S.C Newland - Writer

Heritage Open Days, meant a trip to Greenway House, near Torquay, once home of the famed crime and detective novelist Agatha Christie. The house is part of the National Trust, and usually an astronomical fee prevents us from visiting, but for a week or so at this time of year, their properties are free to visit (although this one required reserving a parking spot online for a couple of quid).  What was it like? In a nutshell, a large white house with dark rooms, high ceilings and a lot of dated furniture, which somehow seemed out of date when she was living there. Lots of her baggage from the twenties, thirties. Stacks of books penned by her, and others she and her husband at the time - Max Mallowan - might have read.  Rooms with items of unexpected interest: The Kitchen - a peculiar cockerel umbrella stand. The Sitting room: Two magpies on the mantle-piece. The Toilet - a wooden seat with a hole in it - I kid you not - apparently she loved it and dragged it around Afric...