ABC Kimberley WA |  Tales of a gypsy

Pedro Mozsi is a Czech Romany Gypsy now living and working as a painter and illustrator in Broome. He has written and recorded 50 stories, one for each year of his life, and painted a specific image to go with each story.

Listen to Pedro introduce the series (1 min 16 sec in RealAudio format).

Each story is between 3-5 minutes in duration.

This series was funded by the ABC Regional Production Fund

Warning:
Some of the episodes contain adult themes and strong language, and many refer to drug use.

Episode list

• UFO story - Tales of a Gyspy
  Out of all the stories in this book, this would be the one, which I would not believe and funnily enough, this is the only one out of all the stories, which I can prove.
• Paul and the clown shoes - Tales of a Gypsy
  I used to have a mate called Paul. He was a clown. Now everybody knows people like this except, Paul was a real life clown.
• Juvenile choir - Tales of a Gypsy
  More than forty years ago, I happened to be in Juvenile in Eastern Slovakia. The place it self was so bad, that it took me awhile, to extract a good story from those long forgotten times.
• Mrs Cassab - Tales of a Gypsy
  There is a legend in my family. My Grandfather, allegedly have taken violin lessons from a German violin virtuoso, who was passing through Vienna at the time.
• Jealousy healer - Tales of a Gypsy
  I used to have a very good looking wife. Tall, blond and with nice brown eyes. She was a ballet dancer.
• Pawn - Tales of a Gypsy
  Many times we realise, only in hindsight, that we have been only a pawns in somebody's game. But better realise it late, then never. To me, like to everybody else, the pawn business happened quite of a few times, but once it happened really nicely.
• Ishiash story - Tales of a Gypsy
  Long, long time ago I had a chess player mate called – Ishiash. Now this guy was black like a raven and about as dark as your light Indian. Except of this he was a Czechoslovakian Romany gypsy by rights.
• Flight to Kathmandu - Tales of a Gypsy
  Once you fly to Kathmandu, anything can happen. For example, instead of Kathmandu, you might end up in New Delhi and one should avoid places like that.
• Five fingered lady - Tales of a Gypsy
  In school year 1972-73 I happen to be in the middle of a little town in the middle of winter, and in the middle of a 19th Century romantic high school- if was ever there such a thing finishing year 12.
• Glimpse to the past and the future - Tales of a Gypsy
  I know a man who is an adventurer. Real one. His feet are enormous and consequently his shoes as well. If anybody with a small feet ever tells you, that he or she are adventurous, don’t believe them.
• Understanding Rembrandt - Tales of a Gypsy
  Every painter has his idol, his dream picture, his icon. As it happened, my icon is the one of Rembrandt’s self portraits.
• Biographies - Tales of a Gypsy
  A long, long time ago, I saw one bad movie. It was a poor production, poor acting, it was black and white and it was Hungarian. Above all, it was about a really poor and miserable people, the last thing I wanted to see.
• Cousin - Tales of a Gypsy
  One of the big problems, what Romany Gypsy families face in Europe, is the fact , that if their offspring are not trained, or taught to play some musical instrument from their early childhood, later in life they will have problems with law. It is a big handicap, which happens just, too often, unfortunately.
• Mr Fabrici - Tales of a Gypsy
  I used to be Andrew Fabrici’s classmate from year 5 to 12. This guy was best at everything.
• Darlinghurst episode - Tales of a Gypsy
  It was a typical Sunday morning in Sydney. Junkie’s Sunday morning, that is. I hang out in those days with Careen, an ultimate woman and an ultimate junkie.
• Episode with the American Ambassador - Tales of a Gypsy
  Every newly appointed American Ambassador in Austria, since the end of the Second World War, had to go and visit refugee camp called ‘Trais Kirchen’, which was situated about 40 kilometres out of Vienna.
• Boris - Tales of a Gypsy
  In the late 60s and early 70s we had in Czechoslovakia a pop singer called Charlie Gott. His name in German, yes you guessed it, it means God.
• Café Metropol - Tales of a Gypsy
  Due to a good advice of my Uncle Charlie and a bottle of well invested, French brandy, the standard bribing device of the times, I finally got the dream job as a Waiter-Cashier in Café Metropol.
• Art critcs advice - Tales of a Gypsy
  Due to the good connections and help of my tutor, Mrs. Judy Cassab, I finally got a chance to speak to a very respectable art critic.
• Uncle Charlie - Tales of a Gypsy
  My Uncle Charlie was a crook, a real one - but a lovable one. His big nose went to the left but once he opened his mouth that was it. The best con ever.
• F is for fake - Tales of a Gypsy
  All things on planet earth, could be over done, done or underdone. So were my marriages, one was overdone and one was underdone.
• Last quiet summer - Tales of a Gypsy
  In the summer of 1972 I have finished year 12 and got my driver’s licence and also I have passed exams to University. Little did I know that this straight lifestyle would not suit me at all.
• Lexington Avenue - Tales of a Gypsy
  If you are intelligent, you will be praised, if you are stupid, people will look down on you.
• Reincarnational episode - Tales of a Gypsy
  I believe in reincarnation and Karma. Both of these words represent not only a very helpful philosophical tool, but also ethical and just concepts.
• Manhattan rap artists - Tales of a Gypsy
  Straight after Christmas, in late nineties, I happened to be in New York City, in Manhattan, on lower West Side, right in between little Italy, and Chinatown.
• Bush philosopher - Tales of a Gypsy
  There comes time, when the amateur writer comes to the dilemma, write down this story, or not.
• Professionals - Tales of a Gypsy
  In 50 years of reading, writing and painting, one comes across real professionals, who set the standards for the time being.
• Radio Free Europe - Tales of a Gypsy
  During 50’s, 60’s and 70’s there was a Radio Station in West Germany called "Free Europe". It was very popular.
• Vincent and the daylight robbery - Tales of a Gypsy
  I used to live and was brought up in a very densely populated neighbourhood. The house where I lived, was the longest apartment block in Czechoslovakia 360 metres or 1080 feet long and was six stories high. It's just about the size of a biggest oil tanker and in over 15 years you know lots of people there.
• Uluru - Tales of a Gypsy
  Over the years, I have been hearing stories, that if you take any stone, rock or even a chip, from Uluru or Ayres Rock, you will have bad luck, car accidents, death in a family and so on.
• Transformation of a key ring - Tales of a Gypsy
  In 1988 I was a Haulpack operator that is I was driving these huge 30 50 and 80 tonners - trucks. Carting the ore within the minesite. One had to drive for hours and hours, in circles, so with the help of few puffs, it was a quite self hypnotising experience.
• Uncle Steve - Tales of a Gypsy
  Uncle Steve has a special place in my memories, because he was a remarkable man, with remarkable qualities. He showed me, how things are really done. He was running and milking a town of 40,000 in southern Slovakia, under Breznyev's era.
• Unfinished story - Tales of a Gypsy
  In early sixties, I have read half of a science fiction book. I was maybe twelve years of age, at the time. The book was a Romanian book, translated to Slovak language and one of those, which even though only half read I simply couldn't forget.
• Oscar Kokoska - Tales of a Gypsy
  Finally, I got home from work. It was about 4.30 to 5.00 at morning and I was tired like a dog. If you have worked five to six nights a week in raging nightclub and with drunken people, you know what I am talking about.
• Headmaster - Tales of a Gypsy
  After long one and a half year of soul searching, I came to conclusion that I will be a painter.
• Olympic champion - Tales of a Gypsy
  In my younger years I did a bit of a cycling, but never got very good at it, never the less I have seen some of the best in the business.
• Sweet Ildiko - Tales of a Gypsy
  It was a summer time in 1973 in Budapest. I was just kicked out from hotel school and needless to say, absolutely broke.
• Sydney eye opener - Tales of a Gypsy
  In wintertime 1993, I have hang around with these two ladies, for about 4 months. When I say ladies, that’s due to the political correctness, in real terms, they have been sex workers, streetwalkers, rip off artists and naturally heroin junkies.
• Jeff and Barry - Tales of a Gypsy
  I was told by my girlfriend that these stories must be bit juicier. Okay then, here I go.
• Mr and Mrs Unhappy - Tales of a Gypsy
  In the late sixties I had a friend and class mate, Ulado Smutny - which literally means Ulado unhappy, sad. He was one of the brightest, most intellectually sparkling brains what I ever came across.
• Unexpected end of politics - Tales of a Gypsy
  On the 21st of August, 1968 I was sixteen, it was my birthday. We have been on holidays in Bulgaria. My parents, my brother and myself.
• Russian icon - Tales of a Gypsy
  This story, oddly enough, started with a bottle of warm champagne.
• Flat with the biggest balcony - Tales of a Gypsy
  As it happened, in summer of 1976 I hung around in Moscow for a little while with a bunch of pretty uncanny people. Dealers, gamblers, money changers and generally business people.
• James Joyce - Tales of a Gypsy
  So there I was, once again in the middle of Western Australia, in place called Teutonic Bore, 70 kilometres north of Leonora. And in the very clean, new pub - Company pub that is.
• Three little red devils - Tales of a Gypsy
  Once. Long time ago, I was driving on Beaufort Street in Perth. Something caught my attention. In the shop window there were these three cutest, stuffed, little red devils, in three different sizes.
• Magical afternoon - Tales of a Gypsy
  Once, long time ago, when I was playing at my painter’s role, I have discovered in this “How to paint a portrait” book. It was a recipe for eight different shades of body colour. So I mixed these shades up and went to art school to paint.
• Casino lesson - Tales of a Gypsy
  Casinos, Casinos, Casinos - those glittering places, which bring so much unhappiness, marriage breakdowns, broken fingers and put so many people to prison.
• Alex and the Queensland property - Tales of a Gypsy
  Halfway houses are the meeting places of the real and surreal worlds in this society. People, who are not quite mentally disturbed for mental institutions, but not quite normal to operate in open society, are there.

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