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Ransom Publishing Limited - Hayes Rosemary

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46 pages

English

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Tess's older brother Ben is great at football, and he's really popular - but he hates the gypsy kids and Tess's friendships with them. Then Ben gets caught up in a criminal underworld and he needs help - wherever it comes from.Tess and her brother Ben's stories ties in with that of Mike and Lizzie, who belong to a group of Romany gypsies that have come to live in a newly created council site on the edge of a village.Written by popular author Rosemary Hayes, The Travellers is aimed at readers between 9 and 13 with an average reading age of 10 years. Each book is based on research undertaken by Rosemary. She skillfully weaves together the stories of the four young teenagers, from both traveller and non-traveller backgrounds, to explore different attitudes towards Romany gypsies. These are, first and foremost, great stories which both boys and girls will enjoy.

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Children's

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Publié par	Ransom Publishing Limited
Date de parution	27 août 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781781279748
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0350€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Contents

Title Page Acknowledgements Traveller Organisations The story so far … One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven About the Author Copyright
Acknowledgements
My thanks to everyone who has made time to tell me about the lives of Gypsy/Romany/Travellers, how they live now and how they lived in the past, particularly to those in Cambridgeshire County Council who work with the GRT community and to Gordon Boswell of The Romany Museum, Spalding, Lincolnshire.
I am very grateful to the following members of GRT families who have welcomed me into their homes and talked to me about their experiences:
Brady
Linda
Andrew
Rene
Jessie
Abraham
Abi
and Rita .

The English gypsies I spoke to referred to themselves as either gypsies or travellers, and these terms appear to be interchangeable. Many have Romany roots and still practise some of the old traditions and use words from the Romany language .
Traveller Organisations
The Community Law Partnership (CLP) incorporates the Travellers’ Advice Team, a nationwide 24-hour advice service for gypsies and travellers.

The National Federation of Gypsy Liaison Groups

The Gypsy Council

Friends, Families and Travellers

National Association of Gypsy and Traveller Officers

Travellers’ Times
The story so far …
Ben lives with his mum, Kate, and his younger sister, Tess. Ben is 16 and wants to be a professional footballer.
At school Ben and his friends are always taunting Mike, a gypsy boy in their class, and Ben hates the fact that Tess is friendly with Mike and that she rides the gypsy horses.
One day, Ben discovers that Mike has taken Tess to a horse fair; he is furious and attacks Mike. They have a serious fight, but Ben comes off worse.
Both boys are sent to the head teacher and Ben is forced to apologise to Mike for bad-mouthing the gypsies. This makes him determined not to go back to school next term.
One
Every day now, Ben dreaded seeing his mum. She was really stressing him out. He tried to avoid her, but today she had come home from work early. He tried to creep up the stairs to his room, but she heard him.
‘Not so fast, Ben,’ shouted Kate. ‘We need to talk.’
Ben walked slowly back down the stairs. Kate was waiting for him.
‘Come and sit down,’ she said.
Ben followed her into the lounge, but he didn’t sit down. He stood facing her, his arms folded.
‘I know what you’re going to say, Mum. But I’ve told you. I’m not going back to school next term. I want to be a footballer.’
Kate sighed. ‘Listen, love, you have to be a really good footballer if you want to make a career of it.’
‘I am good. And I’m going for a trial next week for the under-eighteens. You know that.’
Kate turned away and looked out of the window. ‘But what if you don’t get selected?’
‘Then I’ll find a job,’ he said.
‘What sort of job can you get? Your GCSE predictions are dire. You’ll probably have to do retakes.’
‘Retakes. No way! I’ve finished with school.’
‘Ben, if you worked harder … ’
‘Just because I’m not a boff like Tess!’
‘Don’t be like that … ’
Ben didn’t answer. He left the room, slamming the door behind him.
He went out of the house and walked down to the recreation ground, kicking angrily at any loose pebbles. When he got to the rec he sat on the swings, idly pushing himself backwards and forwards.
Then he had to move because some woman with a load of small kids came along.
He mooched around the edge of the field, frowning. So far the holidays had been horrible. None of his mates were around and his mum kept giving him grief.
He stopped and leant on the fence, looking into the distance. There was nothing for him here in this deadbeat place. Football was his way out of here. He had to do well in the trials.
He’d been leaning on the fence for a while when he noticed the car. A shiny, brand new model circling slowly round the rec. Ben watched it.
A Merc! What I’d do to drive that!
The man driving it saw him looking. He stopped the car and got out. He was wearing an expensive-looking jacket and his dark black sunglasses hid his eyes.
He started walking towards Ben and, as he got closer, he waved.
‘Hi there. It’s Ben, isn’t it?’
Ben frowned. ‘Yeah,’ he said. He couldn’t place the guy. How did he know his name? He couldn’t believe anyone who drove a car like that would know him. Unless he was a football scout or something. Ben’s heart began to race. Maybe he’d been spotted! But the next moment, his hopes were dashed.
‘You’re the brother of that lass who’s friendly with the gypsies, aren’t you?’
Ben was embarrassed. ‘Yeah,’ he mumbled. ‘She likes their horses.’
‘Your family’s got some reputation round here,’ said the man.
‘What d’you mean?’
The man took off his sunglasses. He looked around, but there was no one who could hear them.
‘Young Tess, she shouldn’t be getting in with the likes of them,’ said the man. ‘They’re all sorts of trouble.’
Ben bit his lip. ‘You can’t tell her,’ he said. ‘She won’t listen.’
‘Well, let’s hope she knows what she’s doing.’
The man came nearer and stuck out his hand. ‘My name’s Jim Blackwood.’
Ben shook his hand and they leant over the fence together.
‘So what are you up to, Ben? Still at school?’
Ben shook his head.
‘Looking for a job?’
‘I want to be a footballer.’
Why was he telling this guy?
The man clicked his tongue. ‘Hey, that’s a tough call.’
‘I know. But I’m going for a trial next week.’
‘Well, I’m impressed. Good luck, son. And if it doesn’t work out, come and see me; I might be able to find you a job.’
‘What sort of job?’
Blackwood nodded over towards his car. ‘D’you like cars?’
‘Sure’
He rubbed his nose. ‘Well, I might find you something … you come and see me when you’re ready.’
‘Where do you live?’
Blackwood looked away. ‘I usually come down to the rec most days,’ he said. ‘You can always find me here.’
‘Thanks,’ said Ben. ‘I’ll do that … if the football doesn’t work out.’
Blackwood turned and walked away. As he got into his car, he raised his hand, then he gunned the engine and the car moved off, making an expensive purring sound.
When Ben got home, he didn’t say anything to Kate about his talk with Blackwood, but she noticed he was in a better mood. He even put the rubbish out for her.
‘Thanks, love,’ she said. ‘You seem a bit happier.’
Ben smiled. ‘Yeah,’ he said.
‘Dad just rang,’ said Kate. ‘He wants to go to the trial with you.’
‘What … he’s coming here?’
Mum looked away. ‘Yes.’
‘Great,’ said Ben.
Ben’s dad didn’t visit much. He lived a long way away, with his new wife and baby.
I’ll have to do well if Dad’s coming.
It had always been Dad’s dream for Ben to get taken on to train for the squad, and he was so close. Dad would be over the moon if he made it.

Tess came in a bit later. Ben screwed up his nose. ‘Phew, you stink of horse,’ he said.
She ignored him and headed for the stairs.
‘Still, I suppose the riding stable’s better than that gypsy site,’ he muttered.
Tess stopped, her foot on the first stair. ‘Oh shut it, Ben. There’s nothing wrong with the site, or the people who live there.’
‘Filthy gypsies,’ muttered Ben.
‘Filthy! You should see their vans and the day rooms. They’re spotless. A lot cleaner than your disgusting room.’
‘You want to be careful, Tess,’ said Ben.
‘What do you mean?’
‘There’s gossip about you in the village.’
Tess turned round and faced him. ‘What sort of gossip?’
‘People are saying you shouldn’t get involved with their sort.’
‘What people?’
Ben wasn’t going to tell her about Blackwood. He shrugged. ‘I hear stuff.’
‘Oh for goodness sake, Ben,’ yelled Tess, stamping her foot. ‘I thought you’d stopped all that rubbish.’
Kate came out of the kitchen. ‘What’s all this shouting?’
‘Ben’s being horrible about the gypsy families.’
‘I’m only warning her, Mum. People are talking. She shouldn’t get so friendly with them.’
‘Ben, I don’t know how you can say that,’ said Kate. ‘You’ve never been to the site, you’ve never met any of the families.’
‘What d’you mean? I was at school with Mike and his mates. They were big trouble.’
‘And you weren’t?’ Kate was looking angry. ‘What about that time when you picked a fight with Mike?’
‘He started it!’
‘That’s not what I heard.’
They faced off against each other, neither willing to back down.
Then Kate turned to Tess. ‘Dad’s coming here next week.’
‘Great. Can I show him Flame?’
‘Not that damn gypsy horse again,’ muttered Ben, but neither Kate nor Tess took any notice.
Kate hesitated. ‘You’d have to ask him. He’s coming on Wednesday morning and he’ll be at the football trials in the afternoon. Perhaps he could go to the riding stables afterwards.’
‘Why don’t you come too, Mum?’ asked Tess.
Kate smiled. ‘I’ve seen plenty of Flame.’
‘I mean come with Dad.’
But Kate shook her head.

Ben hardly slept the night before the trials. He was up early, his kit all ready, and he was sitting in the kitchen, his hands round a mug of tea, when Kate came down.
‘Hey, you’re early!’
‘Didn’t sleep much,’ he muttered.
Kate came and put her arms round his shoulders. ‘Try and relax, love.’
But Ben’s foot was tapping the floor and he looked pale.
Kate brought him some toast and sat down beside him. ‘I know it means a lot, this trial,’ she said, ‘but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t make the squad.’
‘It is to me,’ muttered Ben. He pushed the toast away.
‘You should eat something.’
‘Don’t feel like it.’
Tess came in, rubbing her eyes. She helped herself to some breakfast and then went upstairs again. Moments later she was down, dressed in her riding things and heading for the door.
‘Good luck, Ben,’ she shouted, waving at him as she biked off.
Mum left for work not long after this and Ben was alone. Dad wouldn’t be here for another hour. Ben couldn’t settle to anything. He tried playing a game on his computer, but he couldn’t concentrate. He tried watching some of the footie games he’d recorded, but these made him feel e