Book description
From the ages of 5 to 15, Jess Smith lived with her parents,
sisters and a mongrel dog in an old, blue Bedford bus. They travelled
the length and breadth of Scotland, and much of England too, stopping
here and there until they were moved on by the local authorities or
driven by their own instinctive need to travel. By campfires, under
the unchanging stars they brewed up tea, telling stories and singing
songs late into the night. "Jessie's Journey" describes what
it was like to be one of the last of the traditional travelling folk.
It is not an idyllic tale, but despite the threat of bigoted abuse and
scattered schooling, humour and laughter run throughout a childhood
teeming with unforgettable characters and incidents.
