I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Celebrating 50 Years of Douglas Wilmer as Sherlock Holmes

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"fifty years back" [STUD]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglURTCUICcCtXoJNF1hfpweMzlPaqWOC75l5M7vK39IkLZadqN6klZuXe0ZD5y3wc-GzGKVgPd6qFRk5sInnKNkRj-OorRytFYq5o7jwm6-JCuJE0mIa4lIusG1MMs7bTNEL8nikad47Pi/s1600/wilmer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Douglas Wilmer, Sherlock Holmes of the 1965 BBC series" border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglURTCUICcCtXoJNF1hfpweMzlPaqWOC75l5M7vK39IkLZadqN6klZuXe0ZD5y3wc-GzGKVgPd6qFRk5sInnKNkRj-OorRytFYq5o7jwm6-JCuJE0mIa4lIusG1MMs7bTNEL8nikad47Pi/s1600/wilmer.jpg" title="Douglas Wilmer as Sherlock Holmes" width="640" /></a></div>
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On 20 February 1965, Sherlock Holmes came to life on millions of flickering black and white screens across England.<br />
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Following a successful pilot episode ("The Speckled Band") the year before, Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock returned to their roles of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in the BBC <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1DFNAS6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes</a></i> series of 12 episodes, beginning with "The Illustrious Client."<br />
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From then on, he was burned in the minds of Britons as the definitive Sherlock Holmes. Or, as David Morrill, BSI ("Count Von Kramm") called him, "The only actor who ever got it right." [Listen to David's take on Sherlock Holmes of the screen on Episodes <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/01/episode-21-sherlock-holmes-at-movies.html#.VObLtfldWSo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">21</a> and <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/01/episode-22-sherlock-holmes-at-movies.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">22</a>]<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/2014/12/27/bsj-2014-christmas-annual/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Douglas Wilmer, subject of the 2014 Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjw1cIsnjp_2aI5NOuwTRLUuc1mmbf70n1Sn2qy9YiOlYmpZBXkB1jTvZrjqxA_lploXIu7w5kaJE2f9QHFPAIsFnn4N5q5z5NMAjuWdRoynKNhoeMv92w_UKKKX1f8JSybf9ZM8SoGxfS/s1600/BSJ+Christmas+Annual+2014.jpg" title="2014 BSJ Christmas Annual" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/2014/12/27/bsj-2014-christmas-annual/"><i>The Baker Street Journal 2014 Christmas Annual</i></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Wilmer was the subject of the <a href="https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/2014/12/27/bsj-2014-christmas-annual/">2014 <i>Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual</i></a>, faithfully edited by Elaine and Jonathan McCafferty, who were raised on Wilmer as their Holmes - and who were "not unbiased" in their editing. The annual covered everything from Wilmer's self-effacing and frank speech to The Sherlock Holmes Society of London at their annual dinner on 15 January 1994, to film historian Russell Merritt, BSI ("The Trepoff Murder") noting the chasm between the U.S. and Great Britain that existed in the 1960s regarding Sherlock Holmes portrayals.<br />
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The work also contains a greeting from <i>Sherlock </i>co-creator and writer Mark Gatiss, who was a long-time Wilmer fan. He managed to work Wilmer into the production of "The Reichenbach Fall" as a Diogenes Club member who nearly had a conniption with John making noise in the club.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYG0Gyrbz2p3GeCxzKGTTL34cz4BPbVQ6zl4vA89rkH0aqE11oYneYw1Zwl60HJori4chiUCZcaMfEYd_SflGZg9kv8iu41df7NzjUxbHfKKjaSURCtg4qdO6XYRQaDgb7lJdOtmMNoUDO/s1600/Wilmer+-+Sherlock+Diogenes+Club.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Douglas Wilmer in The Reichenbach Fall at the Diogenes Club" border="0" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYG0Gyrbz2p3GeCxzKGTTL34cz4BPbVQ6zl4vA89rkH0aqE11oYneYw1Zwl60HJori4chiUCZcaMfEYd_SflGZg9kv8iu41df7NzjUxbHfKKjaSURCtg4qdO6XYRQaDgb7lJdOtmMNoUDO/s1600/Wilmer+-+Sherlock+Diogenes+Club.jpg" title="Douglas Wilmer at the Diogenes Club" width="640" /></a></div>
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It didn't escape our notice that Wilmer managed to sneak in his own Sherlockian prop: his Baker Street Irregulars bow tie. Mr. Wilmer, who turned 95 on January 8 (two days after Sherlock Holmes's birthday!) was invested into the BSI in 2000 as "The Lyceum Theatre."<br />
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For his own part, Wilmer has long bemoaned the less than buttoned down production of the 1965 series. He was enticed to return after the well-received pilot, having been told that Robin Midgley, the director of "The Speckled Band" would direct most of the 12 episodes in the series. As it turns out, "He didn't do one of them. Not one." (<i><a href="http://amzn.to/1AqvQrH" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starring Sherlock Holmes</a></i> by David Stuart Davies, BSI ("Reginald Musgrave")).<br />
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Wilmer did not return for the second series because the production schedule - already tight at two weeks per episode, with actors working seven days straight - was being cut to 10 days. Wilmer was "an exacting perfectionist" (Davies) and brought the collaboration to an end because he said that, even though he was a quick study, it couldn't be done in that timeframe.<br />
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To give a sense as to how the BBC undervalued the franchise, when Wilmer requested one of the BBC's better directors, he was rebuffed and told exactly where Sherlock Holmes fit within the BBC empire:<br />
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I begged the head of the serials department to lend him to us for at least one episode of our series. The man looked at me, open-mouthed at my cheek. "What?" he barked in a tones of outraged bumbledom, "You can't have him! He's serials - you're series!" For all the world as if Harvey Nichols had asked the head of Harrods for the loan of his best salesman in Christmas week.</blockquote>
We're fortunate that, despite the challenges, Douglas Wilmer rose to meet them and prevailed in some of the greatest performances of the great detective ever seen on the screen. More fortunate still are we that the series was <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/09/lyceum-theatre-sign_14.html#.VObHmPldWSr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">released on DVD to the U.S. five years ago</a>.<br />
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And now, 50 years after the first airing of the classic series, <a href="http://shop.bfi.org.uk/sherlock-holmes.html#.VObVs_ldWSr" target="_blank">the British Film Institute have announced that the 13-episode series will be released on DVD</a> . The 4-DVD set is <a href="https://amzn.to/301rGco">available from Amazon</a> (affiliate link).<br />
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And then there are anecdotes that we have about our personal interaction with Mr. Wilmer during his 1998 tour of the United States. But that is a story for which the world is not yet prepared...<br />
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But until then, here are some recent images of Douglas Wilmer at the London Museum Sherlock Holmes exhibition, courtesy of Roger Johnson, BSI ("<i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>") and Jean Upton, BSI ("Elsie Cubitt").<br />
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If you have memories of seeing Mr. Wilmer's performances, please share them in a comment below.<br />
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<b>Further reading:</b></h4>
<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/03/remembering-douglas-wilmer-bsi.html" target="_blank">Remembering Douglas Wilmer</a><br />
<a href="http://www.movietone-news.com/2009/05/interview-with-douglas-wilmer.html" target="_blank">Interview with Douglas Wilmer</a>, May 2009 (Movietone)<br />
Sherlock Holmes Society of London's <a href="http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/conan-doyle/television/douglas-wilmer/" target="_blank">summary of Wilmer's career</a><br />
<i><a href="https://amzn.to/2N5XRlS" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stage Whispers: Douglas Wilmer, the Memoirs</a></i> by Douglas Wilmer<br />
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Celebrating 50 Years of Douglas Wilmer as Sherlock Holmes

"fifty years back" [STUD] On 20 February 1965, Sherlock Holmes came to life on millions of flickering black and white screens...

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by Scott Monty

Baker Street Web Series Has Real Life Sensibility

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"Genuine admiration - the characteristic of the real artist" [VALL]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTLqcSns2AB1YatIauDZ3p38zSaegeSo6kO5ANgQGMtLmDwQ4bRxEVoOMfLGsfa_HaswLx8IiDgNkJZNRIMypC_G4RD7rjf2-lXtq9cjYgfaFUw-q82yg1bJed9-nlWCbFxR9sg-ITYm5/s1600/IHOSE+-+Baker+Street+Web+Series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Screenshot from Baker Street the web series" border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTLqcSns2AB1YatIauDZ3p38zSaegeSo6kO5ANgQGMtLmDwQ4bRxEVoOMfLGsfa_HaswLx8IiDgNkJZNRIMypC_G4RD7rjf2-lXtq9cjYgfaFUw-q82yg1bJed9-nlWCbFxR9sg-ITYm5/s1600/IHOSE+-+Baker+Street+Web+Series.jpg" title="Baker Street - the web series" width="640" /></a></div>
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Conversation in Sherlockian as well as other communities (including Doctor Who fandom and the <a href="http://www.newpulpfiction.com/" target="_blank">New Pulp movement</a>) often leads to at least one individual declaring a particular approach to a character inappropriate.<br />
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In other words, someone declared the battle cry of "<i>My </i>Holmes wouldn't do that".<br />
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Even with Sherlock Holmes and John H. Watson as public domain characters, any variation from the Canon becomes somehow sacrosanct. Differing approaches are seen as passable...but somehow off-label when it comes to how a character <i>should</i> be portrayed.<br />
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So when the opportunity came to view the new online <i>Baker Street</i> series (<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/02/new-web-series-baker-street-finds-its.html#.VOVXR_nF9gQ" http:="" new-web-series-baker-street-finds-its.htm="" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" www.ihearofsherlock.com="">reviewed by another contributor here recently</a>), I eagerly took it...and I'm glad, because <i>Baker Street</i> is a very entertaining, unique take on the Holmes mythos.<br />
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Created, co-written, and featuring Hannah Drew and Karen Slater as Holmes and Watson, <i>Baker Street</i> should not be dismissed as a fan-made gender-flipped <i>Sherlock</i>. Even though (as Jacquelyn mentioned in her review) the series starts off awkwardly, there is a great, playful inversion of many Sherlockian tropes. (In fact, <i>Baker Street</i> most accurately resembles the Gary Reed/Guy Davis graphic novel <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1An60EM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Honour Among Punks</a></i>). There's a wonderful sense of immediacy to <i>Baker Street</i>, and unlike <i>Sherlock</i>, the web series takes its time in building narrative momentum despite some early, awkward moments.<br />
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But <i>Baker Street</i>'s greatest asset is how it demonstrates the strength of the canon. <i>Baker Street</i> takes some great creative risks, but at no point does any of it feel inauthentic or somehow betraying the original canon. For those who prefer Conan Doyle's original work - it will still stand. But <i>Baker Street</i> takes some intriguing, clever chances, and demonstrate the ideal that now, Sherlock Holmes is <i>everyone's</i> Holmes, and that creative variations on a theme can bring about new aspects and insights. (Including, as my colleague intimated, the fact that Holmes might be involved in some less-than-legal-yet-still-moral activities before meeting Watson)<br />
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The series may not have the flourishes of language that Conan Doyle's work, but <i>Baker Street</i> makes the effort to bring a real-life sensibility that even <i>Sherlock </i>and <i>Elementary </i>lack. It's a solid series (with some NSFW language), and more importantly - deserves your attention, because it performs the most elementary of tasks.<br />
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For those who believe that "their Holmes wouldn't do that", <b><i>Baker Street </i></b>politely reminds the viewer that Sherlock Holmes now belongs to <i>everyone</i>.<br />
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See <a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6m8pknf2xi8pEsrUqPSgIY2b7QWeGXwa" target="_blank">the entire 3-part series</a>, along with a Q&A with Hannah and Karen:<br />
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Baker Street Web Series Has Real Life Sensibility

"Genuine admiration - the characteristic of the real artist" [VALL] Conversation in Sherlockian as well as other communit...

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by Gordon D

Apply for a Grant to Help Teach Sherlock Holmes to Students

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<span style="text-align: start;">"hundreds of bright little seeds..." [NAVA]</span></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSk9iTJdcwWHRzQaEwmwkdqhpb8XV4zA9hXdP9iTU63Rn51DJmt4FAe0PE0hHDMd1R96Fo9pnJNBCCV-NPL_fCIsh6lMFSz03-TJTW3xuq_nGbP6KhXN5o-HCsHugcbj71EzaluqAp9z6/s1600/Getting+1st+Beacon+Award.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The first Beacon Award went to Jan Stauber" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSk9iTJdcwWHRzQaEwmwkdqhpb8XV4zA9hXdP9iTU63Rn51DJmt4FAe0PE0hHDMd1R96Fo9pnJNBCCV-NPL_fCIsh6lMFSz03-TJTW3xuq_nGbP6KhXN5o-HCsHugcbj71EzaluqAp9z6/s1600/Getting+1st+Beacon+Award.JPG" title="Jan Stauber - 1st Beacon Award Recpient" width="640" /></a></div>
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We've been associated with the <a href="http://beaconsociety.com/" target="_blank">Beacon Society</a> for over a decade. The group supports and recognizes exemplary efforts to introduce young people to Sherlock Holmes.<br />
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The recognition portion is primarily expressed through the <a href="http://beaconsociety.com/TwoAwardsPerYear.html" target="_blank">Beacon Award</a>, an annual accolade bestowed on some Sherlockian who is doing his or her part to bring Sherlock Holmes to young people. The award consists of a certificate and a check for $221. Pictured above is Jan Stauber, the recipient of the very first Beacon Award in 2004.<br />
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Speaking of Jan Stauber, that's where the "support" element of the Beacon Society's mission comes in. The group not only provides guidelines, curricula and case studies to help teachers and others in their efforts to educate Sherlock Holmes, but it also provides financial assistance through the <a href="http://beaconsociety.com/JanStauberGrant.html" target="_blank">Jan Stauber Grant</a> each year, which was established by Jan's husband Al Gregory.<br />
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We'll tell you more about Jan after the announcement below.<br />
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Jan Stauber Grant Application Process Is Open Until May 1, 2015</h4>
The Jan Stauber Grant will provide <b>up to $500</b> to fund the development of a project that will introduce young people to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories about his famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. In 2014, 19 teachers and librarians received grant funds from the Beacon Society.<br />
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U.S. and Canadian teachers, librarians, Sherlockian literary societies, and others are invited to apply for the Beacon Society's major funding project. The grant period will be from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.<br />
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If you're interested in introducing Sherlock Holmes to elementary, middle or upper school children in the United States or Canada, please <a href="http://beaconsociety.com/JanStauberGrant.html#Application Form" target="_blank">apply now for a 2015 Jan Stauber Grant</a>.<br />
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About Jan</h4>
Because the grant is named after Jan, and because <a href="http://beaconsociety.com/BeaconWinner2004.html" target="_blank">Jan was the Beacon Society's first award recipient</a>, we thought you might like to learn a little more about her. She was born - like Irene Adler - in New Jersey and was a polymath: a computer programmer, an artisan, a member of <a href="http://www.mensa.org/" target="_blank">MENSA</a> and a gifted counselor, she touched many lives. Jan died peacefully at home on October 7, 2005.<br />
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But the life she probably touched the most profoundly is that of her widower, Al Gregory. Al wrote <a href="http://www.ash-nyc.com/JanStauber.htm" target="_blank">an in-depth piece about Jan's life story</a> and the wonderful story of love, friendship and world travel that the two of them shared. You can check it out <a href="http://www.ash-nyc.com/JanStauber.htm" target="_blank">on the ASH website</a>.<br />
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But we also sat down with Al to learn about Jan's commitment to introducing Sherlock Holmes to children and her association with the Beacon Society.<br />
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<b>I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</b>: <i>The Beacon Society gave Jan its first Beacon Award in 2004. What were they recognizing?</i><br />
<b>Al Gregory</b>: Every year Jan would borrow my deerstalker, Inverness cape, pipe and some Sherlockian toys and visit the 7th and 8th grades where they read "The Adventure of the Dying Detective." She went around to the students, "studied" them with her magnifying glass and made "deductions" about them. Of course, as a school counselor she already knew a lot about them. Then she'd talk about Holmes and the Victorian world. As a school counselor for about 15 years she introduced some hundreds of students to Holmes on a one-to-one level. Just how many people can say they've done that?<br />
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<b>IHOSE</b>: <i>What made you decide to establish the grant program with the Beacon Society?</i><br />
<b>AG</b>:  I wanted Jan's work to continue. That's why I set up the matching fund grant. It is not only keeping her memory alive, but more importantly it's keeping her work alive. The Beacon Society:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Introduces Holmes to the kids</li>
<li>Helps fight illiteracy, functional illiteracy, and semi-literacy. </li>
<li>It advances English as <i>the</i> language of our country. </li>
<li>The Beacon Society is raising a new generation of Sherlockians who will replenish the ranks of the BSI and the scions after we have cast off this mortal coil.  Without these replacements our Sherlockian world will go extinct.</li>
</ol>
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<b>IHOSE</b>: <i>How does the matching fund work?</i><br />
<b>AG</b>: Each year, the Beacon Society raises money for the Grant. I pledged to match whatever they are able to raise each year, dollar for dollar, up to $1,000. I figured that by promising a matching fund of $1000 I would virtually guarantee a budget of $2000. Hell, we've gone way beyond that to my intense delight! If I had deeper pockets I'd make a matching fund of $5000 or more for all the reasons outlined above.<br />
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<b>IHOSE</b>: <i>Is there anything else about Jan's passion for Sherlock Holmes and the great work of the Grant that you think is relevant for people to know?</i><br />
<b>AG</b>: Jan never had kids, But she loved working with them. And she was damned good at it. This grant helps teachers who love kids to work with them more effectively, and better supplied. Jan operated on a principle I've long held dear -- to leave this world a little better place than you found it. That is a life well lived!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-ih7gTV9gJixCSuPi2IqQFRq0Are7Np6yKRvGle4RgXh2SeRrnwA1JrYR1oxfbIYo6-HHLDnm4lgjkCrQKdee4IgLw7yHrjsSkdDg6QANQAnMDhPHKbUDLnKYsJCPyhXZeEhuS3kKAin/s1600/In+Paris.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Jan Stauber in Paris" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-ih7gTV9gJixCSuPi2IqQFRq0Are7Np6yKRvGle4RgXh2SeRrnwA1JrYR1oxfbIYo6-HHLDnm4lgjkCrQKdee4IgLw7yHrjsSkdDg6QANQAnMDhPHKbUDLnKYsJCPyhXZeEhuS3kKAin/s1600/In+Paris.JPG" title="Jan Stauber in Paris, one of her favorite cities" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br />
<a href="http://beaconsociety.com/JanStauberGrant.html" target="_blank">About the Jan Stauber Grant</a><br />
<a href="http://beaconsociety.com/JanStauberGrant.html#Application Form" target="_blank">Apply for a Jan Stauber Grant</a> - deadline is May 1, 2015<br />
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Apply for a Grant to Help Teach Sherlock Holmes to Students

"hundreds of bright little seeds..." [NAVA] We've been associated with the Beacon Society for over a decade. The group s...

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by Scott Monty

Episode 74: BSI Weekend 2015

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisCHlqCxVJ_prIImbU9gbwMBmuEcs7fyClQRlrfpyHfoSsIbTONYlGTA_i2zyaOzLrZZUX6kmujh0PHGfQEX-OdxtSTJopw5a50A9rEy7WPK6-Rh-HS5ObPlOblvx-ngVOfA3VXjEaM48_/s1600/16063799110_388078aa2c_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Your affable hosts together at the Salmagundi Club during the BSI Weekend" border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisCHlqCxVJ_prIImbU9gbwMBmuEcs7fyClQRlrfpyHfoSsIbTONYlGTA_i2zyaOzLrZZUX6kmujh0PHGfQEX-OdxtSTJopw5a50A9rEy7WPK6-Rh-HS5ObPlOblvx-ngVOfA3VXjEaM48_/s1600/16063799110_388078aa2c_o.jpg" title="Burt and Scott at the 2015 BSI Weekend" width="640" /></a> <br />
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The #BSIWeekend 2015 is in the history books. As usual, it was a reminder of the richness of friendship and fun that are the side effect - and in some cases, the driver - of our interest in Sherlock Holmes. And it is the subject of this episode of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere.<br />
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<h3><a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock074.mp3">Download</a> [Save as] File size: 70.2 MB, 1:16:09</h3>
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As you know, the <a href="http://bsiweekend.com/" target="_blank">Baker Street Irregulars (and Friends) Weekend</a> is a gathering of some hundrends of interested Sherlockians that is always full of food, fun and friends, and this year was no exception. In fact, this year it coincided with the 125th anniversary of the birth of Christopher Morley, the founder of the BSI, and the 100th anniversary of the publication of <i>The Valley of Fear</i>.<br />
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One of the highlights for us was the Lunch of Steele at the Salmagundi Club, honoring the memory of Frederic Dorr Steele, one of the great illustrators of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Burt has hosted this luncheon for the last 12 years, and he tells us why he decided to bring back the tradition of Morley's Three Hours For Lunch Club under the topic of Steele.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiSvDV54G23IrT1lz55Yp5IELyL2uMeq6WnKk6773uLWXs9fBhyphenhyphenqnKTIwba9jXZ__Dv5LQyKzo-f6njH7oOdcCM9FBeRxtqPgKOzBT3PMxagibUJdzAQT7TDGyYoMYMyc1pFAGRahtw92p/s1600/16250345252_1d847e02f2_z.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="At the Salmagundi Club" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiSvDV54G23IrT1lz55Yp5IELyL2uMeq6WnKk6773uLWXs9fBhyphenhyphenqnKTIwba9jXZ__Dv5LQyKzo-f6njH7oOdcCM9FBeRxtqPgKOzBT3PMxagibUJdzAQT7TDGyYoMYMyc1pFAGRahtw92p/s1600/16250345252_1d847e02f2_z.jpg" title="At the Salmagundi Club" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Salmagundi Club</td></tr>
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There at the club, we enjoyed an intimate setting that allowed us to share a variety of interests and to capture a couple of those legendary stories that aren't documented in writing. We refer, of course, to Peter Blau, who regaled us with a John Bennett Shaw story and an Al Silverstein tale.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToQnnXkSxmSS5OdLYfuMRwb-AwrG8v6QeoH-78Mq5jUAVsqe7HqyVD-qrOGJd6J75qOJRlLmigG-zXBWrK7QBF6xDa7uIgfR1W1WJ-iQEyogvore7PcO_YdeLv0ostoofWLTI84DpJPWR/s1600/15654414174_f5779a0d75_k.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Peter Blau, looking rather forlorn during the BSI Auction" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToQnnXkSxmSS5OdLYfuMRwb-AwrG8v6QeoH-78Mq5jUAVsqe7HqyVD-qrOGJd6J75qOJRlLmigG-zXBWrK7QBF6xDa7uIgfR1W1WJ-iQEyogvore7PcO_YdeLv0ostoofWLTI84DpJPWR/s1600/15654414174_f5779a0d75_k.jpg" title="Peter Blau during the BSI Auction" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter Blau, looking forlorn after offering the raffle <br />
prize up for auction at the BSI Cocktail Reception.</td></tr>
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We also reflected on the associated interests of Sherlockians that brought us to other societies such as the Victorian Military Society, the English Speaking Union and others.<br />
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One of the common interests of Sherlockians is comedy. David Stuart Davies has always been a star attraction at comedic efforts at our gatherings. And this year was no different, with Davies doing a one-man rendition of a Goon Show-like interlude called "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYzfxlC6gbE" target="_blank">A Quartet of M's</a>," which we have a short audio clip of within the show. If you'd like to watch the full version, please check out the full video below (recorded with the permission of the BSI's "Wiggins," as you heard in <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/12/episode-71-conversation-with-head-of-bsi.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 71</a>).<br />
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The investitures this year were nothing short of thrilling, with two very special ones. Kristina Manente of the Baker Street Babes received the investiture "Grace Dunbar," and Emily Miranker is now "Lady Hatty St. Simon." We have audio clips of each of them, including some commentary from her father, Glen Miranker, BSI ("The Origin of Tree Worship").<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjXRjKXdPQsbQSCFWQjv09AphaI4uBl2-r0FZq8JkAqTFZi91vgZq8_pTGHbXF6M5TSR0XGGqYE2trzdWJAD6Cgzn6v1aSqHTmznurlBYh_DyMQE2IRMNySvmBUCHX0-a3s8c6hay9YbV/s1600/15631302823_8a72dfdb7d_z.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Kristina Manente, BSI" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjXRjKXdPQsbQSCFWQjv09AphaI4uBl2-r0FZq8JkAqTFZi91vgZq8_pTGHbXF6M5TSR0XGGqYE2trzdWJAD6Cgzn6v1aSqHTmznurlBYh_DyMQE2IRMNySvmBUCHX0-a3s8c6hay9YbV/s1600/15631302823_8a72dfdb7d_z.jpg" title="Kristina Manente" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kristina Manente, BSI gets her investiture face on</td></tr>
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If you'd like to see more photos from the 2015 BSI Weekend, here's a slideshow from <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHsk43xXcU" target="_blank">our Flickr set</a>:<br />
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The Editor's Gas-Lamp for this episode is "Watson's Wound: Real of Phantom?" by Robert Katz, MD, BSI from <i>The Watsonian </i>(Vol. 2, No. 2).<br />
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<b>Links</b>:<br />
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<li>The Three Stooges' <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYP1OBZfFK0" target="_blank">Niagara Falls routine</a></li>
<li>The Amateur Mendicant Society's history <i><a href="http://www.amateurmendicantsociety.org/2014/12/coming-soon-from-lower-vault-treasures.html" target="_blank">From the Lower Vault</a></i> by Chris Music is now for sale.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.musowls.org/netcommunity/CampusNews?ID=1940&Scrolling=SWEN" target="_blank">Tim Greer won the Morley Montgomery Award</a> for 2014 for the best article in the <i>Baker Street Journal</i>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150210-sherlock-as-youve-never-seen-him" target="_blank">A first look and review at <i>Mr. Holmes</i></a> with Ian McKellen as a 93 year-old retired Sherlock Holmes.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sherlocked-the-official-sherlock-convention-tickets-15647166095" target="_blank">Sherlocked is the official convention</a> of the BBC's Sherlock and it's taking place in London in April 2015.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.sherlockology.com/news/2015/2/10/sherlock-special-wrap-100215" target="_blank">Filming has wrapped</a> for the Christmas special of <i>Sherlock</i>, with the actors in full Victorian garb.</li>
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Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at <a href="http://bit.ly/FlipSherlock">bit.ly/FlipSherlock </a>(NEW and improved on the web!) and <a href="http://www.scoop.it/t/sherlock-holmes">Scoop.it page</a>, as well as on the <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/114565123495685504221">The Sherlock Holmes Community</a> on Google+ (still growing, now at over 2,300 members), as well as through our accounts on <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://ihearofsherlock.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>.<br />
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<b>Sponsors</b></h3>
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This episode includes three sponsors that deserve your attention: <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/">Wessex Press</a> (check out the new <a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/newspaper.html">Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1</a>) </li>
<li><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/">The Baker Street Journal</a>, where you should get <a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html">your annual subscription</a> in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about The Seven Per-Cent Solution. </li>
<li>The John H. Watson Monograph Series, from the <a href="http://www.johnhwatsonsociety.com/">John H. Watson Society</a>, sponsored by James O'Leary. </li>
</ul>
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