Sir Michael Palin Reflects on 57 Years of Marriage After Losing His Wife | Lorraine

my next guest is known for exploring the whole big wide world from there the depths of the Sahara to more recently that 1,000 M trip through Iraq and tonight so Mel palen is back with a brand new adventure this time he's in Nigeria Mel Palin joins me now always a joy always a joy to see you love the show I was lucky enough to get a a preview of it um what an interesting part of the world I learned so much well it's one of those places that everybody knows about Nigeria but very very few people have been there yes and you know there's 220 million people there it's the biggest it's the biggest population in Africa it's the richest country in Africa and yet you know we don't know anything about it apart from Nigerians to come and work over here and a lot of Nigerians work in the Health Service or in banking all sorts of things we know Nigerians here but we didn't go out there very often ourselves so it was a bit of a challenge no it very much was and it's that thing of you take us by the hand and you show us the real people that live there and and and the more but the more you do that this is the thing when I when I watched you over the years the more you do that the more you realize we're actually all kind of the same really Underneath It All people are you know the reaction that people have to you is is always always the same well that's it really most people there a universal sort of uh feeling about life which is just you you have children you bring them up you educate them well you try and keep healthy check your poo all that sort of stuff you know and and that that's kind of that is universal those are things as soon as you get politics comes into it and you get sort of you know Army and weapons in then then the whole thing becomes very strange and I don't begin to understand that but I try to understand people on the street the great thing about Nigeria uh apart from just the generally jolliness of it all they do speak English there so unlike North Korea and Iraq we were able to have conversations and jokes oh and they would tell you I mean people speak their minds yes they do I mean we are very sort of careful about how we would you mind passing the tea something like that you know come on man what do you want I know I quite like that directness they're very direct and I like that you think you're having an Almighty ra with them for about 30 seconds and then they put their arm around your shoulder and and your best mates so it's it's a liberating place to go liberated me from my little English Reserve well that's good but that's what it's that thing of your us when you go away to all these different places and like you said you know Iraq I mean you know chances are none of us away with to go there or North Korea and but you just kind of open that window for everyone it's that thing cuz we're all curious about the world yeah I mean I think the thing to do is to be open and honest about how you see a country and if you're confused show that you're confused if you can't speak the language show you trying to struggle but you will always find an upside to it because people want to welcome you in most of the world people like to be hospitable they want you to see their country and and and the good things about it they don't want to see the bad things so you know I I always think there's a rapor there that I I find very encouraging whenever I go out and it's important to get away from your own country every now and then see things from a different perspective absolutely of course then you're you know you're educating yourself all the time which is which is great and that's what what you do so well the other great Explorer of course is say so David atur now are you two are you two pals are you Rivals are you friendly rivalry what's going on there what would you see I would say we're Pals really over the years I've got to know David I mean he was there at the BBC when we first did Monty Python of course and when all the pythons were grumbling about put on late at night and you taken off slot in the Midlands or something in the middle of the night he would say well you're going to be a cult one day and he that he was de right great he was he and he he's got a great sense of humor David we have a lot of we have a lot of laughs when when we when we meet up and I once in person impersonated him in the python sketch yes I was going through the jungle I think kind name it went terribly wrong because we were doing something I was going through the jungle and we were playing on the idea you get very sweaty when you're in the jungle so armpits would gradually get sort of you know enlarged patches and the guy who's working the the thing would create the patches under the arms or pushed too hard and gallons of water came down my CH down my trousers so we had a great great laugh with David after that so that was incontinence on a grand scale absolutely from every from every single from every single poor from every single poor today is a a special day it would have been your anniversary today it would been my 58th yeah yeah wow 58 years that's that would have been astonishing I mean it's nearly a year and it must be hard especially with this trip because you'd be going home and she's not there yeah but do you still find yourself talking to her yes yeah I would imagine because of course you would yeah absolutely and looking in an odd way for reassurance you know she she was terribly good at telling me the things I shouldn't do and the things that I should do she was a very good judge of all she knew what I like she knew when I was happy working rather than you know sort of getting into something that wasn't wasn't right so I I do miss that and I miss the jokes that we used to have together I mean it's our anniversary it would be our annivers 58th and every anniversary we used to try and do something in with increasing incredulity you know 50th and 52 oh what we've done everything 54 oh forget it so you know that that's that humor I I do I do miss a lot no you have that sort of I don't know there's that shorthand when you've been with somebody for such a long time and it's that thing of you know you you know I know you've got great family loads and loads of friends of course you have you get you've got loads of people to do things with but but there's that thing of the two of you could do nothing yeah you just sit you know just be you I think that's it and you've been I mean I've known I knew Helen for 60 years wow and no one else in my life I've known for such a long time and during that time you build up so many experiences so many Mutual experiences and all that that you just don't you don't need to make a big thing of it very often just a little glance be enough exactly exactly and amazing amazing memodies and it still feels that she's that she's with you and work is great isn't it you know being able to go in your travels I know you'll be writing a book about Nigeria doing your doing your Diaries all of these things that's that's really important CU I think you know you can't live in the past you can't say everything can stop now I'm just going to live for the past you've got to go on and and um I'm lucky cuz I get I do get some work and I get to go to you know around the world and be paid for it which is terrific and I want to continue to do that if I can yes because it puts you in touch with human life it also gives me physical and mental energy of course it does which is really important for your morale otherwise it really is but you've got that thing I mean I mentioned curiosity before but you've got that in in abundance because you you're curious about about the world you want to find out more and you know as you get older probably get more more and more Curious yes mean a terrible trouble yeah sometimes yeah well it's good especially with sweat pouring from yeah and where's going to be next well goodness sake is there anywhere that maybe the stands all the you know is bistan you know pistan all these places there people I used to say people say to me anyway you haven't been Mar I used to say Middlesboro but unfortunately I've been to Middlesboro no don't mean sorry midboro don't mean unfortunately have now been to middle I can't use that that Joy has been yeah that particular joy and and and a joy was too um I think that you got to see how the program works it be interesting to how see how this series goes down um and from people's reaction then you can decide whether you want to keep going or whether you should keep going it's been positive so far we'd love to do another Journey the crew are terrific the photography is amazing um I I'd go with this little group anywhere really fantastic well I can't wait to see the where you go next yeah for goodness sake yes I'll come and tell you please do you know you can come no no no you could never you could never talk to you hours and hours and hours um Michael Palin in Nigeria tonight 9:00 on channel 5 um and there'll be the book soon hopefully the book that's been put off till the end of the year I love your travel books it's it is like you take us by the hand it's fantastic to do the books as well you have to write that's your own out of your own head rather than the exactly fil and you can put so much more in there thank you so much for coming in no it's a pleasure always real Joy

Channel: Lorraine

Views: 17,543

Keywords: lorraine, lorraine kelly, lorraine itv, lorraine interview, interview on lorraine, chat show, talk show, stv, sir michael palin, michael palin

Id: CpvUABS6uYY

Length: 8min 28sec (508 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 16 2024