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For myself I found the day hard work and I was very happy to have cleared my own private hurdle – the rattling-off of two complete football teams, both with slightly different players’ names. In a strange way the last week’s enforced lay-off made it harder to start again. Still, now the wheels are turning once more and Gordon Ottershaw is beginning to come to life.2

Bad news at the end of the day – Richard Beckinsale has died: a heart attack at 31. Salutary perhaps. He had been working incredibly hard over the last two or three years, and especially recently. Didn’t know him really, but Judy Loe, his missus, was in ‘Claw’ and a lovely person to work with.

Meal at Kildwick with a relaxing Bill. He’s been very professional all day, not touching a drop, but he’s now downing scotches with indecent haste and being charming and cantankerous.

Talks wryly of working at the RSC with Trevor Nunn. ‘Well, we didn’t really see eye to eye … you know, we’d all be in rehearsal and asked to think ourselves into being someone else, and they’d all crouch down on the stage and I’d go off in a corner and if anyone came along and asked what I was I’d say “A piece of shit” and they’d leave me alone.’

Tuesday, March 20th

In the evening we shoot some 24 carat gold exteriors at Kildwick Hall. The fine Jacobean facade illuminated by one single 250 amp arc light on a 120 foot hoist. Dickie Betts is in his element, strutting squat and small, with his Alaskan trapper’s fur hat on and talking into his radio – ‘Bring the moon round, Ron,’ and other classics.

Friday, March 23rd

A real bonus – a heaven-sent reward for our dogged perseverance. Sun shone all day and we moved to the football pitch at Saltaire to shoot arrivals of Bill Fraser (who’d patiently waited in solitary splendour at Kildwick for two or three days, waiting for the weather to clear) and Teddy Turner (a marvellous piece of casting by Syd Lotterby).

Then it was over to David Leland and his group of footballers – all cast at David’s suggestion, and mostly from ‘Talent’. David was excellent – efficient and very funny. The whole scene played beautifully and David did his long speech in one take. The crew and onlookers applauded as he raced off into the distance with his trousers down. Four and a half minutes in the can in a couple of hours. A reviving and morale-boosting day.

Sunday, March 25th, Skipton

Today the rain comes – and today is our only day off. Breakfast, buy The Observer, read hardly any of it, and retire to my low-ceilinged room looking out over the High Street to read through page proofs of the Brian book, which Eric has sent over.

Vaguely unsettled by the balance/bias of the book. Tendency to hagiolatry of Python – as well as an overbalance into the more specific, less subtle, Biblical parodies. Not a book I feel warm to so far.

No chance of working above the noisy bar of the Black Horse, so I drove on to a pub called the Cross Keys at West Marton, which sells Theakston’s beer on draught. Bought a pint, found a table and settled to write some material for the Python book. But trying to be as anonymous as possible doesn’t really work. People kept coming up with lines like ‘Excuse me, but we’ve got a bet on – are you Eric Idle?’. One kind lady bought me a beer – she had watched and enjoyed all the Yarns, especially ‘Eric Olthwaite’.

To bed unusually early – about 11.15 – after watching heroes of mine, the Joint Stock Theatre Co, made to look pompous and very pretentious in a TV documentary. God save us from TV arts documentaries. Oh, and help Ripping Yarns with the weather next week …

Tuesday, March 27th, Skipton

Our second attempt at the football match is rained off after two shots. Two to three thousand pounds in cancelled fees, etc. Gwen Taylor summoned from her day off, etc, to go back to shoot interiors at Brontë Street.

This evening eat at Oats with Gwen and Syd Lotterby – Syd’s status enhanced by his collection of a BAFTA award for Best Comedy Series last week – Going Straight – Barker, Clement/La Frenais. We will need to use all this