The Churchill Series - Sept. 8, 2006

(One of a series of weekday posts on the life of Winston S. Churchill.)

Yesterday's post was long and serious. Today I want to offer something briefer and lighter.

It's an anecdote that comes from The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill, a collection of mostly amusing items compiled by Dominique Enright. I've never before used anything from Enright in the series because she doesn't cite sources, and some of the anecdotes are known to be apocryphal.

But the following story sure sounds genuine, at least as regards what Churchill does. So let's go with it. It’ll do you no harm if you remember my cautions; and it should leave you smiling. I've given Enright's account a few tweaks for clarity's sake:

In 1955 Churchill, then in his early eighties and no longer Prime Minister, was sitting by himself in a large armchair in the Members' Bar enjoying a late afternoon drink.

Three young Tory MP's entered. They failed to notice Churchill and began chattering a bit loudly about him.

"You know," one remarked, "it's very sad about old Winston. He's getting awfully forgetful."

"Shame, isn't it?" said another. "He's really very doddery now, I gather."

"Not only that," added the third, "but I've heard that he's going a bit - you know - ga-ga."

"Yes," rumbled a deep voice from the nearby armchair, "but they say his hearing's not gone yet." (p. 131)

I hope you're all back on Monday.