Demolition job.

[harry]

This might amuse you. Big change in all the PC health & safety then and now.

[The Daring Dufas]

So that's the guy they got to take down The Twin Towers in New York City. O_o

TDD

[harry]

He was a TV celebrity over here due to his eccentric ways for years. Dead now.

Another classic episode here.

BTW can Americans understand his accent?

[Tim Watts]

On Friday 04 January 2013 08:12 The Daring Dufas wrote in alt.home.repair:

Fred Dibnah - one of England's last great men :->

Sadly no longer with us...

[trader4]

I have news for harry. This isn't a then and now thing. This is another example of how primitive and dumb the UK was compared to the USA. In the 80's the USA already had modern demolition methods, including the use of explosives. We didn't surround buildings with a massive tire fire to bring them down. Geez.....

Now normally I wouldn't pick on the Britts. But since harry constantly claims how much superior they are to the USA, I find it ironic when he brings us this video that shows quite the opposite.

[The Daring Dufas]

You must admit, it's very entertaining. ^_^

TDD

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per harry:

This one gets maybe 15% of the words.

OTOH, when I visit relatives in Wells, I come overhear conversations on the street that are 100% unintelligible.

[harry]

Oh yes. Have a look at some of the other videos. He made a point of doing things with minimum expenditure and by eccentric means. Had a huge following as a rebel against the current health and safety culture.

The cancer sticks got him in the end, he was quite young. His coffin was drawn by a steam engine.

Must have made a fortune out of the TV/Youtube rights. I think there was a big family bust up over his estate.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per [e-mail]:

Devil's Advocate Position: His method *did* work... and probably cost a small fraction of what modern methods would have.

Having said that... the air pollution from his method imposed undocumented costs on the community around the demolition site...

[Tim Watts]

On Friday 04 January 2013 17:43 (PeteCresswell) wrote in alt.home.repair:

And it was not done willy nilly - if you watch some other programs, it is very clear that a lot of thought goes into planning controlling the fall - in particular the one where he drops a chimney that is about 2-3 yards away from a building, by making the cutout below ground level and putting steel ties around the base.

Start at 1:13:00

That is *impressive*.

Bugger all compared to what has been coming out of the very same chimney for the last 100+ years.

[The Daring Dufas]

I understand the fellow perfectly but I'm not as familiar with regional accents of The U.K. as I am of the regional accents here in The U.S. I think he sounds like what I've heard when those folks from Liverpool speak and even what I've heard when a Welshman speaks English. ^_^

TDD

[harry]

He is/was from Lancashire. His accent is not dissimilar to my own. Though mine has changed through living in other parts of the country.

Liverpool accent is known as "Scouse". Beatles had a Scouse accent though not a strong one.

Regional accents here can vary in twenty miles. An expert can put a person down within a few miles of where they come from. Probably the most extreme is in Aberdeen or Glasgow. Or maybe South Wales.

The Welsh accent varies widely. And not all Welsh speak Welsh, some are very hostile to the Welsh language.

I think the most extreme English I ever came across was in Papua New Guinea.

[harry]

I once saw an accident during chimney demolition. They could not "fell" the chimney due to surrounding buildings, so they cut a hole in the base and someone was on top cutting out bricks and dropping them down the hole. They were removing the bricks from the base through the hole using an excavator front bucket. The machine must have pushed the chimney because it fell. Amazingly, the fellow on top survived with a few broken bones. The machine was wrecked, the chimney fell on it. Fortunately, the cab was strong enough not to be crushed.