Gary Oldham’s voice is gravelly and gruff and utterly Winston’s. It transports me to the time and place and I listen to how the paintings were conceived. Churchill was a politician foremost. He took up painting aged 40. There is hope for some of us. He had some great teachers and visited interesting places where he could concentrate on the image in front of him. He loved the South of France and Morocco. He painted in friend’s homes and gardens.

The exhibition at the Wallace Collection is entitled “Painting as a pastime” but he was so good that the Royal Academy of Art was quite happy to welcome him.

His thoughts about painting resonated with me. I have struggled with some of his political decisions but that is not for today.

“Happy are the painters for they shall not be lonely”.

“I think this heightened observation of nature is one of the chief delights that have come to me though trying to paint”.

Loved this one best “When I get to heaven I mean to spend a considerable portion of my first million years in painting and so get to the bottom of the subject.”

I would say he achieved this pretty much in his life time – he was largely self taught and took great delight in setting up his easel and going for ” a joy ride in a paint box” creating what was before him.

And this is my Aussie connection. A similar painting chosen by Bob Menzies who was keen to have a painting of Churchill’s.