Biography of climbing octogenarian Alan Hubbard who climbed with some of the greats, but also an insight into the life of working class Britain over eight decades unfolding in a series of anecdotes from someone whose cavalier approach frequently led to edgy situations. How they were handled (we are told) reveals as much about society as it does of him. The scene oscillates between the grind of physical work and thrilling ascents of towering cliffs above heaving seas on remote islands. Along the way cathedrals, country church yards and lonely moorlands evoke reflections on life.
Politics are a constant thread – not in an academic way but in a-this-is-what-it-means-to-you way and you are urged to think rather than subliminally absorb. The aim is to amuse and inform, often in a confrontational style.
Here's an excerpt: "When I got back from Skye my fingers had mended pretty well so Joe ["Morty" Smith] and I had a day out on Ravenstones. He was telling me that his Rock and Ice mates had shown him how to tie a bowline with one hand. I declined a lesson myself as I had always thought three would have been an advantage. I led the first route of the day and as I was taking the rope in I got a bit of a downcast feeling: the rope never stopped and I thought he'd left me behind, I'd been a bit pushed on that climb. As it turned out, the rope had left Joe behind; his one-handed expertise just wasn't up to the job. He didn't do sheepish, everything was just a good laugh, but he used two hands for the rest of the day. I told him that some of man's essential needs were best performed one handed but tying a bowline wasn't one of them."
Black and white illustrations.
By Alan Hubbard.
Card cover, 23cm x 15cm, 333 pages.
Published 2021.
ISBN: 9781800491403.