General Chat

Just listened to part of one of Winston,s speeches and the hair stood up on the back of my neck. ( I am just old enough to remember them 'live'). Does anyone else feel stirred, particularly the younger people, when you hear him speak. Happy days

Yes, a great, great man who I admired greatly, its a pity that there has never been such a strong leader since. Roxanne x

Yes - he was a stirring orator! Ten years ago I bought 2 cds of political speeches from the BBC. The earliest recording is of Gladstone in 1889. Speakers include: Neville Chamberlain, Churchill, Baldwin, Lloyd George, Asquith, Thatcher, Scargill, Macmillan, Foot, Wilson, Tebbit, Kinnock, Paisley, Powell, Blair, Major, Portillo, Skinner, Hague... It's very interesting!

What I find very upsetting is that the country voted against him after the war, very short memories indeed.

John, Sounds an interesting tape. You have enoch Powell on there. love him or loathe him he was a charismatic speaker. Roxanne, I shared your disappointment, but it was perhaps understandable - people were expecting the promised land under old ' new labour and happy days.

There's a lovely quote from Clement Attlee who was asked what Churchill did to win the war, and replied 'He talked!' Churchill was a very complex man who had the ability to speak directly to people. He gave the impression of being honest without being gloomy, promising 'blood, toil, sweat and tears', which meant when there was good news, people believed him. He had a number of skills, including painting and bricklaying and his house at Chartwell is a fascinating place to visit. But his political career seemed finished after the disastrous Gallipoli campaign in the 1st WW. I think he was the right leader for WW2 but not for the peace that followed. He wasn't interested in reform, but keen to keep the British Empire going and couldn't understand why India wished to be independent. nell

Helen, Personally i think he was right, I still think India would of had its independence no matter what, I think the way the country turned against him after the war was disgraceful, yes he was very complex, he also suffered from depression but he was a leader like No other in my opinion!!how times have changed!!

Roxanne People voted in a labour government because they wanted the benefits they promised. It's nothing to do with turning against Churchill. You can't vote for the future based on what someone did in the past, and although I agree Churchill was a great man - I remember my mother making me and my brother watch his funeral procession down the Thames on tv - he still made a lot of mistakes which cost lives. India got its independence, but it would have been better all round if we had given it willingly, rather than causing all the bloodshed trying to hang onto our imperial past. I think Churchill was very firmly Victorian in many of his attitudes and wrong to believe that he could win the election because he helped to win the war. He was very witty however, and I enjoyed reading his account of being told that someone read ancient Greek for pleasure 'which I thought served him right!' nell

As for the system which allowed him to lose his position in government, he said: 'It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.' nell

But also: 'The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.' nell

Lol Helen, I love the last one, which books have you read? There's such a load on/by Churchill I don't know where to start!

Wow!!helen your on a roll!!!lol

I read 'My early years' by Churchill many yonks ago. It's about his schooldays - where he showed a distinct lack of promise - and his experiences of the Boer War. I've got Simon Schama's history, on tape, read by Timothy West. He compares Churchill with George Orwell as they were politically worlds apart, yet similar in many ways. The personalities of both made the history of the period much more lively. But Churchill had a heart-breaking relationship with his father Randolph. He adored his father and worked to earn his approval, but was scorned by his father who thought his son wouldn't amount to anything. Of course, Churchill's greatness only emerged after his father's death. So sad. I've also dipped into bits of his 'History of the English Speaking Peoples' which is stylishly written. Apart from being a painter and brick-layer, Churchill won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He certainly crammed a lot into his life. but the quotes I found by googling. Googling can help with a tremendous amount, I just wish you could google a cup of tea! nell