There and Back: 1999 - 2009

I've been reading Michael Palin’s diaries ever since they first appeared back in 2006, and hoping that he’d finally clear up many of the great mysteries of our time. Not to mention his part in them.

What really caused the Hindenburg to explode? Was First Officer Murdoch alone on the bridge of the Titanic when it struck the iceberg? How many people were on the Grassy Knoll in Dallas in 1963? And where did Lord Lucan end up, and who’s looking after him? Just some of the puzzles I thought we might finally have an answer to. 

But no. 

Instead it’s the usual round of the usual suspects. Tea with Alan Bennett. Trips around the world. Going on Parkinson. Drinks and meals with all the ex-Pythons. Popping out at a moment's notice for this or that bit of publicity. Classic subterfuge and obfuscation.

That said, this volume stops in 2009, which leaves a good ten years still to cover. The question facing us is this: will Palin finally come clean and let us in on his secrets? Or will he just go on regaling us with more endless acres of celebrity doo-dah?

We can only hope that the truth wins out in the end.