HerlockSholmes

I thought that her name sounded a bit familiar so I just checked her on Wiki. She certainly had an eventful life Arcadia. I also saw that her third husband claimed that he was in fact the author of West With The Night but the evidence appears to be overwhelming that she did indeed write it. There was even a biographical mini-series about her on CBS in 1988 starting Stephanie Powers.

That’s great Carol, thanks👍

Some Scottish accents can be difficult especially the further north you go up into the highlands. My Gran was Scottish and although she never lost her accent I’m guessing that it mellowed after 60 years or so in England. Her mother, my Great Grandmother never left Scotland but even her accent was fairly mild (to my ears anyway.) I do like the Geordie accent but to me, it’s difficult to distinguish that accent from others from the North East (places like Sunderland, Gateshead and Durham.) To those from that area they’re completely different of course. My accent is from an area known as the Black Country (in the Midlands) which often gets mistaken for a Birmingham accent. To me they sound absolutely different o course. To give an example, a Birmingham accent is Ozzy Osbourne. A Black Country accent is Lenny Henry (or Timothy Spall in Auf Wiedersehen Pet) I remember the scene in Who Killed Harry Field well. It was a brilliant episode with Freddie Jones as Harry’s father. The episode with Morse up high...was that the one about the stolen paintings by Alma Tadema? Was it called Ghost In The Machine or am I confusing the title with another episode?

I just wanted to add that this thread isn’t just intended for just recommendations by me. It would be good to hear recommendations from anyone on whatever subject. I enjoyed the book Carol. It was nothing heavy or deep, just a good, well written whodunnit. I don’t want to put anyone off by my use of the word ‘supernatural’ though because there are no ghosts or monsters. Maybe a touch of the Midsomer Murders about it.

This is just a thread where anyone can recommend books of any type: fiction or non-fiction Apart from Holmes stories I read very little fiction but I do have a few on my ‘to read’ or ‘to buy’ lists and the first book I’ve chosen is a fiction one which I’ve just finished. The author George Mann is a guy that I sort of knew. Before he became an author he was the Assistant Manager in a bookshop in a town close to where I live. Since then he’s been busy. He wrote a sci fi novel called The Human Abstract which he was working on when I knew him. Since then he’s written a series of steampunk novels featuring his characters Newbury & Hobbes and 4 books in a series called The Ghost. He’s also wrote a Dr Who novel set in the David Tennant era. I have to admit that I haven’t read any of these except for The Human Abstract which was very good. What I have read though is George’s 2 excellent Sherlock Holmes novels The Will Of The Dead and The Spirit Box. He’s also edited 4 collections of Holmes short stories. The book that I’ve just finished though, and the one that I’m recommending, is Wychwood. It’s set in Oxfordshire and follows a Journalist called Elspeth Reeves who returns to the village where she was s born, Wilsby-Under-Wychwood, after a failed relationship. While she’s living with her mom a series of strange murders occur which follow the folklore legend of the Carrion King. It goes without saying that she gets involved with the investigation. This is a really good read with an intriguing plot. If you like your crime fiction with a touch of folklore and the supernatural thrown in then I’d certainly recommend this one. It’s 346 pages but I read it over two evenings as it flies along at a brisk pace. George has written a sequel called Halloween which is already on my list.

I’m wondering if they’ll find a way of having a young Lewis making a brief appearance in one of the new episodes? I wonder why Kevin Whately isn’t on our screens these days? He made a brief appearance here on stage at a recital that his daughter took part in (I didn’t know that she was a singer?) https://www.wharfedaleobserver.co.uk/news/19195501.recital-family-occasion/ He also did some Charity work. His mother died as a result of Alzheimer’s. https://insidecroydon.com/2021/03/15/tv-star-calls-on-londoners-to-stride-out-for-mental-health/ I didn’t know until around a year ago that his wife actually appeared in Morse in the episode Masonic Mysteries. She managed to get murdered very early on though. I know that I’ve heard him doing voiceovers on tv fairly recently. I can only assume that he’s in a position where he can be pretty selective on any roles he might be offered or that he’s focusing on other things. He’s a well regarded actor who, as far as I’m aware, appears to be well liked, so I’d have expected more appearances. Maybe he doesn’t get offered the kind of roles that he is interested in playing? Maybe a bit of ageism here? Significant roles rarely go to 70 year olds (even fit and healthy looking ones like Kevin Whately) To be honest I’ve always expected some kind of one-off follow up to Auf Wiedersehen Pet. Four of the main characters are still alive and kicking after all. It was a really popular series but I’m not sure if it was seen in The States and whether it would transfer well especially with the broad accents. You may have needed subtitles Hikari but years of watching Morse and Lewis would give you a head start.👍🙂

The copy that I have is the paperback will this design https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jonathan-Strange-Norrell-Susanna-Clarke/dp/0747579881 Except that mine is red instead of black. There was certainly no issue with the printing or binding with mine Carol.

I’m pretty sure that the series covers the whole book Arcadia and so unless Susanna Clarke writes a sequel there’s going to be no series 2. The series was very well received overall. I really need to finish watching it. I think that I’ve seen 4 of 7.

I haven’t watched it all yet Arcadia but there were 7 episodes first shown over here 6 years ago. They haven’t got around to a season 2 so it’s looking like there won’t be one.

Was I correct in saying that the next series will be the last? I know that this is true of one of my favourite series Doc Martin so I wasn’t sure if I was mistaken about endeavour. I always suspected that we wouldn’t have seen the last of Lewis but that does seem to be the case especially will Lawrence Fox’s current political ambitions. I read something the other day that an 81 year old David Jason would consider playing Frost again with the right script.

I haven’t decided on whether to watch Stranger Things yet but I might give it a go when ive finished watching Jonathan Strange £ Mr Norrell which I love. I’ve been thinking of getting the dvd set of the tv series Gormenghast which has Christopher Lee in it. I loved Mervyn Peakes trilogy and I’m intending a re-read if I ever get round to it. I’m currently reading Three Men In A Boat which I haven’t read since I was a teenager. The copy I bought also has Jerome’s follow up novel too which I’ve never read. I’ve walked past Jerome’s house many times as it’s very close to where I live. Unoccupied at the moment I believe. Ive seen Endeavour and I agree that it’s a quality series. I think that they intend one more series but I’m not certain? Vera is also very good as was Frost with David Jason. I definitely intend to look into Aurelio Zen but probably book first. I also recall seeing a couple of episodes of Montalbano a few years ago and always intended to see more but never got around to it. It looks like they’ve followed the example of Endeavour with a Young Montalbano series. Ive never really gone for Marple apart from the Margaret Rutherford version. I know it wasn’t an accurate portrayal and the stories were a patchwork affair but I have a soft spot for Margaret Rutherford. I recently saw a documentary about her then read a biography. I’ll have to give them more of a go. I do like Poirot, especially David Suchet’s. I’ve read all the short stories but only one novel, The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd which is a classic. I’ve got a Poirot novel written by another author somewhere but haven’t read it yet. The Monogram Murders I think it’s called. Ive seen a couple of Wallenberg with Ken Branagh but not the other version. So many things that I ‘intend’ to look into further but haven’t managed to yet.

It’s nice to post somewhere where you don’t feel that you’ve spent an hour mud- wrestling a giant eel Whilst someone hits you with a baseball bat Carol.👍 I certainly won’t try my post-boosting tactic then.😃

Never enough hours in the day Arcadia🙂

this? 😃

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To get my next promotion Carol could...

Hi Hikari, Ive been a member here for around 4 months less than I’ve been a member of Casebook (the JTR site) and I’m approaching 9000 posts on there. This is because on Casebook various topics and arguments/debates can drag on forever whereas this Forum is more chilled and lacking in confrontation. This is a comfortable sitting room for discussion as opposed to a bear pit.🙂 Its been a while since I’ve watched anything Holmes or Sherlock apart from my rewatch of A Study In Pink to see how many references to The Canon that I could spot. I do intend to have a look at episode 2 over the next few days. That said, my ‘drug’ has been House over the last few weeks but I’ve now watched it all so I don’t know what comes next? A new series of Sherlock doesn’t even appear to be approaching the horizon and I don’t have Netflix to watch The Irregulars (which I must say that I don’t like the look of.) There’s also Enola Holmes which I also haven’t seen. I stumbled on a short Russian Holmes story on Amazon Prime but it was one of the worst things that I’ve ever seen. Holmes and Watson were both stocky bearded men with ponytails and the acting was so wooden that the script must have been written by a carpenter. I got the impression though that the actors were reading and speaking a language (English) that they didn’t understand which might at least account for how wooden the performance was. I was hoping that I’d discovered a hidden gem......no. Reading is my only Holmes link. Recently I read one of David Marcum’s volumes plus Alex Prior’s excellent collection plus I now have Lindsay Faye’s The Whole Art Of Detection. I’ve read the first 2 stories which are very good (as expected after Dust And Shadows.) Ive also read the latest Rathbone biography, a brilliant illustrated book on Brett’s career and a new book on Doyle and the Edalji case which I can highly recommend. The Holmes/Sherlock absence looks likely to persist for some time but I have no suggestion on a new ‘drug’ I’m afraid. My brother recommended a series called Stranger Things but I haven’t checked it out yet. Has anyone seen it? It’s apparently a fantasy. He recommended it after I told him that I’d been watching the excellent Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

I certainly will Arcadia. I think that it will be a popular request.👍

Thanks Carol. When I get to 5000 posts I might become Grand Emperor Of The Known Universe 😄

Thanks Arcadia. I think that you’re right that a promotion is due after 1500 posts I just can’t remember what I was before Consulting Detwctive. It’s not important though, I was just curious.👍

Two questions for Mods. I see that Arcadia is logged in. How long have I been a Consulting Detective? What does the +1.007 mean?

I now have a vision of the Queen waking to up the sounds of a bagpiper playing Love In An Elevator by Aerosmith or Detroit Rock City by Kiss.😃

Maybe a bit of Led Zeppelin😃 Apparently The Queen doesn't like hearing the same tune over and over (she must tire of hearing the National Anthem🙂) so he plays a variation of tunes. I originally thought that the Piper was only at Balmoral but he apparently goes wherever she is except for Sandringham (as there’s no accommodation) It only has a paltry 775 rooms after all (including 188 staff bedrooms) The current incumbent is Pipe Major David Rodgers of the Irish Guard. He basically plays whenever she asks him to. He plays under her window at 9.00am for 15 minutes every day. He also pipes guests in and out at State Functions. The Queen has had a Piper since 1843 when Queen Victoria found out that the Marquess Of Breadalbane had her own.

No Carol, we only need a license to drive. It’s something to do with the fact that all passports are issued ‘in the name of Her Majesty’ so she doesn’t need one. Every other Royal has one though.