Category: Events

“The Master Dramatist who Receives the Homage of his Audience”: March Presentation from Nicholas Meyer

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The NMSOBC is delighted to announce that our March 12 meeting will feature a virtual presentation by author Nicholas Meyer, who will be interviewed by our own Patrick Ewing about his latest Sherlock Holmes pastiche, The Return of the Pharaoh.

This is Meyer’s fifth pastiche. He kick-started the current Holmes revival in 1974 with The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, followed by The West End Horror (1976), The Canary Trainer (1993), and The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols (2019). An accomplished screenwriter and director, Meyer is also responsible for making Holmes’s reality canonical in the Star Trek universe (he is claimed as an ancestor by Mr. Spock in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, which Meyer wrote and directed). We are honored to be featuring him.

If you have any questions you would like Patrick to ask him, or for further information, please contact us via email at bluecarbuncle1971@gmail.com.

“A Portable Newgate Calendar”: 2022 Meeting/Event Schedule Partly Available!

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Although our calendar for the entire coming year is generally released in December, due to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, we are scheduling only a few months in advance. The following are currently scheduled or in planning:

  • The Master’s Dinner, Jan. 8. Members and invited guests only!
  • Hybrid Meeting, Feb. 12. Presentation from author and game collector Timothy Kline.
  • Hybrid Meeting, Mar. 12. Author Nicholas Meyer will talk about his new novel, The Return of the Pharaoh.
  • Tentative: April trip to the Oregon Rail Heritage Center train museum. Details TBD.
  • Reichenbach Falls Remembrance and Memorial Picnic, May 7, Silver Falls State Park.
  • Watson’s Picnic, July. Details TBD.

We intend to have meetings in June, September, October, and November, but the exact format is not yet set. Our theme for the year is Travel.

Watch our Events page and/or our Facebook calendar for changes and further details. Contact us if you’re interested in attending any of the events.

The Charles Augustus Milverton Virtual Picnic

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Once again we must cancel an event: Watson’s Picnic, originally scheduled for June 11, because of that dastardly COVID-19.

We are instead planning a virtual picnic with a discussion of “Charles Augustus Milverton,” a gripping story of blackmail, burglary, and murder. Attendees are encouraged to bring their devices outside, weather permitting, and to enjoy picnic food while talking about the story and listening to presentations.

Sidney Paget, The Strand, April 1904

We ordinarily have our Blind Auction at Watson’s Picnic; we are working on the logistics of holding it over Zoom.

To avoid conflicting with a meeting of The Parallel Case of St. Louis, we have moved the date one week later: It will be held on Saturday, June 18. Details are on the Events page; keep an eye on that or our Facebook page for any changes or updates.

At our virtual meeting today, we had several fascinating presentations about “The Priory School” We also welcomed as a new member Rich Krisciunas (from Michigan!). As Rich is already a member of several Scions, he will skip the Egg phase and go straight to a full membership.

Physical distancing doesn’t have to mean social isolation. All interested guests are welcome to join us, as Rich did. The one advantage of the virus is that it is making it more common for us to meet Sherlockians from geographically distant locations!

“His Orders Were to Stay in the House”: More Upcoming Virtual Gatherings

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That fiendish pandemic is still preventing Sherlockians from gathering socially. Fortunately, we now have videoconferencing, and three more free virtual gatherings have been announced.

  • Saturday, June 19, 12:30 pm PT: NMSOBC meeting to discuss “The Priory School.” Email bluecarbuncle1971@gmail.com for the Zoom info.
  • Saturday, June 27, 5 pm PT (virtual cocktail hour, 4:30 pm): The Torists International, a scion society based in Chicago, invites all Sherlockians, friends, and family to “an infinitely introspective program.” The meeting will include a eulogy for Sherlockian scholar and Torist co-founder Tony Citera; the investiture into the Torists of the winners of the Beacon Society-Joel Senter Memorial Contest 2020; a presentation on the sources of the ciphers in “The Dancing Men”; and a reading of Vincent Starrett’s 221B. Register here; email Jonathan Shimberg for more info.
  • Saturday, October 10, 10 am PT: Save the date for the virtual Left Coast Sherlockian Symposium! Speakers will include Mina Hoffman; Leslie Klinger, BSI; Bonnie MacBird, BSI, ASH; Angela Misri; and Rob Nunn. Visit the Symposium website for more info or to register.

Stay well, everyone, and when you must go out, wear a mask!

From Mark Chellew’s Sherlock Holmes COVID-19 Survival Guide.

“You Scintillate Today!”: Register for Free Virtual Scintillation of Scions XIII

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Bring fellow Sherlockians into your dreary lockdown! A Scintillation of Scions, the annual literary symposium sponsored by Watson’s Tin Box of Ellicott City, MD, has announced SOS At Home, a virtual version of this year’s event.

The symposium will take place over Zoom on Saturday, June 13, 2020, at 12 noon ET (that’s—*gulp*—9 am for us Left Coasters). It is free, but you must register at the SOS website.

Scheduled Events

  • Talks by Ray Betzner, Ashley Polasek, Steve Mason, Julie McKuras,Howard Ostrom, Daniel Stashower, and Dana Richards
  • Some sort of version of the running of the Silver Blaze (Southern Division)
  • A screening of the 1976 comedy-mystery The Return of the World’s Greatest Detective, featuring Larry Hagman (!) as Sherman Holmes—an L.A. cop who falls off his motorcycle, strikes his head, and wakes up believing he’s Sherlock Holmes—with Jenny O’Hara as his social worker, Dr. Joan Watson. (We wouldn’t miss this obscure non-classic for the world!)

The organizers are also working on interactive options for attendees, including a Zoom conference room. Any questions? Email the organizers at scintillation.of.scions@outlook.com

While you’re registering, be sure to check out the Swag Shop or consider a donation to help defray the cost of the event. Your Gazetteer is wavering between these two shirts:

An enthusiastic “Halloa!” goes out to the folks at Scintillation of Scions who are volunteering their efforts to help us celebrate our love of Holmes and Watson despite the pandemic. Let us come Together Apart.

See you all on June 13th!