{"id":5025,"date":"2022-03-01T11:28:03","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T11:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=5025"},"modified":"2024-02-08T09:30:40","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T09:30:40","slug":"media-fred-dibnah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=5025","title":{"rendered":"MEDiA: Fred Dibnah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Really enjoying this old TV series.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A fascination with manual labour is something I\u2019ve always had. Perhaps rooted in seeing my dad making stuff, bewitched by his workbench and tools, in the garage of our childhood home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t recall now when I first encountered Fred, but he immediately had a certain appeal. His gruff no nonsense manner, and pride in his Bolton roots\/accent, also strike a chord, of some sort. My maternal Granny was evacuated to Blackpool from London during The Blitz, so there\u2019s a Northern connection in the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fred at work in the early days of his TV fame.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As appealing as he is, through his passion for ye olde ways and Victorian engineering, and such like, his flaws are also very much on display. His curmudgeonly old-fashioned old codger streak is ten miles wide. And he\u2019s clearly very<\/em> selfish and self-centred. But he\u2019s openly and bluntly so; what you see is what you get. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One could pick apart his reverence for the past. But at the same time, he is on to something. and he\u2019s not under any illusions as regards how hard life was in the \u2018good old days\u2019. Or is he? Well, that\u2019s something I might mull over later in this piece (and\/or any other Fred-centric future posts).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This first TV series is extremely candid.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the last year or two I\u2019ve been revisiting my fascination with Dibnah. There are numerous TV series floating around, from later in his life. But I\u2019m probably most beguiled by the old (BBC?) series, with the rather enchanting James Galway flute music, which is easily available on YouTube. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fred was 40 or so when his career as a Bolton steeplejack brought him into an unlikely TV celebrity. As I\u2019m typing this I\u2019m watching the hard-drinking chain smoking Fred, working in the snow, with Donald, his tee-total sidekick, discussing other lesser steeplejacks and his distaste for the be-suited insurance men, as they prep a chimney for destruction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dibnah family life (Mk I); Alison and the kids at table.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

His chequered love life, or marital life, and his views on things like marriage and the ladies, etc, are very old school and traditional. And probably the most uncomfortable and awkward watching is seeing how Fred and his various wives ultimately fail to connect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, Fred is a very flawed man. To call him a \u2018hero\u2019 seems a bit odd. Not long before he died, Fred was made an MBE, and he was and still is beloved by many. Over time his career would shift from the manual work of jobbing steeplejack to presenting the numerous TV series he made later in his life, which eloquently attest to his passion for historical engineering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The chimney Fred built, aged 17, at his mother\u2019s home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Learning that he had a stint at art school, and seeing the chimney be built for his mother\u2019s home – you might think she\u2019d be proud, but she seems to disapprove and view it as an annoyance! – all these things about his formative years are fascinating. His mother\u2019s a cold and pretty miserable fish! Perhaps his troubles with women have some roots in this relationship?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end Fred\u2019s hardworking boozing and all those fags caught up with him. It\u2019s sad that such an industrious intelligent hardworking man should die before his time. No doubt he still had a lot more to do and to give. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fred finally got his \u2018half day out with the undertaker\u2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And what if any legacy has he left? Certainly he was very popular. And perhaps he\u2019s helped bring new blood into the fold, as far as wanting to keep some of the \u2018old ways\u2019 going? His own property and his collection of gear has had a chequered life since it\u2019s creator\u2019s death. I\u2019m not sure if any of it still stands?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A fascination with manual labour is something I\u2019ve always had. Perhaps rooted in seeing my dad making stuff, bewitched by his workbench and tools, in the garage of our childhood home. I don\u2019t recall now when I first encountered Fred, but he immediately had a certain appeal. His gruff no nonsense manner, and pride in … <\/p>\n

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