If I'd really been serious about getting to grips with my mid-life crisis, then I'd have been better opting for a course of therapy than going off travelling. Or if I had to travel, I'd have been better opting for somewhere warm with a beach...

In an attempt to get to grips with a BIG birthday, Steve sets out from Oxford to explore what makes the English... well, so English. His quirky humour is inspired by Tom Rolt, who took to the canals on a similar journey immortalised in the book 'Narrow Boat', kick-starting the revival of Britain's waterways. Prepare for a generous helping of mayhem, mishaps and the staple of every English summer: torrential rain. First published as 'Fruit Flies Like a Banana' this revised edition with new material is published to coincide with the 70-year anniversary of Tom Rolt's own classic trip.