Saw Terry J last week, looking very well, as you can see. We walked up to the local pub for a midday half-pint. He’d already been out for a morning constitutional over Hampstead Heath. Unstoppable !
And here’s my second to last knight, remembered by Carol Cleveland…! CONGRATULATIONS, ‘SIR MICHAEL’ !!…. The best knight of the lot ! Love, Zoot
Just as I thought that, after a very busy year, 2018 was going quietly, I hear I am to be elevated from a Knight who says ‘Ni!’ to a knight of the realm. I’m still adjusting to this, but first of all I want to send huge thanks to all those of you who have sent messages of support and congratulation. Too many to reply to every single one personally, but I’m reading and appreciating them all. 2019 starts quietly. I shall be finishing off the chocolates from Christmas, preparing my North Korea journal for publication – and enjoying being a grandpa. Wherever you are – let’s have a collective act of faith and wish each other a very Happy New Year.
I spent a day in the fields working for this farmer. She wasn’t impressed by my hoeing.
Palin book latest! Erebus turns up on the school curriculum…
Santa’s Grotto. Somewhere in North London. Working to sign your Christmas orders before the white beard and the reindeer arrive. So sorry if we miss some of them, but they’ll be personally dedicated as fast as possible.
The book is born. At Clay’s the printers in Suffolk with the first copy to come off the presses. It’s a very dangerous and noisy book, hence the ear-plugs and High-Vis jacket.
Perhaps the greatest excitement of the whole campaign has been Erebus on the Underground, reaching a whole new audience of tired commuters and after dark, really big rats. Thanks to all of you who have shown an interest in the book. It has been a great pleasure to write, but an even greater pleasure to connect with such a wide audience. Happy Christmas one and all!
On the way from Belfast to Dublin took a detour to the home of Francis Crozier in Banbridge. He captained HMS Terror when she disappeared into the Arctic.
His house is very fine, and the memorial outside is flanked by concrete polar bears.
1000 books to sign up in the kitchen at Toppings Bookshop before the Ely Cathedral talk !
Flying to America, I caught this glimpse of magnificent Labrador landscape. Put me in the right mood for talking about Erebus.
A newly-wedded couple in front of the Great Leaders’ statues on Mansudae Hill. Detail of a triumphant monument to the people’s progress
On the road with Erebus. Day of the Enmore show in Sydney.
Onboard the Akademik Sergey Vavilov
Believe it or not, this is a railway station. Sao Bento Station in Porto.
First meal in North Korea – on the train to Pyongyang
With Leonor and Luis, my two guardians at the Viseu Festival of Books and Wine
Hudson’s Bay outpost. Now abandoned
The waterfront, Porto
Fame at last! Viseu, Portugal, December 2017
The Cathedral at Viseu
Going through the Northwest Passage. Canadian expedition, Russian ship
