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THE WRITER
But it has made very little difference to popular opinion or attitude, and
even less difference to the lives of the Travellers themselves. Gypsy and
Traveller people still have the lowest life expectancy, the highest child
mortality rate and are the most “at risk” health group in the UK, as well
as being excluded from many of the basic social and legal structures.
Although I didn’t go to school, some of my siblings did. And like so
many other Gypsy children, they faced bullying. Often I would turn up
at the high-school gates to find them in floods of tears because children
had been picking on them.
It can be hard to reach your full potential without schooling, but
compared with traditional illiterate Gypsy or Traveller families, we had
good opportunities and were not expected to marry young, have lots of
children and follow in our parents’ footsteps. As a child, my passion had
been flamenco (the music of the Gypsy community in Spain). My mother
took me to a dance class after we settled in Norfolk when I was about
nine, and I was hooked.
We had rented a piece of land for our wagons and been granted special
residency rights by the council. We moved into mobile homes and eventually
built a wooden structure to house a bathroom, kitchen and communal
area. This meant I could have regular lessons and I became a
professional flamenco dancer. By the age of 17, I was filled with a desire to
leave the chaotic comfort of the camp behind. After saving money doing
care work I travelled around the world for years, dancing in flamenco bars
in Australia, flamenco schools in Spain and on beaches in India.
But even when I was travelling, I never really told people about my
upbringing or family, for fear of negative or ignorant responses. Without
school it is hard to make lifelong friends, and I know that only my family
understand my fears, emotions and background. My family was so large
and close that I never felt I needed friends. But while I was away, a sense
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