Travellers, festivals
and DIY culture
This section links to a lot of the books and web-based
material generated through Enabler Publications.
Back in the 1960s as the Stones and the Beatles discovered psychedelic
substances; as the likes of Hendrix, the Doors, Airplane and the
Small Faces altered our minds with their music; Oz, IT
and other underground magazines offered a new way of seeing the
world and a different, anarchic kind of festival emerged. No longer
was it a single day event held under the banner of blues and jazz
– it was a part of a wider cultural revolution. The earliest
Alan went to was in Sussex at Phun City. You can read (and look
at the pictures) about some of the places and people it led him
to in: Not only but also...
Some folk who attended the festivals decided that they didn’t
want to return to ‘civilisation’, to what sometimes
became branded as ‘Babylon’. They started to live
in battered and brightly painted trucks, buses, tipis, benders,
yurts…and slowly a festival (festie) circuit was born. It
provided an economic, social and cultural form of self-sufficiency.
Some were musicians and entertainers, some bought market stalls
and marquees or sound systems. The media dubbed the greenfield
entrepreneurs, ‘new’ Travellers. They were modern
nomads and under the law this meant that traditional Gypsies became
subject to new laws which restricted their nomadic lifestyle.
The 1994 Criminal Justice Act was a focal point. Enabler Publications
was proud to have published the book, A
time to travel? by Fiona Earle and friends including
Alan, that chronicled the development of the new Travellers’
lifestyles. We now have this sold out book available to order
as an ebook a well as some free samples to read from it, and from the follow-up book,
No Boundaries which is still for sale.
 Rave-based
sound system free-party posses like Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and others
cranked up the volume and were joined by road protestors and the
band of eco-warriors swelled and morphed. Other books followed:
Kate Evan’s cartoon and photo her-story of the road protestors
Copse; Alternative
Australia; Another kind of Space
and Battle of the Beanfield.
It was a DIY culture that was biting back.
The story continues and there are many other wonderful sites
‘out there’ to visit from friends and colleagues.
Get in touch if you want to talk about
what you are up to.
And in the meanwhile, try some of these:
David Stooke’s wonderful Traveller paintings (see example above, left):
www.davidstooke.co.uk
 CJ
Stone’s leftfield writings about the underground and beyond,
below and above:
www.cjstone.co.uk
Sam's Positive Evolution site, full of nice words, images and
info on things (music, lifestyles, festies and more) you may like
or even love:
www.freewebs.com/samsimillia/travellers.htm
e-festivals:
www.efestivals.co.uk
Alternative newscasts from the schNews:
www.schnews.org.uk/index.php
Festival Eye magazine:
www.festivaleye.com
Tom Vague on Portobello, Ladbroke Grove, punk and more:
www.historytalk.org/nottinghilltimeline.htm
www.rbkc.gov.uk/events/intransit/podcast-popwalks.asp
This is site of Graham St John who is festie specialist - words
and images. Alan first worked with him on the Alto Oz
book:http://edgecentral.blogspot.com
Alan Lodge (Tash) History of UK’s new Travellers, festivals,
enironmental protest and more:
http://tash.gn.apc.org
Earthfirst! UK:
http://earthfirst.org.uk/actionreports
Web archive through the British Library for Friends, Families
and Travellers:
www.webarchive.org.uk/tep/13268.html
The Gypsy Council link:
www.gypsy-association.com/gypsycouncil.html
Indymedia, alternative newsmakers and shakers:
www.indymedia.org.uk
Resurgence magazine:
www.resurgence.org
UK hippy:
www.ukhippy.com/forums/index.php
Travellers’ School Charity:
www.travellersschool.plus.com
Travellers’ Times magazine:
www.travellerstimes.org.uk
Zion Train and friends:
www.wobblyweb.com/zt
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