0:00:03 > 0:00:06This week, I'm in Spalding, in Lincolnshire,
0:00:06 > 0:00:08to visit a very unique collection.
0:00:08 > 0:00:13It's a labour of love, inspired by a son's devotion to his father,
0:00:13 > 0:00:16and his wish to preserve the memory of his heritage.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22And that heritage belongs to the Romany community,
0:00:22 > 0:00:24traditionally known as Gypsies.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31I meet Gordon Boswell, owner of Britain's only Romany Museum,
0:00:31 > 0:00:34and learn how his forebears preached the gospel.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40I'll also be finding out some of the ways in which today's Gypsy and
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Traveller community practise and express their faith.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46And I'll be meeting country singer Jessica Clemmons who,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49though she's found fame over here in the UK,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52never forgets her Christian upbringing in Texas.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Being Romany is an ethnic identity, something you take with you
0:01:06 > 0:01:08no matter where you live.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15Romany ancestral roots stretch back to ninth century India,
0:01:15 > 0:01:19but their recorded history in Britain began 500 years ago.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25Over the centuries, they've been romanticised but also vilified.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27They just don't want us in the country.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29That's all it amounts to - they just don't want us in the country.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32They've often been regarded as outsiders,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35but have frequently contributed to British life.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39One British Romany Gypsy who came to prominence because of his
0:01:39 > 0:01:44Christian faith, was Rodney Smith, otherwise known as Gypsy Smith.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47He was born in a tent, never attended a school,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51yet influenced millions of lives with his powerful preaching.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53He even cut a few records.
0:01:53 > 0:02:01# I can hear my saviour calling... #
0:02:01 > 0:02:03Gypsy Smith began his life as an evangelist
0:02:03 > 0:02:05within the Salvation Army.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08And so, for our first hymn, we pay tribute to him
0:02:08 > 0:02:12with a rousing hymn from the Salvation Army church in Manchester.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Romanies have strong cultural beliefs and traditions,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42at the heart of which is the importance of family.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Gordon Boswell's museum is proof of that.
0:04:48 > 0:04:54I opened this museum on the 25th of February, 1995.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57That would have been my father's 100th birthday.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04I was born into this way of life, and I didn't want the past to die.
0:05:05 > 0:05:11There were seven children of us, and we all had a lovely childhood.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14It's all down to your parents,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18because we were taught to kneel at the side of your bed,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22before we got into bed, and say the Lord's Prayer.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26You have some good parents, you'll have a good child, won't you?
0:05:27 > 0:05:28So, this is your screening room?
0:05:28 > 0:05:32This is...yeah, where we tell the stories, in here.
0:05:32 > 0:05:33Ah-ha.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35There's my grandfather.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37And that's my grandmother.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40- Oh, that's your dad.- Yes.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43They lived in them two, that big tent, there,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46and that one over there, and that was the wagon.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52John Wesley Baker, the Wesleyan Chapel people,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55got my grandparents interested in the gospel,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58and they started up the Gypsy Gospel Mission Tent.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01What happened in the Gospel Tent? Was it a church, essentially?
0:06:01 > 0:06:03It was a church, in fact, yes.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07And the big tent is from there to there - that was it.
0:06:07 > 0:06:08And he used to teach the gospel.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13I want to know a little bit more about your father,
0:06:13 > 0:06:15because this is the misconception, isn't it,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18about people from your community -
0:06:18 > 0:06:22is that you're outside of normal society, yet here he is,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24in uniform, fighting for our country.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27- In the 1914 war.- Yeah.
0:06:27 > 0:06:32And this man, here - everyone tells me that I look like him.
0:06:32 > 0:06:33Whether I do, I don't know.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35- This chap, here? You do, yes.- Yeah.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Wester Bosley, he was known as.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41And he was the first man to translate the Romany language
0:06:41 > 0:06:46into English, and he'd done that as far back as in 1860,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50when there was a book written by two authors called Crofton and Smart.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53And they've got a page of his handwriting, even,
0:06:53 > 0:06:55all in the Romany language.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Gordon has devoted 22 years to building his unique collection.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06It's the largest public display of Romany history in the world.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10How difficult was it for you to get this off the ground,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12and to have it working as it is today?
0:07:12 > 0:07:17When I finished building that last building - that big part, there -
0:07:17 > 0:07:21I sat in a chair at the far end, there, looking down,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24and I said to myself, "How have you done it, Gordon?
0:07:24 > 0:07:26"You've done it."
0:07:26 > 0:07:29And I said, "Someone must have helped me."
0:07:29 > 0:07:33And I looked up like that, put my hands together and said,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35"Whoever you are and wherever you are, thank you."
0:07:37 > 0:07:39That's the answer to what you've just asked me.
0:07:41 > 0:07:42Does that make sense to you?
0:07:42 > 0:07:44It makes sense to me, definitely.
0:07:49 > 0:07:57# Our father
0:07:58 > 0:08:06# Which art in heaven
0:08:07 > 0:08:16# Hallowed be
0:08:16 > 0:08:23# Thy name
0:08:26 > 0:08:32# Thy kingdom come
0:08:32 > 0:08:38# Thy will be done
0:08:38 > 0:08:41# On earth
0:08:42 > 0:08:46# As it is
0:08:46 > 0:08:57# In Heaven
0:09:07 > 0:09:12# Give us this day
0:09:12 > 0:09:18# Our daily bread
0:09:18 > 0:09:22# And forgive us our trespasses
0:09:22 > 0:09:27# As we forgive those who trespass against us
0:09:33 > 0:09:38# And lead us not into temptation
0:09:38 > 0:09:43# But deliver us from evil
0:09:43 > 0:09:49# For thine is the kingdom
0:09:49 > 0:09:51# And the power
0:09:51 > 0:09:55# And the glory
0:09:55 > 0:10:02# Forever
0:10:02 > 0:10:08# Amen
0:10:08 > 0:10:13# Amen
0:10:13 > 0:10:20# For thine is the kingdom
0:10:20 > 0:10:23# And the power
0:10:23 > 0:10:27# And the glory
0:10:27 > 0:10:33# For ever
0:10:33 > 0:10:39# And ever
0:10:39 > 0:10:44# Amen
0:10:44 > 0:10:54# Amen. #
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Many people associate Romanies with wagons or,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08as Gypsies actually call them, Vardos,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12and this spectacular horse-drawn Vardo has clocked up thousands
0:11:12 > 0:11:16of miles, including many trips to the Appleby Fair -
0:11:16 > 0:11:19the UK's largest annual gathering for Gypsies.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Billy Welch is one of the organisers behind the Appleby Fair
0:11:29 > 0:11:31in Cumbria, held every year.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38Appleby Fair is the most important date
0:11:38 > 0:11:40in the Gypsy and Traveller calendar.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Primarily, it's a horse fair.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47It was chartered to the Gypsy people by King James II, in 1685.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49But it isn't just about the horses.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52It's where the young people meet their future husbands
0:11:52 > 0:11:54and their future wives.
0:11:54 > 0:11:55At least once in a lifetime,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Gypsies or Travellers must go to Appleby Fair.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01But some of us go every single year.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Although the fair is a Gypsy and Traveller gathering,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08Billy has been keen to connect with local residents in Appleby.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12We've been encouraging the settled community to come to the fair -
0:12:12 > 0:12:16come amongst us, sit amongst us, have a drink with us.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19One group that has responded to Billy's invitation
0:12:19 > 0:12:21is the local church.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26First time I met Billy would be my first horse fair,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29which was ten years ago this year.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Any such large gathering of people brings its own challenges.
0:12:33 > 0:12:38Because, I think, there'd been a number of difficult horse fairs
0:12:38 > 0:12:43in the past, a lot of the older settled community, here,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46were quite frightened of the Travelling community.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50But I think, in the main, they're absolutely amazing, they really are.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53I've struck up quite a special relationship with Billy and
0:12:53 > 0:12:54his extended family.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56He's earned everybody's respect.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58He's a really, really nice man.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Oh, Sarah helped a lot.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02And she would go around and explain to people from the settled
0:13:02 > 0:13:06community that there's nothing to fear.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09While, at the same time, I've been doing the same thing with my people,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12because there is prejudice on our side as well.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15What people don't understand, they're frightened of.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20We've made big strides forward in breaking down that suspicion.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22And they're just coming in their thousands, now,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24because they really, really enjoy it.
0:13:24 > 0:13:25And we enjoy having them.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Billy and Sarah's work together has revealed
0:13:29 > 0:13:31a great deal of common ground.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Billy and all of his family, and his extended family,
0:13:35 > 0:13:37all camp and move around,
0:13:37 > 0:13:42and clergy who are serving, paid clergy, camp and move around.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Obviously, we camp for rather a lot longer than they do,
0:13:45 > 0:13:47but there is that sense that where you are,
0:13:47 > 0:13:51the place where you are with the people that you love and serve,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54is the place which is home for you at that point.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00And a life on the move is not the only thing Billy and Sarah share.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03I have a very strong faith and the Bible means a lot to us.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05I have a few Bibles, I have about half a dozen,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08but my favourite one is my Thomas Kinkade one.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10I love reading it because I like colour, and pictures,
0:14:10 > 0:14:11which most Gypsies do.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14It's like the colours of the horse-drawn caravans that we have.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Over the centuries,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22having a strong faith has kept us strong as a people,
0:14:22 > 0:14:24kept us very family orientated.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27I have photographs of my ancestors.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Every single one of them, going all the way back the generations,
0:14:30 > 0:14:32all had a strong faith.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35And even in very, very, very hard times,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38we always had the strength of the Lord behind us,
0:14:38 > 0:14:39to help us to carry on.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45There's no word for goodbye in Romanus, no word for goodbye.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48If I was leaving, I would say to you,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50"Ach Devlesa" -
0:14:50 > 0:14:52may God stay with you.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54If you were leaving, I'd say "Dza Devlesa" -
0:14:54 > 0:14:56may God go with you.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14ENGINE REVS
0:17:15 > 0:17:17HORN TOOTS
0:17:17 > 0:17:19I love this more modern looking trailer.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23It was built in 1930, and was one of the first motorised wagons
0:17:23 > 0:17:28to replace the horse-drawn wagon, although it looks the same inside.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35Now, you might not recognise our next performer.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37She's a worship leader from Texas,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40who's finding fame, over here with a different kind of music,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42and David's been to meet her.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44# Don't you know you gotta love... #
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Jess And The Bandits perform rock and pop gigs around the UK.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53But American lead singer Jessica Clemmons
0:17:53 > 0:17:55never forgets her Christian roots.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02I grew up, actually, in a really musical family,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06singing in church and all of that, from the time I was about,
0:18:06 > 0:18:08oh, I don't know, six, seven years old.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12So it's always been a huge passion.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15So, how does someone from Houston, Texas, singing in church,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18end up in a rock band in the UK?
0:18:18 > 0:18:20That's a really good question.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Through a mutual friend, I met some people from the UK
0:18:23 > 0:18:29that brought me over here, and I started working on pop music.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34So, actually, getting away from Christian music.
0:18:34 > 0:18:40And it's been an incredible journey over the last two and a half years
0:18:40 > 0:18:43of, officially, becoming a band.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47It's like the pieces of the puzzle are starting to fit together.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49- Right, see you in a minute. - All right, guys.- See you in a bit.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52So, do you find the music business an easy or a difficult place
0:18:52 > 0:18:54to be, as a woman of faith?
0:18:54 > 0:18:57It's definitely difficult, or it has its difficult times.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00With Jess And The Bandits, I love it.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Like, I wouldn't have it any other way.
0:19:04 > 0:19:09But it's all about, you know, the image, the look, the everything.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12When I'm singing at church,
0:19:12 > 0:19:13it's not about me.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15It's not my show.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18# God we wait
0:19:18 > 0:19:22# You're coming soon... #
0:19:22 > 0:19:28It's about worship and letting go and trying to touch people's lives.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31And it's more selfless than anything.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33And that's what I love.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35# Come on let's finish... #
0:19:35 > 0:19:39But whether its congregation or concert,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Jessica believes her faith always shines out on stage.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46# That's just love sneaking up on you. #
0:19:48 > 0:19:52I remember someone said to me, once, "You just have this light about you.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55"I don't really know what it is, but it's this, it's this light."
0:19:55 > 0:19:58And I thought, "Well, I know what that light is.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00"I know what that is.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03"That's God, that's my faith, that's my beliefs."
0:20:03 > 0:20:08And sometimes it's someone else seeing that
0:20:08 > 0:20:11that can create the conversation. Yeah.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13So, which song are you going to be singing for us, Jess?
0:20:13 > 0:20:16This one is one of my favourites, growing up,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18and my grandmother's favourite.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22And it's an old hymn called The Old Rugged Cross.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25It's got powerful words and one of those that,
0:20:25 > 0:20:30no matter how much time goes by, the words are always relevant.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41# On a hill far away
0:20:41 > 0:20:46# Stood an old rugged cross
0:20:46 > 0:20:51# The emblem of suffering and shame
0:20:53 > 0:20:57# And I love that old cross
0:20:57 > 0:21:02# Where the dearest and best
0:21:02 > 0:21:08# For a world of lost sinners was slain
0:21:10 > 0:21:16# So I'll cherish the old rugged cross
0:21:18 > 0:21:24# Where my trophies at last I lay down
0:21:26 > 0:21:32# And I will cling to the old rugged cross
0:21:34 > 0:21:40# And exchange it some day for a crown
0:21:42 > 0:21:50# To the old rugged cross I will ever be true
0:21:52 > 0:21:57# Its shame and reproach gladly bear
0:22:00 > 0:22:04# Till he'll call me some day
0:22:04 > 0:22:08# To my home far away
0:22:08 > 0:22:16# Where its glory forever I'll share
0:22:16 > 0:22:23# So I'll cherish the old rugged cross
0:22:25 > 0:22:30# Where my trophies at last I lay down
0:22:33 > 0:22:39# And I will cling to the old rugged cross
0:22:41 > 0:22:48# And exchange it someday for a crown
0:22:49 > 0:22:56# And I will cling to the old rugged cross
0:22:58 > 0:23:04# And exchange it some day
0:23:04 > 0:23:11# For a crown. #
0:23:20 > 0:23:24Tomorrow, the 15th of August, is a feast day in honour of
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Mary, the mother of Jesus.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28And whatever our denomination,
0:23:28 > 0:23:32Mary's humility and obedience to the message of God
0:23:32 > 0:23:36is an example to all Christians, and remembered in our next hymn.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Romany Gypsies have traditionally been associated with
0:26:11 > 0:26:15Roman Catholicism, but in recent years a growing number have
0:26:15 > 0:26:19been drawn to the more evangelical wing of the church.
0:26:24 > 0:26:25We're down in West Wales -
0:26:25 > 0:26:27as you can see, the mountains,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30and the rain clouds come and go very quickly.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33It's an old-fashioned, what we call, camp ground.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35The Americans had camp grounds like this for many years,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37with Billy Graham's type of evangelism.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40We have a big marquee, that's getting ready now,
0:26:40 > 0:26:42and seats about 3,000 people.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44And there'll be, you know, people socialising,
0:26:44 > 0:26:47people gathering around God's word, praying together.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49It's a marvellous time, marvellous.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53The Light And Life Church developed out of
0:26:53 > 0:26:56a French Gypsy movement called Ve et Lumiere.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58And it's been estimated that around a tenth of the
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Gypsy and Traveller population in the UK are now members.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Light And Life holds its own annual convention.
0:27:07 > 0:27:08Then seven o'clock is our big meeting.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11In the name of Jesus Christ...
0:27:11 > 0:27:13The gospel's preached, there's testimonies, there's songs,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15it's really a revival-type meeting.
0:27:15 > 0:27:22# I feel its Holy Spirit... #
0:27:22 > 0:27:24Light And Life is just a vessel that God is using to reach
0:27:24 > 0:27:25Gypsy and Travelling people,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28like the apostle Paul was called to reach the Gentiles.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30And we are called to reach our own people.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Now, the good thing about reaching a culture within a culture is we know the culture -
0:27:33 > 0:27:36we know their thoughts, we know their thought patterns.
0:27:36 > 0:27:37We understand their mentality.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42So God is using us to reach the Gypsy people.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46In the Gypsy flag, there's blue at the top,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49green at the bottom and a wheel, a wagon wheel, in the centre.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52And the blue represents the sky, and the green the field,
0:27:52 > 0:27:53and the wheel the travelling wagon.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55And it's sort of...
0:27:55 > 0:27:59Gypsy life, Gypsy heart is happy, is joyful.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02And when somebody meets Christ, it's like a whole burden has been
0:28:02 > 0:28:05taken off their shoulders, and they want to rejoice.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08There's no greater joy than anyone meeting Jesus Christ.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13I first heard the gospel of Jesus Christ,
0:28:13 > 0:28:17some French missionaries came over, and they were Gypsy people.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20They were telling me things, from the gospels, that I'd never heard.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23And so, me and my wife were in London -
0:28:23 > 0:28:25we decided to buy a Bible from Harrods cos it would be a real one -
0:28:25 > 0:28:27I didn't know what a real, proper Bible was,
0:28:27 > 0:28:29so it would be a proper one in here.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31And I read the whole New Testament, from start...
0:28:31 > 0:28:32from Matthew to Revelations.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34And I only learned one thing -
0:28:34 > 0:28:36that I wasn't a Christian.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38But the Bible was becoming alive to me then,
0:28:38 > 0:28:41and by then I knew I was wrong and God was right.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44And so I would come back from work and I would put the Bible
0:28:44 > 0:28:46on the salt and pepper while I'm eating, and I would read it,
0:28:46 > 0:28:49and it was like it was coming alive.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Becoming a Christian has absolutely transformed my life.
0:28:52 > 0:28:53It was like an inner change,
0:28:53 > 0:28:57because the reality of Christ changed my life from the inside.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00I realised I was a sinner before God, and I just hope and pray that
0:29:00 > 0:29:06God continues to keep the door of mercy open for us until he returns.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46This year is the 50th anniversary of the Notting Hill Carnival.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48So, next week, we'll be meeting the characters behind the
0:31:48 > 0:31:53festivities, and finding out about its Christian origins.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57So, in anticipation of the energy and vibrancy of the Carnival,
0:31:57 > 0:32:00we end today with an uplifting gospel hymn -
0:32:00 > 0:32:02What A Mighty God We Serve.