Category: Monthly Meeting

November 2021 Meeting

We are trying something new for the November meeting. Very exciting news!

We are planning an in-person meeting along with Zoom. Those local members who feel comfortable getting together in person are welcome to meet and socialise (with precautions in place) at the lounge in Fran’s building in New Westminster.

The room is quite large and windows can be opened. You must be fully vaccinated and masks must be worn in common areas. Hand sanitizers will be placed throughout the room.

Coffee and tea will be available, along with some snacks, and many door prizes. Please let Fran know if you plan on attending in person so she can know how much coffee and cake she should bring.

Shortly, Priory Schoolmaster Sheldon will forward directions to members. Zoom option will still be available for our out-of-town members and friends. A practice hybrid meeting proved successful!

November’s case for discussion: “The Stockbroker’s Clerk”

Published both in The Strand Magazine in the UK and Harper’s Weekly in the US in March 1893.

The plot in this case may sound vaguely familiar. And, as we have learned from other adventures, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Holmes had called upon Dr. Watson to ask him to travel with him to Birmingham, along with a confused clerk, Hall Pycroft, to help solve the mystery of his strange employment.

Note that this is one of eight cases in the canon which features no women.

Hall Pycroft, had a colourful way of talking:

“…I have lost my crib…”; “…I shall feel what a soft Johnny I have been.”; “…other chaps on the same lay as myself…”; :…it was my innings that time…”; “…the screw was a pound a week.”

BONUS QUESTIONS:

  1. Sherlock Holmes deduced that Dr. Watson had not been well. What gave it away?
  2. This case brings to mind a similar adventure. Which one?
  3. Can you name another case which is femaleless?
  4. Who were Mr. Harris and Mr. Price. (extra bonus is you can name their specialties)
  5. What role does the gold tooth play?

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 2nd

Time: 7:00 pm (Pacific time)

f you require additional information, or have any questions, please contact Fran at: franziskah@shaw.ca

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OCTOBER 2021 MEETING

October’s case was first printed both in the Strand Magazine (in the UK) and in Harper’s Weekly (in the US) in February 1893

Murder, international intrigue, blackmail, a disappearance, mysterious footprints! Unfortunately, this story has none of the above! What does it have?

An unsettling face appearing in a neighbouring window and the suspicious actions of the recent residents. Not to mention the suspicious actions of a loving spouse and their alleged involvement with the new neighbours.

Someone returning to England hoping to cover up their past in America. This is not a unique theme in the canon.

What does this person have to hide? Is Holmes correct in his assumptions?

BONUS QUESTIONS:

  1. How do we know that Dr. Watson was right-handed?
  2. What is a wide-awake?
  3. Were death certificates available in the US before 1900?
  4. Why “Jack”?

Last month, Stormy Petrel Gary gave us a very interesting power point presentation on trains in the Victorian era. For October’s meeting, Gary will present “The Life and Times of Sherlock’s Pipes.” I’m sure you will not want to miss this one!

The Petrels will meet, again, zia Zoom, on October 5, 2021 at 7:00 pm to discuss “The Yellow Face”

If you have any questions, or would like more information, please contact Fran at: franziskah@shaw.ca

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SEPTEMBER 2021 MEETING

Due to certain circumstances not under our control, the Stormy Petrels will hold their September meeting via Zoom.

Please note that the September meeting will be held on the second Tuesday, ie Sept. 14th.

The adventure for discussion, first published in The Strand Magazine in 1892, will be “Silver Blaze“, one of the most famous cases. This adventure displays Holmes’s powers of observation and deduction.

Arthur Conan Doyle himself confessed that he knew little about horse racing. In his “Memories & Adventures” he stated that “Horse racing is not a true sport. Sport is what a man does, not what a horse does.”

He did not include “Silver Blaze” in his top 12 list, as he noted that it was “very faulty”. He was told that “half of the characters would have been in jail and the other half warned off the turf forever.”

Agreed, this case may have several handicaps, but that should not detract from ACD’s ability as a great writer, and Sherlock Holmes’s analytical skills.

Meeting date and time: September 14th at 7:00 p.m. (Pacific time)

If you require any addition information, please contact Fran at: franziskah@shaw.ca

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August 3, 2021 Meeting

“The Adventure of the Copper Beeches” was first published in the Strand Magazine in June, 1892.

The plot of this case was actually suggested by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s mother.

After writing the 5th adventure, ACD confessed to his Mother “I think of slaying Holmes in the sixth and winding him up for good and all. He takes my mind from other things. (from “Teller of Tales” by Daniel Stashower)

His mother (the Ma’am) replied, ” You won’t! You can’t! You mustn’t!”

She then suggested an idea for a story. The story, according to Charles Higham in his book “The Adventures of Conan Doyle“, the idea came from a true account (The Staunton Case) which reported the kidnapping and starving of a young girl.

ACD agreed and wrote “The Copper Beeches“. “He still lives, thanks to your entreaties.”

The Stormy Petrels of BC will meet (perhaps the last time via Zoom) at 7:00 pm, Tuesday Aug. 3

Contact Fran at: franziskah@shaw.ca if you would like more information.

Bonus questions:

  1. Who was Carlo ?
  2. What is the significance of the name?
  3. What is the significance of Holmes mentioning a sister?
  4. Who else lived at Montague Place besides Violet Hunter? (No. 23)
  5. Anagram “Violet Hunter”
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