Traveller sites Or Doonies Or Bon Accord Baths Or Glencraft

Traditional Gypsies

Now here at Aberdeen first we do not have a problem with what you would class as traditional travellers, I even remember them as a kid in Aberdeen knocking doors asking if you wanted any tools sharpening. My father would give them his push mower and hedge shears to sharpen. A few hours later the items would be returned sharpened to such a high standard my father used to look forward to the return of these honest travellers the following summer.

The so called travellers we have now are not of the same ilk. Most (although not all) are people who have chosen to take leave of the responsibilities that we all share in society. They choose to live a life that sees them contribute nothing to society, their way of life is a wholly selfish one, a complete take, take existence from the society they spurn and have no conscience about.

The revelations in the news about the organised crime at the official Travellers’ site in Elgin, will probably come as no shock to most of us. Most areas in Aberdeen will have had leaflets pushed through their door offering various services from garden work, roofing and glazing. Most of these leaflets will have a fake address and only a mobile number as a contact. These leaflets and pressurising cold calling do result in business for the so called travellers. Unfortunately its the most vulnerable in society who get taken in or pressurised into accepting some of the services on offer. The resulting rip off of hundreds or even thousands of pounds for little or no work done at all is well reported in the media.

If further evidence as to what is happening is required, just think back over the last year about how much tax payer funded council clean-ups have taken place, removing rubble and whats classed as building and garden waste. The aftermath of illegal work and untaxed earnings, and we wonder why they have expensive 4 x 4's.

Now taking into consideration Aberdeen council cutbacks, are the council still going to push ahead with their plans for more traveller sites at a cost that will run into hundreds of thousands, I think that most Aberdonians would be against these plans. The priorities of Aberdeen city council leave a lot to be desired, and it would seem they have little thought about the people who voted them into power and pay their taxes for the services and facilities that are under threat. Perhaps they can ponder over this when they are on their 50k trip to Stavanger.

You can read about some of the people our councillors want to spend your money on here.