Computerless residents are being given a one-off chance to purchase Bermuda Tattoo tickets in person on Saturday when the Bermuda Regiment mans a booth on the verandah of the National Library in Hamilton.

Normally, tickets are only available on line at www.boxoffice.bm , and this will continue to be the case after Saturday, but since the Regiment wants everyone to have an opportunity to attend, it is making special arrangements to accommodate those without access to the on-line booking service.

The booth will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and ticket prices range from $40 to $75 for premium seats, while general admission is $40. Patrons are reminded that all tickets are being sold in advance, and none will be available at the door. Ticketholders can expect to receive informative literature with their purchases, and a seating guide/map of the Dockyard area will also be available.

Meanwhile, preparations have reached an advanced stage for what promises to be a magnificent event featuring local and overseas acts in a joint celebration of a host of special anniversaries.

?The Tattoo will celebrate Bermuda?s quincentennial, the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, the 75th anniversary of the Somerset Brigade Band, the 50th anniversary of the Bermuda Islands Pipe Band, and the 40th anniversary of the Bermuda Regiment,? Major Barrett Dill, the Regiment?s Director of Music, said.

Performances will take place on October 21 and 22, and be one hour and 45 minutes long. The final performance will be an especially poignant one for Major Dill.

?On that occasion I will ceremonially hand over the baton to WO1 (Bandmaster) Dwight Robinson, which will cap the end of my 35-year career in the Bermuda Regiment,? he announced.

With the list of participants now finalised, Major Dill and Major Stephen Caton, Special Projects Officer ? Tattoo (SPOT), confirm that the following will take part:

From Britain will come the Band and Bugles of the Light Division, a successor regiment of the Duke of Cornwall?s Light Infantry (DCLI) who were stationed here in the 1950s. Jamaica is sending the Jamaican Defence Force Band, while five groups will carry the flag for Canada: the Ottawa Police Service Pipe Band; the Toronto Police Pipe Band; the professional dance troupe Schiehallion Dancers who, like the Bermuda Regiment, performed in the 2003 Edinburgh Tattoo; the Fraser Holmes Ladies Pipe Band from Toronto; and the Canadian Air Force 14 Wing Greenwood ? a military marching band augmented by pipers.

?The Directors of Music of the Jamaican Defence Force Band and the Band and Bugles Light Division were fellow students at Kneller Hall, Britain?s famed military music school, so it is fitting that the final Tattoo performance will also be my final performance,? Major Dill said.

Bermuda participants include the Bermuda Regiment Band and Corps of Drums, the Bermuda Islands Pipe Band, the Somerset Brigade Band, the Bermuda National Gombey Troupe, who also performed in the 2003 Edinburgh Tattoo, and the Bermuda Regiment Attack Squad.

?The latter will mount a surprise attack to demonstrate the military skill of the Regiment, and it will be quite a surprise to most of the spectators,? Major Caton hinted.

Performances will open each night with a special Fanfare written by Major Dill, and the grand finales will include Tchaikovsky?s famous ?1812 Overture? with cannonade and a spectacular fireworks display.

Opening night will be a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, with the Bermuda Regiment Band ?performing an inventive a naval tribute?.

Major Caton said that: ?The Tattoo came about as part of the jewel in the crown of the Regiment?s 40th anniversary celebrations, and is being put on under the aegis of the Bermuda Regiment Charitable Trust, which was formed initially to organise the Bermuda Regiment Band and Corps of Drums? trip to Edinburgh. This is the second venture.?

The gala event is being financially supported by both corporate and private sponsors.

?The Bank of Bermuda Foundation is the title sponsor, and we are extremely pleased with the generosity of the corporate sponsors and private patrons, which today exceeds $200,000,? Major Dill said.

Any surplus funds will go to bursaries for Bermuda Regiment personnel.

For the first time in Bermuda, approximately 1,200 especially structured, arena-style seats are being imported to accommodate higher-end ticketholders, while the remaining 1200 seats will be bleachers.

?The idea is to transform the Keepyard into an esplanade, with the Commissioner?s House forming a fantastic backdrop,? Major Caton said. ?The people who are doing the imported seating are the same people who do a lot of seating for military and sporting events in the UK ? Wimbledon, the British Open, Horse Guards? Parade, and the Royal Tournament.?

Naturally, when the military is behind any ?operation? no detail is left to chance ? and things always start and end precisely on time.

Thus, the Bermuda Regiment has made specific arrangements for extra ferry services to carry patrons to and from Dockyard. An extra fast ferry and the large tender will operate in addition to the regular schedule, special printed copies of which will available for travellers.

Holders of $60 and $75 tickets will enjoy free ferry rides, while others will have to pay their way at the Hamilton ferry terminal.

Once in Dockyard, there will be various pre-performance attractions to enjoy.

?We are encouraging people to use the extra ferry services and arrive in Dockyard in plenty of time because there will be vendors, souvenirs, food and drink from 6 p.m. each evening,? Major Caton said.

Performances will begin spot on time, and being late is not a good idea.

?If people are not in their seats by 1915 hours (7.15 p.m.) they may be disappointed because the show will start with regimental precision at 1930 hours (7.30 p.m.) sharp,? Major Dill warned.

To the unthinkable but inevitable question: ?What if it rains?? the Majors replied firmly: ?It never rains at Warwick Camp or anywhere the Bermuda Regiment is.?

?In 56 years, the Edinburgh Tattoo has never cancelled a performance, and we expect to do the same,? Major Dill added.

As can be imagined, the logistics involved in arranging an event of this magnitude are enormous, and both men confess to an almost-around-the-clock existence.

?Eighteen-hour days are the norm, and it is not unheard of for me to send Major Caton an e-mail at 3 a.m. and receive an immediate response, or for me to telephone him at 3 a.m. followed by a 6 a.m. ?What?s our schedule like today because we have had a variation?? enquiry,? Major Dill said.

For his part, Major Caton described the Dockyard fast ferry as his ?second home?.

Nonetheless, the officers felt honoured to be in the thick of preparations for such a landmark event, and paid tribute to Director Edward Harris and the staff of the Bermuda Maritime Museum for their assistance.

?They have been exceptionally supportive of the Tattoo,? they said.