1 February 2012

Back to nature...

In more ways than one.

Had a lovely day today. By which, inevitably, I mean I didn't do half the things I'd meant to.

Took Sherlock and John to school and work, relaxed with the newspaper in a cafe and wanted a cigarette really badly.



Decided to go for a proper run, so headed home, got my running gear on under my leathers and headed out to a place I used to go when I was at Hendon. It was just like I remembered it - woodland, with a few bridlepaths linking up the different bits. I sweet talked the old couple in the tourist info cabin and they looked after my leathers and helmet, whilst I headed out and did a circuit. It was bloody cold. I didn't run all the way - had to stop and walk three times - but did five miles, which I was pretty happy with, even if it took me a long time, compared to what I used to be able to manage it in.

Got home (okay, took me a few minutes to decide I'd be safe on the bike - had shaky legs), with every intention of having a hot shower and settling down to write some of this seminar I've got to do.

Woke up at some point hours later, with a blanket over me, my stinky running gear being washed, and John had not only come home (I was supposed to have picked him up), but had also had to go back out again to fetch Sherlock from school! Ooops.

So was forced to dance naked around the flat with Mrs Hudson for a bit...she's got the moves, I tell ya.

Anyway, Sherlock is desperate for snow (still none) but they're saying it's likely on Friday night, so he's wishing his life away.

Hope it holds off whilst I fetch Mycroft, then it can come down and we can spend the weekend playing in it, if it happens. Sherlock has more faith in the met office than I do...

Have a picture. Seemed strangely apt...

145 comments:

John H. D. Watson said...

That picture is 100% true.

The blanket was courtesy of Mrs H - I asked her to go and check on you when I couldn't get you on the phone. Can't say whether or not she was naked and/or dancing at the time...

Anonymous said...

How very appropriate to describe raising any child, especially one of Sherlock's boundless energy. =)

Even though you didn't do everything that you wanted to, you did accomplish quite a bit. Perhaps you'll be able to sneak in seminar writing sometime this weekend?

~A from NW

Greg Lestrade said...

I can't believe I was that asleep that I missed you calling... sorry.

I'm certain she was both. She's a minx.

A - yeah, I'm not too worried about it :)

John H. D. Watson said...

No harm done. :)

If we don't get snow, I think spontaneous Sherlock combustion is a real possibility.

Greg Lestrade said...

If we don't get any, how about we go to one of those indoor ski slopes, with the real snow? There's one in Hemel Hempstead, we could get there on the train if we needed to. It's meant to be pretty good. And has guaranteed snow :)

John H. D. Watson said...

Oh, good idea! Are you going to snowboard?

REReader said...

Sounds like a full day to me--and I'm sure you needed the sleep. :)

As for the picture...Ha! All too true and perfectly apposite. (Although pizza and ice cream are, I think, tied for second. :))

Anon Without A Name said...

Given all this talk of nudity, I'm a little confused - Mrs H covered you in a blanket while you were (presumably) not in your sweaty running kit and (presumably) not in your leathers...

Greg Lestrade said...

Dunno, Danger. Would you do it with me? I don't want to be on my own! Or maybe you learn in the same place... we'd have to find out.

I think I might need a rub down... and I promise I stretched after running, too!

Greg Lestrade said...

I'd had a shower, Nameless! I was in jeans and a hoody. Mrs H may well have been doing the cha cha in the buff for all I know, though.

John H. D. Watson said...

L - I could probably fall over with you... I never could skateboard, so I imagine snowboarding would go about as well, but I'm happy to try.

Greg Lestrade said...

You could practice falling over with me right now, into a nice soft bed...

John H. D. Watson said...

I'd be even happier to try that.

REReader said...

I forgot to say earlier--three big cheers for not having a cigarette even though you really wanted one, L!

mazarin221b said...

Dear God, that picture is exactly my life, right now. My child operates on adult life force and granola bars.

Speaking of which, I'm to bed myself. We're taking him, before school, down to the Super Bowl (American football championship) festivities for an hour or so. Gotta see the spectacle, and that early the crowds are pretty low. I may not survive this weekend, or I may skip town altogether. I'm already working at home Friday. Wish me luck!

REReader said...

I cringe at the very thought--you're intrepid, that's what you are, Maz!

Anon Without A Name said...

Good luck Maz!

Desert Wanderer said...

Good luck, Maz. I'd love to be there, since the Giants are my team. :)

Lestrade, sounds like a perfect mental health day. Although, I am interested in your use of the phrase "punishingly long"...

Greg Lestrade said...

Well, I'm sure it wouldn't count as such to most people, but 5-6 miles, given my recent lack of running, was punishingly long for me!

Desert Wanderer said...

I think you overestimate "most people." 5-6 is a lot to me! I just thought punishingly was a...telling adjective. Telling what, I don't know.

I haven't been doing the running I need to, either. Can't seem to work up enough motivation, alas.

CzechReader said...

L - I hear you about the cigarette. I had smoked since I was 13 and I dropped the habit finally last September. The EU introduced a regulation about flame-resistant cigarette papers and I tried a few. My mouth burned like after chilli and the taste was all too bitter and kinda' awful. I still want to smoke really really really badly - only there isn't anything left in the country I would be willing to smoke :-(

Greg Lestrade said...

Ah, I thought you were saying it because you did ten miles before breakfast every day :)

Yeah... punishing... it is. I suppose I've got quite a masochistic streak. I like things like running to hurt. Someone once gave me some ideas about why that might be...but, maybe a bit much for comments.

Look on the bright side, you quit without even wanting to! Most people are trying and can't. :)

CzechReader - I wish they tasted terrible here! I'm not going to start waxing lyrical about how lovely it is though, cause I'll just want to smoke then.

Greg Lestrade said...

And my paragraphs got all mixed up there - 'look on the bright side' should have been last....

Desert Wanderer said...

Clearly we've never met. If we had you be under no misapprehension about exactly how much running (or not running, in this case) I do.

I think from reading your blogs, I can make a leery good guess what they told you. Whether its true or jot only you know.

Greg Lestrade said...

Hah. Well, I enjoy having a chat with John as we jog around the park, but it's a lot of fun, and a challenge, to run over rough ground and push your limits more.

and she was a psychologist for the force... don't think I can really argue with what she said, as hard as it is to listen to someone tell you things you don't want to hear necessarily.

REReader said...

There's a difference between "challenging" and "punishing"--but you already know that. If you want to talk about that, in comments or otherwise, you should, and if you don't, you won't. We're good with it either way.

(And being a psychologist doesn't automatically make a person right. You'd know better about that, too, when you're honest with yourself. :))

Greg Lestrade said...

I wasn't suggesting she was automatically right, just that she did have some grounds for probably knowing what she was talking about.

We worked a long case together, she... identified some work habits of mine, which most of you have too, which weren't as healthy as they could have been. Which led her to talking about other aspects if my life.

Greg Lestrade said...

That sounds wrong. Led to us discussing aspects of my life, with a bottle of scotch, in my office, very late one night.

REReader said...

I said that badly. Just meant, well, to offer support. And an ear, if and when--or not, if not. And I'd better shut up now.

When will you be picking up Mycroft tomorrow?

Desert Wanderer said...

Maybe some of that is because work life is kinder than personal life most of the time...

Greg Lestrade said...

It was at the time, DW. And she'd found me asleep in my office more than once.

She was very nice, kind, trying to help. Did help, really.

Happily now I have much better things to come home to!

RR - not sure. I'll call him tonight.

REReader said...

Happily now I have much better things to come home to!

Indeed. :)


Re: picking up Mycroft--I was just wondering because of the possibility of running into the forecasted snow, if in fact "they" are still forecasting snow for Friday evening.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure I don't need to say this, but if you're picking him up on the bike, bundle up! :)

~A from NW

Greg Lestrade said...

Don't worry, A, bundling up will be a priority. I'll take him some extra layers.

RR, I like your faith that I didn't have a cigarette, despite me not saying that...

Snow now due Saturday night. Although it'll be cold when I fetch Mycroft. About zero, plus the wind chill of being on the bike will make it seem a lot colder.

Mycroft said...

You don't have to, if you don't to.

Greg Lestrade said...

I want to! I just don't want you to be miserable.

I didn't know if you'd have thermals? I can bring you some, if not. And are your gloves there or here? If you're holding onto me I definitely don't want you getting numb hands.

(Mine have warmed up just enough to type. John's belly now has to warm up from me sticking them up his jumper. His fault, for wearing such cuddly jumpers.)

REReader said...

You have in the past said so when you've gone ahead and had a cigarette, so I'm going to continue to assume you didn't. :) *carefully not asking*

Is riding a bike in the cold more horrid or more exhilarating?

REReader said...

Hi, Mycroft!

Mycroft said...

I'll be all right. I have gloves here, thank you, and I don't mind if it's cold.

Greg Lestrade said...

Right. Excellent. And what time do you want picking up? I can't promise to be very early, unless I find the missing leg in good time tomorrow. Is that okay? I'll phone you when I'm on the way, obviously.

Mycroft said...

That's fine; I don't mind waiting. It's nicer at school when it's quiet anyway, and most people will be gone by one.

Greg Lestrade said...

I'll be there asap. Someone else might even volunteer to find my leg... or I might order someone to volunteer :)

Mycroft said...

What if they took it with them, along with the head and the hands? Maybe it had an identifying mark.

Anonymous said...

Greg - Being a police officer results in some surreal conversations in your life, doesn't it?

In other news: Hi Mycroft!

~A from NW

Greg Lestrade said...

Ha, they don't seem surreal to me...but yeah, I guess to an outsider!

Mycroft - good point. Could have had a tattoo, or surgery marks/plates and pins. It's a bit of a jigsaw - the body was dumped on a high speed train track, in a bag. We think it was hit quite a few times overnight, and it was already dismembered anyway. So hard to work out which bits came apart when.

Mycroft said...

I suppose a leg would be more difficult to carry off though. Could it have got stuck in the underside of the train?

Hello, everyone.

Greg Lestrade said...

RR - I don't mind riding in the cold, provided I'm prepared for it. Now I'm old enough, sensible enough and rich enough to have all the right gear, it's fine.

When I was young, foolish and poor it could be pretty miserable. I rode back home from London one year for Christmas, and all I had was jeans and a jacket and a pair of terrible gloves. I stuffed newspapers in everywhere I could for insulation and wind protection, wore about half the clothes I owned, stopped and warmed my hands up on the engine whenever they got so cold I couldn't move my fingers, and spent the journey trying to find lorries/coaches/vans to duck behind.

Mycroft - yeah, that's another option. There's a lot of vegetation around the site, so we're just trying to chop through it, once we picked up all the obvious bits. I don't want a fox or something to nick any important bits overnight - although for all we know, that could have happened already. Molly's still putting together internal organs, to see if they're all there.

REReader said...

"Macbre" is the word that leaps to mind... But yes, lots of ways a leg could get caught on things--or be identifiable. Won't know until it's found--or not found despite a careful look-see. [I had said something about animals helping themselves to a spare part of two but I see you already addressed that, L.]

Nope, newspaper is not the best of insulators. Lots of hi-tech stuff around now that wasn't around mumblety years ago, too. :)

How are the lessons (guitar and self defense) going, Mycroft?

Greg Lestrade said...

Well, newspaper isn't bad. Sticking a folded paper down your front is still a brilliant way to fend off the wind, even in this high-tech era! But hopefully an unnecessary one :)

Greg Lestrade said...

Happily Mycroft's (well, and John, come to think of it :D) short enough to tuck down behind me and use me as a windbreak, if needed.

REReader said...

You a shield and a bulwark. :)

Anon Without A Name said...

Hello Mycroft :-) *waves*

CzechReader said...

All I've got in my mind are two words: black ice. Please be careful.

Greg Lestrade said...

I promise I will be. Especially with such precious cargo aboard :)

REReader said...

:)

Bronwyn said...

The last time I was on a motorbike-like vehicle in the cold was on the atv whilst feeding my grandparents' longhorns. My brother rode behind me pouring cow cubes over the back bumper. By the time we were finished one set of his eyelashes had frozen together so he couldn't open his eye, and my coat zipper had iced shut.

It was great fun.
Bronwyn

Greg Lestrade said...

I have experienced frozen zips before, but happily not frozen eyes. That would be a bit dangerous!

Full face helmet very useful for preventing that sort of thing, as well as preventing brains and face ending up all over the tarmac.

Desert Wanderer said...

That would be a bit dangerous!

Yes. Very much so. And Danger being such a turnoff for Lestrades...

(Bronwyn, are you really from the D part of DFW? 'cause cattle wranglin' sounds more like the FW part... Says the person who used to live in Plano, obviously well known for its wranglin' ;) )

Greg Lestrade said...

Well, there's danger and there's Danger. One is a huge turn on. And I think both are better with your eyes open...

Desert Wanderer said...

And I think both are better with your eyes open...

You're like a Smartie. All tough!DI candy shell on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside. <3

Greg Lestrade said...

Hmmm. Thanks. I think.

(did you mean 'bad for you and turn kids Hyperactive' too?)

Desert Wanderer said...

Of.course not. Although Sherlock always seems extremely excited to see you...

Greg Lestrade said...

Ha, Sherlock is excited to see most people :)

Molly was asking after you, Sherlock.

Mycroft, I should be with you within the hour. And it's a beautiful day for a ride. We might even do the long way home ;)

REReader said...

Don't freeze and have fun, you two!

Bronwyn said...

DW - *laughs* I am from the D part of DFW. (Heck, I grew up in East Plano until I was 15.) My grandparents, however, lived an hour north up Hwy75 just outside of Sherman. Hence, the cattle wranglin'. And since we spend most weekends up there with them, there was a great deal of part time ranching for my brothers and I.

What part of Plano did you grow up in, if you don't mind my asking? (She asks as the world gets disturbingly smaller).
Bronwyn

Greg Lestrade said...

Danger, am bringing home one Mycroft, a large amount of paperwork (price for having this afternoon off) and my crash helmet smells like cherries because Sal gave me some lip balm and it stinks! I have that song going around my head 'I kissed a girl and I liked it, tasted like her cherry chapstick' or whatever the words are. I assure you, no girls have been kissed.

Mycroft and I are taking a slightly scenic route home...

Random Anon Lurker said...

(I like the reply feature - late in the game replyers like me can talk about the part of the conversation we would have missed otherwise!)

John, Greg - You might like snowboarding better than skateboarding. Your feet are strapped down, so they don't go in uncomfortable directions when you fall, unlike skateboarding - and skiing!

New snowboarders do have a tendency to fall down, it's true, but there's a steep learning curve. If you can get away for a week and take lessons for five straight days, you'll have enough skill that you can take on any intermediate run on the hill. Be careful if it's icy, though - the first year my sisters and I got my dad to try, he cracked his rib on an icy flat part.

CzechReader said...

RAL - hmmm, I prefer skis where my feet can go every which way with them. I've tried snowboarding and damaged my knee (on the other hand, my sense of balance is shot - that's why my bike stands in the garage for three years now :-( - so maybe for you guys it won't be that bad)...

Hmm, yes, first lessons should be made when there's enough fresh and powdery snow either way :-)

Mycroft said...

I find that you and John use interesting swear words, given your sexual preferences.

I think it shows how our surroundings influence us, in that I expect you picked up common phrases from your work colleagues and use them without thought to their original meanings or why people might use such terms as swearing or taboo words.

Thank you for fetching me. It was a lovely day for a ride, you were right.

Greg Lestrade said...

So... that's a polite way of grassing me up, then

Mycroft said...

I don't think there's anything wrong with swearing, as long as you are aware of your surroundings, and know when to self censor.

And he was a very bad driver. It's a shame your bike doesn't have lights and a siren, you could have pulled him over.

Small Hobbit said...

Do I infer that some moron cut you up, or failed to notice the bike at all?

Desert Wanderer said...

haha, well done Mycroft. Subtle and effective. :)

Bronwyn, I didn't grow up there so much as reside there for a couple of years. 15th and Custer/15th and Park. Small world. I would, however, like to point out that "past Sherman" really translates into "Oklahoma." :P

Small Hobbit said...

Did I just dream that I commented?

Anyway, did someone cut you up/fail to see you altogether?

Greg Lestrade said...

If you did then that's really weird, cos I dreamt I read it.. I imagine it's gone in the spam box.

Yes, someone in a huge 4x4 cut us up.

Mycroft - the ideal time to self censor would probably be when the only person in the world who can hear you is a 13 year old ... :) but I know you're far too sensible to mind.

And it was a great ride.

Bronwyn said...

It's only oklahoma if you keep going north. If you head ready it us technically still texas! Besides, one only goes to oklahoma for the casinos. And the crazy good stargazing that's closer than west texas. And oh goodness, I live very there. Ha!
Bronwyn

CzechReader said...

I am very polite pedestrian - and very vulgar driver. The longer I drive, the more vulgar I am. :-) Fortunately all my friends got used to it (and my best friend frequently runs out of words and then combines curse words to create new ones)...

I think that Mycroft (Hi, Mycroft!) is very sensible, because you still have hearing in both ears - one of the reasons my ex told me to get my own licence for motorcycles was that I used to squeeze the life out of him anytime we got into a tight fit. And yell when somebody cut us up - although we didn't have any communication devices :-)

Anyhow, wish me luck: I'm trying to eat some dinner...

Mycroft said...

I haven't really ridden pillion with Lestrade very much, so it was a bit of a shock when he braked so hard, but I remembered what he'd said and it was fine. I did headbutt him, but I know John's done that too, and Lestrade said it often happens, so I didn't feel too bad about it.

We've got Bluetooth headsets, so I could hear what he said very clearly. But it's not as if they're words I don't know already.

I hope you managed your dinner without feeling ill.

John H. D. Watson said...

but I know John's done that too

...Often, yes. Though hopefully not as much recently.

Anon Without A Name said...

Hello Mycroft, welcome home :-)

KHolly said...

I will admit that if I'd been riding along comfortably in back and the L had to beak suddenly he wouldn't have been the only one cursing. So well done Mycroft, even with the head butting.

Greg Lestrade said...

Not very often! And not at all recently.

It's harder if you're riding on the back and can't really see potential risks, so given Mycroft doesn't have a great view, and not being a driver perhaps is less used to spotting hazards, I think he did brilliantly.

Did you stay warm enough this morning, John? And did you like your choice of bike today?

REReader said...

Swearing is really very interesting--because when it comes down to it, the literal meaning of the words rarely has any connection to what the speaker (or yeller) is trying to convey. Indeed, quite often today formerly tabu words are used as general intensifiers and aren't even meant as curses or swear words at all.

I almost never use even slightly off-color language, but not because I have a problem with it being used. First, because I didn't grow using it so it doesn't come naturally in normal conversation. And second, because I don't generally swear, when I do it has a major impact.

(Someone cutting me off on the road, were I on a bike, would definitely be an occasion on which I would cut loose, FYI. :))

CzechReader said...

Mycroft - as things go, I think you'll get a lot of practice of riding pillion, especially when John completes his own licence :-) How are the laws in Britain? Here, in the Czech Republic, people can do their licence when 15 years old for the very basic 50ccm bikes and then re-test for 125ccm bikes when 16. When 18 years old one can do the licence for "big bikes" with limited horsepower and finally unlimited licence after being 21.

Have you thought about getting your own bike sometime in the future or do you feel you need more experience to decide (great way to get more rides)? :-)

Also, I'm sorry but I forgot what martial art are you studying...

Thank you, yes, I'm doing better now. The trick is usually to eat very slowly so that the body can send signals as needed...

John H. D. Watson said...

L - yeah, wasn't too bad. A little chilly. I was on a Triumph something or other this time. Didn't look as sporty as yours, but I liked it.

CzechReader said...

RR - Too true. The kids that are about 15-17 now are using words to express admiration that would cause us to be totally offended and probably fighting when we were their age. I mean, I am cursing like a sailor regularly (working few months with a house-building crew will do that to you) but if anybody talked to me the way they talk among themselves, I'd take serious offence - very vulgar descriptions of genitals are supposed to be offensive, no? Talk about massive shift in language...

Aaaand a story: In one of my previous works a colleague of mine got to go to the US to meet a director of our founding company. He didn't speak English very well so he had a translator, who had to do some very fast talking, because my colleague had this habit of replying to nearly every sentence of the director with "Oh, really?", which in Czech is "Fakt, jo?" (pronounce "fakt" similar to "dam" and "jo" like "yo'")... :-)

Piplover said...

It sounds like I left London a bit too early, as I'm missing out on all the lovely cold weather. I hope you all stay warm.

I don't swear much anymore, but when I was in the Army nearly every other word out of my mouth was a swear word. I didn't even realize I was doing it sometimes.

I have found, though, that when I get together with my Army friends, or speak to someone who uses a lot of swear words, I revert.

REReader said...

CR, that story is too funny--I can just picture the faces!

Pip, it can work the other way, too--when I was in grad school, the professors and other grad students would start cleaning up their language when I was around. :D (And I'm absolutely sure it wasn't because I was disapproving, because I wasn't--and also I asked some of my friends, and they hadn't even noticed they were doing it until I pointed it out. Heh!)

Greg Lestrade said...

Piplover - yeah, there's some quite pretty sights.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/03/article-2095955-11932A49000005DC-21_964x641.jpg

(I know, I know, Daily Mail. I'm not proud. But it is a good picture, even if it appeared in a paper I wouldn't wipe my bum on.)

Danger - ooh, a Triumph! Well, you can't be unhappy on a Triumph :) Glad you had a good time. And I'm glad it didn't snow on you! Was bad enough just with the ice early on.

John H. D. Watson said...

I really thought that was going to be a picture of you triumphantly holding up a foot or something, not sure why.

Greg Lestrade said...

As if I'm going to volunteer a picture of myself...

Even the Mail might balk at showing that, anyway. Well, their legal team might.

It was a bit...gruesome, finding all the bits. Looked depressingly professional, too. I don't like murderers who know what they're doing. I like the useless ones who make lots of mistakes.

John H. D. Watson said...

Point.

Useless murderers are definitely to be preferred. Still, at least you've got everything now, or everything they didn't carry off.

REReader said...

Oooh, frozen fountains! Very pretty indeed, especially in sunshine.

Does the professionalism help at all in narrowing the pool of murderers? I mean, dismembering a body isn't the sort of thing one might pick up just anywhere. (Or is that yet one more thing that anyone might pick up on the Internet now?)

CzechReader said...

Useless murderers that don't manage to complete the murder and the person survives...

I wonder if Molly now has to put the body together to find out what's missing like some kind of a gruesome puzzle. And I suspect this might be why Sherlock wants to visit her...

Hmm, dismemberment - I wonder (and I get that you probably can't answer this) if the professionalism is of the kind "I know how to remove bones from chicken and cut it into pieces, so let's use this knowledge" or "I really do know my anatomy - let's amputate"...

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah. Now I'd like to know where he was killed. Hopefully Molls can help.

RR - professionalism doesn't really help narrow it, no, because those who have the skill don't really advertise they have it, sadly.

CR - Yes, that is what Molly's doing, pretty much, plus lots of analysis of things on the body. And the professionalism is a mix of knowing how to separate joints fairly cleanly, and knowing to keep the easily identifiable parts away from the rest, plus the fact the body was dumped where other, external, factors would influence it before we found it, to further confuse our picture of what happened.

All this, and two of the biggest gangs in the capital have just started a battle... I'm glad I've got the weekend off.

Sherlock said...

I could help her! I know a lot of bone names now, I've been studying.

Greg Lestrade said...

You do, and I'm very impressed. But she needs to do it with the people she works with, because they have to do it very carefully and record what they do. I'm sure she can show you how she weighs and measures things if we go for a visit, and where she records it all. And she's not just checking all the bits are there, but also taking swabs and samples and packing them all very carefully too, so other people can examine them for me.

Sherlock said...

What other people?

Piplover said...

Oh, that's a lovely picture! We left on Tuesday, so just when the weather had turned. I was a bit disappointed it hadn't been colder during my visit, but maybe I'll be able to go back next year and it will be really cold!

Greg Lestrade said...

forensic scientists, her helpers, anyone we think can tell us something useful.

So we might ask someone who knows all about plants if we found some pollen, or if we found an unusual chemical we'd ask someone about that, and why it might be used, to see if we could find out where the body might have come from.

If you went near a body right now I'm not sure there would be a hat big enough to cover up all your hair. And we'd need to cover it all up so one of your hairs didn't drop out onto the body and make us think you had something to do with the murder.

Sherlock said...

But then I could be a murder suspect just like John!

Isn't there anyone who knows all those things so you don't have to ask so many people?

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah...that's...not something you need to aspire to. I'm sure John would be really happy if you achieved a lot of the things he has, but not that one.

And no, there isn't. It's good to have people who are experts in one thing, and people like Molly and the forensics team who know which one of those people to talk to.

REReader said...

those that have the skill don't really advertise

Oh, ha, very true! But what I meant was if the body was actually disjointed rather than just hacked apart with an axe or the like, the killer had to have some pretty specialized skills, no? (Big if, I know.)

Sherlock, mostly scientists like that specialize, because there is so much to learn in each subfield. It would take a very smart, very hardworking person to become expert in so many different areas.

John H. D. Watson said...

Sherlock - how about you skip being a murder suspect and learn about plants instead? Botany sounds nice and relaxed.

Greg Lestrade said...

Botany sounds nice and relaxed.

You have a short memory, Danger... how is the school pond looking? Icy, but still free of man-eating jungle plants??

John H. D. Watson said...

Well, compared to being a murder suspect...

Still looking good, yeah. No apparent tiger traps, poisonous snakes, scorpion pits, or anything of the kind. The frogs should love it.

Greg Lestrade said...

If it gets really cold it might freeze completely. At the moment the pump might keep just the bit right around it moving enough not to freeze.

Being a suspect isn't so bad, is it? As long as you didn't do it... Look what it got you. (Or maybe that should serve as a warning...)

REReader said...

If I was looking in the right place, the forecast for London is now a 90% chance of snow tomorrow night-- 1-3 inches, yeah? That would be pretty awesome!

(Parts of Colorado just got hit with 3 feet--FEET--of snow. That's a bit much, I'd say... :))

CzechReader said...

Man-eating jungle plants? Purrlease, my husband loves his carnivorous plants. He also has two poisonous ones - a zamioculcas and a monstera - but the carnivorous plants are the plants he likes the most.

We had 7 different carnivorous plants at home (past tense - most of them hadn't dealt with the cold that well) and they are actually pretty easy to care for: mostly just keep the pot on a dish filled with stones and water and put it on a place where it has direct sunshine, like on a windowsill or something. Only Sherlock would probably find them boring - absolutely no added feeding of any kind. They are used to get their own food and when they overfeed (and for example purple pitcher plant can gorge with the best of them), the undigested insects can start rotting inside of a trap and the plant then refuses the trap. Like with people, overfeeding them can lead to their death.

But some are really really fascinating and most of them have also very nice blossoms. And they don't need a lot of place.

John H. D. Watson said...

L - Would that be bad for the pump?

Ha, fair point, but I'm not sure most DIs would be as understanding as you about the whole thing.

Greg Lestrade said...

If it totally totally froze it would be, but as long as it's liquid down to the depth of the pump it'll just push the water about under the ice. It should be okay. I imagine the waterfall has frozen already, so if it's okay, it should...carry on being okay. I hope.

Greg Lestrade said...

Most DIs maybe wouldn't have been so...smitten. ;)

Desert Wanderer said...

You have a short memory, Danger...

You're surprised? "As the body, so too the mind." ;)

Greg Lestrade said...

Oooh, DW, that's below the belt...well, um...below the normal height of a belt :)

(I'm never going to get a dirty weekend ever, at this rate. Just an array of glares from the Doc.)

John H. D. Watson said...

DW - you may picture me giving you this look...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4IdRC0Zwi_4/Tx3PqBzllZI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/lexgjYxzQwU/s320/Johnlip.jpg

You too, L.

Greg Lestrade said...

Well, I don't have to picture it, Doc...

(I'm not using Doc as in Snow White, by the way. Just...yeah. Not implying anything.)

John H. D. Watson said...

True. I can give you a full range of expressions from here. And lob any number of cushions at your head...

Greg Lestrade said...

Ow! I think I may have concussion now. You should probably come over here and check on me, instead of just glaring.

Greg Lestrade said...

(I'll kneel down so you can look into my eyes...)

John H. D. Watson said...

You do love digging yourself in deeper...

Come over here and I'll examine your head.

Greg Lestrade said...

Because I like you when you don't know whether to scold me or laugh.

I can't be held responsible for my brain - it's still frozen from this morning. And I can still smell cherries.

John H. D. Watson said...

Does it taste of cherries as well?

Greg Lestrade said...

sort of. Or sweet, anyway, and it smells so much that my brain sort of filled in the taste, I don't know.

John H. D. Watson said...

Well, I can neither smell nor taste it. I think it's psychosomatic cherries at this point.

Greg Lestrade said...

You'll have to pop my psychosomatic cherry then, Doc :)

John H. D. Watson said...

From the second you mentioned cherry lip balm, I knew there was a joke like that on its way...

Right, perhaps it's time for bed then.

Greg Lestrade said...

It's not my fault! Blame Sally. She's the one who tricked me into using the stuff.

Bed sounds good. Sherlock will be up in about two hours to check if it's snowed, I'm sure.

Desert Wanderer said...

DW - you may picture me giving you this look...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4IdRC0Zwi_4/Tx3PqBzllZI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/lexgjYxzQwU/s320/Johnlip.jpg


Is that supposed to scare me? Because it actually just makes me want to poke at you more. :)

Greg Lestrade said...

Makes me want to too, DW :)

(i'm not really awake, just putting Sherlock back in his own bed....)

innie said...

When I was in England for the first time, I ended up in Waterstone's with some friends looking for guidebooks and phrasebooks (we were going to be backpacking through Europe) and I found several ____-to-English phrasebooks and one French-to-New York English book. It translated "oui" not to "yes," but to "abso-fucking-lutely." And so on. It was rather amazing.

(John, I'm relieved it isn't your sharpshooting that got you the Mary case. Was it your Looks?)

Desert Wanderer said...

Makes me want to too, DW :)

Clearly for different reasons, though. :P

What's up with Sherlock? Not bad dreams I hope.

Greg Lestrade said...

No, not bad dreams, just a desperate wish for snow.

(he's back again)

Desert Wanderer said...

Did his wish come true?

CzechReader said...

Is there a site for sky-divers? There are pretty accurate hourly forecasts, so maybe he could follow that one instead of asking every few hours... :-)

Greg Lestrade said...

No, not yet. Which is good, because I can do my work. It's still forecast for tonight/tomorrow.

Although it'd be nice if he didn't wake us at 2am to check.

Desert Wanderer said...

You should teach him about the law of diminishing returns. There are graphs and everything and I'm sure there are multiple real-world instances you can use as examples.

Anon Without A Name said...

I think the BBC are predicting it to start hitting London this evening, around 6ish. Looks like you might get quite a bit, too.

Further west, we're expecting a fair bit of snow for a few hours, which'll be nice, followed by lots of rain, which won't.

Greg Lestrade said...

It has been explained that if we're all too tired to enjoy it, the snow won't be much fun.

Anon Without A Name said...

And is that working?

Greg Lestrade said...

Well, he fell asleep on the end of our bed after having a glass of milk at 5am, meaning we all got a bit of a lie in, but I think that was more to do with him going to bed late and being up a couple of times in the night than any real belief in our threats...

Small Hobbit said...

Nameless, have you seen any snow yet? We've had a few flakes but nothing worth commenting on (except here) yet.

Anon Without A Name said...

SH - we had a few flurries a little while ago, but they stopped pretty quickly. It's just started up again, but it's still very, very light.

Desert Wanderer said...

"bit of a lie in" meaning until 0730, Lestrade? ;)

Desert Wanderer said...

"bit of a lie in" meaning until 0730, Lestrade? ;)

Greg Lestrade said...

I think it was about seven... always a gamble, who'll be hungry first, the boys or the dogs? I think it was the dogs, this morning, once Sherlock had his morning milk and fell asleep on us.

Post a Comment