Episode 310: White Smoke

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You survived, I did, I did, and so did you?

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Oh barely?

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Ugh? How is the trip home fast?

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Rich? Chriscuness has a leadfoot leadfoot chriscunis, and he is
an excellent conversational companion.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Are we doing trifles that too?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Support for I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere comes from MX Publishing,
with the largest catalog of new Sherlock Holmes books in
the world. New novels, biographies, graphic novels, and short story
collections about Sherlock Holmes. Find them at MS publishing dot com.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
And listeners like you who support us on Patreon or
substack sign up for exclusive benefits at Patreon dot com,
slash I Hear of Sherlock or I Hear of Sherlock
dot Substack dot com.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, Episode three hundred and ten,
White Smoke.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
A Head of Sherlocke very well since Julie gave us
strong man.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
In a world where it's always eighteen ninety five, It's
I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, a podcast for devotees of
mister Sherlock Holmes, the world's first unofficial consulting detective. I've
heard of you before Oh Holmes, the Medland Homes, the

(01:31):
Busybody Homes, the Scotland Yard, Jacket Office, the Game's afoot
as we interview authors, editors, creators, and other prominent Sherlockians
on various aspects of the great detective in popular culture.
As we go to press, sensational developments have been reported.

(01:54):
So join your hosts Scott Monty and Bert Walder as
they talk about what's new in the world of Sherlock Holmes.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
You coming a bit of time.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
I'm Mill Curtis. This is I hear of Sherlock Everywhere.
Now Here are your hosts Scott Matty and Bert Walder. Paul,
Thank you, Bill Curtis, and welcome to I Here of
Sherlock Everywhere, the first podcast for Sherlock Holmes devots where
it's always eighteen ninety five. I'm Scott Monty.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
And I'm Burt Wolder and Bill Curtis just passed me
a note he says he needs a raise.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
I will double his salary.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
How's that good?

Speaker 2 (02:39):
Oh well, we are here to celebrate the white smoke
coming out of the Canonical Conclave. I thought we had
promised people purple, gray and blue smoke. The BSI colors?
Is that now?

Speaker 1 (02:53):
I like that? That's great. So it's how it's how
tobacco smoke aged over time.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
It's perfect, just like the dressing gown. Incidentally, folks, if
you would like to hear us discuss the dressing gown
of many colors, we do have a Trifles episode related
to that. We'll put a link to it in the
show notes just so you don't miss it to understand
why Sherlock Holmes had a dressing gown that at different

(03:20):
times was purple and blue and mouse gray. But we're
not here to discuss dressing gowns. We're here to discuss
really what we talked about with Steve Doyle in episode
three oh eight, just two episodes ago, the Canonical Conclave,
the Midwest Canonical Conclave we just attended. We're just back

(03:42):
from it, and we have thoughts. We have lots of thoughts,
and we thought we would share them with you today
in this episode. So, sadly you're not going to get
the benefit of an interview, but you will as well.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
Is it the.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
Benefit of having us les talk with each Is that
a benefit? Now?

Speaker 1 (04:03):
Tell me, Scott, how did you first meet Sherlock Holmes?

Speaker 2 (04:07):
We've done this, We've done this before, but you're stuck
with us this whole episode. Well, of course, we also
have the Learned Societies, where we'll update you on goings
on in the world of Sherlockian societies. And we have
Madeline Kinnones she's returned with her piece on a chance

(04:27):
of listening looking at a Sherlockian podcast. And of course
we have the Canonical Couplet where we give you a
chance to try to guess which Sherlock Holmes were a
story we're talking about based on two lines of poetry.
We'll also have the results from the last episode with
a Sherlockian prize to give away, so stay tuned for

(04:50):
that meantime. If you'd like to support the show, there
are all kinds of ways of doing that. You can
do it through PayPal excuse me, through Patreon or substack.
Just go to patreon dot com, slash i Hear of Sherlock,
Orihear of Sherlock dot substack dot com. You can choose
either a yearly donation or a monthly recurring donation. It's

(05:13):
up to you whichever one you choose and whichever platform
works for you. We do have certain thank you gifts
at certain levels over on Patreon, so I think you'll
want to check that out. Those are all available in
the show notes. And don't forget to leave us a
rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Whether you

(05:33):
listen to us on those platforms or not, it would
be helpful to have your voice in there telling other
people what you think of the show. So we thank
you in advance. Oh, that stately music means it's time

(05:54):
for the learned societies. Yes, we're looking at Sherlock activity
out there in the world, and it obviously relates to
what we're going to be talking about today at the
canonical Conclave. Excuse me, because all activities are local. All
Sherlock is local. It's important to participate at the local level,

(06:19):
or even at a virtual level, of which there are
many to choose from. So let's get into the month
of June.

Speaker 1 (06:27):
Bert, Yeah, let's get into the month of June. June first, Okay,
June JUNI first. So how are we going to do.

Speaker 2 (06:38):
If you'd like to join Steve Mason and the crew
of the bark Lone Star, they are having a virtual
meeting on June first. You can check that out at
the DFW sherlock website, and again we'll have a link
to the Sherlockian Calendar where you can go and specifically
follow up on all of these. We're not going to
give URLs for all of them, but it is available

(07:03):
in the Sherilokianclendar dot com website. Yes, how about local
to you On June fourth?

Speaker 1 (07:11):
Oh, June fourth in beautiful New York City, another ASH
Wednesday dinner and the contact there is Shana Carter.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah, that's worthwhile. ASH Wednesday is always fun.

Speaker 1 (07:24):
And also also on the fourth there's a virtual meeting
the Transfixed Correspondence of Phoenix and the contact there is
Lauren Cerconi.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
Nice and our friends up in Montreal, Quebec. The bi
metallic question. They're having an in person meeting on June
the fifth. Edith Pounden is your contact up there.

Speaker 1 (07:47):
And not to be outdone. On the seventh of June
in Toronto, Ontario, the Boot Makers of Toronto are having
a pub event. Contact there is Thelma Bee.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
Ooh, I wonder if they have those glass boots that
you can drink out of at a pub event. That
would be a lot of fun.

Speaker 1 (08:05):
Now, yet when you come in, do you have to
say your shoe size, I suppose they give you.

Speaker 2 (08:10):
Oh, the bigfooted people haven't advantaged to drinking in those events.
Those kinds of events. Well, you can make your way
down to Bethesda, Maryland for the Red Circle of Washington,
d C. They're having their luncheon meeting on June the
seventh as well, So if you can't be in Toronto,
you could be down in the DC area.

Speaker 1 (08:31):
And then off to Dayton, Ohio. The next day. The
Agri Treasurer is having a luncheon meeting in Kendall Potts
is the contact there.

Speaker 2 (08:39):
Excellent and Anna Barons is running the Monatinock Sherlockians. They're
having a meeting in Keene, New Hampshire on May eighth,
excuse me, June.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
Eighth, and Cincinnati, Ohio June thirteenth. The Tankerville Club is
having a dinner meeting in dan Andreaco, editor of the
Baker Street Journal is the contact for that.

Speaker 2 (09:03):
Superb and in Poughkeepsie, New York on June thirteenth, same evening,
the Hudson Valley scion Tists not Scientists, Scionists is having
at dinner meeting. Our friend lu Lewis is the contact there.

Speaker 1 (09:19):
And then New York City, Beautiful New York City. On Saturday,
June fourteen, the Priory Scholars are having their luncheon meeting and.

Speaker 2 (09:26):
Chris Zordan is the contact there and rounding it out
on the fourteenth of June, if you don't feel like
leaving the house perfect the Sayspudlians of London, Ontario are
having their virtual meeting and you can check out what
yon Cspudlians have to say at their website. Well, that'll

(09:48):
wrap it up for the first half of June in
the Sherlockian Calendar. We'll be back again in the next episode,
but the second half of the month. For those of
you who have been around here long enough, you know
that the MS Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories has

(10:10):
been going on for nearly a decade and it is
now rounding out its final series with volumes forty eight
through fifty two, edited by David Markham. One of the
hallmarks of the MS Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories
has been its constant support of Undershaw, the home of

(10:31):
Arthur Conan Doyle for a number of years, and Undershaw,
as well as being transformed into a school for children
with special needs, has been the object of support by
MX Publishing. The proceeds of the book collection have gone
to Undershaw. We're talking over one hundred thousand dollars of

(10:52):
the last decade. And on May seventeenth, twenty twenty five,
you can enjoy an evening with Sherlock Holmes, a virtual
event that's a live stream directly from Undershaw in celebration
of this ten year anniversary and final publication date of
the stories. Just go to mxpublishing dot com to get

(11:13):
your copy of the final four volumes in this series
and to sign up through event right to attend the event.
Find out all about it at mxpublishing dot com. Okay, Bert,

(11:34):
we promised to regale people with tales of the Canonical Conclave,
the inaugural Canonical Conclave Midwest Flavor that was held in Indianapolis,
Indiana on Saturday, April twenty sixth, twenty twenty five. You

(11:55):
got there a little before I did. So what did
you observe? What did you see when you arrived on Friday?

Speaker 1 (12:06):
On Friday? Well, what did I see? I saw friends
and people that I knew. We had an opportunity for
some of us to get together for a little social
activity Friday afternoon, and then joined Bob Sharfman for a
terrific dinner on Friday night. And then, you know, thanks

(12:28):
to the serendipity of all of this and just bumping
into people that you know and connect with, our pal
Michael Barton from Massachusetts had gotten in early and he
texted me on Saturday to tell me about a book
fair in downtown Indianapolis, which we visited, and amazingly enough,

(12:49):
there was a member of the BSI there who's also
a bookseller that we had an opportunity to say hello to.
And then went off to the Kurt Vonnegut Museum. I
did not know that there was a Kurt Vonnegunt Museum
in Indianapolis, but we visited that and that put us
in a fine frame of mind for the conclave, which

(13:12):
began at one thirty in the afternoon. And friends, you
folks who are not members of the Baker Street Irregulars
may say to yourself or even us, what do I
care about all this? I mean, you know how interesting
the Baker Street Regulars does this, that and the other thing. Well,

(13:34):
the fact is that you don't need to be a
member of the Baker Street or Regulars to be a
member at any of these Scion societies, and it really
is this event was not really about the Baker Street
Regulars as an organization. It's really about the lifeblood of
Sherlocky and interest as a local hobby with people. And

(13:57):
you know that's that was sort of the departure point
for this conference is we discussed it with Steve on
our previous I Hose episode, you know, which you mentioned,
and I wasn't.

Speaker 2 (14:12):
I mean, we obviously all heard the same things from
Steve and it sounded like, Okay, this is going to
be interesting. But I was really blown away by this event,
just this the concept of the event, and then the
energy that I felt from every single person who was there.
I don't think there was one participant who was there begrudgingly,

(14:36):
who was there as a non full participant. You know,
everybody seemed to be active and activated to participate in
this together. And it really felt like there was some
positive forward movement that was coming out of this event
as a result.

Speaker 1 (14:57):
Oh, I very much agree. Yeah, this is a This
is an event I think that attracted people like moths
get lured to the flame into the light. It was
very really magnetic and I think you're right. You had
that spirit in the group. And of course we were
there in Indianapolis with the Illustrious Clients and Steve Doyle,

(15:18):
and I think by any measure, the Illustrious Clients must
be the most active and successful and the largest of
the Scion societies in terms of their activities and active
membership and so on. And it really just the fact
that we're with the Illustrious Clients sort of shows you
that Shriloki in life is really all about being local.

(15:41):
But it's about what happens. It's not at an annual
dinner or by buying a book, but through friends and
discussion and people getting together on a regular basis to
do something together that they all enjoy individually.

Speaker 2 (15:57):
Yeah, and I think the Illustrious Clients inarticular have a
good formula and it's taken them many years to kind
of perfect this, and they've done it through iteration. But
part of the magic there is that they encourage participation.
Not only do they try and get different people to
present papers or give toasts, but they encourage them to

(16:20):
sign up and they actually reach out to people and
ask them because sometimes people are just waiting to be asked.
They don't want to volunteer on their own, but if
they're asked, they are more than happy to participate. And
I think that's a secret formula that will work at
any locality. You know, people are all the same across

(16:42):
the Sherlakian universe, and I know a lot of us
are introverts. We'd prefer to kind of sit in a
corner and read or contemplate things on our own, but
when we come together, we're social creatures and we all
have something unique and different to say about the story.
Isn't about how they affected us and the illustrious clients,

(17:04):
is just don a wonderful job and bringing the best
out in their people.

Speaker 1 (17:08):
M Yeah, that's that's really very well said. And I
think that if you want to make a list of
the lessons of the day, and we can talk more
about this later, I think one of one of them.
But one of the big takeaways is ask ask. I mean,
if you are part of a local group and you are,

(17:29):
you think there's more that can be done to bring
new people in and to be a little bit more
active reach out. And that's that I think was one
of Steve's messages. One of the things, you know, we
had an opportunity to do at the conclave was to
meet all of these people from different science societies. And
a great thing to do if if you're you know,

(17:52):
you want to be a little more active and do
something different is call somebody up and invite him to
be a speaker or tell them I'd like to come
to my meeting or get in touch with one of
those societies and say, you know, I'd like to come
to your next meeting. And I think, you know, that
kind of direction and attitude is you know, a big

(18:17):
part of what we I think, what we would all
like the future of this hobby to be.

Speaker 2 (18:24):
Yeah, yeah, And I have to say that I was
honored to be asked by two different Scions there to
go speak at their events. And you know, we're working
out dates and everything that are going to work out,
but that was a great honor. And I will also
say that at the same time, bert I identified at

(18:46):
least seven Scions that well, I should say I begged
seven Scions to take you off of my hands for
a time.

Speaker 1 (18:55):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (18:56):
So let's see how that works out.

Speaker 1 (18:57):
Oh yeah, I'm waiting. I'm waiting. I just can't wait
to get the invitation. No, I'd be happy, Absolutely, I'd
be happy to come and talk anywhere.

Speaker 2 (19:04):
Yeah, and we're cheap. I mean we work for food,
so you know there is and you know, first class accommodations.

Speaker 1 (19:12):
Speaking of first class accommodation, Yes, the setting for the conclipt, Yes,
the Woodstock Country Club has got to be the most
elegant and spacious and welcoming environment that the irregulars that
Sherlock Holmes hobbyists have ever met in. Certainly, certainly one
of the top ones. And a beautiful job was done

(19:35):
to bring it more into the Victorian era. Aspects of
the Baker Street sitting room were reproduced, a table set
for tea with appropriate newspapers, the mantlepiece in Baker Street
reproduced other artifacts from homes and Watson's environment tastefully put around,

(19:57):
even if they even found a way to replicate with
damaging the walls. The VR bulletpox, the Reichenbach portrait on
the wall, those were all there to look at in
the rooms outside of the conclave, which was set up
in a ballroom with round tables.

Speaker 2 (20:16):
Beautiful, it was really well done. I mean, Sherlock Holmes
is violin a Persian slipper even, and this was really
thoughtfully done. The mantle itself was marble, so you could
not transfix a jackknife through it to hold the correspondence.
So Anne Lewis told me that she created a prop

(20:38):
with styrofoam in between the correspondents and then transfix the
knife through that and set it on the mantelpiece so
it looked convincing. There was even a cardboard box filled
with salt and a couple of severed ears. I don't
know if you saw that.

Speaker 1 (20:55):
I didn't hear about that.

Speaker 2 (20:56):
Yeah, you had to listen with the other ear, that's why.
But we will have photos of these artifacts from that
Baker Street scene available to our subscribers. So if you're not,
again not a part of Patreon or substat check it out.
We'll have photos there available to you. We'll have a

(21:18):
limited set of photos available to all of our listeners,
but we'll have a full set available to our subscribers.
And I don't know if you saw, we were greeted
at the check in line, at the registration line by
Sherlock Holmes himself.

Speaker 1 (21:35):
Yes, he was there looking a little two dimensional, but
he was.

Speaker 2 (21:39):
There a little It was like flat Stanley. It was
flat Sherlock. Yeah, life size cutout of Sherlock Holmes. I
didn't recognize which Holmes that was, did you?

Speaker 1 (21:49):
I think it was an actor. I don't think it.
I mean it was a model. I don't think it
was from a film. That could be wrong.

Speaker 2 (21:55):
That was my impression. It was not one of the
well knowns that we would have immediately recognized. During that
registration process. There was a really interesting activity that was planned,
and this is something that you could do at any
one of your events at any time. They had a

(22:18):
piece of paper cut out with a name of every
individual who had registered. So as many registerrents there were
that how many slips of paper there were. You were
asked to pick out a name at random, and what
you had to do at some point throughout the program
was to seek this person out and talk to them,

(22:39):
and even if you already knew them, the expectation was
that you would be able to tell the rest of
us about something that you didn't know about this person
that they shared with you. And that was the requirement
if you wanted to be able to participate in the

(23:00):
door prizes or the raffle. It actually it wasn't a rabble,
just the door prizes, So in order to be eligible
to receive a door prize, you had to be able
to stand up and tell someone about what you had discovered.
And they didn't go through everyone, They just picked people
at random and we learned some really interesting things about

(23:21):
people as a result.

Speaker 1 (23:23):
Yeah, I thought that was very clever. And another thing
that was very clever was the the way the conference
room the ballroom was equipped with space for displays. There
was a large table with room for each so well
not each sign but sixteen or so of the scions

(23:45):
had space on the table to have a little display
about their organization on paper, photographs, larger displays, and so on.
And also another table at the other side of the
room where you could bring handouts that people could pick
up to learn more about your organization and sign up.

(24:06):
And it was great to see that people actively took
advantage of both of those spots.

Speaker 2 (24:11):
It was and you know, that idea of the display
of your science history. I think this went hand in
hand with a number of other things we talked about
throughout the day that grounded us in history. And this
is important because I'm a firm believer in understanding the

(24:33):
past in order to kind of set the tone for
the future. And there are so few resources for us
as Srilockians to find out our collective history, and certainly
at the local level, at your local Shrilocian group, it's
important to keep track of when you were founded, in

(24:55):
the events that you did, because that's part of your
oral history, it's part of your culture that you're passing
down to successive generations, and you want to document that stuff.
You want to save it, you want to collect it
so that others can look through it.

Speaker 1 (25:13):
Yeah, very much so. And particularly as folks age and
in some cases age away from the hobby because they
move or illness or whatever, it's important to reach out
to those folks and ask if they have anything in
their file cabinets about group meetings that need to be
preserved in your own organization's archive. The program, I think

(25:40):
was beautifully organized. The events started Saturday at one thirty
and dinner began at five thirty, so it's basically five
hours and without you know, we're not going to go
into all the details in those six thirty Yeah, six thirty, right,
So it's basically five hours one thirty to six thirty
and We're not going to go into all the details

(26:01):
in the program, but you know, we did have The
program was very well put together, with very appropriate breaks.
The talks were focused and presented in a in a
in you know, in short order, and featured some really
wonderful I thought programming ideas along the lines of the

(26:23):
things we've already talked about with the selection of the names.
So for example, there was a roll call of Scions
and I think there was something like eighty different Scion
organizations represented there. So the principal representative of a major
Scion had a minute to come to the podium and
talk a little bit about their history. And I thought

(26:45):
that was that was very clever.

Speaker 2 (26:47):
We had to be clear, I don't think we had
I don't think it was an hour and a half
of no roll calls. I think there were eighty Scions
represented in total, but people's primary scions that we're probably
I would say there were probably at least forty.

Speaker 1 (27:03):
Yeah, I would say yeah, I would say thirty or forty.

Speaker 2 (27:06):
Got up and you know, gave that one minute spiel.

Speaker 1 (27:09):
Yeah, And I thought that was great. So to have
a minute to talk about the history of your organization
and what makes you distinctive and where you are and
how many times you meet a year and so on.
That was great, and also the the door prizes were
very clever. The whole the whole program was really all

(27:30):
about engagement. There was a show and tell opportunity. If
you brought anything that had great meaning to you as
a Sherlockian, you had an opportunity to come and talk
about it, and I thought that was very clever. And
also musical interludes we had. We had two. We had
a violinist very effectively playing theme music from the Grenada

(27:55):
Sherlock Holmes series, and you very effectively talking about Jim
Montgomery and leading the organization in the conclave in Aunt Clara.
And also Father's Folly, which is Bruce Montgomery's extension of
the Aunt Clara era after his father died.

Speaker 2 (28:17):
And that was for mature audiences only, that Father's Folly. Yeah,
because I mean, look, a number of Sherlockyan groups have
sung Aunt Clara at their events, and we just do
it because well we've always done it. There's not necessarily
a full understanding, well how does this relate to Sherlock Holmes.

(28:39):
You know, we sing this song. So we were able
to get to the bottom of that thanks to well,
not only some wonderful research that you did Bert on
Jim Montgomery, which will be part of a book whose
authors we will be interviewing at some point in the future.
Stay tuned for that, but also from a booklet that

(29:00):
Bill Raby from right here in Detroit from the Amateur
Mendican Society, published in nineteen ninety about the entire background
of Aunt Clara and its writers and when Jim Montgomery
got a hold of it and how it was introduced
to societies, etc. So it was I think it was

(29:23):
time well spent on this tradition that just seems to
be baked into who we are at this point. But
I do want to make sure that folks get a
sense as to the stylings of violinist O Goodness, Annie Toronto.

(29:45):
She performed the Baker Street Suite or the theme from
the Granada television series, and let's just listen to her
performance here.

Speaker 4 (30:02):
Second Nat the Nation in the Lasting from n.

Speaker 2 (31:17):
N Y.

Speaker 4 (31:30):
Else in anything to Them in the.

Speaker 3 (31:52):
Ny Now.

Speaker 2 (32:02):
The thing you can't see as part of this is
she received a standing ovation at the end of that,
and I think there were chills throughout the entire audience
as she played that. To hear it done live, it's
just it was such a treat.

Speaker 1 (32:20):
H Yeah, really really was fabulous, absolutely fabulous.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
But you know, ultimately this idea. I think one of
the highlights of the program for me, even though there
were all these scheduled things, was a section. Oh gosh,
it was sometime in the middle of the day. It
was called open discussion, and it was a chance for

(32:48):
people to just pop up and talk about some of
the things that they were thinking of, some of the
things that perhaps they were struggling with in participating and
in running Sherlockian societies around the Midwest. And I think
these issues are not specific to the Midwest by any
stretch of the imagination. They're probably not even specific to

(33:12):
Sherlockian societies. They could be related to any group that's
trying to meet in person these days, or that's trying
to attract a younger crowd. And I thought the exchange
of ideas and just the statement of a lot of
these things was really eye opening.

Speaker 1 (33:32):
Yeah, I agree that it's very clever to have that
sort of open mic opportunity. And if one of the
nice things is if you go to an event like
this and have things on your mind, but maybe not
have the self confidence in your own or to articulate

(34:02):
your own set of concerns. After a minute or two,
you probably tumbled to the fact that you're not alone,
and you know, everybody you know talked about very things
that are very common in conversation among people who operate
and participate in local Sherlockian groups, like bringing in new people,

(34:27):
like diversity, you know, like more activity, like getting speakers,
you know, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So that
was really really well done.

Speaker 2 (34:39):
Yeah, and ultimately, you know, if we didn't solve anything
in the room that day for these these common themes
that were identified, at least you made friends or have
contacts now that you can follow up with to continue
this discussion and see if you can solve them, you know,

(35:00):
in time over the course of the calendar year. So
that was really wonderful as well.

Speaker 1 (35:08):
And so you know, you could ask yourself, Okay, well,
so what does it all mean? Well, I think there
are a couple of conclusions. One is, happily, I think
you can expect this to happen again. There was a
lot of enthusiasm towards the end of the day for
talking already about next, what's next, and what happened here?
This was supposed to be the Midwest Gathering of Zion.

(35:32):
How could you get in if it was Midwest? Well,
I had to get a post office box in Ela.

Speaker 2 (35:39):
I knew it, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (35:41):
And that's why I was wearing my false mustache over
my real mustache. But people came from coast to coast
for this, So I think you will see this repeated
around the country, which is a great thing, and I
think it'll definitely have an effect and providing a level

(36:01):
of energy around local Sherilockian activity.

Speaker 2 (36:06):
That is the hope. You know, this is the inaugural one,
and I would expect that there there will be a
certain structure that's followed in all of the regional ones,
because this is part of creating our common bond together,
is that we all have similar experiences, and I would

(36:27):
expect that in structuring another canonical conclave, it would have
a very similar look and feel and that those localities
could get just as much out of it as we
did from attending this one. So hats off to Steve
Doyle and the planning committee which was largely made up
of people from the illustrious clients of Indianapolis. I know

(36:50):
you mentioned people like Shelley Gage and Louise Haskett and Lewis,
and I apologize I'm forgetting any other names. Mark Walters.
Mark Walters, yeah, is a VP there, So yeah, it was.
It was definitely something that needs to be done by

(37:11):
a team. This is not anything that a single person
can pull off. And I think we've seen the same
you and I Bert in terms of running the modern
Sherlockian organization. At least if it's a larger organization, there's
a lot to coordinate, and thinking that any single person
can undertake this on his or her own or their

(37:32):
own that's I think you're going to get more done
if you experience it and coordinate it with more people.

Speaker 1 (37:43):
That's true. Unless the name of your society is the
Solitary Cyclist and there's only one member, you you need help.
And in fact, if the name of your society is
the Solitary Cyclist and there is only one member, you
may definitely need.

Speaker 2 (38:11):
Okay, well we are back with our correspondent who we
saw at the canonical conclave. Smiles all around. It's Madeline
kenyonees it's a chance of listening with your correspondent, Madeleine Kinyonez.

Speaker 5 (38:30):
Hello everyone, I'm Madeleine quinionis back from two two one Bucon,
which was amazing, and I'm here today to talk about
a different kind of Sherilokian podcast. Different because it's more Doileian.

(38:50):
I am talking, of course, about doings of Doyle. Mark
Jones and Paul Chapman started this podcast in November twenty nineteen,
the same month as Adler d Amberley, and this was
the sixth and last Sherilocan podcast to come out that year.
I think the best way to sum up the show

(39:11):
is its own regular intro that the hosts explore Doyle's
eclectic bibliography to understand more about the great man's life
and work. They discuss his fiction and nonfiction, the well
known and the obscure, and stop by Baker Street along
the way. Each episode, dropped once a month, is dedicated

(39:31):
to one of Doyle's works or else Mark and Paul
interviews someone who's done work in the field of Doleana.
The hosts stick mostly to Doyle's enormous non trilocking bibliography,
but they do on occasion discuss a story from the canon.
One of the things that I think sets to show,

(39:51):
apart from so many others, is just the sheer depth
of knowledge that Mark and Paul have about Doyle's writings
and his life. Every story gets put into the context
of when it was written and the possible influences on it,
and what Doyle himself said about the writing of the story.
It's incredible. Each episode is thoroughly researched, so for the

(40:16):
handful of episodes focusing on a canon's story, even if
you've read a lot of scholarship, you're pretty much still
guaranteed to learn something new, and I want to be
clear about something else. In no way is this show dry.
You learn a lot, It's true, but Mark and Paul
are charming and good humored, and they always make their

(40:39):
show an enjoyable listen. They even regularly run a blooper
from the current recording of the show, so it's worth
ticking around after the end music to catch the blooper.
Of course, this interesting, Sir Arthur Conan, Doyle himself is
very timely with the rise of the ACD Society and

(40:59):
the literary agents, as well as the scholarly journal steal
True Blade straight. In that way, Doings of Doyle may
well be the first Sherlockian esque podcast in several years
to have really tapped into the zeitgeist. So let's talk
about highlights. Of course, you could check out the show

(41:20):
and dive into a story or a guest interview that
intrigues you, and I do recommend trying that, but I
will say I really enjoyed the recent three parter that
they did for the Lost World, the first Professor Challenger story.
In terms of a Srilokian story, there's the October twenty
twenty three episode in which they cover the adventure at

(41:41):
the Empty House. And in terms of interviews, there's the
March twenty twenty one episode with Sherlockian Cliff Goldfarb to
talk about Doyle and his fascination with the Napoleonic era.
And that's all I've got for today. I'll see I'll
you Doylians at the next ACD Society Doyleian Honors in January.

Speaker 2 (42:06):
Why great fun And just a reminder if you'd like
to hear more about the Doings of Doyle podcast, you
can tune into I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode one
hundred and ninety three, where we spoke with the delightful
Mark Jones Bert, I'm afraid I have some breaking news.

(42:38):
This is just in as we're recording. Lego has released
an exclusive set, an exclusive Lego set with Barnes and
Noble in collaboration with Barnes and Noble, the Sherlock Holmes
Book Nook. It is a branded Lego set that is

(43:03):
specifically designed for Sherlock Holmes. We will have a link
in the show notes to this, but it is absolutely delightful.
It is kind of one of these If you fold
it up, it looks like a book, but if you're
looking down the opposite of the spine, you're looking into
like a little alleyway, and the book opens up and

(43:27):
what you get is a facade of Baker Street. So
it's a real wonderful exploration of Sherlock Holmes and by Lego.
I should say.

Speaker 1 (43:44):
Yes, it's available for pre order. It will ship apparently
from the first of June, and it seems to be
generously priced.

Speaker 2 (43:57):
Well, we'll let you explore the price at whatever locale
you are in, but we should just note that it
comes with Lego figurines, of course, doctor Watson, Irene Adler
and Professor Moriarty, and Baker Street newcomer page Paige, it's

(44:24):
a young lady. You can slide the booknook in between
your favorite novels to create a window into the adventures
of waiting on Baker Street, according to the Lego website,
and open it up to discover a bookshop with a
revolving display window, a shadowy, terraced residence with a sliding door,

(44:45):
mysteries and clues, and a detailed recreation of two two
one B including a cozy fireplace, a clue board, and
his beloved violin. Well, what more could you want out
of a Lego branded Sherlock Holme set, Well, you tell us,

(45:10):
maybe you do want more. But it's a fascinating development,
certainly for collectors.

Speaker 1 (45:20):
Well, it's wonderful. It's very clever, and it's terrific to
see our interest this scene and this recognition of the
atmosphere and the fact that you can create a world
and environment that you can duplicate with these very famous characters.
So it's a lovely, lovely thing, and I'm sure that

(45:41):
it's going to sell very well.

Speaker 2 (45:50):
Well, those tones mean It's time for once again the
canonical couplet Sherlock in Quiz program, where we give you
two lines of poetry and we ask you to hear
in which Sherlock Holmes story we are talking about. Do
you remember the last time we were around these places?
We gave you this clue the way a cowlike girl

(46:13):
was taken in bids us beware of our kith and kin.
Oh boy, Bert, do you have any idea what we're
talking about? Yes?

Speaker 1 (46:27):
Yeah, sure. That's the case where Sherlock Holmes and Watson
are visited in Baker Street by John Hector McFarlane, a
homeowner who's been arrested for the murder of a contractor
who never showed up. It's the case Watson called the
adventure of the no good builder.

Speaker 2 (46:50):
Boy. Oh boy, Nope, nope, nope, no, I know, I
know you're you're absolutely flummoxed, But no, it was not
the case. I'm going to turn to our pal, Eric
Deckers once again to the rescue. He says, hot dog

(47:14):
have solved it. It's the story where Holmes has lost
his memory after being found with numerous injuries. Watson nurses
him back to health, even as Holmes tries to track
down Hosmer Angel, who's disappeared. Holmes finally succeeds in unmasking
Angel and revealing a larger government conspiracy. Conspiracy. It's a

(47:36):
story Watson called a case of the born identity, except
Holmes looks nothing like Matt Damon, so it's more likely
to be a case of identity. Now, if you'll excuse me,
I'm off to crack a case of beer. Well done, Eric, Yes,

(47:59):
and you were joined by a number of people this
time around. Heartening to hear that we've got so many
people that share in your intelligence and interests. So we're
going to bring out the prize wheel and give it
a spear around and around and landing a number twenty five.

(48:26):
And that looks like it's Oh, it's our pal, Max McGee. Max, congratulations.
Wonderful to see Max at the Canonical Conclave over the weekend.
But I want to read Max's reply in full, and
it makes a great deal more sense when you see
the photos that are associated with it. Maybe I'll put

(48:48):
the photos in the show notes. I said, this week's
quiz question has me thinking gee whiz as in spreadable
delectable cheese whiz. Eric is the creme de la creme
when it comes to solving couplets, but I thought I
might dip my chip into this one. I believe this

(49:09):
is the case of the man who had a crisis
of self, proclaiming I am the cheese feed his life
through orange dusted glasses, and believed that he could not
be moved, not even by Algernon. Paired with his whiney
daughter in law, this man was no angel, as she
had the cheese cloth pulled over her eyes. Obviously. The

(49:34):
story referred to in this week's couplet is Sir Arthur
Colby Doyle's a caso identity, and then he has a
picture of himself from the Wisconsin Marathon wearing a cheese hat,
you know, like those cheese as they have for what'skind,
only it's in the shape of a top hat, right.

(49:58):
So well, Max, I mean, if nothing other than for
sheer effort of your cheesy puns, that's a win. So
we have something from the ihose vaults to give you
this time around. Good Lord, that was really something. I'm
glad it wasn't something else. Okay, well, let's turn to

(50:21):
this canonical couplet. We again have something from the I
hose faults. So try your hand at this clue. Dogs
don't make mistakes, claimed Sherlock Holmes that uncovered the ruse,
as did some old bones. If you know the answer

(50:42):
to this episode's canonical couplet, put it in an email
addressed to comment that I hear of Sherlock dot com
with canonical couplet in the subject line. If we choose
your answer from random from all the correct submissions, you'll
win good luck. Oh do we do we have a

(51:04):
cheese wheel?

Speaker 1 (51:05):
We can give anyone you know a cheese will. That
would be good if we had that cheese. Actually it's
supposed to be is how they pronounce it?

Speaker 2 (51:16):
It really Yeah, well that doesn't make funny good puns. No,
it's all cheese to me.

Speaker 5 (51:25):
It's all.

Speaker 2 (51:28):
Well, I'm not going to try my hand at any
of the cheese puns because you know, we've done enough
damage with your canonical couple of answer.

Speaker 1 (51:36):
So okayso identity.

Speaker 3 (51:40):
That was cool. That is good.

Speaker 2 (51:41):
I like that, But that is not your best answer.

Speaker 1 (51:45):
Not your best answer.

Speaker 2 (51:50):
I got to pull up the uh.

Speaker 3 (51:53):
There it is there, it is.

Speaker 2 (51:56):
Sorry, there's plenty of that to go around. You know,
we should keep that tramp Trump bonus on staff here.
Yes we should part of her part of our monthly
expense here at I hear of sher walk everywhere. Well,
we will be back again in a couple of weeks
time with another episode. We'll be back to an interview segment,
so stay tuned for that. Who will it be, what

(52:17):
will it be about? Well, only our producers know for sure.
In the meantime, this is the non cheesy Scott Monty.

Speaker 1 (52:26):
And I'm the completely gluten free. That means you have
to have the gluten on the side when you talk
to me.

Speaker 2 (52:32):
Burt Wolder and together we say

Speaker 1 (52:40):
Games a foot foot

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