"Ha! our party is complete." [REDH]
The 2016 BSI Weekend is over. Once again, the Yale Club was the central location of a number of events, as well as the place where many made their homes over the weekend. The Roosevelt Hotel around the corner was equally as hospitable.
With books bought, bags packed, and the last farewells spoken, Sherlockians from around the world (Japan, France, Canada, England, Switzerland, Spain and more) begin to make their way homeward. And while there is typically a sense of sadness and longing that the annual fun comes to an end, there is also great satisfaction in friendships made and rekindled, special moments that range from intimate chats in the nooks of busy rooms or between dinner companions, to grand gestures and performances that delighted the masses.
While we can easily recount the events, locales and orders of business throughout the three or four days in New York, one thing remains difficult to convey to outsiders: the feel of the BSI Weekend for those who choose to attend. It is a brilliant assembly of wit and literary knowledge; it is a gathering of those who enjoy food, drink and good conversation; it is a celebration of Sherlock Holmes and all he has brought us; it is the culmination of so much volunteer activity from throughout the year; it is a family reunion comprised only of family members one would want to see.
The sum of all of these parts and more equate to an annual experience like no other. And when the world intervenes — perhaps through work commitments, family issues, weather, or other inconveniences — it deeply affects us. The opportunities, the friends, the events — all of these hold a special place in our hearts.
The BSI Dinner was an homage to the fateful 1991 BSI Weekend, when women finally achieved what they had deserved long before: admission into the BSI. There were memories of the Great Dinner Picket of 1968, the seemingly honorary investiture of Lenore Glen Offord ("The Old Russian Woman") from years before, and the reception during which Tom Stix, Jr., BSI made his historic announcement.
Evy Herzog and Peter Blau recount the history of women in (and out of) the BSI. #BSIWeekend pic.twitter.com/cwkPPewPkT
— I Hear of Sherlock (@IHearofSherlock) January 16, 2016
So when the new class of Investitured Irregulars was welcomed to the fold on Friday evening, it was something of an open-armed and warm embrace. The new investitures included:
- Tim Greer — "The Ragged Shaw"
- Dana Cameron — "The Giant Rat of Sumatra"
- Bert Coules — "The Whole Art of Detection"
- Jenn Eaker — "Mary Sutherland"
- John Durein — "Wilson, the Notorious Canary Trainer"
- Jay Ganguly — "The Great Agra Treasure"
- Will Walsh — "Godfrey Norton"
- Tom Francis — The Two Shilling Award
The Class of 2016 Baker Street Irregulars (L-R): John Durein, Jay Ganguly, Tim Greer, Jenn Eaker, Bert Coules, Dana Cameron, and Will Walsh. |
We Need Your Help
"those scenes which are indelibly fixed in every detail upon my memory" [HOUN]
This was without question one of the most documented BSI weekends to date. The memories flowed out on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere, with photos galore. And there were even more assets that were not shared publicly (such as videos and audio, per the BSI's policy). But rather than allowing these to be scattered to the digital wind, we thought we could collaborate.If you have assets of some sort that have been posted or that you have stored somewhere — a Facebook album or photos, a tweet that got some likes, RTs or replies, as well as video or audio you may have recorded — please email us with #BSIWeekend in the subject line and let us know. We'll be compiling these assets and determining how to get some of them to the BSI Trust, as well as how to cull together those publicly available posts in a place for all to see.
What another fine weekend of memories, for those present and those following along online. May we continue to make many fine memories together.
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