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Christmas Mysteries: A Sherlock Carol @MaryleboneTHLDN

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A mash-up of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol and Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes would seem an unlikely pairing. Yet it provides a surprisingly fun Christmas-themed adventure. These two Victorian tales (albeit separated by about 40 years) provide the basis for an inspired adventure at Christmastime that just also happens to turn out to be a murder mystery as well. With lavish costumes, a few spooky set pieces and some good old-fashioned stage trickery with lights and a lot of smoke machines, it is hard to resist. It returns to the Marylebone Theatre for Christmas after a run there last year.  The premise is that after Holmes sees off the criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty, he is left adrift in London. People thought he was dead, and he might as well be. Disinterested in the misdeeds of other Londoners, Holmes has even given up on his friend Dr Watson. It's almost as if he has become a Scrooge. Or half a Scrooge, moping about shouting, "bah" in respon
Travel continued: Its not the destination, its the journey...

Getting to and from a destination is part of the fun of going by train. On the return leg yesterday from Lille to Waterloo it was a little more interesting than normal. It sort of went like this:
  1. Two small bottles of Bordeaux had certainly made me comfortable and relaxed as we went into the Euro Tunnel. It also took its toll on the bladder.
  2. Making my way to the bathroom I noticed I was being watched. When one is getting checked out it is always worth checking back.
  3. After leaving the bathroom I got the surprise of my life to see that he was right outside.
  4. At this point I explained to my colleagues at work (for the sake of brevity among other things) that I struck up a conversation, but that wasn't the case. Not expecting anyone outside the bathroom as I rolled back the door I was a tad startled and retreated back to my seat. Afterall, there is no mile-high club on a high speed train surely... But returning to my seat I did position myself so I had a full view of the car - and could be seen from key vantage points...
  5. After he returned to his seat there was enough eyes-over-the-top-of-the-large-comfy-train-seats to make it worth the while for him to get up and walk all the way to the end of the car to pick up a complimentary newspaper - which just so happened to be right behind my seat.
  6. Realising that opportunity wasn't knocking it was practically kicking down the door I turned off the iPOD and went over to the newspapers as well... This time a conversation ensued. All the way from somewhere in Kent to Waterloo.
  7. Much witty repartee ensued. The Bordeaux probably helped me anyway... His name as A and he had taken his parents to Bruges and I told him I was traveling solo from Lyon for the fun of it. He gave me his card and we exchanged numbers
Whatever happens next is anybody's guess but it did confirm that traveling solo can have its rewards. Sure it is supposed to be good confidence building and all that sort of thing, but even better is that whether it is getting interesting service at a restaurant or meeting strangers on a train you just never know what Dame Fortune has in store...

And the story continues with dinner and a play tomorrow night...

Repartee on the Eurostar

A: So where in London do you live?
Paul: In the Bloomsbury area...
A: Oh you know what they say about people who live in Bloomsbury. They live in squares and love all around.
Paul: Well just as well I don't live in a square...

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