I know it makes me a blaspheming blasphemer with incredibly low-brow and dubious taste, but I like Under the Cherry Moon more than I do Purple Rain.  I understand (and agree with) all the arguments for why Purple Rain is the better film, but there is something wonderfully strange, surreal and charming about Under the Cherry Moon.  It is stilted and awkward in some parts and downright preposterous in others, but I've never seen anything else like it.  Not to mention, it is worth the price of admission to watch Prince strut around the French Riviera in cutout catsuits, high heels and illusion mesh.  There really was no one else like him, and there never will be.  If you haven't, watch Under the Cherry Moon (a bit drunk is best).

Check out the trailer.

Bonus: The film was Kristin Scott Thomas's first major role.  Here's a clip of her talking about the film and meeting Prince.  (I know it was the 80s, but those earrings look like they should be distracting babies at a daycare in Fort Lauderdale.)

Copyright © 2016, Harrison Kitteridge

CHAPTER ONE: MR SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DR JOHN WATSON

It is difficult to know where to begin. There are so many moving parts to consider. I could start with the murder of Edwina May Lucas. That is what they call “The Inciting Incident”, isn’t it? Strictly speaking, though, the blackmailer, Charles Augustus Milverton, and his evil machinations were the jumping-off point chronologically. There is also a strong case to be made for starting with Mary Elisabeth Sutherland. After all, it is her paper journal that turned out to be the linchpin, providing answers to questions Sherlock hadn’t even thought to ask. Each of these characters provides a useful prism through which to view the events presented. It all begins with Sherlock, though, doesn’t it? And with me. So, I suppose that is as good a place to start as any: with us.

I met Sherlock Holmes not long after I was invalided home from service as an army surgeon in Afghanistan. The campaign had been a disaster for me. I was transferred from the R.A.M.C. hospital in Kandahar to a base in the interior of the country just as the fatal Battle of Maiwand kicked off. I was shot in the shoulder by a high-velocity round that shattered my clavicle and severed my sub-clavian artery. I should have bled out and died right there, but luckily a medic called Alethia Murray happened to be nearby, and she managed to pull me to safety and plug the bleeding with her finger. She kept me alive until we could safely evacuate the area. I underwent a series of surgeries and was healing well enough that my colleagues were optimistic I would recover fully, then my wound became infected, and I was back on death’s door. The infection ravaged my body, and, when I came out on the other side, I was a wraith, a shadow of my former robust self. When I improved enough to become ambulatory, I was honourably discharged and sent home to England.

I'm proud to announce (to the void?) that I've written a book called Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Paper Journal, and that ebook (that I wrote!) is now available to pre-order on Amazon and will be available soon on iTunes, Kobo and Barnes & Noble.  Actual, non-imaginary people might buy it and eventually read it.  I've come close to smashing my laptop with a hammer many times during this process, and I'm sure once I know the book is in readers' hands I'll be fighting the urge to hide under the bed.  It's been a long road, but to quote Santigold: "I can say I hope it will be worth what I give up."  I'm not sure how this blog will evolve, but I hope it will be an interesting journey, and that at least some of you will join me along the way.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post.  Have a look around my site, READ AN EXCERPT OF THE BOOK (then pre-order it!).