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long. Terry J becomes voluble over politics, over progress and the lack of it since the fourteenth century, and Denis joins the rest of us, until he receives a quite gratuitously shrill attack from TJ during the ‘debate’. Denis’ eyes momentarily widened, as if to say ‘Is he often like this?’

Wednesday, September 19th, Fisher’s Island

Last run. This time 45 minutes non-stop with sprints. The island seems empty. I frighten hen pheasants, rabbits, crows and water rats as I pad by. The sun warms me and when I get back to White Caps there’s only Brian, the major-domo, around. Bathe, then luxuriate in the Jacuzzi.

As if a symbol of our new life under O’Brien, we leave the States majestically. Fresh and tingling from the massage pool, we’re served fresh fruit and coffee breakfast, then a helicopter lifts us off from outside the front door, heads us over Long Island, passing over and around Sag in which I was running a little over a month ago, along the sun-filled shoreline into JFK, where a coach transfers us to the Concorde lounge, then across to darkening London in three hours, sixteen minutes.

Sunday, September 23rd

Terry G comes round in the evening and gives me the first ‘unofficial’ inkling of Brian’s progress in the States. Apparently one and a half million dollars were taken in the first couple of days (Thursday/Friday) and Warner’s are now looking beyond a $25 million gross.

Rain comes down from heavy, darkening skies as I sit in my work-room talking with TG about his future plans – Brazil or Theseus.

Apparently John Calley liked Jabberwocky. TG is caught. He has stated that he will and must do his own movie in the next two years. He only wants to do animation and a bit of performing for Python. Can he do both and resist Eric’s suggestion that he alone should direct Python 4?

Tuesday, September 23th

Yesterday morning I began my new ‘finish the play’ schedule. Up in my work-room by nine o’clock. Unplug the phone and concentrate solely on the play until one.

Good progress yesterday and today. It’s taking a more serious turn, which I’m happy with.

Wednesday, September 26th

Morning’s work curtailed in order to get to Shepperton for a board meeting. Arrive there soon after 1.30. All sorts of men in green tights with leafy costumes and panto-style helmets wandering about. A group of dwarfs, smoking. Charles Gregson is about the first person I see in modern dress. Flash Gordon is filming crowd scenes today.

I am extremely happy that we choose Hall Ellison as the best of the three catering bids. They are independent. The other two are subsidiaries, of Trust House Forte in one case, and Grand Met in the other.

Both THF and Grand Met emphasise economy, cost-effectiveness and profit maximisation and hardly mention food at all. Hall Ellison propose to pay their chef a weekly salary of £115.00 and their manager £120.00. THF would pay the chef £75.00 and the manager £134.00.

To Methuen for a preliminary meeting on the launch of Monty Python’s Scrap Book on November 15th. So good to be amongst publishers who actually sell books. I feel very well-disposed towards Geoffrey, Jan H and David Ross. They’ve stood by us well. Geoffrey gives TJ and me a copy each of a new edition of Noël Coward’s plays, because one of the plays in the collection was said to have had its first performance at Oflag VIIB and lists the POWs who made up the cast.

Thursday, September 27th

Talk to Denis O’B after breakfast. He says he’s almost ‘too embarrassed’ to talk about Brian figures, but on the first three days of our ‘break’ in the US (this is film-man’s jargon for first nationwide exposure), we have broken nine house records and done 250% better business than Warner’s next best this summer – The In-Laws. He confirms the figure of one and a half million dollars taken in the first three days in 120 cinemas.

Work on with the play – keeping my feet on the ground until 2.30-ish.

At four down to Donovan’s for a check-up and I record him doing a radio commercial for Brian – ‘Hello, I’m Michael Palin’s dentist’ – to the