Page 18 - HOTT Magazine Vol 3 Ed 3

They were both attentive and listening, as Jess passed on to them her knowledge and

enthusiasm for the Heart.

I recorded the conversation between these 3 Traveller women for the ‘Direction of Travel’

podcast, that the BBC is co-producing, and that will be available to hear later in the year on

the Travellers Times website.

Jess explained that she felt that the Heart falling in to ruin was a metaphor for how

Travellers have been treated over the last few generations.

She recalled: “When I first came here, it was covered in dung and bits of pallets. There was
this gnawing, you know? Something inside me said ‘this is what’s happening to your people,

and you’re letting it happen’.

“Under those pallets and under that dung, those stones were looking like they were
becoming invisible, and I thought ‘I can’t let that happen’.”

Jess Smith’s words clearly had a big impact on Meg and Bernadette.

Meg said: "This is my first time being here, and I'm proud of the Tinkers Heart. It reminds

me of the hardships that the older generations went through.

"The Heart is still here after all this time, even though they tried to cover it."

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