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Winston Churchill In South Florida; Professional Sports And Art Inspired By Syrian Refugees

Sir Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine Churchill while vacationing in South Florida. Photo by the Miami Herald 1946

The South Florida sun appeals to almost everyone: tourists, snowbirds, even embattled prime ministers looking to unwind after saving a nation from the threat of a Nazi invasion. After the end of World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his Conservative Party lost the elections of 1945, forcing Churchill to resign as prime minister. The following winter he crossed the Atlantic, mooring in the pleasant waters of South Florida, where he spent close to six weeks vacationing, sightseeing and painting.

After a few days in the Florida sun,  Churchill traveled to Washington to meet with President Harry S. Truman and then to Missouri to deliver one of the most important speeches of his career, the Iron Curtain speech, where he warned the world to beware of the Soviet influence.

Churchill came back to South Florida,  where he spent time at local attractions like the original Parrot Jungle, now the site of Pinecrest Gardens, and the horse races at Hialeah Park.

Lee Pollock of the International Churchill Society joined Sundial to talk about Churchill’s life after the war and his opinion about the new Churchill biopic Darkest Hour, starring Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill. The movie premieres Dec. 22.

Professional sports in the Magic City are either hit or miss. Lately it is probable that most sports fan are either disappointed with the current performance of the Miami Heat, Marlins or Dolphins or they are clinging to the old adage of “there’s always next year.”

The questions is: What do South Florida sport fans have to be happy about? The Miami Herald’s assistant sports editor, John Devine, joined us in the program to talk about the present state of Florida sports and what fans can hope for in the near future. 

An intimate Miami Art Week installation told the stories of the Syrian refugees in an up-close and personal fashion. Tania El-Khoury, a Lebanese-Bristish artist's exhibits Gardens Speak and Where My Fingertips Take Me, gave the audience a very personal look into the experience of the Syrian people during the Assad uprising. 

WLRN’s Editorial Director Alicia Zuckerman experienced these installations. She joined us on the program to talk about El Khoury’s motivation for creating these exhibits and her message to the audience.