Himesh Patel reads a letter to Richard Branson: 'How can you live like this?'

In 2008, after a disappointing 10-hour Virgin flight from Mumbai to Heathrow, a young man named Oliver Beal sent the following letter of complaint to Richard Branson, along with photos to illustrate his ordeal. Weeks later, Richard Branson called Oliver personally to apologise.
Himesh Patel read this letter brilliantly at our show at the Union Chapel, London on 4th March 2020.

[@madiantin]

Of all the letters on the channel, this one is m favourite. Absolutely hilarious. The repetition of "Richard", the dead hamster, the neat and tidy way he was raised. Absolutely brilliant.

[@dawnevans128]

I'm crying 😂😂😂

[@amberg4131]

Agreed. The number of times he said “Richard” made it even better. This guy has been such a great letter reader too. So glad they paired these two together❤

[@jennifertehanisarreal]

Same! This one is so great 😂 👏🏼 had me in stitches !!!

[@user-ei6cx1pr8r]

This and Dominic cumberbatch reading about the Hotel ban because of Peperoni😂

[@caravanlifenz]

I love it how he addresses his letter to Richard Branson himself, instead of the customer service complaints department. And it's even better that Richard Branson actually called him. Richard Branson has a good sense of humour.

[@marthacastro9162]

How do you know that he call him?

[@aceri1657]

@@marthacastro9162 it’s said in the video’s description

[@GM-zy3xj]

I love the repetition of "Richard". It makes it all more humorous. And "Mustard!"

[@shantishanti1949]

Brilliant delivery just brilliant... well done... hilariously written Oliver Beal....and to think Richard Branson phoned him to apologise. Go Richard Branson thumbs up for you to.

[@user-ei6cx1pr8r]

That’s nice of him to do that.

[@1969Kismet]

When anger meets wit.

[@karezaalonso7110]

Sometimes language can be sharper than any sword.

[@simonbridges3835]

The wonderful stretches of silence Himesh leaves 🤣 Oliver was obviously a man close to complete emotional devestation in the wake of this harrowing experience 😣

[@juicymclucy]

I love Himesh Patel, the man is so talented. The ways he reads this is ridiculously funny

[@Watusifarm]

Oh my god I am crying right now😂. What level genius writer can do this?! What a work of art😂

[@dougjonnaebel5704]

Himesh Patel is brilliant. He says more with 5 seconds of his facial expression than some of the greatest poets say in a million words.

[@humanearthling1484]

Oliver Beal is an excellent writer and Himesh Patel, a beautiful reader

[@sarahholland2600]

Whoever wrote the letter is very,very funny. And the guy reading it is on point!

[@anthonyhewetson5086]

One thing I have learned from my limited experience with air travel. Brings snacks, even if they have to be packed in the ludicrously small packages allowed by the TSA, as there is no guarantee that anything resembling real food will be served to you during the flight. I would love to be able to express my frustration with the situation so beautifully.

[@sweetpotatofries99]

Yes! Airport snack shops are the tits. I get the ones with stuff like dark chocolate quinoa and craisins, or almonds and granola. Fizzy water on board.

[@sarahjones8396]

So brilliantly read by Himesh Patel! I had actually seen a copy of this letter with accompanying photos online, and it was funny then, but the addition of Himesh’s reading made me laugh at it all over again!

[@noodle3218]

Thank you for mentioning this. Obviously it was still hilariously written & performed even without the pics, but thanks to your comment I googled them and got even more enjoyment

[@sarahhigh7384]

@@noodle3218 My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed seeing the photos alongside the words. In my opinion one of the funniest of the Letters Live offerings.

[@attackpatterndelta8949]

I remember getting a similar letter when working in the complaints department of a major restaurant chain. The customer was describing his experience of eating a mixed game pie, yet never once actually complained or demanded compensation.

[@Just_Sara]

That sounds like an extreme high-level classy roast. Amazing.

[@johnmartinez7440]

What did you do? I always wonder if the more polite/entertaining letters/emails result in a higher likelihood of compensation.

[@noesunyoutuber7680]

It's not about the money, it's about commiserating.

[@nairocamilo]

@@noesunyoutuber7680 "You will wait one year. 365 days. By then I'll come back, and you better get your s* together by then."

[@fragdude]

Not to be pedantic, but I believe that recounting the experience in such a manner is, in fact, complaining.

[@patriciamackinlay6495]

Wonderful may the art of letter writing never evr die !

[@pamc9226]

This is my favourite too. Himesh’s delivery is perfect.

[@stephaniefairey8633]

The Green Death soccer club is pretty funny...

[@maryfitzpatrick3252]

At 74, being a veteran traveler, this made me LMFAO. 🤣

[@mgg5418]

There should have been pictures with this 🤣🤣🤣

[@harriethamilton6884]

I remember this letter doing the rounds online back when everything was email Fwds and it had the photos. I bet you could find them

[@juliehanns802]

Brilliant! Who is Oliver Beal? He should be writing for a living 😂😂

[@luminair11]

I've just discovered this youtube channel and love it.....great acting, reading and ideas!

[@bcd4562]

Thank you algorithm

[@madderhat5852]

I had tears in my eyes. Brilliant reading.

[@devlincolleen]

brilliant,... the letter, and Himesh Patel

[@jansmith286]

Congratulations, Himesh. A brilliant delivery of a wonderful letter. You cheered up my day!

[@monicamac2122]

The original letter and especially the reading of it like this - brilliant!! My son was wondering what I was laughing at when I was watching this. Thank you :)

[@hartless76]

This was absolutely hilarious! Such a talented performer.

[@MedievalFolkDance]

"Everybody likes a bit of mustard, Richard"

[@dshepherd107]

An absolute tragedy, what was committed upon him. Brilliant, thoughtful man.

[@madeleinealain8028]

Well done absolutly brillant reading.

[@hetedeleambacht6608]

what a great read, well done Himesh

[@zoecunningham3019]

Wonderfully entertaining 👏 The visualized serving, humorously nauseating 😅

[@luckystarship2275]

This was a week before the first national lockdown in the UK on 12 March 2020. Last burst of live performance.

[@marccas10]

And the flights kept coming from China as he was speaking. There must be trials.

[@Sashazur]

@@marccas10 Studies show that once it is circulating nationally, stopping international flights doesn’t make much of a difference.

[@mojoNixon61]

​@@marccas10 Don't talk nonsense. Go and practice your exponential graphing.

[@marccas10]

@@mojoNixon61 and the flights kept coming.

[@kimsherlock8969]

Such straight humour is wonderful. His writing ,,, x serious? Is incredibly good 👍

[@audreybuyrn8672]

Brilliant!

[@kevincaldwell4707]

The letter...hilarious, the reading of the letter...even better! Poor Richard Branson :/

[@samuelfinkelstein804]

He did an excellent job reading this. Perfect!

[@kimbykimbers3750]

Just superb!

[@occamsrayzor]

Brilliantly read.

[@DigsWigs2022]

Well read. Thank you.

[@San-ff7ut]

A miscellaneous cuboid of beige matter!

[@Emrbl]

Excellent.

[@karolw.5208]

A Canadian here - brilliant writing and brilliant reading. You have to be British to do both.

[@marleneg7794]

Best ever.

[@opheliahamlet3508]

Well I hope Branson gave him free lifetime flights on Virgin, though I don't know if Oliver would've enjoyed that arrangement.....

[@md61211]

I've boycotted Virgin for decades. Bought a round trip ticket years ago - the offer was that it was valid for one year. When I tried to use the return part within that year, they wouldn't honor it. Said "we're not doing that deal anymore, but we'll let you use the value of the return part towards another ticket". Yeah, right. Like I was going to give Virgin any more of my money. Never flew them again.

[@debbiehenri345]

And yet their train service used to be wonderful. My husband travelled back and forth from Scotland to his part-time job in London. It wasn't an astoundingly well paid job, so he used to get the very advanced tickets - and one day they offered him a first class ticket at a special discount rate. (At that time, if you bought First Class tickets very much in advance, it used to be just a few pounds dearer than the advanced standard). So, he tried it, and loved it. Spacious seats, free newspapers, attendants supplying meals and drinks. The First Class lounge in London was an experience in itself, with cookies and snacks on offer. Then, a couple of years later, my husband developed cancer and had to go into hospital immediately. He had hundreds of pounds worth of train tickets all booked in advance - and now we were all in need of that money. So my doctor took it upon himself to write a letter to Virgin explaining the situation - and they quickly reimbursed every one of those tickets in full, also sending a nice letter with their wishes for my husband's quick recovery (which he did). So, because of that experience - I would never complain at Virgin, not even if the roof way to fly off the carriage and I had to travel in pouring rain from one of Britain to the other.

[@OhHeBustin]

@@debbiehenri345 I'm really glad he got better, I'm really glad Virgin airlines refunded you

[@yangch03]

@@OhHeBustin i think it is train, which should be another company

[@2blutigers749]

fantastic read. wow!

[@advocaterishitamall]

Just touched the edge of space with all that 💰 !!!

[@mrplease66]

"No sane person would serve a dessert with a tomato." 1.4 Billion Chinese don't understand why this is funny

[@larapalma3744]

Huh? Lol

[@Just_Sara]

Maybe I'm weird, but tomatoes are really sweet to me, and the older I get, the more I think maybe they should be.

[@Mephiestopholes]

The Master Finest.

[@gregkral4467]

brilliant and hilarioius.

[@jeanhawken4482]

So true

[@benpar8120]

Richard Please pay your employees so that they and their families can afford to pay for food and shelter for the next 8 weeks. Please use the BILLIONS in your personal account to help YOUR staff during this Covid19 pandemic. I'm sure that you will NOT miss a penny of it and I'm sure that your clever accountants will help you get anything that you pay out back with interest! !.

[@sarahholland2600]

Well said. The interest on his property & investment portfolio alone would prob pay them ten years times over .

[@EyalMoiseWork]

It is much better with the pictures which were enclosed to it.

[@mstsp9546]

Its your hamster Richard....lol!

[@mikerusby]

nice one

[@billkingston4402]

Don't get me started on the WiFi, dear Richard the string has snapped between the tin cans

[@boris2835]

so good sounds like it came from him

[@mikenelson8786]

Have you turned your back on the people who support you and believed in you, when thing's turn bad that is when your real personality comes to the fore. What a shame you were an icon.

[@theavandenberg6876]

God some of those letters are SO funny. And this one sure is

[@wolfhodgkinson6866]

this has got to be the most British thing I have ever seen. Ever.

[@ellenmendoza7246]

Wonderful so funny

[@susa8531]

Ok - British Asian here. I think the items are being described as follows: Sponge with and without green paste: dhokla Pakora is savoury custard: kadi pakoda Mustard main: potentially kichdi Cookie: nankatai All authentic Mumbai-dishes. None necessarily work in aircraft cuisine preparation situations. There’s also probably a wider comment to be made about openness to authentic local dishes as well… 👀

[@nebularain3338]

I've nothing against people being rich, but it's their meddling in the lives of those who aren't rich which bugs me. This includes influencing Government, underpaying workers, tax avoidance etc. if they can't get rich without those things, then they shouldn't be getting rich in the first place. It's not "good business sense". It's sheer underhanded exploitation.

[@chrissaltaur1254]

"Who are you? Who elected you? Who can remove you" This sums up in a sound byte the excessively funded lavish and corrupt EU that the German and French government fiercely protects. If you voted Brexit you are not right.. tell this to Barbara Castle, Tony Benn, George Galloway and many others who predicted in 1975 what the EU would become today.

[@kimsherlock8969]

Stop it...Im cracking up wih the humour ohhh Hahaha

[@ellentaylor4351]

Had me laughing early morning. Had me question what we shall be served on our Virgin flight this Dec 2021 👀

[@danieldaymond5959]

As it is now January 2022, what were you served on the Virgin flight?

[@Just_Sara]

Hey, what did you end up with??

[@josephdugdale4150]

The same as all billionaires, stealing tax money in a time or crisis to improve their profit margins.

[@jane.elliot5782]

So disappointed that's not what he's referring to:. It was the only reason I clicked on

[@maramilitia]

If I remember correctly, the writer was offered a job by Branson.

[@user-ei6cx1pr8r]

It was incredible hard to capture Boris Johnson face😂

[@anchesenamonsims5356]

Brilliant!!! LOL

[@kimsherlock8969]

Oliver is Funny

[@Samara1221]

sounds like Virgin catering had recipe typos between Custard and Mustard with chefs that didnt know the difference 😂

[@adamprivett4779]

It must be his charm

[@createinspain]

It is a shame that letter writing like this is becoming a lost art! I bet Branson eats pretty well.

[@philoshaughnessy906]

I'm curious: did Richard Branson write back, and did Virgin make any improvements?

[@learntospellpeople]

D ascription says he called Oliver Beal and apologized.

[@goatladygletha792]

😂😂😂 The best!

[@TalkinAboutTheDude]

Where do they get the letters?

[@Laudon1228]

What is pargy/parjy/ however it’s spelled?

[@AdrianCeroni]

What photos?

[@forza223bowe5]

Imagine having a mortgage and having enough money to pay it off, but decide to let the bank bail you out and pay it off!

[@2blutigers749]

did Branson answer?

[@warmswarm]

2blutigers - Yes he did. If you look at the description of the video, underneath the title of the video you will see where the uploader tells you what happened.

[@abelardogreen]

I would have eaten it. And politely asked for another in my best Oliver Twist 🌵

[@ModelsExInferis]

Written by someone who's clearly never been presented with what airlines laughingly refer to as, "The Vegetarian Option tm". It's been a while since I've flown anywhere, 21 years to be exact, and I've since become vegan. Goddess only knows what "The Vegan Option tm" is like! 😱 I really want to see these pictures though!

[@sherrinunya4079]

Exinferis, I was a flight attendant back then and served quite a few of those scary af looking plates. Most were as repulsed as much as I was. If you want a good veg meal, I recommend ordering a fruit plate, they're delicious!

[@emilycrawley320]

im dying haha🤗🤗🤗

[@chrissaltaur1254]

In the 90s I was a big fan of Branson and the Virgin brand and as a youngster thought he and everything Virgin was cool, and even flew Virgin three times even though they were more expensive to fly with than their competitors. Then I read an unauthorised biography by Tom Bower (he has since written another) about Branson... Branson who is a billionaire worth 2.5 billion pounds loves to lecture the British people on transparency and accountability.. except this does not really apply to him as he is stinking rich. This sentiment is in full swing and reflected amongst Britains wealthy elite - many of whom were fanatical EU Remainers, like Branson was. Once upon a time we use to all think that Branson was this loveable, bearded, jumper wearing, hippy, however having read his bio and other articles, and a recent updated unauthorised biography, his gentle tv persona has proven to be untrue. Branson is a dishonest person, who is greedy for more wealth, fame and power, and more money... he has made his fortune through dishonesty - made part of his fortune from tax fraud - yes, he was once actually convicted of fraud. In addition to him paying very little to no British tax for the many billions he has made at the expense of the British tax payer he loves telling the British people what to do and to trust his word. Branson has cheated at exams, egged on by a mother who told him he could do anything. His first sexual experience is with a prostitute paid for by his father. I agree that Bransons support for Remain was merely one of absolute self interest and not what was best for Britain and its people.

[@georgeash4008]

Great post, you have nailed the real Richard Branson, behind the public relations image.

[@riddersjc]

You missed that he's also sued the NHS.

[@billythedog-309]

The oddest thing in your tirade, which is entirely justified, is your implication that the opposite of supporting for remain is what is best for Britain and its people.

[@billythedog-309]

@@chrissaltaur1254 l don't know what a blue coller job is, but l do know that the despised 'experts' (you know, the ones that that know nothing until a situation comes round when it turns out they do know a bit) got it completely right when they said that leaving the EU would be economic folly, as can be testified by the fishermen and farmers who find that their major export market is now closed to them. P.S. You will probably find that boning up on some basic spelling and grammar would help your argument.

[@chrissaltaur1254]

​@@billythedog-309 You and Remain voters wish to steal all the votes in 2016 and cannot accept losing. You and other Remainers conveniently mention the fisherman who have indeed been shafted by BoJo's government - I'm not excusing that. But you also have forgotten the many countless lies that were told in 2016, where millions were predicted to lose their jobs within a year of us having voted for Brexit. In fact the opposite happened to what you and others on the Remain side said, where over a million jobs were created. Remain predicted a recession in 2016/2017, an immediate drop in house prices, supermarket trolleys increasing by 20pc, inflation increasing into double figures, UK stock market shares would plunge, it would take years if not decades for us to get any kind of trade deal with any country other than a small African nation (fact: Canada, Japan, Singapore, and nearly 65 other countries have signed a trade deal, with NZ and Aus signing soon). We were told that we would not be able to fly to EU countries, receive medicines and goods etc etc etc. If you like the EU so much, there is nothing from stopping you and others from moving there - you might find that life isn't as wonderful as Blighty.

[@LechLecha893]

The hamster… love the hamster

[@thesisypheanjournal1271]

"No sane person would serve desserts with a tomato." This person has obviously never been to South Korea, where bakeries abound with cakes topped with artfully arranged fresh fruit such as slice of orange and pineapple, lovely ripe grapes and strawberries, and plump red cherry tomatoes.

[@robertdoyle687]

The photo of Branson (when a young man) walking through a music festival crowd gives me the CREEPS 🤬

[@HeidiBird]

Uhm, Benedict Cumberbatch read the exact same letter at Letters Live.

[@robstimson4234]

1:45 This may sound made up, but a dear [long-deceased] friend would hold Bad Music Parties in his living room. Pretty much self-explanatory. You'd bring the shittiest music you had and share it with others. lf you felt sufficiently motivated, you'd bring Bad Food also. l encountered a tiered wedding cake with raw crayfish on top and that knocked my socks off. l made lemon jello with canned peas in it. An older woman who was living at my friends house carved a slice out of the jello and said she liked it. Go figure.

[@carmenmccauley585]

Hilarious.

[@sexualawesomeness]

😂

[@ThatGuyThanus]

Can’t stand Branson, and never knowingly put a penny in his bank account..

[@jadedavis822]

Ewww it was very nasty looking lol

[@lubnachitalwalla]

This is all in good fun but as a queer Muslim it’s a bit brutal