--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was 23 I started writing for I'm…" description: "\"When I was 23 I started writing for I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again and was paid three guineas for every minute's airtime.\" — Eric Idle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/eric-idle-3734_guinea_when-i-was-23-i-started-writing-for-i-m_2977773.jpg" --- # When I was 23 I started writing for I'm Sorry I'll Read… ![“When I was 23 I started writing for I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again and was paid three guineas for every minute's airtime.” quote by Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/eric-idle-3734_guinea_when-i-was-23-i-started-writing-for-i-m_2977773.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/eric-idle-3734_guinea_when-i-was-23-i-started-writing-for-i-m_2977773.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/eric-idle-3734_guinea_when-i-was-23-i-started-writing-for-i-m_2977773.jpg) > “When I was 23 I started writing for I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again and was paid three guineas for every minute's airtime.” [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. At 23, he wrote for a show and earned a modest fee per airtime. **In simple terms:** Young writer earned three guineas per minute. Key Takeaway Value early creative work. Themes career writing humor Mood humorous reflective Type advice storytelling When to use this quote - freelance writing - broadcast - career start Key Concepts media economics Questions to Reflect On - What lessons did you learn early? - How did you value your work? A Different Perspective Payment may seem trivial now. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [23 Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/23-started-4615874/) [Guinea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guinea/) [Guineas Minute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guineas-minute-4200155/) [I m sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-m-sorry/) [Minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minutes/) [Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid/) [Paid Guineas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid-guineas-4200154/) [Sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorry/) [Started Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-writing/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-sorry-4615873/) ## Related quotes > [When, in 1966, I progressed to The Frost Report, I was paid ten guineas a minute. I was guaranteed three minutes a week, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/when-in-1966-i-progressed-to-the-frost-report-i-was-paid-ten-guineas/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [In the infancy of civilization, when our island was as savage as New Guinea, when letters and arts were still unknown to Athens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-the-infancy-of-civilization-when-our-island-was-as-savage-as-new/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [If you rush to take a drug, do so with the full knowledge that you are being a Guinea Pig. The longer a drug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-s-mendelsohn/if-you-rush-to-take-a-drug-do-so-with-the-full-knowledge-that-you-are/) [Robert S. Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-s-mendelsohn/) > [Girls like Diana Spencer, armed with nothing more than a guinea-pig-rearing certificate, proud to say in that old Sloane way that she was 'as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-york/girls-like-diana-spencer-armed-with-nothing-more-than-a-guinea-pig/) [Peter York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-york/) > [“I think guinea pigs are fabulous!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica/i-think-guinea-pigs-are-fabulous/) [Monica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica/) > [My voice sounded like one of the guinea fowl that screeched in our trees as it pooped, but I never let that stop me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kamkwamba/my-voice-sounded-like-one-of-the-guinea-fowl-that-screeched-in-our/) [William Kamkwamba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kamkwamba/) > [I must say, with regard to Equatorial Guinea, the Government of Equatorial Guinea, as soon as they had arrested these people, sent a delegation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/i-must-say-with-regard-to-equatorial-guinea-the-government-of/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [New Guinea was sort of a graveyard for planes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-zuckoff/new-guinea-was-sort-of-a-graveyard-for-planes/) [Mitchell Zuckoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-zuckoff/) > [All we want is to be treated like human beings, and not to be patronized, or experimented on like guinea pigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/all-we-want-is-to-be-treated-like-human-beings-and-not-to-be/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [I was criticized at some level within the Republican Party by those who say government should not be in the economic development business at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-huntsman-jr/i-was-criticized-at-some-level-within-the-republican-party-by-those/) [Jon Huntsman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-huntsman-jr/) > [ I met one child there eleven years old, speaking three languages \[in Guinea\]. He could speak English, French and Malinke. Speaking my language actually… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/i-met-one-child-there-eleven-years-old-speaking-three-languages-in/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [A man starts upon a sudden, takes Pen, Ink, and Paper, and without ever having had a thought of it before, resolves within himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-man-starts-upon-a-sudden-takes-pen-ink-and-paper-and-without-ever/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [In certain savage tribes in New Guinea, they put the old people up in the trees and shake them once a year in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/in-certain-savage-tribes-in-new-guinea-they-put-the-old-people-up-in/) [John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/) > [At the time when I was conducting my research there was no known method for taking the guinea pig's temperature. I demonstrated a technique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jules-henry-nicole/at-the-time-when-i-was-conducting-my-research-there-was-no-known/) [Charles Jules Henry Nicole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jules-henry-nicole/) > [The jingling of the guinea helps the hurt that Honor feels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-jingling-of-the-guinea-helps-the-hurt-that-honor-feels/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) ## More by Eric Idle > [“Life's a piece of shit, when you look at it, life's a laugh and deat's a joke, it's true: You'll se it's all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/life-s-a-piece-of-shit-when-you-look-at-it-life-s-a-laugh-and-deat-s/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [Having little money to spend was a valuable learning experience. My schooling also shaped my work ethic because while other children were listening to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/having-little-money-to-spend-was-a-valuable-learning-experience-my/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [Americans like to think 'Python' is how English people really are. There is an element of truth to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/americans-like-to-think-python-is-how-english-people-really-are-there/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [ If you're famous, you have to \[be overly generous\], otherwise people say, "Eric Idle came in and only left me $4." I always tip… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/if-you-re-famous-you-have-to-be-overly-generous-otherwise-people-say/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [At least in America, you have freedom of speech, which is a good thing. It's just a question of whether you're allowed to use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/at-least-in-america-you-have-freedom-of-speech-which-is-a-good-thing/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [You look just like you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/you-look-just-like-you/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [Many years ago I also bought a house in Provence for about 70,000 francs. It had no electricity or running water, and no road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/many-years-ago-i-also-bought-a-house-in-provence-for-about-70-000/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [No day of my life passes without someone saying the words 'Monty Python' to me. It's not bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/no-day-of-my-life-passes-without-someone-saying-the-words-monty/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [“sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will make me cry by myself in a corner for hours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/sticks-and-stones-will-break-my-bones-but-words-will-make-me-cry-by/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [I believe in the separation of church and planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/i-believe-in-the-separation-of-church-and-planet/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [I've got soggy thighs. It must be dinner time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/i-ve-got-soggy-thighs-it-must-be-dinner-time/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [At least one way of measuring the freedom of any society is the amount of comedy that is permitted, and clearly a healthy society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/at-least-one-way-of-measuring-the-freedom-of-any-society-is-the/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [The Minister of Transport issued this appeal to motorists: Can anyone give him a lift to Leicester?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/the-minister-of-transport-issued-this-appeal-to-motorists-can-anyone/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [I think the special thing about Python is that it's a writers' commune. The writers are in charge. The writers decide what the material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/i-think-the-special-thing-about-python-is-that-it-s-a-writers-commune/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [ There's no gap between the writer and the performer, which is what I think makes \[Monty\] Python unique. Five or six people who write… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/there-s-no-gap-between-the-writer-and-the-performer-which-is-what-i/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) [Explore all 122 Eric Idle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) ## More Guinea quotes > [The jingling of the guinea helps the hurt that Honor feels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-jingling-of-the-guinea-helps-the-hurt-that-honor-feels/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [At the time when I was conducting my research there was no known method for taking the guinea pig's temperature. I demonstrated a technique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jules-henry-nicole/at-the-time-when-i-was-conducting-my-research-there-was-no-known/) [Charles Jules Henry Nicole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jules-henry-nicole/) > [In certain savage tribes in New Guinea, they put the old people up in the trees and shake them once a year in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/in-certain-savage-tribes-in-new-guinea-they-put-the-old-people-up-in/) [John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/) > [A man starts upon a sudden, takes Pen, Ink, and Paper, and without ever having had a thought of it before, resolves within himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-man-starts-upon-a-sudden-takes-pen-ink-and-paper-and-without-ever/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [ I met one child there eleven years old, speaking three languages \[in Guinea\]. He could speak English, French and Malinke. Speaking my language actually… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/i-met-one-child-there-eleven-years-old-speaking-three-languages-in/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [I was criticized at some level within the Republican Party by those who say government should not be in the economic development business at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-huntsman-jr/i-was-criticized-at-some-level-within-the-republican-party-by-those/) [Jon Huntsman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-huntsman-jr/) > [All we want is to be treated like human beings, and not to be patronized, or experimented on like guinea pigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/all-we-want-is-to-be-treated-like-human-beings-and-not-to-be/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [New Guinea was sort of a graveyard for planes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-zuckoff/new-guinea-was-sort-of-a-graveyard-for-planes/) [Mitchell Zuckoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-zuckoff/) > [I must say, with regard to Equatorial Guinea, the Government of Equatorial Guinea, as soon as they had arrested these people, sent a delegation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/i-must-say-with-regard-to-equatorial-guinea-the-government-of/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [My voice sounded like one of the guinea fowl that screeched in our trees as it pooped, but I never let that stop me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kamkwamba/my-voice-sounded-like-one-of-the-guinea-fowl-that-screeched-in-our/) [William Kamkwamba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kamkwamba/) > [“I think guinea pigs are fabulous!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica/i-think-guinea-pigs-are-fabulous/) [Monica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica/) > [Girls like Diana Spencer, armed with nothing more than a guinea-pig-rearing certificate, proud to say in that old Sloane way that she was 'as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-york/girls-like-diana-spencer-armed-with-nothing-more-than-a-guinea-pig/) [Peter York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-york/) > [If you rush to take a drug, do so with the full knowledge that you are being a Guinea Pig. The longer a drug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-s-mendelsohn/if-you-rush-to-take-a-drug-do-so-with-the-full-knowledge-that-you-are/) [Robert S. Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-s-mendelsohn/) > [In the infancy of civilization, when our island was as savage as New Guinea, when letters and arts were still unknown to Athens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-the-infancy-of-civilization-when-our-island-was-as-savage-as-new/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [To make three guineas do the work of five.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/to-make-three-guineas-do-the-work-of-five/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) [Browse all 147 Guinea quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guinea/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was 23 I started writing for I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again and was paid three guineas for every minute's airtime.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Idle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/when-i-was-23-i-started-writing-for-i-m-sorry-i-ll-read-that-again/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Guinea" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/when-i-was-23-i-started-writing-for-i-m-sorry-i-ll-read-that-again/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/eric-idle-3734_guinea_when-i-was-23-i-started-writing-for-i-m_2977773.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/eric-idle-3734_guinea_when-i-was-23-i-started-writing-for-i-m_2977773.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/eric-idle-3734_guinea_when-i-was-23-i-started-writing-for-i-m_2977773.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I was 23 I started writing for I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again and was paid three guineas for every…” — Eric Idle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Eric Idle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I was 23 I started...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/when-i-was-23-i-started-writing-for-i-m-sorry-i-ll-read-that-again/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/when-i-was-23-i-started-writing-for-i-m-sorry-i-ll-read-that-again/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```