Life
BBC
My trip to Venezuela with David Attenborough
I was lucky enough to accompany David Attenborough, who turned 100 yesterday, on a trip to the Venezuelan rainforest more than 25 years ago, says Allison Pearson in The Daily Telegraph. My biggest takeaway was that “he doesn’t just put it on for the camera”. Filming a sequence high above the tree canopy in sauna-like heat, the then septuagenarian was repeatedly hoisted up and down in a giant bucket, growing redder each time and increasingly covered in angry insect bites. The production assistant valiantly tried to tidy his ruffled hair and his sweat-soaked shirt, but vanity bores him. And somehow, through it all, his good humour never wavered. “This repellent works very well,” he deadpanned at one point. “The mosquitoes can’t get enough of the stuff.”
The only time I saw him pay attention to his appearance was when our small plane made an emergency landing on the Colombian border and was immediately surrounded by young men toting automatic weapons. He whipped out a comb to score a “prep-school parting”, put on a jacket and descended on to the tarmac with “ambassadorial bearing”. The soldiers, charmed by his courtesy, backed off. At night, in our mud hut, he would pop on what he called his “poplin jim-jams” – “Like getting into clean sheets every night,” he said – before lying down on a camp bed “about as comfy as a coffin”. When, on our last day, I complained about the rainforest, Sir David “gently” took me to task. “But Allison,” he said, “look at this.” Crouching by the path, he picked a plant with a lovely sage leaf and a coronet of buds. “This is selaginella, a survivor of the Jurassic era. Just think: this was eaten by dinosaurs.” So I did as the great man instructed, and looked at the plant closely. “And he was right. It was incredible.”
Property
THE ISLAND HOUSE This former convent sits above Totland Bay on the western tip of the Isle of Wight, with sea views over the Solent, says The Sunday Times. Extending to nearly 7,000 sq ft, the eight-bedroom house has been significantly upgraded in recent years, with a rear extension adding a kitchen and dining area with bi-fold doors opening on to a terrace with a heated swimming pool. Period features include an elegant staircase, ornate ceilings and decorative fireplaces, while more modern additions include a cinema room, gym and home office. £1.775m. Click on the image to see the listing.
Here’s what you’ve missed
“Yes, but have you met my brother?” Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty
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🧠 Are you cleverer than a seven-year-old in 1966?
🤔 Tony Blair for foreign secretary?
🔐 Why Victor Hugo locked up his wardrobe
📊 Which Republican looks very underpriced for 2028
🎹 A very funny anecdote about Chris Martin’s dad
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