Sailing Courses in London – Monty Python style

11,211 views  |   November 21st, 2013 

What do you get if you cross our office based theory courses and Monty Python?

Well we’re sure some of you will be shouting “Albatross!” or even “A dead parrot!” but do you remember this classic Python short film that preceded the Meaning of Life – imagine learning to sail in a London office… and then sailing the office out of the city!

You can watch “The Crimson Permanent Assurance” below (but beware of some strong language towards the end!). See if you can spot the cameos of Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam in the short.

Terry Gilliam’s short film (created as a short film to precede the Pythons’ 1983 movie The Meaning of Life) depicts a family-owned London firm which has been taken over by the Very Big Corporation of America. Driven like slaves, the team eventually revolt against their American bosses, locking some in their safe and forcing their leader to walk the plank.

Sailing a Course from London

But why stop there? The team transform their London office into a pirate ship, complete with ‘sails’ (actually tarpaulins attached to scaffolding on one side of the building). The ‘crew’ of the Crimson Permanent Assurance ‘sail’ their new craft from London to America, where they seek out the Very Big Corporation’s skyscraper. They attack the building with filing cabinet ‘cannons’ and engage the building’s executives in a spot of sword fighting.
While we can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to sail your London office building across the ground to America, First Class Sailing provide shorebased theory courses which can be held at your office!

Posted by: firstclass

Share:

Post a Comment