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I'm Alan Hubbard, who are you?
This is more than the memoirs of an octogenarian. An insight into the life of working class Britain over eight decades unfolds in a series of anecdotes from someone whose cavalier approach frequently led to edgy situations. How they were handled 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. You are urged to think rather than subliminally absorb. The aim is to amuse and inform, often in a confrontational style.
337 pages, Paperback
First published December 22, 2020
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December 12, 2022
I've known Alan Hubbard for a long time, he's a near neighbour of ours, so when I heard that he has written his life story, "I'm Alan Hubbard, who are you?" I felt I had to read it. The book is a chunky tome: some 337 pages, and is peppered with an assortment of colour and black and white photographs illustrating Alan's life.
The introduction to the book says, "Growing up during the second world war in Salford, being at the same school as actor Albert Finney and artist Harold Riley, a climbing contemporary of Joe Brown, Don Whillans and Chris Bonington – none of whom knew him, Alan Hubbard tells his own story of a nobody. It spans eight decades and counting of turbulent change. Status, wealth, letters after names, reputations don’t automatically impress him – respect must be earned. Politicians and public school alumni are treated with suspicion but not written off. Authority has its place but not necessarily over him. A free spirit has his say."
That, as anyone who knows Alan will agree, sums him up nicely. He's an opinionated octogenarian who has seen much, done more, and lived a life full of challenge and adventure. From the poignancy of his childhood with a widowed mother and his siblings, to the challenge of scaling Lumpy Ridge in Colorado, via a wartime childhood in the bombsites of Salford and being offered a trial at Darwen FC as a teenager, his life was never dull. He saw from a young age the unfairness caused by wealth and privilege, along with the benefit of hard work and a determined attitude, which helped shape his political views - views which he is never shy of sharing with anyone and everyone.
It's a fascinating book - I picked it up and browsed the first page or so to get a feel for it, and before I realised it I was at the end of the first chapter - each time I had a coffee break I picked it up and read another chapter, immersing myself in a life well-lived and well-remembered. I can highly recommend it as a very good read, regardless of whether or not you agree with him politically.
The introduction to the book says, "Growing up during the second world war in Salford, being at the same school as actor Albert Finney and artist Harold Riley, a climbing contemporary of Joe Brown, Don Whillans and Chris Bonington – none of whom knew him, Alan Hubbard tells his own story of a nobody. It spans eight decades and counting of turbulent change. Status, wealth, letters after names, reputations don’t automatically impress him – respect must be earned. Politicians and public school alumni are treated with suspicion but not written off. Authority has its place but not necessarily over him. A free spirit has his say."
That, as anyone who knows Alan will agree, sums him up nicely. He's an opinionated octogenarian who has seen much, done more, and lived a life full of challenge and adventure. From the poignancy of his childhood with a widowed mother and his siblings, to the challenge of scaling Lumpy Ridge in Colorado, via a wartime childhood in the bombsites of Salford and being offered a trial at Darwen FC as a teenager, his life was never dull. He saw from a young age the unfairness caused by wealth and privilege, along with the benefit of hard work and a determined attitude, which helped shape his political views - views which he is never shy of sharing with anyone and everyone.
It's a fascinating book - I picked it up and browsed the first page or so to get a feel for it, and before I realised it I was at the end of the first chapter - each time I had a coffee break I picked it up and read another chapter, immersing myself in a life well-lived and well-remembered. I can highly recommend it as a very good read, regardless of whether or not you agree with him politically.
Displaying 1 of 1 review