Some years before the War Lord Beaverbrook gave a lunch party at Cherkley, his country house. One of his guests was indulging in a monologue that touched on almost every element of the human condition. But he was not uninterrupted. Beaverbrook, a fanatic for fresh air, had the French window open and his dog Peter kept running into the room. Every time this happened, Beaver brook jumped to his feet waving his napkin and shouting “Get out, Peter, get out.” At last the interrupted speaker could stand no more. “Let Peter stay in” he snapped,“and get out yourself.”
The speaker was Aneurin Bevan and this little anecdote illustrates some of the aspects of his complex character, his impulsiveness, his impatience, his unexpectedness and his fondness for holding the conversational fort. “I am Sir Oracle, and when I open my lips let no dog bark.” It is seldom that the old phrase has been so neatly fulfilled.
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