The Queen of Crime's Torbay (Part One)

Every September, Torquay plays host to a festival celebrating the life and work of its favourite daughter - Agatha Christie.  We've all seen her work transformed on the television, with the likes of Miss Marple and Poirot gracing the screen with their supreme sleuthing, but who amongst us has really explored the life and times of the Queen of Crime?  I certainly haven't - I've never read a Christie book before in my life - but if there's one week for a Devonian to delve a little deeper, this must surely be it.

Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born on 15 September 1890 at the Victorian mansion of Ashfield, in what would then have been the top end of Torquay.  She spent many happy childhood years here with her parents, Frederick and Clara Miller, and her elder siblings Monty and Madge, walking down to the sea or exploring the lanes at the top end of town.  Nowadays, the Ashfield mansion is a distant memory; demolished in the 1960s to make way for a modern apartment block that surely bares little resemblance to its predecessor, the Torbay Civic Society have at least graced the spot with a blue plaque, and it is here that our journey around Christie's Torquay begins.  It's a quiet road, with few redeeming features and plenty of on-street parking, a rather innocuous place in which to begin a day discovering the author who has been globally out-sold by only William Shakespeare and the Bible.

Ashfield Historic Site, birthplace of Agatha Christie

Five days after her birth, Agatha was taken to All Saints Church, the parish church of Torquay's oldest parish, for her baptism.  She continued to worship here as a child, sitting in the front row every Sunday with her father.  To celebrate this link to the crime writer's formative years, the church has been holding a flower festival all through the week.  Lizzie and I enter the cool interior, said to be little changed since Agatha's day, where some pretty displays have been laid around the church.  More interestingly, however, are the Christie artefacts that the church has acquired - an old record player sits nonchalantly atop a piano, accompanied by some Christie novels, whilst hanging on the back wall, pride of place, is a copy of Agatha's birth certificate.  Sensing we are on the Christie trail, we are approached by a lady who tells us a little about the church and the Christie connection.  Miss Marple and Poirot actors are both in town, she tells us.  Miss Marple is a local lady who does the job for free; Poirot, she says, commands a fee of £800 for his appearance!

A copy of Agatha Christie's birth certificate

Flower Festival Exhibits, All Saints Church

All Saints Church, Torre

Leaving the peaceful All Saints Church behind us, we make for the seafront, to the Agatha Christie Mile.  It begins at the Grand Hotel, a stone's throw from the railway station, site of Agatha and Archie Christie's honeymoon on Christmas Eve, 1914.  Archie was a qualified aviator who had joined the Royal Flying Corps, and he had to return to the war in France on Boxing Day.  Agatha kept herself busy during the First World War by working in the Voluntary Aid Detachment of the Red Cross Hospital in Torquay, and ended up working in the dispensary.

The Grand Hotel, Torquay

The sun breaks through the clouds and beats down on the English Riviera, the perfect weather for strolling a garden.  Fortunately for us, there is one just around the corner - our next stop on the Mile, Torre Abbey Gardens.  The abbey itself is under renovation, but the gardens remain open to the public, and have been beautifully maintained by the enthusiastic groundstaff.  Agatha was also enthusiastic about plants, with particular reference to their medicinal powers, using their potions and poisons in many of her murder mystery books.  This has inspired the Torre Abbey gardeners to open the Agatha Christie Potent Plant Collection, displaying a collection of plants of toxicity.  There is also a trail included where Christie fans can attempt to recognise and name the Christie stories from clues in the garden.  This is no good for Christie amateurs Lizzie and I, but the gardens are a gentle pleasure, instantly transporting us out of Torquay and into another world.

In Torre Abbey Gardens

Even with the very changeable weather, a stroll along the seafront remains a pleasurable experience, and is intrinsically entwined with the Agatha Christie story.  Princess Pier was first built in 1890, the year of Agatha's birth, and was a favourite rollerskating spot of the youngster.  The Princess Gardens were featured in her novel, The ABC Murders, and it was following a Wagner concert at Torquay Pavilion that Archie Christie proposed to Agatha Miller in 1912.  Wandering into the pavilion, there was a striking atmosphere of faded opulence, but a little look around revealed the design and architecture of those decadent days when class was in the air, when the music played through the night and the sun never set on the young and the wealthy.

Princess Pier, Torquay

Princess Gardens, Torquay

Torquay Pavilion

Opposite the pavilion entrance, in the gardens of Cary Parade, a bust of Agatha Christie stands tall and proud.  It was erected to celebrate the centenary year of her birth, 1990, and was unveiled by Agatha's daughter Rosalind Hicks.  Dutch sculptor Carol Van Dem Boom-Cairns created the masterpiece, which has become a popular attraction with visitors the world over.  It seems fitting that this bust should be here, the centre of Torquay and the centre point of the Agatha Christie Mile.

The Agatha Christie Bust, Cary Parade, Torquay

Treasures of Life

I've spent the day cleaning and sorting out my pad!  For me, this is always a refreshing activity as it give me the opportunity to clear out the rubbish that inevitably collects during the course of my everyday life - the pile of magazines that I read months ago, the clothes with holes in that I've been keeping out of sentiment.

It's also a great activity for reassessing the things that you really do want to keep.  My room is crammed full of objects that have great personal value, and although they're mostly of little monetary worth, to me they each have a story, a link to my life and the things I have done.  They're all around me as I type, so here are ten of the best...

1. 1958 Penguin Books copy of The Great Gatsby

This is one of my most recent acquisitions and was passed on to me by Lizzie's mum, who was having her own clear-out.  I have been trying to get my hands on the older Penguin editions of my favourite books (to no great success), so this is a real gem to me, and now sits proudly on my bookshelf with my other Fitzgerald novels.  One of my favourite books, from my favourite author.

2.  Childhood teddy bears

These two guys have been around my whole life, making them my oldest friends!  The panda was given me by my grandma when I was very young, whilst the tartan bear was given to me as a replacement for another bear that I dropped from my pushchair one careless day in town.  If they were alive, they'd know me better than anyone, and if they could talk...

3.  German smoker man

I call this guy Herman.  He comes from a wonderful Munich shop called Max Krug, purveyors of traditional German and Black Forest souvenirs.  I bought him when I was inter-railing in 2008, being one of the few things in the shop I could afford.  What really attracted me to him was his sales tray, beer and gingerbread men.  I was so happy with my purchase that the I almost forgot I had paid with a 50 euro note... The lady behind the tills had to chase me down the street to give me my change!

4.  Beethoven

Another find whilst I was inter-railing, Beethoven entered my life when I was in Barcelona.  I was staying in a hostel just off La Rambla, home of the Liceu opera house.  Their shop window display was interesting, and when I stopped to look in it, this little guy was staring back at me.  The best thing about Beethoven (except his cuffs, tails and cravat) is the key on his back - wind it up, and he plays a lovely rendition of Moonlight Sonata.

5.  The Savoy Cocktail Book

The greatest book ever written on the subject of cocktails was Harry Craddock's 1930 masterpiece.  Craddock, the chief barman of the Savoy Hotel, created cocktails for every occasion.  "But where, Oh, where is the book that gives the earnest student all?  Every beautiful and perfect Wine, each with its own special and perfect occasion, and every cocktail known?" asks Craddock.  "We searched, and found it not, so thought it as well to sit down and get it put together."

Of course, the 1930s original would be impossible to find nowadays, but I was given this (rare enough!) facsimile by my friend Tristan, on my 25th birthday.  It's the only cocktail book I'll ever need.

 6.  Lakota-Sioux Bison

In the summer of 2004, I was part of a university group which travelled to South Dakota for an archaeological dig.  We were examining a Native American village that had been abandoned about 1,000 years ago.  The dig was open to the public and had an accompanying museum and shop, in which all the products had been handcrafted by Native American people.  Since I had been digging up ancient bison bones for nearly a month, I bought this little wooden bison to hang in my room.  Nine years later, it is still here.

7.  Treasure Island

Aside from the remarkable tale of piracy, this book is one of my biggest treasures because it was awarded to my grandma by Wolborough Senior School, Newton Abbot, at Christmas 1937 for an essay she wrote on Temperance.  She donated it to my book collection a few years ago, and I love nothing more than flicking through its pages, smelling its musty book smell, and enjoying its lovely illustrations.

8.  Buffalo Sabres pennants

In a country where ice hockey memorabilia is scarce, these two pennants of my favourite hockey team seem all-the-more special.  I bought the smaller of the two in a wonderful sports shop in Banff, Canada, last year.  The longer one was given to me on my last birthday by Lizzie.  How she went about finding it, I still don't know, but it was a wonderful surprise when I ripped off the wrapping paper!

 9.  Rue de Saintonge street sign

I spotted this genuine Parisian street sign on eBay four years ago and immediately loved the idea of having piece of the historic city in my room.  It fell into its previous owner's hands after it was replaced by a newer sign, and now sits happily (if not entirely well-fitting) on the end of my shelves.

A year after I bought it, I made my second visit to Paris and went off in search of Rue de Saintonge.  As it turns out, it's a tiny little street in the Les Halles district, home to apartments and one or two shops.  Hardly a memorable road, it nonetheless has acquired meaning to me.

 10.  Nutcracker

Anybody who knows me will know I'm a collector of nutcrackers.  Most of the nutcrackers in my collection are only about a foot tall, and only come out at Christmas.  This guy, who I call Wilhelm, stands at about four foot, and has acquired a year-round presence in the corner of my room.  My dad gave me Wilhelm as a birthday present a couple of years ago, after buying him from a shop in Lincoln.  Wilhelm was not actually for sale at the time, but was being used as a Christmas display!

So there you have it - ten treasures of my life, from my room.  They're certainly not the only things I could have included here, but they perhaps best represent the myriad objects I have acquired over the years.  Everything has a story to tell - it could be the place it was made or bought, the weird and wonderful way it was acquired, or simply the fact that it has become an intrinsic part of your life.  So why not cast your eye around your own room and see what stories you can find...

Victoria Concordia Crescit

A day to spare in London, so time for a trip up the Jubilee Line.  Six years ago, this was Highbury football stadium, home of Arsenal.  When the Gunners relocated to their new ground - the Emirates Stadium - they left behind two art deco stands that were listed buildings, and could therefore not be demolished.  A clever conversion followed, the pitch being turned into residents' gardens.  The result ensured that the Arsenal spirit remained intact at Highbury - and who wouldn't want this on the side of their home?

Quite literally around the corner from Highbury lies the altogether different venue of the Emirates, the glittering crown of Arsenal's modern era, an impressive sight approached from any direction.  The cannons are a nice touch, whilst the huge posters hammer home the message of the club's motto - Victoria Concordia Crescit - 'victory comes from harmony'.  Picking my way through the fans and onlookers, I circumnavigate the stadium, pass the Tony Adams statue, and enter the club's museum - something of a rite of passage for Arsenal pilgrims - which tells the story of the club, from its industrial beginnings in southeast London (where it was described as "Hell on Earth" by visiting players), to its relocation to the north of the capital (at the extreme annoyance of Tottenham Hotspur), the players, managers and titles that have defined it as one of the most successful clubs of the modern era.  Alf Kirchen's 1936 FA Cup Final shirt is here, as is the club's first white-sleeved shirt (dated 1933 and signed by Herbert Chapman), and the boots with which Michael Thomas won the 1989 league championship at Liverpool.  Above all, though, comes the message of Arsenal - self-sustainability, responsibility, charity - the traits of the club's history, alive and well in the present.  Here they do things the right way. In these parts, they call it the Arsenal way.

Museum thoroughly explored, I enter the Emirates for the obligatory stadium tour.  A must for Gunners fans, this is also a great trip for anyone with an interest in football.  The tour takes you through the stadium's service yard underneath the ground, and up into the directors' lounge and the exclusive Diamond Club, decked out in the Art Deco style to mimic Highbury Stadium - indeed the Diamond Club's clock is an exact half-size replica of Highbury's, in another homage to the tradition of the club.  The view from here is unsurpassed, and one can only imagine the matchday atmosphere, the roar of 60,000 spectators.  Inside the directors' lounge, flowers are arranged and changed each match, to reflect the colours of Arsenal's opponents - roses for Liverpool, lilies for Tottenham, flowers are even died black for the visit of Newcastle United in another tradition dating back to the early Arsenal days.

 

Taking the lift back downstairs brings me to the players' entrance.  The photos on the wall remind me of some of Arsenal's most memorable moments - Tony Adams scoring against Everton in the 1998 title-clincher, the final match at Highbury, Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial - whilst the back wall is emblazoned with the Arsenal crest, and once again exudes the Arsenal message - the deeper the foundations, the stronger the fortress.  Down the corridor, the home dressing room lacks equipment (it is the close-season afterall), but the squad's shirts have been hung out in a row for our benefit.  There's also a physio room and a team bath, although it surely isn't large enough for the first eleven.

Out of the dressing room and down the tunnel for the most exciting part of the tour, following in the footsteps of Arsenal legends before me.  The light at the end of the tunnel is the pitch itself, and although we're not allowed on it, visitors may sit in the home dugout and enjoy the stadium view from pitch-level.  The stadium is, as expected, stunning, deliberately shaped so that the pitch benefits from good light and rain conditions.  No mudbaths here - Arsenal frequently win the pitch of the year awards.

The tour concludes in the media centre - three interview booths are followed by the press conference room, which seats around 150 journalists, each hungry for the opinion of the chairman, manager or captain.  This is where many stories break - the hirings, firings and transfers that make football one of the most dynamic and constantly-changing sports in the world.

Leaving the Emirates, I go in search of Holloway Road tube station, my route back to familiar central London. I've enjoyed the tour, but more importantly I think I've gained a better understanding of what Arsenal Football Club is, and what it represents to the world.  Arsenal is more than a team competing for trophies - it is a community, deeply rooted in its history and traditions, mindful of its past in every step of its future, and always holding true to the Arsenal Way - community, family, loyalty, togetherness, Victoria Concordia Crescit.

 

Come on Great Britain!!!

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