In this week’s podcast we revisit one of the best-loved sessions from 2013’s festival, which sees National Treasure Michael Palin in conversation with Miranda Sawyer. Boasting a fruitful career straddling the disciplines of broadcasting, comedy, writing and documentary, Palin needs no introduction as one of Sheffield’s Famous Sons. Amid reflecting on his time at the BBC, and a whole host of epic televised journeys to the likes of Brazil and Antarctica, he affectionately recalls where it all began; his humble boyhood in Ranmoor, and the ‘Biggles-like’ adventures he enjoyed in the breathtaking Peak District.
Fostered by a childhood in the only UK city connected to a National Park, Palin’s penchant for nature and exploring has taken him across the globe. He’s tackled the Himalaya, taken on Everest and touched base with indigenous communities the world over, in the years after Monty Python. In spite of this, he’s quick to dub Sheffield “An epic and dramatic place to live”, poking fun at the typically droll ‘Yorkshire’ sense-of-humour (as only a Yorkshireman can!) and how this has fuelled and nurtured his vivid imagination.
A colourful mind, which an unmatchable backlog of experience in the realms of Travel and Television, Palin proves that sometimes good guys do finish first. We invite you to share in this nostalgic, engaging and highly entertaining dialogue with a hugely important personality; one to revisit if you were there with us in 2013, and a true nugget of festival gold for those who weren’t!
This podcast, and a whole host of others from our extensive archive, are up for grabs on iTunes – simply type ‘Sheffield Doc/Fest’ into the search bar.
Written by Lucie Eaton