FTX-042 - TWO GYPSY FAMILIES

THE PENFOLDS & THE WILLETTS

Rebecca Penfold remembers some of her mothers songs, and talks about her life as a gypsy visiting the West Country fairs. Her particular family clan, who travelled mainly in Devonshire, were known as "fu'z'-stickers", not because of their treatment of local bobbies but because they wittled fancy walking-sticks from the branches of gorse-bushes. The Willett family, on the other hand, recorded at Paddock Wood, a few miles out of London, travelled the Southern counties of Kent, Surrey & Sussex and regarded themselves as general dealers.

1. THE BANKS OF THE SWEET PRIMEROSES - Rebecca Penfold (talk before) - 4'18"

2. Talk about her life and work - 0'57"

3/4. Remembering the song THE NIGHTINGALES SING - 0'12" & 1'56"

5. Talk about her mother & song, MEETING IS A PLEASANT PLACE - 4'30"

6. THE POOR ORPHAN BOY sung by Bessie Roberts - 1'49"

7. Talk about the Rev Sabine Baring Gould with "pig & parson" story - 2'24"

8. Talk about last verse of SWEET PRIMEROSES and flowers - 0'54"

9. Talk about the "Fu'z'-stickers", travelling, and fairs - 1'59"

10. THE LITTLE OLD LOG CABIN - talk before - 2'24"

11. Talk by Rebecca and song: THE BANKS OF THE SWEET DUNDEE - 6'58"

12.Tom WILLETT: THE FLOWER OF THE COUNTRY(or THE ROSE OF ARDEE) (talk before) - 3'47"

13. Talk about the Willett family - 1'30"

14. Chris WILLETT: THE COACHMAN (talk after) - 1'19"

15. Chris: THORNEY PARK, NEAR BUCKINGHAMSHIRE - 1'23"

16. Tom: MY LOVE IS BUT A SAILOR BOLD (including talk) - 5'02"

17. Tom & Chris: DOWN BY THE TANYARD SIDE - 3'33"FTX-042 - THE SWEET PRIMEROSES

18. Chris: THE LITTLE BALL OF YARN (talk after) - 2'50"

The Willetts were recorded by Peter Kennedy, Paddock Wood, Kent 1963. The Penfolds recorded by Peter and Beryl Kennedy, Iddesleigh, nr Winkleigh, N Devon, 1971-3. Edited by Peter Kennedy and first published on Folktrax Casettes 1975.

REBECCA PENFOLD was born at Blackawton Forches, near Dartmouth, S.Devon, on May Day 1900 and died at Iddesleigh, N.Devon in 1974. These recordings were made by Peter and Beryl Kennedy at Mount Pleasant, Broadwood Kelly on March 15th 1971 and April 18th.1973, when a short film was made of her singing (on Video). When we first heard about her, the primroses were especially abundant in the country lanes leading to her little old cabin. She had given up travelling around in a caravan, and she and Michael greeted us in true Romany style with "We've been expecting you". Although we had never met them before or told them of our coming, or why we had come, Rebecca immediately agreed to our recording machine being in action from the start. Michael, her husband, came from a well-known gypsy family who used to live around Withypool on Exmoor in Somerset. In fact they had already been visited previously by my aunt, Maud Karpeles, when she had been staying in the village with the Rev. Etherington in the 1940's.

BARING GOULD (1834-1924). Described as a "Squarson" (Squire-cum-Parson) who, besides raising a large family, and in addition to being a West Country folksong collector, wrote many authoritative books on archaeology, fairies & folklore, saints and sinners, religion, and travel guide books as well as fictional novels. His most famous hymn was "Onward Christian Soldiers". He co-operated with Cecil Sharp on "English Folk-Songs for Schools". One of his biographers was his son-in-law, Bickford H C Dickinson (David & Charles 1970).

Other FOLKTRAX RECORDINGS of Romany Gypsies: 043 BLACKDOG & SHEEPCROOK Carolyne Hughes and family (rec. Dorset in 1968) - 053 HARPS & HORNPIPES Hywel & Manfri Wood & Nansi Richards (rec. Wales 1954) - 100 I AM A ROMANY Phoebe Smith and family (Kent gypsies rec. Suffolk, 1956) - 140 WEARY LIFE Smiths, Fullers and Scamps (Kent & Sussex gypsies rec.1952/4) - 441 CAN YOU POOKER ROMANY? Examples of English & Welsh Romany & Tinker Cant