He has dusted off his trusted linen trousers and cotton shirt, picked up his well-thumbed passport, kissed the wife good-bye and is heading off again to bring sights and sounds from the distant world into our homes.
Michael Palin is off to Brazil.
It is a timely programme. With Brazil over the next four years hosting both the World Cup and the Olympics , the country is going to be more prominent in our view of the world than it probably has ever been and BBC gets this rolling with Palin’s latest travelogue.
I am not sure what the remit is, but at the very least I expect it to be a reminder that there is more to Brazil than football, the Rio carnival and the Copacabana beach. The first episode, centered around the north-east of Brazil, lived up to that expectation featuring cigar chomping grandmas, weather-beaten cowboys, an incredibly cheerful celebrity chef, dancing martial art fighters and much more.
It was slow-paced and genteel, like an Englishman on an idyllic saunter across the world’s fifth largest country, but’ that is Palin’s style. If you missed it is worth a look on IPlayer.
Meanwhile here is one of my favourite ever scenes from Palin’s travels – “Bottom’s Up with Toureg’s in the Sahara”.
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