Michael Palin

  • My Account
    • Login
    • Dashboard
    • Orders
    • Addresses
    • Account Details
  • 0 items£0.00
    • your cart is currently empty
  • Home
  • North Korea Journal
  • Palin’s Posts
  • News
  • Dr. Fegg
  • My Diaries
  • Write It Down
  • Videos
  • Shop
Travelling To Work

Monday, December 28th, 1998

Day of the post ­Christmas river trip, so no long lie­-in. Rewarded by quiet streets and have time to show Granny our new office location in Tavistock Street and Waterloo and Blackfriars Bridge views before gathering with the others for the 10.30 boat from Embankment Pier to Greenwich. Full family turnout. Eleven in all. Onto a barge with chairs and a plastic hood. It’s a quarter full, almost entirely of foreigners, as we turn under Charing Cross railway bridge and head downstream.

Greenwich
Family visit to Greenwich, Christmas 1998. Back row: Will, Tom. Middle row: Helen, Rachel, MP, brother-in-law Edward. Front row: Helen’s mother, Anne Gibbins, and two sisters, Cathy and Mary.

A Cockney commentary, full of jokes of the corniest sort and not even told with any charm, just routine taxi­driver sort of prejudices. Edward and especially Catherine Burd, both architects, made apoplectic by references to the National Theatre – ‘thought by most architects to be the worst building in London’. Piers Gough’s Cascade Towers – ‘they say they were designed to look like a boat under full sail. Well all I can say is he’s obviously never been on a boat in his life’, and the Millennium Dome – ‘biggest waste of taxpayers’ money this country’s ever seen’.

In a way I prefer this batty bigotry to a recorded message, but that’s quite a perverse view to take.

An hour to Greenwich and the changes along both banks are considerable. Housing runs in a broken line on the south bank and an almost continuous line on the north, all the way to Greenwich. Canary Wharf is expanding again, after its dodgy hiatus in the late ’80s and the bombing in the ’90s. London’s eastward spread looks inevitable and unstoppable now.

The Dome, a strange new shape, a blister amongst the strips of housing and the fingers of the tower blocks, looms beyond Greenwich’s elegant seven­teenth­ and eighteenth­ century façades.

We climb up the hill to the Observatory, following an ant­-trail of visitors. There is a space on the wall below Flamsteed’s Wren­ designed building where the zero line of longitude runs. It’s covered in graffiti.

Purchase a book or DVD in the shop and get it signed by Michael. Just write your name or the name you want in the Book/DVD Signing box at checkout.

Recent Extracts

  • Thursday, November 23rd, 1995 : Century Riverside Inn, Hue

  • Friday, October 27th, 1989 : London–Stocks House, Hertfordshire

  • Saturday, November 29th, 1997

  • Sunday October 8th, 1989

  • Thursday, June 16th, 1994

  • Monday, August 8th, 1994

My Diaries

  • The Python Years
  • Halfway to Hollywood
  • Travelling to Work
  • Write it down
  • The Thirty Years Tour
  • Travelling To Work: Diaries 1988 – 1998, Volume 3

    Michael Palin
    £14.99
    Paperback

About Michael Palin·Biography·Contact·Credits · Terms·Privacy

Shop·Delivery·International Delivery·returns·Payment·COVID-19 Update

Palins Travels·Facebook·YouTube·Instagram

© 2012 - 2022 Prominent Palin Productions Ltd · A Strand Design Website

We recognise the importance of your online privacy. We use technology such as cookies to ensure that you have the best experience on our website, in accordance with our Privacy Policy. ACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT