From the inimitable Michael Palin comes a novel about the truth and just what that might mean to a struggling writer, his employers, and the man he must track down... Unabridged edition.
Out of all the comedy legends the up-and-coming John Cleese rubbed shoulders with in the late 1960s, there was none he found funnier than the far less well-known MICHAEL PALIN. In fact, Cleese̵…
A rollercoaster ride driven by the Palin hallmarks of humour, curiosity and a sense of adventure. Michael Palin was not the BBC's first choice for the travel series AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, but after its success, the public naturally wanted more. Palin, however, had other plans. There was his film AMERICAN FRIENDS, a role in Alan Bleasdale's award-winning drama GBH, the staging of his West End play THE WEEKEND, a first novel, HEMINGWAY'S CHAIR, and a lead role in FIERCE CREATURES. This third volume of Michael's diaries delves further into his richly varied career, including the two further travel series he recorded for the BBC in the 1990s - POLE TO POLE and FULL CIRCLE - and the bestselling books he wrote to accompany their release. The story of these ten years lived in different directions yields up riches on every page.
Oh, stop me if you've heard this one before, but English men are kii-iinky! I have collected enough personal data over the years to confirm this and I have spoken to many other men and women who agree with this information. So, if you're English, please don't be offended. Really. I'm not saying it's a negative thing, in fact, I quite like it, if it's not accompanied by whining and griping about how much you hate the U.S. when you come visit me from the UK. I digress... My inner California-girl comes out when I see a photo of Michael Palin. I tend to say (out loud) "OMG He is SOOOOO hot !!!" and then I spill my cheerios or whatever and have to get up and clean my keyboard. MP is smokin' hot and is one of those rare men whom I'd still like to hook up with, even though he is about to turn 67. Lady Python fans branded Micheal Palin "the cute one" and I imagine that this caused much envy among the others in the Python cast (sans Graham Chapman and Carol Cleveland). I believe it was a moniker that Mr. Palin waved off and laughed about, but deep down, he had to be flattered. Of course, all of them are cute and adorable in their own way and Terry Jones is and has always been strikingly handsome. Still, Michael Palin is set apart for many reasons: first of all, everyone who has worked with the man tends to comment that he's gracious, friendly and adaptable. He' s also the kind of man who'd bring a good bottle of wine (not cheap but not too pricey) to your mother's for dinner. He's the guy who would clean your tub if he left a whole buncha hair in it after a shower, He'd help you walk to the car after you'd tossed back too many cocktails, he'd drive out to the airport and pick up your friend because you had to work late. Your cat loves him, all of your friends' kids adore him, he dresses well, he styles his hair but it's still mussy and manly and smells like woodsmoke and patchouli. He'd smoke grass and stay up late and giggle with you all night while you listened to Dusty Springfield on the turntable. In addition to the above, he no doubt has a rather randy and kinky side, as most intelligent and funny men do. I'm sure he's a very sweet lover, but if you asked him to spank it for a while, he'd oblige. Go ahead, let your mind wander... Please enjoy the adorable shots of MP.
Actor and writer Michael Palin in a script conference for BBC television show 'Monty Python's Flying Circus', 1974.
THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERCurated and edited by Adam Kay (author of multi-million bestseller This is Going to Hurt), Dear NHS features 100 household names telling their personal stories of the health service. Contributors include: Paul McCartney, Emilia Clarke, Peter Kay, Stephen Fry, Dawn French, Sir Trevor McDonald, Graham Norton, Sir Michael Palin, Naomie Harris, Ricky Gervais, Sir David Jason, Dame Emma Thompson, Joanna Lumley, Miranda Hart, Dermot O'Leary, Jamie Oliver, Ed Sheeran, David Tennant, Dame Julie Walters, Emma Watson, Malala Yousafzai and many, many more. All profits from this book will go to NHS Charities Together to fund vital research and projects, and The Lullaby Trust which supports parents bereaved of babies and young children. Other writers include Chris O'Dowd, Johnny Vegas, Jack Whitehall, Chris Evans, Lorraine Kelly, Lee Mack, Jonathan Ross, Konnie Huq, Greg James, Frank Skinner, Louis Theroux, KT Tunstall, Sandi Toksvig and Kevin Bridges. The NHS is our single greatest achievement as a country. No matter who you are, no matter what your health needs are, and no matter how much money you have, the NHS is there for you. In Dear NHS, 100 inspirational people come together to share their stories of how the national health service has been there for them, and changed their lives in the process. By turns deeply moving, hilarious, hopeful and impassioned, these stories together become a love letter to the NHS and the 1.4 million people who go above and beyond the call of duty every single day - selflessly, generously, putting others before themselves, never more so than now. They are all heroes, and this book is our way of saying thank you. Contributors include: Dolly Alderton, Monica Ali, Kate Atkinson, Pam Ayres, David Baddiel, Johanna Basford, Mary Beard, William Boyd, Frankie Boyle, Jo Brand, Kevin Bridges, Alex Brooker, Charlie Brooker, Rob Brydon, Bill Bryson, Kathy Burke, Peter Capaldi, Jimmy Carr, Candice Carty-Williams, Lauren Child, Lee Child, Bridget Christie, Emilia Clarke, Rev Richard Coles, Daisy May Cooper, Jilly Cooper, Fearne Cotton, Juno Dawson, Kit de Waal, Victoria Derbyshire, Reni Eddo-Lodge, Chris Evans, Anne Fine, Martin Freeman, Dawn French, Stephen Fry, Mark Gatiss, Ricky Gervais, Professor Green, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Mark Haddon, Matt Haig, The Hairy Bikers, Naomie Harris, Miranda Hart, Victoria Hislop, Nick Hornby, Sali Hughes, Konnie Huq, Marina Hyde, E L James, Greg James, Sir David Jason, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Jackie Kay, Peter Kay, Lorraine Kelly, Marian Keyes, Shappi Khorsandi, Nish Kumar, Stewart Lee, Joanna Lumley, Lee Mack, Emily Maitlis, Andrew Marr, Catherine Mayer, Alexander McCall Smith, Paul McCartney, Sir Trevor McDonald, Caitlin Moran, Kate Mosse, Jojo Moyes, David Nicholls, John Niven, Graham Norton, Chris O'Dowd, Dermot O'Leary, Jamie Oliver, Sir Michael Palin, Maxine Peake, Sue Perkins, Katie Piper, Ian Rankin, Jonathan Ross, Ed Sheeran, Paul Sinha, Frank Skinner, Matthew Syed, Kae Tempest, David Tennant, Louis Theroux, Dame Emma Thompson, Sandi Toksvig, Stanley Tucci, KT Tunstall, Johnny Vegas, Danny Wallace, Dame Julie Walters, Phil Wang, Emma Watson, Mark Watson, Robert Webb, Irvine Welsh, Jack Whitehall, Josh Widdicombe, Dame Jacqueline Wilson, Greg Wise, Malala Yousafzai, Benjamin Zephaniah. A minimum of GBP3.09 from the sale of each book will be paid to NHS Charities Together and GBP0.16 will be paid to The Lullaby Trust.; 416 pages; Published: 09/07/2020
Actor, comedian and scriptwriter Michael Palin, of the Monty Python comedy group, 13th December 1972.
The son of Monty Python star Michael Palin has spoken about how he ignored the show's existence for most of his life.
Photo of Monty Python Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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