On our first trip to London, my wife and I stopped by Florin Court. It's a beautiful building familiar to viewers of Agatha Christie's Poirot as Whitehaven Mansions, the home of Hercule Poirot. My wife and I had a wonderful time strolling around the building and the scenic park across the street, and then continued our adventures elsewhere.
On our return to the city two years later, we toured other areas of London, took a river taxi along the Thames, and finally walked across the Millennium Bridge on our way to the historic St. Paul's Cathedral. It was a cold, blustery day, and my wife saw a sign for a tea room inside the glass-walled building to our right.
So we entered, walked downstairs, and enjoyed hot tea and a scone in the cafeteria of the Salvation Army International Headquarters. No one preached to us, but we saw lots of industrious-looking folks, savored their delicious food, and perused their pamphlets. It was a nice place to get out of the cold and the wind, and recharge our batteries before continuing our wanderings.
Although we didn't realize it at the time, the Salvation Army International Headquarters is less than a mile away from Whitehaven Mansions. Founded in London in 1865, the religious movement had spread all over the world by the 1930s. Had they felt the need, officers at the London headquarters could have called on Hercule Poirot to investigate missing funds, personnel, or even a murder.
At the very least, our favorite Belgian detective could have stopped there on a cold, blustery day, if he wanted a hot drink and a scone.
Dragon Dave
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