July 31 2023 meeting of the Sydney Passengers with Dr Mark Jones

On Saturday evening at midnight (so, really, the very start of Sunday July 30th 2023), I logged on to a virtual meeting of the Sherlockian scion called Sydney Passengers. Living in Darnestown MD, this Sunday afternoon meeting in Sydney required me to stay up particularly late. 

There is plenty of information about the Sydney Passengers ('The Sherlock Holmes Society of Australia') at their website http://www.sherlock.on.net . Importantly, being a member includes a subscription to the wonderful 'Passenger's Log'. So while it might be difficult to ever make it to a meeting, the magazine is well worth the membership!

Like many scions, during the pandemic the Sydney Passengers (through their Captain (President, Treasurer) Bill Barnes) implemented virtual meetings, which opened up access to members where-ever they are in the world.

The presenter on this occasion was Dr. Mark Jones, with a talk entitled "Conan Doyle and John Hawkesworth". Mark lives in York in the UK, and is 'one half' of the wonderful 'Doings of Doyle' podcast. Mark spoke about John Hawkesworth, the English producer and screenwriter who produced the Granada series Sherlock Holmes, and earlier in his career created the now-lost 1967 BBC television series 'Sir Arthur Conan Doyle'. 

It's important to point out that this talk is based in part on a new book published by Mark called "Conan Doyle: Mystery and Adventure". The book can be purchased here: https://www.tvbrain.info/shop/books/conan-doyle-mystery-and-adventure

"Conan Doyle: Mystery and Adventure recreates the largely missing television series as never before. Drawing on the surviving scripts, production files, and the Hawkesworth archive, it provides an in-depth appreciation of a lost moment in television history, filling gaps in the story of Hawkesworth’s stellar career and the tale of Conan Doyle on screen"