Subject: [ChurchillChat] Churchill & Croquet
From Churchill and Chartwell by Fedden p. 56: Soon the path and the yew hedge take a right-angle turn to reveal a lawn. This was originally a grass tennis court. Lady Churchill was at one time a good player, and tennis a feature of Chartwell life. The court was converted to a croquet lawn after the war. Though Churchill sometimes took part in a game, swinging his mallet single-handed like a polo stick, Lady Churchill was the croquet expert and often played with her family and friends. Among the friends who joined in was Field-Marshal Montgomery, whose performance has been described as 'long on strategy, rather shorter on accurate play'. From Simply Churchill by Howells p. 128: Sometimes Sir Winston would appear on the scene at the end of a game and have a little practice on his own. He used to discard his walking stick, using the croquet mallet as a prop in between shots. He would line up a ball, steady himself and get it through the hoop first time. He was never mediocre at anything. Most summer afternoons at Chartwell he spent watching his wife playing for an hour or so before taking himself off on a trip to the fishponds. From Clementine by Fishman p. 192: Clementine is an enthusiastic croquet player, with a keen eye and a steady hand. Winston does not share her enthusiasm, but summer-time guests at Chartwell usually find themselves playing a game before lunch and another after dinner....Though Winston is also good at the game, he does not approach his wife's class. From the Official Biography VIII by Gilbert p.872 `The nurse telephoned this morning,` noted Lord Moran on August 9, `that yesterday, when Sir Winston was playing croquet, he hit the ball hard, and then, hurrying after it, became very short of breath - he was cyanosed, she added. But Jock said he was in fine form at night, hilarious in fact, and kept them up until one o`clock.` Hope this helps a little. Barbara Langworth --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/ChurchillChat?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
