Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing: The Comedy Classic

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Owing to greater familiarity with the author's spoken voice from TV/podcasts, as I read this charming accompaniment to 'Gone Fishing' I did so, not in mine but in their voices. An odd sensation, but this book feels like a long chat with the comedians. Without going too far in to it, Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse are two of the finest comedians (or comedy actors, whichever term is in vogue right now) Great Britain has ever produced. They've graced our screens for about 60 years if you add them both together. Bob Mortimer is probably best know for Shooting Stars and Paul Whitehouse mostly known for The Fast Show. Everything else they've done is also magnificent. The telly programme was excellent: the book, a little less so. It is a weird mix of autobiography, teaching you how to fish, teaching you the best fishing places, talking about how to be heart healthy and a few other things in between. Being white, old and men means they've also had heart troubles, which in both cases was trouble enough to nearly kill them. In fact, Bob was dead for about 37 minutes and Paul was about the same amount away from certain death. This leads to all sorts of philosophical thoughts and zen-like moments of clarity on what life is all about.

There was also a little bit too much about... fishing. Paul went on a bit. I think the composition of the book could have been done better: there was the funny life stuff at the beginning; how they both started fishing, why they started again or kept going, a cheeky look at their heart problems. But then we get a fair chunk that's just Paul going through some different types or fishing, rods, the fish to catch, the lures and bait used to catch said fish... That bit felt heavy. It would have been better served had it been a handbook with anecdotes in between. Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse have been friends for 30 years, but when life intervened, what was once a joyous and spontaneous friendship dwindled to the odd phone call or occasional catch up. Then, Glory Be! They were both diagnosed with heart disease and realised that time is short. They'd better spend it fishing...However their other thesis that life is short, so die fishing if you love it, is well made; gently and touchingly in places. It's a little too idyllic in places, but the riverbank followed by a pint of best bitter will leave you that way. Bob's childlike humour and Paul's amusing bluster shine through. There are a few editing annoyances, inconsistencies in regarding the age of fish - 15 years is not a long time here; 15 years is a long time there; equally I'm not sold on anglers being the guardians of British waterways.