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New Page:  Chips’s Tid Bits

We are pleased to announce the addition of a new page to the Society’s website: Chips’s Tid Bits. Here, we will continue to feature the limericks, poems, aphorisms, and important miscellanea brought for our enjoyment and edification by our most active contributor, Ron Lies, JHWS “Chips,” of Denver, Colorado.

He is the Transcriber of Dr Watson’s Neglected Patients and has served as past Staff Surgeon, past Chief Surgeon and member since 1972. He belongs to The Sherlock Holmes Society of India; is a member of The Sydney Passengers, The Sherlock Homes Society of Australia; and is a co-founder of The Sons of Shaw, a society honouring the memory of John Bennett Shaw. His overwhelming interest in Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson began in seventh grade when he read “The Speckled Band.”  He has always identified with Dr John Watson and now feels he is where he belongs with The John H Watson Society. And we agree.

Please visit the new page often, as “Chips” has weekly additions and often sends tid bits more frequently. Thank you, “Chips,” for making us all a great deal richer.

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Weekly Quiz 2014 – 19

RESULTS:  First in and 10/10 was Melissa Anderson “Faith” with Elinor Gray close and second in.  Team honours continue with Margie Deck “Gwen” and Sheila Holtgrieve “Daisy” with 10/10.  Well Done! Answers below.

This week’s quiz is a Study in Absence of Colour

Please submit solutions to these questions by 7 pm Wednesday, 14 May 2014 to buttons@johnhwatsonsociety.com

Download Week 19 Questions and Answers.

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Update on Journal Mailing

Buttons owes the membership an update on the delayed April issue of The Wastsonian.

For reasons that need not detain us here, the April journal, which we had targeted to mail on May 6th was further delayed and will now mail May 16th.  It will be mailed First Class postage and receipt in your mail boxes should begin by May 20th;  international receipts should begin by May 27th.

The journal is 172 pages (and a big, wonderful issue) and we have shifted to a new mailing system.  The first journal was mailed from our former printer in a bubble bag and the postage and handling charged was almost as much as the cost of the journal itself.  We have changed to a new printer and mailing system which is:  Buttons will drive 100 miles to Tampa, Florida to our new printer and pick up the journals. He will then drive back home to Ocala, put them in less costly poly-wrap bags, address them with labels, and take them to the post office and mail them using stamps. Yes, it is a bit “old school” but it saves the Society a lot of money.

The upshot:  With a new printer now, a new mailing routine, and adjustments to the editing, software system and mailing routine, the next journal (October) will likely be on time.  As always, the lion’s share of the creative work belongs to our great authors and contributors and our talented Editor, Dr Joanne Yates, whose design and layout make our journal one of the best in all of the Sherlockian–and definitely in the Watsonian–worlds.

Sorry for the delays on this issue. . . always learning and adjusting here . . . “We can but try . . . “

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“Chips’s” Weekly Limericks

To all:

I have received permission from two members of The Hounds of the Internet to post their limericks and here are examples. Please let me know in the “comments” section if you have limericks, poems, sonnets, or other word pictures you would like to see posted.  

The Gloria Scott

To Australia once he was sent,
 But escaped and set up as a gent,
 Till the castaway’s greed
 And the “fly-paper” screed
 Taught Trevor what Nemesis meant.

Mr Henry Baker

“He spoke in a slow staccato fashion,
choosing his words with care,
and gave the impression of a man of learning and letters
who had had ill-usage at the hands of fortune.”

            — in the light of common day, Oliver Mundy

Gloria Scott

Nuts being cracked and some port,
 But the munching was quickly cut short.
 Your hen-pheasant’s life
 Brought serious strife
 When Old Trevor slipped out for a snort.

            — Matilda, from the lumber camps of Michigan, aka Bill Briggs

 All my best,
Chips

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Weekly Quiz: 2014-18

RESULTS:  You are all SO good at this!  First in again was Melissa Anderson “Faith” from Peoria with 20/20 and a couple of alternative answers that expand the horizons.  Perfection also from Denny Dobry “Kirby” and our Team members from Seattle, Margie Deck “Gwen,”  Sheila Holtgrieve “Daisy,” and Airy Maher, Loyal Member.  Ever so close were Elinor Gray “Misty” and Michele Lopez “Reggie.”

Buttons is behind his time!  Too many patients to see the Doctor. Sorry. Please submit solutions by 7pm Wednesday, May 7, 2014.

This week’s quiz is about dates. It’s a tough one!  Good Luck!

file_download.pngDownload Week 18 Questions and Answers.

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Ron Lies “Chips” and the Weekly Limerick

Here is “Chips'” Limerick of the Week:

In the 1940s Edgar W. Smith wrote, “We love the times in which he lived, of course, the half-remembered, half-forgotten times of snug Victorian illusion, of gas lit comfort and contentment, of perfect dignity and grace. And we love the place: the England of those times, fat with the fruits of her achievements, but strong and daring still with the spirit of imperial adventure. But there is more than time and space and the yearning of things gone by to account for what we feel toward Sherlock Holmes. Not only there and then, but here and now, he stands as a symbol, if you please, of all that we are not, but ever would be. We see him as the fine expression of our urge to trample evil and to set aright the wrongs with which the world is plagued. He is Galahad and Socrates, bringing high adventure to our dull existences and calm, judicial logic to our biased minds.”

Limerick for The Hound of the Baskervilles

So here’s to that wonderful Hound,
Who crossed the moor with a bound,
He glowed in the night,
A terrible sight,
And did make a frightening sound.

Author William S Dorn BSI, DWNP,from his book and card set, The Limericks of Sherlock Holmes, published by Pencil Productions, 2005.

All my best,
Chips

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Denny Dobry “Kirby” has Successful Open House

Our Charter Member, Denny Dobry “Kirby” and a member of the Baker Street Builders, who have replicas of the Baker Street rooms constructed within their homes, held an open house Saturday, April 26, 2014 and hosted 34 visitors from 12 Sherlockian societies.

Denny writes:

Buttons:

We had a very enjoyable afternoon at 221b this afternoon.  We had 34 attendees representing 12 different Sherlockian Organizations.

I’ve attached a photo of my grandson Brett (as Billy)  and myself as Barrymore, Staples, Brunton, Carson or any other butler who one could think of.

How wonderful to see another generation of Sherlockian/Watsonian potential being introduced to the Canonical Life. Thank you Denny for sending us this delightful news and a picture of two most handsome Watsonians. The picture (and Brett) embody what we are all about!
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Weekly Quiz 2014: 17

RESULTS:  Melissa Anderson “Faith” was first in and 25/25.  Elinor Hickey “Misty” was spot-on. Denny Dobry “Kirby” was very competitive again. Michele Lopez “Reggie” was also spot-on.  The team honours, once again, go to Margie Deck “Gwen,” Sheila Holtgrieve “Daisy,” and Airy Maher, Loyal Member, of Seattle’s SOBs. This was a difficult quiz and several of our “intrepid” Quiz Masters commented on the difficulty. You all did well.  Answers are below.

What is the address?  That is your quiz for this week. Fifteen difficult and challenging questions about Canonical addresses and their identification.

Please submit your solutions by 7 pm Eastern Wednesday, 30 April 2014 to buttons@johnhwatsonsociety.com.

file_download.pngDownload Week 17 Questions and Answers.

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Musings From Outside the Doctor’s Consulting Room

Buttons has had time recently to sit upon his stool outside the good Doctor’s consulting room and just think a bit. A few things come to mind and perhaps members will feel free to comment:

What are we doing right as a Society and what are we doing wrong? Or, perhaps, it is better to ask: What could we do better or more of in order to serve our members to stimulate more participation and momentum?

We have more members submitting papers and articles than perhaps other print journals in the Sherlockian world, and that is an amazing thing in this world of “digital everything.”  How do we take that positive fact and build upon it?  How do we encourage articles and papers from young student Watsonians?

We have a core group of unbeatable Quiz Mavens who participate every week. And we have equal interest in the annual Treasure Hunt. But, are we creating quizzes that stimulate the imagination and further our interest in the Canon?  How do we expand the participation to more members and non-members alike?

Our email communications met with disaster when our last member-wide email sent out caused half the members to accidently “unsubscribe.”  In order to gain better control, we will need to use a better email service provider, but that is costly.  If Buttons sent each member a personal email every other month, it would take about 150 hours a year to do so. An email every now and then that covers important information–sent to all members at one time–is needed.  Not everyone looks at the website every day or two, but an email once a month might be welcomed. Thoughts?

And a last thought concerns membership. You will read more about this in the forthcoming issue of The Watsonian, but the fact is we need to recruit about 40% new members every year to remain at a size where we can afford to continue doing the things we are doing (journals, monographs, writing prizes, International Treasure Hunt, comprehensive website, postage, etc.).  As always, the best ideas come from the members of any organization, so feel free to comment with your ideas and observations.

Thanks. Now, it is just time for a pie . . . a pint or two overage last evening.

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Ron Lies’ Weekly Limerick

Ron writes:

I do not think I have posted this one yet. I would be amiss in my posting duties if I did not. Here is the first of Mr. Asimov’ s superb efforts.  What more would or should be said?

Ron aka “Chips”

A Study in Scarlet

Meet the quick mind that restlessly combs
Through he smallest of clues as it roams
From initial confusion
To triumphant conclusion.
My friends, here we have Sherlock Holmes.

Author: Isaac Asimov BSI, from his book, Asimov’s Sherlockian Limericks published by Mysterious Press, New York; 1978

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April Journal Coming Soon

We had hoped to mail the April issue of The Watsonian by the 20th of April, but it will take a while longer than expected. This is a LARGE issue, bigger than the inaugural edition and has taken longer to produce.  Plus, to be more efficient and save on postage and handling charges by the printer, Buttons will do the mailings from Florida which requires shipping all copies in bulk from the printer.To be safe, we are targeting a mail date of May 6th, which should see domestic arrivals beginning on May 15 and international arrivals by the end of May.  So, overall we will be about two weeks longer than anticipated.

Thank you for your kind understanding and patience. The upside is that we can say YOU WILL ENJOY THIS ISSUE!  Dr Joanne Yates, our Editor and Publisher, has done a wonderful job of design, coaching, and creating a fine journal with many fascinating articles, papers, and observations by a large cast of our creative and talented members.

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Weekly Quiz 2014: 16

A quiz on Canonical tools.  Please submit by 7 pm Eastern on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 to buttons@johnhwatsonsociety.com

RESULTS: Once again, you are good!  Quiz solutions were all 10/10 and received in this order:  Individuals: Melissa Anderson “Faith;” Denny Dobry “Kirby;” Elinor Gray “Misty;” and Michele Lopez “Reggie.”  Team: Margie Deck “Gwen;” Shiela Holtgrieve “Daisy” and Airy Maher, Loyal Member.

Congratulations to all and especially for finding the many alternative answers that you uncovered.  Great work!  Answers are below.

file_download.pngDownload Week 16 Questions and Answers.

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The Poisoned Penman by Dan Andriacco and Kieran McMullen

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The Poisoned Penman by Dan Andriacco and Kieran McMullen; published by MX Publishing.

Available from Amazon $10.76

London, 1922: Two years after helping Sherlock Holmes solve the Hangman Murders, American journalist Enoch Hale becomes even more intimately involved in another puzzling mystery. Langdale Pike, veteran purveyor of gossip to the trash newspapers, is poisoned while sipping tea with Hale – and apparently just as he is about to spill a secret more important than social gossip. With the unrequested aid of advertising copywriter Dorothy Sayers, Hale pursues a number of leads based on notes in Pike’s pocket diary – including an interview with the formidable G.K. Chesterton. His attempts to uncover the identity of one of Pike’s fellow club members bring Hale the unwanted attention of Mycroft Holmes, head of His Majesty’s Secret Service, and of his younger brother. Once again Enoch Hale and the theoretically retired but far from retiring Sherlock Holmes join forces to solve a crime that may have international complications. And this time Hale himself almost becomes a victim when he gets too close to the solution. This fast-moving tale is sure to please the many fans of the first Enoch Hale – Sherlock Holmes adventure, The Amateur Executioner.

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Ron Lies “Chips” Sonnet of the Week

“Chips” sends along something a bit different from his weekly limerick: a sonnet by Helene Yuhasova (pen name of Edgar W. Smith, BSI) written in 1946.

John H Watson to Sherlock Holmes

You are a benefactor of the race;
Warrant and symbol of our land’s content:
A Sword that strikes in evil’s darkest place,
The law’s oblique, incisive instrument.
For this you have the nation’s accolade
In grateful token of the wrongs redressed–
But when your donative is fully weighted
Not England, but the world will call you blest.

For you have given us escape today
From threats that lie against our lives and pelf;
While thru the days to come you’ll show the way
To find elusion from the world.
This is the benefaction I’ve designed:
To give you to the ages of mankind

From the pamphlet: A Lauriston Garden of Verses by Helene Yuhasova;
published by The Pamphlet House, Summit, New Jersey, 1946 

 

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Weekly Quiz 2104: 15

This week’s quiz focuses on words. Describe the word as used and cite the story in which it is found. There may be several answers to each; one is sufficient. Honours will go to those who receive 25/25.

RESULTS: Excellent results this week with Elinor Gray “Misty” returning to take honours with 20/20 + 5 = 25 points and perfect answers plus numerous alternatives.  Also, Denny Dobry “Kirby” with 25 points and numerous alternatives in another of his usual thorough submissions. Team honours go to Margie Deck “Gwen” and Sheila Holtgrieve “Daisy” with perfect results, as always.  Well Done ALL!  Answers below.

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Download Questions and Answers

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The Society’s Birthday and that of our Founding Chair

Today is the birthday of The John H Watson Society. We are one year old.  It is also the birthday of our Founding Chairman, Prof. Don Yates, BSI “The Greek Interpreter” and JHWS “Pal.”

We extend best wishes to all Society members and, particular good wishes to Prof Yates on his birthday. It was all meant to be.

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Society’s Website is Secure from “Heartbleed”

You have read of the massive security problem on most Internet sites called “Heartbleed.”

The Society tested its website this morning for this security problem and we are OKAY. Our host had taken steps to block this bug or the server was never vulnerable. The long and short: We are sensitive to Internet security and take steps to assure our website is secure.

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Weekly Limerick: “Chipping” Away at the Humorous Art

Ron Lies “Chips” gives us these two delightful limericks this week. Thank you, as always.

“I have wrought my simple plan if I give one hour of joy to the boy who’s half a man, or the man who’s half a boy.”
— Doyle, Arthur Conan; The Lost World

That dedication describes me to a “T.” That is why my favourite story from the Canon is The Sign of the Four. These limericks are my favourites of them all.

All my best, Chips

The Sign of the Four

Miss Morstan was quite a nice doll,
for her good old Watson did fall,
but with feelings hid,
he joined Holmes and did
down The Thames chase Tonga and Small.

Author: William S Dorn, BSI, from his book, The Limericks of Sherlock Holmes, produced by Pencil Productions, 2005.

I am adding a limerick from that noted Sherlockian, Isaac Asimov, that describes my romantic love affair with my wife Mary for forty-one years and forever.

The Sign of the Four

Muttered Holmes, “Never mind cocaine’s pleasure,
let us seek out the famed Agra Treasure.”
Answered Watson, “No pearls
for myself—only girls;
and it’s Mary that’s made to my measure. “

Author: Isaac Asimov, BSI, from his book, Asimov’s Sherlockian Limericks, published by The Mysterious Press New York, 1978.

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A Survey Question for the Membership: Train Journeys

A question recurs:  How many different train trips are mentioned in the Canon?  Not subway or ‘tube’ trips, but true train journeys.
Buttons, who has logged many train trips criss-crossing England in all directions, as well as Wales and Scotland, over nearly thirty years, likes to believe he has been on most of the rails that conveyed the good Doctor and Mr Holmes. He particularly remembers one wonderful, uninterrupted, non-stop trip of two days from Penzance in Cornwall to John O’Groats at the very northern end of Scotland (nearly as far apart as you can get in Great Britain), notable for its crossing of the great, lonely moors, the necessity for transfers to narrow-gauge, two-coach branch lines, and the excellent quality of the dining car food, drink and service.
Anyone care to offer a catalogue of the individual journeys by story taken by our favourite Victorian friends?

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Weekly Quiz:  2014: 14

RESULTS ARE IN!

The SOBs do it again! Our members of Team SOBs in Seattle have cracked the quiz for another perfect 25/25!  Margie Deck “Gwen,”  Sheila Holtgrieve “Daisy,” and Airy Maher, Loyal Member returned a ‘spot on’ quiz for the week’s honours. Known as “The Invincibles” here at Quiz Central, we are inspired by their thorough scholarship and uncanny research capacity. Congratulations again!

Coming in close was our illustrious member from Italy, Michele Lopez, president of Uno Studio in Holmes, the Italian scion society. Michele submitted a few blanks, but added several new twists to the existing answers.  Well Done!

Answers are posted below.

Buttons has been fielding some lightweight quizzes recently owing to the activities involved in the relocation of the good Doctor’s offices . . . .  Now, it is time to get back to form since he has ample time to sit on his stool and contemplate the great mysteries whilst having a few pints and pies.

This week he turns to the Canon through the eyes of those who offer the “details behind the manuscript.” Each of the 20 questions concern details about Canonical facts.

Submissions may be made to buttons@johnhwatsonsociety.com up to 7 pm Eastern on Wednesday, 9 April 2014.  Good luck!
file_download.pngDownload Week 14 Questions and Answers.