The Baker Street Irregulars Trust

The 2011 BSI Dinner

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiVsEeKzTEqs8WCiXoQyrU5M7Ug36ByL2H557h-Q-RGkWIH_ROoKdtf0yGS2tb_Sst4rVZ3fNA44vFeJfzeQoEJGPKFjEAZ2xVMnLYtLaSLiUQFodV6g8z0jUGyMXpWGv4yiD__9SvpA_k/s1600/bsi-dinner-2011-v1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The 2011 BSI Dinner group photo" border="0" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiVsEeKzTEqs8WCiXoQyrU5M7Ug36ByL2H557h-Q-RGkWIH_ROoKdtf0yGS2tb_Sst4rVZ3fNA44vFeJfzeQoEJGPKFjEAZ2xVMnLYtLaSLiUQFodV6g8z0jUGyMXpWGv4yiD__9SvpA_k/s640/bsi-dinner-2011-v1.jpg" title="Click this 2011 BSI Dinner photo to see a larger version" width="640" /></a></div>
 
The dinner celebrating Sherlock Holmes’s 157th birthday was an evening of recognition, celebration, and scholarship.  There was a distinct “Knoxian” theme. 
 
Wiggins (Michael Whelan) began the evening by thanking the following members for their volunteerism in performing a variety of important tasks that had benefited the BSI: Michael Dirda, George McCormack, Irving Kamil, James Saunders, and Donald Terras.  Wiggins also thanked the following for their contributions to the BSI publishing effort: John Bergquist, Steve Rothman, Steve Doyle, Mark Gagen, Randall Stock, and Michael Kean. He also thanked Maggie Schpak for her design of BSI medals.  Mike introduced four attendees who have been members of the BSI for 50 years or more: George McCormack (50 years), <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/04/russell-merritt-interview-oral-history.html">Russell Merritt</a> (51 years), <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/10/peter-blau-interview-oral-history.html">Peter Blau</a> (52 years), and <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2016/10/arthur-levine-interview-oral-history.html">Arthur Levine</a> (56 years).  Each of them was presented with a plaque to commemorate the occasion. 
 
John Bergquist read the Constitution and Buy-Laws.  Pj Doyle toasted Mrs. Hudson.  Lynn Walker gave the toast to Mycroft Holmes.  Roy Pilot had us raise our glasses to Watson's second wife, and Michael Homer toasted Sherlock Holmes.   Richard Olken led the responsive reading of the Musgrave Ritual. 
 
John Linsenmeyer enlightened us about Monsignor Ronald Knox, acknowledging that Knox deserves to be considered the founder of the Grand Game.  Sarah Montague, Andrew Joffe, and Paul Singleton performed an imaginative, and amusing, heavenly meeting between the spirits of Conan Doyle (Joffe) and Dorothy L. Sayers (Montague), interspersed with brief conversations between their famous characters, Sherlock Holmes and Lord Peter Wimsey (Singleton).  James Zych, winner of the BSI essay contest, delivered his paper (see Related Material, below).  Les Klinger presented his interview with Robert Downey, Jr.  Nick Utechin offered a toast to an Old Sherlockian, Ronald Knox, and revealed the very recently discovered details of Knox’s elusive third reading of his paper at Oxford (see Related Material, below). Henry Boote had written Knoxian lyrics to the music of “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” from Annie and, accompanying at the piano, led us in singing this rendition and then in singing the BSI’s anthem, “Aunt Clara.”  Francine Kitts, once again, performed a moving “Standing upon the Terrace” ceremony, remembering those whom we have lost. 
 
Six deserving Irregulars received their Shilling.  Whelan presented Eddy Awards to the following editors and authors: Andrew Fusco, Otto Penzler, Laurie King, Leslie Klinger, Peggy Perdue, Nick Utechin, Enrico Solito, and Gianluca Salvatori.  Klinger, Fusco, and Rothman surprised Mike Whelan by gifting him with a special medal, “The Wiggy,” to acknowledge and honor Mike’s continued, outstanding involvement at all levels - from supervising to proofreading—in the BSI publishing effort. 
 
Gail Postal was toasted as The Woman. 
 
Burt Wolder concluded the evening’s program with his recitation of Vincent Starrett’s “221B.” 
 
At the next day’s Sherlockian Cocktail Reception at the New York City Bar Association, Judge Albert Rosenblatt and his daughter, Betsy Rosenblatt, once again performed their remarkable rhyming summation of the previous year and of the Festivities.  In addition, Mike Whelan presented Candace Lewis (The Woman, 2007) with an Eddy for her editorial work on <a href="https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/2009/11/04/two-celebrations/">Two Celebrations</a>. The afternoon’s program concluded with a musical offering arranged by Lyndsay Faye from the musical adaptation of her Sherlockian pastiche Dust and Shadow (by Jonathan Howard, with music by Jonathan Reid Gealt, lyrics by Dustin Sullivan, and book by Kasey Marino). 
 
Dinner Details: January 7, 2011 
The Yale Club, New York 
 
<h4>
Dinner Photo Information</h4>
Click on the above photo to see a larger version of it, and maximize your browser window to see the most detail. 
 
Key to People in the 2011 BSI Dinner photo (not available at this time, but see the <a href="http://files.bsitrust.org/pdf/dinner/bsi-dinner-2011-attendees.pdf">2011 Table Seat Assignments</a> (PDF) 
 
 
<h4>
BSI Honours List</h4>
Investitures: 
Vincent Brosnan as That Gap on That Second Shelf 
Terence Faherty as Sir Charles Baskerville 
Lyndsay Faye as Kitty Winter 
Frank Ferry as Dr. Leon Sterndale 
David W. Houle as The British Museum 
Peggy Perdue as Violet Westbury 
* received Investiture at another event during the year 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is an Investiture?</a> 
 
 
Two-Shilling Award: 
The Two-Shilling Award was not given in 2011. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is a Two-Shilling Award?</a> 
 
The Woman: 
Gail Postal. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is The Woman honour?</a> 
 
"Stand with me here upon the terrace..." 
(as named at this Dinner, not their year of passing) 
Alastair B. Martin (Colonel Sebastian Moran, 1972) 
Thomas A. Stetak (The Head of the Police at Cleveland, 1990) 
Bernard Davies (A Study in Scarlet, 1985) 
Dr. Tsukasa Kobayashi (Baritsu, 1989) 
Dr. David Musto (Dr. Anstruther, 1969) 
Herbert P. Tinning (Dr. Leon Sterndale, 1974) 
Bob Mangler (Sir Hugo Baskerville, 1962) 
Robert C. Clyne (The Opal Tiara, 1959) 
Dr. Charles E. Henry (The Lion’s Mane, 1980) 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”</a> 
 
Morley-Montgomery Award: 
Michael Pollak, "The Spies Who Never Were with Some Observations on Holmes's Retirement" 
The Baker Street Journal 60.2 (Summer 2010): 49-55 (available in the eBSJ). 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?</a> 
 
The BSI Distinguished Speaker Lecture: 
Michael Sims, “The Light of Reason” 
The Baker Street Journal 61.2 (Summer 2011): 6-14 (available in the eBSJ). 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the BSI Distinguished Speaker Lecture?</a> 
 
<h4>
 Reports on the Dinner</h4>
The Baker Street Journal 61.1 (Spring 2011): 53-63 (available in the eBSJ). 
 
Blau, Peter, <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/links.html#news">Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press</a>, (January 2011): 1-2. 
 
<a href="http://files.bsitrust.org/pdf/dinner/bsi-dinner-2011-attendees.pdf">List of 2011 BSI Dinner Attendees</a> (PDF) 
 
<h4>
 Recordings</h4>
A recording of portions of the 2011 BSI Dinner is available at Harvard as part of the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html">BSI Archive</a>. 
 
<h4>
 Related Material</h4>
Rosenblatt, Albert M., and Betsy Rosenblatt, “The Sherlockian Year In Verse: 2011,” The Baker Street Journal 61.1 (Spring 2011): 64-65 (available in the eBSJ). The Rosenblatts’ rhyming retrospective, delivered at the January 8, 2011 Sherlockian Cocktail Reception. 
 
Zych, James, “How Moriarty Survived Reichenbach Falls,” The Baker Street Journal 61.1 (Spring 2011): 21-24 (available in the eBSJ). 
 
Utechin, Nicholas, “The Case of the First Reading,” The Baker Street Journal 61.1 (Spring 2011): 34-47 (available in the eBSJ).  See also Utechin, Nicholas, From Piff-Pouff To Backnecke: Ronald Knox and 100 Years of “Studies In The Literature of Sherlock Holmes,” The Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual (Christmas 2010) (available in the eBSJ). 
 
Previous dinner: the<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2017/02/the-2010-bsi-dinner.html"> 2010 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
Next dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2017/03/the-2012-bsi-dinner.html">2012 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
For an index to all BSI Dinners and photos, see our<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/dinner-summary.html"> BSI Dinner Summary</a> list. 
 
 Material in the BSI Archive may be used by any qualified scholar, subject to the normal rules and regulations of the library. For links to a detailed finding aid and related information, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html">BSI Archive</a> page. 
 
Page composed on 12/5/2016 by Tamar Zeffren Page updated 2/25/2017 by Andrew Solberg.<div>This page last updated 10/27/21 by Randall Stock. 
 
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The 2011 BSI Dinner

The dinner celebrating Sherlock Holmes’s 157th birthday was an evening of recognition, celebration, and scholarship. There was a distinc...

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The 2010 BSI Dinner

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFw3eU9Vu1F18WDWjueJEKSjFqxPNrL_6T04dGLsMYZiEa2RidgrIrZHjJ3VWEK39zEy5siI2PS68hjHqwV0c3RKTZtDCHzDS7csX0tCPSbt1TPx9Zz739zUQqXRDxtmAdsoKg6XXZh6z/s1600/bsi-dinner-2010-v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The 2010 BSI Dinner group photo" border="0" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFw3eU9Vu1F18WDWjueJEKSjFqxPNrL_6T04dGLsMYZiEa2RidgrIrZHjJ3VWEK39zEy5siI2PS68hjHqwV0c3RKTZtDCHzDS7csX0tCPSbt1TPx9Zz739zUQqXRDxtmAdsoKg6XXZh6z/s640/bsi-dinner-2010-v1.jpg" title="Click this 2010 BSI Dinner photo to see a larger version" width="640" /></a></div>
 
The dinner celebrating Sherlock Holmes’s 156th birthday was held (for the first time) at the Yale Club, with the evening proceeding in (paraphrasing from the Baker Street Journal report) a lofty, plaster-embellished banquet hall, lit by the sort of candelabra under which Henry Baskerville likely found himself. 
 
The program began with Wiggins (Michael Whelan) presenting an engraved crystal vase to Freda Howlett, the 90 year old “Grand Lady of the International Sherlockian World,” recognizing her as co-founder, honorary member, and past president of The Sherlock Holmes Society of London.  Donald Izban read the Constitution and Buy-Laws, reading the first two Articles in Polish.  Allan Devitt toasted Mrs. Hudson. Walter Jaffee toasted Mycroft Holmes.  Gregory Darak had us raise our glasses to Watson's second wife, and Donald Novorsky was to toast Sherlock Holmes but, unfortunately, had a family emergency.   Curtis Armstrong led the responsive reading of the Musgrave Ritual. 
 
Nils Nordberg reported on Holmes’s traveling during “the hiatus,” and proposed that Sherlock Holmes was Norwegian. Hartley Nathan reported on an authentic Penang lawyer that security concerns prevented him from bringing onto the plane in Canada.  Sue Vizoskie discussed what might have happened if Sherlock Holmes had been a woman, and Peter Blau gave a stirring toast to Old Irregular Bill Rabe.  Special guest Ray Jessel, who wrote music and lyrics for the 1965 Broadway musical Baker Street, spoke of the joys and difficulties of composing for Holmes and Watson.  He also performed a few “snippets” from the musical. Leslie Klinger attempted to show a video presentation of a Robert Downey, Jr. interview (in which Downey sent his regards), but was unfortunately thwarted by a Moriarty-masterminded bug in the media’s sound player.  As usual, Henry Boote led the throng in “Aunt Clara.”   Francine Kitts performed a moving <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">“Standing upon the Terrace”</a> ceremony, remembering those whom we have lost.  <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2017/01/autumn-2016-newsletter.html">She graciously took over for Irv Kamil</a>, who had performed this difficult task for many years. 
 
Nine deserving Irregulars received their Shilling.  John Bergquist, Bob Coghill, and Steven T. Doyle were honored with <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">The Two-Shilling Award</a> for extraordinary devotion to the cause beyond the call of duty. Steven Rothman, John Bergquist, Leslie Klinger, Susan Dahlinger, Glen Miranker, and Gianluca Salvatori received the Editor’s Medal (“Eddies”) in recognition of their services as editors of books and Christmas Annuals published by the BSI.  An Eddy was also given posthumously to Paul Jeffers, who had recently unexpectedly passed “Beyond the Reichenbach.” 
 
Karen Gurian was toasted as <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">The Woman</a>. 
 
The evening ended with Ben Vizoskie reading Bill Schweickert’s <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/06/robert-thomalen-interview-oral-history.html">“A Long Evening with Holmes.”</a> 
 
At the next day’s Sherlockian Cocktail Reception at the New York City Bar Association, Judge Albert Rosenblatt and his daughter, Betsy Rosenblatt, once again performed their remarkable rhyming summation of the previous year and of the Festivities.  In addition, Ray Jessel performed the song “Finding Words for Spring” from the musical Baker Street as well as a couple of other wonderful songs that he had composed. (See the section on Recordings, below.) 
 
Dinner Details: January 15, 2010 
The Yale Club, New York 
 
<h4>
Dinner Photo Information</h4>
Click on the above photo to see a larger version of it, and maximize your browser window to see the most detail. 
 
Key to People in the 2010 BSI Dinner photo (not available at this time) 
 
 
<h4>
BSI Honours List</h4>
Investitures: 
Thomas M. Cynkin as Lord Bellinger 
Pj Doyle as Ettie Shafter 
Sir Christopher Frayling as Vernet 
Patricia Guy as Imperial Tokay 
Laurie R. King as The Red Circle 
Sarah Montague as Violet Smith 
Daniel M. Polvere as Holloway and Steele 
Sally Sugarman as The Three Gables 
Maria Carmen Vieja Hazen as Isadora Klein 
* received Investiture at another event during the year 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is an Investiture?</a> 
 
 
Two-Shilling Award: 
John Bergquist, 
Bob Coghill, and 
Steven T. Doyle. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is a Two-Shilling Award?</a> 
 
The Woman: 
Karen Gurian (Mrs. Andrew Jay Peck). 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is The Woman honour?</a> 
 
"Stand with me here upon the terrace..." 
(as named at this Dinner, not their year of passing) 
Dr. Frank Beckman (Lord Backwater, 1984) 
Dr. Joseph Fink (The Martyrdom of Man, 1986) 
H. Paul Jeffers (Wilson Hargreave, 1999) 
Edwin King, Jr. (Captain Arthur Morstan, 1991) 
Dr. Edward Lauterbach (Thorneycroft Huxtable, M.A., Ph.D., etc., 1965) 
Edward Starr (The Bogus Laundry Affair, 1959) 
Richard Warner (High Tor, 1987) 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”</a> 
 
Morley-Montgomery Award: 
Marshall Berdan, “Holmes Alone: Glimpses of Post-Watson Baker Street.” 
The Baker Street Journal 59.1 (Spring 2009): 25-28 (available in the eBSJ). 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?</a> 
 
The BSI Distinguished Speaker Lecture: 
Joan Winterkorn, “On the Paper Trail: Exploring the Attics, Cellars, and Cupboards of England” 
The Baker Street Journal 60.2 (Summer 2010): 34-48 (available in the eBSJ). 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the BSI Distinguished Speaker Lecture?</a> 
 
 
<h4>
Reports on the Dinner</h4>
The Baker Street Journal 60.1 (Spring 2010) pp. 6-14 (available in the eBSJ). 
 
Blau, Peter, <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/links.html#news">Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press</a>, (January 2010): 1-2. 
 
List of 2010 BSI Dinner Attendees (not available at this time) 
 
 
<h4>
Recordings</h4>
A recording of portions of the 2010 BSI Dinner is available at Harvard as part of the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html">BSI Archive</a>. 
 
There are also three online videos from the January 16, 2010 Sherlockian Cocktail Reception. 
 
Ray Jessel performing <a href="https://youtu.be/zX-WbRW1gEE">“Finding Words for Spring”</a>  (YouTube). 
 
Ray Jessel performing <a href="https://youtu.be/MhsPYMdxxM4">“Short Term Memory Loss Blues”</a>  (YouTube). 
 
Ray Jessel performing <a href="https://youtu.be/oPHg-whim20">“Shirley Levine” </a> (YouTube). 
 
 
<h4>
Related Material</h4>
Kitts, Francine, "Standing on the Terrace," For the Sake of the Trust No. 18 (Autumn 2016): 3-4. Her paper in the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2017/01/autumn-2016-newsletter.html">Autumn 2016 newsletter</a> describes the history of this ceremony. 
 
Rosenblatt, Albert M., and Betsy Rosenblatt, “The Sherlockian Year In Verse: 2010,” The Baker Street Journal 60.1 (Spring 2010): 15-17 (available in the eBSJ). The Rosenblatts’ rhyming retrospective, delivered at the January 16, 2010 Sherlockian Cocktail Reception. 
 
Previous dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2017/01/the-2009-bsi-dinner.html">2009 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
Next dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2017/02/the-2011-bsi-dinner.html">2011 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
For an index to all BSI Dinners and photos, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/dinner-summary.html">BSI Dinner Summary</a> list. 
 
 
The BSI Archive is located at the Houghton Library at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Archival material may be used by any qualified scholar, subject to the normal rules and regulations of the Library. For links to a detailed finding aid and related information, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html">BSI Archive at Harvard</a> page. 
 
Page composed on 12/5/2016 by Tamar Zeffren 
This page last updated 2/11/2017 by Andrew Solberg.

The 2010 BSI Dinner

The dinner celebrating Sherlock Holmes’s 156th birthday was held (for the first time) at the Yale Club, with the evening proceeding in (p...

+ Read more »