We are now approaching the spring of 1989. In amongst the frantic work on the French Revolution, Glacial Deposits and Square Roots there is still time. In between the visits to the higher educational establishments listed on the UCCA and PCAS forms there is still time. But mainly because the Saturday job and paper rounds have been given up (too busy with homework, boss) there is still time. Time to get that spectrum warmed up and send a few critters to digital oblivion.

But the times they are a'changing. We have seen a few pictures creeping in to the magazines that have caused our jaws to drop. We have been bedazzled by that Juggler (even Big & Baggy was quite impressed by that one). And a couple of other people in the sixth form have made that leap. 16-Bits are here. The Atari ST has landed in Welwyn Garden City and things will never be the same again.

At the same time, the Daddy is getting increasingly frustrated with his lot in life. People he started at the Electricity Board with all those years ago are racing ahead in the promotion stakes, while he seems stuck. The latest couple of interviews have resulted in rejections yet again and he needs to cheer himself up. What better way than with a new computer?

Magazines were pored over. Shop assistants consulted. And then the day came. He used up a day of precious annual leave and took the train to London. We weren't invited of course but the anticipation when we were waiting for him to come home was crackling in the air. So it was a bit of a shock when he walked in empty handed. Where was the new wonder machine then?

Being delivered next week it would seem.

Some hard bargaining had occurred in the Silica Shop and more than the standard package on offer was on its way to us. You see, the Daddy had started using a computing device at work now and had an idea of the things he wanted to do at home. Not for him the bundled Word Processor, Spreadsheet and Database options. Oh no, we want three packages from the same publisher that will actually talk to each other. Nor do we need the joystick or printer options as what we have already plugged in to the speccy are better than those. A few other things got swapped about too, meaning no matter how many offer ads were looked over, the exact contents of the box were going to remain a mystery for a few days longer.

It was a strange mix of joy and despondency that accompanied the journey in to the loft to collect the spectrum and microdrive boxes. There just wasn't room to keep it out and in use alongside the new piece of kit. Not to mention there not being a spare telly kicking around. All those classic games went in to storage. The drawers were cleared of Sinclair magazines and listings. A swift bit of woodwork over the weekend produced a tv stand that was twice the size of the one we were using on top of the desk at the moment. What was the point of that, we wondered? Heck, even the desk top itself was dusted in readiness for the parcel man coming.

And eventually, he came. With an enormous but unmarked box. Never had the couple of hours between getting home from school and Dad getting home from work passed more slowly. And then we had to eat tea as well. All the while thanking the heavens that it was not a Thursday so he wasn't visiting his Mum. And it wasn't a library week either so we wouldn't be dragged out straight after.

Finally, the food was chewed, the drinks were drunk and the unpacking could begin.

The tape was slit and cardboard flaps opened to reveal a myriad of smaller boxes and lots of chunks of expanded polystyrene. Wonderful.

Inside those boxes a brand spanking new Atari 1040 STfm, mono monitor, mouse, second disk drive and assorted disks. And the thrill when it was all finally plugged in and you could wiggle the mouse to make things happen on screen was astounding. Some of the disks even appeared to be games. Not that we got anywhere near sticking those in the drive that first night, but they existed and would be played.

Not for very long though. They turned out to be Nigel Mansell's Grand Prix (Rated as CRAP), Overlander (Rated as Roadblasters rip-off) and Hellfire Attack (Rated as a bit easy). More and better games were to follow, and three weeks later the Daddy got a promotion after all and the big move to Felixstowe was put in action...

Simon

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