Jessie's Journey : The True Story of a Gypsy Childhood

"From the ages of 5 to 15, Jess Smith lived with her parents, sisters and a mongrel dog in an old, blue Bedford bus. They travelled the length and breadth of Scotland, and much of England too, stopping here and there until they were moved on by the local authorities or driven by their own instinctive need to travel. By campfires, under the unchanging stars they brewed up tea, telling stories and singing songs late into the night. Jessie's Journey describes what it was like to be one of the last of the traditional travelling folk. It is not an idyllic tale, but despite the threat of bigoted abuse and scattered schooling, humour and laughter run throughout a childhood teeming with unforgettable characters and incidents."--Wheelers.co.nz A “remarkable” account of a family’s years wandering Scotland and England in a bus, living the traditional life of their people (Caledonia). From the ages of five to fifteen, Jess Smith lived with her parents and sisters and a mongrel dog in an old blue bus. They traveled the length and breadth of Scotland, and much of England too, stopping here and there until they were moved on by the local authorities or driven by their own instinctive need to travel. By campfires, under the unchanging stars, they brewed up tea, telling stories and singing songs late into the night. The “unforgettable story of a Scottish Gypsy girl” (Maggie Smith Bendle, civil rights activist), Jessie’s Journey describes what it was like to be one of the last of the traditional travelling folk. It is not an idyllic tale, but despite the ever-present threat of bigoted abuse and the challenges of scattered schooling, humor and laughter run throughout a childhood teeming with unforgettable characters. Jess Smith lived with her parents and sisters in a Bedford bus. They travelled the through Scotland, and much of England too, stopping here and there until they were moved on by the local authorities or driven by their instinctive need to travel. This biography describes what it was like to be one of the last of the traditional travelling folk.