Post #2490751

2026-05-09 18:18 UTC

@alexwild@mastodon.online I've also never met David Attenborough, but he filmed something at Kew Gardens while I was working there and some people I knew met him. They all said he was lovely, and told two brilliant stories about him: 1. that he was apparently on some special diet for his kidney health and had salads for lunch every day, and didn't like having salad for lunch every day so would sneak backstage and steal sandwiches from the camera crew platters

Replies (1)

@afewbugs@social.coop 2026-05-09 18:24

@alexwild@mastodon.online and 2. at the end of filming everyone who had been involved went out for a meal and he told this story about when he had been filming in Africa and they had visited a village where the chief was very keen to show off his beautiful, elaborately carved hardwood throne. Every night to protect it from termites they would hoist it up into the grass roof of his house on ropes and store it there. But one day the weight of it proved too much and it pulled the whole house down on top of them. And then David Attenborough paused. And the whole table, who had been taking this entire anecdote completely seriously as something that he personally witnessed while filming, leaned in closer. "So it's true what they say" he apparently said gravely with an entirely straight face. "People who live in grass houses shouldn't stow thrones" The whole table had believed his Dad joke completely. Absolute legend.

Open ##2490752