Sherlock Holmes

I watched the film Sherlock Holmes this weekend, being used to the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce characterisations of Holmes and Dr Watson I must admit to feeling like they got the relationship between the two characters wrong. There was almost a role reversal between the two characters, with Downey Jr playing it for laughs against Watson's straight man. So, although the film was entertaining in it's way, I don't think it was a successful version.
This weekend was a bit of an unexpected success. My daughter was involved in a Judo competition, the other competitors were using it as a practice session for the national squad - so they were really good. My daughter did well but lost her two fights and the other members of our club fought hard but lost too. Valuable experience but a bit humbling. However, as my daughter was several kilos lighter than her opponents, she was the only competitor in her class and therefore won the gold medal. So that was a surprise.
On Sunday, the under eights at the club went for a training session and there was a bit of a competition afterwards. I had been trying all week to balance my son's confidence and optimism with a bit of realism: so he would say things like he was going to have a box to keep his medals in and I was saying that it's not about winning but about taking part. We heard that all competitors win some kind of medal, so I thought ah well he'll at least have a bronze to bring home. But he surprised me with his techniques and actually knuckled down to the task at hand, winning his three fights to win a gold medal. He's only a slight lad and his competitors were much taller than him. Just goes to show how much your kids can surprise you.