Wonder if Jack ever met up?

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Stathamender
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Re: wonder if Jack ever met up?

Post by Stathamender »

I really don't know what to make of that bio on Wikipedia....it is nothing like the story of his life that Jack gradually tells during the episodes of Out Of Town, where he makes it quite clear he grew up on a farm in Yorkshire, working amongst pigs and cattle and controlling heavy horses.
He must have found it a difficult commute to Merchant Taylors (a day school) :eyebrow:

After attending an expensive and exclusive independent school both he and his brothers went to university in the 1920s when there was a very restricted entry (and it was relatively expensive), his father based himself in London 'for commercial advantage', not bad for 'a Yorkshire farmer's boy'. His mother apparently insisted he spend time on a friend's farm but it was in Bucks not Yorks. Out of Town wasn't broadcast up North (indeed for many years I couldn't understand why people kept going on about this Hargreaves chap) so maybe he thought he could get away with a bit of self-mythification (something media folk are prone to) and once started found it difficult to stop.
Iain

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Re: wonder if Jack ever met up?

Post by Paul D »

Nobby, a little off topic but your comments about dunsfold are spot on :Hat:
Paul

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Jack Hughes
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Re: wonder if Jack ever met up?

Post by Jack Hughes »

Hi All,

To return to the original thread of whether any of Jack Hargreaves fishing programmes were set up. I don't think he needed to cheat!

The Out of Town programmes were essential viewing for many of us growing up in the early sixties. We had only two (BBC + ITV) channels, until BBC 2 came along, all in Black + White and they only broadcast a few hours a day.

It was not like the media overload for kids today.

The thing with JH was, he did not use scripts and electronic autoques(or whatever they are called!) and just said whatever he felt. Fluffs and pauses were left in.

Jack was not some failed actor trying to re-invent himself as an expert angler or washed-up comic lecturing viewers on wildlife, he was a natural.

The late Colin Willock, who worked under Jack's editorship on Lilliput or one of his magazine said, he was the best "Spieler" ever. Give him a box of matches and JH would talk and make it fascinating for 15 minutes!

I don[t think it mattered to Jack whether any fish were caught, he could weave it into a story whatever happened on the day- pure genius....

Cheers,

Jack.

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Nobby
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Re: wonder if Jack ever met up?

Post by Nobby »

I concur, Jack. despite his failings as a professional presenter, evident to me even as a child in the Sixties, I found him fascinating then and I still do now.

I am coming to the end, sadly, of my Christmas present of the Lost Episodes of Out Of Town, and Jack indeed says that he'd rather be fishing and catch nothing than to be stuck in an office. Just like myself, it's the being there for him.


He says that he was frequently asked by townspeople what they should do upon visiting the countryside and that he always replied, " Sit quietly for an hour and do nothing. You'll probably see something that you have never seen before"

What better excuse could you have to go fishing!



Most of the places Jack fished on these DVDs are pretty remote, only one episode with Trevor Housby and friends was on what you might call a 'commercial' and that was only to see if the rumours of a return of the perch were true after being decimated by disease. They were true, and then the pikelets moved in and Jack had a fascinating theory about that too.


He may have stumbled over his words on many occasions but they were still priceless words! :Hat:

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Dave Burr
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Re: wonder if Jack ever met up?

Post by Dave Burr »

Of course he didn't cheat. I watched an episode the other day and as he walked toward something that took his interest he fell over! Stumbling on a bank and making a right hash of it. It would have taken two minutes to re-shoot the scene but it was left in. Mind you, film was expensive and I doubt he had much of a budget.

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Reedling
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Re: wonder if Jack ever met up?

Post by Reedling »

If you would like to learn a little more about Jack, two good books to read are... 'Out of town and 'The old Country', both written by Jack. Being born in a built up area and having very little countryside near by Jack always made me want to be a Country boy. I am sure he and Mr Crabtree awakened something deep inside and gave me a love and respect of the countryside life, Flora, Fauna etc. .... along with Ladybird, I Spy books and the Observers books of British Birds and Eggs :Thumb:

PS.. Once you start writing things down all sorts of bits and pieces start flooding back....
Last edited by Reedling on Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Santiago
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Re: wonder if Jack ever met up?

Post by Santiago »

What DVDs would you chaps recommend? Was all his fishing filmed for Out of Town, or are there other DVDs?
"....he felt the gentle touch on the line and he was happy"

Hemingway

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Nobby
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Re: wonder if Jack ever met up?

Post by Nobby »

There's a fair bit on Youtube, and his DVDs are available from Delta

There's a little on fishing on most DVDs that are from Out Of Town, particularly dry fly fishing on the Test in the 'Lost' series.

This is of interest:...there's 6 pages of episodes there....

http://vimeo.com/channels/164955/21242745


here is the current for sale stuff:

http://www.outoftown-dvd.co.uk/out-of-town-box-set/

http://www.outoftown-dvd.co.uk/the-lost-episodes/


And more:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Sibadd?feature=mhum


Both of Jack's books, Old Country and Out Of Town are as cheap as chips on Amazon.

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Santiago
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Re: wonder if Jack ever met up?

Post by Santiago »

Thanks Nobby, much appreciated!
"....he felt the gentle touch on the line and he was happy"

Hemingway

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Olly
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Re: wonder if Jack ever met up?

Post by Olly »

Just been looking at a site by Simon Baddeley - Jack Hargreaves step-son.

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