Winston Churchill- Oh That Unknown Person

[Cicero]

[QUOTE=DellieM]
That’s very naughty Cicero. Here in Victoria we know that the sandgropers are constructing the world’s biggest pneumatic drill so that they can cut themselves off and just float away from the rest of us (they didn’t want to join the Federation remember …) Anyway, I was over there in 2000 and bought some groceries, and was promptly told “You do know that this is an Eastern states yoghurt?” Oh, and Perth is whacky because my ex-husband lives there!

They don’t know Winston Churchill because he doesn’t play for Freo …
[/QUOTE]

Slight nitpick- I live in Brisbane

Although I am going to Perth on Thursday. Where they call devon poloney and you can’t buy XXXX

[chowder]

[QUOTE=Cicero]
Slight nitpick- I live in Brisbane

Although I am going to Perth on Thursday. Where they call devon poloney and you can’t buy XXXX
[/QUOTE]

That’s because you are sending that crap over to us along with Fosters

[Cicero]

[QUOTE=chowder]
That’s because you are sending that crap over to us along with Fosters
[/QUOTE]

You should be more worried about Rolf Harris and Germaine Greer.

[rowrrbazzle]

Hmm. Winston Churchill (both of them) were mentioned on this week’s early morning “My Word” repeat on ABC. Connection to the OP’s story?

[jovan]

Does anyone remember the following story from a while ago?

Winston Churchill didn’t really exist, say teens

A fifth of British teenagers believe Sir Winston Churchill was a fictional character, while many think Sherlock Holmes, King Arthur and Eleanor Rigby were real, a survey shows.

The canvass of 3,000 under-twenties uncovered an extraordinary paucity of basic historical knowledge that older generations take for granted.

[chowder]

[QUOTE=Cicero]
You should be more worried about Rolf Harris and Germaine Greer.
[/QUOTE]

Why?

I never tried to drink either of them

[tagos]

[QUOTE=jovan]
Does anyone remember the following story from a while ago?

Winston Churchill didn’t really exist, say teens
[/QUOTE]

No - but now I’m really so depressed I’m going to have to go outside and punch some students. How the frack can you be British and not know who Churchill was?

[One_And_Only_Wanderers]

[QUOTE=tagos]
No - but now I’m really so depressed I’m going to have to go outside and punch some students. How the frack can you be British and not know who Churchill was?
[/QUOTE]

Are they all dozing through history, or is the curriculum at fault?

[Contrapuntal]

[QUOTE=Little Nemo]
That woman can’t get enough of me.
[/QUOTE]
Perhaps if there were a bit more there to grab …

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

[QUOTE=One And Only Wanderers]
Are they all dozing through history, or is the curriculum at fault?
[/QUOTE]

I vote for sleeping, but I imagine the curriculum is equally unhelpful. I spent 10-odd years in British primary, preparatory and secondary schools, and had a history class in each of those years, and I can name the following PMs and their distinguishing characteristics:

Robert Walpole (the first PM, I think), Benjamin Disraeli (a good person to attribute a quote to if you can’t remember who really said it), Neville Chamberlain (gave Hitler Czechoslovakia), Churchill (even more quotable than Disraeli), Harold somethingorother from the '60s (famously said “you’ve never had it so good”), Edward Heath (probably said “you’ve never had it so bad”), Thatcher, John Major (Britain’s most boring man!), Tony Blair, and… the new fella, whose name I forget.

Of those, Walpole, Chamberlain and Churchill are the only ones I learned anything about in school, as far as I can recall - the others I know from books, TV or the internet.

By contrast, I had exactly one term/semester of American history, yet I can at least name probably 90% of the Presidents and give the career highlights for most.

I suppose to some degree it’s a problem of time compression - if you have to learn British history, you have to start with the Roman invasion at the very latest; so you’ve got to learn 2,000 years’ worth in the same timeframe that American history teachers are covering 200 years’ worth.

[Little_Nemo]

I vote for sleeping, but I imagine the curriculum is equally unhelpful. I spent 10-odd years in British primary, preparatory and secondary schools, and had a history class in each of those years, and I can name the following PMs and their distinguishing characteristics:

Robert Walpole (the first PM, I think), Benjamin Disraeli (a good person to attribute a quote to if you can’t remember who really said it), Neville Chamberlain (gave Hitler Czechoslovakia), Churchill (even more quotable than Disraeli), Harold somethingorother from the '60s (famously said “you’ve never had it so good”), Edward Heath (probably said “you’ve never had it so bad”), Thatcher, John Major (Britain’s most boring man!), Tony Blair, and… the new fella, whose name I forget.

Working from memory, there were the two Pitts, father and son, they were there during the Seven Years War and the Napoleonic Wars. There was Lord North, during the Revolutionary War. The Duke of Wellington, the guy that beat Napoleon. There was Gladstone, who opposed Disraeli. Lord Palmerston, mid-19th century imperialist who was nicknamed Pam. Asquith and Lloyd George, during World War I. Bonar Law, who had a funny name. MacDonald, who was left-wing. Atlee, who replaced Churchill at the end of World War II. Eden, in the fifties. MacMillan was “somethingorother from the '60s”. The current PM is Brown.

[Little_Nemo]

Having looked to see how well I did, I missed a lot of 20th century Prime Ministers: Balfour, Campbell-Bannerman (who I have no recollection of), Baldwin, Douglas-Home (another one I don’t recall), Wilson, Heath, and Callaghan. I also misspelled Attlee and Macmillan.

[WordMan]

Stumbling across folks who don’t know era-defining World players is always sad…

…but it is fun to watch you Commonwealth’ers trade barbs! And I agree with chowder; Australia has been foisting Foster’s on us for far too long…but since the States invented the whole concept of packaging piss and claiming it was beer, I am not really one to talk…

My anecdote: as a book collector, I wanted a set of Churchill’s History of the Second World War. As I researched it, I found a guy on line who was presenting Formerly-Famous-Now-Obscure (sorry **Little Nemo ** - but he is kinda obscure) Winston Churchill the writer as, well, Winston Churchill - the PM. I guess what the seller was really doing was making things ambiguous and letting rubes assume that the books he had for sale (obviously at exorbitant prices) by FFNO WC were part of PM WC’s canon…

Quite a few PM WC fans - and there are passionate ones out there still - basically hounded the seller until he was more clear in his listings…

[Richard_Pearse]

[QUOTE=Cicero]
Slight nitpick- I live in Brisbane

Although I am going to Perth on Thursday. Where they call devon poloney and you can’t buy XXXX
[/QUOTE]

What are you on about? Of course you can buy XXXX.

[Cicero]

[QUOTE=1920s Style “Death Ray”]
What are you on about? Of course you can buy XXXX.
[/QUOTE]

In Perth you can only buy XXXX Gold- kids beer. Well from all the places I have looked and that has been a few (bottle shops- rarely go to bars).

[Cicero]

[QUOTE=Little Nemo]
Having looked to see how well I did, I missed a lot of 20th century Prime Ministers: Balfour, Campbell-Bannerman (who I have no recollection of), Baldwin, Douglas-Home (another one I don’t recall), Wilson, Heath, and Callaghan. I also misspelled Attlee and Macmillan.
[/QUOTE]

Campbell-Bannerman was (from what I have read) a very good Prime minister. Equally, Lloyd George was a self serving prick.

[Richard_Pearse]

[QUOTE=Cicero]
In Perth you can only buy XXXX Gold- kids beer. Well from all the places I have looked and that has been a few (bottle shops- rarely go to bars).
[/QUOTE]

Ah, ok I thought XXXX = XXXX Gold. Obviously I don’t drink the stuff, I prefer Tasmanian beers.