Wednesday, 20 December

Fine, sun

At 10.30 a.m. I went to painter A.M. Gerasimov’s studio. This was the fifth and the last sitting. The portrait was finished and the spirit was quite good. This was the best portrait I have ever seen in my lifetime, he portrayed me as solemn and kind at the same time. Now I know why A.M. Gerasimov is regarded as the best painter. He said he would ask me to come again in two weeks because during this period of time he could take the time to closely inspect whether there are defects that he can amend.

Today Eden made a report in the British Parliament with regard to the Chinese war situation. He praised China quite a lot. It seems that the British Government has changed its attitude slightly towards China.