He co-wrote and starred in Do Not Adjust Your Set, followed by Monty Python’s Flying Circus and then Ripping Yarns. He also wrote and starred in the television series Around the World in 80 Days and the accompanying book which contained a lot more information than the series. He followed that up with a series called Pole to Pole (North to South), and then Full Circle, where he travelled anti-clockwise around the Pacific Rim, starting at the Bering Strait. This was accompanied by a book.

At the start of There and Back, we get a glimpse of Palin preparing to start his ‘Hemingway’ journey, following in the footsteps of the great American writer, Ernest Hemingway. He followed the route from the United States, through Europe and Africa to the Caribbean. He also wrote a book to accompany the series, called, Hemingway’s Chair, again with more information than the television series.

During the times when he was not travelling, he was busy signing books at bookshops in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Palin was interviewed in the UK and abroad on radio and television about his current projects and his past successes. 

He spoke to the other Pythons about possibly working together. Through the diary entries readers get an insight into his home life with his wife Helen, their two adult sons, Tom and Will and daughter, Rachel and his aging mother-in-law. He shares his life in his village of Gospel Oak, North London and his runs up Parliament Hill and across the Heath. Palin is an enthusiastic runner.

Although I knew of Michael Palin and his work, I had no idea he was also involved with and fascinated by fine art. He takes us on a journey through (mostly) London art galleries, especially the Tate Modern (which has just opened at the time of the diary), the Tate Britain (new name for the Tate Gallery), the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery and on several visits to UK Prime Minister’s residence, No.10 Downing Street, where there is a fine collection of paintings by the Scottish school of ‘Colourists’, which he intends to incorporate in a documentary.

He writes about his many interests, one dear to him is the treatment of stammering. Palin’s father used to stammer. He includes the visits the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering on many occasions, giving support to their fine work. The T2000 initiative, is another, which is part of the Campaign of Better Transport which Palin has been President since 1986 and regularly attends meetings to show support for this dear-to-the-heart cause.

Relating to his interest in art he mentions plans for a television documentary he would like to do about the turn-of-the-twentieth-century Danish painter, Hammershoi. A quick search online and I found the artist had produced many fine works. 

Palin usually starts his diary entries with a weather report, a sobering reminder of the awful UK weather (with sunny periods). He skips days in his diaries, I would assume so that he can present only the most interesting events and does not include the times when is overseas filming for the various travel series, as these events are covered in the books of the same name. 

During the course of this eleven years book, he describes the process of deciding which part of the world he will feature in the next series. After ‘Hemingway’, he chooses ‘Sahara’, ‘Himalaya’ and then ‘New Europe’ which is a report on the people in the Eastern bloc countries that were behind the ‘iron curtain’ twenty years before that time of the diary.

Each one of these trips takes an enormous amount of work: planning, travelling several times, including recceing (reconnaissance trips), returning with the canned film each time and then the post production work. Plus the writing, publishing and narrating of the accompanying book for each series and their respective audio books. Palin writes about the processes with his team, at various locations including at the offices of the BBC, the book publishers and at various restaurants and watering holes around London. 

He is also approached by production people who would like to work with him to create documentaries about his previous work. In between times, he is fielding requests from many charities for him to give talks at their special events. 

Even in the second diary entry at the beginning of the book, he has the actor, Kenneth Cranham and his wife, Fiona, around at his home, discussing the artwork he has displayed on his walls. (If you don’t know Kenneth Cranham, he plays Doc Martin’s father-in-law, amongst many other rolls). 

Palin mentions a brush with the late Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace, (What are you doing here?) and later with (then) Prince Charles at a 150th anniversary of an Alms House, (What are you doing here?)

He has an ongoing relationship with the other two Pythons, living in the UK, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, whom he meets on a regular basis, as well as keeping in touch with John Cleese and Eric Idle, both living in the US, who decided to make a musical out of one of the Python sketches called “Spam”- co-written by Palin. Idle wants to call it ‘Spamalot’ as a spoof of ‘Camelot’ and requests approval from all the other Pythons.

Palin documents his friendship with ex-Beatle George Harrison, his wife, Olivia and their son, Dhani noting his feelings when he hears of George’s death in America and his invitation to the memorial service in Henley. 

When Palin becomes a grandfather to his son Tom's baby, Archie he is now the apple of his eye and he devotes as much time as he can to Archie.

The Royal Geographical Society approach Palin to consider becoming President of the Society for the next three year tenure. He has to consider this, with all the other things that are going on in his life, but eventually he decides to accept. Only to find there is a sting in the tale of the offer.

Throughout the book, his diaries are punctuated with many off-the-cuff remarks from Palin and from the people with whom he is conversing, including his late wife, Helen. These are so funny that they make me burst out laughing. 

To say that this is a well written book is something of an understatement, considering his history of writing for a living over forty odd years. However, as a proofreader, I couldn’t help noticing some typos.

I heartily recommend this book to you, not just as good reading, but also as an historical book capturing the happenings of the first decade of the 21st Century.

Reviewed by Ken.

The author

Michael Palin has written and starred in numerous TV programmes and films, from Monty Python and Ripping Yarns to The Missionary and The Death of Stalin. He has also made several much-acclaimed travel documentaries, his journeys taking him to the North and South Poles, the Sahara Desert, the Himalayas, Eastern Europe and Brazil. His books include accounts of his journeys, two novels (Hemingway's Chair and The Truth), three volumes of diaries, Erebus, the Story of a Ship and Great Uncle Harry. From 2009 to 2012 he was president of the Royal Geographical Society. He received a BAFTA fellowship in 2013, and a knighthood in the 2019 New Year Honours list. He lives in London.