Name: 見見國王的煙囪清潔工 (Meet the King's Chimney Sweep)
Uploaded: 2025-07-22T17:14:57.000Z
Duration: 7 min 11 s

I'm Kevin Giddens and I've been sweeping chimneys under Milborough chimney sweeps for 42 years.

我叫凱文-吉登斯（Kevin Giddens），在米爾伯勒煙囪清掃公司從事煙囪清掃工作已有 42 年。

But the job has been around a lot longer than Kevin and used to be very dangerous.

但這項工作的歷史比凱文要長得多，而且曾經非常危險。

Today, chimney sweeping is not only safe but modernising and people like Kevin and his team are proud carriers of the broom with family at the core of what they do.

如今，煙囪清掃工作不僅安全，而且日趨現代化，像凱文和他的團隊這樣的人是掃帚的驕傲，家庭是他們工作的核心。

I want to carry that on and I'm sure my son will do the same.

我想把這種精神傳承下去，我相信我的兒子也會這樣做。

A day's work for Kevin can vary from a normal home to Buckingham Palace.

從普通住宅到白金漢宮，凱文一天的工作可以多種多樣。

It is a very special family that we all work round to make certain that the king is OK and we are very proud to do so.

我們是一個非常特殊的大家庭，大家齊心協力確保國王平安無事，我們為此感到非常自豪。

但每項工作的開始都是一樣的。

Chim-chiminey Chim-chiminey, chim-chim-chiminey Step two, arrive at location and inspect the chimney to find out what brush size is needed.

Chim-chiminey Chim-chiminey，chim-chim-chiminey 第二步，到達地點並檢查煙囪，以確定需要多大的刷子。

We have about 20 or different brushes going from 4 inches up to 36 inches.

我們有大約 20 種不同的刷子，從 4 英寸到 36 英寸不等。

Whatever you need, Kevin is the man for the job.

無論您需要什麼，凱文都能勝任。

Step four, head home after a good day's work, put your feet up and wait for all the soot to blow over.

第四步，結束一天的工作後回家，把腳抬起來，等待煙塵散去。

My job is to get that brush all the way at the top of that 8 meter chimney.

我的任務就是把刷子一直刷到 8 米高的煙囪頂上。

It just gets twisted on, gently pushes all the way through, and then it won't be a problem.

只需擰上，輕輕一推，就不會有問題了。

Simple enough in principle, but soot builds up and it's tough on your back.

原則上很簡單，但菸灰會堆積起來，對背部造成傷害。

You either go down from the top or up from the bottom with a very long broom.

你可以用一把很長的掃帚從上往下掃，也可以從下往上掃。

I had to push it up a 25 foot shaft that was only a couple of feet wide.

我不得不把它推上只有幾英尺寬的 25 英尺豎井。

I think I'm convincing you not to be a chimney sweeper.

我想我正在說服你不要去掃煙囪。

Now do you want me to sweep down or do you want to do it downwards?

現在你是想讓我向下掃，還是向下掃？

Tap that a little bit so you're not getting the soot out.

輕輕敲一下，這樣就不會把菸灰弄出來了。

He still uses traditional methods, but like many sweeps, Kevin is embracing the modern era with the help of his son, Ben.

他仍然使用傳統方法，但和許多掃地機器人一樣，凱文也在兒子本的幫助下擁抱現代。

我們將其連接到我們值得信賴的電鑽上。

Add another one on and do the same again.

再加一個，然後再做同樣的動作。

Now an electric driven broom can save hours.

現在，電動掃帚可以節省時間。

快速清理後，我們就可以出發了。

Well, we need to rewind all the way back to the industrial revolution.

我們需要把時間倒回到工業革命時期。

The shift to coal-powered cities meant demand for chimney sweeps not only skyrocketed, but chimneys themselves narrowed.

向煤炭城市的轉變不僅意味著對煙囪清掃工的需求激增，而且煙囪本身也變窄了。

Children as young as three or four were the only ones who could fit.

They were often orphans sold into the hands of adult master sweeps.

他們往往是被賣到成年掃地僧手中的孤兒。

These small children were forced to climb up the chutes, sometimes naked, to reduce the risk of being stuck.

這些小孩被迫爬上滑道，有時甚至赤身裸體，以減少被卡住的危險。

If they did get stuck, their masters would light a fire underneath them, supposedly to encourage movement.

如果它們被卡住了，主人就會在它們下面點火，據說這樣可以鼓勵它們移動。

It's true that chimney sweeps didn't make it into adulthood.

確實，掃煙囪的人沒能長大成人。

Those who did survive suffered from ailments such as deformed spines, broken bones, lung disease, and even a rare cancer called soot wart, one of the first known occupational cancers.

那些倖存下來的人患上了各種疾病，如脊柱變形、骨折、肺病，甚至還患上了一種叫做煤煙疣的罕見癌症，這是已知的最早的職業癌症之一。

Lord Shaftesbury, a 19th century social reformer who campaigned for the rights of poor Britons, led activists in pushing for change.

沙夫茨伯裡勳爵是 19 世紀的社會改革家，他為英國窮人的權利奔走呼號，上司活動家推動變革。

And in 1864, Britain finally banned child chimney sweeps.

1864 年，英國終於禁止兒童掃煙囪。

By 1875, the practice was nearly wiped out in the UK.

到 1875 年，這種做法在英國幾乎絕跡。

It wasn't long after this tragic chapter that, perhaps ironically, chimney sweeps became good luck charms.

也許具有諷刺意味的是，在這一悲劇篇章之後不久，掃煙囪的人就成了幸運符。

Oh, I think Kevin mentioned something about that.

一個掃煙囪的人救了喬治二世的命。

A chimney sweep jumped out of nowhere and stopped the king's horse, and he decreed chimney sweeps are lucky.

一個掃煙囪的人突然跳了出來，攔住了國王的馬，國王於是宣佈掃煙囪的人是幸運的。

Since then, it's become a tradition for chimney sweeps to appear at weddings as a good luck charm for the brides.

從那時起，掃煙囪的人作為新娘的吉祥物出現在婚禮上就成了一種傳統。

I have been attending weddings since 1985.

I dress up in top hat, I wear my boiler suit, I wear a cravat with a black dress jacket and tails, and black boots that are normally dirty, so that then they know I'm meant to have set to chimney.

我戴著大禮帽，穿著鍋爐服，戴著領巾，穿著黑色禮服夾克和燕尾服，腳蹬一雙通常很髒的黑靴子，這樣他們就會知道我是來裝煙囪的。

Kevin has a special feline helper who attracts even more curiosity.

凱文還有一個特別的貓咪幫手，它更能吸引人們的好奇心。

Newlyweds aren't Kevin's only special clientele.

新婚夫婦並不是凱文唯一的特殊客戶。

We do all the royal palaces, Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, St.

我們參觀了所有的皇家宮殿，白金漢宮、克拉倫斯宮、聖母瑪利亞宮、聖母瑪利亞大教堂、聖母瑪利亞大教堂、聖母瑪利亞大教堂、聖母瑪利亞大教堂和聖母瑪利亞大教堂。

James's Palace, Kensington Palace, Windsor Castle and Highgrove, so quite a special lot of good jobs I look after.

詹姆斯宮、肯辛頓宮、溫莎城堡和海格洛夫，所以我負責的工作都很特別。

They also do the kitchen at Hampton Court Palace.

他們還負責漢普頓宮的廚房工作。

It's the largest fireplace in England and burns every day of the year except for three days, Christmas and twice a year when Kevin comes to clean it.

它是英格蘭最大的壁爐，除了聖誕節和凱文每年兩次來打掃的三天外，全年每天都在燃燒。

We have to go after hours because we close the whole room off so the only way that I can sweep Hampton Court Palace is to climb up the chimney and I literally disappear in there for about two hours.

我們必須在下班後才能去，因為我們把整個房間都關閉了，所以我只能爬上煙囪才能清掃漢普頓宮，我在裡面消失了大約兩個小時。

My clothes are filthy and you can see a little black mark all the way around here where obviously it was, the soot was trying to get through.

我的衣服髒兮兮的，你可以看到這裡有一個小黑點，很明顯，菸灰正試圖從這裡穿過去。

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見見國王的煙囪清潔工 (Meet the King's Chimney Sweep)

stick

embrace

campaign

convince