Winston Churchill in Great Contemporaries writes biographies of twenty-five famous men, there are no women, who he knew. It’s an appealing format and one any of us could adopt but could we, would we?
I think not. It would inevitably become a sort of autobiography and not a very interesting one at that. So I congratulate Francis Russell on his slim volume published this year, Twenty-Four Partial Portraits. Francis, I first met him in the 1970s, has a tendency to make older friends, often with an interest in the arts that has turned into expertise and a title never goes amiss. Francis himself became obsessed with pictures when very young (“Because early Italian pictures became my main interest when I was five, I had few real friends of my age in childhood or adolescence …”) and has been fortunate to pursue this enthusiasm all his life, working at Christie’s since 1972. His expertise encompasses Old Masters and Italian pictures. The friends of whom he writes, alas, are all deceased. “But all had their place in the kaleidoscope of a life that has been so greatly enriched by many friends.”
The index runs to five pages attesting to the lavish garnish of names in his essays, although Mrs Blair and a few others are omitted. Some anecdotes are weak. Who wants to know that the Duke and Duchess of Portland’s lunch guest arrived seventy minutes late? Well, yes, as it was the Queen Mother delayed by President Kuanda’s State Visit clogging up The Mall. (I was forty-five minutes late for lunch with R in 2015, unable to cross The Mall because of President Xi’s SV.)
What illuminates these portraits are the warm friendships described. No bitchy tales, just unadulterated affection reflecting Francis’s gift for friendship, unselfishness and ability always to see his friends in the very best light.
*****
College of Arms, flag-flying news
President Jimmy Carter: Flag Instructions
Following the death of former US President James Earl Carter Jr., (Jimmy Carter), special instructions have been received that as a mark of respect, where possible UK Government Buildings are asked to lower their Union Flags to half-mast from as soon as possible until 20.00hrs on Monday 30th December 2024.
Any other UK national flags flown alongside the Union Flag when it is at half-mast should also be at half-mast. If a flag of a foreign nation is normally flown on the same stand as, or instead of, the Union Flag, it should be removed.
Local authorities are not bound by this request but may wish to follow it for guidance. Devolved administrations are responsible for issuing instructions for the flying of the Union Flag on buildings in their estate and others as necessary. Enquiries regarding the correct protocols for the flying of Union and other flags should be addressed to the Officer in Waiting at the College of Arms in the first instance.
College of Arms, London.