ALL MICRO SHOW 6¢A Report by S. J. Murray.¢¢¢ Isn't it amazing how fast a year goes by? With AMS5 still fresh in my mind I again made the 1000 mile round-trip to the Bingley Hall, Stafford for this years All Micro Show. I will now tell you of my trip in the same diary format as last years report.¢¢Friday 13th November:¢¢ I'm not a superstitious person but every time the date 'Friday 13th' appears I think of bad-luck (and Jason Vorhees). Usually the day goes by without any hitches (or axe-wielding maniacs) but today was an exception.¢¢ My girlfriend and I had reserved seats on the 7:55 a.m. train to Newcastle. We missed it! AGHHH! I know who was to blame. It was probably the first time British Rail have left on time all year. Well, after catching my breath, I booked us on the 9:55. We didn't miss that one!¢¢ Dave Ewens of the Tyne & Wear Atari User Group had invited myself and my girlfriend, Lesley to stay with his family over the weekend. This meant that I could split my trip to Stafford into two smaller journeys (just like last year). We arrived in Newcastle at 2 p.m. and were met by Dave at the front entrance.¢¢ After some lunch (and a couple of pints!) at the pub across the street we went on a quick stroll through the city centre. Fenwicks' windows were very impressive (the Wizard of Oz) and the Eldon Square Shopping Centre was even bigger than I remembered (if that's possible!).¢¢ We caught a bus at Eldon Square which took us out to Cowgate. Upon arrival I hardly recognised the place. All the houses had new pathways, fences, doors, windows, etc. Dave's home had also been re-decorated inside (10/10 Gillian!). Dave's wife, Margaret was there to meet us. It was good to see her again.¢¢ After a welcome cup of coffee I showed Dave my copy of Atari Classics. I had a quick look at his copy of the latest Boot! (LACE) newsletter. We then had a chat about the show over a delicious evening meal.¢¢ At about 7 p.m. Dave and I headed off to the Friday TWAUG meeting with an 800XL and drive in hand. I was looking forward to seeing all the lads again. Denis was the first to show up, with a TV under his arm. We must have looked like a gang of cat-burglars.¢¢ John was next to arrive and before long we had the system set up. Michael popped in to pick up his upgraded 800XL and the other John (John 2) showed up soon after.¢¢ Dave had just received Print Lab from Derek Fern (MD Software) and he demoed its capabilities. It is a screen designer for use with Atari 1020, 1029 and Epson compatible printers. I thought it looked quite good. It's great to see software being written for the 1029 and 1020 printers.¢¢ John then demoed the title and menu screens for the first TWAUG Newsletter (see InfoFile). It's coming together nicely. I liked the Tyne Bridge menu screen. John also handed out final copies of the TWAUG Newsletter info-sheet they were planning to distribute at AMS6.¢¢ I then passed around my copy of Atari Classics. The general consensus of the Premier Issue was about 8/10. Everyone agreed that a subscription would be worthwhile.¢¢ John(2) kindly gave Dave and I a lift home in his car and before long I was back in front of Dave's 8-bit system. His software collection is incredible!¢¢Saturday 14th November:¢¢ 5:15 a.m. and there was a knock at the bedroom door. Was I alive? Was I dreaming? No, it was time to get ready for the trip down to Stafford.¢¢ We had some Aberdeen rolls for breakfast. Dave was impressed (they're even tastier when heated, Dave). John arrived just after 6 a.m. and we were off into the night. Or was it morning? Who cares - it was cold!¢¢ We arrived at the Bingley Hall at about 10:30 a.m. We had been held up by a traffic accident on the way down (Friday 13th syndrome!) and arrived 30 minutes late. Not to worry, I thought, the bargains will still be flowing. I was right.¢¢ Phew! Just standing at the entrance and looking about the hall made me realise how worthwhile the journey down had been. There seemed to be Atari 8-bit stalls everywhere.¢¢ My first port of call was Peter Mattock's stall (Gladden House Computers) which was situated close to the entrance. Dave bought an 800XL from him for only ten pounds. Peter was also selling 65XE's upgraded to 320K for only 70 pounds (including a Cupid interface). He had bargain software, magazines and books. I bought Realm Of Impossibility (two pounds), Stratos (1.50) and Astrochase (two pounds). After a quick chat with Peter it was time to move on.¢¢ Gralin International was next. Like last year, they had a large stall in the centre of the hall. Midimaster was being demoed to a captive audience. After a detailed look I began to breeze through their boxes of Antic back issues. I bought 31 Antics at only 50p each. I also scooped Dark Chambers (8.95), Gato (8.50) and a Light Gun complete with Barnyard Blaster for twenty pounds. It was slightly annoying to see Gralin add one pound to each of their cartridges (from their previous Page 6 advert) but they were still a tenner cheaper than Derek Fern. Gralin's 'free software with every purchase' offer was much appreciated. Classic APX software was handed out.¢¢ A problem! I'd bought too many Antics. I only just managed to squeeze them all into my sports bag. They were VERY heavy. Have you ever tried to carry 31 Antics and a pile of software? No? Why not? It's a gratifying experience.¢¢ Over at the left-hand side of the hall, Dean Garraghty was selling all nine of his NewsDisks for only 5 pounds (or 1 pound each). He was also busy showing his music software. After standing around for about thirty seconds with nobody taking me on I decided to move along. I planned to go back later but forgot.¢¢ On the back wall of the hall there were three more Atari 8-bit stands. My first port of call was Tiger Developments. Neil Ottaway himself was on hand taking orders for his new game, Lizard. All of Tiger's software was selling at special show prices.¢¢ I had a look at some screen shots of Lizard and immediately placed an order for it (only four pounds - normally 4.99). Neil told me it should be completed in three weeks. He then asked if I'd purchased any of his other games. I explained that I'd always meant to but had never got round to it. He then made me an offer of Mission Zircon, Tarkus, Boing II and Speed Fox for only ten pounds (normally 14.97). There was no hesitation. I then thanked Neil for his continued support of the 8-bit Atari.¢¢ Last year, Derek and Pam Fern of Micro Discount had by far the busiest stand. This was due mainly to their assortment of 8-bit bargains. At this years show Derek and Pam had decided to concentrate on new products. This is understandable due to the higher profit margins.¢¢ At this point I bumped into Dave. He introduced me to a friend of his, John E. Yes, the John E who produces the demos and The Grim Reaper Newsletters. People never look the way you imagine them. I had a chat with him about my journey down and congratulated him on TGR. He then told me that he enjoyed reading Futura and particularly liked my report on last years show.¢¢ Derek and Pam were selling new original software under the new name, MD Software. Four titles were available: Tricky Print, Print Lab, Tagalon and Last Guardian. The last two were games produced by Tynesoft in the late 1980's which MD Software have aquired the rights to. (I wonder where he found these, eh John?)¢¢ I was served by Pam this year. She asked me why I hadn't been in touch for a while. I explained that I was finding it difficult to support every 8-bit source. She saw my point. I had a quick chat with her about my change of address since I had last placed an order and bought some blank disks. She also persuaded me to sign up for the MD Database (regular price lists). I said goodbye and moved onto the next stand - Page 6.¢¢ Before I reached Page 6, Dave suggested that we go back to the car and dump all the stuff we had bought so far. We found John and before long my bag was empty again - bad idea!¢¢ I introduced myself to Les and Sandy and talked with them about the future of Page 6. Les told me that subscription levels had been high enough for them to continue with the magazine for some time yet. This was good news. We then talked about NOSAUG and Futura. Page 6 have included Futura 1, 2 and 3 in their PD library. They have also reviewed all three for inclusion in Issue 59 (Dec/Jan). I told Les I was looking forward to the review.¢¢ Les then made one very interesting point. He told me that they had started the PD library as merely a reader service but now relied heavily on PD and commercial sales for the survival of the magazine.¢¢ At this point I decided to show my appreciation and buy some software. I bought some budget tapes at one pound each and the disk version of the E-Factor for two pounds. I also bought a few other tapes - Golden Voyage, Ghost Town (one pound each), Canyon Climber, Shamus (two pounds each), etc. I love buying classic software titles.¢¢ After telling Les of the progress made with Futura 4, I decided to move on to my next port of call - the London Atari Computer Enthusiasts (LACE). They were promoting their Boot! Newsletter. Having forgotten to buy a copy last year I rectified the situation at this years show and duly purchased the latest copy from a large, unhappy guy. He seemed to think that he was doing me a favour! Needless to say, I quickly moved on.¢¢ Over at the far right-hand side of the hall I bumped into Dave and John. They introduced me to another member of TWAUG, Max. He's a great little character! They had all found a stand selling blank disks at very low prices. It was time to open the wallet again.¢¢ Further down toward the entrance was the Bring'n'Buy section. I found two stalls selling Atari 8-bit software. SEA DRAGON!!! I had been after this classic game for many years and had finally found a version with full packaging and instructions (cassette) for only two pounds. To say I was pleased would be an under-statement.¢¢ I then met up with everyone at the front entrance. For the first time that day I looked at my watch. I couldn't believe it read 1 p.m. Over two hours had just flown by. I noticed that Max had a 5 1/4" disk box under his arm so I asked him where he had found it. He pointed out a stand at the back of the hall and before long I had three disk boxes under my arm.¢¢ On the way back to the entrance I had one last look at the Gralin stand. They had an 8-bit connected up to a one-inch television. It was quite amusing.¢¢ By this time everyone had bags and bags of 8-bit goodies. John, Dave and I said goodbye to Max and John E and headed for the car. At least this year we managed to get most of the stuff in the boot.¢¢ We got back into Newcastle for about 6 p.m. (we had stopped for a meal on the way up) and before long, Dave and I had all our goodies inside the house. We thanked John for the lift and said goodbye. He said he was off home to fit the 1 MB upgrade he had bought into his 800XL.¢¢ After some laughter from Lesley and Margaret over the amount of stuff we had bought there was a very welcome cup of coffee. I got my revenge for Lesley's laughter when I saw how much stuff she had bought in Newcastle that afternoon. The rest of the evening was spent going through the software we had bought. I was particularly impressed with Dave's copy of Crossbow for the light-gun.¢¢Sunday 15th November:¢¢ A long-lie! Compared to the previous two days, 9:30 a.m. was indeed a long-lie. After some breakfast Dave took Lesley and I down to the Newcastle Sunday Quayside Market. Amazing bargains! We even found a stall selling Atari 8-bit cassettes. By the time we got back to Cowgate we had even more stuff to pack so decided to get a large cardboard box from the local newsagent.¢¢ One large box, three sports bags and four plastic bags! The journey home was not going to be easy. Dave's daughter, Gillian and her boyfriend, David had kindly offered to give us a lift to the train station. This was much appreciated. We said thank-you and goodbye to Margaret and Dave and made our way to the station. After giving our thanks to Gillian and David we checked the timetable screen and headed for Platform 2.¢¢ Ten minutes late... no space for luggage... engine failure... changed trains... no seats... arrived in Aberdeen one hour late. British Rail at its best! However, ever good old BR couldn't wreck what had been a wonderful weekend.¢¢¢ In conclusion, my trip to AMS6 was every bit as enjoyable and worthwhile as last years. It was great to see everyone again and also to meet some new characters. The whole show had a very friendly atmosphere and was packed with Atari 8-bitters. I counted seven XL/XE stands with many others carrying an 8-bit selection. If you can make it to AMS7, do so. I'll be there!¢¢¢ ------¢¢ I would like to thank the following people for helping to create an amazing weekend:¢¢Dave, Margaret, Gillian, Dave, Ginger, Fluffy, and Ivy for making Lesley and I feel so welcome in their home;¢John (thanks for the lift), Denis, John, Max and all the lads at TWAUG;¢Sharward Services for organising another excellent show;¢Gralin, Page 6, Micro Discount, Gladden House, Tiger Developments, Dean Garraghty and LACE for taking the time to organise stands at the show - it is much appreciated;¢John E, Neil, Derek & Pam, Les & Sandy, Peter , Colin, and all the friendly 8-bitters I met - true loyalty to the worlds greatest computer system!¢¢THE ATARI 8-BIT GOES MARCHING ON!¢¢¢Stuart J.Murray,¢North Of Scotland Atari User Group,¢November 16th, 1992.¢
