Travellers’ Times ñ a quarterly magazine aimed at the Gypsy, Roma andTraveller communities ñ combines news, views features and resources. It is currently the only national publication for these often excluded and forgotten groups.

Romany journalist, Jake Bowers, is set to edit a new online edition, scheduled for 2009. Jake is the presenter of BBC Radio Kent’s Rokka Radio, the UK’s only radio programme for Travellers.

It is hoped that publishing online will help further expand the readership of this professionally produced magazine. It will also be of particular interest to younger members of the Travelling community, as it will include video and radio articles on their lifestyle and culture.

To get a flavour of Travellers’ Times, previous stories have featured Traveller families being resettled to make way for the London Olympic Village, the Royal Windsor horse stopping Travellers at the gate and coverage of the first National History Month ñ a celebration of the UK’s 300,000 Gypsies, who have lived, worked and travelled in Britain for over 500 years.

Cambridgeshire mourns the loss of its Romany poet’ is one of many leading stories featured on the Travellers’ Times Blog. ‘I realised that if I didn’t get my old life into some form of writing, my grandchildren wouldn’t know anything about it,’ the Romany poet and author, Kathleen Cunningham, once said.

The magazine is just one small part of Rural Media’s work with the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. They have also produced practical handbooks and a community film called ‘Travellers Remember’, depicting life on the road in the 60s and 70s. Recently, the publication won The Yellow Rose Award, an international Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community prize.

Contact: Travellers’ Times, The Rural Media Company, Sullivan House, 72–80 Widemarsh Street, Hereford, HR4 9HG
Tel: +44 (0)1432 344039
Website: www​.travellerstimes​.org​.uk

A young reporter from the
Rural Media Company interviews a Traveller
Photo: © Rural Media Company