With thanks to Dr. Mabuse, who dug this 1920’s essay up.

“’Ha!’ exclaimed the Great Detective, raising himself from the resilient sod on which he had lain prone for half an hour, ‘what have we here?’
      “As he spoke, he held up a blade of grass he had plucked.
      “’I see nothing,’ said the Poor Nut.
      “’No, I suppose not,’ said the Great Detective; after which he seated himself on a stone, took out his saxophone from its case, and for the next half hour was lost in the intricacies of Gounod’s ‘Sonata in Six Flats with a Basement.’”
—Any Detective Story

     The publishers tell us that more than a thousand detective stories are sold every day—or is it every hour? It does not matter. The point is that a great many are sold all the time, and that there is no slackening of the appetite of the reading public for stories of mysterious crime.
      It is not so much the crime itself that attracts as the unraveling of the mystery by the super-brain of the Great Detective, as silent as he is efficient. He speaks only about once a week. He seldom eats. He crawls around in the grass picking up clews. He sits upside down in his armchair forging his inexorable chain of logic.
      But when he’s done with it, the insoluble mystery is solved, justice is done, the stolen jewels are restored, and the criminal is either hanged or pledges his word to go and settle on a ranch in Saskatchewan; after which the Great Detective take a night off at the Grand Opera, the only thing that really reaches him…

So the court decision wil be happening in July. Meanwhile the Trust can still use people’s help.

I ran straight over to Amazon and bought the ebook version of Sherlock’s Home: perhaps others might like to do so as well.

mxpublishing:

After hearing the case for and against destroying Undershaw, a really nice touch from the judge as he commended the Holmes supporters who had sat in silence for seven hours - every single seat in the public gallery was full with Save Undershaw supporters, led by Lynn Gale…

Pay attention to this, cousins.

brothermycroft:

Tomorrow is the day of the Judicial Review to see whether Undershaw (the former home of Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes) can be saved.

We desperately need all the support we can get.

You can help by:

1) Checking out the website: www.saveundershaw.com

2) ‘Liking’ us on…

Putting finishing touches on a donated story for the charity anthology The Empty House, in benefit of the Undershaw Preservation Trust.

Will this make it into the book? I have no idea: final choices will be made by a panel of judges. (Anybody can enter this competition, BTW, but you’d better hurry.)

At any rate, I’m having fun with this.

“Watson,” he said, “have you observed the lady’s brooch?”

“The lighting is difficult from this side,” I said; “doubtless you can see it better.”

“The base stone is the kind of agate which the Romans referred to as sardonyx,” Holmes said; “specifically the type now referred to by gemologists as nicolo – the sort most preferred by the Romans for such work, because the colored banding in the stone is straight. And this one is a fine specimen indeed. Note how very even are the bands of blue and slate and cream, and then the edge of white there at the top, with the clouds carven into it.”

Holmes leaned forward, regarding it. “The rim is of chased gold set with freshwater pearls, and the carving proper depicts the contest between the sea-god Poseidon and the goddess of wisdom, Athena, for the right to be the patron of the city of Athens. See there how Poseidon has just thrust his trident into the waters and created the horse? But Athena is holding in her hands the newly-created olive tree… and when the citizens of Athens vote on whose creation is most useful to mankind, they will declare her the winner.”

Holmes let out a long breath as he sat back in his chair again, his eyes meeting the lady’s and holding them. “It is an absolute masterwork, unique of its kind, and in fact priceless. However, its presence here presents us with certain problems… because we have seen this jewel before.”

And I blinked as sudden memory awoke in me of Rome in a rainy winter, and our three separate midnight flights down the murky lamplit streets of the Trastevere quarter; the knifewielding bravos on our heels and seemingly hiding in every shadow, and the obscure and malign political forces that had swirled around us during those awful days and had finally nearly sucked us down into the Tiber and out of life.  

“Of course you have seen it,” the lady said. “It is one of the Vatican cameos.”

My glance shifted from her to Holmes in astonishment. “But details of that case have never been made public,” I said.

“And there is something else, Watson,” said Holmes. “That jewel, along with all its stolen mates, had seen nigh two thousand years flow over it. This cameo is the exact match in every detail of the one we returned to the hands of his Holiness the Pope, right down to that star-shaped flaw in the smallest pearl and the carving of the tines of Neptune’s trident — except for one small matter.

“This jewel is new.”

m-i-d-n-i-g-h-t-b-i-r-d:

I FUCKING LOVE YOU SO DAMN MUCH

moonblossom:

imagineahundredotters:

herbailiwick:

Mike Stamford actually had his phone, but knew John would offer his if he said he didn’t have it?

#mike stamford shipped johnlock before it was cool

Mike Stamford is like the patron saint of John/Sherlock shippers.

Praise him.

Absolutely. Mike features on the “Catalyst” card in the Sherlockian Tarot:

Mike’s amused and knowing looks at the beginning of episode 1 of Sherlock make it plain that he’s suspected exactly what ought to start happening when he introduces them in the lab at St. Bart’s. Indeed, he started to see it coming the moment his old friend said “Who’d want  me for a flatmate?”, and the prospective union-of-opposites began playing itself out in Mike’s head…

So let’s all raise a glass to Mike Stamford: without whom, nothing.

bakerstreetbabes:

daiong:

Sherlock Holmes, ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’

He cleans up so well!

bakerstreetbabes:

Have some Holmes-in-a-blanket

Every Holmes needs a good blanket.

sherlockology:

We’ve been posting alot about the Save Undershaw campaign and The Great Sherlock Holmes Debate (which is taking place next Sunday 18th March in order to raise awareness for Undershaw) recently and although it’s not strictly BBC Sherlock news it’s most certainly relevant.

We ask that you spare 10 minutes of your time to watch this short video which will explain exactly what Undershaw is and why it is so important that we take action now as time is running out to save this historical building.

Thank you.