The Stormy Petrels will be celebrating the 165th Birthday of our beloved consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, on January 5, 2019.
Food and fellowship is on the agenda at The White Spot Restaurant located at 1616 West Georgia Street, Vancouver (11:30 am) – the Fireplace Room.
Please RSVP to Fran as soon as possible at: franziskah@shaw.ca so she can let the nice manager know how many to expect.
The story for discussion will be “The Mazarin Stone” published in the Strand Magazine and in Hearst’s International for October 1921.
Narrated in the third person, this adaptation is based on a one-act play, “The Crown Diamond: An Evening with Sherlock Holmes“, written by ACD.
The stage is set! We see scientific charts on the wall, an acid-charred bench of chemicals, a violin case in the corner and a coal scuttle filled with pipes and tobacco. New to 221b is the curtain across a bow window, which allows room for a chair.
The story also features Billy – the boy in buttons, who welcomes Dr. Watson, which informs the reader that the good doctor is living elsewhere.
We see similarities with other cases. The “shooter of big game” reminds us of Colonel Sebastian Moran; the bust in the window reminds us of an incident from “The Empty House“;
The Stormy Petrels will meet at their usual venue – Hampton Place lounge at UBC, starting at 7:00 pm, Tuesday, December 4th.
We will be setting up our Petrel Tree – decorated with ornaments representing each of the 60 stories of the canon. Please feel free to bring such an ornament.
BONUS QUESTION: What music was Holmes playing on his gramophone in order to fool his visitors?
“The Blanched Soldier”, the second tale of the Casebook, was published in Liberty Magazine (NY) in October 1926 and in The Strand Magazine in November 1926. It’s one of the two cases which Sherlock Holmes, himself, had penned.
Where was Dr. Watson? Holmes mentioned him throughout the story. Do you get the impression that Holmes missed him? I know I do!
What happened to Godfrey Emsworth as he fought in the Boer War and why was his buddy, James Dodd, looking for him? Why did Dodd suspect Colonel Emsworth was hiding something?
What did the butler know? What was the secret in the cottage in the garden?
Here we have one of Holmes’s most memorable quotes: “When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
Holmes uses the process of elimination. Was there (a) a crime (b) a case of insanity (c) a disease?
The Stormy Petrels will be discussing this case at their next meeting.
When? Tuesday, November 6 at 7:00pm
Where? The Chatham, Hampton Place
If you would like more information, please contact Fran at: franziskah@shaw.ca
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Stormy Petrels will be heading south of the border on Sat., November 3rd.
Why? The Sound of the Baskervilles will host a gathering of West Coast Sherlockian societies. This is a great opportunity to meet up with wonderful Sherlockians from up and down the Pacific Coast and share thoughts ideas over a delicious meal, participate in games and quizzes, and perhaps come away with a lovely door prize or two.
A very entertaining afternoon which the Petrels look forward to every November!
Destination? Skagit River Brewery, Mount Vernon, WA (meeting upstairs at noon)
If you have any questions, please contact Fran at: franziskah@shaw.ca
Vancouver's Official Sherlock Holmes Society 