Diaries 1969-1979_ The Python Years - Michael Palin [310]
Monday, November 20th
To the Hemdale Preview Theatre in Audley Square at four to see the assembly of all the Brian material. Apart from the Python team – all looking a lot more like pale-faced Englishmen after a week of British November – Tim Hampton and John Goldstone, Anne Henshaw, George Harrison and Denis O’Brien were there.
After cups of tea and a 15-minute wait for Dr Chapman, the film starts. The whole preparatory assembly runs two hours and eight minutes.
General consensus is that it’s a most encouraging viewing. Some scenes provoked gales of laughter – including the latter half of Ben and Pilate’s audience chamber, the Hermit’s hole, Brian’s bedroom when the crowd arrive, and the Centurion and Matthias at the door of Matthias’ house (the searching). There was a consistent level of interest and no embarrassments, though I confess to finding Otto dangerously like a cameo sketch.
The raid on Pilate’s palace could be cut down too, by five or six minutes.
Round to Langan’s for a drink, then John Cleese, Anne, John G, myself and Gilliam stay for a meal. We discuss Richard Ingrams (briefly) and his pairing of Citizen Kane and Monty Python in his Spectator TV column last week. He was talking about over-estimated phenomena and thought Citizen Kane quite useless and Python, now he had finally seen it, junk. Quite a refreshing bucket of water after the almost unqualified critical praise which Python has had to endure these last few years.
Tuesday, November 21st
Late in the afternoon, to Robert Maas1 to hear the latest on the Signford tax saga, which broke last August with the issuing of precepts. Maas, admirably downbeat in style, told me that Signford’s status with the tax authorities was still not settled.
If Maas succeeds in persuading the Inspector of Taxes that Signford was not set up with intent to trick or defraud, and that the time gap between the setting up of the company and the performance of the services from which the company derived most of its income was permissible and done in good faith, then Signford will have succeeded.
If not, there could be a bill of £26,000 to pay straightaway, in addition to a personal tax bill up to the end of August ’78 of between £15,000 and £20,000.
But Maas is competent and efficient and very sharp, so I have some hope. At the very worst I still have two cars and two houses and the best-equipped 8-track recording studio in London to show for nine years of Python!
Thursday, November 23rd
Up to Suffolk. The peace and pause for reflection worked almost immediately. As the Ipswich-Darsham train swayed up from Wickham Market to Saxmundham, with still green fields and rapidly emptying oaks and ashes and elms on either side, I suddenly felt very clear about the next year. I would complete the Yarns in March and April, then work from May 5th (a symbolic starting date: 36th birthday) until December 31st on a new novel.
The prospect brightened me, as we passed through Saxmundham and alongside dark, rich, fresh-ploughed fields south of Darsham. By the time I reached Darsham and saw the smiling, diminutive, almost gnomic little figure of my Ma, I knew it was the right decision.
Saturday, November 23th
Embark for George Harrison’s in the Mini.
Arrive at Friar Park as the sun has just set. It must be two years since I came here with Eric to complete the mixing of’Lumberjack Song’ (or was it three?). There’s a blazing log fire in the galleried hall and George has just come in from planting bulbs in the garden. He seems very relaxed and settled into the role of a country squire – his face has fleshed out a little, he looks less frail and tortured.
We have tea and talk about the house and Sir Frank