A Cryptic Post

There's something about being a few years off the mid-point of life... I'm 30, and there's not long til I'm 35 now... that makes you cynical. I think the reason the way you feel as a teenager is so 'magical' sometimes, is because those feelings are new. However, as an adult, you start to recognise the patterns in your feelings. Like, for example, you always know when a good feeling is going to sicken into bad. You know the time period it usually takes to do so too, meaning that the high is tempered by your foreknowledge, and the low is lessened by the fact that you're expecting it too.

Age gives that ability to live with a degree of surreal detachment, and to watch your emotions with interest, rather than be possessed by them. Given a choice between the turbulent, out-of-control feelings of the teenage years, and the cold, calculated indifference of adulthood, I would, always choose the latter.

Its funny, but allowing your feelings to run away with you, like no-one can help as a teen, is not liberating; far from it. It is actually bondage. The feelings rule you, (such as anger & resentment) and not the other way around.

I think, in fact, any Christian who can remain relatively aloof and in charge of their feelings, refusing to be controlled or forced by them, is in fact living closer to the Christian ideal than those who do not exercise such cynical self-control. The Bible commands us to 'make every thought subject to Christ Jesus'. And some thoughts are strong. That means our ability to manage them (and occasionally pound them into submission) must also be relatively powerful.

There's something freeing in being able to not care all that much, too. Speaking as someone who has had a lifelong battle with anxiety, being able to just say 'I do not care,' to things that might once have tied you in knots, is bliss.

Anyhoo... signing off now. Deep moment over.

How did Sherlock survive the fall? s2e3 Reichenbach Falls

Was Sherlock Telling Anderson The Truth? Yes!

In Sherlock S3E1, towards the end, Sherlock tells Anderson about how he did it - how he survived the jump from the top of the building and faked his suicide.

The episode doesn't make it clear whether or not he was being honest with Anderson, but in true Moffat and Gatiss style, they hid the clues in the two episodes themselves (Reichenbach Falls & Empty Hearse) for viewers to do their own deductions, do some Sherlocking themselves, and find the truth!

Evidence that Sherlock was telling the truth to Anderson from the episodes:

1. In Reichenbach Falls, Sherlock is shown in Bart's, playing with a squash ball, twice. Once bouncing it against a cupboard, and once rolling it on the table. So he had a squash ball, lending credibility to his explanation.

2. One of Anderson's complaints was 'how could you be sure that John would stand in that exact spot? I mean what if he'd moved?' But if you watch Reichenbach Falls, Sherlock actually tells John precisely where to stand, telling him to "Turn around and walk back the way you came," and then "Stop there," and then later when he starts to move, "Stay exactly where you are! Don't move!" So, this problem is not actually a problem.

3. And finally, in the Reichenbach Falls, you can hear the 'beep' from Sherlock's phone as he looks down and sends the 'LAZARUS' text message to Mycroft. It's right after he asks Moriarty for 'one moment of privacy, please.' Sherlock is standing on the edge of the building, and the camera is close up on his face. He looks down, and his phone is not shown, but he must be looking at it, because there is a 'beep' notification noise, and then he looks back up again, as if he has sent the text message. The noise is quite low in the mix, but it is definitely there, have a check for yourself. Now there is a slight continuity issue with this and the Empty Hearse episode, which shows Sherlock sending the text message after Moriarty's (also fake) suicide. However, listen carefully to the Reichenbach Falls version, and you can definitely hear the text notification.

Who is the third holmes brother? Sherlock s3e3

In the very closing scenes of Episode 3 of BBC Sherlock Season 3, Mycroft refers to a third holmes brother...

but who is it?

I have no idea, but I secretly hope it's this bloke from the third episode of the first season - the great game

He only appears once, for this one, seemingly random and unexplained scene. 

I hope this fella has some connection to them, or is referenced again, because he is a thread which was never explained much or brought to any real conclusion. Who knows? Maybe he is the mysterious Holmes #3

However, Mycroft does not specify whether the other sibling is male or female. He just refers to them as 'the other one'. In 'The Copper Beeches', an original Sherlock Holmes story by Doyle, Sherlock says 'it is not a situation which I should like to see a sister of mine apply for'. Therefore, it could be a sister, too.

See also - How Sherlock Survived The Fall 

and The Rare Version of Empty Hearse

Rare Version of Sherlock S3E1 The Empty Hearse!

OK, here's a random easter egg for you... There are two versions of an episode of Sherlock!

Most of the universe watched Sherlock Season 3 Episode 1 on New Years Day this year (2014). The episode was called The Empty Hearse.

Did you record it live from the tv in the UK with YouView, TiVo or something similar? If so, you have the unique version of it!

As a writer myself, I'm a bit of a story nerd, and insist on watching subtitles and listening intently to the dialogue so I catch all the subtle references and can appreciate the story as a whole with all its intricacies. That is how, on my second watch of it I noticed it.

In the scene beneath parliament, where John and Sherlock are in the carriage trying to diffuse the bomb, there's a moment where Sherlock clearly says 'Ill just switch it off...' clear as a bell, at the moment he is supposed to have switched it off.

I was over at a mates house tonight and we watched it on iplayer, and lo and behold, that line was no longer there!! When I got home I checked the iplayer version against my YouView recorded version, and yes, it was present in the recorded version and not the other!

My guess is, Benedict Cumberbatch just said the line while they were filming the scene and it was meant to be an outtake, but it somehow got left in. Then when it went live, the BBC spotted it, and immediately modified the version that was to go live. It probably wont be on the dvd or blu ray releases either, when they are released, presumably later this year.

I dont know if there are any other differences between the two versions, but if there are, add a comment! Cheers.

Corner Cottage, Stokenham - BEWARE!

Me and my family stayed at Corner Cottage, a small holiday cottage in Stokenham, Devon, last summer for a weeks holiday. The experience was very much not good. I was going to leave an appropriate review on tripadvisor, but unfortunately the cottage wasn't even listed there. The only online place I could find for them was www.southdevoncottage.co.uk which is their website.

If you are thinking about staying there, please, please, please, don't.

We have been trying to get our deposit back from the owner now for over 6 months. We have spoken to him on the phone countless times, every time we speak to him he says he will send it, and it never arrives. Customer beware, this man is a fraud and a thief, do not do business with him.

The cottage itself was riddled with damp. The kitchen was nice, but that was about it. The en-suite shower in the double bedroom was broken - the screen door wasn't properly attached and kept coming off. The main sitting room smelled so horribly of damp and mildew that we couldn't even sit in there. There is no wifi in the place, no air conditioning, even though it's on the south coast and swelteringly hot, and the place just smells rotten.

The worst part of all however, is dealing with the owner. Please, please, spare yourself the frustration and the trawl through small claims court, and just stay somewhere else.

Mentally Strong People: The 13 Things They Avoid

Just read this article, and liked it :)

Original can be viewed at http://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2013/11/18/mentally-strong-people-the-13-things-they-avoid/

A Visit To A Traditional Church

I went to St Mary's Anglican this morning for the Sunday service, in my hometown of Richmond. It was quite an experience. Being raised in churches with rock bands and video screens, I went there with the intention of developing my experience of traditional services, but had no idea what to expect.

Anyone who knows me, knows I am usually quite involved in the life of whichever Church I am attending, and as such, often am very at home in and around all things churchy. This morning I felt like such an alien!

Dont get me wrong, no-one did anything bad, it was just such a different world to anything I've ever known as church. I felt like a bit of a prat, not knowing what to do at communion, not knowing when to stand up and sit down, and not knowing one single piece of music which was sung, except the first verse of 'While Shepherds Washed Their Socks By Night.'

There's a new rev at St Mary's, a chap called John, and he seemed like a decent bloke. I'm going to go back and try and get involved in it all, but its fascinating to experience church as an outsider. It's been a very long time since I've felt like that.