221B Cooee: Watson's Tin Box meeting brief report

Each third Monday of the month, the Watson's Tin Box of Ellicott City scion meets - at the Union Jack's in Columbia MD. We had a great turnout for the meeting. The story of the meeting was Silver Blaze, and it proceeded thus;

Each meeting is gaveled in by the Gasegene. The gavel was recently returned to the Scion and is back in action! The band around the gavel is engraved 'GASOGENE. WATSON'S TIN BOX'. The gavel sits on top of a battered old copy of 'The Last Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' from 1894.

- After a welcome, the group introduced themselves - all were from Maryland, and it's interesting that many attendees travel from Frederick. We discussed holding a meeting in Frederick at some point (why not?), and I also floated the idea of a virtual meeting at some point, perhaps as an annual event.

- We then proceeded to the toast, where Carla Coupe toasted "The Woman", with a wonderful sung toast. This was followed by Tom Fahres delivering the traditional Haiku. Tom's Haiku is often tied to the story-of-the-month. Here's a Silver Blaze haiku from this month:

Trainer, John Straker

Sneaks out to see his mistress

Hi Ho Silver!!! ........(sotto voce: Blaze)

- There were announcements: Debbie Clark has Sherlock board games to share with others ; congratulations were made to Brent Morris who was inducted as an Adventuress of Sherlock Holmes (ASH) at the recent New York meeting, with the name "Some algebraic equations before breakfast". Liane shared that she has now satisfied the requirements for membership in the Legion of Zoom ! All you need to do to joni is attend Zoom meetings for 17 different Sherlockian groups/scions. Jacquelyn Morris shared that she recently attend the BSI MidWest Canonical Conclave (you can read a blog post about it from Brad Keefauver here), and some of the discussions around common challenges and experiences that Sherlockian groups and scions have as organizations.

- Over dinner we discussed Silver Blaze, with a wide-ranging conversation. Curried mutton was NOT on the menu at Union Jack's (and powdered opium was not available) but there was some discussion of the meal, and the drug and how it was used. We also discussed the fact there are multiple mysteries in this story : who stole the horse? where is the horse? and who murdered Straker? They all unfolded almost instantaneously. Discussions were had about the math required to calculate the speed of the train, and the legality of hiding the horse till the day of the race.

For those who listen to their stories when preparing for a scion meeting, there's a relatively new Sherlock Holmes short stories podcast series narrated by Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, Paddington, etc.) released by BBC Sounds. They are really outstanding - Bonneville's readings are combined with atmospheric soundscapes to create an immersive listening experience. You can access the podcasts here, or simply search "Sherlock Holmes Short Stories" on your favorite podcast streaming platform.

I've written before about the Evidence Boxes created by Paul Churchill. At each meeting, the box of items for the story up for discussion are displayed and explained by Debbie Clark.

The Silver Blaze box was unpacked and displayed. There's plenty to identify here - how many items referenced in the story can you spot? I loved the 'silks' the jockey wore ("the very ones"), the CDV of Siver Blaze, and the aluminium pencil case.

I should add that one item missing was a set of ivory-handled cataract knives - but I brought a modern equivalent along - previously seen at the BSI weekend in New York!

After that, our presentation was from Olivia Millunzi. And this was a GOOD ONE. By popular demand, Olivia gave her lecture titled "Messiah or Mesire? Jesus as a Vampire & the Implications for the Papacy" that was originally presented at the 3rd Annual Central Pennsylvania Vampire Conference, her other 'nerd group'. "Living forever, unexplained returns from the dead, miraculous abilities- what else do Jesus and the classic Vampire have in common?" - Olivia answered all those questions with a stunningly deep analysis of the 'other' canon (i.e., the Bible) to uncover evidence of Vampirism.

This photo of Olivia's talk has it all - Olivia's smile, the "Jesus' Life as a Vampire" title, the Queen looking on behind the chandelier, and the BSI Scion certificate framed on the table.