This past January (2023) I attended my first Baker Street Irregulars weekend. While it was daunting, it was an incredibly extremely welcoming group. Any Sherlock fan (Sherlockian!) even slightly tempted to attend should definitely consider going! in that spirit, I wanted to write a summary of the BSI weekend as a first-timer, and to describe the activities for someone interested in knowing what it's like.
Coincidentally, I recently joined the Sydney Passengers, a scion based in my home town of Sydney, Australia. You can learn more about the scion and how to become a member here: http://www.sherlock.on.net/ . Of course, virtual meetings make joining any scion worthwhile, and the Sydney Passengers have the added bonus of being a scion that produces a regular journal of Sherlockian scholarship of very high quality, called 'The Passenger's Log'.
A deerstalker in Sydney? The logo for the 'Sydney Passengers' scion - no Harbour Bridge or Opera House, but 'Pinchgut' (Fort Denison) is shown.
So I wrote up my report, and submitted it to The Passengers Log. My thinking was that my fellow Sherlockians on the other side of the world are least likely to be able to attend, and might like reading an account of the BSI weekend - and an inducement for Aussies to make that trip of a lifetime to NY for BSI. The article was published in the January 2023 issue of the Passenger's Log (Vol 26, No 2), and below I've posted a late draft of the article you can find there... so become a member !!!
For the first time this year I attended the Baker Street Irregulars (BSI) ‘Weekend’ in New York, which was held from Wednesday 4th to Sunday 8th January 2023. The activities are organized by a range of groups and individuals, clustered around the central purpose of the gathering, the BSI Dinner - ostensibly to celebrate the birthday of Sherlock Holmes (6th January). It would be more appropriate now to refer to the weekend as a ‘BSI week’ of activities. While I was only able to be in New York from Friday to Sunday (a BSI long weekend?), a couple of earlier events were broadcast by zoom so I was able to prepare myself for what is essentially an intensive week of social activities and conversations. And what a weekend it was, as I lurched from event to event, meeting and being welcomed by Sherlockians from all over the US (and other parts of the world).
While I must profess to being nervous entering a series of events where I didn’t really know many people except by name, that nervousness was quickly set aside thanks to the welcoming nature of everyone there. I was meeting people faster than I could remember their names (thank you name tags!) and friendship (mateship) was absolutely the the defining feature of my experience. I often find myself clarifying my background which sometimes makes me : “well yes I’m Australian but I didn’t travel here for Australia, BUT I’ve lived in the US for 17 years so I’m really basically American…. Well yes, it’s true I do still have my accent” etc. - which sometimes leads to feeling that I’m constantly letting my excited American friends down. Yes I’m Australian, but no it only took me three hours to get here. While I’ve been in the US almost two decades, I only discovered the existence of the Sherlockian world about five years ago, and just as I started to build up the confidence to attend events, the COVID pandemic cancelled them.
Let’s address the main event first. The BSI Dinner itself was first held in 1934, and has been an annual event since 1940. The dinner was held this year at the Yale Club (a private club primarily for those who attended that Ivy League university). It is a black tie event open only to members of the BSI, and invited guests. So while the main event was understandably not on the schedule for to this Sherlockain plebeian, virtually every other activity is open for all Sherlockians to attend. Attending does take some planning though, as events tend to sell out in advance of the weekend. The best way to be aware of when event registration will be occurring is through the BSI webpage (bakerstreetirregulars.com) where a specific page on all events is usually hosted (details on the 2023 weekend can be found here as an example: https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/2022/10/17/plans-2023-bsi-weekend/), and via the Facebook
While I was not able to attend events earlier in the week, I highlight a few here to give a sense of the range of activities, nearly all of which are at venues in the ‘Mid-Town’ distract of Manhattan, close to thee Grand Central Terminal. On the Wednesday evening, the New York Scion ‘The Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes’ (termed ASH, ash-nyc.com) held their 'ASH Wednesday Dinner’. The major daytime event on Thursday was more Doylean than Sherlockian: the Arthur Conan Doyle Society (acdsociety.com) ‘Doylean Honors Ceremony’. This event chaired by Ross Davies BSI was held at Otto Penzler BSI’s famous 'The Mysterious Bookshop’ (www.mysteriousbookshop.com), and thankfully also streamed live on Zoom. Awards for a number of categories were presented ('Fiction and Poetry’, 'Performing and Visual Arts', 'Scholarly Writing' and 'Lifetime Service’), and this was followed by the light-hearted racing of the Wessex Cup (wind-up toy horses with jockeys). Thursday evening was the first official BSI event - the BSI Distinguished Speaker Lecture. The 2023 Distinguished Speaker was Lakshmi Krishnan, MD, Ph.D, from Georgetown University, who spoke about her upcoming book 'The Doctor and the Detective: A Cultural History of Diagnosis’, which draws on the role of detection in medical practice.
On Friday, a there were a raft of activities ; the Doylean scion ’The Literary Agents’ (https://www.doingsofdoyle.com/p/the-literary-agents.html) held their Literary Agents Annual Zoom Meeting early, and The Mysterious Bookshop held an Open House that allowed BSI Weekend attendees visit not just the store, but descend into the basement storeroom (a very rare treat) and rifle through the shelves for treasures. As an example, I found a copy of a Donald Girard Jewell book called ‘Butterflies and Blind Beetles’, and a BSI Press book on founding members called (disconcertingly) ‘Aboriginals’ among others. Lunch was in a packed upstairs dining room at Connolly’s pub for the William Gillette Memorial Luncheon, organized by Shana Carter ASH - a tradition that started in 1945 and named thus since 1953. This is a wonderful opportunity to be assigned to a table and meet fellow Sherlockians. The room was graced with a portrait of William Gillette, and included a performance of the very short William Gillette one-act play "The Painful Predicament of Sherlock Holmes”, in which (and I don’t think I’m spoiling the plot here) Holmes appears but does not speak - wonderfully performed to a room full of laughter. The Friday evening is for the BSI Dinner (see above), and while there is traditionally a Gaslight Gala for the rest, it did not take place this year, and many gathered at a pub waiting to hear of the new BSI investitures and celebrate post-dinner.
Saturday kicked off early (too early!) with the BSI Merchants Room abuzz. Here, a wide variety of Sherlockiana was for sale, primarily rare & used books, but also paraphernalia, and a range of new publications both pastiche and Sherlockian studies. The BSI Press (https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/bsi-books-list/) sold out of the stock on hand for its two new offerings for 2023: 'The Haven Horror’ (a manuscript series book of ’The Retired Colourman’) and ’Stimulating Medicine’, a second volume on Medicine from the Professions Series. Adding to the fun, there was an autograph tale to add to the (nostalgic) value of those acquired books. As an example, I managed to find a copy of ’Sayers on Holmes’ and a very affordable copy of Starrett’s ’The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes’. Buzzing, the room finally emptied as we headed to the Yale Club for the BSI Luncheon Reception in a beautiful dining room on the 25th floor. Lunch included an auction of collectibles presided over by the the legendary Peter Blau BSI for the Dr. John H. Watson Fund that helps provide travel support to deserving BSI weekend attendees. After lunch and an impromptu happy hour, I was was upstairs at yet another bar (The Playwright Tavern) for dinner at Lost in New York with a Bunch of Sherlockians. This event is organized by Jerry and Jerry Kegley (both BSIs !) on behalf of a California scion - The Curious Collectors of Baker Street (https://ccobs.homesteadcloud.com). The Kegley's were remarkable and energetic hosts, facilitating the drawing of many door prizes, leading the Sherlockian Pledge of Allegiance, and there were hilarious toasts and a brain-sapping quiz.
By Sunday, the mind was foggy and the body weak but willing, and so I presented myself for the final event: the ASH Brunch (at the Long Room). This was a perfect ending, with a relaxed and friendly gathering of people working to piece together memories of the weekend, promise to attend BSI events a long long way from home, and generally laugh and have fun.
A real highlight for me was the chance to meet well-known Sherlockians. I’m lucky to live in Maryland (outside Washington, DC) and see Peter Blau (true Sherlockian royalty), but so many others I met for the first time: I was amazed to be seated at one lunch with the great annotator and defender of copyright Les Klinger (a fellow Sydney Passenger, as he pointed out to me) and the BSI ‘Wiggins' Michael Kean. I was thrilled to meet author Nancy Holder, get to know the webmaster and creator of sherlockcomics.com Johanna Draper Carlson, share brunch with German Sherlockian academic Dr. Maria Fleischhack, and have lunch with playwright Ken Ludwig and hear about his new play ‘Moriarty’ (www.kenludwig.com/moriarty). Those interactions, and so many more, made the trip all worth it.
I hope this report of the BSI weekend encourages members of the Sydney Passengers to not hesitate if they are considering that once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York as part of a holiday. It’s a beautiful city, you’ll meet an incredible number of like-minded people, likely have a lot of beer purchased for you as an out-of-towner, and add a few books to your luggage for the return journey, along with all the new friends you'll make.
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