Wish I Was Here

Oh what I wouldn’t give to be here again, setting off for Venice on the Orient Express. Following in the footsteps of Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot, and even sharing Rupert, the same cabin steward David Suchet had when he went adventuring on this famous train.

Waiting for my Bellini at Victoria Station

If I close my eyes I can imagine sitting in an Orient Express carriage at Victoria station, in London, waiting for my Bellini and lunch as we pull out on the first stage of the journey to Venice. The British Orient Express takes me to Folkstone to change to the luxury coaches which will transport us via the Channel Tunnel to Calais Ville, where I will board the continental Orient Express. This is the real deal, the train that David Suchet travelled on, and before him, Agatha Christie. This was the inspiration for her novel Murder on the Orient Express, and I can see why.

Departure from Venice - Now which one is Poirot and which one the victim - hmm

Two days of luxury, good food, pampering, and great entertainment, await before arriving in Venice for a lovely five day holiday. Pure bliss. Then home again on the return journey by Orient Express, from Venice to London.

Rupert, my lovely cabin steward - I'll let you into a secret, they don't actually use the seats at the end of the carriages any more. They have a cabin instead. But Rupert obliged by sitting in the seat for me.

The price for this holiday was quite horrendous, of course, but it’s a once in a lifetime experience. And I had money to burn. I had the fabulous check I received as part of my prize when I won the Dundee International Book Prize with my crime novel Dead Wood. So, for a week, I could pretend I was another Agatha Christie, off looking for murders and Hercule Poirot, or maybe a detective of my own. Off to write Another Murder on the Orient Express, and while doing so I was living the high life.

I would do it all over again in a blink.

Hmm, there’s a thought. I wonder if there are any more prizes I can enter for, and maybe instead of wishing I was there, I could actually go. And if I do go, Reach for the Stars is the book I will take to read this time instead of Murder on the Orient Express, because I'll be reaching for the stars and fulfilling my dream all over again.

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk