Private sale

[Chris]

I'm sharing this information just with you. Should I tell anyone or keep quiet?

Keep quiet.

[Lechmere]

Robert
That was the correct answer as you changed the words.

Stop press.
I went to see Paddington earlier than expected and he tried to sell me a jar of his Robinson's marmalade. Just before I parted with my cash the label fell off and underneath was a different label that said 'Costcutter Marmalade'.
I made my excuses and left.
I'm sharing this information just with you. Should I tell anyone or keep quiet?

[Robert]

Given Presley's fondness for food, I'd plump for "In The Gateau."

[Sally]

I have a feeling it may be "A Little Less Conversation".

That'll be his encore.

[Chris]

Cool. Will he be singing "Suspicious Minds"?

I have a feeling it may be "A Little Less Conversation".

[Chris]

But wait - you have made no attempt to answer any if the points that have been raised about the Marginalia.

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[Lechmere]

But wait - you have made no attempt to answer any if the points that have been raised about the Marginalia.
But who cares - let the sale commence!

[Sally]

It's a great pity he didn't just say that the handwriting showed signs of a tremor - and leave it at that.
But he didn't for some reason.

Here's food for thought, to keep you going.
Next week I'm having luncheon with Elvis Presley and I fear those greasy cheeseburgers will be on the menu again.

Cool. Will he be singing "Suspicious Minds"?

[Chris]

7. Suggested that a fake version of the lab report could have been planted in the envelope while the letter was in transit.

Seriously, this has got me thinking. Everyone has just accepted that the report we've been shown was really written by Dr Davies, but how do we know it was? We need to know where that text came from.

But wait! Even if someone tells us where it came from, they could be lying. What we need is a notarised statement by Dr Davies, including the full text of the report, confirming that he really wrote it.

But wait! How would we know that the person who made the notarised statement was really Dr Davies. Better make sure the notary sees some official photo ID.

But wait! What if Dr Davies has an identical twin brother? Better check the registers of births, and if so get notarised statements from both of them.

But wait! How do we know that Dr Davies really exists? Doesn't that photo in the article look suspiciously like Nevill Swanson wearing a false beard?

But wait! How do we know that Nevill Swanson didn't have a real beard at that time?

But wait! Who are these men in white coats coming into the roo

[Lechmere]

It's a great pity he didn't just say that the handwriting showed signs of a tremor - and leave it at that.
But he didn't for some reason.

Here's food for thought, to keep you going.
Next week I'm having luncheon with Elvis Presley and I fear those greasy cheeseburgers will be on the menu again.

[Chris]

He did not say what it was he recognized as a trait (or two or more traits) typical to the Parkinson range of diseases.

Why do you keep making all this stuff up? Did your parents give you special treats as a child when they caught you fibbing, or something?

You know very well - because I've had to "remind" you several times what Dr Davies really said - that he said nothing about anything being "typical", and nothing about "the Parkinson range of diseases". Conversely there's no mystery at all about what feature of the handwriting he was referring to - obviously it's the "evidence of occasional tremor".

Here it is yet again. (I'm thinking of making it my signature so I don't have to keep looking it up for you.)
"The [endpaper notes] show evidence of occasional tremor which is similar to that sometimes found in the writing of individuals with certain neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's."

[Fisherman]

Ally:

Any disease that affects nerves can cause that. When you are making an upward stroke, you are pushing your fingers "up and out" sort of (try it, you'll see what I mean) so you are engaging nerves and muscles that don't come into play when you do a downward stroke, so there is less "resistance" in a downward stroke than there is in an upward stroke. Anyone can try this and see it for themselves. Any condition that adversely affects the nerves or the extensor muscles of the hands comes into play with upward strokes. It's not Parkinson specific. It is absolutely any neurological condition that can cause damage to the extensor muscles and that is... almost all of them really. We are talking about one small set of muscles/nerves in use in the forming of the upward stroke. The extensors. The neurological condition could be simple neuropathy or a blow to the radial nerve or spinal degeneration.

U-huh. Interesting. But is the trait specific to "any disease that affects nerves", or is it just a possible side effect? And, if you donīt much mind - what sources do you use for this?


What specific pathology do you see in the "grouping of the letters"? I don't believe Davis mentioned anything specific about the "grouping of the letters but I could be wrong.

He didnīt, as far as I know, so you will be right on that score. But he did not mention the difference between upward and downward strokes either. Or micrographia for that matter.

He did not say what it was he recognized as a trait (or two or more traits) typical to the Parkinson range of diseases. Iīve picked the grouping thing up on the net. It is connected, I believe, to the pattern in which a writing PD patient lifts his pen and puts it down again; he or she will do so performing little clusters of letters, lifting the pen, putting it down again, forming a new cluster, lifting the pen etcetera. Something along those lines.

All the best,
Fisherman

[Robert]

8. Demanded to know what else was in my suitcase.
9. Brought a Swedish friend with him, who spent all his time warning me that my flies were undone.

[Chris]

Message from Paddington Bear :

I am afraid that I shall not be having high tea with Mr Lechmere. The last time I had high tea with Mr Lechmere, he :

1. Demanded documentary proof that I really was Paddington Bear.
2. Questioned my Peruvian provenance.
3. Called for a laboratory analysis of the marmalade.
4. When I showed him the marmalade jar, he said that I could have removed the real marmalade and replaced it with fake marmalade.
5. Told me to try harder to get things right.

6. Following confirmation by the laboratory analysis that the marmalade was real marmalade, suggested that the analyst might have been subconsciously influenced by his closeness to me, on the grounds that I had been in postal communication with his employer.

7. Suggested that a fake version of the lab report could have been planted in the envelope while the letter was in transit.

[Robert]

Message from Paddington Bear :

I am afraid that I shall not be having high tea with Mr Lechmere. The last time I had high tea with Mr Lechmere, he :

1. Demanded documentary proof that I really was Paddington Bear.
2. Questioned my Peruvian provenance.
3. Called for a laboratory analysis of the marmalade.
4. When I showed him the marmalade jar, he said that I could have removed the real marmalade and replaced it with fake marmalade.
5. Told me to try harder to get things right.