Preston & Davies are a long-established fishmonger at Billingsgate in London's East End, the finest fish market in Europe, if not the world. A muddle of boxes laden with fresh catch; barrows; packing ice; and porters carting the latest buys and sales, precariously perched atop their heads and flat-topped hats.

Reg is one of Preston & Davies's porters, as are Old Wol and Len; friends, workmates, and some-time rivals who regularly needle each other about issues big and small, workplace and domestic, as they attempt to go about their lives with as little aggravation as possible.