Fran Martin

Author: Fran Martin

Fran Martin became a member of The Bootmakers of Toronto in 1987 and The Stormy Petrels of B.C. in 1988. She has attended several Sherlockian conferences including: In 1992 "Aspects of Holmes" in Bradford, England (hosted by The Northern Musgraves); In 2006 "ACD at 35" in Toronto (hosted by The Bootmakers of Toronto); 2013 "Sherlock Holmes Through Time & and Place" in Minneapolis (hosted by The Norwegian Explorers); 2014 "Gillette to Brett IV" in Bloomington (hosted by Wessex Press); 2015 SherlockCon in Seattle; 2015 "A Scintillation of Scions VIII" in Baltimore (hosted by Watson's Tin Box); 2016 "The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes" (hosted by The Norwegian Explorers); in 2018 in Dayton, Ohio for the "Holmes, Doyle & Friends" conference (hosted by the Agra Treasurers). Fran has held several positions with The Stormy Petrels of B.C. including secretary, vice-president, special events coordinator and is currently president and editor of the "Petrel Flyer". She was honoured with being awarded the title of "Master Bootmaker" in 2014. She was very pleased to present a paper to a meeting of Sir Hugo's Companions in Chicago in 2017. Fran has contributed articles to Canadian Holmes magazine, the Watsonian and Chris Redmond's "About Sixty" and "Sherlock Holmes is Like...". In May, 2018 she attended the 78th annual Speckled Band of Boston dinner. She was very honoured to have been one of the first women invited.

On Sunday, March 20, the Stormy Petrels of BC will once again meet for a luncheon, after being postponed for two years.

The Lakeside cottage at the historic Hart House is being prepared for a fabulous meal and fun festivities!

Lunch will be served at 11:30, during which time toasts will be offered. Attendees are encouraged to give a toast at any time during the meal, after toasts to the Queen and Sherlock Holmes.

Members of the Petrel Players will perform skits, followed by various games.

Many door prizes will be awarded, thanks to a generous donation by Sylvi Santaga. Sylvi is the widow of Randy Santaga, who was one of the very first Stormy Petrels 34 years ago.

There will also be a 50/50 draw.

If you have not yet sent your RSVP to Fran (at franziskah@shaw.ca) , please do so as soon as possible. Price: $52.

From: “The Sherlock Holmes Book – Big Ideas Simply Explained”

Our Adventure for discussion is “The Musgrave Ritual” , first published in The Strand Magazine and in Harper’s Weekly in May, 1893.

Here is another pre-Dr. Watson case, so we have the pleasure of hearing Holmes narrate the event to Watson, who really just wanted Holmes to clean the room.

We learn much about the state of 221B: the cigars are kept in the coal scuttle (where was the coal?); tobacco was stuffed into the toe of a Persian slipper (where was the other slipper?); correspondence was transfixed onto the mantelpiece with a jackknife; the letters “VR” were shot into the wall; chemicals could be found in various locations around the room (including in the butter dish); piles of paperwork were stacked and strewn throughout.

Find out about Reginald Musgrave and his household. A snooping butler, a hysterical maid, staff gone missing, secret papers, a romance gone bad, a deadly vault and a bag of rusty metal dragged from a lake.