It is the subheading on the cover that hints at what we are really getting ourselves into before we open the book spawned by last year’s unlikeliest of televisual hits. For comedians Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse do not merely “go fishing”.
Beneath the title and an animated image of our intrepid duo, we are promised “life, death and the thrill of the catch”. And, as I finished the last page, (already a small blue fishing rod’s length bereft), I glanced again at the front cover to realise that whilst reading it, I had indeed appreciated life, contemplated death and been carried along by the thrill of the catch.
Having not watched any episodes of the show, I was in a good place to judge the book on its own merits, though I must confess that thanks to the book I spent the next night binge-watching the entire first series in one sitting. The book is very much its own beast, neither mere accompaniment to the programme nor a hard sales pitch to get watching.
It is simply the pair of them out on a day’s fishing and trying to get the essence of what that gives them – collectively and individually – into a book. It worked on camera so why not give it a try in print? Why not indeed?
The wonderfully basic premise is that, following Mortimer’s triple heart bypass, his old friend, fellow comedian and keen angler Whitehouse, has persuaded him to join him on a few fishing trips across Britain. Whitehouse, who also has heart disease, just wants to get Mortimer out of the house and feeling positive about the world and his future again. Mortimer accepts and we find ourselves in different locations hunting various species whilst listening to the ramblings of two of nature’s most distinguished clowns.
Teacher-pupil
The act of fishing itself gives their relationship a natural hierarchy. Whitehouse is very good at it and Mortimer is very not. There is a teacher-pupil element to proceedings as Whitehouse does his best both to get his friend’s line in the water without anyone being killed and to do a bit of serious angling himself. This is somewhat replicated in their relationships with their heart conditions.
Whitehouse again is the senior partner, though Mortimer is always keen to point out that his trauma was much, much worse. Whitehouse is the big brother here because his illness came first and it seems that he is further down the road in terms of coming to terms with it.
So basically, we’re on a riverbank, Paul Whitehouse is Yoda, Bob Mortimer is Luke Skywalker and they have fishing rods instead of lightsabers – got it?
There is even an entire bonus chapter of Mortimer's somewhat surreal recipes for a healthy fisherman's heart
The fishing is important to them both, but it is very much also just a means to an end. It is the vehicle that gets them out into the great outdoors to reminisce and contemplate and to riff off each other comedically, because they clearly at times feel as at ease with each other as with the famous other halves of their respective comedy double acts (Vic Reeves and Harry Enfield).
The chapters follow a simple taking-turns-to-talk format, with a bit of catchy dialogue at the top of each. The men bring us through their illnesses then back through time for some childhood fishing memories and the history of their friendship before bringing us back into the moment to join them on their fishing trips. There is even an entire bonus chapter of Mortimer’s somewhat surreal recipes for a healthy fisherman’s heart. “Slippery Wilf’s cauliflower-based pizza”, anyone?
Comedy scene
There are fascinating insights into the British comedy scene, the pair’s disparate comedic styles and how Whitehouse met Harry Enfield. In this sort of detail the book is able to offer a lot more depth than the TV show can over a 27-minute episode.
I particularly enjoyed Whitehouse’s descriptions of north London where he grew up, his obsession with fishing and the long bikes rides he would take with his mates to get a day’s escape on a riverbank on the outskirts of the city. The chapter dedicated to the television show itself and its conception is a really interesting read whether you have seen the show or not; if you have and are a fan, you will enjoy hearing how such things may or may not come about when two men sit in front of a television exec with no grander pitch than “it’s just the two of us fishing and talking utter nonsense”.
Amongst the reflections there is, of course, plenty of fishing. It is, after all, a fishing book. There is enough in Whitehouse’s genuine expertise and in the descriptions of their quarry and how they might catch them to keep the keen angler hooked, yet the book does it in a way that won’t bore everyone else into the river.
If you have never stood on a bank with a rod in your hands and are simply a fan of either of the authors, or you have just always wanted to know what slightly neurotic, funny, balding middle age men talk about over a long day’s fishing, then you will enjoy this book nonetheless.
