April 2011 - Richard M. Langworth

“Alles sal reg kom”: Churchill on the Royal Wedding

29 April 2011 Comments 0 Comments

HOUSE OF COMMONS, 22 OCTOBER 1947— “I am in entire accord with what the Prime Minister has said about Princess Elizabeth and about the qualities which she has already shown, to use his words, ‘of unerring graciousness and understanding and of human simplicity.’ He is indeed right in declaring that these are among the characteristics of the Royal House. I trust that everything that is appropriate will be done by His Majesty’s Government to mark this occasion of national rejoicing. ‘One touch of nature makes the whole world kin,’ and millions will welcome this joyous event as a flash of colour on the hard road we have to travel.…

Arrington McCardy 1947-2011

12 April 2011 Comments 3 Comments

Self-trained, he had unorthodox techniques. On a steep hill, the standard tactic is to shift up two cogs and stand up, adding your body weight to the downstroke, using your arms to wiggle the bike from side to side to help the upstroke. We never saw Arrington stand. Instead he would hunker down in the saddle and simply power his way over the hill. And he always left us in the dust. I was hoping to watch this technique in the White Mountains when he and Hazel were to visit us in New Hampshire.

Dreyfus and Churchill: Don’t display autographed photos

5 April 2011 Comments 0 Comments

The signature on a fantastic autographed photo of Winston Churchill at Chartwell, which a friend framed and kept on his wall and hid from the light, has faded to nothingness. Even ambient room light will fade ancient inks, and there is nothing to be done.

Back when I was senior editor at Automobile Quarterly, I rescued a wonderful big 3×2-foot photo of the great Grand Prix champion René Dreyfus (the world’s last great Frenchman), and his Type 35 Bugatti, from the dustbin and brought it over to Le Chanteclair, his wonderful French restaurant on 49th Street, Manhattan, for him to inscribe to me.…