Author Archives:

June and Beyond…

by Fran Martin

In 1927 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle selected his twelve favourite Sherlock Holmes stories.  Our case for discussion at the June meeting will be Sir Arthur’s second favourite, “The Adventure of the Red-Headed League”.  The location of the June 5th meeting is, once again, Hampton Place at 7:00 pm.

July 14th will be our annual “Reichenbach Falls” ceremonial wreath-tossing and picnic.  We will meet at Shannon Falls at noon.

August 11th will be our annual bbq and lawn games chez Martell.  

For further info, please contact your Consulting Detective.

MAY MEETING

by Fran Martin

“Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent.”

The story for discussion for the May 1st meeting is “A Case of Identity”

We will meet, once more at Hampton Place at 7:00 pm

If you require additional information, please contact Fran.

UNDERSHAW – www.saveundershaw.com

by Fran Martin
Undershaw It is the home Arthur Conan Doyle had specially built for his wife Louise (Touie) who was suffering from tuberculosis.
It is the only historic, literary house (apart from Thomas Hardy’s) that was designed by the resident writer.
It is where Arthur Conan Doyle wrote most of his well-known works, including The Hound of the Baskervilles. It was where Arthur Conan Doyle was residing when he received his his knighthood. Design by Thomas Ryan Ward
From 1907 to 1921 the house was rented out.
Since 2004 the house fell into a state of disrepair.It also served as a hotel for a period of time.		 In 2010 it was reported that plans were underway to redevelop the home into multi-unit apartments.The Undershaw Preservation Trust is busy gaining support from Sherlockians/Doyleans world-wide to stop this destruction.
There are several things we can do to help support the Undershaw Preservation Trust:We can ‘like’ them on facebook.  Like them for all they stand for. For taking a stand and campaigning for a great cause.Sign the online petition, which can be found on the Save Undershaw website.Support fundraising efforts by purchasing from their online shop.Gather a group for a photo shoot in your town and send a letter of support. The Stormy Petrels are putting together a resolution in support, and are hoping to get together for a photo.Since Undershaw is located in Haslemere, Surrey, England, it would be interesting to get together in Hazlemere in Surrey, just south of Vancouver.Please take steps to help preserve this historic home before the judicial review in May.
Sticker design by KitsuneDesigns

ANNOUNCEMENTS

by Fran Martin
Several requests have come to the attention of The Stormy Petrels:
1. Papers (between 1,500-2,500 words) are sought for a special issue of OSCHALARS, edited by Karen Devlin.
Subjects may include, but are not limited to:
- ACD and Scotland
- ACD and Ireland
- ACD and his contemporaries
- The Sherlockian phenomenon
- the influence of Maupassant on ACD
- the literary legacy of ACD
- Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot
Send abstracts (approx 250 words) to Karen at: oscholars@gmail.com before May 30th.
2. Request from The Diogenese Club of Dallas:
They are asking Sherlockians to let them know:  given the chance to receive and keep any memento from the original Canon, what would you choose? The item must be from the original stories (not from a pastiche, movie or other media) and you must keep the item for the rest of your life (not to be re-sold)
If you wand to participate, send your feedback to:  mason.steve@epa.gov

 

3.  Received from The Musgraves Sherlock Holmes Society:  a 26-page spiral-bound publication containing Sherlock Holmes picture puzzles.  These puzzles (each a kind of rebus featuring Holmes) were published in various American newspapers in 1905.  A lot of fun, but not so easy to solve.
If you would like to secure your own copy, please let me know, and I will pass along the details.

4.  Invitation from Roger Johnson, of The Sherlock Holmes Society of London, to take part in a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle weekend in Haslemere, Surrey, England, via The Haslemere Visitor Info Centre.
The festivities, honouring ACD and his detective  take place June 15-17.  This is where Conan Doyle penned many of his most well-known stories, including “The Hound of the Baskervilles”
If you are in England during that weekend, it is assured that you will be most welcomed.
Please contact me  for additional info.
*It is interesting to note that just south of Vancouver is a suburb of Surrey where there is an area called Hazelmere.

APRIL MEETING

by Fran Martin
   It was the first Sherlock Holmes short story to be published in the Strand Magazine.
In 1927 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle listed it as one of his favourite 12 (“Baker Street Dozen”).
The Stormy Petrels will look into “A Scandal in Bohemia”  on Wednesday, April 4th at 7:00 pm at Hampton Place.
For more information on the next meeting, or on becoming a member, please contact your “Consulting Detective”.		 From "The Case Files of Sherlock Holmes" (2009 Sevenoaks)

“An Afternoon With Sir Arthur Conan Doyle”

by Fran Martin
On Saturday, March 24th, approximately 60 people gathered in the Special Collections & Rare Books Department of the WAC Bennett Library at Simon Fraser University, atop Burnaby Mt.  to attend the dedication and reception of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Collection. SAM_0367

Many thanks to Mr. Eric Swanik, Head of Special Collections. With the donations by Peter Wood among other Petrels, the collection now houses issues of the original Strand Magazine, letters, annotated editions, scrapbooks, magazines, society publications, and more.  A great start to “Baker Street West” as Peter Wood called it.

Three speakers gave us more insight into: collecting (Robert Eighteen-Bisang), into the history of the Stormy Petrels (Len Haffenden) and into Sherlock Holmes (Mason Harris)

SAM_0371 Pictured in front of the collection are:  Mason Harris, retired SFU professor of English Literature; Eric Swanic, Head of Special Collections of SFU; Len Haffenden, long-time member of the Stormy Petrels of BC and editor of the society magazine “The Petrel Flyer”, and Robert Eighteen-Bisang, owner of the largest vampire/Dracula collection

APRIL MEETING

by Fran Martin

“And yet there was but one woman to him, and that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable memory.”

The Stormy Petrels of BC will be discussing A Scandal in Bohemia at their next regular meeting on Wednesday, April 4th.

The meeting will take place At Hampton Place (UBC) at 7:00 pm

“MASTER’S DINNER” and MORE!

by Fran Martin

The Stormy Petrels will gather for their “Master’s Dinner” in this, their Silver Jubilee year, on March 17th.

The dinner, as in the past, will be enjoyed at the Bessborough Armoury (2025 West 11th Street, Vancouver), an Art Deco style heritage building constructed in 1932.

Please be there at 6:00 for 7:00.  Entertainment guaranteed.  Victorian dress is encouraged. 

It is also not too late to let Fran know if you wish to propose a toast.

Please RSVP to Elsa as soon as possible, if you have not already done so.

MORE:

Thanks to Mr. Eric Swanick, head of special collections at SFU Burnaby Campus, there will be a dedication of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle/Sherlock Holmes collection.

Admission is free, but seating is limited, so please call or e-mail the library to book your spot.

There will be speakers, and a reception to follow.  Find out how this all came about and where the books came from.

The Stormy Petrels have been very enthusiastic about this since the idea was first brought to light, and are very excited to see it all come together.

Please call 778-782-6704 or e-mail library@sfu.ca before March 16th.

MARVELOUS MARCH – Mark your calendars!

by Fran Martin

March 6:  The Stormy Petrels will gather at Hampton Place (UBC) for their next regular meeting at 7:00.  We will be discussing the second half of “The Sign of the Four”

March 17:  The Stormy Petrels will celebrate the ”Master’s Dinner” at the Bessborough Armories. 6:00 (for 7:00) Victorian dress is encouraged.  Please notify Fran as soon as possible if you would like to offer a toast.  Please remit payment ($45 each) to Elsa as soon as possible.  Please make cheques  payable to The Stormy Petrels of BC.

March 24:  Thanks to Mr. Swanick (special collections) at SFU Library, there will be a reception in honour of the opening of the new Arthur Conan Doyle/Sherlock Holmes collection.  2:00 – 4:00 in the WAC Bennett Library (7th floor) All Stormy Petrels and guests are invited.  I am pleased to announce that this event will be covered by Vancouver’s top blogger, social media expert and author  Miss604 (Rebecca Bollwitt).

To reserve your seat, please call 778-782-6704 or e-mail library@sfu.ca prior to March 16th

If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact Fran.