Agatha Christie fans will be interested to learn that as well as being the best crime writer of all time, Agatha was also a well respected archaeologist.  Agatha married Max Mallowan, a leading archeologist of his time, and fifteen years her junior.  Conscious of the age difference, Agatha travelled the world with her face cream in tow.  As they unearthed great treasures of the past Agatha meticulously cleaned these objects with her face cream.  It is easy to imagine her delicately rubbing an artifact in these exotic locations as plots, characters and murder swirled in her mind. 

These precious objects are on display at the British Museum at the moment.. 

There is nothing like great fashion, cocktails, red lipstick and murder……..I spent the weekend on my couch nursing a tooth ache and watching Miss Marple solve murders. 

Oh Agatha, how I wish you were alive today to write your mysteries with the advancement of modern technology.  I believe you would give CSI a good run for their money because no one realized the psychological motivation that drives a person to commit and cover up a murder better than you.  Unlike today’s TV murder shows that focus on the how, you concentrated on the why, which is so much more intriguing.  What is the motivation or circumstance that leads someone to kill and cover it up?  And you had the genius to wrap the best investigators in the most unlikely packaging: a non-threatening elderly village woman and a neat-freak Belgian detective. 

But my favourite character is you, Agatha, a woman far ahead of her time.  An abandoned single mother who ended up becoming one of the best selling authors and marrying a man several years her junior – in modern terms a ‘cougar’ – well done! 

Her mysterious disappearance and memory loss made for a fascinating drama best reinacted in Agatha Christie, A Life in Pictures.  And for all those Agatha Christie fanatics like me her Devon home was recently opened to the public and well worth a visit.  It is a breath taking location where she has been rumoured to have had great parties.

I am watching Downtown Abbey.  There is nothing like seeing Maggie Smith play a snob, a master of her craft in action, plus, the fabulous houses and fashion. 

Check out Maggie Smith in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to see her incredible talent even in her youth.  It just goes to show age is irrelevant.

Passion is contagious and there is no one more passionate about their job than Sir David Attenborough.  

When I am on my couch flicking through the channels I always stop on the nature programmes to see if he is presenting because no one is more interesting to watch.  Sir David somehow seems to open a door into the hidden secrets of Mother Nature, revealing her power, her breathtaking beauty and her intricate design.  When the programme begins I usually care very little about the Amazon Rain Forest frogs but by the time Sir David has informed me about them I care very passionately. 

My ultimate favourite is the Bower Bird.  For those of you who haven’t seen it, the Bower Bird is an indigenous species to Australia and Papua New Guinea.  It lives in the lush rain forest.  Because the forest is so plentiful the dynamics between the female and male Bower birds have taken an interesting turn.  Females no longer need males to provide or help them with their young.  The forest provides everything they need right on their doorstep or let’s say nest.  So in order for a male to attract a female, he has had to learn the skills of decorating.  Each male Bower bird will first build a bower then he slowly begins to decorate with flowers, shells, leaves or anything he believes a female will find attractive, hoping to make a beautiful lair a female will enjoy.  Once completed, he begins to sing a song to attract females who will hop in and take a peek around to see if they are interested.  If the female likes his decorating skills he gets shall we say ‘lucky’ and if not she flies away, leaving him to contemplate his design.  This episode is incredibly fascinating to watch because it also shows us that not only is Mother Nature brilliant she also has a great sense of humour.

For other great boxed set from Sir Daivid Attenborough we have Life and Plant Earth 

I re-watched The Social Network last night.  I highly recommend the film.  The screenwriter was Aaron Sorkin of The West Wing.  I found it so much more interesting this time because I couldn’t help thinking that….a college student who sets up a website to try to meet girls may be what brings down the dictators in the Middle East.  

I spent the evening at the British Museum’s Ancient Egypt Book of the Dead Exhibit.  It was spine tingling to stroll through all the hieroglyphs and artefacts of Egypt’s ancient ancestors and very moving to see how they focused so much on the preservation and afterlife of their rulers.  Sadly, it seems present day Egyptians are doing everything possible to oust their current one.   http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on.aspx

It was with great sadness that I received the news that John Nettles’ last episode of Midsomner Murders will be this Tuesday (2/2/11).  There is something oddly comforting about flopping on my couch on a lazy Sunday and watching him solve a murder.  

I can almost feel the turn of the season and yet my fitness regime is stalled.  I thought I might kick start it by blitzing some extra pounds that I picked up over the holidays (see Belly Blitz: 12 minute workouts to tone your abs).  For 12 minutes a day, it is the right amount of time to squeeze into my day so I won’t have to squeeze into my jeans. 

I have just returned from a much needed holiday in the Caribbean which has left me seriously questioning my life during my hour commute to work on the London underground.   Who needs material comforts when you could have year round sun, warmth and turquoise blue water?  While I was there I picked up a book called Island Living by India Hicks.  It is a lifestyle/decorating book worth looking at.  For those of you who don’t know India Hicks is the great granddaughter of Lord Mountabatten (see Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy) and is the God Daughter of Prince Charles and was a bridesmaid at Princess Diana’s wedding.  She currently lives on a tiny island in the Caribbean with her partner and four children.  She also writes a witty blog www.indiahicks.com about the trials of living on a small island and being a mother with a career.  For me, it gives me a glimpse of what life would be like if I ever decide to take the plunge. 

Keep an eye out for India with the Royal Wedding approaching…..

“To be, or not to be” or “To blog, or not to blog”

that is the question.