Worzel Gummidge? You might well ask (as Roland did) if you didn’t happen to live in the United Kingdom in nineteen seventy nine when the new comedy series “Worzel Gummidge” (starring Jon Pertwee and Una Stubbs) became a household name. What has that got to do with fishing? Well, you see, Roly wore a funny straw hat out fishing with me on the rocks at Redland Bay. At first I just giggled when he got out of the ute and I noticed he was wearing the hat, and he looked at me bemused.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“Nothing, Worzel,” I tried to stifle a laugh.

“Worzel?” he looked a trifle unsure.

He had obviously never heard of or seen Worzel Gummidge. My eyes fixed on his misshapen hat.

“Oh, you’re laughing at my hat – it got squashed flat under a paint tin – I suppose it does look a bit funny with the dip in the middle going from one end to the other.”

I was so glad he could see the comical side that I allowed myself to guffaw.

“You look like Worzel Gummidge,” I said, “but I can assure that it’s not altogether uncomplimentary because Jon Pertwee was rather handsome, especially as Doctor Who. Didn’t you get “Worzel Gummidge” in Australia?

“No, we didn’t have it here although I know who Jon Pertwee was – we had “Doctor Who”. Did he have a hat like mine?” Roly urged.

“Jon Pertwee was the best Doctor Who,” I prevaricated.

“Yes, yes, yes, but what about Worzel Gummidge?” he asked suspiciously.

“Well, he had a friend who was a doll – her name was Aunt Sally. It’s all very silly really but everyone loved the programme. It was so funny!” I looked at the hat and laughed again.

“And Worzel?”

“He was a… a scarecrow!”

Good old Roland laughed too. Luckily he has a great sense of humour; he grabbed a stalk of grass, popped it in his mouth, and invited me to take a photograph.

Don’t ask if we caught anything. Suffice to say that before leaving the rocky breakwater from where we had been fishing I called out to the Chinese trio who had had an excellent day’s sport (at least six to keep and two thrown back):

“Next time I’d like to go fishing with you, not him!” (You’ll notice that I didn’t call him Worzel).

I’m not sure if they understood every word but they reacted as if they thought it was very funny – or perhaps they had just noticed Roland’s funny-shaped hat.