The Notorious Canary-Trainers
A Scion of the Baker Street Irregulars
for friends and fans of Sherlock Holmes
-- where it is always 1895!

Sherlock Holmes confronts the 'King of All Blackmailers' It's our June case study 06/15/2008

The "King" himself. Artist Sidney Paget

For our next monthly case study, we'll explore "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton" June 15. Join us at 3 p.m. at Barnes & Noble West; we'll finish no later than 4:30 p.m. See below for more details about the location.

For more information about this adventure, click here.

TV ALERT: Madison's Channel 21 is airing episodes from the British (Granada) Sherlock Holmes series, with Jeremy Brett through July 24. Programs air at 9 p.m. Thursdays and are repeated at 6 p.m. the following Sundays.

Here's the remaining schedule: June 26, "A Scandal in Bohemia." July 3: "The Norwood Builder. July 10: "The Resident Patient." July 17: "The Red-Headed League." July 24: "The Final Problem."

HERE'S OUR REMAINING MEETING SCHEDULE THROUGH 2008. All meetings at Barnes & Noble West unless otherwise noted.
August 17: Thor Bridge
September 21: Priory School
October 19: Shoscombe Old Place
November 16: Three Garridebs (Booked for Murder)
December 14: Lady Francis Carfax (Booked for Murder).

There's no charge to attend our monthly case study meetings which are open to the public. (You also don't have to be a Sherlock Holmes expert.) Arrive early or remain afterward to browse our host's selections for sale.

Barnes & Noble Booksellers is located at 7433 Mineral Point Rd., Madison (behind West Towne Shopping Center). We normally meet on the third Sunday of each month from 3-4:30 p.m., unless otherwise announced.

MAY 22 WAS ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE'S BIRTHDAY. May 22, was the 149th anniversary of the birth of Arthur Conan Doyle, doctor, English writer and literary agent for Sherlock Holmes who was born in 1859.

Doyle was honored on that same date in 2006 when the Web search engine Google modified its logo (shown at right) for one day.

Those who clicked on the logo also got a list of 157,000 or so links to Web sites with more about Doyle and Holmes. To see that list, click here.

WE WERE 39 IN APRIL! Members of the Notorious Canary-Trainers marked our 39th birthday to the day on April 20 with an exploration of "The Adventure of the Dancing Men." Our first-ever meeting was held April 20, 1969. For highlights of our founding and subsequent history, click on the "Our History" link in the navigation bar to your left.

NOTES FROM OUR MARCH 16, 2008, MEETING are now posted, as are those of other recent meetings. We didn't meet for case studies in January (annual dinner instead) or February (snowed out). Check them out by clicking here.

FIND OUT THE LATEST ENTRIES on the Baker Street Blog. Scroll to the bottom of the page.

THE LATEST -- MARCH 2008 -- ISSUE OF THE TWEET SHEET, our newsletter, now is available online. Download it here.

OUR ANNUAL MASTER'S DINNER COMMEMORATING SHERLOCK HOLMES' BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY was held at J. T. Whitney's Pub and Brewery on Madison's west side Sunday, Jan. 6. It was our eighth such annual celebration and Sherlock Holmes' 154th birthday! We'll announce plans in the coming months for our 2009 celebration.

WE HAVE A MYSTERY OF OUR OWN. Reproduced here is a coded message we received in the mail last summer, the exact source unknown. Read more about the hidden message, the code used, and the continuing mystery here.

FIRST GROUP OF NAMES FROM THE CANON ASSIGNED. The first group of names from characters, places or events from the Sherlock Holmes stories made available by Arthur Conan Doyle have been chosen so far by 15 members of the Notorious Canary-Trainers. Read more here.

MEETING HISTORY COMPILED. We've compiled and posted a record of our meeting dates, locations, and cases considered from January 1992 through April 2006. This record has not been available before except to members and only upon request. You'll find it for downloading here.

READ ABOUT THE HISTORY OF GROUP from its founding in 1969. Click here.

FIVE BASIC BOOKS FOR EVERY SHERLOCKIAN. Whether you're just beginning to explore the Sherlock Holmes adventures or are looking to build your Holmes collection, check out one Sherlockian's ideas about five basic books you should have to supplement the Holmes stories. Click here for his suggestions.

INTERESTED IN MORE ABOUT SHERLOCK HOLMES? Click here for an excellent Internet starting point for your explorations. It's maintained by the University of Minnesota.