Last Monday, Lord Alan Watson, a member of the British House of Lords, found little going on at Parliament, so he wandered down to his local pub to have a pint and a palaver.
"There were only two topics of conversation," he told an audience Thursday night gathered at Westminster College's historic gym in Fulton.
The two topics: Sunday's U.S. presidential debate and the effects of Brexit, the recent U.K. vote to leave the European Union.
The potential result of the American election strikes fear into many British and European hearts, Watson said, as Republican candidate Donald Trump has spoken against the NATO alliance. And Brexit also creates anxiety for those who feel Britain should help lead the way toward a better world, Watson said.
"The United States and Britain should provide vision and leadership," he said.
Watson just released a book about two world-changing speeches made by Sir Winston Churchill. The first speech was in Fulton on the Westminster campus, on the same stage behind the same podium used 70 years ago. Churchill's oration, referred to as his Iron Curtain speech, warned the world of the post-World War II threat of the Soviet Union.
Watson is a Churchillian scholar who recited the events following the Pottsdam Conference, conducted July 17-Aug 2, 1945 in Germany. It was attended by British Prime Minister Churchill, American President Harry S. Truman, and Communist Party General Secretary Joseph Stalin, the Soviet leader. Goals of the conference included establishing terms of the post-war peace.
"There was an enormous Soviet power and weakening European defense," Watson said, adding American troops were desperate to leave Europe and return home.
Further complicating matters was the pending use of America's new atomic bombs, which would be dropped on two Japanese cities Aug. 6 and 9, 1945. Through his spies, Stalin was well aware of those new weapons of war, and at Pottsdam, advised Truman to "make good use of this new addition to the Allied arsenal," Watson said.
After the conference, Churchill returned home, going into a "black dog mood" because he and his Conservative party just lost re-election.
"The Conservative Party was decimated," Watson said.
Churchill, he added, was depressed because he believed his ability to bring about change had ended. He retreated to his country home in sorrow, and then he received a speaking invitation from Westminster College in Fulton. The invitation included a note on the bottom scrawled by Truman: "This is a wonderful school in my home state. Hope you can do it. I will introduce you."
"That was an electrifying moment," Watson said.
Churchill realized he would be traveling 18 hours on a train with Truman from Washington, D.C. to Fulton, and during that time, he would have a chance to advance his views, Watson added.
"Roosevelt had just died. Churchill doesn't know this new president, and instantly his spirits start to rise," he said.
Churchill sailed across the sea aboard RMS Queen Elizabeth, traveling with 13,000 Canadian troops.
"He had a wonderful crossing," Watson said. "He addresses the troops saying, 'We know where we're going and the waves do not.'"
Churchill first went to Florida to paint and prepare his Fulton speech, formally titled "The Sinews of Peace." He then met up with Truman and began the Fulton-bound train ride, editing his speech all the way.
"On board the train was a mimeograph machine," Watson said. "He photocopies the sheets and hands them to Truman, who said, 'It's okay; it's good. It'll create an enormous storm.'"
According to Watson, Churchill's secretary later added: "It's created an enormous shindig."
Truman sat behind Churchill on Westminster's dais as the former prime minister spoke to a huge audience - standing at the same podium used Wednesday evening by Lord Watson. Later, when the "shindig" erupted, Truman didn't mention he'd pre-read the speech, Watson said.
"Seven days later (after Churchill's speech at Westminster), Truman denied he knew what Churchill would say," Watson added. "Why? Because of the shindig."
Churchill wasn't shy when he called Stalin - Uncle Joe - a tyrant, Watson said. He called for an Anglo-American alliance based on shared values, which later became NATO.
"On the train ride back, he said to a friend, 'This was the most important speech I have ever made,'" Watson said of Churchill.
Churchill's second speech was made in Zurich a few months later, again calling for the alliance, a "United states of Europe."
"Britain is broke. Germany is destroyed. France is going communist, and Spain is going fascist. But remember, Winston Churchill is half-American," Watson said. "I was there (in Zurich) last month to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Zurich speech. That speech was as important as the Fulton speech, in a different way."
Churchill's speeches have been awarded UNESCO heritage status as the world came to realize their predictive importance. Watson wrote his book, "Churchill's Legacy: Two Speeches to Save the World," and is now on a book-signing tour, with Fulton being his first American stop.
"It all changed because of these two speeches," he said. "Fulton leads to the Truman Doctrine: 'To defend freedom where freedom is threatened.'"
A prospective Trump presidency has Europe on edge, according to Watson. In March, Trump called NATO "obsolete" in an interview with Jonathan Karl of ABC News.
Watson said the abandonment of NATO is terrifying.
"I fear the potential disintegration of that construction. Brexit also has shaken Europe. We must not be complacent because we have had half a century of cooperation in Europe," he said. "I have to say I find it deeply disturbing that one of the two candidates has actually questioned the fundamental (framework) of NATO. If we lose this habit of mutual dependence People need to understand what is really at stake."
Watson also said if Churchill gave his Iron Curtain speech today, there would be recognizable statements.
"What would he say about Putin?" Watson questioned.
Watson was only 5 years old when Churchill addressed the world from Fulton and Zurich in 1946. But he certainly was on Watson's radar early in his life, he said.
"Let us remember the courage of this man," he said. "This man was not only able to defeat his own depression but expand the sinews of his mind to find new ideas. We are all in the debt of Winston Churchill. He is our legacy."
Westminster College President Benjamin Ola. Akande also spoke about Sir Winston Churchill and his impact on Fulton and the world. The college is home to the National Churchill Museum and holds highly the Churchillian ideals.
Akande said Westminster urges students and staff not to take easy paths through life but rather to observe the world around them and think critically and creatively.
"We ask students to be transformed and then become vehicles of transformation," Akande said. "Go out and change the world, and save it."