Rikki Fulton's The Reverend I.M. Jolly

by Tony Roper

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to church again, he's back. As HM's Church of Scotland minister, Jolly is in residence at Balmoral. You can tell because the flag's at half-mast. But when Jolly's fair midden, Ephesia, wrecks the Braemar Highland Games, the Church sends him off on a secret mission. This is Jolly as we've never seen him - laughing at danger, saving the world and a total babe magnet...Sorry, that's 007. This is Jolly as we've always seen him - hiding from danger, saving his pocket money and with a Mickey Mouse magnet on his fridge. Not so much mean, moody and magnificent as morbid, miserable and morose, with a permanent drip on his nose. Jolly's back. And this time he means business.

189 pages, Hardcover

First published October 19, 2002

About the author

Tony Roper is a Scottish actor, comedian, playwright and writer.

His first major starring role was in Scotch and Wry. He wrote the comedy-drama The Steamie in 1988, for which he won a BAFTA. He achieved even greater fame in The Naked Video and in the spin-off series Rab C. Nesbitt, in which he played Rab's partner-in-crime, Jamesie Cotter. He also starred in the short-lived 1999 sitcom All Along the Watchtower. Tony also had a small part as the postman in the longer version of the 1973 cult film, The Wicker Man.

Reviews

[David Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny wee story that read like an extended I.M. Jolly sketch or perhaps many short ones together. I picked this up from the library as they’d put it on their featured shelf, no doubt due to Rikki Fulton stuff usually being on the TV about this time of year - and I’m sure for many this does a good job of filling the I.M. Jolly-shaped gap since the man himself has now sadly passed away.

The story begins with the Reverend trying to find more members for his church after receiving a threatening letter from the higher-ups in the CoS but about halfway through it takes a turn and becomes a comedy-thriller with the Reverend working with two daft police officers to try and find out who is sending him would-be blackmail material. It was enjoyable enough but I don’t think I’ll read the second one.

[Steve Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although this book does have a few quite funny lines, most of the jokes are of a kind that don’t work as well written down and need to be said out loud: picture Abbott and Costello’s “who’s on first” routine and you’ll get the idea.

[Steve Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Reverend I. M. Jolly is one of the funniest characters that has ever been created and this first volume of his memoirs lives up to that high standard.

[Craig Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't stop laughing while reading this book, it reminded me so much of the great I.M. Jolly sketches in the tv show Scotch & Wry.