
Fred Dibnah – Steeplejack (1979) [video] - grhmc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBQrcKF5_rA
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nothrowaway
If anyone is wondering how he got the ladders up the side of the chimney in
the first place:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e0C57orM1s&t=10m25s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e0C57orM1s&t=10m25s)

I rediscovered Fred on YouTube a couple of years ago, and spent _far_ too much
time watching pretty much everything I could find.

As the title suggests, watching the overhang climb in this is enough to make
you feel dizzy:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R3-YwDZrzg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R3-YwDZrzg)

~~~
ablation
Wow. Can't believe I've never seen that overhang climb video before. Found it
hard to watch - I just can't imagine doing anything like that. But extremely
impressive.

~~~
gadders
And 50 years old as well. He just looks like a tubby little fellow but I bet
he's hard as nails under the overall.

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paulajohnson
His idea of a holiday was to knock a chimney down in Blackpool in exchange for
a new boiler while his family went to the beach.

~~~
gadders
Yeah - that didn't work out too well for him. From his Telegraph obituary [1]:

"Dibnah did not much care for holidays and never wanted to go abroad. Alison,
stoic for years, decided that there was more to life than climbing chimneys.
She took their children on a package holiday to Greece, and on her return
moved out with them."

[1] [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1476086/Fred-
Dibn...](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1476086/Fred-Dibnah.html)

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SmellyGeekBoy
Huge Fred fan here. A great example of a life spend doing what he loved and
loving what he did. The rest of us could learn a lot from him.

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kitd
I was an avid fan of Fred when he was regularly on UK TV.

A quality unlikely to be appreciated outside the UK, but his "Yorkshireness"
is superb.

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dazc
but his "Yorkshireness" is superb.

He was Lancastrian. It's minor detail but as a Yorkshireman I felt compelled
to correct you.

~~~
kitd
Bloody hell, you're right! _Existential crisis ensues_

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lamby
I find it wasn't necessarily _what_ he did (steam engines, chimneys, etc.)
even though that was pretty interesting in itself, but his attitude and
infectious enthusiasm.

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wr1472
Fred had a working replica coal mine in his back garden. Here is the full
programme on Youtube
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcH4nY43msk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcH4nY43msk)

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stevep98
I went to school with Fred's Nephew!

Fred was well known around the area as a steam-machine-tinkerer
extraordinaire.

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ablation
An amazingly enthusiastic and talented man, and a wonderful/revealing snapshot
of (mostly) northern England during the 70s.

~~~
sooper
Truely. Self taught and brilliant at what he did.

Though I know the ending, I still get nervous watching him on the top of dodgy
smokestacks with no safety equipment!

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petepete
I'm sure I shouldn't be spending my Monday morning watching this, but his
enthusiasm is infectious. Also, the last thing I'd expect to see on HN, not
that I mind.

~~~
Graham24
indeed, and I'm (just about) old enough to remember this from the first time
around. what on earth do people from America make of this? Mind you, they must
have had chimneys over there to knock down too, so 'appen they had their own
Fred to do it

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zimpenfish
I saw him bring down a chimney in Leigh as a school outing. Marvellous.

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martinj
Fred was great. I used to love watching his programs when we moved 'down
south' in my early teens.

From the overhang video: "Up here, if you make one mistake, it's half a day
out with the undertaker"

Brilliant!

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philo23
Absolutely loved watching Fred growing up. Interesting seeing it on HN, but
I'm just glad it means a few more people can appreciate this amazing man.

~~~
grhmc
Yeah, I posted it in response to the robotic bricklayer. Semi-tangential.

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BuildTheRobots
One of the last projects he embarked on before dying was to try and build a
replica coal mine (with the help of a handful of friends) in his back garden.
I believe there's a single episode made before the local council put the
kibosh on things :(

Edit: Full hour long episode:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcH4nY43msk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcH4nY43msk)

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mrmrcoleman
Amazing guy!

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CraigJPerry
It's the infectious enthusiasm that draws me in. He was an awesome man.

I see some of the same qualities in Guy Martin's presenting style.

~~~
zumatic
Yes! I'm glad someone else notices the similarities. Both suck-it-and-see
northerners (though I think Martin comes from Grimsby, not Lancs.)

