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Re: Jack Hargreaves out of town -the lost episodes

Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 12:05 pm
by Nobby
Southern Television, of which Jack was a Director, dumped all the old film in a skip! He was long-retired by then ( with no pension!), but his son-in-Law, Simon Baddeley has rescued a lot of them, and with what is on Youtube and the DVD collections, there's hundreds of hours of Jack out there again..this time forever.

"How" was also Jack's idea, as was Bernard Venables' "Mr.Crabtree Goes Fishing". Jack wrote a very similar book, " Fishing For A Year" which was illustrated by Bernard and which has just been re-released.

Some more from Simon here:

https://vimeo.com/channels/164955/32410186

Jack led an interesting life that seems almost absurd when you first learn of it. A complicated and difficult boy, he became a man with an equally complicated life. From designing the naked-women frieze around the Windmill Theatre, to being seconded to General Montgomery's staff and later being a founding part of the new world of television. The Yorkshire 'country boy' was in fact born in South London and sat on the Nugent Committee after World War 2 to decide what military property, forcibly seized from private ownership during the war, would be returned to farming use. Sadly, not enough of it ever was and these sites, long flogged-off or given away by HMG have been easy prey for 'property developers'.

Jack got his OBE for that....I'd have given him a damned good piece of my mind..........Jack's viewpoint being that the countryside was only there to feed the towns..........hmmmmmmm.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hargreaves


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Re: Jack Hargreaves out of town -the lost episodes

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:19 pm
by Macko
Nobby, you're a hive of information, very enlightening.

ATB Macko

Re: Jack Hargreaves out of town -the lost episodes

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:59 pm
by Simon F
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hargreaves

Interesting life and chap. A bit of a one for the ladies too by the reading...

Out of Town had a huge influence on me as a Child

Re: Jack Hargreaves out of town -the lost episodes

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 11:08 am
by Shaun Harrison
I wish I'd not read his biography as he came over as a totally different character to the one I thought he was.

Re: Jack Hargreaves out of town -the lost episodes

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 12:55 pm
by Michael
I`ve posted in the past, that I was fortunate enough to meet Mr Hargreaves on a several occasions whilst attending horticultural college & an animal market and a few shoots run by a family friend. I remember him as a bloke very much liked to share a beer, recalling countryside practices of the past and modern societies effect on the future.

When it first came out in, I think it was 2006, I read Paul Peacocks biography, Jack Hargreaves, A portrait of Jack Hargreaves....
I found it a very good read and as with many folk in the public eye, it went behind the public image and discreetly told the truth about the professional 'countryman', and the complicated private life, but without harming his reputation. I didn't spoil anything for me, as we`re all the sum of our totals and we never truly know who & what folk are like behind closed doors...

Re: Jack Hargreaves out of town -the lost episodes

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 1:37 pm
by Nobby
Yes, good point, Michael....he wasn't quite the countryman I thought he was but he was undiminished to me by reading this book. If it weren't for Jack ( and all those who have contributed by working with him or restoring the programmes to digital format) we would have lost so much.

Did you know he had a 'special' small landing net made by Tony Croft to make his catches look bigger for the camera...... :-)

I'd like to have met him too. We'd just have to have avoided speaking about the Nugent Report......

Re: Jack Hargreaves out of town -the lost episodes

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 2:10 pm
by Reedling
Call me shallow if you like but Jack to me will always be 'Gone fishing out of town'. My little shrine.....

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Re: Jack Hargreaves out of town -the lost episodes

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 2:50 pm
by Michael
I wouldn't call you shallow Reedling, far from it, a rather nice display, well done.....

Re: Jack Hargreaves out of town -the lost episodes

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 3:29 pm
by Reedling
I would love to say I have got the DVD's..but haven't! I can hear Jack on my old vinyl though, bang on trend I am so the kids say. :eyebrow:

Re: Jack Hargreaves out of town -the lost episodes

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 7:48 pm
by NiceRoach
Michael wrote:I`ve posted in the past, that I was fortunate enough to meet Mr Hargreaves on a several occasions whilst attending horticultural college & an animal market and a few shoots run by a family friend. I remember him as a bloke very much liked to share a beer, recalling countryside practices of the past and modern societies effect on the future.

When it first came out in, I think it was 2006, I read Paul Peacocks biography, Jack Hargreaves, A portrait of Jack Hargreaves....
I found it a very good read and as with many folk in the public eye, it went behind the public image and discreetly told the truth about the professional 'countryman', and the complicated private life, but without harming his reputation. I didn't spoil anything for me, as we`re all the sum of our totals and we never truly know who & what folk are like behind closed doors...
Think I'll need to read the book now :tea: