( written for the "Katisha Scream" in the fall of 1995 )
It is now over three decades since I was first let
loose on a networked computing system. This took
place at Harwell, a research centre of the U.K.
Atomic Energy Authority about 20 miles south of
Oxford. I was working on some numerical
mathematical problems, which were about the only
thing that computers were used for at that time. The
programs I wrote then were fed, as a deck of
punched cards no different in principle from the
punched cards of Jacquard's loom of the 1790's or
those of the mechanical organs of the late 19th
century, into a card-reader on a small computer at
Harwell. This small computer, with memory of about
4 Kbyte, then sent the program down a telephone
line to Aldermaston several tens of miles away,
where lived a much bigger computer on which the
program would be run. I never saw this big computer
and neither did most of the other people who used it.
It lived in the top secret nuclear weapons
laboratories. There were other links in the Atomic
Energy Authority's computer network in these days.
The farthest off node was at Dounreay, in the
ancestral territory of Clan McKay in the far north of
Scotland, about 500 miles from Harwell. I had seen
the Dounreay computer the summer before (1963) as
a student with the fast breeder reactor group there. It
operated on vacuum tubes and was being replaced at
that time.
The BIG machine at Aldermaston,
STRETCH by name, was one of the largest computers in the world
in 1964. It was about as powerful as an IBM-XT of
early 1980's vintage - the sort of thing you would
now have difficulty selling for $50. Computers and
networks have come a long way since the early
1960's.
Family Communications
The first computer network I was ever able to use
for personal communication was that of the
Northumbrian Universities (NE England). This was
in 1983, about 10 years after I had left the UK to
come to live in Nova Scotia - but I was back for the
better part of that year working at the University of
Durham. My family was staying with grandparents
in Newcastle, 20 miles to the north, and my wife,
Pat, at intervals snatched between child-minding
duties, was helping me with some of the computer
work by using machines at Newcastle which were on
the same network, but were much nearer granny and
the children. We arranged our own method of
communication by leaving messages for each other
in a file to which we both had access. By such
means, I received such messages as : "Ipsa (our daughter Elizabeth) was sick all over
Granny this morning." or " Get a pint of milk on the way home tonight"
Back to N.S. and on to Japan
The N.S. Provincial government, however, with
whom I was misguided enough as to spend too much
of my working life, were very slow to pick up on this
marvellous way of communicating missives of such
vital import , and it was not until 5 years ago when I
went, in 1990, to work for a year with the Geological
Survey of Japan that I encountered the Internet as
such and began to use and explore it. The Internet is
not as new as is often believed - it celebrated its 25th
anniversary last September - but like many other
innovations such as the motor car or the fax
machine, it has only begun to make any impact on
the lives of most individuals several decades after its
invention. (The N.S. Economic Renewal Agency, in
1995, still seems to consider it a novelty.)
Savoynet
Only about a year ago I found Savoynet - an
Internet discussion group about Gilbert & Sullivan.
A discussion group is a means whereby you can
receive messages about what other people are saying
on a specific topic (in this case G&S) and which
enables you to respond with a reply, witty or
otherwise. Those of us who can never quite come up
instantaneously in conversation with a crushing
repartee, in true Gilbertian fashion, find to their
delight that this style of quasi-verbal fencing gives
them the thinking time that they need. As well as
providing a duelling ground, such discussion groups
give you immediate access to a large number of
people with like interests and wide knowledge.
Through Savoynet, I have tracked down a musical
score of "Engaged!" or "Cheviot's Choice" and have
received the new (ca. 1990) G&S operetta "The
Wicked Waxworks". Savoynet is also the most
marvellous place to moan about the liberties which
the directors are taking with whatever piece your
own society has currently in production. ( The
mating of Josephine with Ralph's father's son, for
example, drew howls of derision from around the
world. ) That is not to say that Savoynet is
frequented only by bigoted Wesleyan Methodists by
any means. Ideas about innovative staging are there
to be had. One that I recall was for the men's chorus
in Act II of Ida to make their entry through the
scenery with a very large battering ram. I suppose
they must have had a good budget for scenery
building if bits needed replacing each performance.
I have not been looking at Savoynet since last
summer. One of the problems with discussion groups
is that they can at times become too prolific in their
generation of messages, and then it all begins to
seem a bit too much like junk mail does in any other
medium. There are, however, other ways to get in
touch with G&S matters on the NET. I will say a
little about these in connection with our own
Society's offerings which have been mounted on the
local Chebucto Freenet since late last year.
G & S Society of N S
You can now reach the Gilbert and Sullivan
Society of N.S. in the Culture section of Chebucto
Freenet under the heading Music. There are two
ways to get to Chebucto Freenet. One is to dial up
494-8006 and log in much in the same way as to any
bulletin board. The other way, for those already
connected to the Internet in some other way, is to
telnet to : chebucto.ns.ca. In either case, type guest at
the login prompt, if you do not already have an
account on CFN. A "main page" will be displayed.
Choose the Culture link . You will see Gilbert
and Sullivan Society under a subheading entitled
Music. This link will bring you into our society's
area.
I have not put a great deal of our own material
there as yet. There is a list of past productions and a
few contacts for the production team of "The
Gondoliers". The introduction to our society reads as
follows. If you don't like it, come up with some other
ideas.
Society History and Aims
The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Nova Scotia was
formed on 25th January 1977, by a group headed by
A.G. Scott Savage with the aim of building a society
of afficianados of light opera, of promoting cultural
and educational programmes and publications and of
bringing fully staged productions of operetta to Nova
Scotian audiences. Since that time, it has mounted
yearly [1] productions of most of the [2] works
of Gilbert and Sullivan and has taken them to
many stages throughout Nova Scotia from Yarmouth
to Glace Bay. The Society's 1994 production of
H.M.S. Pinafore won first place at the International
Festival in Liverpool, N.S. The Society welcomes
new members to its varied activities which are not
wholly confined to staging shows. All we ask is an
enthusiasm for music like Sullivan's and wit like
Gilbert's. No members of the society receive any
remuneration in connection with the activities of the
Society. Non-members are employed by the society
from time to time as orchestral musicians and as
stage director.
The really intersting stuff, however, starts when you
follow the link number 2 above entitled works of
Gilbert and Sullivan. This link will take you off
on a trip down to the States, where resides the :
Gilbert & Sullivan Archive Home Page
* [1]INTRODUCTION
* [2]GILBERT AND SULLIVAN FILES
* [3]THE OPERA SCHEDULE SERVER
* [4]G&S FESTIVALS
* [5]OTHER G&S RELATED WEB SITES
* [6]OTHER ARTS SITES
* [7]UTILITIES
* [8]FEEDBACK
and this is your starting point for some real
exploration of what you can do on The Web in the
field of Gilbertiana and music in general. There is
too much to describe fully here, but how about :
All the text of all the G & S Operettas and
much of Gilbert's other work, including
Bab's sketches.
Musical score of the first act of Utopia
MIDI format music for the Meryll Solo
usually cut from Act I of Yeomen.
And much much more. Go and see for yourself.
...................................................
Alasdair McKay tries to make a living at consultancy
in geophysics and in haggis making. More details
about these offerings appear at http://www.haggis.ca to which you can link
from here