HRFL

MatSav wrote:

The term has its origins back in the 18th century, when
toll-roads, or "turnpikes", were introduced in England.

Ah, thanks for that explanation. I couldn't imagine where the actual
word came from.

Christina writes of working with travellers. They are given an
unjustifiably hard time in the UK, just because they have chosen
an itinerant lifestyle, rather than a fixed home - and the
illegal activities of a few of these people gets all others
"tarred with the same brush".

Do they actually choose to work and live that way? Or maybe that's
the only option available to them, or the best option?

In the US, itinerant workers are mostly farmers, and are usually from
Mexico - some here legally, some not. They follow job opportunities,
and they barely make a living. I would assume that most of the people
who live this way would rather have a permanent job, and of course,
be paid a little better, but this might be the best they can do given
a number of reasons.

Joyce

--
If we discovered we only had five minutes left to say all that we
wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people
calling other people to stammer that they loved them.
-- Christopher Morley

wrote in message
...
MatSav wrote:

The term has its origins back in the 18th century, when
toll-roads, or "turnpikes", were introduced in England.

Ah, thanks for that explanation. I couldn't imagine where the actual
word came from.

Christina writes of working with travellers. They are given an
unjustifiably hard time in the UK, just because they have chosen
an itinerant lifestyle, rather than a fixed home - and the
illegal activities of a few of these people gets all others
"tarred with the same brush".

Do they actually choose to work and live that way? Or maybe that's
the only option available to them, or the best option?

In the US, itinerant workers are mostly farmers, and are usually
from
Mexico - some here legally, some not. They follow job opportunities,
and they barely make a living. I would assume that most of the
people
who live this way would rather have a permanent job, and of course,
be paid a little better, but this might be the best they can do
given
a number of reasons.

Joyce

There are plenty of workers in heavy industry that could be considered
travelers. They go from job site to job site. Some have a permanent
home that they visit on occasion or between jobs. Others do not.

My daughters husband works in heavy construction. He will take a job
where ever it is for the duration of the project. He usually comes
home every other weekend. But might have a month or two off after a
six or eight month job. And he might work anywhere in the states
including Alaska.

My Grandson's other grandfather is a Cherokee Indian, and when he was
younger he worked all over the place, usually on high steel.
Skyscraper construction, dams. power transmission lines, etc. Fishing
boats and oil and gas fields are the same sort of life.

Once upon a time, Charlie's uncle lived in the hobo camps around where
we live now. Picking peaches and other farm work. Those workers were
from the dust bowl for a while there. Migrant housing is somewhat
better now.

Jo

Jofirey wrote:

There are plenty of workers in heavy industry that could be considered
travelers. They go from job site to job site. Some have a permanent
home that they visit on occasion or between jobs. Others do not.

My daughters husband works in heavy construction. He will take a job
where ever it is for the duration of the project. He usually comes
home every other weekend. But might have a month or two off after a
six or eight month job. And he might work anywhere in the states
including Alaska.

My Grandson's other grandfather is a Cherokee Indian, and when he was
younger he worked all over the place, usually on high steel.
Skyscraper construction, dams. power transmission lines, etc. Fishing
boats and oil and gas fields are the same sort of life.

Once upon a time, Charlie's uncle lived in the hobo camps around where
we live now. Picking peaches and other farm work. Those workers were
from the dust bowl for a while there. Migrant housing is somewhat
better now.

And it would be pretty unfair to call all those people by nasty names,
just because they need to work job to job - or even if they choose to
because they prefer it. I'm sure we're in agreement here, but it sounds
like some people in the UK use the term "piker" to refer to anyone who
lives that way whether they're honest people or not.

Now as for the people who were doing illegal activity in the area around
Helen's new home, it sounds like there's a good reason why it's illegal.
And killing people's pets, whether intended or not, seems like it should
be part of that reason!

Joyce

--
The heck with top and bottom -- I want relationships with strangeness
and charm.

MaryL wrote:
"MatSav" wrote in message

Where I live, near London Heathrow Airport, "Pikey" is a
derogatory
and offensive term - and is entirely appropriate to describe
people
engaging in the illegal activities that Helen described.

The term has its origins back in the 18th century, when
toll-roads,
or "turnpikes", were introduced in England. Itinerant
workers, more
politely called "travellers" these days, used to ply their
goods
and services along these roads. Said goods and services often
involved illegal activities, such as knowing how to get past
the
pike-gates (yet still using the toll-roads) without paying
the
required tolls. ...


Thanks for the interesting explanation. Many of us on this NG
live in
English-speaking nations, but the "English" we use can be
remarkably
different. I see from your explanation that even the word
"traveller" has a different meaning. I was associating it with
tourists or vacationers. That means that if I were in England
and
used the word, I would probably use it out of context might get
some
strange looks. ;o)

Not really - if you are a tourist or vacationer, you are usually
someone who travels (or has travelled) to your destination(s).
Therefore, you are a traveller! But I do understand what you are
saying. The classic example of Americans being misunderstood
whilst in the UK is to ask the simple question, in colloquial
language: "Hey buddy! Can I bum a fag?" which means, in some
(all?) parts of the USA, "Hello friend, can you please give me
one of your cigarettes?". In the UK, it could be understood as
"Hello friend, can I sodomise a homosexual man?"!!!

--
MatSav



--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

"Tiger (a.k.a. HRFL)" wrote in message
...
I'm sorry to report that yes, indeed, I do strongly believe that HRFL
Tiger has gone to the Rainbow Bridge to join Sir William and my dear
darlings, Polly, Daisy, Deri-dog and Petra-dog.

There is no way that he was shot by a farmer - my OH certainly
wouldn't shoot him, quite apart from the fact he knows what Tiger
means to me, he adores cats, the game-keeper, Matt, was aware of who
he is/was (and knew what he looked like) and is always on the look out
for him and the other cats when he is around. The 2 other farmers in
the village/area do not own guns and they wouldn't shoot cats anyway.

Matt reported to my OH seeing lampers poaching in fields near our farm
house the night HRFL went missing. We have a huge problem with Pikeys
and their lurchers hare coursing illegally at night and we also have
strong evidence that cats from the village have gone missing in
similar circumstances before. I am hoping against hope that I am
wrong, but deep down my heart is telling me that I'm not.

My heart is breaking - even though I am hoping I am wrong, I know I'm
not.

Helen M



I'm so terribly sorry to hear this, Helen! (And please forgive all the
ignorant people who have turned your loss into a bitch-fest about which
words are appropriate in your time of grief.)

{{{{{{{{{Helen}}}}}}}

Hugs,

Jill

Tiger (a.k.a. HRFL) wrote:

My heart is breaking - even though I am hoping I am wrong, I know I'm
not.

This is too cruel for words - I also hope against hope that this hasn't
happened to him... there aren't words strong enough to describe what I
would do to such evil people.
(((((((((((Helen))))))))))))

Deb xxxx
--
http://www.scientific-art.com

"He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would;
He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield

Judith Latham wrote:
In article ,
wrote:
MatSav wrote:

The term has its origins back in the 18th century, when
toll-roads, or "turnpikes", were introduced in England.

Ah, thanks for that explanation. I couldn't imagine where the actual
word came from.

Christina writes of working with travellers. They are given an
unjustifiably hard time in the UK, just because they have chosen
an itinerant lifestyle, rather than a fixed home - and the
illegal activities of a few of these people gets all others
"tarred with the same brush".

Do they actually choose to work and live that way? Or maybe that's
the only option available to them, or the best option?

In the US, itinerant workers are mostly farmers, and are usually from
Mexico - some here legally, some not. They follow job opportunities,
and they barely make a living. I would assume that most of the people
who live this way would rather have a permanent job, and of course,
be paid a little better, but this might be the best they can do given
a number of reasons.

Joyce

Most of the travellers we are talking about here are born into this way of
life. Some of them want to settle down but as they have a bad repututation
it isn't made easy for them even if they buy land to settle on. Near where
I live there's a gypsy family who bought a house with a bit of land
alongside but it's in among a housing estate. They have been there as long
as I have known the area which is 34 years. They have built other houses
presumably for new generations and have their horses and chickens on the
land. They live their lifestyle but as far as I know there's never been
any trouble. In fact it's nice to see the animals there as I travel to
work.

Judith


That was my understanding of the 'travellers' in the UK. The term
doesn't refer to itinerant workers who have homes somewhere, whether
they are low-paid Mexican farm laborers in the US or Canada, or very
well-paid miners in the Canadian north or oil rig workers all over the
world or deep sea fishermen or other seamen. All those people usually
have settled homes somewhere where they send money and return to live
during holidays and between jobs. UK 'travellers' move all the time, and
IIRC my reading correctly, do not maintain permanent homes. I've read
other stuff about the origins of various groups of travellers, but
that's getting even further off topic!

--
Cheryl

I am so sorry for your loss and especially the uncertainty.

I know there are people who kill cats, sometimes deliberately and
sometimes 'accidentally' in the pursuit of illegal activities. They
deserve being called names and more - charged in court, when evidence is
available, but all too often it isn't.

--
Cheryl

Jack Campin - bogus address wrote:
Helen is understandably distraught and the thought of what might have
happened to her very loved cat. She used a word which is quite commonly
used in Great Britain to describe different types of people depending on
here we live.

It is not. It's very rare and only used by murderous bigots, the sort
of people who would like the UK to have its own version of the Lety
death camp.

I doubt if I encounter it more often than once every five years, but
then I don't hang out with racial supremacists.


There seems to have been considerable testimony to the contrary from
other British posters to this thread.

--
Cheryl

It is not. *It's very rare and only used by murderous bigots, the sort
of people who would like the UK to have its own version of the Lety
death camp.

I doubt if I encounter it more often than once every five years, but
then I don't hang out with racial supremacists.

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!! WHAT planet are you ON???? Please can I have some of
what you are smoking because you are talking complete and utter
delusional CRAP.

Oh, wait, jack won't be reading this because he's kill filed me for
being a racist murderous bigotted supremacist. What a fecking
arsehole.

Folks, I have to be honest, Jacks attitude to me and my use of the
word Pikey has sickened me almost as much as the loss of HRFL. I'm so
angry about it, it's not even funny. I'm going to go back to lurking I
think. At least then I won't be insulted for grieving the loss of my
cat.

Helen M