This week’s discussion topic is from our friend “Willow.” Thank you!
As the holiday season gets under way, are there any Sherlockian motifs that are part of your holiday traditions?
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A viewing of Granada’s BLUE is always, always required at our house. I particularly enjoy it when we have someone ‘new’ over who has not seen it before. We had two such newbies last year, and it was good fun to watch the episode, and then discuss it in relation to other Christmas tales we are all familiar with. The Sound of the Baskervilles of course revisits BLUE each holiday season, as I’m sure most groups do. It is often interesting to see how a discussion leader brings new insight and fun to something so familiar. Last year we had a rousing round of Blue Bingo, a fun game that resulted in some interesting conversation about how Watson uses colors in the various texts.
Not much actually, but it’s customary to wish “the compliments of the season” to all my Holmesian/Sherlockian/Watsonian friends. I usually do some Holmes-themed greeting card image and I send it by email.
I have to say I don’t do anything Sherlockian regularly at the holidays and I have no Sherlockian ornaments for the tree, however I do occasionally read BLUE or Derleth’s “The Unique Dickensians” for that “complements of the season” state-of-mind. Since the IHOSE podcasts have started and since I’ve been listening to them since 2011, I will relisten to the Special Episode: Compliments of the Season 2007 where Woolley recites his poem “Two Days After Christmas”. There is also Episode 49: I’ll Have a Blue Christmas where Woolley and Taylor talk about Morley’s essay “A Christmas Story Without Slush” and discuss Brett and Cushing’s versions of BLUE. I also like to listen to the BSI Weekend recaps on those cold December nights around the holidays. While the BSI Weekend is post-Christmas, it does make me think of the warmth of the Alpha Inn sharing a beer with a friend and a winter’s evening commerce at Covent Garden.
I don’t have particular Christmas traditions, but do something similar to you, Pippin – every year I re-listen to the BLUE episode of the BBC Radio 4 adaption. It’s one of my favorites to listen to and the holiday season is a perfect time to enjoy it.
We, too, watch the Brett Blue Carbuncle, and often the Wilmer version, too; Linda and I like Frank Middlemass and he plays the commissionaire in one and Henry Bakerin the other.
One other thing we do, not strictly Sherlockian but related, is to place a Christmas wreath on the grave of the founder of the BSI, Christopher Morley.