Latest news with #MontyPython
BreakingNews.ie
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Michael Palin: I feel less grief now
Sir Michael Palin has said he feels less grief now two years on from the death of his wife. The 82-year-old Monty Python star announced in May 2023 that his wife of 57 years, Helen Gibbins, had died after suffering from chronic pain and kidney failure. Advertisement The couple met on a beach in Suffolk when he was still a teenager. In an interview with Saga magazine, Palin said: 'I can see why people say it takes two years or so before your response gradually changes. 'It becomes less about loss and more about the spirit of that person being around, so that's very nice. 'I feel less grief now, and more that I've got to keep on doing things, looking after the children we made together. Advertisement 'I talk to myself as if she's there. I'll show some spectacular bit of incompetence that I know she would have found funny, then I'll hear myself saying something in the way she would have said it and I'll laugh, even though I'm the only one there. 'Imagining her being there makes me laugh.' Palin met his future wife while holidaying in the seaside town of Southwold, Suffolk, and later fictionalised the encounter in a 1987 TV drama for the BBC titled East Of Ipswich. The couple had three children and four grandchildren, and celebrated their wedding anniversary just two-and-a-half weeks before Ms Gibbins' death. Advertisement Palin told the magazine he has not had counselling or therapy. 'I know myself quite well. I'd like to work it out myself, if I can,' he said. Palin added: 'I get dark days, when you feel a bit down and wonder what you're going to do on a cold autumn Sunday on your own, but I factor that in. 'I know I'm going to feel her loss at certain times. The family have been my bereavement counsellors really. Advertisement 'Fortunately, the three children all live quite close. You might see pagodas, volcanoes and waterfalls all round the world, but what's really important is who comes round for dinner on a Sunday.' Speaking about whether he will find love again, Palin said: 'We were a unit for so long. You can never begin to replace a relationship which lasted 60 years. 'I'm OK living on my own, then I go off to Venezuela or somewhere. I'm not moping.'
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Michael Palin opens up about his grief two years on from the death of his beloved wife Helen Gibbins and says he still talks out loud to her
Michael Palin has opened up about his grief two years on from the death of his beloved wife Helen. The Monty Python star, 82, was married to Helen for 57 years after meeting as teenagers on holiday in Suffolk. The mother of their three children — Thomas, 56, William, 53, and Rachel, 49 — had been suffering chronic pain for several years and then developed kidney failure. She passed away at the Marie Curie Hospice in Hampstead, north London, on May 2, 2023. Speaking to Saga magazine, Michael said he feels grief now and is able to focus on keeping the spirit of Helen around. 'I can see why people say it takes two years or so before your response gradually changes,' he said. 'It becomes less about loss and more about the spirit of that person being around, so that's very nice. 'I feel less grief now, and more that I've got to keep on doing things, looking after the children we made together. He continued: 'I talk to myself as if she's there. I'll show some spectacular bit of incompetence that I know she would have found funny, then I'll hear myself saying something in the way she would have said it and I'll laugh, even though I'm the only one there. 'Imagining her being there makes me laugh.' Asked if he thought finding love again was on the cards, Michael said: 'We were a unit for so long. You can never begin to replace a relationship which lasted 60 years. 'I'm OK living on my own, then I go off to Venezuela or somewhere. I'm not moping.' On living alone, he added: 'I didn't want to be dependent on the family to come around every day. I don't cook, unfortunately. There were various areas like that where I thought I might be a bit vulnerable. 'But it turns out I'm quite good at being on my own. The other person who guides me through that is actually Helen.' Sir Michael and Helen met at the seaside town of Southwold when they were 16. They reconnected by chance in the actor's first year at Oxford University, before marrying at the age of 22. While the BBC TV director was suffering from kidney failure, Sir Michael was travelling to make documentaries about North Korea and Iraq for Channel 5 after he left the BBC in 2012. But in September, Sir Michael expressed regret over this, saying: 'I don't have regrets really. Perhaps towards the end, when I was doing the later travel journeys like North Korea. 'I don't think she particularly wanted me to go away then, but she knew that my interest in travel and other people was very deep-seated, it wasn't because I wanted to get away from home — it wasn't that at all.' The Pole To Pole author recently released a book, There And Back, of his diaries which he said helped him cope with his wife's health issues. He said: 'Helen was ill for a couple of years, so it wasn't a sudden death, and I was helping her and caring for her through a lot of pain. 'Writing this down helped me to deal with it. I needed to remember all that.' Last year the actor heartbreakingly admitted that his late wife's clothes were still hanging 'in the cupboard' as they make it feel as if she was 'still here'. Almost two years since his agonising loss, Michael told how he likes to see her belongings around their home as it reminds him of the time they spend together, with the star adding that it's the reason he will never move. Speaking in an interview with The Times, Michael said on the possibility of moving: 'I don't feel that way - at the moment, anyway. Everything around me has a story or something that reminds me of time we spent together, not in a maudlin way'. 'Just they are the props of your life. Get rid of all those props and I'd be in a different play, playing a different character. And I don't want to do that. 'I know it seems odd, but I carry on as though Helen is still here. Her clothes are still in the cupboards. I don't want to change my life, because I feel she wouldn't want that either. It's still a nice house to come back to. I feel her presence here.' After almost six decades of marriage to the love of his life, Michael went on to say that he couldn't imaging starting a relationship with anyone new as he was still 'bereft' over losing Helen. He shared: 'I shared my life with someone for so long that I find it impossible to think of sharing it in the same way with anyone else again. So in a way, I'm sort of freer.' The TV personality said he found it 'odd' with her not around, especially when coming home from the theatre or dinner and wanting to tell her about his experience. He added that he misses 'the little things' about their relationship, adding that he still finds it 'very difficult' without her - especially when it comes to cooking.
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Michael Palin: 'I feel less grief now'
Michael Palin has said he feels less grief now, two years on from the death of his wife. The 82-year-old Monty Python star announced in May 2023 that his wife of 57 years, Helen Gibbins, had died after suffering from chronic pain and kidney failure. The couple met on a beach in Suffolk when he was still a teenager. In an interview with Saga magazine, Palin said: "I can see why people say it takes two years or so before your response gradually changes. "It becomes less about loss and more about the spirit of that person being around, so that's very nice. "I feel less grief now, and more that I've got to keep on doing things, looking after the children we made together. "I talk to myself as if she's there. I'll show some spectacular bit of incompetence that I know she would have found funny, then I'll hear myself saying something in the way she would have said it and I'll laugh, even though I'm the only one there. "Imagining her being there makes me laugh." Palin met his future wife while holidaying in the seaside town of Southwold, Suffolk, and later fictionalised the encounter in a 1987 TV drama for the BBC titled East Of Ipswich. The couple had three children and four grandchildren, and celebrated their wedding anniversary just two-and-a-half weeks before Ms Gibbins' death. Palin told the magazine he has not had counselling or therapy. "I know myself quite well. I'd like to work it out myself, if I can," he said. Palin added: "I get dark days, when you feel a bit down and wonder what you're going to do on a cold autumn Sunday on your own, but I factor that in. "I know I'm going to feel her loss at certain times. The family have been my bereavement counsellors really. "Fortunately, the three children all live quite close. You might see pagodas, volcanoes and waterfalls all round the world, but what's really important is who comes round for dinner on a Sunday." Speaking about whether he will find love again, Palin said: "We were a unit for so long. You can never begin to replace a relationship which lasted 60 years. "I'm OK living on my own, then I go off to Venezuela or somewhere. I'm not moping."
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Monty Python legend Michael Palin's grief two years on from wife's death
Comedy legend Michael Palin admits that his grief after his wife Helen's death two years ago isn't 'as strong' now as it once was - though he still occasionally gets 'dark days' Monty Python legend Michael Palin has opened up movingly on living with grief - two years after the death of his beloved wife of 57 years, Helen. Marking two years since his devastating loss, the comedy icon, 82, opened up on the shift in his feelings of grief. "I can see why people say it takes two years or so before your response gradually changes', he told Saga Magazine's July issue. 'It becomes less about loss and more about the spirit of that person being around, so that's very nice. I feel less grief now, and more that I've got to keep on doing things, looking after the children we made together. He also confessed emotionally that he has conversations with his late wife as if she was still with him. 'I talk to myself as if she's there. I'll show some spectacular bit of incompetence that I know she would have found funny, then I'll hear myself saying something in the way she would have said it and I'll laugh, even though I'm the only one there. Imagining her being there makes me laugh." The presenter and author, 82, was married to Helen, a teacher then bereavement counsellor, for 57 years after first meeting in 1959 on holiday in Southwold, Suffolk.. She died aged 80 of kidney failure in May 2023, having decided to give up dialysis treatment as she was, sadly, in too much pain to continue. It was Helen, Palin has said previously, who first encouraged him to do his now renowned travel documentaries. And though his late partner was a bereavement counsellor herself, the star admits, he has avoided therapy to help process his grief so far - though he admits to struggling with 'dark days.' 'I know myself quite well. I'd like to work it out myself, if I can. I get dark days, when you feel a bit down and wonder what you're going to do on a cold autumn Sunday on your own, but I factor that in. I know I'm going to feel her loss at certain times. He says his family - he and Helen had three children together - have been his therapy since Helen left them, explaining, 'The family have been my bereavement counsellors really." "Fortunately, the three children all live quite close. You might see pagodas, volcanoes and waterfalls all round the world, but what's really important is who comes round for dinner on a Sunday' But Palin, who rose to fame as part of surrealist comedy troupe Monty Python, before appearing in a slew of classic movies like A Fish Called Wanda, then travelling the world for his acclaimed TV shows, says he doesn't want to be dependent on his loved ones on a daily basis, and isn't as bad at being alone as he first thought. "I don't cook, unfortunately. There were various areas like that where I thought I might be a bit vulnerable. But it turns out I'm quite good at being on my own. The other person who guides me through that is actually Helen." And the intrepid traveller shuns the idea of finding love again at his age - but he's not self-pitying about his situation. "We were a unit for so long. You can never begin to replace a relationship which lasted 60 years. I'm OK living on my own, then I go off to Venezuela or somewhere. I'm not moping." The full interview with Michael Palin appearing in the July issue of Saga magazine can be read here.
The Advertiser
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Monty Python's Black Knight doesn't want a knighthood
John Cleese would refuse a knighthood if he were offered the British honour. The Monty Python star - who played the Black Knight in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail - previously turned down the offer of a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and a peerage. Cleese is adamant that if King Charles selected him for the most prestigious accolade to make him "Sir John Cleese", he would say no to the title because he does not need or want the validation. "I would. I simply don't need that sort of validation," Cleese said, asked if he would turn down a knighthood in the New Year's Honours List. "It's enough for me to know - because people often tell me - that I've helped them through difficult times by making them laugh. "They come home, turn on an episode of Fawlty Towers, and the world doesn't seem quite so bleak. That's my reward. "Frankly, I think those things are rather silly." Cleese's fellow Monty Python troupe member Michael Palin accepted a knighthood and although Cleese was not interested in receiving one himself, he was happy for his long-time friend. "Good luck to him," Cleese said in an interview with Candis magazine. "I was genuinely pleased. I call him Sir Mickey: that's how I always address my emails to him. He's a lovely guy." The late rock star David Bowie and The History Boys writer Alan Bennett famously turned down knighthoods. "Just look at those men who have turned down awards and titles: David Bowie, Michael Frayn, Alan Bennett and Albert Finney," Cleese said. "I have respect for them." Cleese admits his political beliefs are still on the left when it comes to the distribution of wealth, despite him presenting a show on the right-wing TV channel GB News. "I'm more to the left economically," he said. "I think greed is in danger of killing everyone. "People should be paid good salaries, where possible. We should be generous, not try to save money so billionaires can get richer." The Life of Brian actor also wishes the world would lighten up and enjoy more "good old-fashioned laughter". "I think we need much more laughter in the world," he said. "I'm not advocating mean-teasing - just good old-fashioned laughter. "There's nothing to beat it." John Cleese would refuse a knighthood if he were offered the British honour. The Monty Python star - who played the Black Knight in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail - previously turned down the offer of a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and a peerage. Cleese is adamant that if King Charles selected him for the most prestigious accolade to make him "Sir John Cleese", he would say no to the title because he does not need or want the validation. "I would. I simply don't need that sort of validation," Cleese said, asked if he would turn down a knighthood in the New Year's Honours List. "It's enough for me to know - because people often tell me - that I've helped them through difficult times by making them laugh. "They come home, turn on an episode of Fawlty Towers, and the world doesn't seem quite so bleak. That's my reward. "Frankly, I think those things are rather silly." Cleese's fellow Monty Python troupe member Michael Palin accepted a knighthood and although Cleese was not interested in receiving one himself, he was happy for his long-time friend. "Good luck to him," Cleese said in an interview with Candis magazine. "I was genuinely pleased. I call him Sir Mickey: that's how I always address my emails to him. He's a lovely guy." The late rock star David Bowie and The History Boys writer Alan Bennett famously turned down knighthoods. "Just look at those men who have turned down awards and titles: David Bowie, Michael Frayn, Alan Bennett and Albert Finney," Cleese said. "I have respect for them." Cleese admits his political beliefs are still on the left when it comes to the distribution of wealth, despite him presenting a show on the right-wing TV channel GB News. "I'm more to the left economically," he said. "I think greed is in danger of killing everyone. "People should be paid good salaries, where possible. We should be generous, not try to save money so billionaires can get richer." The Life of Brian actor also wishes the world would lighten up and enjoy more "good old-fashioned laughter". "I think we need much more laughter in the world," he said. "I'm not advocating mean-teasing - just good old-fashioned laughter. "There's nothing to beat it." John Cleese would refuse a knighthood if he were offered the British honour. The Monty Python star - who played the Black Knight in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail - previously turned down the offer of a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and a peerage. Cleese is adamant that if King Charles selected him for the most prestigious accolade to make him "Sir John Cleese", he would say no to the title because he does not need or want the validation. "I would. I simply don't need that sort of validation," Cleese said, asked if he would turn down a knighthood in the New Year's Honours List. "It's enough for me to know - because people often tell me - that I've helped them through difficult times by making them laugh. "They come home, turn on an episode of Fawlty Towers, and the world doesn't seem quite so bleak. That's my reward. "Frankly, I think those things are rather silly." Cleese's fellow Monty Python troupe member Michael Palin accepted a knighthood and although Cleese was not interested in receiving one himself, he was happy for his long-time friend. "Good luck to him," Cleese said in an interview with Candis magazine. "I was genuinely pleased. I call him Sir Mickey: that's how I always address my emails to him. He's a lovely guy." The late rock star David Bowie and The History Boys writer Alan Bennett famously turned down knighthoods. "Just look at those men who have turned down awards and titles: David Bowie, Michael Frayn, Alan Bennett and Albert Finney," Cleese said. "I have respect for them." Cleese admits his political beliefs are still on the left when it comes to the distribution of wealth, despite him presenting a show on the right-wing TV channel GB News. "I'm more to the left economically," he said. "I think greed is in danger of killing everyone. "People should be paid good salaries, where possible. We should be generous, not try to save money so billionaires can get richer." The Life of Brian actor also wishes the world would lighten up and enjoy more "good old-fashioned laughter". "I think we need much more laughter in the world," he said. "I'm not advocating mean-teasing - just good old-fashioned laughter. "There's nothing to beat it." John Cleese would refuse a knighthood if he were offered the British honour. The Monty Python star - who played the Black Knight in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail - previously turned down the offer of a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and a peerage. Cleese is adamant that if King Charles selected him for the most prestigious accolade to make him "Sir John Cleese", he would say no to the title because he does not need or want the validation. "I would. I simply don't need that sort of validation," Cleese said, asked if he would turn down a knighthood in the New Year's Honours List. "It's enough for me to know - because people often tell me - that I've helped them through difficult times by making them laugh. "They come home, turn on an episode of Fawlty Towers, and the world doesn't seem quite so bleak. That's my reward. "Frankly, I think those things are rather silly." Cleese's fellow Monty Python troupe member Michael Palin accepted a knighthood and although Cleese was not interested in receiving one himself, he was happy for his long-time friend. "Good luck to him," Cleese said in an interview with Candis magazine. "I was genuinely pleased. I call him Sir Mickey: that's how I always address my emails to him. He's a lovely guy." The late rock star David Bowie and The History Boys writer Alan Bennett famously turned down knighthoods. "Just look at those men who have turned down awards and titles: David Bowie, Michael Frayn, Alan Bennett and Albert Finney," Cleese said. "I have respect for them." Cleese admits his political beliefs are still on the left when it comes to the distribution of wealth, despite him presenting a show on the right-wing TV channel GB News. "I'm more to the left economically," he said. "I think greed is in danger of killing everyone. "People should be paid good salaries, where possible. We should be generous, not try to save money so billionaires can get richer." The Life of Brian actor also wishes the world would lighten up and enjoy more "good old-fashioned laughter". "I think we need much more laughter in the world," he said. "I'm not advocating mean-teasing - just good old-fashioned laughter. "There's nothing to beat it."
