I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere: Robert Stek

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Down the Rabbit Hole with Holmes and Watson – Three Reviews

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"towards the Triple Alliance" [NAVA] </h4>
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Sherlock Holmes is such an iconic character in literature
that he has been both idolized and satirized in pastiches for over a
century. After author and screenwriter
Nicholas Meyer paired Holmes with Sigmund Freud in 1975 in <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven-Per-Cent_Solution" target="_blank">The Seven Percent Solution</a>, </i>Holmes and Watson have been in
adventures with the likes of Oscar Wilde, Madam Curie, Count Dracula, and
countless other characters, historical and fictional. To paraphrase Holmes, as unlikely as some
pairings may be, some are more unlikely still. One combination that seems to be a challenge for pastiche writers has
been Sherlock Holmes and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Carroll" target="_blank">Lewis Carroll</a> (or his Wonderland creation, Alice).<o:p></o:p></div>
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"a glimpse of one or two murders" [ILLU]</h3>
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In the 1995 anthology <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Orbit-Mike-Resnick/dp/0886776368" target="_blank">SherlockHolmes in Orbit</a>,</i> editors Mike Resnick and Martin H. Greenberg included two short
stories in which Holmes found himself in Carrollian territory. But as far as I can tell, it wasn’t until
1998 that the first novel appeared - <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Alice-Wonderland-Murders/dp/0953765938" target="_blank">SherlockHolmes and the Alice in Wonderland Murders</a></i> by Barry Day.
Day authored four other Holmes pastiches, and he has written and produced plays
and musical revues showcasing the work of Noël Coward, the Lunts, Oscar Wilde,
and others. Of the three books reviewed
here, for me his was the most satisfying story, though not without some ‘trifling’
flaws.  <o:p></o:p></div>
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In October of 1898 Holmes and Watson are pitted against
American yellow press publisher, John Moxton – and Holmes soon deduces that
Moxton is the adopted identity of James Moriarty, who, like Holmes, did <i>not</i> perish at the Reichenbach Falls. He has undergone surgery and weight gain to
hide his true identity as he manipulates the press and seeks power as well as
revenge upon Holmes. The connection with
Carroll comes with public figures who are humiliated and then murdered, with
each incident having a parallel in <i>Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland.</i> Moxton
taunts Holmes with references to <i>AAIW</i>
and even invites Holmes and Watson to a Wonderland-themed Halloween costume party
(with Watson as the Red King and even Lestrade appearing as the Walrus).<o:p></o:p></div>
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The story moves at a good pace, and Day captures Watson’s
voice fairly well. For me, however,
Holmes’ calling Watson “old fellow” throughout the book was irritating. Doyle used that phrase exactly five times in
the Canon, and in each instance, he was not addressing Watson but was describing
a ‘fellow’ who was ‘old.’ Holmes used
the phrase ‘dear fellow’ or ‘my dear fellow’ and in not all of those instances
was he necessarily referring to Watson. A major anachronism was the single unnecessary use of ‘sonar’ in the
second chapter as Moxton hoaxed the public with the apparent appearance of
‘Nessie’ in Loch Ness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Impressive, however, was Day’s prediction of the current state of news reporting and how a demagogue can utilize the press.   <o:p></o:p></div>
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“Moxton’s theory of the nature of truth
is becoming all too credible. You read
about a thing – therefore it is. <o:p></o:p></div>
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. . .<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You mean that the perception is as
good as truth?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Better, Watson, better. Particularly if people are given the
perception they would like to see.  No,
I’m afraid that in the future people like our friend – with the aid of
sufficient funds and the available technology – will be able to provide the
so-called ‘people’ with a version of the world they would prefer to live
in. And if the uncomfortable truth
should occasionally leak through, well . . . twenty-four hours and another
headline will conveniently cover it up again.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Perhaps in
the late 90’s Day had in mind Rupert Murdoch, but nonetheless he seems
remarkably prescient given the proliferation of fake headlines and bogus news
stories in the past year or two.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All in all,
it was a decent 180-page read, though it did not feature Holmes interacting with
Carroll who would have been 22 years his senior; presumably a meeting
could have occurred in the 1880’s with Carroll consulting Holmes. Day’s book is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Alice-Wonderland-Murders/dp/0953765938" target="_blank">available at Amazon</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p>
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<o:p>"under some absurd illusion" [SECO]</o:p></h3>
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Also
available at Amazon is Ron Brackin’s 2013 <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Adventure-Deadly-Illusion/dp/0989746321" target="_blank">SherlockHolmes: The Adventure of the Deadly Illusion</a></i>.  Brackin was an investigative journalist who
covered the Middle East extensively and is author of <i>Son of Hamas</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In "The Adventure of the<i> Gloria Scott</i>," we
explicitly learned that Holmes did attend university.  Sherlockian scholars have long debated just
where Holmes spent his university years. We know that Holmes is brilliant, and therefore we deduce that he
attended at least one of the two best universities in the UK, Oxford or
Cambridge. A hotly contested issue, it
is the reason why at Sherlockian conferences you will sometimes see for
purchase tee-shirts or sweatshirts proclaiming ‘Camford University’ or
‘Oxbridge University.’ Brackin obviously
comes down on the side of Oxford because <i>The
Deadly Illusion</i> begins in September of 1872 with 18 year-old Sherlock using
his observational skills and deductive reasoning to explain a magician’s stage
illusion to the 40 year-old Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, then a don of Christ
Church college.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Brackin
blends fact with fiction throughout the book, sometimes insensibly twisting facts
to suit, if not theory, then at least to suit his story line. I may be a neophyte Carrollian, but I could
not find a reference to Dodgson being a devotee of illusions and magic, though
he did love the stage in general. But if
liberty is to be taken in furtherance of the story by having Dodgson enamored
of stage magic, then so be it. It allows Holmes to display his powers of observation and logical reasoning.<br />
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A supporting
character, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Nevil_Maskelyne" target="_blank">John Nevil Maskelyne</a>, a real magician in the 1800’s (and inventor of
the pay toilet – I kid you not!) plays an important role in crafting a
duplicate of a burglar’s tool which helps Holmes infiltrate a den of thieves
and roughnecks. Confusing, however, was
the reference to ‘The Magnificent Jasper’ performing at the Egyptian Hall in
Piccadilly in the first chapter – Jasper Maskelyne was indeed a magician as
well, but was born in 1902, the grandson
of John Nevil Maskelyne. Also annoying
was Holmes’ occasional calling of Dodgson “old fellow” or “old man.”  Aside from my personal annoyance as expressed
previously, I have my doubts that an 18 year old student, even Holmes, would
address a don of Oxford as “old man,” especially considering its colloquial
British slang meaning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Brackin
continues to intermingle fact and fiction when a butler is murdered during the
commission of a burglary - jewels are stolen from the home of (fictional) Sir
Arthur Bellingham who is noted as a member of the (real) <a href="http://www.reformclub.com/" target="_blank">Reform Club</a>. A Scotland Yard inspector draws the wrong
conclusions from the evidence at the scene but Holmes sees and observes what actually occurred. The (real) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne" target="_blank">Jules Verne</a> makes a cameo
appearance along with (fictional) Phineas Fogg. Verne’s (fictional) bank
robber James Strand (from <i>Around the World
in 80 Days</i>) becomes a central figure, and he happens to have been a partner in
crime with Michael Moriarty, the father of three brothers, all named James, one
of whom wrote a celebrated monograph on “The Dynamics of an Asteroid” familiar
to mathematician Dodgson. A brief mention is made of Dodgson’s real passion for photography (though a
typographical error turned ‘pyrogallic acid’ to ‘hyrogallic’) with a
photographic session with (real) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Kitchin" target="_blank">Alexandra ‘Xie’ Kitchin</a>. Holmes’ skill at ‘baritsu’ helped him capture
a criminal despite the fact that ‘bartitsu’ was not developed by Edward William
Barton-Wright until 1898.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The
narrative does not flow as smoothly in <i>Deadly
Illusion</i> as it did in the <i>Alice in
Wonderland Murders</i> due to the author’s sometimes forced insertion of
factual material in an ambitious effort to bolster the Victorian
atmosphere. However, to his credit,
Brackin does manage to introduce Holmes to Dodgson in a timeline which <i>could</i> have happened (in the loosest
meaning of the word ‘could’) and the plot line, while not worthy of Arthur
Conan Doyle, does make sense. Holmes solves his second case showing his
deductive skills before moving to lodgings in Montague Street and eventually
Baker Street.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="text-align: center;">"I could have laughed when I realized it was the cat" [CHAS]</span></o:p></h3>
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A blended reality is left behind as we venture into<i>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Adventure-Grinning-Cat/dp/1780928858" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Grinning Cat</a></i> by Joseph Svec. We find Sherlock Holmes at the height of his
career in February 1898, searching for Lewis Carroll and Alice—both of whom
have mysteriously disappeared! The first
clue might be that date—nearly one month after the death of Charles Lutwidge
Dodgson.  Holmes is asked to
investigate the disappearances by none other than the Cheshire Cat, the White
Rabbit, and the Hatter.  The game is
certainly afoot - a
rabbit’s foot!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The story is
set initially in the Victorian world of Holmes and his chronicler, John H.
Watson. It begins, as do many Holmesian
pastiches, with a note to the reader followed by a “recently rediscovered” explanatory
note from Dr. Watson which informs the reader that publication must not take
place for at least twenty-five years in order to protect his and Holmes’s
reputations, due to the “fantastical,” “amazing,” and “utterly different”
nature of the story.<br />
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We know by the
second page of Chapter One that we have left the well-known, if imaginary,
sitting room of 221B Baker Street when the unexpected Cheshire Cat speaks to
Holmes and Watson, and Holmes soon realizes that Watson is not using
ventriloquism to fool him. After several
hours of silent deliberation, Holmes concludes that a talking / dematerializing
cat is, after all, not impossible, just highly improbable, and he is ready to be
of service.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The author
pays homage to both Holmes and Carroll, dropping phrases and paraphrases that
knowledgeable Sherlockians and Carrollians will recognize. It is a fantastic journey from Baker Street
to the home of the recently deceased Dodgson in Guildford, to a visit with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells" target="_blank">H.G. Wells</a>, and a trip to Mars using his Time Machine. Then it’s back to London, followed by
Wonderland, back to Baker Street, and even to an ethereal and unearthly 'river
of time.' The author has much fun with
wordplay and puns when the group is in Wonderland. We meet the Bandersnatch, the Unicorn, the Red
Queen, and other Wonderland characters throughout the adventure.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the
Acknowledgments, the author states that he is a newcomer to the Holmes stories,
only recently having been introduced to them. Perhaps he can be forgiven for not paying more attention to the
Holmes–Watson relationship and for focusing only on Holmes as a logician. He calls Carroll (who was also a logician) a
“logistician,” a term primarily meaning someone knowledgeable in
logistics—though it is also a synonym for “logician.” Unfortunately Carroll seems disrespected, as
his name is misspelled twice in the same chapter, the
Gryphon is referred to as “Griffon” (technically correct but not the preferred
or Carroll’s spelling; a griffon is actually an Old World vulture, not to be
confused with “griffin,” a wire-haired pointing dog from Belgium), and the
Jabberwock (a major player in the story) is mis-named “Jabberwocky.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I may be
overly critical, but the book has numerous spelling, typographical, and
typesetting errors; idiosyncratic and inconsistent capitalizations and
bold-faced words, and not-quite-right references.  Much of the blame for these may rest with the
<a href="http://mxpublishing.com/" target="_blank">publisher’s</a> proofreader. As Watson
narrates, we get some sense of his
thoughts, and this fleshes him out as a character. But Holmes functions only as the perfect
logician throughout: to call his
portrayal one-dimensional is to imply more depth than is evident. As a Carrollian and Sherlockian I wanted to love this book, but I came away disappointed.  As they say, “your mileage will vary,” and a
hardcore Carrollian may gain much enjoyment reading about the playful
interactions of the Wonderland characters in Watson’s narration.</div>
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Nicholas
Meyer set a high bar when he introduced Holmes to Freud. To be truly successful, a pastiche author must capture
Watson’s voice and style, must respect the relationship between Holmes and
Watson, and of course must show Holmes’ deductive abilities in unraveling a
puzzling mystery. In the past few years, several authors (my favorites - David Stuart Davies, Lyndsay Faye and Bonnie MacBird) have shown their writing skills to meet this standard, and their detailed knowledge of Holmes and Victorian England
help re-create a world “where it is always 1895.” Add Lewis Carroll or more fantastically,
Alice in Wonderland, to the narrative and the task more than doubles in difficulty. I look forward to another attempt.</div>
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--<br />
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Down the Rabbit Hole with Holmes and Watson – Three Reviews

"towards the Triple Alliance" [NAVA] Sherlock Holmes is such an iconic character in literature that he has been both idoli...

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by Spocklock

The Sherlock Violin

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"His powers upon the violin… were very remarkable" [STUD] </h4>
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Most Sherlockians know that the iconic deerstalker and curved pipe associated with Holmes were really the props used by the famous actor <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/William%20Gillette" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">William Gillette</a> when he brought the world’s first consulting detective to the stage in 1899. But we also know that Holmes is clearly and properly associated with his iconic musical instrument – the violin. Watson mentions Holmes’ violin playing many times in the Canon – the word ‘violin’ – singular and plural – appears 20 times. The violin is so strongly associated with Holmes that few die-hard Sherlockian mavens can name a Sherlockian play, film or pastiche which does not have a scene with Holmes and a violin.<br />
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Watson describes Holmes boasting that he “had purchased his own Stradivarius, which was worth at least five hundred guineas, at a Jew broker's in Tottenham Court Road for fifty-five shillings.” [CARD]<br />
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In the Holmes apocrypha "The Field Bazaar," Holmes is found studying “a very interesting article upon the trees of Cremona and the exact reasons for their pre-eminence in the manufacture of violins,” and of course in <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>, Holmes "prattled away about Cremona fiddles, and the difference between a Stradivarius and an Amati."<br />
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Watson tells us that Holmes attended concerts by the 19th-century virtuoso Wilhelmina Norman-Neruda, whose “attack and bowing are splendid” [STUD], and a performance by Sarasate finds both Holmes and Watson at St James’s Hall [REDH].<br />
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Music "has charms" not only to "sooth a savage breast" [often misquoted as "a savage beast" - Ed.] but also and less frequently quoted, "to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak," according to seventeenth-century playwright William Congreve (and not Shakespeare to whom the quote is frequently attributed).  However this essay will turn that phrase around and proclaim that bending a knotted oak (or more precisely a sycamore, as we shall see) has the power to charm Sherlock Holmes!<br />
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<h3>
Discovering the 'Sherlock' Violin</h3>
On a recent visit to Edinburgh I was privileged to give a presentation at the <a href="http://www.arthurconandoylecentre.com/" target="_blank">Arthur Conan Doyle Centre</a>, home of the Edinburgh Association of Spiritualists, housed in a beautifully restored Victorian townhouse built by the very successful brewer, William McEwan (whose own connection with ACD will be explored in another essay). I learned from a trustee of the Centre, Ann Treherne, that on the one year anniversary of the opening of the Centre, October 23, 2012, a very special violin had been played – the Sherlock violin, a violin normally held at the <a href="http://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/library-museum-gallery/museums-and-galleries/musical-instrument-museums" target="_blank">Museum of Musical Instruments</a> at the University of Edinburgh.  Of course my Sherlock-y sense immediately tingled, and I enquired, “What is this ‘Sherlock violin’?”<br />
<br />
To answer that question let us enter our time-travelling Tardis and journey back to Edinburgh between 1865 and 1869. A young Arthur Conan Doyle moved to the outskirts of that great city to board at Liberton Bank House under the care of Mary Burton, who lived there from 1844 to 1898. Mary Burton was a trailblazing social and educational reformer, the first woman Governor of Heriot-Watt College and a prominent advocate of women's suffrage. Her promotion of educational equality and access led her to bequeath, with foresight, a sum towards the campaign "for the admission of women to sit as members of parliament."<br />
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Doyle ostensibly came to live there to attend the nearby Newington School but also to gain respite from a dysfunctional family life due to the alcoholism of his father. He became great friends with Burton’s nephew, William K. Burton, with whom he often climbed a large sycamore tree on the property next to the house. The two years Doyle spent at Liberton Bank House were influential in his development.<br />
<br />
We can return, not yet to the present time, but to the beginning of our 21st century. Liberton Bank House continued to be used as a residence until 1993 but fell into disrepair. Almost demolished to make way for a fast food hamburger restaurant (yes, McDonald’s – at least it has a Scottish name), it was saved from that ignominious fate by Conan Doyle and Burton enthusiasts and eventually became a listed property by Historic Scotland in 2000.<br />
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Feasibility studies suggested that the best use of the property would be as school for students with learning difficulties, medical concerns or social, emotional or behavioral problems and the building was eventually restored in time for the 2007-2008 school year. However, as the fate of the property was being debated, it was found that the large 170 year old sycamore tree on the property had failed because of rotting roots and could potentially fall and damage the building. Of course this was the very tree that young Arthur Conan Doyle climbed and played in as a boy.<br />
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Ever mindful of their heritage, their duty to preserve, and of native son Conan Doyle, staff at the Dunedin School felt that even if the tree itself could not be saved, the wood from the tree could be and ‘wood’ be. And what better use could be made of that wood than to honor the young Conan Doyle, who had spent important years of his childhood actually climbing in that tree? <br />
<br />
Joan Foulner, a history teacher at the school said:<br />
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“We had no alternative but to knock down the tree, as the rotting in its roots were so severe. It’s been here for so long, and with its connections with Arthur Conan Doyle, there was no way we could just knock it down and have it turned into woodchips. We had been looking for an idea for some kind of tribute to Sherlock Holmes when one of the garden volunteers read an article about a local violin maker.  We’ve raised the money to pay for the violin through donations.”  </blockquote>
Dunedin School staff contacted luthier Steve Burnett, a local Edinburgh instrument maker and commissioned him to create from that wood what is now known as the Sherlock violin in time for the 150th anniversary of the birth of Doyle in 2009.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEyov0RLqGooUunQD1wgU9Ka1XXiF0KFwBDiDDWskP215yWTTCbG15-vucn_jo2zOCPDZ-Ryv9_oSeGtm9Z3AgiabSUARp52qpQJe2hAvRk68jRTd2its2Hu54bRRY3rI_R44msgd0IIO/s1600/P1010480.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEyov0RLqGooUunQD1wgU9Ka1XXiF0KFwBDiDDWskP215yWTTCbG15-vucn_jo2zOCPDZ-Ryv9_oSeGtm9Z3AgiabSUARp52qpQJe2hAvRk68jRTd2its2Hu54bRRY3rI_R44msgd0IIO/s640/P1010480.JPG" width="382" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve Burnett, with his creations</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXtsPrxsM04c2U8_s0jUThBLodnEVeSP0sYqfsIYdsxhhf9yKyXfrMCgcTEIiSmJWkVc5L0ZcOVsiNleRSteN74_belsJWh0eC0-3uR1HCJolIYCfw6ZE0_Ft7lU_i_a-RHbSg9SzMDGD/s1600/P1010481-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXtsPrxsM04c2U8_s0jUThBLodnEVeSP0sYqfsIYdsxhhf9yKyXfrMCgcTEIiSmJWkVc5L0ZcOVsiNleRSteN74_belsJWh0eC0-3uR1HCJolIYCfw6ZE0_Ft7lU_i_a-RHbSg9SzMDGD/s400/P1010481-1.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Conan Doyle quartet</td></tr>
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According to Watson, Holmes often stated “You know my methods” (mentioned at least fourteen times in nine stories) and Steve Burnett has his methods as well. Burnett is no ordinary luthier, and the honor of creating this unique instrument came to him in part due to his unique methods.<br />
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As mentioned previously, Holmes had a Stradivarius but Burnett was more influenced by the famous Italian maker Guiseppe Guarnerius del Gesu (1698-1744) based in Cremona and a rival to Antonio Stradivari. Burnett based the Sherlock violin on a design which the great violin-maker provided for Nicolo Paganini about 1740. He eschews the convenience of modern wood preservatives in his craft by returning to old organic resins and oil varnish recipes for wood treatment. He feels that his custom crafted violins harken back to Guarneri’s instruments which possess “a dark, responsive, sonorous, powerful and sweet tone. . . very much sought after by many leading soloists.” He states<br />
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“What I am doing is going back to some of the varnish mixes that produced the sound from instruments that survive today and sound so good.  My violins may look a little less refined than some but they produce a wonderful sound which is louder and sweeter than other instruments.”</blockquote>
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His preferred wood preservatives and his carving and woodworking expertise were not the only ‘methods’ Burnet had to use in crafting the Sherlock violin. The tonal qualities of a violin are obviously affected by the wood used and its condition. The nature of the type of wood, its density and grain characteristics, the thickness of each individual piece – all these contribute to the final character of the sound.<br />
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Ordinarily wood used in instrument making may be aged for years before it is actually carved and crafted to make a stringed instrument. The moisture content must stabilize before the luthier can choose the pieces of wood used for the various components. Steve Burnett had a deadline of less than a year to make a very special instrument, and he did not want the audible characteristics of this violin to change substantially as it aged. Making a violin is an art which requires specialized experience.  He not only used his years of experience with traditional methods but was forced to experiment with ways of accelerating the ‘aging’ of the raw sycamore wood – techniques which are now proprietary.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGInMls6-qBM7qZIHkhBEs5Ahfw7OqBJbuqWQGk68VrZHzpj29YSAE6_6dbO_zAj5W0_kHJ4G9x_tZCd_SI053yuAZXqtqGq8VUocIWnE_gL04GMI5ijeBp6gowGwi5coHcZAmVHVYX9M/s1600/Sherlock+violin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Steve Burnett's work: the Sherlock violin" border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGInMls6-qBM7qZIHkhBEs5Ahfw7OqBJbuqWQGk68VrZHzpj29YSAE6_6dbO_zAj5W0_kHJ4G9x_tZCd_SI053yuAZXqtqGq8VUocIWnE_gL04GMI5ijeBp6gowGwi5coHcZAmVHVYX9M/s640/Sherlock+violin.jpg" title="The Sherlock violin" width="640" /></a></div>
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The deadline was met and the Sherlock violin made its debut at a concert at the school on the 150th anniversary of Doyle’s birth, May 22nd, 2009. Sherlockians might be content just to know that this commemorative violin was made and played then. But that would leave out the ‘rest of the story.’<br />
There are violins and there are violins. The remaining Stradavari and Guarneri violins in this world are insured for hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars because of their sound in the hands of a skilled violinist. What about the sound of the Sherlock violin? Is it to be noted merely as a nice gesture to Conan Doyle because it was made with wood from a tree in which he once played?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41qiog4nztFv4ffxauov3GvRRO8VEBHppsgr3A2C3TjMSV18YEj5o-rkymCwlDZH-sDAgO50fFopWKJV6LCt2ofxqeNBVOBrmkbpk1rEvj9yAZ2OF6dfhmthN_oPqyTPy7kocJd5vac6E/s1600/Sherlock+violin+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41qiog4nztFv4ffxauov3GvRRO8VEBHppsgr3A2C3TjMSV18YEj5o-rkymCwlDZH-sDAgO50fFopWKJV6LCt2ofxqeNBVOBrmkbpk1rEvj9yAZ2OF6dfhmthN_oPqyTPy7kocJd5vac6E/s640/Sherlock+violin+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Dr. Jenny Nex of the Musical Instrument Museum, University of Edinburgh</td></tr>
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Violinists who have played the Sherlock violin (and other stringed instruments crated by Burnett) have uniformly praised it as sounding more like the pre-1800 violins made in Cremona. One review of a charity event to raise money for the Haiti Orphan Appeal appeared in <i>The Scotsman</i>, May 16, 2010. The Sherlock violin was played in Usher Hall by Armenian string prodigy Ani Batikian in a<br />
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“varied programme . . .  designed to show off the colours and textures of the instrument as well as the versatility and talent of violinist Ani Batikian. Together with the St Patrick’s Baroque Ensemble, she took Vivaldi’s <i>The Four Seasons</i> at a brisk pace revealing the violin’s quicksilver qualities. Then with pianist Helena Buckmayer, Batikian played works by Elgar and Gershwin demonstrating the warm, honeyed tones of the instrument, while Bartok’s <i>Romanian Folk Dances</i> revealed its more fiery nature.  However, it was the beautiful sweeping melodies of Jay Ungar's <i>Ashokan Farewell</i> for violin and ensemble that really highlighted the gorgeous tones of this magnificent instrument.”  </blockquote>
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Because of the violin’s connection to Doyle it also performed in the world premiere of <i>Elsie and Frances </i>by Scottish composer James Clapperton – named for the two young girls responsible for the 1920 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies" target="_blank">Cottingley Fairies hoax</a>, in which Doyle remained a believer until his death in 1931.<br />
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In the fall of 2010 the Sherlock violin was turned over to the Musical Instrument Museum at the University of Edinburgh from where it is lent out to various organizations such as UNICEF to play for children’s and environmental charities worldwide. I was able to visit the MIM in the summer of 2015 and actually handle the Sherlock violin and hear it as played by one of the curators.  I am not an expert on the sounds of violins and cannot offer an expert opinion on its audible characteristics, but as a Sherlockian I was delighted to see on the inside of the violin the marking,<div><br />
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<i>“Sherlock, 150th anniversary, birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, wood from sycamore at Dunedin School, former childhood home, Edinburgh, 22/05/2009.”</i></h3>
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You can find YouTube videos of the Sherlock violin being played as well as a commentary by Steve Burnett himself has more information on the construction of the violin and sound clips demonstrating it – links can found <a href="https://www.burnettviolins.co.uk/sherlock-violin" target="_blank">on his website</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6kd7zLPNrvM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><div><br />
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While this may end this part of the narrative, it is still not ‘the rest of the story.'  Part 2 will tell a tale of the Watson violin plus a viola and a cello.  When combined with the Sherlock violin they comprise the Doyle string quartet – all made from the same sycamore tree.  The story continues with the only public playing of the Doyle quartet to date at the first year anniversary of the opening of the Arthur Conan Doyle Centre in Edinburgh in 2012.  And this occasion premiered the only performance of <i>The Sign of Four</i> (a quartet for strings, naturally), especially written for the ACD Centre by a Scottish composer and retired woodwind player with the London Symphony Orchestra.  Stay ‘tuned’ for more!<br />
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And in case you wondered what's left of that sycamore tree, here are some shots from the Liberton Bank House grounds:<br />
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The Sherlock Violin

"His powers upon the violin… were very remarkable" [STUD] Most Sherlockians know that the iconic deerstalker and curved pipe ...

+ Read more »

by Spocklock

The Secret of Sherlock’s Statue

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"For a long time he gazed upwards at it" [ABBE]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6tHwNCl9Ui9uKScy080R8HW2O3fJ-aF8Ws_7bQ_jY0fWnUa9O-o7OFjQcU8WvKc_kAfcdMW7kS4_B12txkFSDJcT-Zwe3wlPiGJ1yX_EmAkwgHE4gz40qVlZOZ-u2W04jF9pVPDxsUew/s1600/statue.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Yes, we know this is the Sherlock Holmes statue in London, not Edinburgh" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6tHwNCl9Ui9uKScy080R8HW2O3fJ-aF8Ws_7bQ_jY0fWnUa9O-o7OFjQcU8WvKc_kAfcdMW7kS4_B12txkFSDJcT-Zwe3wlPiGJ1yX_EmAkwgHE4gz40qVlZOZ-u2W04jF9pVPDxsUew/s640/statue.jpg" title="Sherlock Holmes statue" width="640" /></a></div>
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Princes Street in Edinburgh, Scotland is one of the city’s main thoroughfares. Dominating the Princes Street Garden is an imposing 200 foot tall Victorian monument to Sir Walter Scott, described by writer Bill Bryson as looking like a “Gothic rocket ship.”<br />
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But a few minutes stroll up Leith Street will take you to Picardy Place and you will see a much smaller monument – a monument commemorating the birthplace of that other well-known Scottish writer so near and dear to our hearts, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Doyle was born May 22nd, 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, near the top of Leith Walk. The building where he was born is no longer there but in its place is an oversized statue of Sherlock Holmes – a statue which has a secret unknown to most Sherlockians, even those who have stood before it and admired their literary hero.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lOHVU6ldHN0fvJmGDKIiGhosvE164wqQQwULTJBWRte4UqQny6IMcPLVXpNTIJ7H-Ibk_yiQxKup-BjYbEaHoEh8CyV_jM9Z54eIbXS6mP5djOPUfgec62pbPcawyI9y0QKH4uGD55bg/s1600/Holmes+with+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bob Stek and Sherlock Holmes in Edinburgh" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lOHVU6ldHN0fvJmGDKIiGhosvE164wqQQwULTJBWRte4UqQny6IMcPLVXpNTIJ7H-Ibk_yiQxKup-BjYbEaHoEh8CyV_jM9Z54eIbXS6mP5djOPUfgec62pbPcawyI9y0QKH4uGD55bg/s640/Holmes+with+me.jpg" title="Bob Stek with the Sherlock Holmes statue" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our contributor Bob Stek, BSI and the Sherlock Holmes statue.</td></tr>
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Within sight and a few hundred feet from the statue stands <a href="http://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theconandoyleedinburgh/" target="_blank">The Conan Doyle Pub</a> on York Place.  A plaque on the exterior of the pub shares some history of Picardy Place as well as a snippet of misdirection about what Holmes is contemplating as he gazes downward. The plaque reads:<br />
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Located close to The Conan Doyle is Picardy Place, where the pub’s namesake, the great author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was born on May 22nd 1859. There have been houses on this site since 1685, when French refugees (who had fled the province of Picardy, due to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes when Louis XIV declared Protestantism illegal) built Picardy village. Today, an over life-sized bronze statue of Conan Doyle’s greatest creation, Sherlock Holmes, stands opposite his birthplace. The most famous fictional detective is portrayed in meditation on the death of his author.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23hc0iTOthSCqqL_tYEWPXZ9ir1fMJDPWHhCffbNt1thqwXdcg5IWWVzaGD4mKPmvSPu-zu9SNQKPXzQrxC9DEXpbbc-JhNXLwHTBcx9Qv4BC_dvhpJNQEA8lR_MAs55LuC9p-EixCjA9/s1600/Conan+Doyle+pub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Conan Doyle Pub in Edinburgh" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23hc0iTOthSCqqL_tYEWPXZ9ir1fMJDPWHhCffbNt1thqwXdcg5IWWVzaGD4mKPmvSPu-zu9SNQKPXzQrxC9DEXpbbc-JhNXLwHTBcx9Qv4BC_dvhpJNQEA8lR_MAs55LuC9p-EixCjA9/s640/Conan+Doyle+pub.jpg" title="The Conan Doyle, Edinburgh" width="640" /></a></div>
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Standing directly in front of the statue and looking up, it might appear that Holmes is deep in thought, looking towards the pavement, perhaps reflecting upon being at the site of the birthplace of Doyle, perhaps musing about his own seeming immortality as well as ‘the death of his author.’ </div>
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During his long career Holmes could be contemplative – we know that he carefully studied a rose and concluded that the “highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers.” [NAVA] Nonetheless Sherlockians admire Holmes for his ability not just to see, but to observe, to notice a trifle, and to deduce from it a clue and thereby solve a mystery. Holmes actively looked and observed. He once told Inspector Gregory that “I only saw it because I was looking for it.” [SILV]</div>
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It was not beyond Holmes to get on his hands and knees to carefully examine something on the ground, be it a footprint or tobacco ash.  Can we apply Holmes’ methods here, at his own statue? Perhaps Holmes is not in metaphysical contemplation, staring without seeing, without observing. But at what could he be looking?<br />
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An examination of the area in front of the statue reveals only stone pavers – no engraved dancing men or coded message to be seen.  But notice that the statue is on a pedestal and raised more than six feet off the ground.  From a slightly higher elevation on Picardy Place Roundabout, one can see his feet and that the bronze casting includes a portion of the ground upon which Holmes is standing.  At this distance, however, nothing can be seen or observed.<br />
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A modern day high tech solution might be to rig a selfie stick - or even better, a remote controlled quadcopter with a digital camera - and flit around and survey what is near to Holmes’ feet. Instead we will be true to the Master and his methods and physically position ourselves to use our own eyes.  With no handy step-ladder to be found, we note that there is a ledge about 18 inches high around the base of the pedestal. Even Watson’s war wound (gimpy leg or shoulder – take your pick) would not prevent him from stepping up on the corner of this ledge to get a closer view.  Due to recent rain, my photo shows a puddle of water partially obscuring something of interest. But when you are in Edinburgh, climb upon that corner ledge and confirm for yourself that there is indeed the “footprint of a gigantic hound!”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0W2AtPvE2VPuq1wcZDFa5ckZcID1FOpoMhJnIjrA8v7kROYeLjtlBDgG9O_z-h9jseCsEs6P8Gs8Ahc8z25M5Bn3Fipf-Y-Afjqcao1GBY-5_JKWoFdIPHsazEHDfieeQjO0CGc2Auga/s1600/hound+footprint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt=""Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!"" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0W2AtPvE2VPuq1wcZDFa5ckZcID1FOpoMhJnIjrA8v7kROYeLjtlBDgG9O_z-h9jseCsEs6P8Gs8Ahc8z25M5Bn3Fipf-Y-Afjqcao1GBY-5_JKWoFdIPHsazEHDfieeQjO0CGc2Auga/s640/hound+footprint.jpg" title="The footprint of a gigantic hound!" width="640" /></a></div>
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But wait – there is more!  Seen more clearly in the photo below is the pawprint of a much smaller animal – a clue outside the bounds of Canonical knowledge certainly.  Whatever could it mean?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQPHpCPnunrPB99fx1RoezOLWYr5GBhja1Rr4Ti0XxV6_1gxp8cNH_hvIHYwoU5VkdsV77dZTG9EnlCrU4RQ0jVQyjv-WzB_vpSlxbzgNM4xPO8I6UXFVDEqpgPurvCig-kp8uEA910AO/s1600/Footprint+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The footprint of a less than gigantic hound" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQPHpCPnunrPB99fx1RoezOLWYr5GBhja1Rr4Ti0XxV6_1gxp8cNH_hvIHYwoU5VkdsV77dZTG9EnlCrU4RQ0jVQyjv-WzB_vpSlxbzgNM4xPO8I6UXFVDEqpgPurvCig-kp8uEA910AO/s640/Footprint+2.jpg" title="Another footprint on the Sherlock Holmes statue" width="640" /></a></div>
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We are, after all, at the birthplace of Doyle. Did Doyle keep a pet which the sculptor wished to acknowledge? But that would be a very obscure bit of trivia to include, especially since Doyle was unlikely to even be aware of a family pet in the first year or so of his life.<br />
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If it is unrelated to Doyle’s birth, perhaps it is related to his birthplace. Picardy Place has no connection itself - but what of the city of Edinburgh, the city which approved the building of this memorial to one of its famous residents. Can we deduce a connection with Edinburgh? The paw print is not of sufficient size to be a companion print of a gigantic hound. It would have to belong to a much smaller dog.  That would most likely rule out half spaniel, half lurcher Toby from <i>The Sign of Four</i>. Is there a small dog strongly associated with Edinburgh, a small dog perhaps contemporaneous with Doyle?<br />
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Of course! No need to eliminate any impossible or improbable suspects, there is only one answer – <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby" target="_blank">Greyfriars Bobby</a>! Known throughout Scotland, Bobby, a Skye terrier, was born about 1855 and for fourteen years guarded the grave of his owner. The statue of Bobby sits at the corner of Candlemaker’s Row and George IV Bridge, just a one mile walk from Picardy Place. A plaque on the base reads "A tribute to the affectionate fidelity of Greyfriars Bobby. In 1858, this faithful dog followed the remains of his master to Greyfriars Churchyard and lingered near the spot until his death in 1872."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAyPy7FVqQ44BKgj74I14NNJAmBpi6xCQ_Xr5OwCRBry7ome1AIxqNzOGnUtXp9wBxmZPR2fGP9ZG9hUcT9lSyZibfTdG0CDqChdFGO5G7yrjk98gZMep2ufXCc74gVJnJ26HGJbDAqpkR/s1600/Greyfriars+Bobby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The famous Greyfriars Bobby" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAyPy7FVqQ44BKgj74I14NNJAmBpi6xCQ_Xr5OwCRBry7ome1AIxqNzOGnUtXp9wBxmZPR2fGP9ZG9hUcT9lSyZibfTdG0CDqChdFGO5G7yrjk98gZMep2ufXCc74gVJnJ26HGJbDAqpkR/s640/Greyfriars+Bobby.jpg" title="Greyfriars Bobby" width="640" /></a></div>
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I only hope that no damage is done to the corner of the pedestal of the Holmes statue by legions of Sherlockians trying to see the two paw prints. Perhaps the city of Edinburgh would be wise to invest in a stone step or two to avoid wear on the ledge.<br />
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I am indebted to Rupert Maragh of the UK for introducing me to the ‘secret of the statue.’<br />
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<i>Robert Stek, BSI will be joining David Stuart Davies at the Arthur Conan Doyle Centre in Edinburgh during the <a href="https://www.edfringe.com/" target="_blank">Fringe Festival</a> in August, 2015. David Stuart Davies will be presenting “An Evening with Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle” and Dr. Stek will speak on “The Unusual Friendship of Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini.”</i><br />
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The Secret of Sherlock’s Statue

"For a long time he gazed upwards at it" [ABBE] Princes Street in Edinburgh, Scotland is one of the city’s main thorough...

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by Spocklock

Potted Sherlock - 60 Holmes Stories in 70 Minutes

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<span style="font-size: small;">"I'll humour you"   [DYIN]</span></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0HZDy15sAQIZq1V5lCqo63IKbNC2WRjGDAbe2NOKSkSo9idVoLg6enDgiLdUpOldQ68qxgneG7nmDdkOU2l8oIPU6tuRfeUpkSa2XzgbzBHuZVLyHSEyCJqNwmoPv-Q89-6wGdqDIb6b/s1600/Potted+Sherlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Potted Sherlock - all 60 stories told in 70 minutes" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0HZDy15sAQIZq1V5lCqo63IKbNC2WRjGDAbe2NOKSkSo9idVoLg6enDgiLdUpOldQ68qxgneG7nmDdkOU2l8oIPU6tuRfeUpkSa2XzgbzBHuZVLyHSEyCJqNwmoPv-Q89-6wGdqDIb6b/s1600/Potted+Sherlock.jpg" title="Potted Sherlock" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.edfringe.com/" target="_blank">The Fringe Festival</a> in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the world's largest arts festival with over 45,000 performances and more than 3000 shows packed into almost 300 venues across the city each year in August. The Fringe is open to all: anyone can perform and everyone does - from students to superstars.<br />
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Since Edinburgh was the birthplace of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes is the world’s most famous literary detective, you might think that the Fringe could play host to all sorts of Sherlockian events – and you would be correct.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgISBO5I3MqthufhlzYxcbqgLw_eSrB9Ttq80ZACcNM9-uAX0O1uDrgrdUF5NbobyuzfK9vd2lI4ug-QaIXAHWmUPdI3SkjOBkBnZv6NXqNWyGiBZggbv93puaAQ83Ttg0_6D3Km04wmYu_/s1600/Fringe+Festival+-+Royal+Mile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Royal Mile at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgISBO5I3MqthufhlzYxcbqgLw_eSrB9Ttq80ZACcNM9-uAX0O1uDrgrdUF5NbobyuzfK9vd2lI4ug-QaIXAHWmUPdI3SkjOBkBnZv6NXqNWyGiBZggbv93puaAQ83Ttg0_6D3Km04wmYu_/s1600/Fringe+Festival+-+Royal+Mile.jpg" title="Fringe Festival - Royal Mile" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Royal Mile at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Image credit: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/6waEb" target="_blank">Raymond MacRae (Flickr)</a></span></span></td></tr>
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This year saw lectures about ACD at the Arthur Conan Doyle Centre, Edinburgh Medical Detectives featuring Dr. Joseph Bell, the inspiration for Holmes, two different productions of <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>, and even a Forensic Mind Reader who promised to deduce personal information about you <i>a la </i>Sherlock. Besides the scheduled Fringe events the National Library of Scotland has the original manuscripts of <i>The Illustrious Client</i>, and Doyle’s first short ghost story <i>The Haunted Grange of Goresthorpe</i>, written possibly in 1877 or 1878, plus select ACD correspondence. And across from the Conan Doyle Pub on Picardy Place there is a statue of Holmes commemorating the birthplace of <strike>his author</strike>  Watson’s literary agent, Doyle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuS8mMxJJBbacCK6cP9hstG93oB9DphsoVR6xYwTT5E-MAZa256uKitMqk1u-A7zg7ovMt9b2v6uvqlhYXMhX9jZJoZXMaXywkIIsMa3Mf-IH-edHeUwG3bVT0b2deIQ-7t6aISjMHQ0/s1600/Potted+Sherlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuS8mMxJJBbacCK6cP9hstG93oB9DphsoVR6xYwTT5E-MAZa256uKitMqk1u-A7zg7ovMt9b2v6uvqlhYXMhX9jZJoZXMaXywkIIsMa3Mf-IH-edHeUwG3bVT0b2deIQ-7t6aISjMHQ0/s1600/Potted+Sherlock.jpg" width="620" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The cast of <i>Potted Sherlock: </i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jeff Turner, Lizzie Wort and Dan Clarkson</span></div>
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But this year’s Fringe premiered <i><a href="https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/potted-sherlock" target="_blank">Potted Sherlock</a></i> – all sixty stories told in a fast moving seventy minute comedic production of farce, word play, sight gags, pop culture references, frantic costume changes, seltzer bottle slapstick, skits and songs. The longer skits focus on the <i>Hound</i> (hoooooowwwwwwlllll), <i>The Sign of Four</i>, "The Speckled Band" and <i>A Study in Scarlet</i> with appearances of the demi-puppet Moriarty at inopportune times.  The family-friendly show glosses over Holmes's use of a seven-percent solution and manages to condense 21 stories to a few lines each in a musical number parodying Billy Joel’s <i>We Didn’t Start the Fire</i>:<br />
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<b><i>Chorus</i></b>:  He’s a private dick for hire<br />
And we’re all involved in the cases he’s solving.<br />
Follow clues until we retire,<br />
And then proceeding to do some beekeeping...<br />
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<b><i>GIRL</i></b>: (as Watson) Case of Silver Blaze <br />
Jockey dead and horse is maimed <br />
<b><i>JEFF</i></b>: The Jockey tried to fix the race, <br />
The horse then kicked him in the face<br />
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Any Sherlockian worth his salt* can deduce which stories are very succinctly sung in these five snippets:<br />
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#1<br />
<b><i>GIRL</i></b>: (as Watson) Trouble on a wedding day<br />
<b><i>DAN</i></b>: (as groom in top hat) Why did my bride run away? <br />
<b><i>JEFF</i></b>: Elementary, her old fiancé<br />
Put a note in her bouquet<br />
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#2<br />
<b><i>GIRL</i></b>: (Watson) A man dies he’s in pain<br />
Says something about a lion’s mane<br />
<b><i>DAN</i></b>: (As small boy) Perhaps a cryptic final wish? <br />
<b><i>JEFF</i></b>: No, just a breed of jellyfish<br />
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#3<br />
<b><i>DAN</i></b>: (as Watson) A jewel thief is on the loose <br />
<b><i>JEFF</i></b>: He hid the jewels inside a goose<br />
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#4<br />
<b><i>GIRL</i></b>: (as Watson) Man killed, was it his son? <br />
<b><i>JEFF</i></b>: No, his friend, look, here’s his gun<br />
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#5<br />
<b><i>DAN</i></b>: (in Naval Officers hat) My butler was snooping around, <br />
Here’s a riddle that he found,<br />
<b><i>JEFF</i></b>: This says that buried in your grounds,<br />
 Is Charles’ the first’s golden crown<br />
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I attended <i>Potted Sherlock</i> twice – it was that much fun and the lines flew by so quickly that I wanted a second opportunity to try to catch them all (and discovered that some of those <i>ad lib</i>s were in name only and worked because of clever scripting and the performers’ great timing). Dan Clarkson, one of the authors, played Holmes, Watson, Moriarty and whoever-else-was-needed. His longtime partner, Jeff Turner, and Lizzie Wort, an old classmate of Dan’s from Bretton Hall, University of Leeds, also madly traded deerstalker, pipe and bowler as required as the three alternately played Holmes, Watson, Mrs. Hudson and also whoever-else-was-needed. The enthusiasm they brought to this comic re-telling of the Canon was infectious and the hammy asides Dan made to the audience created a warm rapport with young and old.<br />
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<i>Potted Sherlock</i> follows the award winning <i>Potted Potter</i>, all seven Harry Potter books told in seventy minutes, which debuted in 2006, had five sold-out Fringe seasons, five sold-out London runs, extensive United Kingdom and international tours prior to its critically-acclaimed US premiere at the Little Shubert Theater in New York City in 2012. <i>Potted Sherlock</i> will be opening in London’s West End at Christmas time. Let us hope that the troupe brings their talent to NYC once again.<br />
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I was fortunate enough to be able to interview the writers, Dan Clarkson and his brother Tom, after one of the performances. Before seeing the show and meeting them I was a bit cynical about how they came to write a comedic show about Holmes and Watson. The Harry Potter series, much loved as the stories are, was complete and <i>Potted Potter</i> had run its course. With the great entertainment media interest in Holmes the last few years, I initially thought that they might be just jumping on a bandwagon.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tom Clarkson, the mysterious scientist, and Dan Clarkson</span></td></tr>
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I quickly discovered that these two brothers are true Holmes fanboys – the show was created from the heart, with their love and admiration for the stories showing through the on-stage shenanigans. In fact, when they learned that I was a BSI member, they said they were nervous about hearing from a Sherlockian expert ("My blushes, Watson!"), asking if I thought they were being faithful to the stories. Dan told of reading the tales growing up and even arguing with a teacher that the most venomous snake in the world was the Indian swamp adder – Sherlock Holmes said it was so!<br />
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The two of them wrote a few skits making fun of some of the inconsistencies (?!) in their favorite stories when Dan’s producer suggested doing all 60 stories in a Potted version. They welcomed the challenge and began researching and writing.They spent weeks re-watching the Granada Jeremy Brett series and Basil Rathbone movies and re-reading the stories.They also spent a day or two in Dartmoor to experience the gloomy atmosphere as they were writing the script. Despite the silliness inherent in the show, I think their love for Holmes and Watson comes through clearly.<br />
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As popular and successful as <i>Potted Potter</i> was, I predict that <i>Potted Sherlock</i> will be even more popular.  If you are fortunate enough to be in London this Christmas season, do not miss it. As soon as I learn of its US debut I will be purchasing my ticket!<br />
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*In case you are not worth your salt, the answers:<br />
1 - "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor"<br />
2 - "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane"<br />
3 - "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle"<br />
4 - "The Boscombe Valley Mystery"<br />
5 - "The Musgrave Ritual"<br />
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<br />

Potted Sherlock - 60 Holmes Stories in 70 Minutes

"I'll humour you" [DYIN] The Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the world's largest arts festival with o...

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by Spocklock

Remembering Charlie Adams, BSI

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"My old friend Charlie" [ILLU]</h4>
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I would guess that most Sherlockians became fascinated with Holmes after becoming familiar with him on their own, not particularly because they were a Rathbone or Brett fan first, not because they knew that well-known authors like Isaac Asimov or Rex Stout were fans. When we discovered that there were thousands of Sherlock <i>aficionados </i>in scion societies, ASH, BSI, and other groups, we joined in because we were thrilled to be in the company of others who loved Holmes and Watson as much as we did.<br />
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When we started attending meetings and events, we met others like ourselves for whom the game was always afoot. We made friends with these Sherlockians based upon our mutual admiration for the world’s first consulting detective and his chronicler, not because we hoped to network for a better job or to get recommendations for a great vacation.  Conversations invariably were about Holmes and Watson (and even that literary agent by the name of Doyle).  Have you ever noticed that when you meet a new Sherlockian, your first question is usually “What is your home scion?” and almost never “So what do you do for a living?” <br />
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Friendships among Sherlockians are special because these friendships are not primarily about us – they are about our admiration for two men who never lived, and so will never die.  But we form close friendships with other Sherlockians over the years, learning about each other via our mutual connection with Holmes and Watson.  And unlike our heroes, our Sherlockian friends do live and do eventually die.<br />
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Charles A. Adams, BSI ("The Winter Assizes at Norwich"), or Charlie to his many friends, an avid and longtime follower of all things Sherlockian, died May 18, 2014, in Colchester, Connecticut at the age of 69. He founded his own scion near Norwich and then joined the Men on the Tor in the late 1970s; he was also a member of the Speckled Band of Boston and a visitor to many other scions in New England. He received his Irregular Shilling in the BSI in 1990 with the investiture of "The Winter Assizes of Norwich" – the name of his original scion society. Charlie will be especially remembered for many Sherlockian-content parodies of popular and Broadway tunes that he and his Winter Assizes colleagues created over the years, as well as for a rather "naughty" Toast he gave to Watson’s Second Wife at the BSI dinner in 1981.<br />
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Charlie was a solid, well rounded Sherlockian – not a fanatical collector, not an organizational ‘mover and shaker,’ not a prolific writer of scholarly journal articles (though he was always ready with a thoughtful Canonical toast).  Over the years Charlie became a good friend to many.<br />
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Personally I will miss our drives from Connecticut to New York to attend the Gillette luncheon and the annual dinner. It was during these drives that I came to know Charlie well. He was a fan of radio host Jean Shepherd and his nightly show on WOR back in the '60s.  A motorcycle enthusiast for many years he also followed Shep’s column in <i>Car and Driver</i> and <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1ssalWg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jean Shepherd’s America</a></i> TV show on PBS.<br />
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Charlie was a voracious reader and loved the Flashman novels, Horatio Hornblower stories, the Aloysius Pendergast series, and read various science fiction authors among many, many others; he was a voracious reader. For over 20 years we shared a room in NYC as we each played Holmes to the other’s Watson, and enjoyed our own ritual luncheon of a pastrami sandwich at the Carnegie Deli the day after the dinner.  One year we even skipped the Saturday afternoon cocktail party to see <i>Monty Python and the Holy Grail</i>. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Jan Prager of Rhode Island’s The Cornish Horrors was a friend of Charlie’s. He wrote:</span><br />
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My favorite memory of Charlie is the time he and I took a Friday afternoon before BSI to drive out to Queens to see <a href="http://amzn.to/1pkGuJE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chris Steinbrunner</a>, who was terminally ill. Chris had told us not to come because he didn't want us to see him diminished in his wheelchair, but Charlie insisted that we go anyway. We talked to Chris through the door, and we all enjoyed the visit, short as it had to be. All the way back to Manhattan Charlie and I talked about the many good times we had with Chris at Cornish Horrors and Men on the Tor meetings -- and weekends at my house or on Block Island when Chris would drive up with a trunk full of movies and a projector, and we'd watch for hours on end. The likes of Charlie may not be seen again, but his loyalty and quiet companionship live on among the BSI.</blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">From <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/06/episode-53-for-sake-of-trust.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tom Francis</a>: </span></div>
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I am a big Shep [Jean Shepherd] fan but it was many, many years before Charlie and I discovered we had this mutual interest. That’s because he had so many interests that we had just never got around to Shep. I loved the way he used a Socratic approach to open up a fresh topic and he would sucker me in every time. I don’t have to tell you [Bob Stek] about the Jazz clubs because you joined us several times. But my favorite part may have been the walk back up Sixth Avenue as we could just talk, and talking with Charlie was always the high point. He wasn’t just an interesting talker he was a very good listener. When Chris Steinbrenner was ill, depressed and refusing to see anyone it was Charlie who went to him and visited regularly and provided Chris the only companionship he had at the end. Charlie was a very compassionate person.</blockquote>
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I am afraid the oral history project may have missed getting his story. He quietly knew everyone. His stories about Asimov are lost. I remember him telling of one of the times they shared a cab and Charlie asked him to autograph a book he had bought from a remainder sale...Isaac went nuts.</blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Burt Wolder wrote: </span></div>
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What I remember most about Charlie was the depth of his joy in Sherlock Holmes and his eagerness to share with fellow Sherlockians.  I remember a paper he gave at the Speckled Band, all about "how to do it" -- how to approach giving a Sherlockian paper, how to play the game.  It's thanks to Charlie that I began to write "singing toasts" for some Sherlockian luminaries -- one year Charlie showed up at (I think) a meeting of The Cornish Horrors with a boom box and a cassette tape of "Daisy, Daisy."  He had written new lyrics to that old song, and he wanted me and other people to join him in presenting it.  I remember his vest-pocket pipe, in the old days when smoking was still allowed.  But mostly I remember his undiminished enthusiasm, his warmth, his sense of fun and his desire to share the simple joy of Sherlockian pursuits. He reveled in Sherlock Holmes, and that he will be much missed goes without saying.</blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Susan Rice, organizer of the annual Gillette luncheon, recalled: </span></div>
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I'm not sure whether Charlie never knew for sure he could come to the city for the birthday weekend until the last minute, or whether he was an expert procrastinator like me, but I rarely received his reservation for the Gillette Luncheon until the very last moment. The restaurant is very cooperative and I could always find space, but the one thing I would not alter were the table assignments, hammered out a week or so before the luncheon.  Thus Charlie and other latecomers were seated together at the most distant table, usually Table 17. I hoped it would teach a lesson and present a good reason for an earlier reservation, but instead it encouraged the opposite. Since these were often the same people, they developed a camaraderie and enjoyed, I suspect, their outlaw status. For many years, even when he sent his reservation before the deadline, Charlie would request a seat at Table 17.</blockquote>
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One day at an <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/10/episode-11-bob-thomalen-part-1.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Autumn in Baker Street</a> I had given a presentation on Mr. Holmes and his bees, and Charlie approached me later to talk about his own fascination with honeybees. Pleased to find him so responsive and knowledgeable, when I returned home I sent him a copy 
of my book, <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1ssbUmV" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Compound of Excelsior</a>.</i> The letter of thanks he sent me was a beautiful thing. He described his surprise and pleasure to receive the book, his decision to read it outdoors on a hillside where he always saw many bees, and his joy to find so many links between Holmes and the apiary science. As an anti-collector I keep very little  correspondence, but I kept that lovely letter.</blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tyke Niver of The Men on the Tor wrote:
</span><br />
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There is one item that I see every day that reminds me of Charlie. 
 When we designed our present house we decided that it should have a 
Holmes theme...in fact the plaque on the front door says "Baskerville 
Hall." One day Charlie, with some members of the Winter Assizes at 
Norwich, visited and said that he liked the scarlet red flocked wall 
paper that we have in the library.  He asked if they could have some of 
it. Sure, have some. What a surprise when, later on, Charlie gave us a
 present.  They had mounted some of the wallpaper and, using .22 
cartridges, they had pock marked the wallpaper with the initials 
V.R....just like Holmes. It now proudly hangs in the library.</blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Scott Monty writes:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
While I knew Charlie from various New England scion societies in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island and I always enjoyed his musical numbers. It's an area of Sherlockian interest that we shared. But more than Charlie's Sherlockian credentials, it's Charlie's friendly and encouraging nature that I'll always remember. Every time I had occasion to see Charlie - and opportunities in the last few years would generally amount to an annual reunion - the informal and quiet conversations were always the most meaningful. Charlie was always interested in other people and full of compliments and suggestions. I might not have known Charlie as well as some of the other correspondents above, but Charlie made me feel like I was valued just as equally as them. And that was a special gift.</blockquote>
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<br />
When you did come to know Charlie, you learned of his other interests and his personal history. Born in Norwich, CT, he graduated from Norwich Free Academy in 1962. Earning a bachelor's degree from the College of the Holy Cross in 1967, he returned to NFA to teach English literature. He also earned a master's degree in 1975 from the University of Hartford. He retired in 2003 after a teaching career of 36 years. He was a dedicated teacher who interacted extensively with his students in and out of class, who taught them to think and not just regurgitate facts. A skilled marksman and competitive rifle shooter, as a NFA faculty member, he coached the NFA rifle team to several State High School Championships. <br />
<br />
He and his wife of 36 years, Carol, were hosts over the years to many Sherlockians who visited Gillette Castle to research William Gillette. He told a wonderful story of how he and Carol 'accidentally' came to buy their house high on a hill in East Haddam directly across the road from the Castle.  Besides Carol, he is survived by his son, Chris, and daughter-in-law Dianne, of Norwich, as well as his older brother, Albert, of Virginia.<br />
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Charlie was a fine Sherlockian and a great human being.  He is already missed by everyone who knew him.<br />
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[<b>Editor's note</b>: if you have a memory of Charlie that you'd care to share, please leave a comment below]<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>--</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>

Remembering Charlie Adams, BSI

"My old friend Charlie" [ILLU] I would guess that most Sherlockians became fascinated with Holmes after becoming familiar wit...

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by Spocklock

221B Baker Street, Reading, Pennsylvania

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". . . a single large airy sitting-room, cheerfully furnished . . ."  [STUD]</h4>
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We have all been there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps you imagined Watson removing a decanter from the tantalus on the
sideboard, pouring you a drink, adding a splash of soda water from the gasogene
before inviting you to take a chair in the sitting room at 221B Baker Street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You also may be able to imagine the 'VR' on
the wall, the wax bust of Holmes in the corner, and a violin carelessly left
out of its case and much too close to Holmes’ glassware and chemicals on his
lab table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But 'fess up – your imagination
just isn't up to vividly re-creating the entire sitting room in your mind’s
eye.</div>
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But if you build it, they will come.</div>
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On Saturday, April 26<span style="font-size: x-small;">,</span> over 30 people attended
the open house at 221B in Reading, PA, as Denny Dobry and his wife Joann
showcased one of the most elaborate and complete reproductions of Holmes's and
Watson's sitting room on Baker Street in London.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have seen several other re-creations – at the
<a href="http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes Museum</a> and at the <a href="http://www.sherlockholmespub.com/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes Pub</a> in London, and back in the ‘70s I visited the Sherlock Holmes, Esq. Public
House on Union Square in San Francisco. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I haven’t been to all that exist (<a href="http://www.221bbakerstreetla.com/" target="_blank">221A Baker Street in LosAngeles</a> is one, and there is another in <a href="http://www.sherlockholmes.ch/" target="_blank">Meiringen, Switzerland</a>) but the amount of work and detail seen in
the room in the basement of a typical middle-class house just outside of
Reading is truly remarkable.</div>
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Though constructed in the basement, the impression of a
first floor flat (second floor in America) is complete with the two
windows mentioned by Watson in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Study in
Scarlet</i> overlooking Baker Street, with London street sounds in the
background.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can look through the
windows to see a façade of the other buildings on Baker Street (painted on a
solid back wall).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The illusion is quite
striking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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But the real excitement is
experienced as you take in the incredible amount of detail that is seen in this
labor of love by Denny Dobry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everywhere
you look you see not only most every single item ever mentioned in the Canon, but
there are one or more artifacts from each of the 60 stories (including Baron Gruner’s 'little black book' with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very</i> private photographs of Victorian ladies with details of their
lives suitable for blackmailing and a specimen of a Lion's Mane jellyfish in a
glass jar!)<br />
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There are, of course,
photographs of General Gordon and Henry Ward Beecher and Her Royal Majesty,
Queen Victoria, and an unbroken small plaster bust of Napoleon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there are literally hundreds of items <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> mentioned explicitly in the Canon
that we all <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">know</i> had to be there as
well: checks signed by Holmes or Watson made out to Mrs. Hudson for rent,
receipts from local shops, telegram blanks as well as Watson’s foot locker from
the Army and a framed copy of his commission in the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers.</div>
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Denny was inspired by Paul Churchill's sitting room
re-creation in 1996 and began collecting (and manufacturing!) artifacts as he
planned his own room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Construction of
the room's walls, floor and ceiling took about a year and was completed in
1999.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Members of various scions local to
Pennsylvania, and of course members of Denny’s own scion, the <a href="http://www.whiteroseirregulars.net/" target="_blank">White Rose Irregulars</a>,
have had the pleasure of visiting over the years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>This open house was an opportunity for other
Sherlockians to marvel at the planning and effort that went into what is
arguably the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">most</i> complete
re-creation of the sitting room of the world’s first consulting detective and
his biographer, John H. Watson, MD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> 
</span>Please <a href="mailto:dendobry@ptd.net" target="_blank">contact Denny directly</a> to attend a meeting of the White Rose Irregulars of York or to arrange for a visit to see the Sitting Room for yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be worth the
trip, no matter how far you must travel.</div>
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221B Baker Street, Reading, Pennsylvania

". . . a single large airy sitting-room, cheerfully furnished . . ." [STUD] We have all been there. Perhaps you imagined ...

+ Read more »

by Spocklock

221B Con - Fandom In Its Infinite Variety

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent." [IDEN]</h4>
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   "Bunny!Lock" cosplayers (L to R) Buniarty, Bunlock, Molly Hopper, Bob, BunWatson, & Buncroft in their handmade costumes</div>
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I will admit to being a neophile – I look forward to hearing about anything new. But, alas, there is not time enough even to begin to keep up with it all. I knew that many different types of fan conventions have been held over the years – back in 1979 I was in San Francisco and accidentally walked into a Star Trek convention. As a reader of science fiction I was aware of <a href="http://www.bouchercon.info/" target="_blank">BoucherCon</a>.  I also vaguely knew that the genre ‘fan fiction’ existed – after all what Sherlockian doesn’t enjoy a good pastiche.<br />
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But I really didn’t know much about the fanatics who follow the BBC's <i>Sherlock</i> and have become devotees of the Master – and in ways surprising to this old campaigner.  The city of Atlanta hosted <a href="http://www.221bcon.com/" target="_blank">221B Con</a> on the weekend of April  4-6, 2014 with over 1,000 in attendance. Not surprising, you may say. After all, Sherlock Holmes is beloved by millions, and the BBC series as well as <i>Elementary</i> and the Robert Downey, Jr. movies have generated a fair amount of commentary even amongst curmudgeonly old Sherlockians who may prefer to light up a fine cigar, sip a snifter of brandy and discuss the original stories in the comfort of an over-stuffed leather chair in their club’s private library – not that there is anything wrong with that, as they say on <i>Seinfeld</i>.<br />
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221B Con is in its second year.  In 2013 the organizers, I was informed, expected about 70 attendees – 700 showed up! The 2014 version was, to use my 1960’s parlance, mind-blowing, a real trip, and even psychedelic! Or to use the analogy of a fellow Sherlockian who is also a Lewis Carroll fan, it was a journey “down the rabbit hole” to follow a new trail that has suddenly appeared, solely for the excitement of a surprising adventure and discovery of the unusual. A fan convention, or at least <i>this</i> fan convention, was a combination of presentations, panel discussions, showings of old and new SH media portrayals, book signings, an actual tea party where Mrs. Hudson (Marilynne McKay, BSI, ASH in Victorian costume) helped serve the attendees, performances by the <a href="http://www.artc.org/" target="_blank">Atlanta Radio Theater Company</a> (shades of Friends of Bogey’s on Baker Street!) and the steam-punk band, <a href="http://www.theextraordinarycontraptions.com/" target="_blank">The Extraordinary Contraptions</a>, vendor tables and a costume contest!<br />
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Even at that 1979 Star Trek fancon there were Klingons, Spocks, Kirks, Uhurus, and McCoys in abundance. But imagine my surprise when I walked into the Marriott to be greeted by Hugh Hefner and five Baker Street Bunnies (AKA Cumber-bunnies?) and an <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/04/episode-41-woman.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Irene Adler straight out of BBC <i>Sherlock</i></a>, with riding crop and sheer see-through dominatrix outfit. There were plenty of Sherlocks and Johns, Marys (in their black-op spy outfits), Mrs. Hudsons and even Moose-croft and Deer-lock (don’t make me explain).  Cosplay at 221B Con goes far beyond the wearing of a deerstalker or Inverness cape seen at t<a href="http://bsiweekend.com/" target="_blank">he annual birthday weekend in New York City</a>.  <br />
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Programs included, but not limited to: The Napoleon of Crime, Minorities in Elementary, Canon 101, Brett vs. Rathbone, Holmes Through the Years, Art in the Blood, ACD’s Other Works, From Baker Street to the Holodeck, Teaching Sherlock Holmes, History of Fingerprinting, Burke vs, Hardwicke, Russian Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Occult (at which I presented a recording of a conversation with ACD from the ‘beyond’!). But most of the panels I attended were more like discussions led by the panelists with the audience than they were formal presentations.  And there was SherlockImprov, a live-action combination of cosplay and improv where the audience participated in mini-dramas created on the spot. This was not a sedate discussion of finer points in the Canon. This was 1,000 people showing their love for Holmes and Watson – not to mention a substantial sub-group showing and approving of Sherlock’s love <i>for</i> Watson (shades of Rex Stout who wrote Watson was a woman!). At Fandom Stats – a quantitative look at Sherlock’s fandom – I learned that approximately 35% of fan-written fiction is X-rated!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUDsybfJTrtVbShQ-BzKGFaCMa3SnJgPkpycuGQHxOmaB-HHvm9qIEe2LFYTfMYSwJIiLU_WgwxjJ84LJxzLtbZdQ5LAIWFLAeLCYefkB-AM1VMyJefzIrLVC1h0lVWA0ugM30Bkr4Rp4/s1600/IMG_0172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUDsybfJTrtVbShQ-BzKGFaCMa3SnJgPkpycuGQHxOmaB-HHvm9qIEe2LFYTfMYSwJIiLU_WgwxjJ84LJxzLtbZdQ5LAIWFLAeLCYefkB-AM1VMyJefzIrLVC1h0lVWA0ugM30Bkr4Rp4/s1600/IMG_0172.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hot Off the Presses Panel (L to R): Jacqueline Morris, ASH, BSI, Scintillation of Scions;  Mark Alberstat, BSI, Editor of Canadian Holmes Journal,Toronto Bootmakers;  Marilynne McKay, ASH, BSI, Confederates of Wisteria Lodge</td></tr>
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Kudos to the organizers for making <a href="http://beaconsociety.com/" target="_blank">The Beacon Society</a> the official charity of 221B Con. People made donations to their favorite ‘ships’ – and we are not talking about the barque <i>Lone Star</i> or the <i>Matilda Briggs</i>. They were voting for their favorite romantic relation<i>ships</i> – such as JohnLock, gay John and Sherlock, or Mollylock or even the time traveling crossover WhoLock! The fandom at 221B Con is all about diversity.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzFiqGVlATE_1pPmoHNFkJGCHIvK3tu5xcZJs3CJ3lj0w0Gvk42orVdnJEGQlqrHsghEMUOSmIzMDwAy_UAaiYgYGzn3f9GAxCxd7mZusKN_CpInmQUQINkxuAZpLUigq-6_EdzSVcxQ/s1600/Lyndsay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzFiqGVlATE_1pPmoHNFkJGCHIvK3tu5xcZJs3CJ3lj0w0Gvk42orVdnJEGQlqrHsghEMUOSmIzMDwAy_UAaiYgYGzn3f9GAxCxd7mZusKN_CpInmQUQINkxuAZpLUigq-6_EdzSVcxQ/s1600/Lyndsay.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baker Street Babe Lyndsay Faye, BSI, ASH: From Baker Street to Holodeck</td></tr>
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Every generation is free to keep green the memory of the Master as they see fit. Older generations may chafe at what they consider outlandish interpretations of Holmes and Watson. But in speaking with many of the younger, and mostly female, Sherlockians in attendance I found that as a group they were very aware of the original stories and enjoyed them immensely, that many knew of the ‘traditional’ scion societies and did participate, and were keen researchers of Doyle and all things Sherlockian.<br />
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I was very envious of a young woman who had not yet finished reading all of the original stories – she could pit her deductive skills against Holmes without being aware of the solution to a story’s conundrum. I have often wished that I could have my memory of the stories selectively erased so I could read them anew again and again. Also, as a group, many were <a href="http://ihearofsherlock.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a> users - a platform where they can read and post fanfic, pictures, drawings, links, video or audio clips of their favorite actors or authors.  And while I personally will never wear a hand-knitted camouflage deerstalker, I will always defend another fan’s right to do so!<br />
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