Sir Michael Palin has revealed that he doesn’t worry too much about death, stating “it’s going to happen sometime soon” anyway. The renowned TV travel host, comedian and author has had to deal with the loss of close friends and his beloved wife in recent years.
However, when questioned about his own mortality, he said: “I’m in my eighties and lots of people don’t make it there. So I don’t have any great worries about death. I mean, it’s going to happen sometime soon.
“I hear people say Euston station works are going to be finished in 2033 and think, ‘Oh, I won’t be around then.’ But I’ve got so many interests – either books I’m researching or future travel series – which make me forget about mortality.”
Palin is set to release a book of his diaries later this month titled There and Back. In a promotional interview with The Times, he confessed that he still keeps his late wife’s clothes hanging in cupboards more than a year after her passing because he wants to continue as if she is “still here”.
The 81 year old expressed his fondness for the “sort of undramatic steadiness” of their relationship and while he does not wish to relocate, he admits that certain aspects of remaining in their London home are challenging.
Sir Michael Palin has spoken about the immense void left in his life after the passing of his wife, Helen, stating: “It’s very odd, not having her here. But that’s not just about travel.
“It’s about coming back from a night at the theatre or dinner and the first thing I want is to tell Helen, ‘That was crap,’ or, ‘That was wonderful.’ I still feel quite bereft, because it’s the little things. The people we knew over such a long period whom I can’t talk about now to her,” reports the Mirror.
He expressed that he has little inclination to seek companionship with anyone else, as he shared his life with Helen for such a long time that the thought of sharing it in the same way with someone else is unimaginable.
Instead, he finds solace in dining with his children and friends, admitting that he’s not skilled in cooking. Sir Michael reflected on his long-lasting marriage, which began when he met Helen while on holiday in Southwold, Suffolk, an encounter he later fictionalised in a 1987 TV drama.
The couple had three children, four grandchildren, and celebrated their wedding anniversary just two-and-a-half weeks before Helen’s passing in May last year, due to chronic pain and kidney failure.
In October last year, Palin spoke about feeling “lopsided” and without a “rudder” after his wife’s death, highlighting the profound impact of her loss on his life. He stated: “We were together for a very long time.
“We were married for 57 years and I met her before that so more than two thirds of my life was spent with her. And so you form a kind of unit.”
