Well, this post is not initially about their 'contribution to folk song' but I feel that the current importance of it means that it has a relevance....

I knew that at sometime during the current election campaign that the Tories would bring up the 'gypsy menace problem' which they see as a vote winner with 'middle England' and sure enough it has happened. Our wonderful Home Secretary Pritti Patel has promised legislation to crack down on unauthorised Traveller camps, including by making trespass a criminal offence. You can read about this in the column in yesterday's The Guardian by George Monbiot by clicking here.

To their great credit, the police have shown strong opposition to this proposed change in the law as an article in today's edition shows. You can read this by clicking here

My own contact with travellers has been two-fold, professionally and through my love of traditional song and music. As a head of a special school, I came into contact with traveller families reasonably often. Once I had gained their confidence by stating that I would investigate any claim of unfair treatment or discrimination by staff or pupils - and by acting on this, I could usually develop a relationship with them. There were times when things were edgy and they were sometimes unwilling to recognise that their offspring had been in the wrong, but generally we got over it and no Traveller child was ever withdrawn in my time. There were some hairy times, like when a dad phoned to say that his house had been fire bombed by a family he was in dispute with and could his son be kept at school until he managed to sort things out. Rather a long time after going home time, I was able to drive him another house and the location was to be kept secret. As with most people, I found that if you put yourself out for them, they would reciprocate.

Through folk song, I been in the houses of quite a number of mainly Scots travellers and welcomed them into my home in the years when I was organising folk club bookings for the likes of Lizzie Higgins. The Stewarts of Blair, Stanley Robertson and Jane Turriff. I know that my life has been enriched by all the Travellers I have named and quite a few others.