enjoy what they do and do it well.
26 January 2013. Concerning children Sexually abused by Church or Youth Group leaders.What WHIMPS the parents and or guardians must be, not to act directly.
We have all seen images of children who have been abused as children and now grown up. For the life of me I fail to understand why the parents did not sort out the Priests or whoever at the time they knew or suspected incidents and more so that when they grew up the abused appear not to do it themselves.
One chap, a big lad was still traumatised in adulthood and had his own family. Surely he could have found out where the offender lived, even if retired. If no more than a loud verbal in public, it would be something for the victim to be partally satisfied. Not clergy abuse--- I sorted out three people over the years, they did not like it and knew what it ment to be traumatised by someone who will not go away.
A few words on the perpertrators of these abuses. They all appear to part of what I call institutional organisations. May I take two in different worlds as it were. The Roman Catholic church and the Military both are succesful in recruiting members at a young age. As ,my mun used to say if you get them young you get them for ever and so a young Catholic grows up ,is educated to be loyal and dedicated in the faith. some go on to be members of the clergy and on and up through the ranks of the church, finally through being a Bishop to Arch- Bishop up up to a Cardinal and maybe to the top job, which is vacant at the moment.
Ok, somewhere in their career there could come the day when in charge, with a capital C of young boys, the urges and feelings become overbearing and boys are interfered with. Parents who have something about them, complain to the the fellows senior. All they see is the priest moved to somewhere else and he does it again and again growing in confidence.
The moral of the story is that at all levels there is hempathy by the senior clergy, because they have been there and there is no one higher who has come in from the Outside World , to correct matters. Finally the world is seeing the scenario being played out , right now, around the Globe.
A very similar story is seen in the Military, when personnel either abuse civilian women or acts of brutality by firepower and torture. Both these are and have been seen around the world and corrently in Afghanistan, all too often, its the same story career soldiers going up through the ranks to the top Generals. offening officers or whoever are simply moved to a different war zone or in the case of the top men, simply retired. They always say, 'We these matters seriously' the rest is standard self interest and denial.
Let us hope that we all wise up and take action- thats enough from me on that subject.
Now for a little fun and the lastet additions to my library. Presents at christmas and new year.
A History of the World in Twelve Maps by Jerry Brotton 2012 Penguin.
A very academicaly written book, almost too difficult to follow at times. The maps were the old Bristish ;American plus of course the classics of Spain and Portugal. It was rather disapointing in that it had many maps, around twenty nine I as I recall, BUT the fello never defined the TWELVE maps in the title, plus for the high price it would have been terrific if the major could have been pull outs and enlarged.
The Quest by Daniel Yergin 2011 Penguin
The multi award winnig auther cover most of his story from The Prize and went on to discuss alternative sources of energy most of us know about and their possible future. I conclude that Mr Yergin is indeed a brilliant historian on energy, which I always enjoy reading. However he completley ommitted my favourite. that of FUSION. Oh dear what a disappointment.
Houseof Fun - 20 glorious years in Parliament by Simon HoggartGuardian Books 2012
The British parliament of course and sent to me by my dear big sister in the UK this January, she thought I might like the fun and indeed I did. This is reading for all politions around the globe plus citizens awake enough to to interested in the daftness of many of our leaders. Great fun Mr Hoggart.
Thats it for now. March with see my thoughts on Guns and violence plus Animal slaughter/animal rights there to.
Malcolm E Mason February 2013
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