THE SHERLOCK HOLMES SOCIETY OF LONDON
Founded as The Sherlock Holmes Society in 1934
ANNUAL DINNER
SATURDAY 7TH JANUARY 2012
The Society's fifty-ninth Annual Dinner will be held in the Members' Dining Room at the
House of Commons, London, on Saturday 7th January 2012, at 6.30 for 7.30 pm. The title
assigned to this year's function is A WHALE OF A TIME. We are much indebted to our
sponsor, Jo Johnson, who is sponsoring the dinner in his capacity as a sitting Member of
Parliament, a requirement for all functions held in this unique venue. We look forward to
welcoming both him and all or most of our Honorary Members, as well as members of the
Society from all over the world.
For our 2012 Annual Dinner the Society is delighted to welcome television writer and
producer Steven Moffat as our Guest of Honour. His writing credits are impressive,
including the BBC Two series Joking Apart (winner of the Bronze Rose of Montreux for
Comedy 1995), Press Gang about a group of wayward high school students who are given
a local newspaper to run (winner of the Bafta Award for Best Children's Programme
Entertainment/ Drama 1990 and the Royal Television Society Award for Best Children's
Programme 1990), three episodes of Murder Most Horrid for Dawn French and Exam
Conditions, a half hour silent film for Central Television which won the Prix Jeunesse in
1994. He is perhaps best known today for his work regenerating Doctor Who and, of
course, for co-creating Sherlock with Mark Gatiss, our speaker in 2006.
It has been said that his trademark is the meticulous and unusual use of structures such as
parallel story strands and experiments with chronology or repetition to surprise audiences.
Moffat himself has said, "There are just basic rules how plotting should work and how you
can make events seem both surprising and inevitable, which is the challenge of all
writing." Born in Paisley, Scotland, Moffat began writing theatrical plays in the mid-80s
while teaching. His break came when a crew from ITV religious travelogue Highway
visited his father's school. His father told them of his idea for a children's series based
around a junior newspaper, which his son could write. Since 1999 much of his work has
been produced by Hartswood Films, an independent production company run by his wife
Sue Vertue and her mother, veteran TV executive Beryl Vertue. It was Hartswood's
elaborate comedy BBC2 series Coupling between 2000 and 2004 which established
Moffat as a major writer.
A Doctor Who fan since the late 1960s, Moffat wrote spoof sketches starring Rowan
Atkinson as the Doctor for Comic Relief in 1999. He was a key writer for the revived
Doctor Who from 2005. He won a BAFTA for the episode “Blink”, and three Hugos - a
respected US Science Fiction award rarely won by British TV programmes. In mid2009 he took over the mantle of Doctor Who from Russell T. Davies.
The supporting speaker will be Nicholas Utechin, who joined the Society in 1966 at the
age of 14, becoming Joint Editor of the Sherlock Holmes Journal ten years later. He held
on to that exalted position for three decades and in 2006 he was given the accolade of
Honorary Membership. A Baker Street Irregular as well, Nick has contributed to
Holmesian scholarship on both sides of the Atlantic for many years. In a parallel life, he
worked as a radio producer and presenter, mostly for the B.B.C., and now spends much of
his time contributing to the arts coverage of The Oxford Times. He and his wife Annie
have a 19-month-old granddaughter, Evie.
The menu for the Dinner is as follows:Cropwell Bishop Stilton paté with poached conference pear
Parsnip purée, apple and walnut salad with Port wine dressing
Grilled breast of Gressingham duck with creamed thyme potato
Served with wood smoked parsnips and pear sauce
Coconut parfait with cinnamon sponge
And rum toffee
Coffee and Petit Fours
Most members will know that the seating capacity of the Members' Dining Room is
limited to 170 and that this means it is only possible for them to invite one guest each. If
the Dinner is oversubscribed a ballot will be held immediately after the closing date for
applications, which is Saturday 19th November. Security at the House of Commons is
necessarily strict, and admission will be by formal invitation only: for this reason we need
to know the full name of your guest if you are bringing one. Successful applicants will
receive personalised invitation cards which will have to be produced to the police on the
night in order to gain entrance to the building, and as these will perforce be despatched
during the Christmas postal rush please do not worry unduly if yours does not arrive until
after the holiday. If you expect to be away at that time please give an address to which
mail should be sent to ensure safe receipt.
Fish or vegetarian alternatives will be available if ordered in advance, and special dietary
requirements can also be catered for provided sufficient notice is given. Space is provided
on the application form for you to state your requirements.
The charge for the evening will be £65.00/US$130.00 per head, inclusive of everything
except drinks which must be paid for individually on the night. Copies of the House of
Commons wine and bar lists will be sent to all successful applicants so that they can order
in advance: we have found that this gives everyone more time to mingle with friends in the
bar beforehand - although you will be able to place an order on the night if you prefer.
The Dinner is a formal occasion and it is customary for gentlemen to wear dinner jackets
(black tie) and for ladies to wear evening dress (short or long) but this is not obligatory.
Visitors from overseas in particular may not wish to bring dress clothes for one evening
only, and we should like to assure them that dark lounge suits and cocktail frocks are
equally suitable.
Smoking is not permitted in any rooms, including the pre-prandial bar and the Dining
Room itself.
POST ANNUAL DINNER FUNCTION
A CENTRE PAGE SPREAD!
The Sherlock Holmes Society of London’s Morning After will be held at The Centre Page,
29-33 Knightrider Street London EC4V 5BH on Sunday 8th January, from
11.30am, where we have sole use of the downstairs room for our informal function.
Knightrider Street is on the right as you walk down Peter's Hill from St Paul's towards the
Millennium Bridge; the pub is on the corner. The original building of 1665 was The Horn
Coffee House in Doctors Commons, 10 Godliman Street, off Carter Lane on the south side
of St Paul’s Churchyard. The Horn Tavern, as the late 18th century pub was known, is
best known as being mentioned in Charles Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers - Mr Pickwick
sent his friends to the tavern to fetch a bottle of wine for his supper, he being incarcerated
in the Fleet Prison at the time. It was fairly recently restored and renamed The Centre
Page. (While Holmes did visit Doctors’ Commons in “The Speckled Band”, it was sadly
to Somerset House that he went, the building housing it here having been demolished in
1867). Some entertainment will be provided by member Richard Dinnick and others
involved with the production of a range of Sherlock Holmes audio dramas made by Big
Finish Productions.
Drinks will be available on a cash basis and lunch will be served at 1.00 p.m. There will
be a choice of Roast Beef or Lemon Sole or Feta & spinach parcels followed by either
Apple Pie or Cheesecake or Cheese & Biscuits; after lunch Tea or Coffee are included in
the price. The cost will be £14 / $28 per head. Choices must be notified in advance. An
application form is appended and you may include the appropriate payment on your
Dinner cheque if you wish.
Members planning to spend the day in the area might like to know that there is a sung
Eucharist at St. Paul’s Cathedral at 11.30am on Sunday mornings and Evensong at
3.15pm. The Tate Modern (open until 6pm) and The Globe Theatre Exhibition (open until
5pm) are a short walk away on the south side of the Thames.
2012 DATES FOR THE DIARY
22nd March
24th May
June
To be confirmed
9th – 16th September
4th October
November
Whaling
AGM
Cricket match
Summer Day Out.
Swiss Trip
Richard Lancelyn Green Lecture - Bartitsu
Film Evening
THE SHERLOCK HOLMES SOCIETY OF LONDON
Founded as The Sherlock Holmes Society in 1934
To:
Miss Catherine Cooke,
15, Copperfield Court, 146, Worple Road, Wimbledon, London, SW20 8QA.
“A WHALE OF A TIME”
I/We should like to attend the Society's Annual Dinner at the House of Commons on
Saturday 7 January 2012 with …… guests (limited to one per member) and enclose the
appropriate remittance of £65.00/US$130.00 per head, payable to The Sherlock Holmes
Society of London.
I/We should like to order …… vegetarian or fish meals (please delete or specify as
applicable).
I/We have a special dietary requirement as follows ………………………………………..
NAME(S) OF MEMBERS …………………………………………………………………
NAME(S) OF GUESTS …………………………………………………………………...
ADDRESS TO WHICH INVITATION CARDS SHOULD BE SENT:
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
TELEPHONE NUMBER OR E-MAIL ADDRESS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY:
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Please print or write clearly - especially if giving an e-mail as these can so easily be
mis-read and one mistake is fatal!
POST-ANNUAL DINNER FUNCTION
I/We should like to come to the "Morning After" get-together on Sunday 8 January, and to
bring …… guests (no limit) and enclose the appropriate remittance of £14 / $28 per head,
payable to The Sherlock Holmes Society of London.
I/We should like to order …… Roast Beef ….. Lemon Sole ….. Feta & spinach parcels
followed by ….. Apple Pie ….. Cheesecake ….. Cheese & Biscuits
(please specify number of each)
NAME(S) OF MEMBER(S) ……………………………………………………………….
NAME(S) OF GUEST(S) ………………………………………………………………….
c.cooke@dsl.pipex.com