To try and break up this sense of being in lockdown limbo, I try hard to keep in touch with friends and there are always surprises, and when Paul Whitehouse told me his daughter’s a Clangers fan, I was happy to oblige.
Sir David and I recording our socially-distanced interview at a makeshift outdoor TV studio on one of the hottest days of the year. You can see my full interview with @DavidAttenborough in cinemas this week, as part of the world premiere of Sir David’s new film, A Life On Our Planet. Visit www.attenborough.film to find your nearest cinema. Photo by @TheGavinThurston, courtesy of @WWF_UK and @Silverback_Films
There are epiphanic moments in every life and I had one a week ago in Smithfield in the heart of London when the Bishop’s Finger beckoned to me. It was the evening of ‘Freedom Day’ and by chance my son Will and I found ourselves in front of the ancient gate of Bart’s, the hospital where nearly two years ago I had my ailing heart re-juvenated. One thing I’ve missed since then is a pint in a pub on a hot summer’s day. And that’s when I saw, on the other side of the square, The Bishop’s Finger. And it was pointing at me. And the next thing I knew I was in the cool dark interior, standing at the long polished wood bar, watching Fiona, the owner, draw a beautifully cleansing glass of Whitstable Pilsener.
Discovered this photo the other day when sorting out some of my mother’s things. It was inside her Bible ! She was a regular churchgoer yet a staunch defender of the Life Of Brian. And she was very fond of Terry.
The knight after…Making my way home from the Palace.
A new series looking back at my travels, will run through October on BBC 2. Michael Palin – Travels of a Lifetime. More details soon ! Photo Ryan McNamara for Firecrest Films.
On The Road Again – again. Baghdad, Into Iraq, 2022
Now that Covid has made long free-wheeling journeys round the world more or less impossible, I feel increasingly nostalgic about my travels, and thanks to Firecrest Films and the BBC I’ve had a chance to relive some of them and look more closely at how, why and what we saw on those great adventures. Watch Travels of a Lifetime – Episode 1, this Sunday at 8pm on BBC 2 (and internationally later on this year). Photo by Ryan McNamara for @Firecrestfilms
How’s your reading going? Part 3
How’s your reading going? Part 1
In the days when I travelled I found myself stuck in many strange places. On an Arctic island in a snowstorm, waiting for rescue planes in the South American rainforest, in Khartoum waiting for someone to take us safely across the Ethiopian border. Now, thanks to lockdown, I’m stuck at home. I thought it would be boring and frustrating but it’s quite the opposite. I’ve begun to notice and take real pleasure in the small things. Instead of sitting down staring at my screen and throwing occasional glances out of the window, I now stare out of the window and throw occasional glances at my screen…
I have another seven dates left on my Erebus /Python stage tour, and a few days of acting in July. As yet, I’m not allowed to say exactly what part, but I am growing a beard, so it’s not Joan of Arc…
How’s your reading going? Part 2
Nate Merritt, my official portraitist, has maybe exaggerated my free soloing skills, but sadly, he has got the age right!
I’ve been having a clear-out of long-untroubled shelves and dark cupboards, with the help of my grandson Wilbur, who is amazed that I have so much stuff. I explain to him that I’ve had over seventy years to accumulate it and that I’ve always been very bad at throwing things away. Among the things he found most mystifying were two shoe boxes full of book matches, which I’d collected from bars and restaurants and hotels all over the world. He looked at me pityingly. ‘Why, Grandpa ?’ ‘Because as you get older you begin to forget things. Your memory needs a nudge, and that’s what they give me’. To read more and see a selection of my Ten Best book-match memories, click on the link in my bio and go to Palin’s Posts!
End of the Erebus/ Python stage tour on July 7th at the splendid Theatre Royal in Bath. Last time I will share the stage with Mr Gumby for a while. Thanks to all of you who came along. You were terrific audiences – and made the thirteen shows a lucky number!
Preparing for the Erebus/ Python tour 1. Write script. 2. Find a poster so I know where I’m going Get your tickets here: https://www.themichaelpalin.com/tour-2019/
Very excited as Erebus comes out in paperback. From today the icy, watery, toe-tinglingly thrilling Polar adventure will be available in a new exciting shape. Small, perfectly formed to fit in your pocket, and much much cheaper. Erebus The Story Of A Ship – the perfect way to cool down as the heat returns.
Alwych Notebooks have been in my hand on every journey since 1996. No other notebook is quite the right size and quite the right style…
Auditions for the Fire Extinguisher sketch
Gerald Whinfrey clutching a ripping yarn…
A muddle in the costume department on The Meaning Of Life. Terry Gilliam is forced to wear his own clothes. Eric and myself dressed as the Hendys in the dysfunctional restaurant sketch. My favourite line: ‘D’you want any food with your meal ?’
Reunited with my old friend Hamish MacInnes, accompanied by Graeme Hunter, the photography wizard, at the Glasgow Film Festival, for the March 3 premiere of Final Ascent, the documentary about Hamish’s extraordinary life as a man of the mountains. Hamish, among his many other achievements built the Bridge Of Death in Monty Python and The Holy Grail and threw the bodies into the Gorge Of Eternal Peril – pretty good as he was Head of Mountain Rescue at the time. Photo: Rob Taylor
Watching the legendary John Belushi hit the deck on Saturday Night Live, 1978
