DavidBarry

By DavidBarry

Michael Palin

I met one of my heroes today. Michael Palin was filming , a TV drama due to go out in the autumn, at the Spa. He’d been there earlier and had disappeared for a while. I hung around for an hour, waiting for him to return and intercepted him between car and Spa, coffee in hand. I asked if he’d mind helping the local lifeboat with its fundraising appeal. He said he was “a great supporter” of the RNLI and had made a donation at the lifeboathouse while strolling around in between filming yesterday. He was very obliging and willingly posed for a picture with an appeal flag and a collecting container in the form of the yellow welly worn by lifeboat crew. I took a few shots of him on his own then one of the crew took a few of me and him. I got him to sign an appeal flag. He wrote: “Best wishes to a great cause, Michael Palin”. I shook his hand, looked him in the eye and thanked him for “everything”. It made my day. He’s been a hero of mine for decades. He was every bit as nice and kind and friendly as I’d expected.

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