I called in to Marks and Spencer yesterday to pick up some of their clotted cream - fortunately it was in stock - it is frequently sold out here in Ireland and hard to find anywhere outside of the UK, apparently because it does not travel well. I began to acquire an appreciation for the traditional Devonshire cream teas (the cream is not actually served in the tea but on the scones) after I read an account in Agatha Christie's autobiography about her taste for the local Devon clotted cream
- she drank cream straight and liked to keep a cup of cream on her desk to sip as she worked.
The Clotted cream reminded me of Agatha Christie and a book I had browsed through a few years ago in the library of a cruise ship on the "at sea" days en route from Hawaii to California, going northwards along the west coast as far as Victoria, British Columbia. When I returned home I downloaded a Kindle version of it from Amazon.com and I am now enjoying it all over again. The book is entitled The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery and it was very relevant to the trip we were on because our cruise was docking at some of the same ports that a very young Agatha visited with her husband in 1922 on their Commonwealth tour. We had strolled along the path that followed the shore line at Waikiki Beach in an area Agatha had photographed - her photos are in the book - and where she took surfing lessons. We went on to complete our trip in style with tea at the Empress Hotel , Victoria where Agatha had stayed and written a letter - a scan of which is also included in the book.
I highly recommend this book to Agatha Christie fans and well as anyone interested in the Downton Abbey era as the tour takes place in 1922 during the timescale of the Downton era and includes wonderful photos and accounts from the pen of Agatha herself in her letters home.
Our cruise was a Celebrity Solstice Hawaii cruise followed by a back-to-back cruise up the west coast of the US as far as Victoria, British Columbia. on the same ship.