THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

Guys
Well this is not about Pinzgauers, but certainly about "cajones" when you see the YouTube films of one the Late Fred Dibnah of Wigan UK; renown steeplejack and odd ball vehicle owner!.
Pay attention to his commentry on owning a steam roller, dedication, and understanding--or not for understanding wives!
He might be talking in a Lancashire dialect but what he says rings true in most langauges especiually if you are a Pinzgauer owner !
Enjoy and have a laugh on Fred RIP 2004
Dennis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuSW9kOBADo
ps there are 6 parts--watch 'em all!

That guy is a real hoot.

I feel lots better about me doing some roof work now, LOL.

Morris

Morris
I trust you liked the series!
What tickled me was his comments about playing with his steam roller and not going to work!
Dennis.
PS I met this guy Fred briefly when he came to look at a horizontal Cornish boilered steam engine that had been forgotten at the Leyland Chorley works walled up behind a shop partition! The area was about to be demolished when it was "found" behind its entombment!
Whatta a find--in mint condition and would run with some steam pumped into it!
EeeH lad them were the days!

I remember a write-up in a land rover magazine just a few years ago picturing him with his land rover (not the same one in the film, I think)... but now, after watching the documentary, I really appreciate the whole story.
as for vertigo? meh...
steam on?!

O
Vertigo,check this out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R3-YwDZrzg
Dennis

His comment about most folks saying 'should be knackered at 50' is BS, I couldn't do what he does but, no knackers yard for me.

I experienced a huge stomach ache just by watching this. Can't even imagine climbing that tower my self in the way he does.

In my youth when I was 19 or so I climbed a 100 meter AM tower in the "cerro Avila" in Caracas, Venezuela to change the red aviation lights. The tower still belongs to YVKE Mundial 510 AM. The climb was done inside the tower, so the risk was almost minimum, and the feeling of protection was present, but still, the vertigo could not be avoided.

How could this man do that whithout protection and climbing at a reverse angle? I bet he had no competitors and made a decent living doing that.

Many years ago as a Soldier in the british Army, the Royal Air Force were short of Aerial Riggers, (at the time their team of riggers looked after all of the 'Fixed' towers. Now we had one 'Fixed tower' and two big microwave dishes, I say fixed loosely as you will see what I mean later. This was the ACE High Forward Tropospheric Scatter Station at Cape greco in Cyprus. (Long Gone now) Well I mentioned to one of the guys that I was thinking of applying to become a 'rigger' (double my pay) and he said he would harness me up and take me up in the sky. I got to the top and found that these so called 'fixed aerials are not so fixed at the top and sway about like the goddamned bejesus!!!!!!! I knew then that I would have to find a different career path. (I wish it had suited me because with the growth of Mobile phone comms towers perhaps I would have had an alternative career path when I left the service.) I had travelled previously in military helicopters 'Doors open mode' and have stood (with a safety line) on the back ramp of a C130k Hercules in flight and neither was as scary as being on a seemingly solid at ground level tower which swayed about so at the top, a bit like advancing alongside a Main Battle Tank and the ground shifts under its weight when it fires it,s main gun only the ground never stops moving!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally got through the four of six. Man does he has a great sense of balance. He is pretty entrusting to listen to. On four they just start to show the steam roller. Looks really cool.

I'm assuming this was filmed in the seventies? Were there no safety standards back then in the UK? Safety Standards here have gotten so over the top I spend more time suiting up than actually working. Not to go on a rant but were having a wave of OSHA inspectors come through sense the K.C. and OK. Market have crashed. Last inspection my brother went through he was ticketed three hundred dollars for not have a bar of soap on the job site. They spent two hours going through all the job boxes just looking. It was like they weren't going to leave until they found something.

Thanks Dennis for the introduction to Fred. I have spent the last few hours watching and reading about the man. Good stuff!

Eric
Fred Dibnah became famous for his antics in the mid 80's. A Manchester based BBC regional TV station did news profile on him for the program "Look North West" and living in the area at the time I saw him on "the box" watching the program. It would seem that the series was hugely popular and it took off with a regular showing of Fred dropping chimnies. He quickly became folk heroe---Something the UK needed at the time as it was going through one of its many deep recessions as it is again (today).
As for the UK equivalent of OSHA, yes they have always been around have the Health and Safety at Work bods, but they would have left the likes of the "One Man Show Band Fred" alone in the eighties!
Today of course its a whole different ball of wax with semi Gov officials running around keeping tabs on everything----as you have pointed out!
Dennis