Liselle

I also thought this might be what it was.

Hahaha It is indeed Finnish! At least I hope... I'm trying to learn it. My friends and I have a mini obsession with Finland (long story) and this holiday we're going on is something we've been trying for years to do, so I want to learn the language to at least a basic level before we go. Plus I'm a languages geek (I have a degree in French and Spanish) and I can't bear the thought of going to a country and not knowing at least a few words I'm hoping that what I said was "Hi Leimasin! I speak a little bit of Finnish"

Oh, sorry; in the first message I wrote out, I put quotation marks around the word 'clues', to stress that I didn't really think they were clues either.

You're welcome! Hahaha; yes, if you say Nottingham everyone will think of Robin Hood Although there are a lot of theories that state he was actually from Sheffield... though don't say anything to people from Nottingham; they're a bit protective of him Also... Moi Leimasin! Puhun vähän Suomea (I'm also going to Finland for the first time ever in a few weeks time, with a friend. But I don't know how to say that in Finnish... )

A little bit of crazy is good.... right?! I've always found the sound quality to be better on a television than on a computer. If I'm watching a film or TV programme on my computer, I always have to use plug-in speakers to amplify the sound, otherwise it's dull and lifeless. Well I figured that, if anyone, it would be Mycroft ringing the phone, but I couldn't work out why. But yes, if he's signalling to someone, that makes sense. Urgh, my brain hurts when I try to work all this out.... but it's fun Ah, okay. I thought it was strange, because I didn't remember seeing those letters on my DVDs. Hmmm... this is even more confusing if Americans are being given clues that we English people aren't getting, and vice versa

Ooops; posted entirely the wrong thing. And now I've lost everything I just spent ten minutes writing

Hi guys! I'm from Leicester (pronounced like 'Lester') in England. If you don't know where that is, it's in a part of England known as the East Midlands, so pretty much in the middle eastern part of England. It's not far from Birmingham and Nottingham (about 45 minutes away from each). Well, I'm actually from a little town called Syston, which is about half an hour outside of Leicester. So I'm from Leicestershire, really

Not so sure I think it's a theme either; I don't really know. But it'll be fun to find out

Well the sound is obviously not going to be very clear, because if it was then everyone would hear it straight away and then what's the point of including it? But you really should be able to hear it once someone's pointed it out to you; like I say, I never heard it the first time round and didn't believe it when I found out about it, but once I knew where it was and listened properly for it, it's definitely there. Everyone I've shown it to so far has heard it, so I know I'm not going crazy Maybe it's only on the English DVDs? I know there's not really a valid reason for that being the case, but I can't think of anything else. It's strange that you haven't heard it even with the sound fully up and headphones in. Have you tried listening to it on a television like I said? It really does make a difference. I didn't know about the 'hurry up' one; I'll have to check that out. As for the telephone, I think I kind of always heard it, but never really thought about the possibility of it being significant. Who would be ringing it and who would answer it? For the reasons Carol mentioned, I don't think any of these audio snippets are going to be absolutely crucial to the understanding of the mystery; more like little extras that add to the story and make you think 'ah, so this is what was happening when such and such happened', if you know what I mean. Just read something else of interest; apparently, certain letters in certain people's names in the credits for Reichenbach are coloured red; if you put them all together, they spell out BELIEVE. I haven't checked this though, so I don't know if it's true, or what it might mean.

*gets out the DVD* Okay, Sherlock says "Would you give me one moment, please? One moment of privacy? Please?", and then Moriarty says "Of course" and walks away. Then it cuts back to Sherlock's face, and after a couple of seconds you hear the click. If it helps, it happens at about 01:14:34. It really is extremely quiet and muffled, but you can make it out. I must admit though, it's a lot easier to hear when you're watching it on a television. I just watched it on my laptop and struggled to hear it, so that might be the problem.

Oh god; this set of mysteries has been enough to give me headaches as it is; what will a whole new set be like?! ... Can't wait

Not really; I do think it's a code of some sort. What do you mean by theme?

No probs; I don't like repeating stuff that's already been said, so I didn't mind checking Hahaha; I was the same! When I found out about it I instantly had to put the DVD on and skip to that scene just to hear it, and when I heard it I think I actually squealed in delight No idea why, because it still doesn't solve the mystery, but at least it's another part of the puzzle

Thanks for the welcome! Oh, I wasn't trying to suggest ohn was in on it, merely that the fact that he's inadvertantly mentioning it is a clue from Moffat and Gatiss to say 'hey, don't forget about this!!"

Okay, I'm new here, and I just read through this entire thread to check whether what I'm about to say has already been mentioned, but I can't find anything, so if I've missed it I apologise. I can't remember how I found out about this; I think I read it somewhere, and I totally didn't buy it when I first heard it. But it's actually true, and I think it might be something that a lot of people have missed, because I certainly did. When Sherlock asks Moriarty for a moment alone, and Moriarty walks away, you can hear a very faint sound, similar to the click of a telephone call being answered, and then a woman's voice saying what sounds like 'Hello?'. This would suggest that Sherlock asked for a moment of privacy so he could ring Molly (he could easily have conspicuously reached into his pocket and pressed dial on his mobile) as some sort of signal, as obviously he couldn't answer her when she said 'Hello?', so he wasn't ringing for just a chat, let's put it that way Thoughts? And if you don't believe me, go and check out that scene again. The clicking noise and female voice really are there. I may be wrong, as I haven't watched the episode in a while, but I'm pretty sure there's also a slight reaction on Sherlock's face when he hears the voice as well; a sort of 'everything's going to plan' expression.

Hello! I'm new here *looks around shyly* If I may offer my opinion, I think IOU means more than just "I owe you" because of the number of times it's mentioned throughout the episode. I mean, Moriarty says it and carves it onto the apple, Sherlock sees it in the windows, he spends a fair bit of time trying to work it out, and John says it when he's speaking in the graveyard ("I was so alone, and I owe you so much"). I just think it's too prevalent to not be relevant. But as for what it means... I have no idea. I've been trying to work it out ever since the last series finished, and I just can't