Agatha Christie's own little mystery
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (326776)
Rockingham, Australia
March 28, 2018 11:37pm CST
I guess most myLot members have heard of Agatha Christie, the famous crime writer. But did you know she was one of the first people in Britain to succeed in standing up on a surf board?
Apparently Christie took up body-boarding in 1922 during a holiday in South Africa. But it was in Hawaii that she became one of the first recorded Britons to stand on a surfboard. Equally surprising perhaps is that the only earlier Briton appears to have been Prince Edward who later abdicated.
She described the moment of riding her board right into shore for the first time as one of complete triumph. She wore soft leather boots to protect her feet and replaced her flimsy bathing costume with one of green wool.
Did you know this before today? It came as a bit of a shock to me. I first heard about it on a TV quiz show and felt compelled to research it.
I don’t have any surfing photos but here is a photo of colourful hire boats at a caravan park.
And here is the link to the article.
This remarkable picture reveals how crime writer Agatha Christie was one of the first people in Britain to try stand-up surfing.
22 people like this
29 responses
@mlgen1037 (29886)
• Manila, Philippines
29 Mar 18
I have heard about Agatha Christie but was never aware of her doing surfing. That was informative. I can say she is one bad as* chick. Cool! 
2 people like this
@JudyEv (326776)
• Rockingham, Australia
1 Apr 18
@mlgen1037 True which makes it all the more praiseworthy.
1 person likes this
@mlgen1037 (29886)
• Manila, Philippines
1 Apr 18
@JudyEv and I am sure they are mostly men.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (460466)
• Switzerland
29 Mar 18
I have read about her many voyages and I remember she was in South Africa. She wrote that "she and Archie and others took the train from Cape Town to Muizenberg on False Bay and went “surf bathing” lying flat on a light, thin board and riding a wave to shore." It is not really "surfing" it looks more like what we did in Italy when I was a kid, floating on a flat inflatable mattress.
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
29 Mar 18
I had not heard this before so thank you for increasing my knowledge! ( At least I will know the answer in a quiz now! )
2 people like this
@JudyEv (326776)
• Rockingham, Australia
31 Mar 18
I hope it comes up one day so you can show off your new-found knowledge. 
@snowy22315 (171277)
• United States
29 Mar 18
I guess Dame Agatha was an intrepid soul, ahead of her time! Talking about famous Brits, I head last night Andrew Lloyd Weber is in the House of Lords..me thinks he must miss the assembly lots of times!
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (171277)
• United States
31 Mar 18
@JudyEv Yes, our members of congress are like that too..paid a substantial salary not to show up..no wonder everyone hates them..lol
1 person likes this
@silvermist (19702)
• India
29 Mar 18
Agatha Christie fan here.Always interested to know any facts about her.I did not know about this
before.Nice of you to share the link.
1 person likes this
@silvermist (19702)
• India
6 Apr 18
@JudyEv Yes.Many young persons especially,can never imagine older people as having had child hood or them being young.This is a photo I came across on Pinterest.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (326776)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Apr 18
@silvermist That's very true. I think the young think older people have never had a life.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (326776)
• Rockingham, Australia
31 Mar 18
THat's great. It doesn't sound like something an Agatha Christie type person would do.
@moffittjc (118820)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Apr 18
Wow, this is very interesting! I have always been a big fan of Agatha Christie, but never knew about her surfing exploits!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118820)
• Gainesville, Florida
5 Apr 18
@JudyEv As a surfer myself, I should have known this! But I guess you're right, I would have never guessed it in a million years!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (326776)
• Rockingham, Australia
5 Apr 18
@moffittjc Surfing has been around so long and people are now so good at it, it's hard to fathom that once, a long time ago, the first person EVER made and rode a surfboard. And what a great achievement it would have seemed.
1 person likes this
@YrNemo (20261)
•
1 Apr 18
@JudyEv It always upsets me a bit whenever I find out that my favorite writers or favorite successful (career-wise) people had had rotten love lives. I would like for those ones especially to have a wonderful life so that I could dream (about a perfect world)... But then again, someone once told me that, one can't wish to have everything. (She was one acquaintance whose career was so wonderful, but with nonexistent love life. In the end, she lost her wonderful job too, to my shock!)
@anikoonline (3250)
• Hungary
1 Apr 18
This was something new for me about Agatha Christie. I am a fan of Poirot series. This lady was amazing!
1 person likes this
@anikoonline (3250)
• Hungary
1 Apr 18
@JudyEv Yes, surfing and Agatha Christie together is something that I would never think of.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
29 Mar 18
Nope I never knew that! I've read a lot of her books and absolutely love Hercule Poirot. I've read every Poirot story written! I even named one of my cats after her!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (326776)
• Rockingham, Australia
31 Mar 18
It was a total surprise to me although I'm not sure why. She just didn't seem the type somehow.
@allknowing (130292)
• India
30 Mar 18
I have read her books and thoroughly enjoyed the suspense. No I did not turn to the last page as my brother did (lol)
I suppose every writer has something unique about them.
1 person likes this
@toniganzon (72279)
• Philippines
29 Mar 18
No I didn't. I know Agatha Chrsitie back when I was in high school as it was during those times that me and my classmates would exchange books we enjoyed reading.
1 person likes this
@toniganzon (72279)
• Philippines
2 Apr 18
@JudyEv Same with all celebrities. Sometimes we even think they owe us some kind of explanation.
That's why I don't get too attached to any celebrities at all. I admire a few but not a fanatic.
1 person likes this
@epiffanie (11326)
• Australia
30 Mar 18
Wow! that's a great deal of an achievement for a woman especially in those days...
1 person likes this
