Sidley Park Hermit

I can't listen to any music with lyrics when I am writing so I search out these kinds of channels on YT.

The great thing about being a fan is unearthing canon you've never heard of. I never expected such a thing with the Sherlock Holmes fandom but here we are.

This is the full text of is a very short story written by Arthur Conan Doyle first published in the Bazaar number of the Student on 20 November 1896. The Bazaar was held to raise money required to erect a pavilion and complete the equipment of a 13-acre field that had been recently purchased for the University of Edinburgh.

( Full text of The Field Bazaar )

from Leaves of Grass

Why, who makes much of a miracle?
As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;
These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.

To me the sea is a continual miracle,
The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—the
ships with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?

I haven't don't one of these since April, but I've come across some new-to-me words.

Wednesday's word is...

...banjax.


1. ruin, incapacitate, or break.


I found this new-to-me word in the Inspector Rebus I just finished (Saints of the Shadow Bible).

"...Reckons we banjaxed the Saunders case to keep a good snitch on the street."

I would also like to add this saying (also new-to-me) from the same which is very Rebus.

Fair exchange is no robbery

That is definitely going to be the title of my next hard-boiled detective fic. It's great.

I have an interview (via Zoom) at 9:30 am on Thursday!!! Thus, the song of the week is:

And so we come to the end of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes with "The Final Problem" published in November 1893.

Here's the summary:

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson encounter the criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty. Holmes is convinced that Moriarty is the "Napoleon of crime" and is determined to bring him down. After a confrontation with Moriarty, Holmes decides to flee the country with Watson to avoid Moriarty's retaliation. They travel to the Swiss Alps, but are eventually tracked down by Moriarty. In a climactic confrontation at the Reichenbach Falls, Holmes and Moriarty struggle and both fall to their deaths in the raging waters below.

There are many alternate-canon theories about the end of Holmes. They are organized into categories in The Annotated Sherlock Holmes.

1. Moriarty is imaginary. 2. Moriarty is innocent. 3. Moriarty lives. 4. Moriarty lives. 4. Holmes is guilty. 5. Holmes killed the wrong man and 6. Faith of the fundamentalist (Holmes did die and the later resurrected Holmes is an imposter).

A page from ACD's notebook. For December he writes 'Killed Holmes.'


The great thing about canon is that you can re-read them many times and always remember or find something new.

"Did you recognize your coachman?"
"No."
"It was my brother Mycroft. It is an advantage to get about in such a case without taking a mercenary into your confidence."

So I wrote a ficlet for vocab_drabbles about Mycroft as brougham coachman.

Title: The Brougham Driver
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Length: 500
Rating: Gen
Character: Mycroft Holmes, original feline character
Prompt: 149: Alterity
Note: set in "The Final Problem"
Summary: Mycroft Holmes after dropping Watson off at the station.

( Read more... )

And I absolutely love the pool scene of BBC Sherlock, especially borrowing of the banter from canon at the confrontation in 221B between Moriarty and Sherlock and the Moriarty reveal. I thought this was really, really well done. Not so much the resolution in Season 2.



So the plan is to post irregularly through June, July, and August, focusing on The Hound of the Baskervilles and pick up with The Return of Sherlock Holmes the first Sunday in September.

May Word Count: 37,851

Writing: So I cranked out two explicit BTS fics for super_effucktive [formerly known as Dick or Treat]. I also did a series of four short ficlets for my Yahtzee prompts in the original Dracula fandom and posted on the_scent_of_lilacs. I managed the 10 of 20 challenge on sweetandshort

I have another set of Yahtzee prompts, and I have three more categories I could fill before it ends (June 18/25) but I don't know if I am feeling motivated to do that. Part of me wants to cut bait.

Because in June, I am going to be focused on my case fic exchange fic. There is a certain voice I need to capture in my head, and it's tricky (not quite as tricky as Bertie Wooster but a challenge in its own right) so that takes mental bandwidth, clearing the mechanism.

Poetry: I am almost caught up on my 52 poem prompts. This week's (which I haven't done yet) is prose poem. 3 poems done in May. I liked Stacy. I think that one worked properly.

Reading: 7 books which brings me up to 30 for the year (which is fine. I have no goal with regard to number of books read).

I just realized I haven't done a Book Bingo update since the end of March so I should do that in June. I listened to The Guest List by Lucy Foley for the multiple POV square. It was okay. Nobody was especially likable and it was 'public schoolboys kill someone and finally face consequences 20 years later. lol' I have at least 3 more I can fill already so I need to sit down and update that. Also I have 2 in my TBR which fill slots. I think the hardest one is going to be the TV Movie Tie in because I don't watch TV or movies so if there are new things in this category in the mystery/detective genre, let me know. And I've already read all the Murderbots.

I am reading the Inspector Rebus in order and I've just finished #18 & #19. Unfortunately, I've already read the ones that had TV episodes about them. I read a short story collection by Tom Mead, the locked-room magician author I've mentioned before.

Crafting: 8 spreads & 6 cards and my Alma Thomas jigsaw puzzle.

June's color theme will be peach/orange as well as rainbow for pride. There is a different kind of craft I could do in June. I may break it out.

Heath & Fitness: 16 days of yoga. But my weight is up from the first of the year. I need to stop eating junk. That's most of the problem.

Personal: I turned 50! Wow! I applied for my AARP card even though I am not a retired person. I'm just old. The boys' father went to Kenya for 10 days and returned safely. Maintenace issues (leaks and mice) persist. And they are redrawing lines for schools so we will more than likely be moving by next spring.

And the big news, I got an email late on Friday saying to call the home health agency for an interview!!! I got it too late to catch the HR office open but I will be calling Monday morning!!

June is Pride! On y va!