In reply to Jimbob:
Anyone know Jimmy's date of birth by any chance? We need it for a 'Hall of Fame' feature shortly to be published. If anyone who knew Big Jim well, perhaps they could have a quick look through the draft, be good enough to let us know of any errors or other clarifications.
Cheers,
Colin
(Philip) ‘Jimmy’ Jewel (*-1987)
Alone again, naturally
Jewel was – probably still is – Britain’s best known exponent of hard soloing. The Brummie brick outhouse, nicknamed after a popular comedian of the post-war era, started off climbing in a conventional way but soon became addicted to hard solos. By the early 1970s he was already soloing routes like Cemetery Gates, Suicide Wall and Diagonal in Llanberis Pass. Like many soloists, he was a jolly chap, clearly finding that the Russian Roulette of life on the edge enhanced his appreciation of the mundane, and was a popular regular on the North Wales scene. His appetite for food matched his appetite for life, evidenced by the fact that the large meal available on the menu of Pete's Eats called a 'Big Jim' (consisting basically of most of the menu) is named in his honour. The story goes that The Big Jim breakfast came about after the first time Jewel entered the hallowed portals of went into Pete's, and asked, in incomprehensibly deep Brummie, for a full cooked breakfast. Pete thought he asked for 'four', and cooked them all, merely assuming Jewel's hungry compadres would soon be showing up. 'I said FULL, not FOUR', Jewel insisted when Pete served up four wholesome plates of lardy meat, eggs and beans. 'Oh, well, eat what you can, and I'll throw the rest away,' said the peoples' restaurateur resignedly. Jim ate the lot.
Paul Williams' famous photograph of Jewel soloing Cloggy’s The Axe, bare chested wearing yellow trousers and front-lit by late evening sun against a void of blackness, became an iconic image, epitomising both Jewel’s panache and capturing the daredevil spirit of the 1980s North Wales climbing scene. It made both the front cover of the Cloggy guidebook and a large poster which adorned many an aspiring climber’s bedroom wall during the late 1980s and early 90s. The picture was an example of Jewel’s rare ability to perform to order for the media. This was taken further in the pant-wetting film of jewel’s soloing exploits made by Alun Hughes and aptly titled 'Total Control'. A measure of Jewel's stamina was indicated by the fact that for the purpose of filming sequences on Left Wall (E2 5c) - he climbed the route three times, using identical climbing movements and chalking up in the same places each time.
He was a right pro, was Big Jim.
Jewel met his end doing what he did best, but with terrible irony he slipped from an easy route, downclimbing the Tremadog Severe Poor Man's Peutery in the wet in trainers.
What he said: 'All you need is chalk and balls man - it's the purest way to cruise.'
What they said: 'In a sport where risk and romance have been almost eradicated by the leading protagonists… Jim was a Cavalier, a "breath of fresh air", a man who lived for climbing, and climbing alone, seldom courting the limelight.' (Paul Williams flags up that Jewel was one of the good guys)
'Axe one week, chop the next.' (Stevie Haston's off the cuff remark on hearing Big Jim had soloed The Axe was unfortunately prescient)
Further viewing: Total Control, dir. Alun Hughes