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Michael Palin: Why my heart is always in Sheffield - AUDIO
MONTY Python star and world explorer Michael Palin has revealed he got the travelling bug from his school trip days in Sheffield.
And now he's returning home to raise vital funds for one of the city's top educational destinations - encouraging youngsters to follow in his footsteps.
He will talk about his travels, including the many different forms of transport he's used, with proceeds to Whirlow Hall Farm Trust.
AUDIO: Press the green play button above to hear Digital Editor Graham Walker's full interview with Michael Palin.
The working farm, on the outskirts of the city, was visited by 12,000 children and their supervisors in the last academic year but, like many charities, it is predicting a drop in fundraising income due to the credit crunch.
Michael, a patron and a supporter for many years, has stepped in to help with a talk, which he's calling Around The World In 80 Ways, at Sheffield City Hall on Monday November 23.
The Star is backing the event with a half price ticket offer.
Michael told The Star: "When I was at school in Sheffield, at Birkdale, I used to love going for walks and doing the field work. In a sense, Whirlow Hall Farm is doing that sort of thing.
"It's giving a destination for children to come to, where they will not just learn, but they will enjoy getting close to the animals and understanding how nature works - basic things like where our food and milk comes from, the fact that the countryside and the city are inter-related and we should not forget that.
"I enjoyed the idea of going on a school trip. I always had an imaginative feel for different places. I was always looking out of the window thinking, 'what's beyond there, what's beyond that building and beyond the horizon'.
"Certainly Mr Hall, who was my geography teacher, was very, very important in getting me interested in geography and travel. I loved the subject and always have done. And now I'm not only a traveller I'm also President of the Royal Geographical Society. It's gone to the top."
He will be telling fans that his favourite form of transport was by dog sled team, or riding on top of an elephant. But his most uncomfortable journey was by camel.
Michael, aged 66, also recalls rather more unusual beasts than those on show at Whirlow Hall Farm. The most spectacular he's ever seen were the bright red and green birds that flashed overhead as he made his way down the Amazon. When he returns home it's to London, where he has spent the past 40-years. But he says: "I feel Sheffield is my home.
"I don't physically live there but I identify with Sheffield, and the way Sheffield people are and what Sheffield is.
"When I was young Sheffield was a little bit neglected, in terms of big cities. The fast railway lines went through Manchester and up through Leeds. We used to get films two weeks after they had been in Manchester. Television and all the media stuff was either in Manchester or Leeds.
But Sheffield kind of carried on in its own solid, unspectacular way, and I feel that's the way I've learned a lot about life from that attitude.
"It's better to be down to earth and not to have airs and graces, necessarily, and you can have a very good life and a strong independent spirit, which is what I think Sheffield has."
- Tickets are 29.50 each, may include a booking fee, for Michael Palin's Around The World In 80 Ways at Sheffield City Hall. But The Star has a special offer - for every one you buy, get another of the same price HALF PRICE.
Simply quote The Star Ticket Offer at the Box Office or when you call Sheffield 0114-2789 789. Also visit www.sheffieldcityhall.co.uk.
Corporate packages are also available, for more information please contact Laura Clowes at Whirlow Hall Farm Trust 0114 2352678.
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