I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Restaurant Frequented by Sherlock Holmes May Vanish

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"I met him by appointment that evening at Simpson's" [ILLU]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0tJIs8vsEAHT77w8b9QJPWxwXHHGSc-RosMi0Y6o9CfmwLbnxrp8AgMyOj8OD8v3lf4saH4pX0g3UNbm2LVINQi3u7Z9xLfjaFblIfppDeEgWgCEdJ72nMAxMb67iAaMSyWmaVlEq2FNL/s1600/Simpsons+entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Simpsons-in-the-Strand gate" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0tJIs8vsEAHT77w8b9QJPWxwXHHGSc-RosMi0Y6o9CfmwLbnxrp8AgMyOj8OD8v3lf4saH4pX0g3UNbm2LVINQi3u7Z9xLfjaFblIfppDeEgWgCEdJ72nMAxMb67iAaMSyWmaVlEq2FNL/s1600/Simpsons+entrance.jpg" title="The entrance to Simpsons" width="640" /></a></div>
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The unthinkable may be about to unfold.<br />
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<a href="http://www.simpsonsinthestrand.co.uk/" target="_blank">Simpsons-in-the-Strand</a>, one of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/london/11242692/Nine-of-Londons-oldest-restaurants.html" target="_blank">the oldest restaurants in London</a>, could disappear after 187 years. Its lease is owned by the Savoy Hotel, and under the search for a new operator, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/society/11368407/Simpsons-in-the-Strand-restaurant-could-disappear-after-187-years.html" target="_blank">the hotel will not require that the name be kept as part of the deal</a>. (<i>The Telegraph</i>)<br />
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For those not familiar with the venerable establishment, here's a blurb directly from its website:<br />
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Originally opened in 1828 as a chess club and coffee house - The Grand Cigar Divan - Simpson's soon became known as the "home of chess", attracting such chess luminaries as Howard Staunton the first English world chess champion through its doors. It was to avoid disturbing the chess games in progress that the idea of placing large joints of meat on silver-domed trolleys and wheeling them to guests' tables first came into being, a practice Simpson's still continues today. One of the earliest Master Cooks insisted that everything in the restaurant be British and the Simpson's of today remains a proud exponent of the best of British food. Famous regulars include Charles Dickens, George Bernard Shaw, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and his fictional creation, Sherlock Holmes), Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDXnI2iaoddMxY5YnnPCfxVNzDgLO23fK45CBHIWAz2ImYYdpKL4WclzKkfbFLbOu3O4F2qfreK6dLKEKwGdNaUI8VsVSYU6dRfSaqo1QykRw-aQ8hlUScaNswOgjU9mc_YbrqFrDr-Dm/s1600/Simpsons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Your table at Simpson's is ready now" border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDXnI2iaoddMxY5YnnPCfxVNzDgLO23fK45CBHIWAz2ImYYdpKL4WclzKkfbFLbOu3O4F2qfreK6dLKEKwGdNaUI8VsVSYU6dRfSaqo1QykRw-aQ8hlUScaNswOgjU9mc_YbrqFrDr-Dm/s1600/Simpsons.jpg" title="Inside the Grand Divan at Simpson's" width="640" /></a></div>
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Of course we know that Holmes visited the establishment in at least two stories: he suggested Simpson's as a meeting place with Watson, where the latter found him "sitting at a small table in the front window, and looking down at the rushing stream of life in the Strand". [ILLU]<br />
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And again in "The Dying Detective," after his prolonged fast concluded - but not before a visit to the police station to wrap up the case against Culverton Smith.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-YXZP5-IcX2TV6O4zHbkbDrP-uO3FAbhUIUr_kBbiZghGbtuUAwu4f19pgJnpWxFd6_DIgwRMvtDHe_ZMKwYBuQiGZwje8CsN633V94oWcoq5zkGgqI9yifccJ8XILxFLHxAwk4U_VmL/s1600/Simpsons+Divan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Simpson's-in-the-Strand sign" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-YXZP5-IcX2TV6O4zHbkbDrP-uO3FAbhUIUr_kBbiZghGbtuUAwu4f19pgJnpWxFd6_DIgwRMvtDHe_ZMKwYBuQiGZwje8CsN633V94oWcoq5zkGgqI9yifccJ8XILxFLHxAwk4U_VmL/s1600/Simpsons+Divan.jpg" title="Plaque outside of Simpson's Grand Divan" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Classic London from <a href="https://flic.kr/p/8dHKo8" target="_blank">Rev Stan (Flick)</a></td></tr>
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But Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was not alone in recommending Simpson's in the literary world. In <i>Something New</i>, P.G. Wodehouse wrote:<br />
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Simpson's in the Strand, is unique. Here, if he wishes, the Briton may, for the small sum of half a dollar, stupefy himself with food. The God of Fatted Plenty has the place under his protection. Its keynote is solid comfort. It is a pleasant, soothing, hearty place – a restful temple of food. No strident orchestra forces the diner to bolt beef in ragtime. No long central aisle distracts his attention with its stream of new arrivals. There he sits, alone with his food, while white-robed priests, wheeling their smoking trucks, move to and fro, ever ready with fresh supplies.</blockquote>
While this temple of food contains many menu items that will soothe even the most is probably most fussy of foodies, it is most notable for its signature Roast rib of Scottish beef, Savoy cabbage, Yorkshire pudding and horseradish. If you've never experienced it, we absolutely insist that you make it part of your pilgrimage the next time you're in London.<br />
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At this point, the future of the name of the establishment is not clear. But we hope that if things take a turn for the worse, we can count upon you, dear reader, to help us mount a defense of this historic and literary landmark.<br />
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And in case you'd like to see what goes in to the preparing and carving of the rib of beef, here's a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2tTHbTgvmw" target="_blank">butchery masterclass</a> from Simpson's head chef Mark Farquhar:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="338" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I2tTHbTgvmw" width="600"></iframe></center>
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<i>Photo credit: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/8np7Qb" target="_blank">Jeremy T. Hetzel (Flickr)</a></i><br />
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Restaurant Frequented by Sherlock Holmes May Vanish

"I met him by appointment that evening at Simpson's" [ILLU] The unthinkable may be about to unfold. Simpsons-in-the-Str...

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by Scott Monty

Waiting for Mr. Holmes

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"We're well up with the times in Sussex." [VALL] </h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKttwWVYsue-X5NXM2DYtnTiT1JXyatqwjqcBYpJGt_L6kXtPlyTit4ziMW52N8vqrTxhpEi0MfGmQe2X4izSdBLACXRx-_L0UnbVXEnX_GpJkFCou6u9eHwX74IB3epq4diD7odRyN-8B/s1600/Ian+McKellen+Sherlock+Holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ian McKellen as an elderly Sherlock Holmes in "Mr. Holmes"" border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKttwWVYsue-X5NXM2DYtnTiT1JXyatqwjqcBYpJGt_L6kXtPlyTit4ziMW52N8vqrTxhpEi0MfGmQe2X4izSdBLACXRx-_L0UnbVXEnX_GpJkFCou6u9eHwX74IB3epq4diD7odRyN-8B/s1600/Ian+McKellen+Sherlock+Holmes.jpg" title="Ian McKellen as Sherlock Holmes" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/07/first-look-at-ian-mckellen-as-sherlock.html" target="_blank">As has been reported here</a> last year year, Ian McKellen has been cast as the elderly Sherlock Holmes in the movie adaptation of Mich Cullen's excellent pastiche, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400078229/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1400078229&linkCode=as2&tag=theconblo04-20&linkId=NIPL4QDDSYGQPZBH%22" target="_blank">A Slight Trick of the Mind</a> </i>(I promise I'll have a book review done soon.).<br />
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While we've seen <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2706928/Sir-Ian-McKellen-sports-hat-waistcoat-sips-hot-drink-London-set-Mr-Holmes.html" target="_blank">some press photos from the set</a>, but we've treated to a little behind the scenes tweet from Mr McKellen as Mr Holmes.<br />
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Meeting the locals while filming <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MrHolmes?src=hash">#MrHolmes</a> in East Sussex. <a href="http://t.co/PXRRpgSy9p">pic.twitter.com/PXRRpgSy9p</a></div>
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— Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) <a href="https://twitter.com/IanMcKellen/status/509722176954462208">September 10, 2014</a></div>
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And more recently:<br />
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First photo from my upcoming film MR HOLMES, with brilliant young actor Milo Parker who plays Roger. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MrHolmes?src=hash">#MrHolmes</a> <a href="http://t.co/wI74fO4vA5">pic.twitter.com/wI74fO4vA5</a><br />
— Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) <a href="https://twitter.com/IanMcKellen/status/555525759708962817">January 15, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Filming has concluded and the film is now in post-production phase. It is expected to be released during the Berlin Film Festival in February 2015.<br />
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What are your expectations for the film and its presentation of a nonagenarian Sherlock Holmes?<br />
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Waiting for Mr. Holmes

"We're well up with the times in Sussex." [VALL] As has been reported here last year year, Ian McKellen has been cast ...

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by Tac Anderson

Horowitz's Moriarty Is an Ingenious Thriller

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"Sit down, and tell me how you came alive out of that dreadful chasm." [EMPT]</h4>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>R</b></span>eliable narrators are a rare breed, a fact that many of Dr. Watson’s readers will endorse with a knowing grumble.  That’s why we greet gladly the first-person voice who kicks off Anthony Horowitz’s <i>Moriarty</i>, (<a href="http://amzn.to/YQc366">Amazon US</a> |<a href="http://amzn.to/1pEVJeI"> Amazon UK</a>) by asking "Does anyone really believe what happened at the Reichenbach Falls?" Pinkerton's Frederick Chase is in Switzerland five days after the final struggle between Holmes and Moriarty. He begins his tale by modestly suggesting he may well fall short of Watson’s standards of accuracy and entertainment. Watson’s standards of accuracy? Now, wait a minute. That passing reference should be enough to put the cognoscenti immediately, and as it turns out, appropriately, on guard.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">O</span></b>n the surface, Chase is following the trail of a planned alliance between Moriarty and a mysterious American criminal mastermind. But as you might suspect, there are wheels within wheels in this imaginative tale, and we soon find ourselves back in Baker Street, or at least around the corner from Baker Street. While Chase may seem out of his depth in what he describes as his first visit to Europe, Scotland Yard’s Athelney Jones is not, and we are soon rattling through the streets of 1891 London in pursuit of shadowy villains.  </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>G</b></span>ood Sherlockians may lament Holmes's absence from the scene.  Happily, the inspector from <i>The Sign of the Four</i> has learned a thing or two from his encounters with the great detective and is eager to demonstrate his new-found gifts. He reads much of the Pinkerton man's background and habits at a glance. Both Chase and the reader soon feel they are in good hands, and Chase begins to slip into a mode that might almost be called Watsonian.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">E</span></b>ager to pick up the trail of their opponent, Jones somewhat curiously lets Chase, a Bostonian working in New York, impersonate the recently-deceased Moriarty to make contact with the American gang. The critical reader may reasonably wonder about such small details.  As Chase suggests in his early dismantling of Watson’s account from "The Final Problem," these events may lend themselves to more sinister interpretations.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">R</span></b>eliably, however, Anthony Horowitz weaves the cinematic and well-paced tale one might expect from the screenwriter who created <i>Foyle’s War</i>, <i>Midsomer Murders</i>, and much more.  </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">A</span></b>merican gangsters have shaken up the London underworld from time to time, but none more so than the brutal and unprincipled gang whose trail Jones and Chase are following. We meet hit men and hooligans, kidnappers and assassins who imperil much of the city in new waves of violence. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">C</span></b>onspirators and scalawags from other cases are elegantly re-introduced, adding to the chaos of a London underworld turned upside down. Along with other elements familiar to readers of Watson's chronicles, including an ingenious coded message, these familiar characters make us feel right at home.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K</b></span>eeping us on the edge of our seats is no easy feat, and Horowitz weaves in pursuits, cliffhangers and great escapes a-plenty. Along the way the two men develop a friendship,  and we learn something of Jones's home life.  For a time it even seems possible for the inspector to become history’s second consulting detective.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">R</span></b>especting the time period, Horowitz is scrupulous with details. We learn early on that Chase is composing this account on a Remington Model Two typewriter, which was introduced in 1878 and sold through the 1890s. The requisite broughams, hansoms, and odd corners of London appear in crisp descriptions.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>O</b></span>rbiting many of Holmes’s cases were illustrious clients, a tradition that continues here as we meet Robert Todd Lincoln, son of the American president and ambassador to the Court of St. James.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Y</b></span>ears ago S.S. Van Dine and others composed various rules for detective stories, chief among them that the author must play fair, put all the clues in plain sight, and give the reader an equal opportunity to solve the mystery.  The reader, of course, is supposed to be outwitted in the end, admiring the author’s ingenuity as the tale comes to a close. Horowitz’s ending indeed demonstrates considerable ingenuity, and an epilogue of sorts suggests several of these characters may be moving on to other adventures.   </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">D</span></b>epend upon it.  We have not heard the last of the cast of <i>Moriarty</i>, or its accomplished author.<br />
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Horowitz's Moriarty Is an Ingenious Thriller

"Sit down, and tell me how you came alive out of that dreadful chasm." [EMPT] R eliable narrators are a rare breed, a f...

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by Third Pillar

The Great Escape Room

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"let us escape from this weary workaday world" [RETI]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDu-r_DmSLwbqnlXrVjwMIvVs6T9gw4f8eoaOxxGbgk5mI74AsSxoIwQr8Qp3wPxk1ph0IcH1omPnPk7WQyu1iBiQgvkRrREXRMIbE6uG8B1eRJpZIHN43cgVrky9ekhDCU37dCHlLxvZ/s1600/The+Great+Escape+Room+-+header.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDu-r_DmSLwbqnlXrVjwMIvVs6T9gw4f8eoaOxxGbgk5mI74AsSxoIwQr8Qp3wPxk1ph0IcH1omPnPk7WQyu1iBiQgvkRrREXRMIbE6uG8B1eRJpZIHN43cgVrky9ekhDCU37dCHlLxvZ/s1600/The+Great+Escape+Room+-+header.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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There are a new series of amusement centers being opened around the USA called <a href="http://thegreatescaperoom.com/" target="_blank">The Great Escape Room</a> and they offer a variety of amusing "Problems" for solution by groups.<br />
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At present, Centers are open in Orlando and Miami, Florida and in Royal Oak, Michigan.  New centers will be opening soon in Washington, D.C.  and Tampa, Florida and plans are underway for centers in Chicago, Illinois, Grand Rapids, Michigan  and other sites as well. </div>
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Centers consist of a selection of game "Rooms," each of which offers a problem in observation, cooperation and logic to the group admitted to the room.  Each group is made up of ten or more persons, selected beforehand by agreement or chosen from arrivals at the time the room opens.  Each group is accompanied by an on-site monitor who will present the problem and provide occasional guidance or comments. </div>
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Each group is allowed only one hour to solve the problem successfully and to discover how to exit the room.  So far, only about 20% of groups have succeeded in leaving the rooms before the hour is<br />
up, and the fastest time in doing so is 37 minutes, 20 seconds. Clearly, the problems presented are simple.<br />
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The first room made available in all new centers is "The Library (Sherlock's Study)" and others are added as the traffic and site construction warrant.  The current problem offered is to evaluate whether the entering group have the talents and intelligence needed by "The Great Detective" to aid him in his coming conflict with "The Professor." According to the site:</div>
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Put your skills of deductive reasoning to the test and see if you can be selected as an apprentice for the legendary Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock is an eclectic collector of items from around the world. Although they may seem random, in Holmes’ cunning mind, they all have a purpose. It is your task to unravel the mystery set before you and join <i>The League of the Masters of Elementary Deduction</i>.</blockquote>
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Other rooms present other problems. As rooms are added to each center, the same problem will be presented in similar rooms at each location.  As time goes on, it is planned gradually to replace problems with different scenarios at all similar rooms.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghrhsadG7k5ZBdPbd9iJPgORqv4YBh2jgRHuJDJSXOcAt2NA_jY-o8Fn6ZkjTW7wbgX7998QNkXNscMq4Wqw3jILd_F2DF-JSX-lA_y2cj2uwxKH4OyX6I_gm1fwrGbrhSveQNJ4yLl5cL/s1600/The+Great+Escape+Room.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghrhsadG7k5ZBdPbd9iJPgORqv4YBh2jgRHuJDJSXOcAt2NA_jY-o8Fn6ZkjTW7wbgX7998QNkXNscMq4Wqw3jILd_F2DF-JSX-lA_y2cj2uwxKH4OyX6I_gm1fwrGbrhSveQNJ4yLl5cL/s1600/The+Great+Escape+Room.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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The current "Library" scenario seems made to fit the talents and interests of Sherlockian groups and management have indicated <b><u>their willingness to keep track of times achieved by various groups</u></b>, especially if those groups have common interests. This sounds like a perfect outing for your local Sherlockian group - particularly the <a href="http://ppofl.net/" target="_blank">Pleasant Places of Florida</a> and the <a href="http://www.amateurmendicantsociety.org/" target="_blank">Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit</a>! And with further rooms coming online, <b><i>some intrepid Sherlockian should work with the management of The Great Escape Room to see which Sherlockian society has the fastest escape time</i></b>.<br />
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Discounts are available for planned group outings (minimum, 10 people) and for weekday scheduled attempts. Most sites are open Friday, Saturday and Sunday with attempts scheduled at 2-hour intervals. Further, most sites are also open one weekday evening as well.<br />
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You can find The Great Escape Room on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thegreatescaperoom" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/GreatEscapeRoom" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and of course at <a href="http://thegreatescaperoom.com/">thegreatescaperoom.com</a>.<br />
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Happy escaping!<br />
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[<i>A tip of the deerstalker to Philip Jones, who first shared this nugget on HOUNDS-L.</i>]<br />
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