"Rubbish" on BBC4

[dave walsh]

The Secret Life Of... (Hunikin reference). Another brilliant documentary on this channel (1/2). Probably tailor made for frugal Forum members. I liked the chap dumping a TV who says "it's too big isn't it?" so it's obviously working! There's an interesting white portable and other shots later of domestic consumables. Birmingham comes out of it very well, incinerating rubbish to generate electricity, to power electric 1930's design bin wagons in the fifties. Even the soundtrack is Penguin Cafe who re-cycled the telephone engaged tone into a great music track often heard on adverts! Repeated later, in the week and I-Player.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01p48tt

Dave W

[Andrew2]

Yes, a very enjoable mix of facts and personal memories from those who were there. And as you say, lots of shots of early radios and TVs. Looking forward to next week.

[Pete_kaye]

And the poor guy who developed huge muscles on his elbows by lifting bins all day! It wouldn't happen today.

[dave walsh]

Cheers Andrew. The review in Today's Guardian is pretty much "wot I rote" here except they're too young to know about P Cafe and the tune!
There are so many BBC4/2 programs with relevant or just interesting bits. I must try and do an archive list.

You are right about the muscle Pete but it's still a fairly hard job just not quite so dirty or concentrated on one part of the body. It's easy to disparage H and Safety but that foreman's advice..."always hang onto the stick as it will catch and stop you dropping through" the MANhole into the Destructor (ie a roaring furnace) blimey .
Dave

[SnowyDog]

Thanks for this Dave. Just watched it now.

Really interesting programme! Wonder what happened to the guy who invented the "Revopak" lorry - must have made a fortune and disappeared.

Cheers,
Robin

[peter_scott]

There are a few episodes from that series on YouTube too.

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...life+of+hunkin

Peter

[dave walsh]

Ah yes correct spelling for Hunkin "Secret Life" as well. He never did a program actually on re-cycling but that's probaly because he was doing that all the time. He did set fire to a pile of TV's which has caused some comment on here but overall, he constantly found a new use for odd bits. I like the episode in which he explains the Fax system using two blokes a few fields apart, semaphore signals, a yard brush and buckets of b+w paint. Almost Monty Python but it works!

The Revopak inventor probably did very well out of it, like the Yorkshireman who came up with "Cats Eyes" and partied on the proceeds. Cats eyes aren't still around but the rubbish crushing mechanism certainly is! It's interesting that someone would restore a Revopak wagon with the same dedication shown towards TV's and Radios on this site.
Dave

[Neil Purling]

I suppose it is rubbish-related. You are thinking of the bin wagon obsessive that has the cut-down S&D Revopak from the Isles of Scilly he exhibits at rallies. It was a subject of the Ch4 series 'Salvage Squad'. They did the restoration.

[dave walsh]

OK Neil, so that's the chap in the film?
Dave

[dave walsh]

If anything last night's final (2/2) episode was even better. Fascinating technical history re the various methods of waste disposal (or recovery) interwoven with the social/eco history and sometimes rather touching personal stories. To cap it all (wi've a dustman's at!) they visited the inventor of the wheelie bin in his home town which, to my great surprise, turned out to be Bury. I've never seen a reference to that in the Buried Times (not a typo) despite all the self congratulation regarding the Local Re-cycling scheme.
Dave W

[Nymrod121]

Originally Posted by dave walsh

... like the Yorkshireman who came up with "Cats Eyes" and partied on the proceeds ....
Dave

I thought Ken Dodd's version of this was classic:

"... it's a good job the cat wasn't going the other way, or he would have invented the pencil sharpener ...