Gipsy Britain

Damian Le Bas, The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gipsy Britain (Vintage, 2018)

This is a really interesting book about British Gipsies and Travellers, and about the author’s quest for a sense of identity.  Damian Le Bas was born into a Gipsy family, albeit a family that was already settled.  He attended private school and Oxford University that created a sense of separation from his heritage, and this book – and the journey around Britain that he undertakes – is part of his effort to come to terms with who he is.  It is very nicely written and contains lots of interesting insights into Gipsy and Traveller culture.  Stories of his Nan and Nandad are particularly poignant.  He obtains a list of old Gipsy and Traveller stopping places, atchin tans, and drives around Britain staying at these sites.  A strong sense of disconnect runs parallel to the sense of connection, and in many ways the book is an effort to come to terms with this disconnect.  There’s a notable lack of voices beyond his own family from the British Gipsy and Traveller community, but that perhaps reflects the book’s own individual sense of authenticity.