UKC

Just found this. For those of a certain age the name 'Terry Bolger' may have resonance. 'Bolge, youth'!

How it was - what an absolutely brilliant wee film about normal climbers (though Ted was pretty good).

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=5Z25BKvsN2M

Cheers youth! I remember Derrick and Terry Bolger from when I started climbing back in the 70’s some of the other faces at Black Rocks ring a bell but I can’t remember any names. 

Brilliant! I was guessing 1973 but the credits say 1980, which was only yesterday really... Used to know Terry from the cafés and pubs, never climbed with him though. Great to be reminded how it was back in the day. Don't remember Debauchery as being desperate, though.

"Ah can't do this bugger. Desperate, youth!"

I suspect he was well capable of it and just talked himself out of it. We've all been there (well, err... I have, anyway). You stand in a sling and don't want to leave it. Things just go from bad to worse.

Still, they had a load of fun and that's what matters. Happy days.

Mick

I climbed with 'Bolg' back then and other members of the Nottm Climbers Club, and yes, Terry was well capable of doing it.

On rainy Sundays we would take over pubs like the Miners Arms in Brassington, and the landlord would lock us in for the afternoon. Steve Reid would join us on double bass, we had a pretty nifty band from members covering everything from Ceilidh to folk and bluegrass, I was playing flute. We would also play in the Red Lion at Litton. Terry Bolger was a great guitarist/singer.

'What you been up to Bolg?'

'Soloing routes on Higgar in the rain'

'How did you get on?'

'It was f*****g desperate youth' 

Happy days indeed.

Everything was 'f**ckung desperate, youth' according to Bolger'. 😂

The bugger borrowed by vinyl of 'Tupelo Blues' by John Lee Hooker. Never got it back!

A lovely, lovely man.

They were happy days indeed! Some larger than life characters for whom weekends on the rock were the purpose of life.

Mick Terry, and 'Skull' feature. Thought I saw Chris Astill lurking as well.

Memories.....

I'd have said earlier than 1980 by about 10 years looking at the gear and the faces.

I'd put it at early to mid 70's. I recognised a few of the faces but can't say I really "knew" them although we did cross paths and shared crags a few times. Whillans harness's and friendly banter could easily have been me and my mates from a distance. I know I would say this wouldn't I but I truly believe it was the golden age of climbing. Mind you I was glad to see the back of the knacker trapper harness Great days. 

Al

Love it, quite often they used to pick us hitching up to Stoney cafe from Belper, Escort van if remember correctly.

There's an L-reg van in one shot so 1972 at least. Darius gets mentioned but I suppose it existed as a peg route long before it went free about 1973/4? I felt the atmosphere was more like late 60's though...

Early Chalk bags worn, so seems mid to late 70's

Top film!

That looks like a #1 Friend on Terry's harness on the first pitch - about 14:00. As I recall they first came on the market in February 1978.

Think someone mentioned Dire Straits ? They formed in 1977 and their eponymous first album was 1978.

They mention Dire straits at about 16.30 (and one singing Sultans of swing).

SoS was 1979 so 79/80 seems likely. I may be wrong but I reckon climbing in trackie bottoms points to later ‘70’s too.

'Led Balloon' is a great name for the band 

End credits say 1980😂

Yes, sorry. SoS was 1978

Brilliant, thanks for posting

I think Ted Wells in there at the slide show.

Blimey you actually watch the credits.  Just joking.  I stand corrected.  It "felt" earlier.

Al

This is great to see, thank you! Derrick has been an inspiration to many of us through Nottingham. He is Legend status and Jedi class... 

Early 90s at the old Nottingham Climbing Wall... 

Derrick: 'Jim, can you belay a mate for me'

Me: 'Hello I'm Jim...'

Derrick's Mate: 'Hello, I'm Doug... '

He called me 'Youth' too. 

For some reason I do read the credits and year on most things. Anyway, by the by, one thing that did put me off the scent in this vid was the waist belaying. Never thought I would see friends and waist belaying in the same vid. Stitch plates early(ish) ‘70’s? Their choice I guess.

I am intrigued. Someone has been through the whole thread 'disliking' comments about a 40 year old film of a trio of total characters having fun climbing.

'There's some funny buggers about, youth'!

Great film. Terry was a great guy. Being in the NCC I climbed with him quite a few times (bit later - in mid 80's). He was good at spotting new lines with a 'you'd be all rrright on that yooth'. Not that I did many but good memories.
Steve

Well, for quite a while now, I've had at least one phantom disliker. (Have I offended someone? Hope not. Apologies, if so.)

Perhaps they've extended it to the entire thread?  Or been joined by other phantom dislikers??

Aye, some funny buggers, youth!  ("Them as dies, 'ill be the lucky 'uns...")

Mick

I know I have a phantom "disliker", I can post the most innocuous stuff imaginable but I can almost guarantee a dislike.  I tend to ignore it but I really would love to know the reasoning.  I suspect it's because I claimed it as a golden era.  Unfortunately some people are too thick to realise that it's only an opinion, not a statement of fact, and I said as much. I do not like the dislike button.  Without an explanation it's adds nothing and may put some people off posting.

Al

Brilliant. Couldn't take my eyes off it. Thank you. I've no knowledge of the characters but was climbing at the time (and many years before) so can relate to this very well. The film has an honesty and a rawness of which, in my view, modern climbing film makers might do well to capture the flavour.

Question of locals - one of 'em uses an expression that sounds like "serry". I've heard it before in an East Midlands context, What does it mean? Is it perhaps another word for mate, like yowth? Or maybe an add on like "Y'see what I mean"?

Hi Al 

I not only dislike the buttons without knowing who and why but all these made up names ( which I don’t mind ) to hide behind without at-least a photo of themselves on the profile.

keith s

'Ey up, serreh!'. 'Ow you doin', youth?'

It was indeed an alternative to 'youth'.

Funnily enough I was thinking about that last night.  A derivative of 'sirrah'?

I knew him quite well in the late 60's / early 70's: climbing and folk club scene.

'Fancy a go at that, Bolge'?

'Oooh. Not sa sure abaht that!  A bit 'ard for me, youth!'

But he always got up....

'you'll be all rrrrright on that, yooth'.

I'd forgotten his rolling 'r's.  You captured him perfectly there.

Fantastic archive! They're not going to be accused of being pretentious intellectuals, eh?

Seems like it was filmed around about the same time as I was probably making my first forays onto High Tor and onto routes like that.

Proper 'changing of the guard' moment, where the old, bearded, mountaineer-types were having to come to terms with the fact that climbing had suddenly become an athletic discipline to which they were ill-adapted!

Has only gone in one direction since then!

Ooooh. Revisionist history 😉

They didn't have to come to terms wi' 'owt, youth. They just had fun. We all had fun.

And Ted Wells was pretty handy on the rock. https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/willersley_castle_rocks-127/lime_s...

'Has only gone in one direction since then!'

Yep, but I'm not sure that anyone is having more fun or shear pleasure than they/we(!) did back in the day.

Not sure what you think is revisionist. I too had a mentor that was very much of the bearded mountaineer ilk. I still have huge respect for him, but times evolved and his ilk were left behind 

Edit: just as I too have since been left behind by the relentless progress in technical standards.

Thoroughly enjoyable, so nostalgic, lots of familiar faces. I used to organise the CC Peak Disco in the (sadly now demolished Marquis of Granby) and Terry was always there with a bunch of the Notts lads, happy days.

My point exactly John. That's its charm and merit.

Very pointed. Seems as though that was aimed straight at me! Couldn't have been as we've never met though I was an early guest at your Ariege residence. Mind, I think the revolution began some years before that. Me and those lads were already "left behind" by 1980, if you want to put it that way, though the expression suggests we were somewhere we didn't want to be which was not necessarily the case.

Before my time but this is very, very good ! My Derbyshire heart is swelling up inside 

So much better than some of the pompous toss that's put out these days in my humble opinion. 

No such suggestion intended. Every generation will have a focus and will inevitably be surprised when its focus turns out no longer to be particularly relevant to the emerging definition of progress!

Thanks for the explanation Andy. Clearly the spelling "serreh" is phonetic and adds something to my enjoyment of the term. I guess it's the equivalent of "marrah" in W Cumbria,

Hmmm... I thought 'Marrer' was a Stoke term for a pit pony?

One mustn't forget the other greeting!

'Ey up me duck; 'ow yer doin'?'

'Not so bad, yooth'.

It were up North though!

Looked very familiar to me and I started climbing in '75.  I remember being part of a very a similar gathering (different accents!) with the University of Birmingham club in the late 70s while we all tried to top rope Demon Rib.  We couldn't do it then either.  It must have been nearly another 20 years before I could.

It may well be Rob but having only passed through Stoke fleetingly I couldn't say. I am however 100% certain of my ground in Cumbria where I have many a marra!

Vintage Mansfield speak from my youth.

Derrick (Deg) Bolger is still going strong! You could regularly see him smashing it in the comp league at The Climbing Unit in Derby before Covid.

He can out climb a lot of my friends and he's in his late 70's now. Legend! 

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I was regularly witness to some Mansfield lads communicating in this exact fashion whilst at Uni 5 years ago 😂

That is exactly what I wanted to hear. Brilliant! Thanks for letting us know. 

Keep the fire burning... youth!

Mick

That’s interesting. I always thought “duck” was a uniquely Stokie expression.

Yep. Skull. Mick Terry. Thought I saw Shilling Rabbit as well!

Nay, youth. 'Mi duck' (and nearly always the two words together) is Nottingham area as well.

Duck is a rate Matlock/Derbyshire expression enall. Still going strong duck. 

Good use of anyroad instead of anyway in that video too.