Beryl's bank
A foreign colleague of mine was confused recently by my reference to "the Bank of Mum and Dad". Very soon after, I picked up 'The Beryl Coronet' to read and was met with a classic example of that very 'bank'. Arthur Holder is marked by his own father Alexander Holder as something of a disappointment. Cleverly, this colours not only Holder Sr's perception of Arthur's apparent role in the theft of the Beryl Coronet itself, but also colours our perception of it, as readers. Sherlock Holmes, of course, sees through this almost immediately and is able to store (one can hardly say 'restore') Arthur in his father's affections. Still though, can Holder Sr be blamed for this? It does look as if all Arthur ever did was hold out his hand and expect money every time - which he usually got. 'The Bank of Mum and Dad' is a popular destination of first financial resort - and the Holder branch obviously gave better terms than most. "I have n