Month: August 2023

Churchill, Leslie Howard, Vivien Leigh and “Gone With the Wind”

Churchill, Leslie Howard, Vivien Leigh and “Gone With the Wind”

Q: Did Churchill read Gone With the Wind?

“I am a long­time Gone With the Wind col­lec­tor and researcher, and give pre­sen­ta­tions at GWtW events. I’ve also been the GWtW Answer Lady on sev­er­al web­sites. Some asked: Did Churchill and Roo­sevelt read Gone With the Wind? It seems that FDR read quite a bit of the nov­el, but I couldn’t come up with any­thing about Churchill.

“I hope you don’t mind me toss­ing you this ques­tion. I assume that Churchill did see the film, as FDR did, on 26 Decem­ber 1939, after it opened in Wash­ing­ton.…

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Divine Intervention: Taking Care of Winston

Divine Intervention: Taking Care of Winston

Churchill's religion included the belief that God was preserving him for some higher purposes. Andrew Roberts notes that he had many narrow escapes: childhood illnesses, near-death from ruptured kidney, near-drowning in Lake Geneva. He survived close brushes fighting in five wars on five continents from 1897 to 1916. He was nearly killed by a car in New York, survived assassination plots and enemy aircraft. Lord Roberts adds: "Not without reason he believed that the Almighty's chief obligation was to watch over the life of Winston Churchill."

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Churchill on Duty: Representatives of the People, Please Note

Churchill on Duty: Representatives of the People, Please Note

For him, the safety and honor of the nation always came first. He pursued that tenaciously, often at risk to his career. Second came the constituents who elected him. He makes a fine distinction between a “representative” (the duty of the Member) and a “delegate.” There is a world of constitutional contrast between them. Third among his priorities was “duty to the party organization or programme.” All too often, representatives today place that duty above the other two.

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Churchill Quotations: Youth, Maturity, Principle, Regulations

Churchill Quotations: Youth, Maturity, Principle, Regulations

"What is the use of Parliament if it is not the place where true statements can be brought before the people? What is the use of sending Members to the House of Commons who say just the popular things of the moment, and merely endeavour to give satisfaction by cheering loudly every Ministerial platitude? If Parliamentary democracy is to survive, it will not be because the Constituencies return tame, docile, subservient Members, and try to stamp out every form of independent judgment."

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John Morley, Victorian Eminence: “Such Men Are Not Found Today”

John Morley, Victorian Eminence: “Such Men Are Not Found Today”

Morley pronounced the epitaph for his age in May 1923, four months before he died. His words sound more like 2023.  "Present party designations have become empty of all contents…. Vastly extended State expenditure, vastly increased demands from the taxpayer who has to provide the money, social reform regardless of expense, cash exacted from the taxpayer already at his wits’ end—when were the problems of plus and minus more desperate?"  

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Jock: Churchill’s Cat, by Larry Kryske

Jock: Churchill’s Cat, by Larry Kryske

Here Kryske captures what most reporters ignore: the great man’s sadness in twilight. Clementine reminds him of all the good he had accomplished. Winston Churchill feels only remorse. “I have profound misgivings about the future. Our leaders are more concerned with appearance than substance. Grave dangers lie before us. Who will be the voice in the wilderness now?” Does that say anything to us in 2023? I fear so.

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Long Island, Bahamas by Bicycle: A Trip to Remember

Long Island, Bahamas by Bicycle: A Trip to Remember

Lying 100 miles southeast of Eleuthera, Long Island is 80 miles long and has roughly the same area. But it is flatter and relatively empty. There are only twelve people per square mile compared to Eleuthera's year-round seventy. The inhabitants are welcoming, but a team of cyclists tackling their 73-mile-long Queen’s Highway is not something they see every day.

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