(no subject)

[impulsereader]

So now I am Learning All About Cricket.

Is it OOC of Sherlock to be a decent bowler?

ETA - I have no idea what this means, but I'm having fun trying to puzzle it out...

The ball following a front foot no-ball will be a free-hit for the batsman, whereby he is safe from losing his wicket except for being run-out.

Edited again - sneering Mycroft aside, do we think the boys actually call their mother Mummy? as adults? I'm not sure I can make myself do that.

Comments

[northernwalker]

I think that adding in cricket would be a little too Peter Wimsey. JMHO.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

I could remedy that by inviting Lord Peter, I suppose?

I could go with rugby, but Sherlock would just have to watch John play. Croquet on the lawn, perhaps. I am assailed by a visual of Sherlock on horseback.

Hm...thinky thoughts. I'm not entirely sure I want to write a sporting scene anyway. I'm just through the 'get them where they're going' and now I have to fill in to the already written 'trick John into accepting the role of Benedick and then reveal to him how seriously the Holmeses take this Shakespeare thing'.

Must fill with hi-jinks and flying bullets!

[northernwalker]

If you need an outdoor scene, it seems like the British are addicted to walking, so you could have them go for a nice Sunday stroll. Except Hannay's idea of a brisk walk is about fifteen miles, and Sherlock is not in training for it and John's leg's not up to it. (Doesn't he have a messed-up leg?)

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

I'm going to have them out shooting; for some reason I was thinking it would be a good idea to try and write a scene with some action and yelling that seemed to go along with Sport. You know; all sorts of arguing over calls etc.

I love the unintended death march aspect of your suggestion.

John was shot in the shoulder, and in the first episode of Sherlock he has a psychosomatic limp of which Sherlock neatly cures him.

[221b-hound.livejournal.com]

Sherlock would have gone to a good school (or been expelled from several, who can say?) and would probably play cricket. He'd certainly understand the rules. (Original Holmes was quite the athlete and sportsman, as I recall.) He may find it pointless and boring, but he'd probably be irritatingly good as a bowler. Less so as a fielder: I imagine he gets distracted by more interesting things than waiting to catch a ball.

However, I see you're veering away from this. I wonder how John would *react* to a pheasant hunt. I can imagine some of the less pleasant relatives being all 'oh, you brought your doctor friend, what school did he go to again?' and then he just bags all the pheasants, every single time, including the ones that they miss, and he hands over the brace with a charming little smile.

Or maybe he doesn't see the point of shooting things that aren't shooting back.

There's always fencing. We've seen Sherlock being a dab hand with a sword, haven't we? And I bet he learned fencing and swordplay *specifically for Shakespeare at Christmas*.

I hope you don't mind the way I fling ideas around, m'dear. :/ I'm enthusiastic for your fic!

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

LOL - you just outlined my shooting scene - thanks! I'd gotten as far as - do you shoot? not usually recreationally. eh, come along anyway, we're a jolly bunch - and you've very obligingly provided what follows.

I'm not sure yet if I've been talked out of the cricket. I think it would be a good scene with people running around and yelling a lot, and portraying a team sort of vibe between characters appeals to me. Once I started imaging Mycroft umpiring - and there are two umpires - I felt there would be lots of opportunities for funny there.

Fencing - good call. He could give fencing tuition as well.

Fling away! It's very helpful.

[221b-hound.livejournal.com]

Delighted to be of service. "Do you shoot?" "Not usually recreationally." *BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HAAAA* Ahem. Possibly not funny. Not to John at any rate. :/

With a cricket scene, I imagine everyone looking so crisp and lovely in their cricket whites. A mixed gender match, I take it? Oh, and Sherlock giving fencing tuition! This is shaping up to be splendid!

[pargoletta.livejournal.com]

I am Learning All About Cricket

Good luck with that! I was told (only half-jokingly, I suspect), by a family friend on whose family I base a lot of my Sherlock writing, that cricket was a game invented by monks to teach laypeople to understand the concept of eternity.

With the schools that Sherlock would have gone to, I'd imagine he'd have to have developed some sporting skills, if only by default, since those schools seem to put a lot of emphasis on Doing Stuff. He's not much of a team sport player, so I always imagine him as a swimmer or a cross-country runner. Sports that can fulfill a public school requirement of Doing Stuff, but that don't require a lot of interaction with other students.

I suspect that they might well address her as Mummy, but refer to her as "my/our mother."

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Ha! Yes, it is a tricksy sort of creature, is cricket. I'll be reading along in Wikipedia going all, yup, ok, yup, and then I'm suddenly, no, wait, what? The language is awesome though, I love all the terminology and I love that innings is plural even when it's singular.

Yeah, he's not a team player. Solitary sports would appeal to him much more, but I think he probably had to pick up some skills along the way. I think accurate throwing is a skill that would serve him well in a lot of areas and just coincidentally he's a good bowler because of it (though he is frequently called for chucking) and gets recruited because you need 11 people per team and they always need more people, at least in my specific circumstances.

[natsuko1978.livejournal.com]

I am reminded that Doctor Who (who in his Fifth incarnation wore cricket whites All The Time) has been known to knock bad guys out with a well-aimed cricket ball to the head. :D

Cricket has such a long history. Especially where people own estates: House vs Village matches or Family vs Staff were traditionally something of a fixture.

Even some all-girls' private schools have cricket on the "Games" curriculum, let alone the boys' schools. Just FYI.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

That's extremely helpful. I haven't yet devoted any real time to visualizing the cricket scene, but things that I read seem to sort of gel with things I'm thinking while I'm not looking, so this is perfect - grit for the pearl to mix my imagery.

[laurab1.livejournal.com]

"Mummy", as an adult, is A Class Thing. And Sherlock and Mycroft are definitely of the class that would do that.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Ah. I see. That is very good to know. Thank you!

I did write it that way in the end, and I can't explain why. To my ear it sounds off, but I went with Mummy and Father. Is Father right? I am compelled to ask..

[natsuko1978.livejournal.com]

I know a LOT of adults who still call their maternal relative "Mummy". But the only people who still call their fathers "Daddy" are female. Mummy and Father sound about right.

Unless, as was common in my (middle class, privately educated) peer group, they play around with names. Ma and Pa (Mummy and Pa?), Pater and Mater, even Mama and Papa (in fun). I often call my father "Vati" which is German for Daddy and is pronounced "Farty".

All of which implies a remotely good familial relationship. Sherlock and Mycroft seem much more likely to use "Father" somehow...

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Well, and I had to weaponize Sherlock's parents for the purpose of upsetting him. I am happy to report that John caught on quite quickly and the angst is fairly short lived, but I'm stuck with a couple of characters straight out of hell as a result.

I've observed that those who address their parents fondly as you describe are the ones who have a great relationship with them and are very well-adjusted because of it. :-)