I carry no phone An aspiring Luddite In a wired world.	Jeff Berry is an early adopter of the Internet and the Web, a late adopter of Twitter, and declines to adopt Facebook. With the death of Google+, he's experimenting with federated platforms . He admins a medievalist Mastodon instance, and can found on the PlusPora diaspora pod. He hates cell-phones.

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We Go to the Panto The other week, my wife and I went to the York Christmas Pantomime. This is a hallowed tradition here, and the current pantomime dame is celebrating his 35th year. I'll end the suspense: we loved it. I can, however, see why it might be an acquired taste and/or might not be everyone's cup of tea. For those, like me, who have only a vague knowledge of this thing called English panto, here's a crash course, based on my incredibly limited but rapidly expanding knowledge. Please note that some of these observations may only be applicable, or are especially applicable, to the York panto. The pantos have a limited set of scenarios, and while they are often completely rewritten and always (or nearly so) have topical elements added, the general plots fall back to the handful or so of standard elements. There are also a number of set pieces, that show up in some form or other every year - at least in the York panto. That's right, I can hear you thinking, it's very nearly Commedia dell'arte, isn't it? Stock characters, stock scenarios, favorite lazzi, and topical improvisation (or rewriting) all seem to add up to commedia. This is by no means a revelation, as a bit of poking about on the web or in actual books will show, but the resemblance was strong enough that it occurred to me pre-search. The panto has mutated into something all its own, though, and the York version adds things like continuous direct breaking of the fourth wall and a filmed section, during which, presumably, the actors take a quick break - serving a similar purpose to the guitar or drum solo. The panto, even this single instance, has also provided the key to unlock a number of cultural bits and bobs that I didn't even completely realize were encrypted. If something is culturally freighted, then even if one is enjoying and appreciating it, without some context, one is missing some of the jokes. (Assuming it's comedy.) I mean, This Is Spinal Tap is always funny, but if you're a heavy metal fan of a certain vintage, it's even funnier. So it is with the panto. I grew up watching Monty Python, and the odd reference here and there to the pantomime Princess Margaret and so forth didn't detract from my enjoyment, but neither did they enhance it. Pantomime also goes some distance towards explaining why they dressed up like women so much of the time, I suspect. We loved it, as I said. We didn't even have to have a few cups of mulled wine before the show. That said, I've been drinking inordinate quantities of mulled wine in the last few weeks. Wine and cheese, someone said, possibly even me, are the natural prey of the grad student. They are placed invitingly on tables at receptions and seminars, and the ravenous hordes of academic foragers descend like extremely well-read locusts. In York, at Christmas, the wine is inevitably mulled. Pre-mulled, in fact, since you can purchase it ready-made at any grocery store. All you do is pop it into the electric kettle and heat it up, trying not to overheat it. Or you could use the Le Crueset saucier, the one that you found in a thrift shop a few years ago, on the stovetop; that works as well. As New Year looms, and my first Christmas season in York draws to a close, those are the things that will stick with me for a while - mulled wine and pantomime. And, of course, mince pies. Happy solstice-contemporaneous holiday everyone! Luddite'sLog, 28 December 2013 © 2013 Jeff Berry

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