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Not long ago; or, Little by little (7): Fred Dibnah, Steeplejack – health and safety edition

This footage from 1979 shows how much Health and Safety culture has changed in less than a generation. Not a safety harness or carabiner in sight – just ladders, ropes, knots, and a 300ft drop.

Dibnah is hard to beat for sheer hands-on competence – the last video has some of the story of how he acquired it.

We’re not making many (any?) Dibnahs these days.

More steeplejacking with Dibnah:

And the complete first episode of the 1979 series here:

See also:

Little By Little 1: Raymond Briggs on 1940s Britain
Little By Little 2: Li Kunwa on indoor plumbing in 1980s China
Little By Little 3: Scarcity and Subsistence in rural Suffolk in the 1900s
Little By Little 4: Dolly Parton on the scar on her toes (rural poverty in 1950s Tennessee)
Not long ago; or, Little by little (5): Tyler Cowen on progress in living standards since 1900
Not long ago; or, Little by little (6): New York Tenement, 1889


I'd love to hear your thoughts and recommended resources...

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