~ The current newsletter of ~
of Ellicott City, Maryland
SEPTEMBER 2009 MEETING
7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, 2009
at HoulihanÕs (click for map)
8240 Gateway Overlook Drive, Columbia/Elkridge, MD (Across from Best Buy & Lowes off Route 175)
The Adventure du Jour: The Veiled Lodger
Newsletter & Calendar | Map | Weather
The game is afoot once again. ...
GREETINGS to all Watson's Tin Boxers and friends!!
The next irregular gathering of Watson's Tin Box will be held to discuss topics both Canonical and Conanical.
"Come if convenient. If inconvenient, come all the same."
We will begin promptly at 7 p.m. sharp Monday, July 27, 2009, at China Chefs, 10801 Hickory Ridge Road, Columbia, MD.
IMPORTANT: RESERVATIONS
Please let Gasogene Joel and Karen Ballard know by 12 noon, Sunday, Sept. 20, whether you will be attending: Call (301) 854-6229 or e-mail WatsonsTinBox1@verizon.net
Updated information is always online at www.WatsonsTinBox.org ... !
THE ADVENTURE DU JOUR is The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger.
CANONICAL TOASTS
Joe Hichar will offer the toast to The Woman this month.
Additional toasts will be offered to the Great Unwritten Cases, those mentioned by Watson in the Canon, but never published. One toast might be a contender for honors as -
The Paul G. Churchill Memorial Excruciatingly Awful Pun Toast
THE EVENING TALK
Andy Solberg will give a brief review of the Sherlock Holmes Essay Contest Awards evening, to be held on June 22. Please offer to share your love and knowledge of Sherlock Holmes for a future talk.
INSIGHTS & DIVERSIONS
"A case which certainly presents some features of interest" ...
Unique among the stories of the Canon, ÒThe Adventure of the Veiled LodgerÓ relates a story that requires Sherlock Holmes to do no more than listen. Conan Doyle probably was not the first to utilize the device of a circus animal attacking, killing and maiming its trainers, but he certainly has provided a vivid example of the genre, used more recently in the bestselling novel ÒWater for ElephantsÓ. The pieces are there: a beautiful trainer, the cruel husband, the handsome lover, the mistreated beast.
From behind her veil, Mrs. Ronder has maintained her silence about the events of the night in Abbas Parva for years, but now wants to make a clean breast of her story. All of the main players are dead, and she fears she is dying as well. She has been punished for her crime by a horrifying disfigurement, the brute Ronder is dead and his murderer, the cowardly strongman Leonardo has crossed beyond the veil as well. One presumes the lion is dead by now too.
Holmes only has advice to offer. Realizing that Mrs. Ronder is contemplating suicide, he reminds her that her life is worth something as an example of patient suffering in an impatient world. She responds by lifting her veil, and the sight is ghastly. Nevertheless, two days later, Holmes receives a bottle of prussic acid from Mrs. Ronder. She was going to use it, but has apparently thought better of it.
This story is unusual in that there is no actual mystery for Holmes to solve. Indeed, one fails to see why Mrs. Ronder disagreed with her landlady, Mrs. MerrilowÕs, suggestion that she talk to a clergyman. He would have been honor-bound to reveal nothing, but Holmes actually warns her beforehand that he might have to advise the police of the matter.
THE KILLER QUIZ!
Tantalus Beth Austin has promised another challenging quiz on this adventure. Don't forget to bring a pencil and a well-stoked memory.
From our homestead, where it is always 1895 ...
Joel and Karen Ballard
Gasogene XX
WatsonTinBox1@verizon.net
www.WastonsTinBox.org
****
*****
SPECIAL REPORT
Dr. John H. Watson and Mr. Sherlock Holmes
present a certificate to Emily Espey,
who won the top prize in the 2008 essay
contest. (Photo by Bruce Eberle)
Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson
award a certificate to Jonathan Schonfeld, third-place winner in the
2008 essay contest. (Photo by Bruce Eberle)
On June 18, 2008, Watson's Tin Box awarded prizes to culminate its Fourth Annual Sherlock Holmes Essay Contest for seventh graders in Howard County, Maryland.
The Tin Box again partnered with the Howard County Library and Howard County Public Schools. Participating students read �The Adventure of the Speckled Band� and wrote essays. English teachers in the Public Schools voluntarily participated, and Howard County Library made the participation possible for home schooled and private schooled students.
Watson's Tin Box is grateful to its partners for making this contest such a success. We survey the teachers to find out how many of them used the Speckled Band as part of their curriculum as a result of the contest. This year, we reached at least 250 children. Over the last four years, the contest has reached approximately 1,300 students.
Each year, the Tin Box has awarded First, Second, and Third Place Prizes to the top three essays. The First Prize in the contest is The Clarkson Prize, an award named after Tin Box founder Steve Clarkson, BSI, who was a mentor to so many young Sherlockians. Steve started a Sherlock Holmes literary society for young people in the late 1960s. It included members from across the country. Before the advent of email, the young Sherlockians would distribute their analyses of the Sherlock Holmes stories to each other in real envelopes. Steve continued his mentoring of young Sherlockians until he passed away in 2004.
This year, the Essay Contest winners are:
First Prize (The Clarkson Prize) went to Emily Espey, 12, who is homeschooled.
Second Prize went to Allison Cable, 13, a student in Ms. Valentine's class at Cradlerock School.
Third Prize went to Jonathan Schonfeld, 13, a student in Ms. Shields' class at Mount View Middle School.
~ Return to the Watson's Tin Box HOME PAGE. ~
