The Blue Plaque on Agatha Christie’s Cholsey House

Midsomer Murders, like any show, film or book that deals with murder mystery, owes a debt to the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie. Of course, as many of you may already know, Midsomer has a special tie to Christie because of her association with Wallingford. This Southern Oxfordshire town where she spent a large part of her life is also a major setting place for scenes from the show. In fact, Wallingford often doubles up as Causton, home of Barnaby.

So, it’s great news that later in the year, Wallingford Museum will be celebrating the life of Agatha Christie with a weekend of special events from 18 - 20 September 2015.

An exhibition at the museum focuses on her home life and is titled, At Home with the Queen of Crime. It will look at Winterbrook House, where she spent her mostly quiet life and will also show how she interacted with the life of the town around her.

There will also be a talk at the Corn Exchange on Friday 18th from local historian Judy Dewey. This will be centred around an interview she gave in the local paper in the early 70s, and a include a screenin of the film called ‘Agatha’ from 1979 - a fictiona account of the eleven days the writer went missing in 1926. Tickets for the evening are just £8 and can be purchased from the Corn Exchange.

On Saturday morning, there’s a guided walk around Christie connected locations, including the churchyard where she is buried. There will also be an exhibition of photos at the Old School, Cholsey. Other planned events include Blue Murder at St Marys, a concert with a Christie theme and heritage trains running between Cholsey and Wallingford throughout the weekend. As an added incentive - as if you needed one - cream teas will be available on The Forty, provided by the Cholsey Women’s Institute celebrating 100 years of the WI.

This is a great chance to both learn more about one of the greatest ever writers in the English language (or any other for that matter) and see some of the beautiful Southern Oxfordshire countryside. It all starts on 18 September so book your tickets now to avoid disappointment.