Jessie's Journey
Published by Birlinn Limited
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.
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.
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