On Monday night I was privileged to attend a public meeting on the subject of travellers and gypsies at Hove Town Hall. It was held to mark Gypsy Roma Travellers History Month and it told the story of the Gypsy Roma Travellers in the historical context of Brighton & Hove. Although told from the perspective of the Roma Gypsies in the city, the story of Irish travellers were also included. Our speaker was a lady called Janet Keet-Black who was from a Romany family, born in Brighton and living in the city. She told stories and invited others to do the same, she sang and others brought many songs and there was dancing too. The extent to which Travellers have been part of the history of the towns of Brighton & Hove was of particular surprise. The stories of the housed community calling for Gypsies to be evicted goes back 100’s of years, in many cases the travellers being driven out today are from the same families as those being evicted 200 years ago. It was fascinating hearing about the Gypsies who had visited Brighton as early as the mid 18th Century when the town stretched from West Street to the Steine but no further. How the lives of the Travellers and Royalty were intertwined with Gypsies tending the horses of the Royal Family. We heard of many examples where groups of Travellers have moved into houses in Brighton and Hove, in some cases permanently.

Janet explained about the family names that are derived from travelling groups. The big surprise of the night was the forefathers of the Mears family that sell us our fruit and veg and of course Mary Mears who was leader of the Council for 3 years. A letter was written to the local paper in 1811 by a Quaker who was concerned that there was no permanent site for travellers in the town. Here we are over 200 years later and still no site, despite the town having become a city and grown out of all proportion. The need for a site is something that successive Governments have identified in terms of the population of Travellers in the UK and the need for all local authorities to provide some fixed space.

This was the second meeting I have attended recently to hear from Travellers, of their culture and experiences. The previous event was coordinated by Sussex Police as part of their equality work focused on Irish Travellers. That too was a revelation and included songs and some dance as well as stories. It explained how difficult it is for the majority of Irish Travellers who want to live in harmony with the settled community, to do so and the difficulties between the different groups.

These experiences are in sharp contrast to meetings that have been held by others who are understandably not as interested in the histories or the dance but in the behaviour of modern travellers from a range of backgrounds. I recall one meeting in Patcham which was convened by Mike Weatherley (MP for Hove) which was very well attended. The fear and loathing that was stirred up on that other occasion was something I found incredibly disturbing. Sadly none of the people who sat on the top table at the Patcham meeting and spoke as leaders of the community (all of them Councillors apart from Mike) attended last nights event, or indeed the meeting in Lewes organised by Sussex Police. It was clear from the way that they spoke and the things that they said, that none of them had the perspective or understanding of the travellers that they would have, had they ever attended such meetings previously. A long history does not excuse contemporary abuses, but if we don’t understand our past, as the saying goes we risk being condemned to repeat previous mistakes.  Some of the families who visited the town regularly then, are still travelling and visiting Brighton today.

With our streets piled high with rubbish as a result of the refuse collectors strike, it is perhaps a good moment to reflect on our use of this land and our place in the city. Without the refuse collections our streets very quickly resemble the worst examples of travellers who leave behind detritus from their visits. My arrival in Brighton in the late 1970’s was over 200 years after some of the travelling families who live in or visit our city today, yet I feel I am accepted by my neighbours, many of them do not! Many of us are ignorant of the lives and lifestyles of people in the next house or the next street. However finding out about our history and the history of others as well as their contemporary experiences might help us to resolve todays challenges. I wish that people such as Mike Weatherley, Dawn Barnett and Geoffrey Theobald had been at Mondays meeting in Hove Town Hall. Sadly I didn’t spot a single Councillor in attendance, nor any press or media. The political representatives all have difficult jobs, ensuring that we as residents in this city live well in the space we all must share. However understanding the culture and values of some of the people who feature in their in-trays might have helped them to unlock some of the issues that we ask them to grapple with when it is not Gypsy Roma Travellers month. In the case of Councillor Mears who presumably needs no history lessons, what a fitting tribute if she could work with Councillors from the other parties to resolve the outstanding need for a permanent site for Travellers!