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Dragged up Proppa

Growing up in Britain’s Forgotten North

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Dragged up Proppa

By: Pip Fallow
Narrated by: Pip Fallow
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About this listen

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.

©2023 Christopher Fallow (P)2023 Macmillan Publishers International Limited
Cultural & Regional Social Classes & Economic Disparity Village
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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

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Local lad

Brilliant 👏 really enjoyed the book was interesting to here your story you could probably write a book on the wick😂

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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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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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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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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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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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A passion to communicate his story

the authors intelligence was reflected in his ability to live life...then to put the life lived into words. I almost felt I was watching the story in my mind.

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Good book

Good book, good story and brought back a lot of memories. Really enjoyed your book Pip

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brilliant book

Absolutely fantastic audio book from start to finish! could not turn it off. Thank you!

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True words

Excellent throughout…. So much resonated with my upbringing and my families history of the mining

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