Cheltonian Geekfest a review by John McDermott

It has been almost five years since the first big retro gaming event - “R3Play 2010 in Blackpool” when I and a bunch of retro computer and gaming enthusiasts; mainly from the Amibay forum, travelled the length and breadth of the UK to meet up (some of us – including me – for the first time) and to over the course of the weekend regale each other with tales of our childhood, teen and early adulthood experiences of how our lives were shaped by the insurgence of the home computer and reminisce over what had gone before whilst enjoying what was at the time – the best retro computer show around. Whether it was myself travelling light from Glasgow with a Minimig and a wee LCD in a rucksack; John Mansfield pitching up from Birmingham with the largest Backpack I’d ever seen containing all sorts of retro goodness, or Justin cruising along in his old (and lovely) Porsche; we all got there, built bonds of friendship that would last until this day and hopefully beyond and at the same time share in a cracking experience.

Subsequent events would see some of the “original” team reappear and share a beer again in Blackpool and Manchester and I would add to my growing list of new friends – some of whom are close friends to this day, but ultimately the subsequent events were a bit more corporate; less fun and more was required of us as individuals and as a group (by the organisers), for little or no thanks. Frankly – it started to become a chore and was certainly not the same experience as the first year or two…

However... something changed in late 2014 (or should I say someone made it change). A call to arms was announced via the Amibay forum and Facebook (and probably other social media sites), which was to invite everyone along to what was being affectionately termed the Cheltonian Geekfest. Hosted by the lovely Justin and Nikki Vaughan, the idea of the event was to gather as many like-minded individuals from the various forums and pitch up in Cheltenham to enjoy a day of retro computer goodness (and maybe enjoy some drinks and food together over the course of the weekend too – after all it would be rude not to!!).

Travelling down from Glasgow on a cold Friday morning in February I got to the hotel (which through the powers of social media – every one of my friends who were travelling to the event had organised to stay at too) I was pleasantly surprised to meet Mike Nurney at the bar and move easily into enjoying a beer and a catch up with him and some of the other guys and gals who had arrived.

A lovely evening ensued and we all just relaxed in anticipation of the following morning’s event at the Holiday Inn.

I have to say now that the Cheltonian Geek Fest was not only a return to how things were at the original event at Blackpool; it was surpassed! We had pretty much all of the original crew from the Blackpool events in attendance plus some new but important folks who I was looking forward to meeting in person after all the years of engaging with them on Amibay, and some others who I was meeting for the first time either in person or from the forum.

Fronting up at the Holiday Inn on Saturday Morning; getting our kit unpacked and set up was quickly done and we were soon enjoying the sights and sounds of all kinds of computers and hand held devices; along with the lively chattering of old and new friends enthusing about what was on show.

The day went well. Competitions were enjoyed; computers were dismantled and reassembled; broken stuff got fixed; beer and food were consumed (of course!) but as I’ve said before in other blogs and Amibay posts; although the backdrop to these events is the Retro Computing and Gaming scene; for me, and many others the most important thing about these events is the social interaction; the chance to talk rubbish, play some games, get nostalgic and catch up with old friends whilst enjoying an environment that we’re consummately comfortable with.

The Cheltonian Geekfest ticked all the boxes that the original event in Blackpool did and then some. The feeling was more of a computer club with friends that hadn’t seen each other in a good while and if Justin and Nikki can manage it – I’m certainly willing to again drive the distance and come down from the Frozen North to attend another such event.