There was one very significant difference between WinstonChurchill and his father Randolph, another leading politician of his day. According to someone who knew him well that I had the privilege to speak to recently, Winston always maintained a genuine desire to know the opinion of ordinary people he happened to meet on the issues of the day that they felt were most pressing.

Churchill not only epitomised this habit but gave this excellent advice. If you are at a dinner party and find yourself sitting next to someone slightly eccentric who makes glass eyes for a living, don't waste time making small talk or introducing your own petty interests, which are likely to be of little interest to the fellow. Ask the man about what he does, take this one golden opportunity to learn all the whys and wherefores of making glass eyes. You'll never fail to leave far better educated and entertained than you were when you started.

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''Wonderful! Thanks Richard! Now how can I work this into the RulesOfGeelf?'' --PeterMerel, setting out to find out all he ever can from each and every eccentric he meets in future.

Winston wisely limited himself to the duration of a dinner party. How long is a round of Geelf?

''The length of a round is Pi times its diameter.''