Monthly Events
The Norwegian Explorers of Minnesota, Inc. c/o Tom Gottwalt 4620 Trenton Circle N. Plymouth, MN 55442-3145 (612) 281-9373 [email protected]
The Norwegian Explorers of Minnesota September 2021 Notice
As we return from our Summer Hiatus, I thought things would be different and the pandemic would be behind us. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. In fact, we find ourselves amid another surge. This has us continually updating plans and watching for how other organizations and facilities are managing through the new environment.
Study Group Saturday September 18 at 2:00 p.m. Mary Loving will lead the group in a discussion of the “Lion’s Mane.” See the last page of this Notice for discussion questions to ponder. We had planned to resume these meetings in person but have decided to continue gathering via Zoom through December. Though disappointing for some, it has the advantage of being able to include participants from around the country and around the world. See the link and other information below and please forward to any Sherlockian friends and colleagues who may not be members of the Norwegian Explorers.
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8282233034?pwd=RGNFYW9venRacUFYVkhzNnNJV2tPQT09
Meeting ID: 828 223 3034 Passcode: 878937 One tap mobile +13126266799,,8282233034#,,,,,,0#,,878937# US (Chicago) +19292056099,,8282233034#,,,,,,0#,,878937# US (New York)
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Upcoming Dates and Stories The group normally meets the third Saturday of the month at 2:00 p.m. Next up is “His Last Bow” October 16. That will conclude our chronological (Baring-Gould) stroll through the Canon we began in 2014. We’ve determined to take a more random approach as we embark on the path once again. This time we’ll be using the Jay Finley Christ four-letter abbreviations for the tales and taking them in alphabetic order. Thus, we will tackle ABBE November 20 and BERY December 18.
You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson…” “The Adventure of the Empty House”
Red Throated League & Radio Theater The Northlands Antique Radio Club is hosting the Red-Throated League at Radio Daze, the annual club event. The League will be performing "The Cadaver in the Roman Toga" at the Plymouth Comfort Inn, 3000 Harbor Ln N, Plymouth, MN 55447, at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 11, 2021. Explorers and their families may attend the performance for free by emailing Karen Ellery, [email protected], before Thursday, September 9. Masks are required for all event attendees. "A mysteriously fresh cadaver is found dressed in a Roman toga in the undisturbed ruins of an ancient Roman bath, far below the City of London. Holmes and Watson must solve the riddle and escape a fiendish trap set by none other than Moriarty himself!"
The Red Throated League’s performance of “Death Holds the Prompt Book,” an Edith Meiser script originally aired April 12, 1933, is complete and recorded. A Zoom release event was held May 13. The recording is now available on YouTube at the following link https://youtu.be/4tDIjl1gJIw.
Virtual Gathering Opportunities BSI Trust Lecture, Saturday October 2 1:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time) Registration is now open for the first annual BSI Trust Lecture on the topic of "The Adventure of the Mutable Detective. Almost 350 actors have played Sherlock Holmes on the screen since the silent film era. Each actor brings his (and sometimes her) unique interpretation to the role. But it's not only the actors that account for the differences in the representation of the Master over the decades of his screen existence. Roberta Pearson, Professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of Nottingham, will discuss the multiple factors such as genre and production circumstances that have resulted in the Mutable Detective. This free Zoom webinar is open to all Sherlockians but does require advance registration. For more details on the lecture and how to reserve your spot, see the 2021 BSI Trust Lecture Registration page on the BSI Trust website at http://www.bsitrust.org/.
Friends of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection at the Toronto Public Library host Jeffrey Hatcher in The Cameron Hollyer Memorial Lecture Saturday September 25 2:00 p.m. Jeffrey Hatcher, Norwegian Explorer, playwright, and screenwriter, will speak on the topic of “The Adventure of the Occasional Playwright: Conan Doyle Onstage.” This virtual event will be hosted on Zoom and can be accessed at the following link: http://www.acdfriends.org/events.html.
Christmas Annual – Call for Papers – October 1 Submission Deadline Ray Riethmeier and Phil Bergem are once again compiling and editing the Norwegian Explorers Christmas Annual and are requesting content for inclusion in this year’s publication. It is distributed each year to attendees of the Norwegian Explorers Annual Dinner in December as well as to those attending the Baker Street Irregulars Annual Dinner and the Gaslight Gala during the Sherlock Holmes Birthday weekend in New York. This year’s theme is “Science and Medicine.” The submission deadline is October 1. Use the submission form accompanying this Notice. It should also be available on the Norwegian Explorers website.
Norwegian Explorers Book Efforts Ray Riethmeier Edits Two New Sherlockian Anthologies Belanger Books has asked Ray Riethmeier to edit a pair of anthologies entitled “Sherlock Holmes: Stranger Than Truth” and “Sherlock Holmes: Stranger Than Fiction” featuring pastiches in which Holmes encounters historical figures and literary characters, respectively. Of particular interest to local Explorers, Ray notes that he reached out to Larry Millett and is pleased to report that the Fiction book will include a Shadwell Rafferty short story set after the events described in the “Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders” novel. The two “Stranger Than” anthologies will be published simultaneously and were funded via a Kickstarter campaign.
You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson…” “The Adventure of the Empty House”
“Sherlock Holmes of Baking Street” Julie McKuras and Tim Johnson contributed stories to another Balanger anthology, “Sherlock Holmes of Baking Street.” Compiled and edited by Margie Deck and Nancy Holder, it contains 37 essays, personal reflections, and short stories that use baking as a springboard, and a springboard only – it is not a cookbook. Subjects range from a progressive dinner mystery to the revelation that one of the original Holmes stories is actually a secret code for a recipe that will probably kill you; a very nice traybake of kitchen fire adventures; death by flour; thoughts about dopamine as it relates to milk, cookies, and Sherlock Holmes; and the power of Japanese bean paste to turn Sherlock into a very real boy by way of the movie Mr. Holmes. The work also includes an interview with screenwriter and Norwegian Explorer, Jeffrey Hatcher.
“Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle and Switzerland – Serious and Less Serious Musings” This recently published work by the Reichenbach Irregulars of Switzerland contains a contribution from Julie McKuras. Her piece is described as “an immaculately researched account of the fathers of one of the very first Sherlock Holmes memorial plaques which, for more than 60 years, has greeted Sherlockians from all over the world as they ascend to the iconic Reichenbach Falls.”
Theater: “Ho lmes and Watson” at the Park Square Theatre. July 12 – August 21, 2022. Sherlock Holmes is dead, or is he? Dr. Watson receives a telegram from a mental asylum: three patients are claiming to be Sherlock Holmes. Did the world’s greatest sleuth fake his own death? Who’s the real detective and who are the impostors? Tight, clever and full of suspense, this is Norwegian Explorer Jeffrey Hatcher at his best.
“The Mysterious Affair at Styles” at the Park Square Theatre. Dates postponed past the 2021-2022 season. Hercule Poirot, that clever Belgian detective, returns in this edge-of-your-seat world premier adaptation of Agatha Christie’s first novel, written and directed by favorite playwright and Norwegian Explorer Jeffrey Hatcher. Lieutenant Hastings is a guest at Styles Court, an elegant Essex manor, when his hostess is found dead of poison. Her killer could be anyone: her much younger new husband, her ne’er-do-well stepson, or perhaps her female companion. Sift through the clues as Poirot and “his little grey cells” solve the case.
Movies: "Sherlock Holmes 3" with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law has been postponed indefinitely.
Conferences: Norwegian Explorers Minnesota Conference Various alternatives for the next Minnesota conference hosted by the Norwegian Explorers, The Sherlock Holmes Special Collections, and the University of Minnesota Libraries are being explored. Stay tuned for further information as plans are finalized.
International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes, originally planned for October 1, 2021 – March 21, 2022, has been POSTPONED. Stay tuned for updates as the rescheduled dates are firmed up.
New Pins In conjunction with our 2019 conference, the Norwegian Explorers commissioned a new pin. Cost is $10 in person, $15 if mailed. Please let Tom Gottwalt know if you wish to purchase one.
Baker Street Irregulars Updates Available Free Get News from the Baker Street Irregulars via email! Free for all Sherlockians: Get notified by email when the Irregulars schedule an event, publish a new book, or issue of the Baker Street Journal, or have other news. To sign up, go to https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/bsi-news-via-email/. You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson…” “The Adventure of the Empty House”
Study Group Discussion Questions: Mary Loving will lead the group in a discussion of “Lion’s Mane” via a Zoom gathering. Discussion questions to ponder include:
1. Holmes speaks of “that soothing life of Nature for which I had so often yearned during the long years spent amid the gloom of London.” And yet Watson’s writings had led us to believe that Holmes preferred the excitement of the city. Was Watson wrong, or did Holmes simply change his opinion at some point?
2. Why did Holmes choose to write up this story? Does Holmes’s writing style suggest that he was trying to imitate Watson? If Watson had been there to write the story instead, how might he have changed it to make it more interesting to the reader?
3. “My house is lonely.” When this takes place Holmes is only 53 and this story give us the best description of Holmes in retirement. How might we compare the man who used to ramble around London with his nervous energy to the man in this story with his isolated cottage, bees, and no Watson for companionship?
4. For a good portion of the story, Holmes seemed to forget all about the clue of the dying man’s words, “the lion’s mane.” Do you think that Holmes genuinely forgot this clue, or was this merely his authorial attempt to misdirect the readers in order to present the real solution as a more impressive surprise?
5. In SPEC, Julia Stoner gasped out as her dying words, “It was the band! The speckled band!” In LION McPherson’s last words were “the Lion’s Mane.” Is there something about dying by venom that causes the victim to speak in metaphor?
6. When Fitzroy McPherson was stung by the jellyfish, he did not stop to dry himself with his towel, but instead just pulled on a few articles of clothing and staggered up from the beach. Why didn’t Holmes and Stackhurst notice that McPherson had been swimming? Shouldn’t his trousers or his shoes, or at least his hair, have shown signs of dampness? How did Holmes miss this vital clue?
7. Holmes clearly observed the attractions of Maud Bellamy, but he also knew how such a woman might affect young men. Some have suggested he was interested in her for himself, but isn’t it more likely he thought she might have inspired jealous rivalry, enough to perhaps provide a motive for murder?
8. How did Holmes get those photographs of McPherson’s injuries?
9. The probable answer to the mystery occurred to Holmes in a flash of inspiration. He only needed to consult his library to verify his theory. This is perfectly understandable, but why did he not arrange for someone to keep guard at the beach to prevent anyone else from swimming in the pool? And why did he allow the visit from Inspector Bardle to keep him from going straight down to the beach in the morning? Why did he choose to withhold his suspicions from the Inspector?
10. Is it strange that a man who once boasted of his ignorance of the solar system should have read about and remembered an obscure species of jellyfish? Where do you think Holmes drew the line between useless information and practical information?
11. When you first read the story, were you disappointed that the “murderer” was only a jellyfish?
12. Leaving aside Holmes’s merits as a writer, what do you think of his detective skills in this story? Was he too quick to suspect Murdoch? You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson…” “The Adventure of the Empty House”