Appleby Horse Fair.
Discussion
It's that time of year again.
Anyone here ever attended?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3621532/An...
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/7190...
Anyone here ever attended?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3621532/An...
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/7190...
Fights, fights, more fights.
Transits full of tinkers chasing each other.
Girls in very revealing clothing wanti g to be grabbed.
Fights for looking at them
Cars and vans driven like lunatics.
Horses ridden like lunatics.
A herd of foals stampeding down the main road.
Pretty much fun if that's your lifestyle anyway
Transits full of tinkers chasing each other.
Girls in very revealing clothing wanti g to be grabbed.
Fights for looking at them
Cars and vans driven like lunatics.
Horses ridden like lunatics.
A herd of foals stampeding down the main road.
Pretty much fun if that's your lifestyle anyway
I live in County Durham on one of the main routes to Appleby.
The travelers are provided with temporary stop over camp sites, which have portaloos. However, many just pitch up where they like: business parks; your road; your field. Leave the area covered in rubbish and worse.
Spate of shoplifting and burglaries. Rowdiness and careering about on rickety carts.
Many of the travelers are 'known to the police' and live in council/social houses in places like Bishop Auckland.
Drinking, rabble rousing, theiving and fighting seem to be the attractions of Appleby.
Some of the canvas wagons are quaint but mostly they are outnumbered by the white Transit pickup crews.
The travelers are provided with temporary stop over camp sites, which have portaloos. However, many just pitch up where they like: business parks; your road; your field. Leave the area covered in rubbish and worse.
Spate of shoplifting and burglaries. Rowdiness and careering about on rickety carts.
Many of the travelers are 'known to the police' and live in council/social houses in places like Bishop Auckland.
Drinking, rabble rousing, theiving and fighting seem to be the attractions of Appleby.
Some of the canvas wagons are quaint but mostly they are outnumbered by the white Transit pickup crews.
[Fights, fights, more fights.
Transits full of tinkers chasing each other.
Girls in very revealing clothing wanti g to be grabbed.
Fights for looking at them
Cars and vans driven like lunatics.
Horses ridden like lunatics.
A herd of foals stampeding down the main road.
/quote]
One of the best pieces of poetry I have read for years. Have you any others?
Transits full of tinkers chasing each other.
Girls in very revealing clothing wanti g to be grabbed.
Fights for looking at them
Cars and vans driven like lunatics.
Horses ridden like lunatics.
A herd of foals stampeding down the main road.
/quote]
One of the best pieces of poetry I have read for years. Have you any others?
Family live up in that part of the world and the 
fair is a stain on the area each year, every year.
Anyways, once up on a time the 'event' used to consist of genuine gypsies trading in horses coupled with a few competition events and generally 'meeting' up. The numbers used to be suitable for the area they congregated on (fair hill).
As time has gone by and as 'travellers' became a 'thing' (I think in the mid 80-90's), they overtook genuine gypsies and the nature of the 'event' changed. The atmosphere became much more aggressive with tensions between 'tribes' and tension with 'tribes' and locals.
A lot of bandwagon jumping became the norm whereby 'travellers' would proclaim to be 'gypsies' , even though they would turn up in their Range Rovers, white vans and caravans ...along with some very strange attempts at fast irish accents.
Each year sees a lot of trouble, fights, litter, damage to property..... but as political correctness seems to trump everything these days they are all now grouped as a 'race' (I think), and so they have special protection to go about their typical attitudes and behaviours each year.... with what many would say as a total care-free mind-set.
Some say the additional numbers in the area is good for business, some say that the cost to the local tax payer to provide a lot of extra policing, repair to property, replacement of stolen items and constant cleaning up of litter is a huge drain on everyone's finances.
Generally speaking, if you like horses you'll tend to be sympathetic to the event, otherwise most feel its something that should be very much toned down back to levels of the so called 'good old days'.
EDITED - I used the word .... in the opening sentence, now changed incase I was to be trumped by political correctness.
fair is a stain on the area each year, every year.Anyways, once up on a time the 'event' used to consist of genuine gypsies trading in horses coupled with a few competition events and generally 'meeting' up. The numbers used to be suitable for the area they congregated on (fair hill).
As time has gone by and as 'travellers' became a 'thing' (I think in the mid 80-90's), they overtook genuine gypsies and the nature of the 'event' changed. The atmosphere became much more aggressive with tensions between 'tribes' and tension with 'tribes' and locals.
A lot of bandwagon jumping became the norm whereby 'travellers' would proclaim to be 'gypsies' , even though they would turn up in their Range Rovers, white vans and caravans ...along with some very strange attempts at fast irish accents.
Each year sees a lot of trouble, fights, litter, damage to property..... but as political correctness seems to trump everything these days they are all now grouped as a 'race' (I think), and so they have special protection to go about their typical attitudes and behaviours each year.... with what many would say as a total care-free mind-set.
Some say the additional numbers in the area is good for business, some say that the cost to the local tax payer to provide a lot of extra policing, repair to property, replacement of stolen items and constant cleaning up of litter is a huge drain on everyone's finances.
Generally speaking, if you like horses you'll tend to be sympathetic to the event, otherwise most feel its something that should be very much toned down back to levels of the so called 'good old days'.
EDITED - I used the word
.... in the opening sentence, now changed incase I was to be trumped by political correctness.Edited by ALT F4 on Friday 3rd June 09:35
Davey S2 said:
If it wasn't for the locals one well aimed low yield nuke would do wonders.
Lawless pond life.
Well it's an interested by concept. You do wonder what this particular group bring to our fair isle. Thievery, violence, interbred offspring, curly hair, teenage pregnancy, illiteracy in youth and general anti social behaviour all while claiming as much free health care and benefits as our poxy system allows.Lawless pond life.
Still to be fair, that's not a whole lot of difference to our council estates so maybe they're just mucking in. At least they bring lucky heather, pegs and comedy fighters on YouTube into the equation.
Just been sent this link:
http://www.cwherald.com/a/news/news.458579.html
So, its the usual goings on up there during 'fair week'.
http://www.cwherald.com/a/news/news.458579.html
So, its the usual goings on up there during 'fair week'.
Some of my locals
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/traveller-gan...
and then this happened
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/trave...
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/traveller-gan...
and then this happened
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/trave...
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