It is with much sadness that I report the passing away of one of our most loyal and esteemed members, Mr. Peter Wood, M.Bt, BSI, and our own “Priory Schoolmaster” A great loss to the Sherlockian World. Our sincerest condolences to wife Audrey and their two children. He will be missed by all.
SAVE UNDERSHAW
According to David Charles Rose, the campaign to save Undershaw (ACD’s house in Hindhead) is gathering momentum.
Plans are afoot to develope this historic home into townhouses, but with the Save Undershaw Preservation Trust, hopefully Undershaw can be saved and turned into the Conan Doyle heritage and study centre.
The campaign does have a facebook page and you can also leave a message at: http://www.saveundershaw.com/2010/09/leave-your-feedback
(Thank you, Sheldon, for the heads-up on this one)
News from London
Thanks to information received by Roger Johnson (Sherlock Holmes Society of London) via his “District Messenger”, your Consulting Detective can report on the following:
1. Sotheby’s auction of one of the only two known inscribed copies of the very first Sherlock Holmes Story “A Study In Scarlet” The auction will take place on July 15th. For more info, please contact Peter Selley at peter.selley@sothebys.com
2. A new Sherlock Holmes play “The Secret of Sherlock Holmes” at the Duchess Theatre begining July 20th. Peter Egan as Sherlock Holmes and Robert Daws as Dr. Watson.
3. On July 16th at Marylebone Library, author Laurie King will talk about her new book, “The God of the Hive”
4. The Northern Sherlock Holmes Society is hosting a Forensic Science Day at the University of Huddersfield on September 11th. The University was established in 1825 and is a leading site for training forensic scientists. For more info, contact the Stormy Petrel’s Consulting Detective.
5. A brand new edition of “Bending The Willow” by David Stuart Davies is now available from Calabash Press (ashtrree@ash-tree.bc.ca)
“Before his untimely death in 1995, Jeremy Brett had made the part his own, all the time battling against the manic depression which had plauged him for many years. “Bending The Willow” examines how this brilliant actor channelled the demons of his debilitating illness into his iridescent portrayal of Sherlock Holmes”.
“This new edition includes a new afterword by the author, a reminiscence of Jeremy Brett by David Burke, and a number of photographs not included in earlier editions”.
For more information on any of the abvove, please contact your Consulting Detective.
ONE BOOK ONE VANCOUVER
Thanks to several sources (Roy Schindell and Jean Kavanagh, through Petrel Pal Miss604) I will relay the following information:
“This is the ninth year of Vancouver Public Library’s One Book, One Vancouver program which encourages everyone to read the same book and attend and participate in some great programs.”
They have retruned this year to a public contest and are asking Vancouver and area residents to tell them which of three short-listed books they would like to read this year. The three books represent the past, the present and the future. They are:
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams; and
The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.
People can vote online at http://www.vpl.vancouver.bc.ca/obov/index.html
or at any VPL location.
Please vote – Contest closes on Friday, June 24th
Thank you,
Your Consulting Detective
Vancouver's Official Sherlock Holmes Society 