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We present the blue cross, adapted by john scottney with andrew sachs as father brown. Heritage and Parks and docks and Harbour Board Quay number five. No admittance except unauthorized business. Oh, that's us. There's no one about. There would be. Not Ms. R. No, I mean big passenger ferry. There'd be customs porters, people milling about. We are very late, Inspector. Thank you, Sergeant. How was I to know there were two flipping harbors at Harwich? Look, sir. What? There's someone there with the parcels and the umbrella. That is a Catholic priest, Sergeant. And therefore almost certainly ain't a podrin. Anyhow, he looks as lost as we are. Still, there's no harm in trying. Excuse. Excuse. Italian. You speak at English? English? Yes. Oh, oh, yes. Yes, I am English. I thought you were French. Well, now, look, in that case. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We're in a hurry. Do you know where we can find the ferry boat from Holland? We've got to meet someone off it. Oh, well, yes, indeed. Now, you see that green funnel? Green funnel? Yes, over the shed there. Yes. Well, that's it. Right. Oh, but I'm afraid you've missed your friend. What do you mean? You see, I think. No, I'm certain. I was the last one off. We docked an hour ago. An hour ago? This is very quick nowadays. Unlike the last time I came back from Rome this way it was. Well. Oh, it must be 10 years ago. Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Next thing you know, we'll all be going by flying machine. Right. Now, look, we better get to the train station, quick. Come on, Sergeant. Thank you. Train station. I was going to. Hurry up, please. Hurry along there. Is this the boat train porter? Yes, sir. Hurry up, though. It's going in a few minutes. All right. Well, we better get on the train and hope our man's on it. Half a mo, Inspector. Isn't this him here by the ticket barrier? He fits the description boater, blazer, black beard. Yes, right. You. Oh, yes. Excuse me, sir. Are you Monsieur Valentur? Monsieur Aristide Valento? I am. I am Inspector Bagshaw of Scotland. Yalda. I've got my card here somewhere around. This is. Sergeant. What did I do with my card? Inspector Berkshire. You are extremely late. Fortunately, I managed to be the first off the boat and have been checking the passage. He has not passed. No secret we're looking for, sir. I mean, Commissioner. Not Commissioner, Prefect of police. Or to my men, chef. Chef, sir? In France it does not mean cook, Sergeant. No. The man is called Flambeau. Flambeau? It means the torch. I knew that. Yes. His real name, they say, is Duroc, maybe. He has many names. He is a colossus of crime. Indeed, in the Paris underworld. He is all powerful. I follow him from Paris to Gaunt, to Brussels, to Holland. I am certain he is on the Packport. Oh, definitely. All night, all morning, I searched the passage. Nothing. But he is a master of disguise, this one. Any particular disguise, sir? Anything, Sergeant? Once he disguised himself as a post box. Well, to be exact, he set up a false post box and hid behind it to await a particular letter. Mostly, though, he's a priest. Priest? Of course. It is said he once studied for the priesthood. That priest we saw with the umbrella and the pipe. Hang on, sir. That priest we saw. I just said that, Sergeant. No, sir. Look, here he comes now through the entrance. Strike me, you'll grab him. Oh, don't speak French. Don't you, Monsieur Flombo. Pick up that parcel, Sergeant. And watch out. It looks like a gun to me. Be careful, please. No, sir, no, it's a. It's a crosser. This man cannot be flamboyant. He's, what, somewhat on the short side. And Flombo is, what, somewhat more than 2 meters over 6 foot 4. And he is a magnificent athlete. Almost an acrobat. While this gentleman. Yes, yes, sir. I'm very sorry, your reverence. Oh, no, no, please. It's quite all right. What is this, Father? This cross? Or may I? Oh, yes, please do. Magnifique. Romanesque work. What about 1160? Yes, yes, the silver is worked so. And these stones, see, Sergeant, they must be sapphires. Uncut sapphires. Licked. Is it uncut North French work? Oh, yes, yes. You see, it was supposed to have belonged to the Blessed St. Thomas Aquinas. No, no. Beckett. English martyr, you know. Yes. And as I was coming back to work in London, I was asked to bring it from the papal treasury. It's for the exhibition in Canterbury. You may have seen the advertisement in the Catholic Times. Here, Father, you must take care of it. Thank you. It is valuable. Yes, thank you. These are, you say, precious stones. Oh, precious. Oh, yes. Well, that would be the word. Precious, yes. Now, my train. You must excuse me. Thank you. Goodbye. Well, that's it, I suppose. Hey, wait a minute, sir. Weren't we supposed to get that train? Was that the London train? Oh, no. Porter. Excuse me. When's the next London train? One and a half an hour, sir. But it's rather slow one. Oh, yes, it would be, inspector of your car. Now, now, porter, did you notice a very tall gentleman getting on the train dressed as a priest or a postman, Sergeant? Sorry, sir. A priest, yes. No, no, that gentleman's the only priest I saw. No, the only tall man was one of the sailors. Now, he really was tall. What? But I was the first on the boat. Why did I not see him? Ah, you might have been the first passenger, sir. But any crew members who want to go to London, we always let them on the train early. Keeps them out of the bars. You think? Why did I not think of the cruel fool? I was on a ship, so it has sailors. One minute, porter. That train is direct to London. Non stop, is it? Yes, sir. Good. Where is your telegraph office? Just at the end of the platform, sir. There you can see it. Right. I'm going to telegraph the railway police at Liverpool street to tell them to hold that tall sailor. And last Liverpool Street Station. He was right about it being slow, that porter. It is a very flat, your East Anglia. Oh, we'll soon know if they got him. Oh, no, no. What is it? Shall we do? Yes, all right. Thank you, Sergeant. That must have been the whole crew that Constable's got there. They don't look very cheerful, do they? Inspector Constable? Yes, sir. I'm Inspector Bagshaw. All present and correct, sir. What on earth is going on here? I only wanted one sailor, not all of them. Yes, sir. Well, we weren't quite sure which one you wanted, sir, so we thought it best to hold them all. I mean, none of them exactly fit your description. I mean, they're none of them what you call tall, are they? No, sir. Did any tall man get off that train?
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No, sir.
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Well, I'll tell a lie. There was one very tall gentleman, but he was. You won't believe this, sir, but he was. He was a Roman Catholic priest. Tell me about this priest. Well, it was funny. Ridiculous, really. He was, like I said, very tall. And with him was this short lump. Yeah, Little priest. Frankly, sir, I think the short one was a bit, you know, simple. Yeah, he got into a terrible mud with this brown paper parcel and his big umbrella. He dropped one part, so looking for his ticket worried him. He burst open and this blue cross in it. Yes, sir. That's when the tall one appeared. Came to the little one's aid. A nice gentleman, French, I think. They went off together. I didn't see which way they. Oh, he changed on the train before. You can dismiss your naval review. You, Constable, move along there. I think I need a nice cup of tea, Mr. Valenter. Tea? No, no. Ah, but perhaps a cup of coffee. There's a tea room in the Railway Hotel, sir. Very well, Sergeant, lead the way. One black coffee and one large pot of tea. Ah. Oh, this is terrible. Terrible. Absolutely terrible. Are you all right, sir? I. Don't worry, Sergeant. They're very emotional, the Latins. I'll handle this. Come now, Monsieur Valentin. We'll find him. The Metropolitan Police. Finest police force in West. Find him. Oh, Flombeau. Oh, he's always escaping. No, no, I was complaining it was the coffee in France. They warned me about English coffee, but this is unbelievable. I put sugar in it. Still tastes awful. Well, sir, you should have had when in Rome. Everyone deserves to be connected. That's why T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20 versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com switch and now T mobile is in US cellular stores. Savings versus Comparable Verizon plans plus the cost of optional benefits plan features in Texas if these vary. So savings with three plus lines include third line free via monthly bill credits. Credit stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying credit required.
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Podcast: 1001 Radio Crime Solvers
Episode Title: THE BLUE CROSS and THE QUEER FEET – FATHER BROWN STORIES
Air Date: December 21, 2025
Host: Jon Hagadorn
In this episode, listeners are treated to a dramatized radio adaptation of G.K. Chesterton's classic detective tales featuring Father Brown. The first half of the episode centers on "The Blue Cross," a story of international pursuit, double identities, and the subtle brilliance of an unassuming priest. Scotland Yard teams up with French police in pursuit of the infamous master criminal Flambeau, only for Father Brown to steal the spotlight with his quiet intuition and unconventional sleuthing style.
[01:36] The story opens at Harwich dock, where Inspector Bagshaw and his team arrive in pursuit of the notorious Flambeau.
Quote:
"He is a colossus of crime. Indeed, in the Paris underworld, he is all powerful."
— Valentin, describing Flambeau [03:15]
[04:35] Focus shifts as the police interview a seemingly unimportant Catholic priest with an umbrella and a parcel (Father Brown).
Quote:
"Is it uncut North French work?...oh yes, yes, you see it was supposed to have belonged to the Blessed St. Thomas Aquinas—no, no, Beckett. English martyr, you know."
— Father Brown [05:55]
[07:00] Attention diverts to rumors of a tall sailor (possibly Flambeau in disguise) who might have passed through disguised among the crew. The urgency ramps up as the authorities attempt to relay a message to London for his apprehension.
[09:51] The police, upon arrival and communication with the London side, realize the trail is muddied.
Quote:
"I mean, none of them exactly fit your description. I mean, they're none of them what you call tall, are they? No, sir...There was one very tall gentleman, but he was...a Roman Catholic priest."
— Constable at Liverpool Street [09:52]
[11:36] Valentin and Bagshaw pause for a drink. Valentin laments the state of English coffee rather than Flambeau's escape, prompting humor and camaraderie among the police.
Quote:
"No, no, I was complaining it was the coffee in France. They warned me about English coffee, but this is unbelievable. I put sugar in it. Still tastes awful."
— Valentin [12:07]
Valentin on Flambeau's Disguises:
"Once he disguised himself as a postbox. Well, to be exact, he set up a false post box and hid behind it to await a particular letter. Mostly, though, he's a priest."
[04:00]
Father Brown’s Self-Effacing Humility:
"I'm very sorry, your reverence."
— Police, apologizing after suspecting Father Brown is Flambeau. It's a moment that underscores Father Brown's unassuming nature and the theme that appearances can be deceiving. [06:43]
Constable's Comic Touch:
"Frankly, sir, I think the short one was a bit, you know, simple. Yeah, he got into a terrible mud with this brown paper parcel and his big umbrella. He dropped one part, so looking for his ticket worried him. He burst open and this blue cross in it."
— Description of Father Brown's bumbling conduct, which is actually artful misdirection. [10:20]
The dialogue maintains a classic British detective humor, formal yet whimsical, with a light touch that belies the underlying tension. Father Brown's humility and confusion are contrasted with the bluster and certainty of the seasoned police—yet everyone underestimates the cunning at play, both in Flambeau and in Father Brown himself.
This adaptation of "The Blue Cross" highlights the enduring appeal of the Father Brown mysteries: cerebral, conversational, and peppered with understated yet razor-sharp wit. The story immerses the audience in a richly drawn world of mistaken identities, subtle clues, and the triumph of reasoned goodness over criminal cunning. It stands as a testament to the golden age of radio storytelling that prioritized narrative intrigue and character over pyrotechnics and easy reveals.
Note: This summary covers the portion up to the end of the "Blue Cross" dramatization, as far as provided by the transcript. Further plot or adaptation coverage (such as "The Queer Feet") would be included as additional content becomes available.