My Big Fat Gypsy Horse Fair

In his book Notes from a Small Island Bill Bryson humorously describes the diverse nature of the people on the UK mainland and their different cultures and history. As I travel about I am always amazed how true this is. Whether it be the difference between the folk of Glasgow and Edinburgh, the north east of England v those from the south west or the architecture of the Cotswolds against that of Manchester, I never cease to be fascinated. For a very small country we have great diversity to celebrate.

This morning we visited Stow in the Wold to take in some more of the beautiful Cotswold countryside and check out another scenic market town. However, something was amiss. Most of the shops were shut and there seemed to be a policeman on every street corner. Was the Queen or some other dignitary visiting? As we looked around there were lots of teenagers dressed as if they were ready for a serious night out, although it was only 11 o'clock!

Curiosity aroused, I asked a policeman and learnt it was the annual gypsy horse fair on the edge of town. I imagine all the extra police were partly due to events at the gypsy camp in Essex that is in the news at present. Anyway, we decided to visit the fair and what an amazing spectacle it was. There must have been several thousand gypsies from all over the the country gathered for the fair. There were hundreds of market stalls selling everything from their traditional clothes and footwear to the most garish of shoes and girls clothing reminiscent of a scene from My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.

Music thumped out from the stalls as young muscular lads roared about in their white BMW, Mercedes and Range Rovers. What a lovely contrast with the horse and traps that sped past with young boys shouting 'watch your back!'.
Quite an intimidating atmosphere for someone with little understanding of the gypsy culture. It almost felt like we were outsiders at someone else's party.

For me the most interesting part was the horse sales. Lots of men grouped together and shouting at each other. The only evidence that a deal was done was the strange handshakes and back slapping that were to be seen. All in all this was a blipper's paradise and when I spotted people with cameras I felt brave enough to take some shots myself. I would loved to have blipped some of the old men, mainly with Irish accents, who had the craggiest and most characterful faces you could imagine. However, they were usually surrounded by younger men built like the bare knuckle fighters who featured in the news recently.

I settled instead for this blip of a pony next to a sign indicating its sale. It was the part exchange bit that I really liked. However, no sooner had I taken it than I felt a very large hand on my shoulder and the words "hold on a minute". Oh dear I had upset someone! The large hand tuned out to belong to an extremely large gentleman who suggested I should wait until his son was on the pony before taking a picture. A quick shout from the man and son was sitting bareback on the pony. Didn't fancy the shot but took it anyway to keep him happy. He would no doubt be looking for a few quid for the privilege!

Not a word of it. He just wanted a blether and was keen to know where I was from. We had a lovely chat and I learned he was from Appleby. Strange, but the fair and this conversation became the highlight of my day.

I suspect we all hold misconceptions of those we don't really understand. As we left the fair it was the thoughts of Bill Bryson that came to mind. What a wonderful and diverse country we live in!

PS - Settled for this blip as it was taken just before the large hand landed on my shoulder!