Moving time! As I was packing my books for the move, I came across my Sherlock Holmes beloved printed editions and found interesting to recall that Sherlock Holmes was inspired by Joseph Bell, a doctor and mentor to Arthur Conan Doyle. By the way, Joseph Bell served as Queen Victoria’s personal surgeon during her visits to Scotland. 🙂 Bell was … Continue reading →
There are many books devoted to the subject of Scottish invention and discovery, as well as scores of websites listing Scottish inventions and discoveries with varying degrees of science, but one category caught my attention: the invention of fictional characters. As per Wikipedia, more than forty (40) fictional characters were invented by Scots. Here are just a few of them: … Continue reading →
Hi Mairiuna! It was truly a pleasure to read your last post triggered by Google Doodle’s commemoration of the 220th birth anniversary of Gioachino Rossini. The music was such a joy to hear! Thanks for sharing such great insights about Rossini and the nature of his link with Scotland. About your challenging question… 😉 Dear Janice would you, by any … Continue reading →
In 2006, on Itinerary 5, we stopped our car on the side of the A82. We love this road which leads to Glencoe, the place where, in 2000, on Itinerary 1, we definitely fell in love with Scotland in front of one of the most striking and beautiful landscapes we ever saw. There were already a number of cars parked … Continue reading →
As Mairiuna and myself are keen sherlockian memorabilia seekers, we could not resist bidding on a quiz-type blotter advertising the SIMCA 1000, a small French car quite popular back in the 1960-70’s. Translation: ” In the Gleendark castle, Herlock Sholmès and his loyal Ratson are tracking the SIMCA 1000. Find it before them and go see it at a SIMCA car … Continue reading →
“The strange human craving for the pleasure of feeling afraid….” (Virginia Woolf – The Common Reader) We’re not of the kind to discriminate against anybody, so let us share our readings with this old guy relaxing in his armchair, or… is it a “she” ? This venerable person must have a lot of thrilling stories to tell us … Indeed, … Continue reading →
“A city built on books, brimming with writers and readers and home to the world’s largest Book Festival” Hi everybody ! Do you remember how an old dying sycamore growing in Conan Doyle’s childhood garden, on the playground of what is now known as Dunedin School, in Edinburgh, had been given a second life ? What a good idea to … Continue reading →
Quite touching the idea of portraying Sherlock Holmes brooding over the death of his author… all the more since we know how, at one time, Conan Doyle got so tired of his character that he decided to ‘kill’ him. “I must save my mind for better things,” he wrote to his mother. In The Final Problem, published in 1893, Conan … Continue reading →
Hi Mairiuna ! I doubt you have been able to find the solution to the stamp mystery, since you would need a magnifying glass and the physical copies of the stamps to find the hidden letters. That’s why I will give you the solution right now! The letter D is found on The Hound of the Baskervilles stamp, at the bottom center. … Continue reading →
Photograph of King George V by W.& D Downey In fact Mairiuna, it was Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria ( later King George V ) that started the Royal Philatelic Collection. His enthusiasm about stamp collecting was shared with his brother, the Prince of Wales ( later King Edward VII) who bought Prince Alfred’s collection just a … Continue reading →
This is right up my alley Mairiuna ! Thanks for the invite. 🙂 For the benefit of our readers, I can say that I’m really passionate about topical stamp collecting and have marveled in this rewarding hobby of philately since I was 12 years old. And as of today, I still delight in collecting those miniature pieces of art called … Continue reading →
