Kickstart Events and Activities, News

Just One More Sleep – The BBQ Meet is Tomorrow!

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We are nearly there, doors open tomorrow (Saturday 18th July 2026) at 9am.

A Reminder About Ticketing

All attendees must have their own ticket, regardless of age, no exceptions. Although your ticket might include a table that is big enough for two people, any additional guests coming with you to share the table will need their own non-table ticket per person. If attendees do arrive without their own ticket, if we have space they will be asked to pay for a non-table ticket. Please buy tickets in advance to avoid awkward situations on the day. Thanks. The couple of non-table spaces we have left will remain on sale until 5pm today. Then we need to close it off to get ready for tomorrow.

Please Read Your Email

All ticket holders have received the “Big Pre-Meet Email” Please make sure you read this as it includes a lot of important information to make sure you have the best day possible. Top of the list is an update on the parking situation for tomorrow in light of the on-going roadworks that have closed off our usual free car park directly opposite the hall.

Traders

Retro Lemon: Retro Lemon sells a wide range of Amiga and other 8 & 16-bit system expansions, upgrades and accessories. They are exclusive UK distributor for Lotharek.pl. Stop by their table in the Runnymede Room, or get in touch ahead of the meet if there’s anything specific you would like them to have in stock on the day.

Digital Retro Bay: Digital Retro Bay sells high quality retro computing items for the Amiga such as the extremely popular GoDrive floppy drive emulator and switcher, keyboard membranes, accelerators, USB controller adapters, custom joypads and 3D printed add-ons. They will be in the Runnymede Room. Get in touch with them ahead of the meet if there’s anything specific you would like them to have in stock on the day

Amiga Addict: The team from Amiga Addict will be joining us and will have issues of Amiga Addict, Pixel Addict and their special editions, as well as merch available for sale. Stop by their table in the Runnymede Room and say Hi.

Monster Joysticks: Our friends at Monster Joysticks will be joining us. Expect to see a wide range of their fantastic joysticks on display, available in a variety of formats and for a very wide array of systems (including a multi-button stick for the CD32, a huge upgrade over the original joypad it shipped with).

Come Hungry

Kickstart meets are always fully catered, so you don’t have to worry about having to find lunch, a drink or a snack. It ensures you can make the very most of the day. We will supply the following on Saturday:

  • Tea, Coffee, Milk, Sugar, Artificial Sweetener (there’s a hot water urn in the kitchen for instant boiling water for self-service drinks all day)
  • Disposable Coffee Cups
  • Bottled Water
  • Canned Soft Drinks
  • Assorted Biscuits
  • Assorted Crisps
  • Assorted Chocolate Bars
  • BBQ Lunch (Burgers, Chicken, Pork & Cumberland Sausages)
  • Kickstart Cake for Dessert

We Have Merch!

I’m really excited to announce we will have a selection of Kickstart merch available, the essential accessories for any Amiga enthusiast:

  • Mugs
  • Mouse Mats
  • Keyrings
  • Stickers

The Kickstart Merch Table will be set up near the main entrance. Everything is priced as low as possible and 100% of all funds go back into Kickstart to fund future events. We can take cash and cards.

Any Questions or Problems

If you have any questions, please ping us using the contact form above, or message us on our WhatsApp group or Facebook Group.

Kickstart Events and Activities

Just Two More Weeks Until Kickstart 9

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We are nearly there, just two more weeks until the hottest Amiga gathering of the year!

Key Information

A Kickstart tradition that dates back to 1997, we’ve had a BBQ at our home base in Ottershaw every year we’ve been doing in-person meetups. Unlike our regular meets that take place on a Sunday, we move this meet to a Saturday to make it easier for people to stay over for the night, have a drink etc. and we have some top-notch food lined up for the grill.

Kickstart 9 will still be a regular all-day Kickstart meet-up, with all the usual fun and games (we might finally get one of those gaming competitions going on the big projector screen, you never know). The BBQ will be serving up in the garden outside the Runnymede Room from lunchtime until everyone is full or we run out of food, whichever comes first. There will also be the usual high-score contest as well as Machine of the Meet and the Kickstart Cake!

We are also very excited to confirm that we will have Amiga Addict, Retro Lemon, Monster Joysticks and Digital Retro Bay attending, all bringing a selection of their products for sale.

We will also have some new branded merch on sale at the BBQ meet – the long awaited Kickstart mugs and Kickstart stickers, along with Kickstart keyrings. We’ll have a great bundle on offer for £10 with all three.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on the 18th. If you don’t already have a ticket, grab one now.

Kickstart Events and Activities

Kickstart at Zzap Live

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This past weekend Kickstart took part in Zzap Live in Coventry. An annual show organized by Fusion Retro Books (publisher of the revivied Zzap 64 and Zzap Amiga magazines), this is a great hands-on event, with loads of Amigas and Commodore 64s, as well as other systems and arcade machines out to play with, an excellent talks programme, as well as a variety of traders selling hardware, software and themed merchandise.

Since its inception in 2023, Zzap Live has always encouraged the user group community to get involved, and once again we were excited to take part. Chris Green, Sam Byford and Paul Dean took part to fly the Kickstart flag, as well as support other groups such as ANT and SWAG. A big thanks to Dave Boswell and our friends at SWAG for coordinating the Amiga user group participation again this year, helping us on the day with PAT testing (Zeb Elwood – thanks again for your help there) and for ensuring we had a good variety of machines on display.

Here are a few pics of the Kickstart corner from the day, along with a link to an early video that provides a good walkaround of everything that was on show, along with a video from Kickstart’s own Leigh Malpas.

Continue reading Kickstart at Zzap Live →
Kickstart Events and Activities, News

Kickstart 9: Only Amiga Makes it BBQ – Tickets Now On Sale

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Key Information

We’ve just wrapped up Kickstart 8 – thank you to everyone that came along and produced another fantastic Amiga meetup. It also means it’s time to open up sales for the summer BBQ meet, combining good times, good friends, great food, lots of Amigas and plenty of fun!

A Kickstart tradition that dates back to 1997, we’ve had a BBQ at our home base in Ottershaw every year we’ve been doing in-person meetups. Unlike our regular meets that take place on a Sunday, we move this meet to a Saturday to make it easier for people to stay over for the night, have a drink etc. and we have some top-notch food lined up for the grill.

We’ll be doing good quality burgers, sausages, chicken and more, as well as coleslaw, salads and other stuff. You are more than welcome to bring your own beer and/or wine, but please drink responsibly.

Kickstart 9 will still be a regular Kickstart meet-up, with all the usual fun and games (we might finally get one of those gaming competitions going on the big projector screen, you never know). We will also have the new TheA1200 on display, the full-size sequel to TheA500 Mini, but with a full working keyboard and AmigaOS, as well as pre-installed games.

As well as the usual top-quality fun, expect some special guests, some very special competitions and a few more surprises.

Table Tickets: Ticket includes all-day access to the meet, BBQ lunch, snacks and soft drinks/water/tea and coffee, a reserved chair and a table for you and your Amiga or Amigas.

Table Tickets (Stage): Same as a regular table ticket, except these tables are situated on our stage area looking out over the main hall.

No Table Tickets: Same as a regular table ticket, except you don’t have a table, so you won’t be able to set up your Amiga. Everything else is the same.

Spaces are limited, so please don’t delay securing your spot at the hottest Amiga event of the summer!

Kickstart Events and Activities, News

One More Sleep Until Kickstart 8

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Are you ready? The car is mostly packed, the Amigas are boxed up and tomorrow morning we head to Ottershaw Village Hall in Surrey for our eighth Kickstart meet of the new era. It’s a sold-out meet once again, and we are set for a great day of Amiga fun.

Keep an eye on the site tomorrow, if you were not lucky enough to get a place for Kickstart 8, we will be making tickets live for Kickstart 9: the summer BBQ meet!

Kickstart Events and Activities, News

If You Missed Out on Kickstart 8 – Get Ready For the BBQ!

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Kickstart 8 is this Sunday (1st February 2026) and is completely sold out. However, all is not lost, as we are excited to announce the details for K9 – our annual summer BBQ meet and the hottest Amiga event of the year!

Key Information

  • When: Saturday, 18th July 2026
  • Where: Ottershaw Village Hall, Brox Road, Ottershaw, Surrey, KT16 0HG – https://maps.app.goo.gl/31UwXywBMcwKs7FW9
  • Time: 9am-8pm
  • Tickets: On Sale from 1st February

The annual barbecue is a Kickstart tradition. We’ve moved this meet to a Saturday to make it easier for people to stay over for the night, have a drink etc. and we have some top-notch food lined up for the grill.

Continue reading If You Missed Out on Kickstart 8 – Get Ready For the BBQ! →
Kickstart Events and Activities

It’s nearly time for Kickstart 8 – 1st February 2026

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  • When: Sunday, 1st February 2026
  • Where: Ottershaw Village Hall, Brox Road, Ottershaw, Surrey, KT16 0HG – https://maps.app.goo.gl/31UwXywBMcwKs7FW9
  • Time: 9am-8pm

We are just a couple of weeks out from Kickstart 8, taking place on Sunday 1st February 2026.

Table ticket are all sold out, but we are keeping non-table places on sale for one more week, before we have to close things off and finalise numbers for catering etc.

Attendees have all received an email with all the key info they need for this event.

Parking Update

For this meet, there is a one-off change to our usual arrangements. Due to major roadworks in the area, the Murray Road Car Park directly opposite the hall will be closed on 1st February. We only found out about this over the past weekend. However, as it is a Sunday, parking restrictions are not in force, so street parking in Brox Road, Shaw Close and other roads off Brox Road is perfectly fine. We recommend parking outside the hall to unload, then relocating your car further down or in a side street to allow others to do the same. We expect to have the car park back in operation in time for our next meet.

What to Bring

If you have a table ticket (which most of you do), there will be a table and a chair waiting for you – all you need to do is bring your Amiga and its associated bits! This list will help ensure you don’t forget the essentials:

  • Your Amiga
  • A Monitor
  • Mouse, Mouse Mat and Joystick
  • Power Cables and Power Supplies for your Amiga, Monitor and other peripherals
  • Any games or software you need
  • Speakers (if not built into your monitor)
  • Mains extension lead (the more sockets the better). We provide Black surge protected extension leads that are plugged into the wall sockets, please plug into these and not straight into the wall sockets – thanks.
  • A screwdriver (just in case you need to open up your machine)

Any Questions?

Please get in touch if you have any questions. Thanks


Kickstart Events and Activities, News

Kickstart 7 Wraps Up Our 40 Years of the Amiga Celebration

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A huge thank you to everyone who attended Sunday’s Kickstart meet. I hope everyone had a fantastic day. Please do post any pics you have from the meet over in our Facebook group.

Congrats to our three trophy winners and thanks to David Pleasance for attending and for sharing his insights about the new Commodore buisness.

A few pics at the end of this post are from the awards and cake cutting.

Tickets for the 1st February 2026 Kickstart Amiga Group Meet are now on sale, so please grab them while you can (and thanks to everyone who already did on Sunday. Also, if you want to come to our Kickstart Christmas dinner on December 7th, please follow the link and pay your £5 deposit, which will come off your bill on the night.

Continue reading Kickstart 7 Wraps Up Our 40 Years of the Amiga Celebration →