WINSTON CHURCHILL AT HOME

At Winston Churchill’s home there wasn’t a wax figure, or mannequin, there was Winston.

Along with the old bulldog there was a hype-man, a security-man, and a secretary.

The four of them were in one of the rooms in Blenheim Palace.

There were a lot of rooms. but only one Churchill.

The following is for history fans, or those on the cusp:

The Battle of Blenheim was the big victory over France in 1704 that turned the tide for Louis XIV.

The biggest.

The battle was an extraordinary feat of strategy, logistics and co-operation. When enemy forces threatened to capture Vienna, the Duke of Marlborough marched 40,000 men from what is now Belgium to Blenheim in southern Germany, undetected by the French.

On arrival, they joined with Prince Eugene of Savoy’s Austrian army to secure a decisive victory.

The Duke got it done in 1704 against Louis, and his distant relative Winston did the same in 1944.

How’s that for a family tree?

After this picture I asked the other two men if they got to be Winston Churchill later in the week.

They were not amused.

Part of the travel experience is the unexpected.

Most of the time it involves missed connections, canceled reservations, or both.

This time it’s revealing my true travel guide with greater clarity: I’m a dour man in a dour nation.

It hasn’t always been like that, the dourness, but it’s settling in.

What did the people feel when Churchill told them, “We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, We shall never surrender’.”

After the battle of driving on the roads, parking a freaking car and getting out, the war was won by people willing to pull together for the common good.

No one got it like England in WWII. That was their last stand and if they fell they’d be last European domino in a long line.

So they made friends like Stalin.

Did Churchill like Stalin? Respect him? Need him?

He wanted Stalin to believe he did, and that was enough.

Look around your circle and decide who among them is more like Churchill, and who is more like Stalin?

Who is the bully and who is the helper.

Churchill was a great helper for the survival of Western Civilization, and what did he get for his troubles?

He got voted out in 1945, but made a comeback in 1951.

His country will never forget him, and after visiting Blenheim Palace I’ll never forget the note on young Winston Churchill bringing the women he dated home for the weekend.

How could anyone compete with that?