Wise words and quotes from Winston Churchill

January 2015: 50 years after Winston Churchill passed away. He was a remarkable figure, and was at times controversial. When young(er) I read most of his memoirs, unfortunately I lost the book.
Here some remarkable quotes, adapted from Knack Magazine (Belgium):

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.
Nancy Astor (the first female member of Parliament in England): ‘Sir, if you were my husband, I would give you poison.’ Churchill: ‘If I were your husband I would take it.’
A lady came up to me one day and said “Sir! You are drunk”, to which I replied “I am drunk today madam, and tomorrow I shall be sober but you will still be ugly”.
Author George Bernard Shaw to Churchill: ‘I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend … if you have one.’ The answer of Churchill: ‘Cannot possibly attend first night; will attend second, if there is one.’
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
If you are going through hell, keep going.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.
Tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip.
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.
‘No sports’ as an answer to the question how he managed to do so many things in his life.
I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.
It has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those others that have been tried from time to time.
A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.
A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, then asks you not to kill him.
I have never developed indigestion from eating my words.

Lunch 3 April: Old China Hands getting together

On the first Friday of the month, another lunch with a lively exchange. We only got 30 seats from Renaat Morel as the restaurant was pretty full.

We managed by being just under 30! New faces as well as old faces (well, not reaal OLD!)
I will confirm the date for the May lunch later.

A very special wine and cuisine evening at Morel’s Restaurant

On 31 March we organized a private dinner with Renaat and Susan Morel, Arie Haan and his wife, my daughter and me. I brought some real special wines: two different Spanish Rioja from 1934, a Chateau Lafitte Rothschild 1964 and a Chateau La Fleur 1962. Renaat cared for the Foie Gras, the superb steak, lamb and more.

We were lucky with the old wines: after a difficult operation to remove the corks – I have a special two-blades instrument – and letting the wine breathe in a large carafe, all of them turned to be great experiences. I actually counted on one of them being vinegar-like…
Great and unique experience!

Rotaract Club of Beijing, meeting 30 March & Art Jam

On 30 March we had our regular working meeting at The Bookworm. As usual we had a very mixed crowd of nationalities, for once with THREE Belgians around the table.

Recent activities organized by Rotaract: the Story Time at the migrant school (28 March, Fenzhongsi) and the speech competition in Capital Club on 4 April. Upcoming: see here the flyer for Art Jam on 11 April.
Rotaract is the Young Generation (18-30) of Rotary. See on this website the introduction under Beijing Rotary.

Another great concert at the home of Peter Ritzen

On Saturday 4 April, in the Eastern weekend, I as once more delighted to be invited at Peter’s home in Beijing, along with my daughter Valerie this time.
This is the second concert for me, see: https://www.beijing1980.com/?p=1522
About Peter:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Ritzen
His website: http://www.peterritzen.com/home/

This time I ( finally) could hear his wife Stella, a great soprano, sing. What a voice!
Among the guests, many familiar faces from our “Old China Hands Lunch”, as well as the Canadian Ambassador and his wife.
The program:
– Sonate op 27 nr 2 L. – Beethoven
– Klavierkonzert Nr. 1 in Es  – Franz Liszt, the original version for two pianos (Peter and Stella)
– O mio babbino caro – G. Puccini, performed by Stella, Peter at the piano.

The concert was followed by a relaxed buffet ( and lots of good red wine!). Stella also showed her video with her impressive performance in Taipei.
Honored to find my book (among some real great books) that Peter read to the very end.
See here a glimpse on their great performance (if in China, you need VPN!):

Looking forward for more!
See also here one of the performances by Stella Chang, Heavenly Peace excerpts ‘Lacrymosa’, Peter Ritzen Transcendental Symphony Finale 2 with Meir Minsky conducting Taipei New Dynasty Philharmonic & Chorus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39ioA3Fte8k
There are many other clips on YouTube of both Peter and Stella.