Jim, but those were 'real' gypsies that I described, not an image of them. Their lives were lived in front of our noses (well, parked on the green for some weeks in our district) And one other point:- they obviously chose that existence (as do gypsies today) After all, if life on the road was too arduous for them, there was nothing to stop them putting down roots and getting jobs. Just after the war there were jobs galore for able-bodied men. Schools were and are free. Houses could be rented. My father rented ours and worked hard to pay the rent. Their existence was their choice, so presumably they liked things that way. I'm just saying that we felt no animosity towards them. If they didn't want to present this 'image', why on earth go round in beautifully painted horse-drawn caravans, wearing unusual clothes and speaking a strange language? If one persists in being different, and I'm all for that, then people will romanticise and fantasise about ones life. Nowadays of course they face racism, ostracism and antagonism.
By the way, in the house at the bottom of our garden lives a gypsy family (their own name for themselves) who have decided to settle in our village. They keep hens and we buy their eggs. Their 2 small children are delightful. Dad looks like a pirate with a large ring in one ear and a coloured scarf round his head. He helped my husband mend our fence last year. So please don't think that 1) I know nothing about gypsies 'in the flesh' or 2) I have any prejudices about them.