Category: News

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Preparing for the Treasure Hunt

With the journal recently printed and mailed (and thank you very much indeed for the exceptionally nice comments from so many of you), we now turn our attention to the preparation of the annual Treasure Hunt questions.

This year, in addition to the Member Individual and the Open Individual categories, we are extending this second annual Treasure Hunt to a worldwide focus with the first John H Watson Society Annual World Invitational Treasure Hunt. We are also inviting teams or individuals from all over the world to participate for the honours of solving what may be the most difficult Sherlockian/Watsonian quiz in history. The competition will begin 1 August 2014 and end 1 September 2014. Details are found on the Treasure Hunt page of this website.

If you are reading this, please consider this to be your official invitation to field a team of Quiz Masters from the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Italy, India, Portugal, UAE, or wherever two or more Sherlockians/Watsonians may be gathered and willing to spend up to one month on scholarly and Canonical research to solve 150 diabolically difficult questions (yes, you read correctly: the number of questions is increasing to 150).

Here, we will spend all of June and July researching, writing and perfecting at least 3 questions a day, all linked in a great chain of 150 forged links, each enabling participants to find their way to the ultimate treasure in question #150 and, at last, to Perfection of Canonical Knowledge (PCK).

Return regularly for updates . . . Now is the time to get online to your favourite bookseller and purchase a copy of the one-volume edition of The Complete Sherlock Holmes, published by Doubleday, 1930, with the Christopher Morley preface, and having a “W” in the copyright notation. This is the standard reference for the quizzes. These editions can be found on eBay, ABE books, Powell’s, and elsewhere for anywhere from $6 to $30 depending upon condition. This edition is the standard text and gives us all a common page number and line number reference for any Canonical question or citation.

For those of you who belong to scion societies or have international contacts, please let as many clubs and organisations as possible know about the open invitation to participate. We would genuinely wish to see a great worldwide participation by enthusiasts of the Canon and a continuation of the burgeoning interest in and recognition of Dr Watson as an integral and essential creator, character and partner in the Sherlockian milieu.

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The Long Summer . . .

With the long days of summer stretching out ahead, thoughts turn naturally to those pleasant hours spent in activities of creation and scholarship. So much to read and think about; so much to write.

We extend to you an invitation for research, scholarship and articles for publication in the October issue of The Watsonian. The long days of summer can culminate in new ideas on the Canon, new ideas on Doctor Watson, and new ideas on The Game. Your scholarship can enrich not only all of our members and the Great Study we all are interested in, but it can enrich your life as well.

We welcome first time and experienced writers alike. We particularly hope for articles from young researchers of the Canon; so many questions remain for you to explore; so much light can be shed on the mysteries of 1895. If you are an experienced Canonical writer, perhaps mentoring a university or high school student would be a rewarding experience. And what better use of our days of summer could we find?

Out journal has recently achieved new highs in publishing excellence; we have received kind comments from all over the world on the articles, research, humour, crossword, and the miscellanea in this very full issue. Now, we need to begin preparing our articles and submissions for the October issue, an issue we hope will continue the standard of excellence established by Dr Joanne Yates, our Editor and Publisher. Our journal is a treasure, our very own Agra Treasure, and it is our members who give us wondrous large pearls every issue.

As the calendar turns to August, we will embark upon our month-long Second Annual John H Watson World Invitational Treasure Hunt. This year, we will attempt to create the most difficult 100 word Treasure Hunt in Canonical history. Last year we had a fine effort and we will try to raise the bar a notch higher in 2014.

KNOW ALL WHO READ, WORLDWIDE: You are invited to field a team of Quiz Masters from your International or U.S. scion club, association, or group. We suggest teams of five members, all working from the Canon as represented by the one-volume edition of The Complete Sherlock Holmes; Doubleday, 1930 with the Preface by Christopher Morley. Additionally, the questions will be drawn from the historical scholarship of The Baker Street Journal, Baker Street Miscellanea, The Sherlock Holmes Journal, and other publications concerning the Canon.

We welcome inquiries from international teams and hope to have team participation from Canada, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, India, or wherever Watsonians and Sherlockians may be assembled. Please watch the Treasure Hunt page of this website for forthcoming details.

So . . . Enjoy summer. And please enjoy the creative satisfaction of your important contributions to the activities of our Society. We exist because of your enthusiasm. And we are thankful for what you give to us all.

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The Journal Arrives!

Most of our members should receive the April issue of The Watsonian beginning today (Friday), as it was sent First Class last Monday. International mailings have also been sent First Class (at a whopping $8.91 postage per copy!) and should arrive beginning next week.

The Society welcomes your comments and observations regarding this second issue, especially as it relates to the length of the journal (172 pages), content, and quality of the articles.

We will be evaluating a number of factors concerning the size, production cost, and postage rates of the journal and your input will be critical. It is a bit ironic that technology allows us to print a journal of 172 pages and bind it for $4.50 a copy, but to get it to England, France, Italy, Spain, UAE, and elsewhere, it costs twice that amount for postage! The domestic U.S. postage alone is nearly $2.50 per journal. Our total cost for this issue was $1,400.00. That is very close to our budget of $10.00 per journal ($40 for four issues which is our current two-year dues rate). But, as postage and print costs continue to spiral upward, our only alternative is to charge more. Actually, a reduction in the page count to, say, 80 pages will STILL cost about the same to produce and mail; we would save only a dollar or so. We would not gain that much by publishing a smaller journal (except wear and tear on our talented Editor). The printers and the post office have rates pretty well figured out in their favour.

We believe the Society and our Editor, Dr Joanne Yates, have produced one of the finest journals to be found, and we have all of our contributors to thank for that distinction and accomplishment. This is your journal. What we want to know, is: “What do you want going forward?” Bigger . . . Smaller . . . About the Same . . . ?

Please take a moment to leave a comment here about the journal after you have a chance to review it when it arrives; also, please give us your thoughts on what you wish to see going forward. What you have to say is very important. Thank you.

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Something Wicked This Way Comes!

The wee voices in Buttons’s head have described (and even more scary, have answered) a Weekly Quiz to bedevil the mind.  See the Quiz Page at 7 pm tomorrow, Friday, to see if you are up to the Canonical challenge.  We prepare for the upcoming Second Annual John H Watson World Invitational Treasure Hunt to be contested in August.

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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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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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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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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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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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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.