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| Photos on this page are courtesy of Kepguru, countrypic, sataylor, RugDesign, Wikimedia, SkyscraperCity, CuriousLines, DauntlessJaunter, tracx, fest.blogspot, Traildino. Quotes are courtesy of the Internet Movie Database. |
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| Belgium and Hercule Poirot |
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| Several years after the last reading of some of my very favorite mystery novels, I'm inevitably drawn back to them. When that happens, I take a volume down from its honored place on the shelf and spend - once again - an enjoyable time in the company of an old friend. This was the case recently with Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot series. I just finished the last of my Poirot books yesterday. |
| When the time came to choose a topic for this week's Friday's Journal, my mind was still fixed on the brilliant - if somewhat eccentric - detective, who's famous for using his "little grey cells" to solve crimes that have baffled Scotland Yard. And, especially, on the often-repeated correction concerning his nationality: "No, no, monsieur, I am NOT French...I am BELGIAN!" |
| Where else could we go this week, but Belgium? And no other quotes would do, but quotes from the most famous - he would say, deservedly so - Belgian detective ever to grace the pages of a British who-done-it...Hercule Poirot, himself. The pictures on this page are from Belgium. It's clear that Monsieur Poirot's pride in his native country was perfectly justified. -- Nancy |
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| Poirot: Human nature has an infinite capacity to surprise. ~ ~ ~ Poirot: It is the truth I require, Hastings...the truth and some aspirin. ~ ~ ~ Mrs. Van Schuyler to Poirot: You foul French upstart! Poirot: Madame, I am not a French upstart, I am a Belgian upstart. |
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| Mr. Fraser: Who are you anyway? You don't belong to the police. Poirot: No, monsieur, I am better than the police. ~ ~ ~ Innkeeper: Was the accommodation all right, Mr. Poirot? Poirot: No, Monsieur Naughton, the accommodation was all wrong. The duck feather pillows - they feel as if the ducks are still in them! |
| The two pictures below were taken at the Grand Place in Brussels, where, every other August, since 1971, a huge "flower carpet" has been displayed. It contains a million begonias, covers 19,000 square feet and attracts tourists from all over the world. The Grand Place is the central square of Brussels and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. |
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| Captain Hastings: I assure you, Poirot, you wouldn't be seasick on a ship like the Queen Mary. Poirot: No sea travel for me, mon ami; it is 20 years ago that I came to this country in a boat across the channel. Still, I am not recovered. |
| ~ ~ ~ Captain Hastings: Just look at that view, Poirot! Poirot (distastefully wiping dirt from his highly polished shoes): Views are nice, Hastings, but they should be painted for us, so that we may study them from the comfort of our own home. |
| Captain Hastings: Is there anything in the English cuisine that you like? Poirot: The English, they do not have a cuisine, mon ami, they have only food. The meat is overcooked, the vegetables are too soft, the cheese is inedible...and the day the English create their own wine is the day I return home to Belgium. |
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| ~ ~ ~ Captain Hastings: I think I'll take a walk in the garden before turning in, it will clear my brain. Poirot: You might have done that before we played cards. |
| Poirot: Always I am right. It is so invariable that it startles me. There is but one Hercule Poirot, and I am he. |
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| Poirot: You have been thinking again, Chief Inspector. I have warned you about that before. ~ ~ ~ Captain Hastings: What are you going to tell the Chief Inspector? Poirot: Nothing, for the time being; he will learn soon enough that his open-and-shut case has the broken hinges. |
| Please don't use the "Send page" feature of your computer to send this entire page in an e-mail message, document or pdf format. This distorts the layout and separates the page from its source. If you'd like to share it, please just send the link. The link to this page is: http://www.thepastwhispers.com/Belgium.html |
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| LINKS: Agatha Christie Website Agatha Christie - Wikipedia List of words that are spelled differently in US or UK English |
| Music: I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song The Past Whispers - Home Old New Orleans Friday's Journal |
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| The most well-known face of Hercule Poirot - actor, David Suchet, who has played the role on PBS' Masterpiece Theater for many years. |