Michael Palin

Palin's Posts

Select a year
All 202620252024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Select a Palin's Post
Learning On The Job Filming Doesn’t Have to Hurt Boat People Venezuela. Chasing the Story Idol Chatter Keeping Busy A Hundred Up On The Way to Colwyn Bay Dateline September Nigeria Month Michael Palin: Across Nigeria (New Official Title!) The New Palin’s Travels Get On With It! Helen Step Forward, Harry Palin! The Beautiful Game That Time Of Year Let’s Hear It For Iraq A Memory On The Road Again – again Nights in Belfast On Squatting Perfect Matches Things To Be Proud Of Change Of Heart The Bishops Finger A Day For The Diary Walk, Don’t Run London Lockdown Inspirational Eccentricity Marking Time Big Day For Erebus Fans Out Of The Window Pre-April Fool History Doesn’t Always Repeat Itself Knowing Terry Nancy Jones Ticker Tapes 3 Fifty Years On Ticker Tapes 2 The Ticker Tapes Bournemouth and Beyond Getting On A Bit End Of Term Surprise Down Under and Underground Archives and Anniversaries Erebus Sails On On The Road Again Calm Before The Storm Busy Summer The Last Lap Erebus Sails on into the New Year Death of Stalin Day North-West Passage Following The Fleet Spring Into Action A Weekend In Pakistan Cold Start Ten Days in Taiwan A Yorkshireman In Paris Brazil and Why the Thought of It Cheers Me Up June goes out with a groan May on The Way Still Travelling Martin Honeysett and Dr. Fegg Farewell to the Thirty Years Tour Warm in London Eurostar to Paris
Back to: Palin's Posts

Learning On The Job

In the last few weeks I’ve been making a series in the Philippines for 5 and ITN. At the same time as I was swimming about on the beautiful island of Palawan, I was also in a care home near Manchester explaining to my son (Pearce Quigley ) what humunculi are.

I’m never quite sure if I’m an actor who travels, or a traveller who acts, but when they both happen at the same time I realise that the two aren’t that different. Both acting and travelling are about observation, about learning something you didn’t know before. So, at the age of 82 (going on 83) I’ve learnt how to grow humunculi and how to swim with sardines.

Learning on the Job
At a street market in Manila, Philippines.

Now I‘m back home, I’ve temporarily given up acting and travelling and taken up authoring, writing a book about the Philippines and doing publicity for the delayed (but very beautiful) In Nigeria book which is published on May 28th. And I still keep a diary.

It’s easy not to do all these things. To let other people do them for you, but I’ve always been arrogant enough to think there’s something I can do which no-one else can. In Mackenzie Crooke’s care home everyone was asleep except for Brian who was busy making extraordinary marble runs.

See what I mean.