The ZX Spectrum is 25 years old this week. The Spectrum is the £180 computer that my Mum bought for me as a Christmas present in 1982. I remember her putting the order through and being told it would not arrive until after Christmas. Demand for the small computer was that big. I had set myself up to wait, then, the letter through the letterbox, a parcel was waiting at the Post Office. Could it be? Yes, it was. Mum tried to make me wait, but I couldn't and I had in unboxed in no time.

I had been introduced to computers by my maths teacher, Mr Coleman, and his ZX81, and then the school's brand new Research Machine 380z. The Spectrum was different. It had colour and sound. Nothing great by todays standards, but fantastic in 1982. I was lucky, I had the 48k version. 48k! My MacPro has 5gb of ram.

I learnt Sinclair BASIC. It was a bit of an odd version of BASIC and not as nice as its rival, BBC B, but nice all the same. Their were magazines galore. I subscribed to, Your Computer. Every month you would type in, line by line, the code from the magazine for the program you liked best. Then you would have to save it to good old c15 audio tapes. Crash magazine became the bible of game reviews.

I wrote programs for my O levels on that machine. It was a darts scorer. It would tell you how to finish from a certain score, hold averages, your highest score and check out. I learnt how to work out fractions by writing a program. By the time I had finished, I could do it without the Spectrum. I just ran the program in my head.

The graphics were poor, but because of that the game play had to be great, and their were some great games. Ultimate, with, Jetpac, Atic Atac, Sabre Wulf and Tranz Am made some of the best. I had my first football game written by Ocean. Football Manager was iconic in those days and Daley Thompson's Decathlon smashed the poor little rubber keyboard.

I have been working with computers almost every since, and my fascination for them started back in those days. I am so pleased my Mum bought me a Spectrum. It wasn't cheap then, but I am most grateful to her.

Recently, my wife and I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. We organised a private tour guide who showed us around both camps. The guides have to pass an exam before than can take people around and it showed. Our guide was very knowledgeable.

When we arrived at Auschwitz, I was surprised that it was in the middle of a town. Obviously, the town has been built up since the end of the war, but this was the first thing that struck me. I thought it would be in the middle of trees and fields. It is hard to imagine what went on within the walls.



There are rooms which exhibit human hair, suitcases and personal effects such as tooth brushes, glasses, even one with false limbs. It was bitterly cold the day we visited and by Polish standards, a mild winters day. How these people survived just the cold let alone what the Nazi's where doing to them is beyond belief. Auschwitz was more of a labour and prisoner of war camp. Although there was a gas chamber at Auschwitz, the vast majority of the killings took place at Birkenau. After hearing this I wondered why Auschwitz was the more well known concentration camp. The guide said, that might be true to you, but if you ask any Jew they would say Birkenau. It took 3 hours to tour Auschwitz. It is a sparse, depressing place to walk around. Hardly anyone talking, no rushing around. It certainly isn't like life outside.

After we left Auschwitz we took a the short drive to Birkenau. Here the scale really hits you. You walk up to the top of the tower that stands over the gate and the train tracks go as far as the eye can see. These platforms would have been full with tracks that would have reached from one end to the other.



The shear size of the camp we huge. This is the field and forest location I had expected. A lot of the housing had been destroyed, but you could see how big the place was. The gas chambers were destroyed by the Nazis before the end of the war, but the ruins are still there. This seemed a more cold, bleak place than Auschwitz. Our guide pointed out that selection took place straight off the train and if you weren't chosen to live then you were sent straight to the gas chambers. The Germans even gave out soap and towels to those who were told they were getting showered. They didn't know which fate was to await them.

I am pleased that Auschwitz-Birkenau was not destroyed at the end of the war. It would remain as a symbol of what humans can do to one another. The next time I see those horrific pictures and the conditions that go along with them, it will be much more vivid than before.

I have been watching The Verdict on BBC2. I have found it very interesting to watch. I have always been interested in the legal process and have to watched programmes like Crown Court which is making a comeback on LegalTV. At least once a year I go to the Old Bailey to watch the Courts working. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to see how real life court compares to TV.

It is this difference that is making The Verdict so interesting to watch. It is not scripted and the barristers are real. They are doing their job, their way, but with cameras present. It is also interesting to hear the behind the scenes discussions with the jury. Although they are 12 famous people, I feel their bias and views would be no different to any other 12 strangers pushed together to become a jury. Stan Collymore has been very strong on his view that you must weigh up the case on the evidence you are told, but on the emotions of the witnesses. This is a very noble thought, but is it really possible to do that?

The victim was in great distress while giving her evidence and Stan said we must ignore that. That may be true, but I have this question. If she had been calm, not cried, would that have been used by the jury to show that she was lying and made it all up?

The show continues and I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Last Thursday night I had the honour of listening to Steve Wozniak at a Waterstones book signing session in London. He was there to publicise his new book, iWoz. The majority of the people there were mid to late thirties. Probably too young to have had an Apple ][, but obviously were Apple lovers. He walked into the room to tremendous applause. He quickly introduced himself, as if any were necessary and quickly started to speak about his childhood. He is a very quick speak, and to start with it sounded like he was just listing events, but soon you were taking in by his story.

It was not a list of facts and achievement to blow his own trumpet. It was enthusiasm for his craft. You could tell how proud he was of the products he has made over the years, from his science projects when he was 11, to the programs he wrote when he was at University. Woz is very engaging to listen to. You felt at anytime he would take a pen and draw for you his thoughts about circuit design and how one design was better than another.

After 50 minutes he had only just got to the Apple ][ years when the Waterstone staff told him to start taking questions or we would run out of time. It was disappointing. You could tell he wanted to go on and I am sure he would have. He got the obvious, what do you think of Windows question? He was very diplomatic. He said it had its place for certain jobs, but ended with, I suppose it works. This caused a lot of laughter. Some of the people who asked questions obviously had a good knowledge of Apple history. One person asked why Apple chose Microsoft BASIC rather than Woz continue to write his own. He explained it was a time issue. He needed to do other things and it was quicker to buy it.

After an hour it was over. Time was called. He signed everyones book who stayed behind. He was happy to have his picture taken with everyone. This is the first time I had met Woz. I hope to hear him sometime tell the whole story. This is the man who built the computer that changed the world. It meant the maths teacher I had when I was 11 could have a ZX80 and then a ZX81. They were the first computers I had every seen. I was taken in by them straight away.

That lead me to getting a ZX Spectrum, BBC Master, then an Amiga. My love of computers was born back in those days. Finally I got my first Mac, an LCIII, an iMac, then a g5 quad and now a Mac Pro. Woz spoke about 4k of ram. I have 5gb of ram. How the world has changed since those days when Woz, Steve Jobs and Ron Wayne started Apple. Woz got a ball rolling that would effect my life years later.

Thank you Woz.