Blenheim Palace

"Although present on that occasion, I have no clear recollection of the events leading up to it."

--Sir Winston Churchill on his birth at Blenheim Palace



Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet up with my second cousins' family in Oxfordshire. They were visiting from Colorado, and it was no accident that they happened to be at Blenheim Palace for the afternoon. You see, there are certain things that just go along with being a guy in my family--like enjoying German Chocolate Cake for your Birthday. I can honestly say that I independently arrived at an obsession with the British politician and Nobel Prize Laureate. It was only later that I realized that my grandpa shared my view that FDR got way too much credit for the way WWII turned out and that one of my English relatives actually drives a Rolls that once belonged to the former Prime Minister.

Ever since I was a child, I remember being fascinated with politics. I can still vividly remember the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, even though I was only five when it happened. And there is no question that the last 25 years have seen some of the world's most talented political leaders. If you have any doubt about this fact, just turn on the television next time Tony Blair is giving a speech on Terrorism. But I have to say that in order to find anyone who was born and raised(as I now realize after visiting Blenheim) with the kind of mastery and skill of Winston Churchill, you have to go back to the book of 2 Samuel.

His sense of humor and ability to weild the English language with perfection are simply astounding. It is unlikely that the world will ever produce another like him. I don't think the guy ever said anything that wasn't quotable, but here are a few of my favorites:

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."
"If you're going through hell, keep going."
"Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains."
"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

Blenheim Palace remained an important part of Churchill's life throughout its duration. In addition to being born at Blenheim, it was there that he proposed to Miss Clementine Hozier in the summer of 1908 in the gardens at the Temple of Diana overlooking the lake. I'm not sure what he said to her on that occasion, but standing in the place on a beautiful September afternoon, it's hard to imagine any girl telling him "no."