One of the wild ones
“Baby, don’t-cha know that it’s rude, to keep my two lips waitin’ when they’re in the mood,” the Socialite sang, kicking up her heels. Darling, what a roll she’d been on! Paris, London, Rome… And everywhere, the same routine: champagne, caviar, diamonds disappearing into her suitcases. Oh, she knew he was watching her. But the diamonds were already in Moscow, and she was about to pull a Colt out of her stocking. Foolish boy. “In the mood,” she sang and laughed out loud.
Sophisticated, swashbuckling and irresistibly sexy; Agatha Christie’s Socialite is a wolverine in sheep’s clothing, or rather, leopard suspenders. Only twice did Agatha make her stoic Belgian detective Hercule Poirot fall in love, and both times they were flamboyant socialites. There was the larger-than-life Lady Bess Sedgewick who Agatha describes as ‘the second best-dressed woman in Europe who lived life to the full’. Juicy detail: this Lady was also the brains behind a gang of train and bank robbers. Hercule was besotted with the whole package. “Everything about Bess was positive. Her vitality, her energy, her magnetic attraction,” Agatha wrote. Then there was Countess Rossakoff, another aristocratic jet-setter with a swashbuckling secret. This flamboyant Russian Leopard Lady stole not only Hercule’s heart, but also millions worth of jewels. It was as if Agatha couldn’t help but fantasize about all the deliciously naughty things a Socialite could get away with, both criminally and romantically.
“She’s a woman in a thousand… One of the wild ones…” (Hercule Poirot in ‘At Betram’s Hotel’)
- Share
MD Friends
Building bridges
From the Erasmus Bridge and the Mercedes-Benz Museum to Qatar’s metro network; Ben van Berkel’s iconic landmarks bring people together in rapturous beauty, again and again. I talked with the Dutch architect and educator about sensuality, ‘healthy’ buildings and the remarkable parallels between our designs.
- Share
MD Friends
More than a feeling
Don’t ignore your emotions; they are much more powerful than you can imagine. By linking the magical world of emotions with hard science, Dutch scientist Pierre Capel, professor emeritus in experimental immunology, shows us the consequences of our feelings and the power of our minds. The message: we can do much more than we think. “Meditate. It’s the single best thing you can do for your health.”
- Share
Marlies Says
Keto curious?
The fact that I feel bikini-confident all year round is, of course, a nice bonus. But for me, the biggest payoff of following the keto diet is the way it optimizes my health and gives me tons of energy.
- Share
Marlies Says
Super (skin) food
‘If you can’t eat it, why put it on your skin?’. I pretty much live by this beauty adage. After all, with your skin being one of your body’s largest organs, anything – and I mean anything! – you put onto your skin will end up in your bloodstream.
- Share
 food "Pinterest")
