|
Having
barely scrapped myself back together after a very late night at
Matt Garrett's at the weekend for meet 1.95,
I get back to #ukVac and find JROK lurking in the channel. For
those that don't know, JROK is the infamous S.O.H.S. (Save
Our High Scores) Web
Site owner and maintainer, and a ex-pat living in the United
States. Well, I'm surprised to learn he's actually visiting his
relatives in Bournemouth - and he's a little miffed he missed the
action at 1.95.
Bournemouth?
Did he say Bournemouth? Hells teeth man! That's under a hour away
from R-Zone (my Unit!). I learn that JROK's scampering back across
the pond on Friday - damn! "Lets meet and get some games in -
I'm pining," says JROK. Well - that was that. It had to be
here as he wanted retro action. So we agreed on the Wednesday
evening - leaving me little time to prepare seeing it was Sunday
Night. Seeing I had to get the unit into ship-shape for our
visitor, I thought I may as well offer open house for the evening
to any local ukVaccers and so I mailed the list. Blimey o'Riely!
Around 20 folks turn up on the night - some from as far as
Cheltenham and Bedford! For a mid-weeker too!
So,
I took the Wednesday off work as R-Zone had become a cab graveyard
for the last few months and wasn't fit to fit me in, let alone 20!
So, armed with a pile of PCBS, Parts, Tools and a Hoover I set
about attacking each cab and battling a seemingly endless supply
of Spiders (thinking of which, those buggers are probably UK/US
hybrids having had some come in the cabs I've imported! Scary!).
Each machine was pulled out and into position, hoovered, cleaned
and sorted and put into orderly rows that you can see in the
pictures below. This took all day - and a bloody hot one it was
too! (Hot enough I had to skulk off to the local at the lunch for
a pint or two :P) and by the time Phil Eaton rang from the station
at 5PM I was hot, bothered but the place looked awesome!
By
the time I got back from the Station JROK was waiting outside the
unit looking around suspiciously because it was dead and perhaps
he'd been goofed! Well, I hung my R-Type marquee outside on the
fence (had to be R-Type hey? :P)
Before
long the place was buzzing, as can be seen from the pictures
below. We had a great time with countless beers, cokes and crisps
and all the machines behaved themselves - well the Tron developed
a ticking which I've yet to look at, and the two damn colour
vectors decided to suddenly mutiny!
By
11 we were in dire need of food, so we got £50 of pizza delivered
to a local pub and Matt and I collected. |People started to
scatter and by 1AM it was all over.
Quick
thanks to everyone for coming, to Steve who valiantly had a quick
fix of the Judge Dredd Pinball so it was at least playable, to the
long distance visitors! |
