Announcing a season of Sherlock Holmes-themed events taking place in Birmingham this summer, inspired by the stories and methods of the world’s greatest detective, and led by Ben Waddington, author of 111 Places in Birmingham that you Shouldn’t Miss. Birmingham may not be the first city you associate with Holmes but the evidence is out there to be discovered. Six walks and talks that imaginatively and rigorously celebrate Sherlock and Birmingham.
Solidarity tickets (ie some free places) haven been made available for those facing a barrier to attending cultural and heritage events.
For booking and full details, please head to www.stillwalking.org
The Game’s Afoot | Sat 22 June | 12pm + Fri 5 July | 5 30pm
The act of observation is the first moment of understanding any street, place or city. But the process usually ends there—a quick recognition of our surroundings to efficiently navigate a route without incident and to know when we have arrived. Only when we travel to another city do we become actively aware of our surroundings. For How to See, Ben responds to that holiday spirit of mindfulness and curiosity with a playful and immersive walk-shop that fine-tunes our visual literacy. Participants will be instilled with an understanding of what it means to be an observer, an explorer, a visitor and a citizen.
How to See Sat 15 June | 2pm + Wed 26 June | 5 30pm
An ‘observation workshop’ run by SW for design courses and private organisations, but here making an appearance in the public realm. Participants become cultural detectives, instilled with an understanding of what it means to be an observer, an explorer, a visitor and a citizen. A playful, curiosity-nurturing ‘walkshop’ that fine-tunes our visual literacy.
The Segregation of the Queen | Sat 29 June | 4pm
Several key Sherlock clues cluster in Birmingham’s city centre, allowing a convenient 90-minute guided tour. But more clues lie further afield, and others still can only be fully explored in the form of a longer illustrated narrative. This summer, Moseley Hive hosts The Segregation of the Queen, an ambitious hour’s exploration of the local Sherlockian world. As with The Game’s Afoot, this presentation draws connections in art, literature, film, true crime, history, science and philosophy in pursuit of Sherlock Holmes’ presence in Birmingham. What were his movements, and what were his methods? Was Conan Doyle covertly honouring Birmingham with his frequent references to his once home city? An affectionate homage to the world’s greatest detective, this talk is also a reflection on the nature of evidence, belief and critical thinking.
Moseley Hive is the ideal venue for such an investigation; Holmes’ retirement years in the South Downs were spent beekeeping and writing his magnum opus: Practical Handbook of Bee Culture, with Some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen.
Birmingham Guide to Birmingham Guide Books |Sun 30 June | 5pm
Ben Waddington is the author of this year’s city guide book 111 Places in Birmingham That You Shouldn’t Miss, soon to appear in its second edition. Researching the book introduced Ben to many other Birmingham guide books, past and present: early twentieth-century trade fair souvenir programmes, post-war nocturnal wanderings, the alternative guides of the 1970s, sneering sideways appraisals of the 1980s and the slick, corporate entertainment gazetteers of the twenty-first century. Intrigued by the changing focus of meaningful destinations for city tourists and the varied backgrounds of researchers and writers, Ben devised The Birmingham Guide to Birmingham Guide Books as an homage to Birmingham’s lost locations, forgotten trends and shifting identities that the city’s tireless champions down the years have chosen to share.
Like Greyhounds in the Slips | Sun 7 July | 11am
Being an extended version of the The Game’s Afoot guided tour, beginning in Aston Cross, where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived during his Birmingham days. What survives of the Aston that ACD knew?