UK retro show thoughts

I've tried to make a couple of points which seem to have sunk unnoticed. While you're all happily arguing about the comparative virtues of various models of generator, I have pointed out that there are already very large-scale computer shows happening in the UK on a regular basis: the commercial LAN parties. If a venue can handle a thousand plus PCs, it can handle a few hundred vintage computers. These places would seem to me to naturally be high on the list of candidate venues. I asked for commentary about the venue for the largest of these, Multiplay. http://www.multiplay.co.uk/ There is one this coming weekend. Perhaps someone in the area - Newbury - could pop over and check it out briefly and report back? Are listers even /aware/ that there are multiple such events every year in this country with literally *thousands* of gamers attending, the majority bringing their own hand-built high-end customised PCs to play on? The custom PC building fraternity is probably the biggest computer enthusiast scene or group in the world today. It's relevant to us. Highly relevant, I submit; their attendees could be some of ours, for a start, and their organizers could potentially tell or teach us a lot. Secondly, there is an existing UK retrocomputing event, although it's not that regular. It's CGE-UK. Here are a couple of reports from past ones: http://www.ukretro.co.uk/cge2004.htm http://www.consolepassion.co.uk/cge-show-report.htm http://www.acornelectron.co.uk/eug/revs/misc/r-cge.html I was at one of these - I don't remember now if it was '04 or '05. It was good fun. Strong games emphasis, which is of little interest to me, but a vast amount of fascinating hardware - all manner of 1980s exotica and obscurities, plus stuff from the '50s, '60s and '70s. For instance, as a child of the (computing) 1980s, I punched my first ever punch card and I handled some core store for the first time in my life. Several list members were there exhibiting. Care to stop debating generators and start making some constructive suggestions, folks? :?) For what it's worth, I was (somewhat peripherally) involved in the running of the 2005 World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow. I know a lot of people involved in running SF cons and have some useful contacts from that field; I attend up to half a dozen such events a year. This may not sound terribly relevant, but the Worldcon is the largest amateur-run event of any kind in the world and it happens without fail every single year and it's been running for more than 60 years now. There is much we could potentially learn from them. They know how to put on a big event for hundreds or thousands of attendees with no professional help or involvement and a starting budget of zero or close to it. -- Liam Proven ? Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/liamproven Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/GoogleTalk/Orkut: lproven at gmail.com Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884 ? Fax: + 44 870-9151419 AOL/AIM/iChat: liamproven at aol.com ? MSN/Messenger: lproven at hotmail.com Yahoo: liamproven at yahoo.co.uk ? Skype: liamproven ? ICQ: 73187508