Lucky Heather

Further Info

This story was made at the Theatre Orchard “Storyshed” workshop with young people from Priory Community School, Weston-super-Mare, and adults from Somerset Racial Equality Council’s Friendship group with funding from www.media-box.co.uk

The workshop was led by Liz Milner, Clodagh Miskelly and Paddy Uglow (CreativeMedia.org.uk), and was supported by Watershed.

A parallel Design/Technology project at Priory School to make ‘story gadgets’ for the Storyshed installation was led by Tarim from the Pervasive Media Studio – www.pmstudio.co.uk/collaborator/tarim

For further information on the Storyshed project please see www.theatreorchard.org.uk/

Transcript

This figure I really like to have on my bookcase it reminded me of an incident I experience in the past. One day as I was walking on the crowded high street, a woman walked towards me, perhaps because my face was different to the crowd in Weston Super Mare at that time it stood out; it felt as though she almost targeted me.  She approached me almost in a friendly manner and politely wished me “Good evening” and said “you look a happy person”, at the same time she tried to give over some flowers.  I wanted to avoid her as it was after work and I was hungry.
But she tried to force me to stop and thrust towards me a small bunch of almost dried heather tied together.  I was surprised but also wanted to walk away she started to get desperate saying, “If you don’t buy this, bad things will happen to you”. At that time I didn’t know about what this plant was and I said that I don’t use that kind of medicine. At that time I was new to England and didn’t know much about the different strength of money value and different forms of begging.  I want to get away from her and gave her something so she gave me the branch.  I was a polite person so I took the flowers didn’t agree with how she had acted and threw it away as I got into the bus.
I told my husband about this experience he told me “Yes they are insisting, I hope you didn’t give her anything.  He continued, “When I was a little boy, my sister used to frighten me, a gypsy woman could come, knocking on our doors with flowers for sale, most likely heather.  We have been told it was good luck.  If you crossed the palm of their hand with silver it will come true.  If you don’t, you’ll be cursed.  If you don’t behave yourself, the gypsies know where you live and they will come and kidnap you and no one will know because they will hide you in the box which is kept at the back of their caravan.  They have a monkey on a chain with a flat hat and a fancy waistcoat will scream if you try to runaway.  So they’ll know and you will not be able to get away and will end up far away so we will never see you again”. But being a cheeky boy of seven, decided to visit them and when he did to his amazement they were nice to him and also offered him a sweet. As a little boy and meeting them directly he felt that his sister’s story was a joke.
Almost 20 years has past and when I think about it and also have met a friend who comes from a travelling community, and she is an inspiration for my gained awareness and that my outlook of gypsies has transformed.

Credits

gypsy caravan created by rightee, used under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 licence.

gypsy caravan created by bixentro, used under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 licence.

gypsy caravan created by www.speedace.info/gypsy_caravan.htm, used under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 licence.

heather created by beneneuman, used under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 licence.

Van created by Founders4, used under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 licence.

Serbian Gypsies 1905 created by Augustus Francis Sherman, used under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 licence.

Flower seller 1900 created by Ena Cole., used under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 licence.

1880s lithograph of gypsy flower seller created by anon www.janiscarletonallen.com, used under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 licence.

Color drawing Calluna Vulgaris created by C. A. M. Lindman (1901-1905), Bilder ur Nordens Flora., used under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 licence.

Gypsy flag created by http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-rom-svensk.html, used under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 licence.

Boy and monkey created by Ferdinand Marohn, used under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 licence.