221B Baker Street

Come to my place – the only problem being that there is no Mrs Hudson.

Brett was perfect, even better than the nevertheless unforgettable Basil Rathbone.
On the other hand, I do strongly hold that Nigel Bruce was the best ever Dr Watson.

Dear Andrew,
If you like this kind of series, you must watch “Inspector Morse” with John Thaw and Kevin Whately.

You ought to see the rectory at my parish. I have, on two occasions, been admitted to the privilege of drinks in the rectory library, and it is reminiscent of that. No fireplace, as this is southern California, but there is a small sofa, some more-or-less mismatched (yet coordinating) chairs, oriental rugs, and two walls of dark bookshelves overflowing with books. The hallway and staircase leading to the library are lined with pictures, mostly of bishops and popes, and a couple of frames full of tiny reliquaries. The dining table and the mismatched silver and china look like they might have been picked out by someone of my great-grandmother’s generation–and with similarly elegant taste.

Our beloved Monsignori have no Mrs. Hudson, but they have various assistants, including a gentleman who cooks amazing things that delight the eye and melt in the mouth, and who puts on a white shirt and bow-tie to serve when there are guests. There is also an energetic elderly lady who makes sure that the guests all sit in the right places, and generally keeps peace and order.

Andrew: An interesting sidebar concerning Jeremy Brett: He played the foppish Freddy Eynsford-Hill in the great 1964 George Cukor film of “My Fair Lady” and, thus, sang “On the Street Where You Live.”

Mr Clark: Nigel Bruce wasn’t very true to the character of Dr Watson as portrayed in the Conan Doyle stories, but he was certainly endearing. He played that same sort of bumbling but well-intentioned fellow in quite a few films — Hitchcock’s “Suspicion” is a good example. I have always loved Bruce and will go out of my way to watch any film he is in. And, inspite of their unorthodoxy, I have always been a big fan of the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes films.