Monday, December 21, 2015

While Miz Kittling Knits: Hercule Poirot




Those of you who've been following my blog know that in the past couple of years, I've taken up knitting again after ignoring it for decades. You also know that I knit in the evenings while watching mysteries on television. I thought I'd share what I'm knitting and what I'm watching with you on a semi-regular basis.

Right now I'm working on a scarf for a Facebook friend. He requested the scarf be black or brown and left everything else up to me. I've rapidly learned that men tend to be extremely circumspect in the colors of their scarves, so I look for patterns or new stitches that intrigue me.

If any of you are fellow knitters and also belong to Pinterest, you'll find a lot of the free patterns that caught my eye (like this one) captured on my boards. Just use the Pinterest link on the sidebar of my blog to find me. You'll see that my two addictions-- books and knitting-- are very well represented!

Since this scarf is being done in black, the color makes it a bit difficult to photograph so it will show up clearly. This is a basketweave stitch that calls for a nice thick yarn with good stitch definition. I'm using Bernat Chunky and size 13 needles.

The pattern is an easy one. Four rows: two rows of cables alternating with two rows of purl stitches. Let me tell you, it's going to keep my friend's neck very warm in cold winter weather!

So what am I watching while I'm knitting away on this scarf? I'm binge watching Agatha Christie: Poirot, a series that ran from 1989 to 2014.  David Suchet stars as Hercule Poirot, and he's wonderful. (This isn't Denis's cup of tea, so I'm only watching while he's at work.)

What I find rather amazing is that I don't like to read Agatha Christie, but I love to watch the television adaptations of her work. Another odd little tidbit is that I've steered clear of Hercule Poirot most of my life, but when I decided to sample just one episode, I fell hook, line, and sinker. 

This series is available on Netflix, but I'm watching it on another channel that specializes in British television-- Acorn TV.  Acorn has all sorts of excellent British programming that you can't find anywhere else. 

Yes, I do enjoy the Poirot stories as I knit-- each stitch, each row bringing me closer to solving the case-- but it's not just the stories. The acting is wonderful, and I honestly can't think of anyone else who could portray Hercule Poirot as brilliantly as David Suchet.

And the productions are splendid. As I watch, I can soak up all the period transportation: cars, buses, trains, airplanes.

There's also the added fun of learning the little details about Poirot: visiting his butcher, his tailor, his dentist. Finding out what's so special about that little silver boutonniere Poirot wears every day. Seeing what sort of financial disaster has struck Captain Hastings, and watching the evolution of Miss Lemon's spit curls. One of these days I may even learn which brand of mustache wax Poirot uses.

I've also noticed a familiar name in the credits: Anthony Horowitz, who keeps cropping up in the series that I've been watching. Since I've really been enjoying everything I've seen his name associated with, I'm definitely going to check to see what else Horowitz has done. (He's written two Sherlock Holmes novels, and I've got those on order!)

What's been my favorite Poirot episode so far? Dumb Witness because I absolutely love the character of Bob Arundel!     

'fess up! How many other Hercule Poirot fans are reading this? Are you surprised that it took me so long to find this series to watch? See-- many and varied are the benefits of knitting!


  

15 comments:

  1. What a lovely scarf that's going to be, Cathy! And as for the productions of Poirot, I think they're fabulous. For me, David Suchet is Poirot. I'm a grumpy, fussy purist, so I'll admit it bothers me that the stories don't stay faithful to the originals. But if you can forgive that, they really are well done.

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    1. Since I haven't read almost all of the originals, I have to admit that it doesn't bother me at all! LOL

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    2. I have only read one Agatha Christie novel to do with Poirot; Curtain. In all honesty, Kevin Elyot did a WAY better job in his screenplay. All Agatha wanted to do was kill Poirot off, so she couldn't care less if it was done by Stephen Norton, Edward Norton, Ed Norton or Art Carney!

      Simple fact of the matter is, I have precious little respect for Agatha Christie as far as Poirot is concerned. To create a character and then speak ill of that character is like a parent insulting their own child...in front of the child. If you don't want to create characters, don't become a novelist.

      That said, Agatha's daughter DID care enough for her fictional big brother enough to make sure Poirot was given the utmost respect by whoever portrayed him. She and her husband went so far as to give David Suchet's name as their ONLY choice for Poirot and then grill the poor man like the proverbial chicken to make sure his intentions towards this character would be respectful .

      David did all that and more! He somehow found and built a full three dimensional human being (with all the endearing and less endearing points of humanity come with said description). So I can honestly say that I couldn't care less if I NEVER read an Agatha Christie novel. Rosiland and Anthony Hicks trusted David Suchet and that's fine with me.! I would sooner watch movies by those who did care for the character than read a dozen novels by the creator who wanted him dead. I've read Poirot fan fiction that was more enjoyable because I know the author cared.

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  2. I'm a big Agatha Christie fan so I've read most of her books, seen most of the Poirots and David Suchet is the best.

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    1. You should've seen the look on my face when I began watching the first episode of a new season of Poirot and saw that he'd changed his mustache style! LOL

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  3. I do enjoy Poirot books, with the reservations we discussed previously. But the TV show? I really enjoy those. I need to invest in more episodes, though...

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    1. I can't wait to finish going through my email so I can get down to the family room and get to knitting and watching Poirot! I'm going to be bereft when I've seen them all. LOL

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  4. We must be long-lost relatives! I completely concur on your evaluation of the books and Poirot movies.

    David Suchet is Hercule Poirot, no doubt about it: reincarnation of a fictional character. There is no other Poirot as far as I'm concerned.

    I also do not read Agatha Christie books. I did as a teenager until I read a book with bigotry about immigrants and Jewish people; that was it. I tried again a year ago, but it didn't work.

    But I love the Poirot episodes. I binge-watched a set of four movies a few months ago and last week watched "Cards on the Table." I like the movies with Zoe Wanamaker as Ariadne Oliver.

    I haven't seen Miss Lemon but will look for her and for Dumb Witness.

    What a lovely way to spend holiday time with knitting and watching Poirot investigate. That scarf will be beautiful and its recipient lucky.

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    1. And I'm very sure you're aware that the original title of And Then There Were None was something completely different.

      Knitting and Poirot in the evenings certainly eases any stress that has built up over the day. (Plus they both work my little grey cells and help keep arthritis away.)

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    2. Pure serendipity, Kathy, but the episode I watched this evening was "Cards on the Table." I can certainly see why you like it and Zoƫ Wanamaker's character!

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  5. Yes, I do know about the original title and argued with a blogger about the title as she had it on her blog prominently. I told her African Americans are very offended by the title and also that the publishers changed it decades ago. To no avail. It stayed up there for awhile.

    Anyway, I'm so glad that knitting and Poirot have medicinal purposes, too! I'm off to see what the library has that I haven't seen.

    Thanks for the tip about Acorn. One can get a free month, and there are several shows I haven't seen.

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    1. I'm really glad you're going to try out Acorn. There are several programs there that I've enjoyed, and I'll be talking about them in the future.

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  6. Gr8! Look forward to seeing them.
    I saw several programs on Acorn that I haven't yet seen.
    I'm finishing season 2 of the Swedish/Danish version of The Bridge, which is terrific.

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    1. I'll have to check The Bridge out. Thanks for the heads-up!

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  7. The Danish/Swedish version of The Bridge is brilliant and brutal, with stunning main characters.

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