Come and chat to Michael Palin, Thursday 11 September, midday - 1pm.

[RachelMumsnet]

We're just a bit excited that the comedic legend that is Michael Palin will be joining us at Mumsnet Towers on Thursday (11 September) between midday and 1pm when he will be telling us about his latest book and answering YOUR questions. Furthermore, all those who join the webchat will be entered into a draw to win a SIGNED Copy of Travelling To Work and 2 tickets to his first ever one man show.

"I'm drawn to risk like a moth to a flame" writes MP and the latest volume of his diaries are proof of this, charting his life and work from 88 - 98, a period when he was seriously in demand as a presenter, actor and author. His work took him across the world (Around the World in 80 Days), saw him tackle his toughest role yet (in Alan Bleasdales' award winning drama series GBH) and pen his first novel, Hemingway's Chair'. He writes of the diaries: 'The great journeys which underpin these diaries made me realise, more clearly than ever before, that I don't like to be confined to the main road ahead, that I'm drawn to the backstreets and the side alleys, to the quirky ordinariness of everyday life, to the unexpected and the unexplored.'

Michael has just launched his first ever one-man show 'Travelling to Work' which is touring the UK over the next few weeks. Find out details of tour dates on Michael's website.

Come and chat to Michael on Thursday at midday and if you're unable to join us at that time, put your question to him in advance by posting it up on this thread.

I love holidaying in the uk. Where is your ultimate uk destination?

Hi Mr Palin... can I call you 'Mr Palin'?

So Michael... is that okay? Can I call you 'Michael'?

Okay Mikey... not too informal I hope.

Right so Susan,

You say you aren't political so how do you explain 'Cyril and the House of Commons' then?

And also, thanks for many years of making me guffaw madly.

@figgypuddings

Hello and welcome!

Did it hurt when John Cleese whacked you with the fish?

No, I think it hurt John more than me. The more I slapped him with pilchards, lightly around the face, the more irritated he became, quite rightly so. But he just had to stand there, whereas I was able to sustain the blow from his fish as I turned and fell into the canal. Now that last bit was painful!

@LindaMcCartneySausage

Dear Michael Palin

I bunked off school in 1989 in Glasgow to get you to sign a copy of Around The World In 80 Days! I was a huge Python fan. My taught me to say "Llamas are larger than frogs" in my high chair and to burst into a room as a toddler shouting "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"

Anyway, my first question is did you do all your travels around the world in real time, without stopping the clock if that makes sense? I got the feeling that perhaps you got time to go home to North London and wash your socks, stock up on DEET and resume where you left off after two weeks R and R, while the programme was edited to make it look continuous.

Second question - I've just finished the Palin Diaries 1969-1979, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but I did think they'd been pretty heavily edited with all the really shocking opinions, details and sex stripped out. Is that right? Are you going to publish the un expedited version when you die and can no longer be sued?

There was no rule, Linda. On 80 Days, we obviously kept going without a break, Pole to Pole we had one three day break in three months travelling. On Full Circle we had brief breaks, but most of the shooting was consecutive. On the later journeys we tried to break down the time away, not only myself but also the crew had families they wanted to see every now and then. On the whole we got the best stuff when we were on the road and stayed on it.

Thank you! That scene never fails to make me cry laughing.

@1567444

Hello Michael, very excited about the diaries and going to attend several dates on your tour. Will you sign books after the shows? (you usually do) Thank you! Joanna

I'm afraid I shan't have time to sign books after the shows. The show itself runs about 2 and a half hours, but I have made sure that there are enough signed copies around for you to pick up one at the theater or at your local bookshop.

The sandstorm sounds amazing if rather scary. Good that you escaped unscathed! thank you for answering :)

@kinkymouse

I would love my children as young adults to travel before life gets them by the short and curliest. What's the best thing I can do to turn them on to travelling with very limited budget?

Remember that you're never too old to start travelling. My travels around the world didn't really begin until I was 45. But certainly if your children have a curiosity for the world and its wonders, then you could do worse than get them to read books or watch videos so that they can make their own minds up about the places they'd like to see.

Very often with young adults, it's best to combine travel with something else they like doing, surfing, climbing or any sport that might take them abroad, so that they combine activity with exploration. I personally think that it's best to begin your travel experience close to home rather than go on long, possibly dangerous journeys miles away. Scotland is beautiful, we're on the edge of Europe which has the most fantastic selection of landscapes and places to see, all within a short train journey away.

Hello,

Is there anything you regret saying yes to? (professionally, obviously!)

@Badvoc123

Hello Michael. One of my fondest teenage memories is of watching "Around the world in 80 days" on TV with my family. I have always wondered....you were so perfect (sorry, but you were!) Did the BBC approach anyone else to the show? Were you always first choice? I am really enjoying introducing my 11 year old son to the Python films...his fave bit at the moment is the black knight in holy grail :)

When the BBC first asked me to present Around the World in 80 Days, they boosted my ego with all sorts of admiring talk about my talents, physical capabilities, humourous brilliance, adventurous spirit etc etc. So I couldn't say no. It was only when we were halfway round the world that the director admitted I was the fifth person they'd asked! I just have to thank all the others for not wanting to do the job because it was one of the best career changes I could have wished for!

@Meglet

What was the scariest moment when you were travelling? Did you ever panic and think that even being a BBC presenter wasn't going to be enough to get out of a tricky situation?

My parents raised us on Python. .

The hairiest and scariest moment was when we were flying in the Arctic to film in the North Pole. We were in a small light plane hundreds of miles from any airstrip when the pilot decided to land on an ice floe. It was late in the year and the ice floe was breaking up like cracked egg shell and I think my stomach hit the ground long before I did. There was nothing the BBC could do to get my out of that one. But it was a terrific sequence in the end and the plane took off from what was the equivalent of a moving air port - it was getting smaller by the hour - or did i dream it?

@HenriettaTurkey

Good morning, Michael!

Everyone knows that you are clearly really really nice. So...my question is:

'What's the meanest thing you've ever done?'

I did punch Robert Lindsay very hard once. We were being filmed at the time for a series called GBH in 1991. I must say, he took it so well, that I was just disappointed we didn't have to do a second take!

Hi Michael,

I've got tickets to come and see you in Liverpool in October - can't wait! I'm gutted to have missed the Python shows, hope you had fun doing them?

On the theme of closer to home travelling and exploration, where in the UK could I start? Are there any towns or cities you'd recommend visiting and exploring that maybe I wouldn't expect?

Sorry if that's too mundane!

People are asking some really interesting questions and I'm enjoying reading your responses.

At the moment we have a big thread going talking about the eruption in Iceland at Bárðarbunga. Have you ever been fortunate enough to witness an eruption volcano?

Hi Michael.

I moved away from Sheffield 20 years ago and although I feel at home where so am now, when I travel back to see family and go into the Peak District nearby, it feels like properly going home. Do you have a place like that? Even Sheffield?

Thanks. Becky

@Sweetmotherfudger

I love holidaying in the uk. Where is your ultimate uk destination?

If I feel like chilling out not too far from London, I would choose the suffolk coast, if I'm feeling adventurous and want stunning landscape, I'd go up to the west coast of Scotland and take a boat around the Islands.

Hello Michael,

Perhaps one afternoon, if you're at a loose end, we could sit on a park bench and just hold hands.

Then, if you felt like it, we could have a little stroll through fallen leaves and you could make me chuckle.

Or have a pot of tea and I could bray bun and earl grey across the table.

I'd get the bus home a very happy woman.

What do you say?

Hello Mr Palin
Would you rather be remembered for your travels, Monty Python or your work with The Michael Palin Centre for children who stammer?

@SteamTrainsRealAleandOpenFires

Hello Mr. Palin.

I've recently read that you have been asked to narrate "The Clangers". Will they be new stories or will they be the old ones?

Yes, they will be new stories, written by Daniel Postgate, son of one of the 2 inventors of the Clangers, his father , Oliver Postgate who died recently did the original narrators voice and quite brilliantly and I shall be very hard pressed to equal his wonderful laid back delivery. I shall model myself on him, Bill Nighy and the late great John Le Mesurier of Dad's Army fame. Though the stories are new, the look of the puppets and the way they are knitted will all be as close as possible to the last series. No gimmicks.

Hi Michael,

My 4 year old nephew has recently discovered Pythons and laughs his head off at silly walks and the fish slap. Do you find it bizarre how new generations are constantly discovering your work?

@nettie

Hi Michael

As someone who came to sheffield over twenty years ago and cannot imagine living anywhere else, I would like to know what you love best about sheffield?

My 12year old ds also loves Mp and the Holy Grail, though he insists it is not rude in anyway!

Thanks

I'm so glad you like Sheffield! I was born and brought up there and still miss it. Lots to do in London, but it's too big to get any sense of identity. Sheffield is the right size for a city. The people have a good, strong independent sense of identity. They're completely unimpressed by anything (this could come from years of supporting United and Wednesday). It's now no longer the industrial town I was born and brought up in, but has reinvented itself as a lively university town, lots to do and the most fabulous countryside right on the doorstep. And of course, Jarvis Cocker comes from Sheffield!

@nettie

Hi Michael

As someone who came to sheffield over twenty years ago and cannot imagine living anywhere else, I would like to know what you love best about sheffield?

My 12year old ds also loves Mp and the Holy Grail, though he insists it is not rude in anyway!

Thanks

I'm so glad you like Sheffield! I was born and brought up there and still miss it. Lots to do in London, but it's too big to get any sense of identity. Sheffield is the right size for a city. The people have a good, strong independent sense of identity. They're completely unimpressed by anything (this could come from years of supporting United and Wednesday). It's now no longer the industrial town I was born and brought up in, but has reinvented itself as a lively university town, lots to do and the most fabulous countryside right on the doorstep. And of course, Jarvis Cocker comes from Sheffield!

@Lillilou

What is the most important thing you have learned whilst travelling? By the way, I loved seeing you and your mates at the O2 this summer. ??

One is patience - you really can't expect things to happen instantly. The world outside the west slows you right down and you'll feel all the better for it if you just relax and go with the flow. the other thing I've learned is that where we live in my case London, is not the centre of the world for villages up in the himalaya or tribes in the amazon forest. their world is entirely the 2 or 3 miles around them. So they are far less stressed!

I shall model myself on him, Bill Nighy and the late great John Le Mesurier of Dad's Army fame

Thanks for answering my question. Big fan.