You didn't just meet with Fred Dinah you were instinctively drawn close to him, his larger than life personality was truly infectious and his communication skills second to none. Fred had the uncanny and somewhat unique knack of talking through a TV camera so that the viewer actually felt a personal contact with him. The Bolton born steeplejack became nationally known and loved following a series of TV programs. Although an admirer of all things, Victorian he was what the modern media people call 'a natural', microphones and TV cameras did not faze him one bit. This publication takes the reader on a fascinating journey during the making of Fred's last TV series during 2004.

Fred Dibnah's traction engine was a time capsule of Britain's industrial past. After he retired from steeplejacking he took to the road, looking at the achievements of the craftsmen, engineers, inventors and industrial workers whose endeavour made engines like his possible. This is a record of that journey.

When Fred Dibnah debuted on television in 1979, British audiences immediately embraced a new cultural icon: a steeplejack from Bolton who fell in love with England's decaying industrial landscape and an exhaustive storyteller whose charm and wit was matched only by his down-to-earth manner. The Producer of that first film, Don Haworth, would go on to make nineteen films about this unlikely celebrity and true British eccentric. Did You Like That? collects the best stories from these films: colourful tales told by Fred himself, recounting key moments in his life, his experiences as a steeplejack, his fascination with machinery, his work as an engineer, craftsman, artist, inventor and steam enthusiast, and his forthright views on life in general. Told with true Northern grit, Did You Like That? is the story of a man who never shied away from a hair-raising challenge, and the closest thing to Fred's autobiography we're likely to get. In paperback for the first time, this is Fred's story, in his own words.

Britains favourite steeplejack and industrial enthusiastic, the late Fred Dibnah, takes us back to the 18th century when the invention of the steam engine gave an enormous impetus to the development of machinery of all types. He reveals how the steam engine provided the first practical means of generating power from heat to augment the old sources of power (from muscle, wind and water) and provided the main source of power for the Industrial Revolution. In Fred Dibnahs Age of Steam Fred shares his passion for steam and meets some of the characters who devote their lives to finding, preserving and restoring steam locomotives, traction engines and stationary engines, mill workings and pumps. Combined with this will be the stories of central figures of the time, including James Watts - inventor of the steam engine - and Richard Trevithick who played a key role in the expansion of industrial Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Fred Dibnah's World celebrates the life and work of Britain's best known steeplejack and national treasure, Fred Dibnhah. Before his death in 2004, Fred presented many popular series, including Magnificent Monuments, The Age of Steam and Made in Britain, all of which attracted viewers in their millions. Fred is the companion to the 12-part BBC2 series celebrating the life of this great man, which combines highlights from some of Dibnah's classic programmes with previously unseen footage. The book can of course go much further than the series, including an extraordinarily account of Fred's childhood which evokes a lost England and our great industrial heritage. Fred's passion for the glories of the Victorian age and his fascination with the landscape he grew up in, plus his admiration for the craftsmen and labourers who made it all possible, captivate us on every page. Fred is the personification of everything that made England great in the first place. And this is a glorious tribute to a man whom millions came to love.

Mid-Cheshire based heritage transportation specialist photographer and feature writer Keith Langston traveled extensively with Fred Dibnah during the filming of his last TV series, 'Made in Britain.’ Following Fred's untimely death, Keith embarked upon the creation of a book, drawing not only on his experiences with the Bolton born steeplejack and TV presenter, but in addition talking to a representative cross section of those persons who numbered themselves amongst Fred's many friends. Fred became a high profile media personality and the fame which accompanied that status never affected him, or in any way changed his down to earth demeanor. He will be remembered not only for his many practical achievements, but also for encouraging thousands of others to care about our industrial heritage. The steam bug infected Fred at a very early age possibly following his illicit visits to his father's place of work, a bleach factory. Encouraged by one of his ex teachers Fred started what he described as 'a steeplejack business'. When he turned to presenting his own programs his blunt, no nonsense style made a welcome change from the so called television professionals. His genius lay in being able to communicate with the audience in simple, direct, colloquial English.

Born in 1938 into an England which in his view has been going downhill ever since, Fred Dibnah has always been one to do things properly, whether climbing hundreds of feet to clean, repair or even destroy his beloved chimneys, or taking 14 years to restore his 1912 steamroller to its original glory. In this book he shares his experiences as a steeplejack, his love of machinery of all types, and his forthright views on life in general.