By Ben Fenton

From the Daily Telegraph :- http://tinyurl.com/kl2sd  - Filed: 31/03/2006)

How Tony Blair must yearn for the days when statesmanship was conducted at the gentle pace of the Queen Mary.

The Prime Minister, who has been dashing about by jet this week from Australia to New Zealand to Indonesia, would surely be envious to read the appointments diary of Winston Churchill, his predecessor, on a diplomatic tour 55 years ago.

Instead of Mr Blair's single seat at the sharp end of a jumbo jet, Churchill had a first-class cabin on the Queen Mary to himself as he crossed the Atlantic for a superpower summit in December, 1951, according to an intimate and revealing document released at the National Archives in Kew yesterday.

The second Churchill premiership began in October 1951, but its first highlight was the new year tour of North America.

Not for Churchill the hustle and bustle of airports. He had endured enough long-distance flying during the war.

So even when the Queen Mary, the luxurious Cunard liner, suffered a 24-hour delay at Southampton, he eschewed the quick alternative. "We arrived on board confidently expecting to sail at 11am the following morning," reads the diary for Dec 29.

"At 10am Mr Dawson, the General Manager of the Cunard Line, accompanied by the Commodore, came to tell Mr Churchill that the anchor was fouled and … the ship could not sail until it was clear. She would miss the tide and this would entail a 24-hour delay."

As the politicians and civil servants caught up on paperwork in their ornately appointed cabins, the other passengers were entertained by the choir of Winchester Cathedral which came on board to sing carols.

"Lord Mountbatten [dined and] remained until after 2am and in the meanwhile a telegram arrived from President Truman offering a loan of his aircraft.

"Mr Churchill decided to decline this offer and spoke on the telephone to Sir Oliver Franks [the British ambassador] in Washington, conveying his thanks and explaining that he preferred to continue the voyage in the Queen Mary."

After calling at Cherbourg, the liner finally left for America at 8pm on Dec 31.

"There were considerable New Year's Eve festivities on board and all members of the Delegation assembled in the Prime Minister's cabin to drink to the New Year at midnight."

The diary then records the consequences of the celebrations. "Tuesday 1st January, 1952. A heavy sea, which kept many members of the Delegation in their bunks."

As the Queen Mary steamed on, Mr Churchill and his team, including Anthony Eden, the foreign secretary, and Lord Cherwell, his adviser on science, discussed business ranging from economic affairs to the hydrogen bomb.

But there was plenty of time for relaxation. The diary for Jan 4, the night before the ship docked in New York, relates: "At 7pm the Prime Minister gave a small cocktail party."

Even in Washington, in the middle of his last great foreign trip, the 77-year-old premier did not find the schedule for his summit with President Truman too taxing.

"When Mr Churchill returned to the Embassy, he had dinner in bed while the text of the [summit] Communique was prepared by Mr Eden, the Ambassador and others concerned."

He then returned to New York for a couple of agreeable days with his old friend, the financier Bernard Baruch.

"The Duke of Windsor called in at 4.30 and at 5.0 there was a small cocktail party," the diary says.

Now those, Mr Blair may think, rubbing the jet-lag from his eyes, were the days.