Michael Palin - Book Signing at Waterstones in Banbury

1st December 2006

On 1st December, while someone was driving my beloved old Mini off to a new home, I had something good to take my mind off it - Michael Palin's book signing in Banbury! I picked my cousin, Antony and his mate, Chris up from Coventry station and then drove over to Banbury in my new car! After a near miss with Chris nearly being travel sick in the back seat, we parked up and arrived at the Waterstones bookshop in Castle Quay to discover a queue of people already waiting. This was probably at 11:15am and the signing wasn't due to start until 1pm. We were quite surprised and agreed that we should start queuing straight away - Well, after I'd bought my copy of Michael's new book, of diaries 'The Python Years' first.

I was number 23 in the line - They gave everyone a ticket - Which wasn't too bad and they also went around with a tin of Cadburys Roses! How nice! Me, Antony and Chris took it in turns to go and get drinks and something to eat while the others saved the place in the queue. The time seemed to fly by and soon people started filing into the shop and towards the table where Michael was signing. He actually started 'meeting and greeting' before 1pm as was originally planned! By now, the line of people was winding its way all around the shopping centre, so we definitely arrived at the right time.
Antony and Chris are particular fans of the series 'Full Circle' and the song, 'Polyushka Polye', which Michael sings with a choir in Russia - Antony had even got the sound clip on his phone! They kept joking about singing it in front of him and of course I encouraged them to do so! Sadly they weren't serious, but Antony did come up with the idea of having a photo taken in the 'Polyushka Polye' pose Michael and the choir struck whilst singing it!

Eventually it was my turn and I handed him the book with my name on a piece of paper (We had to write any dedications or names down in advance). He asked how I was and I said it was lovely to meet him. He asked if I was 'Hannah' when he looked at the piece of paper for dedications inside the book. I couldn't think of any witty or amusing comments to go with my name, so I just let Michael decide - He wrote, 'To Hannah, happy reading - Michael Palin'. I tried to stay cool and actually said what I wanted to say. I commented on how much I love watching him in 'Concert For George' and that it was a great night - Well, something along those lines! He agreed that it was a truly magical evening and was very special. No one had their photos taken personally with him, but a lady from Waterstones was on hand to take a photo of the meetings/signings if you'd got a camera. I then thanked him as he finished signing and handed the book back to me.

Chris was next and he asked Michael about his forthcoming series. Apparently he is in the middle of writing the book for it. I stood a bit behind the desk at this point and took photos of Chris and Antony's meetings. It was then Antony's turn to meet one of his heroes. He had got the 'Diaries' to sign for his Mum and the 'Pole To Pole' book for himself. Sadly, because of time, they didn't get to do the 'Polyushka Polye' style photo together, but he still asked on the off chance - And because of that, something funny happened. I was fiddling with my camera when suddenly I heard Michael humming and singing it to Antony! I thought that was brilliant! After a few more photos of the signing, we went for a well-deserved cuppa in BHS. I also made Antony and Chris pose outside Waterstones for the photo they missed out on!

It was a really great, enjoyable day and Michael was as nice in real life as he is on TV. I always enjoy watching his shows, especially the travel series, but whenever I watch them now, I'll remember today!