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When she arrived she was taken to a back room, where she immediately began a long day of work as the ladies attending
all took it in turns to go and see her. It was all very hush hush and the men were unaware that their wives and daughters were visiting this Romany clairvoyant and palmist in a back room of the
splendid house. Nor, Alice thought to herself, did they know that some of their children were not their true next of kin but conceived by some misadventure, and nor were these men aware that some
of their wives did not love them but had married them simply to be free of their parents or to get out of debt. Alice would keep these secrets; she always did, of course. But she told me once that
it made her wonder how so many people could live a life that didn’t truly make them happy. Sure, she and Naughty had hard times, many of them. But she wouldn’t change what she had for
all the tea in China.
    That evening there was a commotion amongst the dogs and horses outside the vardos. ‘Who’s there?’ shouted Naughty. As quick as a flash, he was up on his feet. It was
Alice’s pony that was making the biggest fuss, bucking all over the place. Afraid that he might damage her trap, Naughty headed towards the pony, rolling up his sleeves. He listened for the
noise that had disturbed the animals. Naughty was always ready for the unexpected and never afraid of anyone or anything. As the purr of a car in the distance grew louder, followed by the beeping
of a horn, Naughty relaxed and Alice’s face lit up.
    ‘Girls,’ she beamed. ‘Stand up and make yourselves look presentable. It’s clothes time.’
    The driver of the car stepped out. ‘Hello, Mrs Petulengro, how are you?’
    ‘Joseph,’ Alice said. ‘How’s that lovely wife of yours keeping?’ Joseph was Sir Archibald and Lady Weigall’s chauffeur and he and Alice had known each other
for years now. Joseph walked round to the back of the car and, with a deft flick of his finger, opened the boot. The girls rushed round and saw several bags, which they couldn’t wait to get
their hands on. Grabbing the bags and taking them into the vardo, they couldn’t stop giggling with excitement. They immediately opened the bags and stroked the fabrics – silks, satins
and pure wool – as one would a newborn baby. One bag contained hats and shoes, some adult clothes and also, to the girls’ delight, some children’s clothes and two beautiful lace
tablecloths. Tonight they would be dining well and dressing well!
    Alice always made sure her children were well dressed, at least when they left the vardo. One day Mummy and Vera were walking down a lane on their way to the birthday party of a farmer’s
child, a family they had known for years. They were both wearing beautiful white dresses given to them by a doctor’s wife who used to pass all her children’s clothes to them. They came
to two black poles in the lane and Vera ran to one, deciding to swing around it. What she didn’t realise was that the poles had just been painted and suddenly Vera’s hands, her legs and
her beautiful white dress were all covered in thick black paint. Picturing her horrified face many years later, Granny would still cry with laughter.
    When the vardos were rested at night on the verges of the country lanes through which they travelled, Naughty would build a fire outside and then push a stake into the ground,
which would hold an iron stew pot. Alice would cook delicious recipes handed down through the generations, flavoured with fresh herbs picked from the fields.
    Naughty had three greyhounds, two lurchers and a little terrier, which were useful for following a rabbit or hare down a hole and bringing it out. Although many people choose to course for fun,
for Naughty and the rest of my family it was the only way to put food on the table. People often think it’s awful that we hunt our own meat. We, on the other hand, find it far more comforting
to know that the animal was