Did you
enjoy the fair when it came to your town or village? Did you ever
wonder about the showpeople… the families who travelled countrywide,
and perhaps envy them?My
family were Scottish Travelling Showpeople, and during the
1940’s/1960’s we opened at almost every highland games event and
miner’s gala day (yes… this was before Mrs Thatcher!) across
Scotland.
This is the story of how we lived,
and the culture of the showpeople of that time, who set out every
spring in good faith, hauling everything, homes, families, stalls,
from place to place, praying that the weather would be kind and the
season profitable.
But more importantly, it is the
story of our mam who met dad, a serving soldier during World War Two
without knowing he was a showman. As an incomer (flattie) she
quickly learned that the life was not all bright lights and
candyfloss.
She would also learn that her young
husband, despite his promises, refused to leave the business, not
really understanding why she wanted to live in a house… and not a
bus! This the story of our travels, the heartache of a family
divided by prejudice, and mam’s odyssey.
Reviews
‘This is a precious gem of a
story and an important contribution to the crown of fairground
history. In turns - it is funny, sad, and at times achingly
poignant. It demonstrates beautifully the difficulties and
merry-go-round of emotions and prejudice of marrying into the
fairground community, but also … the support and camaraderie of the
travellers through tough times and the struggles faced by fairground
travellers after WW2.’
David Slattery-Christy (award-winning playwright and author) |
