Holmes Minor

Ah, Mrs. Frankles, you’ve managed to make it just in time!

And so for February, let us go on a mini-bummel! Mrs. Frankles previously has informed me that her favourite film is "Carry On Cleo" and that is why—

Actually, Mrs. Frankles, I don’t think I’ve seen that one. What’s it like? Oh, it’s a comedy. With puns. No, dear! I don’t think you need to go into detail! Knowing your particular tastes, I’m sure it’s hilarious.

Yes…

Anyway, having been inspired by Mrs. Frankles’ favourite film, I thought we might go and visit Cleopatra’s Needle on the Victoria Embankment. A real ancient Egyptian obelisk, with its twin standing in New York’s Central Park, I believe.


And as added inspiration for your poetry, here is a quotation from Dr. Watson’s work, “The Adventure of the Devil's Foot”:

It was a country of rolling moors, lonely and dun-colored, with an occasional church tower to mark the site of some old-world village. In every direction upon these moors there were traces of some vanished race which had passed utterly away, and left as its sole record strange monuments of stone…



Here as usual is the list of poetry forms:

221B verselet, abecedarian poetry, acrostic poetry, alexandrine, ballad, barzelletta, beeswing, blackout poetry, blitz poem, blues stanza, bref double, Burns stanza, call and response, chastushka, cherita, cinquain, circular poetry, clerihew, clogyrnach, colour poems, compound word verse, concrete poetry, Cornish verse, curtal sonnet, débat, décima, descort, diamante, doggerel, double dactyl, echo verse, ekphrasis, elegiac couplet, elegiac stanza, elfje, englyn, enuig, epigram, epistle, epitaph, epulaeryu, Etheree, fable, Fib, florette, found poetry, free verse, ghazal, haiku, hay(na)ku, In Memoriam stanza, Italian sonnet, jueju, kennings poem, lanturne, lies, limerick, line messaging, list poem, lyric poetry, mathnawī, micropoetry, mini-monoverse, musette, nonsense verse, palindrome poetry, pantoum, Parallelismus Membrorum, poem cycle, puente, quatern, quintilla, renga, rhyming alliterisen, riddle, rimas dissolutas, rime couée, rispetto, Schüttelreim, sedoka, septet, sestina, shadorma, sonnet, stream of consciousness, tanka, tercet, terza rima, tongue twister poetry, triangular triplet, tricube, trine, triolet, Tyburn, villanelle, xenolith


And so, let us make our way to the obelisk!

Welcome, everyone!

As we are still trying to avoid exposure to the impressively transmissible Omicron variant, I thought you all might like to stay in this month and come up and look at my tinsel prints!

You’ve… never heard that particular line before? I’m not quite sure what you mean, Mrs. Frankles?

Yes…

Anyway, if you’ll all follow me up to the uppermost lumber room…!

Ah! There it is! Could you help me open the lid of this trunk, Mrs. Frankles? There we go. And Mrs. Small-Hobbit, if you could help us by lifting out the prints and displaying them on these boxes here…?

So here they are! My late mother’s collection of tinsel prints!


To quote Wikipedia:

[Tinsel prints] are popular prints, mainly British, produced in the early or mid-19th century, normally showing actors in their roles… These were sold in plain or hand-coloured and tinselled versions, and the plain versions were often tinselled at home. Tin-foil tinsel in different colours, mostly in pre-stamped shapes, was applied with glue. The theatrical prints cost one penny plain, and two coloured, with a standard size of about 12 by 10 inches.


I will just direct you to a few of my favourites to wet your appetites:

William Charles Macready as Rob Roy

Madame Vestris as Oberon

Edmund Kean as Macbeth


As added inspiration for your poetry, here is a quotation from Dr. Watson’s work, “The Hound of the Baskervilles”:

Holmes cast a swift glance of triumph at me. “Oh, he mentioned his name, did he? That was imprudent. What was the name that he mentioned?”

“His name,” said the cabman, “was Mr. Sherlock Holmes.”

Never have I seen my friend more completely taken aback than by the cabman's reply. For an instant he sat in silent amazement. Then he burst into a hearty laugh.

“A touch, Watson—an undeniable touch!” said he. “I feel a foil as quick and supple as my own.”



Here as usual is the list of poetry forms:

221B verselet, abecedarian poetry, acrostic poetry, alexandrine, ballad, barzelletta, beeswing, blackout poetry, blitz poem, blues stanza, bref double, Burns stanza, call and response, chastushka, cherita, cinquain, circular poetry, clerihew, clogyrnach, colour poems, compound word verse, concrete poetry, Cornish verse, curtal sonnet, débat, décima, descort, diamante, doggerel, double dactyl, echo verse, ekphrasis, elegiac couplet, elegiac stanza, elfje, englyn, enuig, epigram, epistle, epitaph, epulaeryu, Etheree, fable, Fib, florette, found poetry, free verse, ghazal, haiku, hay(na)ku, In Memoriam stanza, Italian sonnet, jueju, kennings poem, lanturne, lies, limerick, line messaging, list poem, lyric poetry, mathnawī, micropoetry, mini-monoverse, musette, nonsense verse, palindrome poetry, pantoum, Parallelismus Membrorum, poem cycle, puente, quatern, quintilla, renga, rhyming alliterisen, riddle, rimas dissolutas, rime couée, rispetto, Schüttelreim, sedoka, septet, sestina, shadorma, sonnet, stream of consciousness, tanka, tercet, terza rima, tongue twister poetry, triangular triplet, tricube, trine, triolet, Tyburn, villanelle, xenolith


And so, please feel free to peruse the tinsel prints!

The prompt for this month is:



Dash



Hopes dashed or dashing to save the day? Punctuation or a euphemism for d---? A message sent in dots and dashes? A dash of tonic in the gin? And of course in the 19th century poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (‘Twas the Night Before Christmas), we have Dasher the reindeer.


As always, you needn’t use the prompt if you don’t wish to. Once you’re a member, you can post what and when you want—as long as you keep to the 500 words or less wordcount and the ACD Holmes ‘verse. AUs, crossovers and fusions are all permitted, as long as the characters remain essentially recognisable as the original ACD versions.

Please see the profile for the full posting guidelines!

(Apologies for the late posting. And I believe Mrs. Hudson has had a Mr. Holmes-related emergency, but she’ll be back later this month.)

Inspired by Mrs. Small-Hobbit, the prompt for this month is:



Eggs



Egging someone on, egg on the face, over-egging the pudding. Is your character a good egg or a bad egg? Are Holmes and Watson walking on eggshells around Mrs. Hudson? Is Mrs. Hudson going to chuck them out or would that be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs? Maybe she shouldn’t have put all her eggs in one basket.


As always, you needn’t use the prompt if you don’t wish to. Once you’re a member, you can post what and when you want—as long as you keep to the 500 words or less wordcount and the ACD Holmes ‘verse. AUs, crossovers and fusions are all permitted, as long as the characters remain essentially recognisable as the original ACD versions.

Please see the profile for the full posting guidelines!

Welcome, everyone, once more!

Now, I must admit I am still feeling a little hesitant about travelling too far from home but I am beginning to dream of being “on the bummel” again! To that end, I have retired my faithful old carpet bag and bought one of those new-fangled suit-cases. They are mainly designed for a gentleman’s suits naturally, hence the name. However, I have managed to procure a lightweight version, aimed at the discerning lady—

Yes, Mrs. Frankles?

No, suit-cases haven’t been around for decades and decades.

I can assure you they are a recent invention.

Look, is this the digital watch business all over again? I can arrange for you to speak to Mr. Camkin at the luggage-maker’s down by the river, if you like. He’s been in trunks for over twenty years!

No, he’s never mentioned being chilly. I… don’t quite understand your sense of humour at times, Mrs. Frankles.

Anyway… moving along! I hope my new purchase might inspire your poetry.



And as added inspiration here is a quotation from Dr. Watson’s story, “The Hound of the Baskervilles”:


Sir Henry was more pleased than surprised to see Sherlock Holmes, for he had for some days been expecting that recent events would bring him down from London. He did raise his eyebrows, however, when he found that my friend had neither any luggage nor any explanations for its absence.




Here as usual is the list of poetry forms:

221B verselet, abecedarian poetry, acrostic poetry, alexandrine, ballad, barzelletta, beeswing, blackout poetry, blitz poem, blues stanza, bref double, Burns stanza, call and response, chastushka, cherita, cinquain, circular poetry, clerihew, clogyrnach, colour poems, compound word verse, concrete poetry, Cornish verse, curtal sonnet, débat, décima, descort, diamante, doggerel, double dactyl, echo verse, ekphrasis, elegiac couplet, elegiac stanza, elfje, englyn, enuig, epigram, epistle, epitaph, epulaeryu, Etheree, fable, Fib, florette, found poetry, free verse, ghazal, haiku, hay(na)ku, In Memoriam stanza, Italian sonnet, jueju, kennings poem, lanturne, lies, limerick, line messaging, list poem, lyric poetry, mathnawī, micropoetry, mini-monoverse, musette, nonsense verse, palindrome poetry, pantoum, Parallelismus Membrorum, poem cycle, puente, quatern, quintilla, renga, rhyming alliterisen, riddle, rimas dissolutas, rime couée, rispetto, Schüttelreim, sedoka, septet, sestina, shadorma, sonnet, stream of consciousness, tanka, tercet, terza rima, tongue twister poetry, triangular triplet, tricube, trine, triolet, Tyburn, villanelle, xenolith


And so, let’s get started. We have a lot to… “pack in”!

(That was unkind, Mrs. Frankles. Just because I didn’t understand your joke…)

As we are currently experiencing traditional British summer weather—rain and overcast skies—I thought this month we would stay cosily inside, and I could show off my recent purchase. Yes, thanks to Mr. Holmes’s most recent and generous rent increase, I have bought myself a digital watch!

If you’d all like to— MRS. FRANKLES!

Mrs. Frankles, did you just spit elderflower cordial all over my soft furnishings?

Yes, well, I can understand your being impressed, but I don’t quite comprehend the level of your surprise…

Anachronistic? I don’t really see what you’re driving at, dear. Digital clocks and watches have not been in production for that long. You could call them bang up-to-date even. I must admit I find them rather fascinating—the concept of using clockwork to show individual digits through windows on a dial, instead of hands moving around a clock face.

What, Mrs. Frankles? Yes, clockwork. Well, what did you think I meant? Mrs. Frankles…?

(I don’t know.) Anyway, perhaps you’d all like to come forward and examine my new timepiece—carefully, please!—and I hope it will inspire you all creatively.


And as added inspiration here is a quotation from Dr. Watson’s story, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”:


Far away we could hear the deep tones of the parish clock, which boomed out every quarter of an hour. How long they seemed, those quarters! Twelve struck, and one and two and three, and still we sat waiting silently for whatever might befall.



Here as usual is the list of poetry forms:

221B verselet, abecedarian poetry, acrostic poetry, alexandrine, ballad, barzelletta, beeswing, blackout poetry, blitz poem, blues stanza, bref double, Burns stanza, call and response, chastushka, cherita, cinquain, circular poetry, clerihew, clogyrnach, colour poems, compound word verse, concrete poetry, Cornish verse, curtal sonnet, débat, décima, descort, diamante, doggerel, double dactyl, echo verse, ekphrasis, elegiac couplet, elegiac stanza, elfje, englyn, enuig, epigram, epistle, epitaph, epulaeryu, Etheree, fable, Fib, florette, found poetry, free verse, ghazal, haiku, hay(na)ku, In Memoriam stanza, Italian sonnet, jueju, kennings poem, lanturne, lies, limerick, line messaging, list poem, lyric poetry, mathnawī, micropoetry, mini-monoverse, musette, nonsense verse, palindrome poetry, pantoum, Parallelismus Membrorum, poem cycle, puente, quatern, quintilla, renga, rhyming alliterisen, riddle, rimas dissolutas, rime couée, rispetto, Schüttelreim, sedoka, septet, sestina, shadorma, sonnet, stream of consciousness, tanka, tercet, terza rima, tongue twister poetry, triangular triplet, tricube, trine, triolet, Tyburn, villanelle, xenolith


And now, let us take some time to compose!

The vaccination rate is increasing, and so perhaps our little household can risk getting a little closer for this month’s activity. Yes, to quote Mr. Gilbert, “let us gaily tread the measure!” Cut a rug! Trip the light fantastic!

In other words, dance!

(No! Not yet, Mrs. Frankles! Interesting moves though, dear...)

Now, before I crank up the gramophone, let me run through a few possible dances that you might like to try.


There is:

the waltz

the mazurka

the polka

and finally

the galop.



And as added artistic inspiration here is a quotation from Dr. Watson’s story, “The Hound of the Baskervilles”:


“Holmes!” I cried—“Holmes!” “Come out,” said he, “and please be careful with the revolver.” I stooped under the rude lintel, and there he sat upon a stone outside, his gray eyes dancing with amusement as they fell upon my astonished features.



Here as usual is the list of poetry forms:

221B verselet, abecedarian poetry, acrostic poetry, alexandrine, ballad, barzelletta, beeswing, blackout poetry, blitz poem, blues stanza, bref double, Burns stanza, call and response, chastushka, cherita, cinquain, circular poetry, clerihew, clogyrnach, colour poems, compound word verse, concrete poetry, Cornish verse, curtal sonnet, débat, décima, descort, diamante, doggerel, double dactyl, echo verse, ekphrasis, elegiac couplet, elegiac stanza, elfje, englyn, enuig, epigram, epistle, epitaph, epulaeryu, Etheree, fable, Fib, florette, found poetry, free verse, ghazal, haiku, hay(na)ku, In Memoriam stanza, Italian sonnet, jueju, kennings poem, lanturne, lies, limerick, line messaging, list poem, lyric poetry, mathnawī, micropoetry, mini-monoverse, musette, nonsense verse, palindrome poetry, pantoum, Parallelismus Membrorum, poem cycle, puente, quatern, quintilla, renga, rhyming alliterisen, riddle, rimas dissolutas, rime couée, rispetto, Schüttelreim, sedoka, septet, sestina, shadorma, sonnet, stream of consciousness, tanka, tercet, terza rima, tongue twister poetry, triangular triplet, tricube, trine, triolet, Tyburn, villanelle, xenolith


And so, let me set the needle upon the record, and let us begin the first dance!

Now, last time we were lent Mr. Holmes’ telescope. This time, Mrs. Frankles has used her contacts to supply us with another interesting object: Dr George Merryweather’s Tempest Prognosticator!

Though it never went into full production, I believe it was shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851 to much excitement. It is a form of barometer to warn when a storm is coming, and we have been allowed to keep it for the month to study it and to use it for creative stimulation.

Would you like to explain more, Mrs. Frankles...? These twelve bottles at the bottom for instance—what do they contain?

I’m sorry, did you say “leeches”?

And they do what, dear? Climb up the bottle when a storm threatens and set off a bell?

Where did you hear about this again? Via a… tumbler. Was it full of gin, by chance?

(Great heavens…) Anyway, they’re here now and we must be thoughtful towards our guests. What do leeches eat, Mrs. Frankles? Oh, they don’t need to be fed for at least another month! Pity. I was thinking Mr. Holmes might have been of some use for once…

But please, everyone, gather forward and examine this fascinating device.



As added inspiration here is a quotation from Dr. Watson’s story, “The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez”:


As I turn over the pages I see my notes upon the repulsive story of the red leech and the terrible death of Crosby the banker.



Here as usual is the list of poetry forms:

221B verselet, abecedarian poetry, acrostic poetry, alexandrine, ballad, barzelletta, beeswing, blackout poetry, blitz poem, blues stanza, bref double, Burns stanza, call and response, chastushka, cherita, cinquain, circular poetry, clerihew, clogyrnach, colour poems, compound word verse, concrete poetry, Cornish verse, curtal sonnet, débat, décima, descort, diamante, doggerel, double dactyl, echo verse, ekphrasis, elegiac couplet, elegiac stanza, elfje, englyn, enuig, epigram, epistle, epitaph, epulaeryu, Etheree, fable, Fib, florette, found poetry, free verse, ghazal, haiku, hay(na)ku, In Memoriam stanza, Italian sonnet, jueju, kennings poem, lanturne, lies, limerick, line messaging, list poem, lyric poetry, mathnawī, micropoetry, mini-monoverse, musette, nonsense verse, palindrome poetry, pantoum, Parallelismus Membrorum, poem cycle, puente, quatern, quintilla, renga, rhyming alliterisen, riddle, rimas dissolutas, rime couée, rispetto, Schüttelreim, sedoka, septet, sestina, shadorma, sonnet, stream of consciousness, tanka, tercet, terza rima, tongue twister poetry, triangular triplet, tricube, trine, triolet, Tyburn, villanelle, xenolith

And so, let us talk about the weather!