Photo's from R3tr0 R3play!

fitzsteve

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Sevenoaks
Retro Replay - November 6th-7th 2010


Friday 5th November

With the Car brimmed with fuel and loaded with my Amiga’s I set off from Sevenoaks, Kent Friday morning at 9.30am to try and miss the M25 rush hour and headed for my first stop to pick up CosmicFrog in Leek, Staffs. The drive was fine, no real traffic took just 3.5hours to make it to Leek which is a stunning setting that I really wasn’t expecting, very quaint town.

Sat Nav guided me right to Mr Frogs door, it was great to finally meet you Cosmicfrog J

Cossy kindly treated me to some Staffordshire Oatcakes and a Coffee whilst I admired his awesome collection of Computers then after loading yet more gear into my poor little Car we set off for our next stop in Manchester!

Mr Frog was very excited bless him as we’d won an A1500 on ebay with GVP Combo 040 and EGS Spectrum RTG graphics that we had arranged to collect from Manchester on the way up to Blackpool, it was a little touch and go but we managed to get in and out of Manchester and just beat the rush hour.

When we stopped to get the A1500 Cossy also bagged a couple of more Amiga items from the seller so yet more Amiga gear went into the little Car and with the Axel almost scraping the road we set off on our last leg to Blackpool.

It wasn’t too long from Manchester to Blackpool and again the Traffic Gods has blessed us on our way and we made great progress on the M6 and arrived at Norbeck Castle Exhibition Centre in Blackpool around 4.30-5pm where Zetr0, r0jaws, Imnogeek and Jay had already made loads of progress in setting up the Amiga section.

We spent a couple of hours setting up and testing, the A1200T went up fine and the Blizzard PPC was running like a dream but the A4000 had a few problems with the Scan Doubler on the PicassoIV, however the rest of the machine was running fine so I finished the setup. Once we had the machines pretty much ready for power on we all bundled in a Cab and headed for the Hotel.

I was really impressed with the Hotel (Rose Bank Hotel) very nice room and friendly staff, once checked in we headed out for Drinks and some Dinner at the WeatherSpoons Free House near the Blackpool Tower. After a lovely meal and a fair few alcoholic beverages we were summoned back to the Venue to help out with some final setup, so we all bundled back in a Cab and headed up there!

What came next was an awesome evening, we carried out further setup on the machines and helped out with setting up tournament machines and also met up with WoodyCool, SkillGannon and Mr & Mrs JuvUK J

It was really great to put names to all the faces and had great fun Friday night, I know I spent more time messing around with my PPC then helping with the setup so sorry guys lol!

Final power on test was about midnight and everything was working, so with the blessing of the event organisers we headed back to the Hotel for some well needed sleep!

Saturday 6th November

I woke up to a beautiful Sunny morning and to the sound of Punk Rock ringing from my Mobile Phone Alarm which sent Mr Frog into a state of shock that saw him fall out of his bed bringing the mattress with him LOL!

After getting ready we headed downstairs about 8am for an awesome Full English Breakfast before heading to the Venue to make our final adjustments before Doors opening. A few of us got the Tram down to the Venue which was a slow but enjoyable journey lol and we came across a great Games Shop on the way with full size statues of game characters and such so it was well worth the detour!

I really didn’t realise how busy this event would be, since this is the first event of this type that I have been to. The crowds started to flock in at 10am and our Amiga section was extremely busy, Zetr0’s A500, Skillgannons Minimig and r0jaws A600 were occupied almost the whole day banging out classics suck as Stant Car Racer, Lotus 2 (link modes) Turrican 2, Lemmings, well you name it we had it and these machines were in constant use!

I had my A4000 running Doom and IGame with the full Games list but sadly the fault with the Scan Doubler got worse as the day went on and we decided to switch it off in the afternoon and I set up my spare machine, my A600 instead.

The PPC’s that myself and r0jaws were displaying got a different level of interest, I think people we a little worried to touch them and I think we (well certainly I was) worried about the fragility. And I won’t lie that I spent a lot of the first day worrying about my kit, however it was still a truly awesome day and I thoroughly enjoyed showing off my kit J

We also met up on Saturday with lots of Amibayers, in fact it was such an awesome turn out that if I missed anyone here I’m really sorry! It was great to meet you ck1200, johnim, dj.echo, phippscube, wompus and everyone else!

It was great to see SkillGannon take on Archie for winning the IK+ tournament, well done mate, that was awesome stuff! J

As things started to quieten down about 7pm we tidied up and powered down our Miggy’s for some well deserved rest! Then we bundled back in the MiniBus/Cab and headed back to the Hotel and met up with dj.echo.

Saturday night was for me a highlight for the trip, it was so nice to all go out for the meal together, we ate at an Italian Restaurant recommended by the Hotel Staff, the food was excellent and I really enjoyed the evening, even the rather strange Bar we ended up in where my feet were stuck to the floor! o_O

After a little night cap and a very exhausting day it didn’t take long to fall asleep!

Sunday 7th November

We went down for breakfast a little later Sunday Morning, I guess quite a few of us were a little half cut, I know I’d been on the Beer since 11.30am on Saturday! Anyway we ate our Full English and headed to the Venue.

I gave the PPC a lot of down time on Sunday and setup my A600 with Sensi Soccer two player instead which was an instant hit for those not competing in the competition and was pretty much occupied for most of the day! With my mind at rest about my kit I spent a lot more time wondering around and playing games and enjoying all the wonderful stuff on offer at the exhibition. I got involved in a bit of friendly competition on the Kick Rally Stand, they were giving away WRC Rally for Xbox 360 for whoever could pull out the fastest lap time. As a bit of a driving game freak and lover of Motorsport I laid down a time to the amazement of the Kick Girls 15 seconds faster than the next best.

An hour or so later, word go back to me that my time had been beaten, well as a competitive soul I had to go back and regain my position! And here stated an epic battle trading fastest times with one other fella! Sadly I had to settle for 2nd, so well done fella if you are reading!

There was so much to do throughout the day, it really went so quick. I really had such a great time; it was a shame to leave a little early as I’d have loved to stay till the end. I really enjoyed your little Amiga Mix Up dj.echo, great tunes there from an Amiga!

Thanks again to everyone who made it, it really was a great weekend, one that I’ll remember. Really look forward to the next event J

Again sorry if I missed anyone…

Thanks for reading!

Steve.
 

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More!
 

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Erm, More!
 

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Ok this is the last few (y)
 

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Hi FitzSteve

Great photos Thanks,, Looks like it was a big success,, wish I had went now:)
you'll need to type up a report now...:D

Cheers
 
Fantastic pictures Steve! (y) Wonderful collection of equipment there, a table machine too! It's been many years since I sat at one of those. :roll:
 
@Geraldine & DonAmiga Thanks for the kind words (y)

Will write something up for sure and also explain some of the pics in some detail tomorrow.

Needless to say it was an awesome event and I really enjoyed it. So much to see and do and the great turn out from Amibay really made the weekend one to remember.

Steve.
 
Great photo's Steve! Thanks for posting so soon :) Love the ones of me playing against Archer and my wee trophy on the desk lol

Great weekend! Loved meeting all you guys!

J
 
Exellent Pics Steve! You especially got great ones of THE CHAMP! ;) playing against Archer! Did you sneak on stage? or did you extend your bionic arm? :D (BTW, sorry I didn't say bye when I left, I wandered around looking but couldn't find you!)
 
Hey John, no worries I couldn't sleep as I was still hyper from the two cans of 'Kick' that I drank to get me through the 6 hour drive lol...

The ones I won for comming 2nd in that rally comp :(

Damn that smug git who beat me by less than half a second! But it was always going to be a case of the last to go would win since with each go you learned the track a little better...

By the way John glad you like the pics I took of you and the ones from when I got up on the stage, PM me your email addy and I'll email you high res versions (y)

Full write up comming soon, going to write it up in M$ Word during the day, pretend I'm actually working :whistle:

Thats right, hard core Stevo back at work today :coffee:

Steve.
 
Updated first post with my event write up!

Will try to add some comments about the pics at some point too...

Hope you enjoy!
 
Great pics! I only live up the road from the event but sadly could not be there due to long hours at work :(

even the rather strange Bar we ended up in and even if my feet were stuck to the floor! o_O

That bar wouldn't happen to be "The Tache" would it? A rock/metal bar in a run-down looking building with really gooey floors... I've had some great times there :D
Well i hope you enjoyed Blackpool... even though it does look a bit run down out of tourist season. I've lived here over 5 years now and the town isn't getting any better. I also hope you managed to avoid some of the "unsavoury" locals :LOL:
 
Great pics! I only live up the road from the event but sadly could not be there due to long hours at work :(

even the rather strange Bar we ended up in and even if my feet were stuck to the floor! o_O

That bar wouldn't happen to be "The Tache" would it? A rock/metal bar in a run-down looking building with really gooey floors... I've had some great times there :D
Well i hope you enjoyed Blackpool... even though it does look a bit run down out of tourist season. I've lived here over 5 years now and the town isn't getting any better. I also hope you managed to avoid some of the "unsavoury" locals :LOL:

Hey mate, Blackpool was cool - as I said I had a great time and it was a great crowd so to be honest it didn't matter what Bar we ended up in. It wasn't a Rock/Metal bar - I forget what its called but someone will be along soon who remembers I'm sure!

Glad you enjoyed the pics, its a shame you didn't meet us for drinks though, maybe next time eh?

Steve.
 
Great pics! I only live up the road from the event but sadly could not be there due to long hours at work :(

even the rather strange Bar we ended up in and even if my feet were stuck to the floor! o_O

That bar wouldn't happen to be "The Tache" would it? A rock/metal bar in a run-down looking building with really gooey floors... I've had some great times there :D
Well i hope you enjoyed Blackpool... even though it does look a bit run down out of tourist season. I've lived here over 5 years now and the town isn't getting any better. I also hope you managed to avoid some of the "unsavoury" locals :LOL:

Hey mate, Blackpool was cool - as I said I had a great time and it was a great crowd so to be honest it didn't matter what Bar we ended up in. It wasn't a Rock/Metal bar - I forget what its called but someone will be along soon who remembers I'm sure!

Glad you enjoyed the pics, its a shame you didn't at least meet us for drinks though, maybe next time eh?

Steve.

I will make sure i book some time off work in advance for any other upcoming events... I've had some early starts and late finishes these last few days at work (although i still managed to get some internet time on my breaks in the admin office :shhh:).

Well i'm sure there will be a next time (y)
 
I think it was called "Tower"? it was near the tower anyway from vague memory, I spent most of my time around blackpool feeling totally lost and following everyone else! :)
 
Great photos and write up fella! (y)

It was a pretty hectic couple of days TBH, I've only just unloaded the car myself. Luckily I sorted an evening shift with work this week, I've got a few hours to sort myself out. :D
 
I'm gutted that I couldn't get to go in the end, finances after paying for an MOT and new windscreen for the wife's car killed any hopes I had...:(

Looks like an epic time was had by all. Thanks for flying the AmiBay flag and representing us there.

I'm intrigued now as to who the lady was, that interviewed you...
 
I think it was called "Tower"? it was near the tower anyway from vague memory, I spent most of my time around blackpool feeling totally lost and following everyone else! :)

I thought I was following you lol? Oh and your little Rave Up Dance made the night :cool:

Great photos and write up fella! (y)

It was a pretty hectic couple of days TBH, I've only just unloaded the car myself. Luckily I sorted an evening shift with work this week, I've got a few hours to sort myself out. :D

It was awesome mate, thanks again for arranging this (y)
 
Just thought I would say cheers for putting on an awesome display. Drooled over the mini mig for a good while as well as some of the other interesting machines you guys had.

The first game I played over the weekend was IK+ on one of your machines against my mate :D Brought back some good memories!

Hope to see you again next year (and actually take a moment to have a chat!)
 
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