surprise, when they did approach their parents, Naughty and Alice gave their permission, albeit with some very strong dos and don’ts. The girls all loved dancing because it
was in their Romany blood, but that’s all they were given parental consent for: to dance – with their brothers. They were not to start chatting with gorger boys and they were certainly
not allowed to date them. The horror of the idea was sufficient for dire warnings to be unnecessary. The girls were to be shadowed closely by their minders/brothers. They were never told whether
the boys got the same instructions about gorger girls, but there wasn’t much they could do anyway, with four attractive sisters in their care.
When the time came to attend the first dance, they could not believe the difference between live music and the recorded kind. They danced to songs such as ‘Who’s Sorry Now?’,
‘Somebody Loves Me’ and ‘You’re the Cream in My Coffee’. The evening went so very quickly and soon they were on their way home, making plans for their next visit with
great anticipation. Freedom at last! At least, it was to them.
The gorger boys must have been puzzled, to say the least, by the girls’ initial consistent refusals of all offers. But on later visits the girls did not always refuse and their brothers
would prop up the bar and enjoy a few drinks, keeping their own company, which suited them just fine. Besides, they did sometimes manage a dance with the gorger girls. They had an agreement –
we won’t tell if you don’t.
It never went further than a dance, though, even if once or twice the girls tried to escape their chaperones. Even in those considerably less permissive days, a boy would have felt uncomfortable
at the idea of having a big brother breathing down his neck while walking a girl home. Their companions were always warned off with the threat of grim retribution in the event of any romantic
attachment. The would-be Romeos were undoubtedly left discouraged.
And so it went on throughout that summer. When the season drew to a close, there were some heavy hearts on board the vardos as they left Skegness behind them. They compensated for it by
reassuring each other that in six months they would return to the hustle and bustle that they had enjoyed. With a taste for their new-found freedom, it was going to seem like a long six months.
Alice realised that with this new way of life, travelling less, it would be sensible to buy a plot of land that her family and other Romany people who visited them could pull onto. Not far from
Skegness was another of their usual stopping grounds, the Lamb and Flag in the village of Whaplode, and near to the pub was an old bakery which was up for sale. Alice, who was very religious,
thought this was a gift from God. She had always been a canny old bird who saved, not squandered, what she earned, so she promptly made a deal and bought it.
She also realised something else: the wagons were cumbersome and bender tents were now a thing of the past, while there were all kinds of new vardos that gorger people were taking to which were
pulled by cars and not horses. When she brought up the idea of switching to this new mode of transport, the boys were quite excited, as travelling wouldn’t take as long and it’s every
boy’s dream to own a car. Alice made arrangements for all of the boys to have driving lessons and, as they knew a lot of people in Whaplode, some of whom already had cars, there was no
problem when it came to practising.
She bought three modern aluminium caravans: one for the boys, one for the older girls and one for her and Naughty, but also kept the Romany Reading vardos, which meant so much to them all, as
permanent quarters on the old bakery site.
So they had finally made some roots for their family, for the very first time in their long history. It was both scary and exciting; so many aspects of their way of life seemed to be changing,
and they all wondered
was in their Romany blood, but that’s all they were given parental consent for: to dance – with their brothers. They were not to start chatting with gorger boys and they were certainly
not allowed to date them. The horror of the idea was sufficient for dire warnings to be unnecessary. The girls were to be shadowed closely by their minders/brothers. They were never told whether
the boys got the same instructions about gorger girls, but there wasn’t much they could do anyway, with four attractive sisters in their care.
When the time came to attend the first dance, they could not believe the difference between live music and the recorded kind. They danced to songs such as ‘Who’s Sorry Now?’,
‘Somebody Loves Me’ and ‘You’re the Cream in My Coffee’. The evening went so very quickly and soon they were on their way home, making plans for their next visit with
great anticipation. Freedom at last! At least, it was to them.
The gorger boys must have been puzzled, to say the least, by the girls’ initial consistent refusals of all offers. But on later visits the girls did not always refuse and their brothers
would prop up the bar and enjoy a few drinks, keeping their own company, which suited them just fine. Besides, they did sometimes manage a dance with the gorger girls. They had an agreement –
we won’t tell if you don’t.
It never went further than a dance, though, even if once or twice the girls tried to escape their chaperones. Even in those considerably less permissive days, a boy would have felt uncomfortable
at the idea of having a big brother breathing down his neck while walking a girl home. Their companions were always warned off with the threat of grim retribution in the event of any romantic
attachment. The would-be Romeos were undoubtedly left discouraged.
And so it went on throughout that summer. When the season drew to a close, there were some heavy hearts on board the vardos as they left Skegness behind them. They compensated for it by
reassuring each other that in six months they would return to the hustle and bustle that they had enjoyed. With a taste for their new-found freedom, it was going to seem like a long six months.
Alice realised that with this new way of life, travelling less, it would be sensible to buy a plot of land that her family and other Romany people who visited them could pull onto. Not far from
Skegness was another of their usual stopping grounds, the Lamb and Flag in the village of Whaplode, and near to the pub was an old bakery which was up for sale. Alice, who was very religious,
thought this was a gift from God. She had always been a canny old bird who saved, not squandered, what she earned, so she promptly made a deal and bought it.
She also realised something else: the wagons were cumbersome and bender tents were now a thing of the past, while there were all kinds of new vardos that gorger people were taking to which were
pulled by cars and not horses. When she brought up the idea of switching to this new mode of transport, the boys were quite excited, as travelling wouldn’t take as long and it’s every
boy’s dream to own a car. Alice made arrangements for all of the boys to have driving lessons and, as they knew a lot of people in Whaplode, some of whom already had cars, there was no
problem when it came to practising.
She bought three modern aluminium caravans: one for the boys, one for the older girls and one for her and Naughty, but also kept the Romany Reading vardos, which meant so much to them all, as
permanent quarters on the old bakery site.
So they had finally made some roots for their family, for the very first time in their long history. It was both scary and exciting; so many aspects of their way of life seemed to be changing,
and they all wondered
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