James May - could he be a Fred Dibnah for the modern age?

[Captain Mainwaring]

A5 - sorry, that's an overly cynical view of Fred. He was a supremely able drawer - he actually studied engineering, which was a lot more about drawing things accurately in the old days. He wasn't just a bloke who blew chimneys up. His biography is well worth a read.

 

Aye. A cracking book (so far, at any rate, I'm only about halfway through). Like the original poster I've always had a massive soft spot for Dibnah and his archaic ways. A5 - he had, it seems, a natural talent for drawing and went to art school as a young lad, but didn't sparkle because all he drew were industrial scenes such as old mills etc etc.

[richardthestag]

Indeed Fred's calligraphy was quite something, I never met him but a freind of the family did and managed to grab his autograph for me.... it made my 10 year old day and even looking at it now it's a lovely bit of work. I once had John Terry's autograph (not sure how I ended up with it but there you go) and it makes Terry's look like a kid with a crayon.

 

I see what you mean

 

 

[dollywobbler]

Having watched Mr Dibnah's first TV appearance, courtesy of the link from Mr Scruff, I can now recall that Fred actually went to art school first, which may have also helped! He must have been a nightmare to be married to but by 'eck he was a proper bloke!

[Shep Shepherd]

A railway engineer friend of mine was a good friend of Fred's and used to visit his gaff from time to time in order to drink tea and muck about with his steam engines. He has nothing but positive things to say about him

[Captain Mainwaring]

Having watched Mr Dibnah's first TV appearance, courtesy of the link from Mr Scruff, I can now recall that Fred actually went to art school first, which may have also helped! He must have been a nightmare to be married to but by 'eck he was a proper bloke!

 

Clearly you didn't read my bleddy post.

[messerschmitt owner]

A railway engineer friend of mine was a good friend of Fred's and used to visit his gaff from time to time in order to drink tea and muck about with his steam engines. He has nothing but positive things to say about him

acquaintance of mine helped build the coal mine - ditto!

 

Fred was cool, spoke to one of his wife's a couple of times too.

[autofive]

A railway engineer friend of mine was a good friend of Fred's and used to visit his gaff from time to time in order to drink tea and muck about with his steam engines. He has nothing but positive things to say about him

acquaintance of mine helped build the coal mine - ditto!

 

Fred was cool, spoke to one of his wife's a couple of times too.

 

i built an ironstone drift mine once, it's overrated

 

want to see some pics?

[Father Ted]

I met him as a youngster ( pre telly days IIRC) as Grandfather Ted knew him through the old boys traction engine network. Grandfather Ted having taken it on himself to buy a traction engine to advertise his grocers shop with (dont ask the bloody thing was stuck in his back garden in Ingol until it was sold for scrap in the 1980's).

All I can remember is a very mucky bloke with black oily hands and a tab hanging out the corner of his mouth.

[messerschmitt owner]

A railway engineer friend of mine was a good friend of Fred's and used to visit his gaff from time to time in order to drink tea and muck about with his steam engines. He has nothing but positive things to say about him

acquaintance of mine helped build the coal mine - ditto!

 

Fred was cool, spoke to one of his wife's a couple of times too.

 

i built an ironstone drift mine once, it's overrated

 

want to see some pics?

yes, please

[autofive]

i built an ironstone drift mine once, it's overrated

 

want to see some pics?

yes, please

 

3 shafts, head gear, rail lines, tramlines, cobbled path and 2 drifts, one approx 100 feet, the other 45 feet

 

took about 18 months to build and has featured in several books, tv and newspaper articles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pete-M]

Most splendid behaviour, building that.

[autofive]

Most splendid behaviour, building that.

 

it was back-breaking at the time, but it should still be around after im dead as it's now officially a nature reserve and can never be built on, or the ground disturbed.

[pompei]

Tell us more about this ...

[garbaldy]

Most splendid behaviour, building that.

 

it was back-breaking at the time, but it should still be around after im dead as it's now officially a nature reserve and can never be built on, or the ground disturbed.

 

Gulp how old are you must have taken years

[autofive]

18 months, 4 days a week

 

and a jcb for the big holes

[retrogeezer]

As already said, Fred is one of the very few genuine 'legends'. I was not the slightest bit interested in Victorian architecture or steam engines but after watching 5 minutes of a Dibnah programme I was hooked and I'd now say it was one of my keen interests.

 

I've got a magazine type thing that has copies of some of his invoices & letters in and his writing is amazing....I'm jealous of those autographs!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Wow that is seriously cool A5, what a project!!!!! I've been down in the lead mines round Nenthead a couple of times, its class in a glass up there.

[messerschmitt owner]

Liked the mine - I once went down a Cornish tin mine (no, not the tourist ones) spent three hours underground in the wet climbing hundreds of feet up and down ladders with just my helmet for light - it was utterly fantastic - I was much thinner then too!

[M'coli]

That mine is cool, A5 - how could you spend so much time doing it? I've been down a couple of mines in north and mid-Wales (not far from Dollywobbler's), it's quite interestesting to say the least.

[The Moog]

And now you can wear Fred

 

http://www.redmolotov.com/catalogue/tsh ... shirt.html