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

Our 9th annual birthday party for Sherlock Holmes set for Saturday Open to all fans of the Master Detective 1/04/2009

From our December case study. Artist: Alec Ball

OUR ANNUAL MASTER'S DINNER COMMEMORATING SHERLOCK HOLMES'S 155th BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY will be held at J. T. Whitney's Pub and Brewery on Madison's west side (674 S. Whitney Way) Saturday, Jan. 10. It will be our ninth consecutive year for this event.

We'll start with some socializing at 5 p.m., followed by dinner and then a program starting about 6:30 p.m. Those attending will order off the menu and pay only for what they eat, plus whatever tip they choose to leave.

You don't have to be a member of the Notorious Canary-Trainers to attend, but to insure a seat at the dining table, please reserve by Friday, Jan. 9, via email or by calling 608/274-1638. Otherwise, eat in the main dining area and join us for the program.

To get a flavor of what we do at these gatherings, click here.

OUR NEXT MONTHLY CASE STUDY is scheduled for February 15 when we look at "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client." We'll post more details about that case soon. Meanwhile, at our most recent monthly case study Dec. 14, we explored "The Disapperance of Lady Frances Carfax" adventure at our new year-round location at Booked for Murder bookstore. For more information about this adventure, click here.

HERE'S OUR MEETING SCHEDULE THROUGH MID-2009. All meetings at Booked for Murder, 2701 University Ave., unless otherwise noted.
January 10, 2009: Annual Sherlock Holmes Birthday Dinner
February 15: The Illustrious Client
March 15: The Red Circle
April 19: The Blanched Soldier
May 17: The Three Gables
June 21: The Mazarin Stone

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.)

TV ALERT! Wisconsin Public Television will be airing in January several episodes of the Granada "Sherlock Holmes" series with Jeremy Brett.

Here's the currently-available schedule. All programs are one hour in length and air at 8 p.m. Thursdays.

Jan. 8: "The Final Problem"
Jan. 15: "The Empty House"
Jan. 22: "The Abbey Grange"
Jan. 29: "The Musgrave Ritual"

THE LATEST -- JANUARY 2009 -- ISSUE OF THE TWEET SHEET, our newsletter, now is available online. Download it here.

NOTES FROM OUR NOVEMBER 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) and we're still processing minutes for April and May. Check them out by clicking here.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST MUSINGS ON THE BAKER STREET BLOG at the bottom of this page.

A GROUP OF SHERLOCK HOLMES FANS "PLAY THE GAME" when they visit Switzerland and Reichenbach Falls where Holmes once met his arch nemesis in a fight to the death. This video documentary of their trip runs 3 minutes 47 seconds and should be good for a laugh or two. (They'll be laughing with you.)

INTERESTED IN SHERLOCK HOLMES BOOKS BY AUTHORS OTHER THAN ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE? Wikipedia offers its list here.

WE'LL BE 40 IN APRIL! Members of the Notorious Canary-Trainers will mark our 40th birthday in April with a celebration now being planned. 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.

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.