Heather For Your Luck, My Dear

In this original and historical account of Gypsy Traveller life in Hardy’s Dorset, Ray Wills, known affectionately as the Gypsy Poet, takes you on a fascinating journey through the hills of Purbeck and the market towns and villages of the county.

The Gypsy Traveller families were here for generations living in their tents, vardos, and benders within the greater Canford/Turbary common heather lands of Poole, Newtown, Branksome, Alderney, Kinson, Wareham, Christchurch, Corfe Mullen, and Bere Regis. Their many encampment communities had fancy names like Heavenly Bottom, Gallows Hill, Stoney Bottoms, and Monkeys Hump.

Many of these Gypsy travelling people were great artisans, horse traders, showmen, stall holders, swing boat builders, brick makers, potters, ironmongery workers, clay cutters, sand and gravel workers, and haulage workers. Some of these workers, such as at Newtown in Poole, were boxers who eventually became world champions and celebrities.

The book is complimented throughout with the author’s poetry, as well as photos of well-known local people and places.