Round Ireland with a Fridge - Tony Hawks

Hawke’s:” I would like to report the theft of a fridge!” Garda:” A fridge you say?” Hawkes:”Well yes…” Garda:” Are you the owner of this fridge?” Hawke’s: I’m hitching around Ireland with it” Garda:” Are you a comedian or something” Hawke’s: “Yes”. So, how many people had heard of stand-up comic Tony Hawks in the mid-nineties? Well not many if he needs the inane attention seeking act of dragging a fridge around Ireland with his thumb up in the air to bag a book. What do you mean you still haven’t heard of him? He has played tennis with the Moldovan national football team since. Where have you been! Apparently it wasn’t a ...  Read the complete review

There was a time, not really all that long ago, when travel writing consisted of little more than city and country guides. Nothing that really made you want to up sticks and go places, as they assumed you were either already there or booked to go. The televising of Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence" helped increase interest somewhat. However, it took Michael Palin's television travelogues, followed a few years later by Bill Bryson, to bring travel writing to the forefront of public attention. Both Palin and Bryson came with a new style, more about light hearted observation than ...  Read the complete review

I don't know why I originally picked Round Ireland With A Fridge up in the library as it's definitely not the kind of book I would usually read, but as it was due back in a few days and I had nothing else to read I thought I might as well try it. Round Ireland With A Fridge is, as you would suspect from the title, a comedy look at a trip around the circumference of Ireland that one man made with, well, a fridge in tow. A strange image I know, but author Tony Hawks explains the idea away by recollecting a boozy night out with friends where the tale of a man seen hitchhiking with a fridge caused much amusement. A wager was then made, £100 said that he couldn't ...  Read the complete review

For the less discerning gentleman the idea of reading can seem a little iffy. Why would you want to read about relationships and feelings when you could be drinking beer and having a fight? Good question and the answer is that there is room in life for drinking, fighting and reading! There are so many types of books out there that something must appeal to everyone. Step forward whacky wager non-fiction. Here is a genre that has sprung into popularity in the past decade or so with books such as Dave Gorman's 'I'm Dave Gorman' and Danny Wallace's 'Yes Man'. They centre on a single stupid concept that was thought up by the author usually whilst drunk. The success of ...  Read the complete review

When it comes to humorous travel literature, Bill Bryson has made an art of combining description of place with laugh out loud comedy. When you consider how many writers out there are genuinely funny, it's a bizarrely untapped market (and a lucrative one I guess) and so it comes as no surprise to me to read this odd little book. The basic premise of Tony Hawks' (that's the comedian not the skateboarder) book is that he hitchhikes round Ireland with....a fridge, and writes about it. It's a task anyone could undertake, and yet it's an excellent read. Tony Hawks is a bit Z List celebrity these days, but you may remember him from TV appearances, odd ...  Read the complete review