Thursday 25th May 2017
Waterstone’s, Tottenham Court Road, London
John Lloyd // © Steve Cross 
Paul Duncan McGarrity // © Steve Cross 
Steve Cross // © Steve Cross 
Michael Conterio // Steve Cross 
Nell Thomas & Katie Overstall // © Steve Cross 
Declan Kennedy & Jonathan Hearn // © Steve Cross 
Ben Lund-Conlon // © Steve Cross 
The Story Beast // © Steve Cross 
Kevin Jon Davies // © Steve Cross 
Samantha Baines // © Steve Cross 
Rachel Wheeley // © Steve Cross 
Guest enjoy Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters // © Steve Cross 
Simon Watt // © Steve Cross
2017 saw the inaugural Stand Up for Towel Day. Hosted by Rachel Wheeley in the basement of a Waterstone’s bookshop in London, the event brought together a whole host of acts and guests to pay tribute to Douglas Adams’s work including long-term collaborator John Lloyd, as well as Douglas’s brother, James Thrift.
Set List
Kevin Jon Davies
TV and video director Kevin worked on the BAFTA award-winning animation sequences of the 1981 Hitchhiker’s Guide television adaptation. He shared with us exclusive findings from Douglas Adams’s very own notebooks that gave insight into the origins and the writing of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Paul Duncan McGarrity
Comedian Paul gave voice to a confused whale who, in true Hitchhiker’s style, commentated on what he could see as he materialised and plummeted through the air to his inevitable demise.
Simon Watt
Comedian, biologist, writer, science communicator, and TV presenter Simon (Ugly Animal Preservation Society , Level Up Human) gave a talk on the economic theory of the ‘Shoe Event Horizon‘.
Steve Cross
Comedian, scientist, and host of Science Showoff, Steve Cross delved deep into the original Hitchhiker’s book to find out once and for all the exact date the world ended for Arthur Dent and the rest of the population of Earth using his incredible skills of investigative journalism.
Samantha Baines
Award-winning comedian, actress, author, and broadcaster, Samantha performed some original Hitchhiker’s themed poetry.
Ben Lund-Conlon
Comedian Ben gave a heartfelt essay where he reflected on learning of Douglas Adams’s death.
Michael Conterio
Michael spoke about discovering The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy through his dad and asked the question ‘Why does everyone in the universe sound so posh?’
Declan Kennedy & Jonathan Hearn
Declan (Ford Prefect) and Jonathan (Arthur Dent) brought to life Adams’s characters in a new fan fiction sketch:
Far out in the uncharted backwater of the western spiral arm of the galaxy, a small
unassuming bookshop is host to two startled galactic hitchers. Arthur Dent is home again…but how? Is it the Earth he remembers? What role does Zaphod play in all this? Will Arthur finally be able to get a stamp on his customer loyalty card? Can things just not go right for a change? If they can’t…. Who will rescue Ford and Arthur?
The Story Beast
Foremost expert on the worst poetry in the universe, The Story Beast joined us to read some of Paula Nancy Millstone Jenning’s work and pay tribute to her.
John Lloyd
Comedy writer/producer and friend and collaborator of Douglas Adams, John Lloyd joined us to read some extracts from the book he wrote with Douglas in 1983, The Meaning of Liff.
Production Team
Producers
Rachel Wheeley & Florence Schechter
Logo Design
Florence Schechter
Production Photos
Steve Cross
Production Video
Kevin Jon Davies
With thanks to…
The staff at Waterstone’s, Tottenham Court Road
Stand Up for Towel Day 