Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"a nice taste in wines" [LAST] In this month's Masters Class, we turn for the final time to a work of Edgar W. Smith's, "Up From the Needle," as featured in Vol. 2, No. 1 (1947) of The Baker Street Journal. Edgar takes us away from the canard of Sherlock Holmes as a drug addict and gives us an oenophile's assessment of Sherlock Holmes as a wine fancier. It's just a Trifle. If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode, let us know at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your idea on the air, we'll send you some Sherlockian goodies.

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And we have a bonus track for our patrons, where the conversation continued. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles338
• Soundcloud playlist: Alcohol
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Sponsor The Baker Street Journal Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"It is, of course, a trifle" [TWIS] Sometimes there are moments in the Sherlock Holmes stories when we just take Holmes at his word, giving little thought to the logic behind it. We simply trust him. But when it comes to "The Man with the Twisted Lip," it seemed a little odd that he had to stay out at Neville St. Clair's home, seven miles from the heart of London. What was going on there? It's just a Trifle. If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode, let us know at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your idea on the air, we'll send you some Sherlockian goodies.

Our Patreon supporters can listen to our shows ad-free and every one of them is eligible for our monthly and quarterly drawings for Baker Street Journals. Join our community of patrons today.

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• This episode: ihose.co/trifles337
• Previous episodes mentioned:
• Episode 7 - John, James, and Mary
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"I've learned not to cry over spilled milk" [SIGN] Between recent episodes on Eggs and Breakfast, it seems like we've had our fill of comestibles. Well, this isn't a podcast to be trifled with, so we're headed to the dairy. We look at instances of milk and butter in the Sherlock Holmes stories while investigating the trouble with the dairy industry in Victorian England. It's just a Trifle. If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode, let us know at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your idea on the air, we'll send you some Sherlockian goodies.

Our Patreon supporters can listen to our shows ad-free and every one of them is eligible for our monthly and quarterly drawings for Baker Street Journals. Join our community of patrons today.

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• This episode: ihose.co/trifles336
• Ice Cream: The Inside Scoop (British Museum)
• Why People in Victorian England Added Poisonous Acid to Milk (Tasting Table)
• Observations on London Milk (British Library)
• When Milk Was Full of Calf Brains (The Atlantic)
• Trout in the Milk (The Eagle's Call)
• Previous episodes mentioned:
• Episode 331 - Eggs
• Episode 259 - Did Sherlock Holmes Have a Sense of Humor?
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Listen to us ad-free on Patreon and become eligible for our regular giveaways.

Sponsor The Baker Street Journal Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"Is alcohol permitted?" [MAZA] We've explored a number of angles around alcohol in the Sherlock Holmes stories, but it recently struck us that there are glimpses of alcoholism in the Canon. Victorians were no different in their struggles with alcohol, although the disease wasn't recognized as one at the time. Where in the stories can we find evidence or mentions of alcoholics? Why did Holmes ask Watson for permission to drink? And who drank like a fish? It's just a Trifle. If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode, let us know at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your idea on the air, we'll send you some Sherlockian goodies.

Our Patreon supporters can listen to our shows ad-free and every one of them is eligible for our monthly and quarterly drawings for Baker Street Journals. Join our community of patrons today.

Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles335
• Drinking in Victorian and Edwardian Britain: Beyond the Spectre of the Drunkard by Thora Hands (PDF)
• The Blue Ribbon Army: Gospel Temperance in England by Lilian Lewis Shiman (Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church)
• Playlist: Alcohol (SoundCloud)
• Episode 21 - Pubs and Taverns, Part 1
• Episode 22 - Pubs and Taverns, Part 2
• Episode 63 - Inside 221B: Drink Up!
• Episode 86 - Wine and Spirits
• Episode 87 - The Good Doctor
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
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Sponsor The Baker Street Journal Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"I travelled for two years" [EMPT] This month's Masters Class features the second in our three essays by Edgar W. Smith. In Vol. 1 No. 3 of The Baker Street Journal from 1946, Smith wonders about Sherlock Holmes's travels between 1891 and 1894. More specifically, he compares global events and geographical and cultural realities to Holmes's story, and something isn't quite right. Where does Smith place Sherlock Holmes for two of those years during the hiatus? It's just a Trifle. If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode, let us know at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your idea on the air, we'll send you some Sherlockian goodies.

Our Patreon supporters can listen to our shows ad-free and every one of them is eligible for our monthly and quarterly drawings for Baker Street Journals. Join our community of patrons today.

Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles334
• Sherlock Holmes and the Fall River Tragedy by Owen Haskell
• Episode 332 - Police Precautions
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
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Sponsor The BSI Press Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"We have touched on three" [TWIS] Since this is Episode 333 and since there are three stories in the Canon that incorporate the number three in their titles, we thought it was time to turn our attention to the "magic number," as three is known. Why that number of students, gables, and Garridebs? What's the significance of the number three that it should occupy such a prominent role in the story titles? What other appearances of the number are worth noting? It's just a Trifle. If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode, let us know at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your idea on the air, we'll send you some Sherlockian goodies.

Our Patreon supporters can listen to our shows ad-free and every one of them is eligible for our monthly and quarterly drawings for Baker Street Journals. Join our community of patrons today.

Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles333
• Three Is a Magic Number (YouTube)
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Sponsor The Baker Street Journal Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"Why not take police precautions against him?" [FINA] When reading "The Final Problem," it's difficult not to be caught off-guard. After all, it opens with Watson telling us these are the last words he'll write about Sherlock Holmes. But when we step back and look at the story with sober eyes, we realize that the police story Holmes tells Watson just doesn't add up. And it's just a Trifle. If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode, let us know at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your idea on the air, we'll send you some Sherlockian goodies.

Our Patreon supporters can listen to our shows ad-free and every one of them is eligible for our monthly and quarterly drawings for Baker Street Journals. Join our community of patrons today.

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• This episode: ihose.co/trifles332
• The Franco-Midland Hardware Company
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• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
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Sponsor The BSI Press Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"when I have exterminated that fourth egg" [VALL] While we discussed breakfast in the last episode, we felt we paid more attention to the toast than the eggs. And there was one quote in particular that didn't make the cut. We recall that quote, search for an egg-seller in the Sherlock Holmes stories, and ponder the evolution of chickens and eggs in the history of human cuisine. Which came first? It's just a Trifle. If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode, let us know at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your idea on the air, we'll send you some Sherlockian goodies.

Our Patreon supporters can listen to our shows ad-free and every one of them is eligible for our monthly and quarterly drawings for Baker Street Journals. Join our community of patrons today.

Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles331
• Eggs - Some Victorian recipes (from The Dictionary of Daily Wants, 1859)
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
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Sponsor The Baker Street Journal Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"we had breakfasted" [CHAS] For all the meals we hear about in the Sherlock Holmes stories – not to mention Mrs. Hudson having a good idea of breakfast – what were some of the regular morning comestibles? Come to think of it, there weren't many breakfasts mentioned in the Canon aside from one very consequential one. Can you think of others? It's just a Trifle. If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode, let us know at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your idea on the air, we'll send you some Sherlockian goodies.

Our Patreon supporters can listen to our shows ad-free and every one of them is eligible for our monthly and quarterly drawings for Baker Street Journals. Join our community of patrons today.

Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show. Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles330
• Alistair Cooke's Letter From America: Don't Name It, Cure it - 12 July 2002
• Dining with Sherlock Holmes by Julia Carlson Rosenblatt and Frederich Sonnenschmidt
• SoundCloud playlist: Food
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
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Sponsor The Baker Street Journal Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"an anonymous communication from a quarter" [VALL] Just who was it that wrote "His Last Bow"? We know it wasn't Watson, as there were observations about him in the third person and a narrative of actions that didn't include him. In our monthly Masters Class series, we turn to the first of three pieces by the eminent Sherlockian Edgar W. Smith, who takes us on an exemplary journey of observation and deduction. And it's just a Trifle. If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode, let us know at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your idea on the air, we'll send you some Sherlockian goodies.

Our Patreon supporters can listen to our shows ad-free and every one of them is eligible for our monthly and quarterly drawings for Baker Street Journals. Join our community of patrons today.

Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles329
• I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 262: Embellishments in the Sherlockian Spring
• Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
• Listen to us ad-free on Patreon and become eligible for our regular giveaways.

Sponsor The Baker Street Journal Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0