It was a strange feeling going into a church I did not know for a service that I did not really believe in, but once inside I couldn't help a feeling of warmth and security. Outside there were wars and road accidents and murders, striptease clubs and battered babies and frayed tempers and unhappy marriages and people contemplating suicide and bad jokes, but once in St. Martin's there was peace. Surely people go to church not to involve themselves in the world's problems but to escape from them.

After Python he began a new career as a travel writer and travel documentarian. In 1984 he reunited with Terry Gilliam to appear in Brazil. In recognition of his services to the promotion of geography Palin was awarded the Livingstone Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in March 2009 along with a Fellowship to the Society.

His journeys have taken him across the world including the North and South Poles the Sahara Desert the Himalayas Eastern Europe and most recently Brazil. Before Monty Python they had worked on other shows such as the Ken Dodd Show The Frost Report and Do Not Adjust Your Set. Palin continued to work with Jones after Python co-writing Ripping Yarns.