I posted this link mainly because this website and in the information on it are examples of the the web was like before the grotesque era of social media. it is not a pretty site but it provides a lot of useful information and it was created via a Creative Commons licence and those who built and manage it do it for free. Yes no influencers and supposed content creators but people who embodied one of the original aims of the internet being the free sharing of information and resources. It is why I have a resources page on my website with links to things I find interesting and maybe you will to. Take a look at the archives site listed below. It's very interesting and almost a time-capsule to the way websites looked in the mid 1990s

His Foe was Folly, and his Weapon Wit" this is on W.S Gilberts Monument.

" I am terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music will be put on records forever" Arthur Sullivan.

I know I posted a couple of times a link to the movie Topsy Turvy. I finally looked at it myself last night and I really understood why I enjoyed it so much all those years ago. When MMuDS was producing Gilbert & Sullivan musicals it was if in a way the two gentlemen were just curiosities and caricatures and nobody really took the time to learn or understand anything about them. In Topsy Turvy they become real with the strength of their characters and talent and of course the weaknesses and prejudices of men of their time. Those who love their operettas can probably quote lines from Gilbert's writing. As funny and satirical as it is you can't go past Sullivan's sublime music. They were literally the godfathers of the modern musical and Broadway and they influenced writer and composers well into the twentieth century. So if you are wanting to be involved in a musical production or want to go to the theatre to watch one take a moment and raise a glass to the two men who's work lead the way.

Topsy-Turvy is a 1999 British musical period drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh, starring Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert and Allan Corduner as Sir Arthur Sullivan, along with Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville and Ron Cook. The story concerns the 15-month period in 1884 and 1885 leading up to the premiere of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. The work explores the creative conflict between playwright and composer, and depicts their decision to continue their partnership, which led to their creation of several more Savoy operas.

The Past is an Undiscovered Country.

If you have been involved in an otganisation for many years and have seen it all there is a risk that when issues arise for discussion you can end up in reminiscence mode. That is you start telling stories about what happened in the past through rose timted glasses. However there is also a risk that when you are drawing on past experiences during a discussion that others believe you are just wasting time telling old stories.

It is very important to respect the past without dwelling in the past because the past still has lessons to be learned. In my case if I am listeing to a discussion about how to resolve a problem and I remember that we faced the same problem decades before I could do one of to things. I could sit silently and just let people reinvent the wheel or stress over an issue or I could say that yes we faced that problem in the past and this is the solution that we came up with then. So don’t be confused into thinking you have nothing to leaarn from the past or from those who lived through that past. That attitude disrespects all those people who came before you and who gave up huge amounts of time and energy to make the organisation you are now a part of. “On the shoulders of giants”

I for example joined MMuDS in 1984. MMuDS however started in 1982 when a group of people got together to setup the systems and give birth to MMuDS. I have the upmost admiration and respect for that group who started with absolutely nothing but had boundless enthusiasm, drive and the creative courage to give it a go. I would always listen and respect their advice evem if I ultimately did not agree with everything that was said.

No organisation can just stand still and look back because the world and the local community around them does not but that is no excure to just cancel the past as if it has no value to the present.

Finally the veterans in any organisation are not always going to be around so pick their brains while you can and you never know you might actually learn something of value.