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.

JULY 2012 SPECIAL EVENT

Shannon Falls - Source: Wikipedia

Shannon Falls is located just off Highway 99, 58 km north of Vancouver. BC. According to the BC Parks website, it is composed of a series of cliffs, rising 335 meters above Highway 99, making it the third highest falls in the province.

In 1792, Captain George Vancouver set up camp just west of the falls, which were named after Shannon who, in 1890 – 1900, owned the falls and surrounding area and used the clay deposits to make bricks. (you can’t make bricks without clay!)

The park also holds significant spiritual value to the Squamish First Nations, the first people to live in the area. They told of a two-headed sea serpent, Say-noth-ka, who lived in and around Howe Sound. According to legend, this beast travelled both on land and in the water. Some versions say it was Say-noth-ka who formed Shannon Falls by slithering and twisting his powerful body up the mountainside, wearing down a spillway for those cascading waters

Reichenbach Falls Switzerland - Source: Flickr
We will, once again visit Shannon Falls, as our substitute for the Reichenbach Falls. The resemblance is truly uncanny!

We will meet at the park at 10:00 am on Saturday, July 14th. Please bring a lunch and your comfy hiking shoes, as we will walk up to the viewpoint located up a ” 350 meter long walking trail through a forest of Western hemlock, Douglas fir and Western red cedar along Shannon Creek.”

If you require any additional information, please contact your Consulting Detective at the g-mail address provided here.

Let us hope that the weather co-operates.

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May Meeting

The next regular meeting of The Stormy Petrels of BC will take place on Tuesday, May 3rd, at 7:00 pm.

The location: Sherlock’s Cafe – British Sweets & Groceries
659 Columbia Street, New Westminster

The story for discussion will be taken, once again, from the Apocrypha, “The Man With the Watches”

Noted authority, Christopher Morley described this story (along with “The Lost Special“, as “Two suppressed Holmes episodes” and Edgar W. Smith in 1956 wrote “…they are certainly, in my opinion, Canon-fodder.”

Come and find out if the “well-known criminal investigator” was, indeed, Sherlock Holmes.

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CLASSIC MOVIE NIGHT

Mark your calendars for our 3rd Annual Sherlock Holmes Classic Movie Night.

When? Friday, April 15
Where? “The Tapestry” at UBC (16th/Westbrook)

SPBC member Brian has arranged for us to meet at 6:30 for pre-movie snacks and Petrel fellowship before we enjoy our feature presentation, “Study in Scarlet” (1968) starring Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Stock as Dr. Watson.

The movie will begin at 7:30, after a brief intro by our own SPBC “Priory Schoolmaster” Peter W., MBt, BSI.

This event is open to all. For more details, please contact the SPBC Consulting Detective.

If you wish to get a head start on May’s story, head over to the apocrypha once more to find “The Man with the Watches” another tale from Arthur Conan Doyl’s “Round the Fire Stories”

Additional May meeting details will be posted at a later date.

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APRIL MEETING

After another successful “Master’s” Dinner under our belts, it is time again to return to our regular study sessions.

A more detailed report on the dinner, including toasts (and possibly photos) will be found in the next issue of The Petrel Flyer.

In the meantime, I wish to thank all those who contributed to making it a most memorable evening. Len and Elsa for securing the location and the caterer; the Petrel Players who performed the traditional “How They Met” and “How Watson Learned the Trick”; and to Magician Hewson, who amazed us all with his powers of prestidigitation. (I am pleased to announce that no one was sawn in half and no one disappeared!) Thanks to all our members and guests.

The next regular meeting of The Stormy Petrels will be held, once again chez Wood on Tuesday, April 5th at 7:00 pm.

We will be venturing out of the original ‘canon’ and into the apocrypha to have a close look at ACD’s “The Lost Special” first published in 1898, this story concerns the disappearance of a train from Liverpool to London.

“Does a train vanish into think air in England in broad daylight?”

Could the “amateur reasoner of some celebrity” and the “recognized authority upon such matters” refer to Sherlock Holmes?

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact your Consulting Detective.

The game is still afoot!

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