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Dragged up Proppa
- Growing up in Britain’s Forgotten North
- Narrated by: Pip Fallow
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
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Dragged up Proppa
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Summary
Dragged Up Proppa, read by the author, is the story of growing up working class in a forgotten England.
Pip Fallow was born in the coal-miner’s cottage where his family of eight lived, in a village near Durham. Pip was destined to join his father down the pit, but the closure of his village’s mine in the 1980s saw him at the back of the dole queue like the rest. This is Pip’s story of being ‘dragged up proppa’, living by his wits, working and travelling the world before finally settling a few miles from where he grew up.
A lot has been written about the red wall in recent years but Pip Fallow has lived it. This is his account of some of the most important issues affecting Britain today; from levelling-up and the north-south divide, to social mobility and class, and the devastating social upheaval caused by decades of deindustrialization and government neglect. Showing how broken promises of the past impact his village and the politics of today.
This is the memoir of a man who left school illiterate, but has now written a book. The story of a lost generation who were prepared for a life that had disappeared by the time they were ready for it, of communities with once strong social ties that have now disintegrated, and a way of living that simply no longer exists in Britain today.
Critic reviews
"Very compelling, beautifully written memoir of a time and England that no longer exists but remains just as important today as ever." (Sebastian Payne, author of Broken Heartlands)
"Fallow's memoir is not just a classic piece of working-class writing, but a truly gripping narrative." (Brian Groom, author of Northerners: A History)
What listeners say about Dragged up Proppa
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jo CLARK
- 06-04-23
Good book
Good book, good story and brought back a lot of memories. Really enjoyed your book Pip
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Terry Jones
- 05-04-24
A clinical appreciation of East Durham working men and the trials and tribulations that come along with it.
The spoken word of this man explains what many can't express, what a great listen, brought back so many forgotten memories for me.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- mrs d m robson
- 08-01-24
Outstanding read
Being from the North and growing up in the same era as the author is what attracted me to read this book.
A brilliant documentation of its time, an honest and frank account of the North East during the 80's. But also the truth of what is still happening in the North today.
I listened to this on audio book narrated by the author. His gritty northern tone really made the book hit home, the passion and anger came through in the audio.
Not my normal genre but a very interesting book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Music maker
- 29-03-23
memories Good and bad
took me back home when I was one of maggie's millions and wanted to work but there wasn't any
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- jeff
- 09-12-23
To a family friend
I know the whole family very well. I remember my brother and I invited Glen into our pub, years later he is the owner.
I wrote a poem in 1990 called Coming Home to Blackhall on a similar subject, my Poetry collection was in Durham County Library, you could have used it in your book Pip as long as you gave my credit as the writer, I know you would have.
I take issue with the title Dragged Up Proppa, Pip is doing something John Lennon did making out he came from this struggliing family, his Mam and Dad Ellen and Tommy were hard working people as their six boys, Tony, Ray, Glen Malcolm Nigel and Christopher were always sent to school in immaculate clothes.#
My parents loved Tommy and Ellen and Glen will be a lifelong friend.
Lennons song Working class hero was bollocks John was brought up by a rich Auntie in a posh part of Liverpool.
Pip is probably the next generation down from me, I think his older brothers could have given a better account.
The place is not the lovely home from home it once was, the walls were once awash with pro Farage graffiti, this from a village that was condemned to death by Thatcher, a lot of people got their redundancy and changed their politics accordingly.
Pip would have done well to share his ideas with people who will always love the village, I am a proud Blackhaller who does not want to live anywhere else
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Louise
- 09-04-23
Superb
I was hooked on this book from the first minute. I loved the descriptions of childhood. I don’t know the Author, but know the area very well and I felt like I was there with him in those streets, school rooms and allotments. He really brought the characters to life for me. I laughed out loud on quite a few occasions, even though the backdrop is sometimes dark.
I absolutely LOVED the narration. At last, a book that is narrated by someone with a genuine regional dialect. The narration seemed so genuine.
The style of writing reminded me of one of my favourite Authors, Stephen King - a very direct and no-nonsense style that sucks you into the story and keeps you hanging on every word.
I loved this book and can’t wait for someone to turn it into a film. We need more from this Author, especially self-narrated work.
Excellent! I loved it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- S. Taylorson
- 28-04-23
what an absolute brilliant book
Oh my days what and absolutely fantastic book, I remember my pit it should never have been closed down. A true representation of how our community lost its battle with that woman, and how the community became so badly fragmented, with unfortunately drugs and alcohol taking over the lost souls of the pit villages of East Durham. To listen to the accent of a fellow pit yakker brought so many memories of those three villages North to South and within a stones throw of each other and what we used to get upto. I even remember when the schools of these villages were amalgamated and kids travelled between 5 and 9 miles on buses to attend school. a truly gifted writer, given his bad start in our so called education system. a true hook in mouth book cause once he's got you there is always the want to find out more. truly amazing and a real eye opener.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Kindle Customer
- 14-05-23
Nostalgic and insightful
Great narrative and very insightful read!
Pip really gets to grips with the north south divide and the decline of British industry?Fantastic book!
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