Der rüstige Rentner Hendrik Groen erzählte in seinem ersten Tagebuch „Eierlikörtage“ von seinem Dasein als Rentner in einem Amsterdamer Altersheim, seinen Freunden, und wie er gemeinsam mit ihnen den Alt-aber-nicht-tot-Club (Alanito) gründete. Hendrik und Co. sind nun etwas älter geworden, strahlen aber noch immer jede Menge Lebensfreude aus und so schildert Hendrik in „Tanztee“ die neusten Ereignisse und Veränderungen aus seinem Rentneralltag, erzählt von den Unternehmungen des Alanito Clubs und lässt ganz nebenbei seine Sicht auf die Welt einfließen. Eric grew up hating Christmas as his father survived WWII but On Christmas eve 1945 was killed outside Darlington.

Bright Side: Twelve Months, Three Heartbreaks, and The Bright Side: Twelve Months, Three Heartbreaks, and

As you can tell from the title, the main achievement of his was the song, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life that he wrote for Monty Pythons’ Life of Brian. It has become a part of life around the world. It is the number one piece played at funerals in the UK, for example. Sports fans sing it loud when their team is losing. What would Spamalot have been without it? It’s the Greensleeves of the 21st century. For those of you not familiar with Hendrik, he's now 85 years old and lives in a care home in Amsterdam, where he's one of the founding members of the Old But Not Dead Club! They're a determined bunch, arranging day trips and sampling fine dining at various themed restaurants, amongst other things. They also cause mayhem within their care home, resulting in some hilarious moments. Hendrik and his friend Evert are akin to a pair of naughty schoolboys - the proverbial pain in the posterior of the care home manager. Evert doesn't care what others think of him, and comes out with the most outrageous ( though amusing ) comments. Hendrik on the other hand has a more gentle, caring side, and displays a charm that's something of a rarity today. He's made a pledge to be more assertive but he remains a thoughtful, giving person and he and Evert complement each other perfectly.I found On the Bright Side to be a GOOD read and pleased that I have read it. I liked Hendrik’s world view of things and how different generations react to everyday life. However, I did not enjoy it anywhere near as much as I did the first book. I read for pleasure and On the Bright Side gave a rather negative view of old age. It makes you think that although life expectancy is increasing, what little have we to look forward to as our health declines and we may be awaiting our death. On the Bright Side does leave some fond memories but all the sadness including the pet dog made this a GOOD yet 4 star read for me. Now this was exceptional! I have always loved the Monty Python boys, and their work, but if hard pressed I would usually declare myself a Michael Palin girl. Palin's diaries of the Python years, by the way, are a great read as well. Much of the book involves celebrity name-dropping and this gets tiresome, even as Idle admits to it. The book could have been quite a bit shorter, which would have increased its relative amount of interesting material, if Idle had worked with a collaborator to edit these name-drops. He says in the book that he’s a better rewriter than writer, and the book shows it. A few of said celebrities, notably George Harrison, were friends, and these parts of the book have real depth and show witty yet caring exchanges between the men. But, for example, who cares that Harrison introduced him to Eric Clapton once? Or a list of all the famous guys that he partied with? Interestingly, his relationship with his wife is rather glossed over, and it seems like he has more in common with his buddies. Though he mentions her several times, it’s mostly to say she’s a hot model.

Bright Side by Monica Parpal, Kim Holden | Waterstones

THIS BOOK! You. Must. Read. It. It's beautiful. Heart-wrenching." -Colleen Hoover, #1 New York Times bestselling authorBoth Graham and John refused to run across the bridge that spans "the Gorge of Eternal Peril." To be fair, the Bridge of Death was terrifying. It was erected by Everest mountaineer Hamish McInnes and his local mountain rescue team. I for one certainly would never have crossed it, but fortunately my character Robin was killed before I had to. If you love Python, or saw the title of this book and began to whistle, or just know him as the guy from the Figment ride at DisneyWorld, you can’t go wrong with this one. It’s entertaining, hilarious, and insightful. Highly recommended. Hendrik records the goings on inside the care home and also his thoughts on the world outside. Hendrik is a lovable old man who has a streak of devilry and his writing gave me many laugh out loud moments as he recounts his exploits with the aptly named group of residents called 'Old-But-Not-Dead Club'. This book is at times sad as he writes about the autumn years of him and his friends but it is often hilarious as he encounters new adventures.

Bright Side — Inspiration. Creativity. Wonder. Bright Side — Inspiration. Creativity. Wonder.

I was 33 before I realized I couldn't shag every woman in the world. Some would have to remain disappointed." Hendrik Groen is 85 years of age in this, his second episode of life in the slow lane, living in the care home in Amsterdam and writing in his diary daily with his various exploits. The Old-But-Not-Dead Club is still going strong, although one or two members have left – a couple of new things have also been added to their agenda. Going to different restaurants every three weeks for a culture change; and the planning of a trip away, where the eight elderly members will stay overnight in a hotel for two nights. It is the things about Life of Brian That never knew that make this book good & course famous joke if ban a thing its going to go to the top, they banned Lady Chatterley, sold in paper bags, banned in 1960s Library's Charlie & the Chocolate factory with two movies on proving power of banning, the main song is popular all thanks to the Pope banning it.I must say, I’ve never been one for clubs but if I’m fortunate enough to get to the ripe old age of 86 or thereabouts, I would absolutely jump at the chance to join the Old-But-Not-Dead Club. Their sheer determination to keep living life to the fullest does really prove that age is nothing but a number as they keep broadening their horizons, stay active as best as they can, laugh and have a good time.

CHASING THE BRIGHT SIDE - Jess Ekstrom CHASING THE BRIGHT SIDE - Jess Ekstrom

Having said that, this isn’t a sad story. I knew very little about much of Idle’s fame. For me, the Pythons were a troupe and I didn’t know much about any of them individually. They always seemed funniest when together, a chemical reaction that brought lightness into a dark world. Monty Python and the Holy Grail, their earlier movie, has always been my favorite, but learning just how many famous people befriended Idle has a way of making an aspiring writer jealous. The world loves people who can make you laugh. His description of Graham Chapman’s death was heartfelt, as was his writing of non-Python’s George Harrison. Idle survives as people he knows die. Robin Williams, another fallen comrade. While reading this book new of Terry Jones’ death hit the news. This collection of memoirs is about as positive as anything can be. Idle got break after break, got swept along to bigger and better things and was continually invited to new ventures, where he succeeded to great acclaim his first time out, be it sketch writing, film, opera, records or Broadway. Oh. And everyone adores him. Eric’s kind heart is obvious, as shown through his endearing friendships with George Harrison and Robin Williams, not to mention all the Pythons. He’s had a rich life full of love and good friends. Laughter really does bring people together. I’d love to hang out with him sometime. I’ll even supply the booze. Hendrik is such a warm and genuine character - you do really feel for him. I can only hope there is a third diary; you do begin to care for Hendrik and hope he has many more tales to tell and adventures to go on.

Share This Post

I was so impressed with this book’s ability to make me feel. It simultaneously owned me and destroyed me. There was a sense of honesty in every aspect of the book… from the character’s thoughts to the dialogue, from their quirky personalities to the heavy realities they all have had to face. “I can’t let the bad consume me or it would eat me whole. The bad stays in the bad corner of my mind, I don’t let it through the door to mingle with good, because the bad is a goddamn party pooper.”