I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

The Old Court Radio Theatre Company and @SHSLBakerStweet Bring You...

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"I heard the sound of voices from above." [REDH] </h4>
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<span class="post-author"><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/10/receiving-station-as-well-as_2.html">Gordon Dymowski wrote</a> about Big Finish and their adaptation of "The Final Problem" and "The Empty House." I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/03/episode-40-one-voice-of-sherlock-holmes.html">interviewed </a></span><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/03/episode-40-one-voice-of-sherlock-holmes.html">David Ian Davies</a> and his recording of the entire Canon for One Voice Recordings. I would like to give a shout out to the program I listen to while waiting for the newest episode of IHOSE: <b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/world/radio.php">The Old Court Radio Theatre Company</a> and their dramatizations of the famous Baker Street duo.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">There are currently fifteen shows: ten of the Canon, two of the Apocryphal stories, “The Lost Special” and “The Man with the Watches” rewritten to feature Holmes and Watson, Gillette’s “Sherlock Holmes or the Strange Case of Alice Faulkner”, and two good pastiches,"T</span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;">he Lon</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Man</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">" by Rafe McGregor and "The Long Man" by Roger Johnson</span><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b></b>.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Directed by the <a href="http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/">Sherlock Holmes Society of London</a>’s Roger Johnson, produced by Denis Rookard for Hosiprog Productions until his death in March 2010 (when Johnson took over those duties), with scripts by M.J. Elliott, the shows capture the feel of old time radio. Jim Crozier and Dave Hawkes are excellent as Holmes and Watson. Crozier is the cold, precise reasoner of Baker Street, sometimes imperious but always humane (as with his interaction with Helen Stoner in “The Speckled Band”). Hawkes’ Watson is intelligent, loyal and, yes, put-upon. However, his exasperation with Holmes is never over the top; the actors convey the real friendship of the pair.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">The scripts are adaptations of the stories; radio plays not </span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;">transcriptions</span>. They show a deep knowledge of the Canon and Canonical problems. In “The <i style="font-weight: normal;">Gloria Scott</i>” as Holmes begins his narration of the case, Watson interrupts twice to ask which his college was, and Holmes pointedly ignores him. In “Wisteria Lodge”, Watson begins, “I find it recorded in my notebooks that it was a bleak and windy day towards the end of March in the year 1892…1892? That can’t be right surely. Hmm. (Sigh) Ah, well…” That very briefest of sighs of a man who knows something is wrong somewhere, but doesn't know what it is, and regardless is not going to let it break the flow of his narrative, is pure Watson. The shows are full of these touches that play the game and enhance the enjoyment of the stories. never slow their pace.</div>
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">We have many choices in the 21<sup>st</sup> century to sate our need for Sherlock Holmes: newly created radio programs and classics from the 1930’s and ‘40’s; podcasts and webcasts; TV shows and movies available for electronic devices we can carry anywhere. The Digital Age has brought us closer to that age “where it is always 1895”. Enjoy.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Editor's note: James O'Leary is a </i></span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>member of the Speckled Band of Boston, the John H. Watson Society</i></span><b><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> and a huge fan of the I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere podcast.</span></i></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><i>Image credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/blahflowers/978130586">Loz Flowers (Flickr)</a></i></span></b><br />
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The Old Court Radio Theatre Company and @SHSLBakerStweet Bring You...

"I heard the sound of voices from above." [REDH] Gordon Dymowski wrote about Big Finish and their adaptation of "Th...

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by James C. O'Leary

What Could Sherlock Holmes Tell About You Today?

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"...might give a clue to a person's identity." [REDH]  </h4>
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Sherlock Holmes knew how to tell a weaver by his tooth and a compositor by his left thumb. But what clues do we leave behind in today's connected society and what can the experts make of them?</h4>
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Sherlock Holmes was a master of inferring professions, national origins, recent undertakings and more from a quick glance at those he observed. Given some of the archaic professions and possessions that were represented in some of the stories and in Holmes's own words, it would be surprising to see anything like that happening today.<br />
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Recall that Watson said to Holmes: "I have heard you say that it is difficult for a man to have any object in daily use without leaving the impress of his individuality upon it in such a way that a trained observer might read it." [SIGN]<br />
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<a href="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4037/4182503968_81f46890fb_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4037/4182503968_81f46890fb_o.jpg" width="175" /></a>Holmes let Watson in on some of his techniques in "A Case of Identity," upon observing Miss Mary Sutherland: "I can never bring you to realize the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of thumbnails, or the great issues that may hang from a bootlace." He went on to describe the elements of Miss Sutherland's attire and appearance that helped him deduce her profession as a typist.<br />
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<a href="" name="more"></a>However, Holmes was also able to discern between a typist and a pianist in "The Copper Beeches":<br />
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"I nearly fell into the error of supposing that you were typewriting. Of course, it is obvious that it is music. You observe the spatulate finger-end, Watson, which is common to both professions? There is a spirituality about the face, however" - he gently turned it towards the light - "which the typewriter does not generate. This lady is a musician."</blockquote>
However, it was clear in that very same story that Holmes was already bemoaning the lack of appreciation for his talent and general ignorance of the people in such matters:<br />
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"What do the public, the great unobservant public, who could hardly tell a weaver by his tooth or a compositor by his left thumb, care about the finer shades of analysis and deduction!" </blockquote>
We know that Conan Doyle was first struck by the importance of observation and deduction by his medical school professor, <b><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/05/great-teacher-cree_30.html" target="_blank">Dr. Joseph Bell</a></b>. The physician not only gave demonstrations to his students, but also waxed poetic on the importance of visual cues, particularly physical ones:<br />
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"Nearly every handicraft writes its sign-manual on the hands. The scars of the miner differ from those of the quarryman. The carpenter’s callosities are not those of the mason. The soldier and sailor are different in gait."</blockquote>
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Given than so many of us are "knowledge workers" who sit in front of a variety of keyboards and screens today, one has to wonder about the importance of observation and how it plays into crime today. For example, are spatulate fingers even discernible for the astute observer in the present day?<br />
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"Something More Modern" [HOUN]</h3>
So imagine our surprise when we saw an article about Facebook - Facebook, no less! - regarding <b><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-30/facebook-posts-help-credit-bureaus-sniff-out-fraudsters.html" target="_blank">how the social network is using its cache of data to help ferret out fraud</a></b>. Credit bureaus and payment companies are looking for evidence that customers are lying about their finances, and through the observation and collation of their public updates (will criminals ever learn?) - from photos of vacations and cars, to check-ins at exotic locations, to information they share about online purchases - they're able to discern who is being less than honest about his situation.<br />
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The paragraph that caught our attention from a Sherlockian perspective was this one:<br />
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Even grammar can indicate something about users, he said, recalling a friend request he received on Facebook from someone who tried to pass himself off as a young American, yet used language that suggested “it’s someone who’s definitely around eastern Europe or Russia,” he said. “There are certainly algorithms you can build around that.”</blockquote>
Does this remind you of anything remotely Canonical? It should.<br />
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Think back to Holmes and Watson reading over the letter from the mysterious and pseudonymous Count von Kramm in "A Scandal in Bohemia":<br />
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"The man who wrote the note is a German. Do you note the peculiar construction of the sentence - 'This account of you we have from all quarters received.' A Frenchman or Russian could not have written that. It is the German who is so uncourteous to his verbs. It only remains, therefore, to discover what is wanted by this German who writes upon Bohemian paper, and prefers wearing a mask to showing his face.</blockquote>
While the observations of Holmes and Bell were centered around attributes of the physical - scars, tattoos, stains, mud splashes, sleeves, accents and the like - a variety of deductions of the present day are tied to data that are able to be attained through both simple and complex algorithmic searches. But as Holmes himself said, "Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay."<br />
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What Could Sherlock Holmes Tell About You Today?

"...might give a clue to a person's identity." [REDH] Sherlock Holmes knew how to tell a weaver by his tooth and a compo...

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by Scott Monty

Book Review: The London of Sherlock Holmes

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"He had spread out his big map of London..." [BRUC] </h4>
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In the canon, Conan Doyle's stories give London a very tangible sense of <i>place</i>. As Holmes and Watson have their adventures, readers are provided details which make the geography of 1895 London come alive, providing a unique opportunity to engage in "the Great Game".<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoQgxYTGDga3mN7XDloNgljcZpNFI_TH3-MHHM6EqbFejSbIdyITtjUAVwIVmcC2kP4By7-OdKS0DeHZv1qcV1uVMzhYPn3AvrLG6OFUZoW8Xlq5JkncH9d6BC8NSzVRxBzt-aoHFTCQUx/s1600/London+of+Sherlock+Holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The London of Sherlock Holmes by Thomas Bruce Wheeler" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoQgxYTGDga3mN7XDloNgljcZpNFI_TH3-MHHM6EqbFejSbIdyITtjUAVwIVmcC2kP4By7-OdKS0DeHZv1qcV1uVMzhYPn3AvrLG6OFUZoW8Xlq5JkncH9d6BC8NSzVRxBzt-aoHFTCQUx/s1600/London+of+Sherlock+Holmes.jpg" title="" /></a>Available through MX Publishing, <b><i><a href="http://www.mxpublishing.com/product/9781780922096/The+London+of+Sherlock+Holmes" target="_blank">The London of Sherlock Holmes</a></i></b> by Thomas Bruce Wheeler is a great resource, combining 21st century technology with the canon to provide a thorough piece of Sherlockian scholarship that <a href="http://www.sherlockian-sherlock.com/the-london-of-sherlock-holmes.php">you can sample via this online chapter.</a><br />
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On a superficial level, <b><i>The London of Sherlock Holmes</i></b> is an extremely fascinating book, providing a point-by-point analysis of locations disclosed within each story of the canon. (The online sample chapter focuses on "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" [BRUC]"). For anyone considering a walking tour of Holmes' London, this would be more than adequate. However, reading the electronic version of the book via e-reader provides an additional level of engagement. Clicking on specific links automatically calls up <a href="http://maps.google.com/">Google Maps</a> of each location. Combined with GPS maps, <b><i>The London of Sherlock Holmes</i></b> provides a much more immersive experience, bringing Holmes' London a little closer for readers. <br />
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Herewith a few examples of the interactive maps that Wheeler has created.<br />
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<a href="https://mapsengine.google.com/map/u/0/viewer?gmp=msp&mid=zz7OCIy2oDA4.klI46NrhEbLE" target="_blank">Famous Londoners' Blue Plaques</a>:<br />
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<a href="https://mapsengine.google.com/map/u/0/viewer?gmp=msp&mid=zz7OCIy2oDA4.khkYBa_8ZPHg" target="_blank">Central London Pubs</a>:<br />
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<b><i>The London of Sherlock Holmes</i></b> is a fascinating book that combines 19th century atmosphere with 21st Century technology to create a unique experience. This looks like a reference book well worth owning for any Sherlockian<br />
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Book Review: The London of Sherlock Holmes

"He had spread out his big map of London..." [BRUC] In the canon, Conan Doyle's stories give London a very tangible s...

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by Gordon D

The Top 10 Most Suggestive Lines from the Sherlock Holmes Stories

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"Ah! That is suggestive." [SPEC] </h4>
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A number of years ago, we published a small pamphlet called "<b>Sherlockian Sillies</b>." We recently unearthed it and had a good chuckle. And the recent airing of The Baker Street Babes' <a href="http://bakerstreetbabes.com/podcast/episode-44-sherlock-holmes-after-dark-pt-i/">Sherlock After Dark Part I</a> podcast episode, as well as <a href="http://sherlockpeoria.blogspot.com/2013/09/one-mans-point-of-view-on-sexy.html">Sherlock Peoria's assessment of the same</a> got us to thinking.<br />
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So we decided to resurrect this favorite. Each and every one of these quotes is pulled directly from the original text of the Canon.<br />
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The Top 10 Most Suggestive Lines from the Sherlock Holmes Stories</h3>
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<li>"Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up." [SPEC] </li>
<li>"I went to it on my knees." [EMPT] </li>
<li>"A sudden ejaculation caused me to wake up." [TWIS] </li>
<li>"It’s lucky for you…or you would find yourself in Queer Street." [SECO] </li>
<li>"He seemed to take a fancy to me from the first…one thing led to another." [WIST] </li>
<li>"In the bathroom…I have just been there, and I have taken it out." [TWIS] </li>
<li>"Still, I confess that I miss my rubber. It is the first Saturday night in seven-and-twenty years that I have not had my rubber." [REDH] </li>
<li>"I remember nothing until I found myself lying on my bed trembling all over. Then I thought of you, Mr. Holmes." [COPP] </li>
<li>"I heard a little sigh of satisfaction as he cuddled the butt into his shoulder, and saw that amazing target." [EMPT] </li>
<li>"A week later I found myself in Florence." [EMPT] </li>
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Which is (or are) your favorite? And perhaps you have some additional suggestive lines from the stories that we missed. Drop us a note and let us know so we can expand our little list.</div>
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<div>The game continues to be afoot with this entry: "<a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2017/02/more-suggestive-phrases-from-sherlock.html#.Ybwd6GhKjb0" target="_blank">More Suggestive Phrases from the Sherlock Holmes Stories</a>."</div><div><br /></div>
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*<i>If you're wondering about the four-letter abbreviations after each quote, <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/title-abbreviations.html">the key is here</a>.</i></div>
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