Hi wood_gnome.
My ancestors were Romani & gypsy hawkers etc, at one stage based in vans at the White Hart Yard in Godalming, Surrey. My great-grandfather's family had gravitated to the huge common at Mitcham, Surrey, where he eventually settled down in a house.
The trouble was that although Romanis and gypsies had been seen as romantic during the 19th century, their image began to change later in the century, until they were commonly associated with thieves and vagabonds. This made my own (and many other) ancestors ashamed of their heritage and they tried to disappear into the gaujo population. From my grandfather on, all trace of our ancestry was expunged, even though he was a full-bred Romani.
However, they gave it away somewhat by their regular use of Romani words in ordinary conversation; in my childhood these words were not always known or recognised by non-family.
Although my heritage was completely hidden from me and only discovered by chance when I was middle-aged, my childhood and youth was peppered with clues. For example my ability to see and interact with gnomes and fairies, my restless wandering and outdoors nature, my love of smoky campfires, my total inability to settle into an orthodox career or job, and my eventual settling on dukkering, astrology and card reading to earn a living - all without my having the slightest clue of my Romani heritage! Blood will out, as they say.
