Griff Rhys Jones – Where was I?

Posted on 6th November 2017

Griff Rhys Jones was in a loquacious mood at the Corn Hall, rattling through all manner of amusing anecdotes, as he shared behind the scenes insights from his years of travelling.

Jones has had an illustrious comedy career, performing in the likes of Not the Nine o’clock News and Alas Smith & Jones, but this evening was very much focused on his discreet reinvention as an everyman traveller and explorer. With a winning self-deprecating charm, and selected extracts from his programs, Jones took as through the harsh reality of trying to climb a mountain, or kayak down a river, or feed a crocodile, while in your mid-fifties. It quickly became apparent that (notwithstanding his claims to the contrary) he made a pretty good fist of all three, albeit with just the right of gangling hopelessness to encourage all of us to think about having a go.

Fascinating though it was to hear of his TV exploits, it was the story of an ill-fated trip with family and friends to the Galapagos Islands where he began to reveal more of himself – not least the telling admission that when the boat they travelled on caught fire, he immediately pined for the camera crew that wasn’t there.