Tag Archives: News

Kickstart Events and Activities

One Month Until Our Kickstart 2 Meet

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Time has flown by and as I write this, we are just a month away from Kickstart 2, the next Kickstart Amiga Group meet. There are some new announcements below about the February meet around our special guests. I will be emailing out and posting the final update with all the logistics info two weeks before the meet.

The big thing to say is that we have just two table spaces left for Kickstart 2 in February, so if you are not already in, time has almost run out!

Kickstart 2 – Our Next Meet – February 2024

Special Guests

David Pleasance

David Pleasance, Commodore’s former UK MD, will be joining us at the February meet. We’ll be having a chat with David on the stage after lunch and he will have his latest book available for sale and signing, as well as his previous books. David will also be bringing a range of Commodore merchandise for sale as well.

Jakub Kosiec from Retro Lemon

Also joining us will be Jakub Kosiec, who sells a wide range of Amiga and other system upgrades via his company Retro Lemon. Jakub will be bringing a range of Amiga add-ons for sale, along with some of his Medusa retro scandoubler boxes and Hydra SCART switches. However, if there’s anything in particular you want from his range for your Amiga, Atari, Sinclair or Commodore machine and you want to save some postage, please drop Jakub a line at info@retrolemon.co.uk and he’ll bring it with him on the day.

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Kickstart Events and Activities, News

2024 Barbecue Meet Confirmed for Saturday June 22nd 2024

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One of the things we really wanted to get in the diary for 2024 was a barbecue. The annual barbecue was a mainstay of the Kickstart Amiga Group annual diary, providing a great social environment as well as the fun of a regular meet.

We are pleased to confirm that we have booked Saturday 22nd June 2024 for the Barbecue meet. Ticket price includes the barbecue and tickets are on sale now, along with a few remaining tickets for our February 2024 meet:

Key Information

  • When: Saturday 22nd June 2024
  • Where: Ottershaw Village Hall, Brox Road,
    Ottershaw, Surrey, KT16 0HG
  • Time: 9am-9pm
  • Cost: £14-16 per person
    (price includes BBQ lunch, snacks and soft drinks throughout the day)
  • Ticket Link: https://kickstartamigagroup.sumupstore.com/
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Kickstart Events and Activities, News

Kickstart 2 Confirmed for Sunday 18th February 2024 – Tickets On Sale Now!

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Hot on the heels of the success of our first meet, we are pleased to announce the date and details for our second meetup. Following a survey of members coming to our first event, we have confirmed Sunday 18th February 2024 for the meet. Tickets are on sale now, so please be quick as we did sell out of table spaces for our first meet.

Key Information

  • When: Sunday 18th February 2024
  • Where: Ottershaw Village Hall, Brox Road,
    Ottershaw, Surrey, KT16 0HG
  • Time: 9am-9pm
  • Cost: £14-16 per person
    (price includes lunch, snacks and soft drinks throughout the day)
  • Ticket Link: https://kickstartamigagroup.sumupstore.com/

For our second meet, we are once again holding it where it all began – Ottershaw Village Hall. This is where the Kickstart Amiga Group originally held its monthly meetings back in the 1990s and early 2000s, as well as the first three Kickstart Amiga Shows. Back then, it was called Brook Hall. Not only has the name changed, but the venue has had a substantial makeover and is a wonderful place to hold our meets. You can see some pics from our October meet here, as well as on our Facebook Group.

Kickstart is a non-profit event. The price we are charging is purely to cover the cost of renting the hall for the day and for the cost of the refreshments. If by some miracle, we have money left over, 100% of it will be put towards the cost of booking the hall for the next meet.

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News

A Great Day at Zzap Live!

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Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who stopped by the Kickstart stand at Zzap Live this past weekend. It was great to see so many people and to talk about our plans for the group. We even met a few Kickstart Originals (members from before hour hiatus) which was wonderful.

We had a double table in the Amiga room at Zzap, where we originally had five machines on display for people to use as part of our promotional efforts, but soon we were down to four after a customised A1200 we had on show decided to malfunction. We think its a Chip RAM issue, so should be easy enough to fix.

For the day, the remaining four machines were an example of member-owned computers, either modified and updated for 2023, or brand new hardware.

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Kickstart Events and Activities, News

Come See Kickstart at Zzap Live 2023 on August 12th

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Ahead of our next Kickstart meet in Ottershaw in October, Kickstart will be on the road in August and September, popping up at some events and supporting some of our friends at their user group meets.

On 12th August 2023 we will be heading to the Holiday Inn Kenilworth (it’s about half way between Warwick and Coventry) for Zzap! Live 2023. It’s a hands-on show celebrating all things Commodore, from the early 8-bit days right the way through to the Amiga and even Commodore’s difficult history as a PC maker. We are there in conjunction with our friends at the South West Amiga Group, helping to populate the Amiga area. Some of the Kickstart team will be there showing off some modified and updated member machines, showing how you can make the most of the Amiga in 2023.

Zzap! Live 2023 will feature over 50 interactive exhibits, representing the entire history of Commodore computing from the humble pioneering days right up to the present. Not only will there be plenty to play, but other ways to spend your time and your money while you socialise!

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Kickstart Events and Activities, News

Here We Go Again

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Amiga Range of Computers
The Commodore Amiga – A Range of Computers That Spanned Two Decades

Back in 1997, the Amiga as a platform was dying. Commodore had gone bust, Escom (the company that bought most of Commodore’s assets, including the Amiga) also went bust after over-stretching itself. Various other attempts to rescue the Amiga platform from the wreckage ended up being little more than a joke that came to nothing. It fell to the remaining users and the rest of the grassroots community such as the vendors still in the market and the last embers of Amiga media to support each other and keep the platform alive. This is how Kickstart was born.

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