Saturday 15 August 2015

The Holmesian Menace.

Here is a wee slice of Holmesian memorabilia you may not have come across. A Dennis The Menace and Gnasher story from the 1973 Beano annual in which Dennis dons a deerstalker and a cape to solve the mystery of Lady Maude Pye's missing diamond tiara. Dennis and his trusty Watson Gnasher use an old garden shed, pup Patrol central, as their base of operations.
Dennis and Gnasher have an almost holistic approach to crime solving(perhaps they were even an influence on a young Douglas Adams in the creation of his own holistic detective Dirk Gently?). There are much comedic and anarchic situations created by this approach to crime fighting.Oh yes, with dennis and Gnasher the game is more of a dander than a foot.
Above is a very helpful monologue by Gnasher as he tries to describe the process he and his master Dennis use in the deductive process.Probably better to write it down and put it through a universal translator or a tardis telepathic circuit. They do off course manage to solve the mystery(Spoilers!) and all is well that ends well. Lady Maude Pye was so grateful for the return of her tiara that she had a portrait of Dennis and Gnasher painted for her private gallery. Since it is not a public gallery I have never been able to visit Lady Maude Pye's mansion to see the finished piece. To see with my own eyes. As it were.