This was a little
more like what we expected from a London pub: a lot
of space with high ceilings; personality-free bar
staff; moderate high-priced beer; and quite acceptable
food (though we did think that at 50p per prawn the
King Prawns were a little spendy, and were clearly
Kings of some very small ponds).
But we were in
London, and we had been spoiled already today by the
very pleasant experience in the Black Horse in Marylebone
High Street. The Volunteer was much more like we should
expect. I do not doubt for a moment that throughout
London there are some spectacular pubs just waiting
for us to discover them, but they are probably not
in this high-rent neighborhood. Other than the occasional
exception, I would hope to find better pubs a little
further out from the center, such as along the Thames
at Fulham, or maybe in the old communities of Dulwich
or Peckham.
The Volunteer
is right next to Regents Park. That 50p prawn probably
failed to cover the rent on our four square feet that
we occupied for the duration of lunch. I would not
expect to find a homely little corner pub around here,
and we didn't. It certainly delivered what we expected,
nothing more, nothing less.
A couple of doors
down is 221B Baker Street, home of the famous detective
Sherlock Holmes from 1881 to 1904, except of course
that he never actually lived there, and I can give
you two good reasons: First, he is fictional character,
he is the central figure in a work of fiction by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle, he never existed, how much more
clear can I make it??! And second, even if he was
real, which he was not, the descriptive detail given
more accurately matches 111 Baker Street which was
flattened by a V-2 rocket in the war and rebuilt as
a Post Office. I know, I shatter dreams.
Today there is
a nice little earner going on at 221B, including some
poor sap with no shame who stands outside dressed
as a Nineteenth Century policeman, directing tourist
foot traffic, so do not try to tell the current building
owners that it is actually 111 Baker Street, nor should
you break it to the tourists that the 'Sherlock Holmes
Lived Here' plaque is merely playing up a complete
work of fiction.
Perhaps the most
quoted piece of detective truisms that Sherlock Holmes
produced is, "How often have I said to you that
when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever
remains, however improbable, must be the truth?",
which actually came from the story 'Sign of the Four'.
Sir Arthur was
far more than just a writer of detective stories.
He was a doctor, had served on a whale ship and learned
how to run a harpoon, briefly ran a business as an
occultist, was posted to the war in South Africa,
and became a spiritualist, all before his death in
1930. He even managed to capture the wicket of W.G.Grace,
the finest cricketer of his generation.
But controversy
pursued Sir Arthur, no more so than when he lent his
name in support of the 'Cottingly Fairies', a long
running episode that started in 1917 and remained
unresolved for almost seventy years. That year, two
young girls, Elsie (16) and Frances (10) took photographs
of themselves apparently playing with fairies. Photo
fakery then was certainly not what it is now, and
the photographs were met with a mixture of astonishment,
celebration, disbelief, and even anger. At the center
of the argument in favor of their validity was the
fact that faking such amazing photographs was clearly
well beyond the capabilities of 10 year-old and 16
year-old girls.
Sir Arthur waded
in with a declaration that the photographs were real,
a statement for which he was widely ridiculed. He
used the photographs in a magazine article supporting
the existence of fairies. In 1920, he gave a camera
to the two girls and told them to take some more photographs.
They came back with three perfect shots (which according
to a photography expert in 1982, were too perfect
for the 'Midg' camera that was used). But the mystery
remained, until 1983 when Elsie, now 82, finally confirmed
the hoax. They had cut out the figures from a book
(actually Princess Mary's Gift Book), and stood them
up using hatpins.
Fed, watered and
reasonably entertained by the Volunteer, we pressed
on with our Adventure.
