This damn ZX thing, what’s the big deal? I heard people talking ’bout it, sayin’ it’s some kinda computer thing. Back in my day, we didn’t have no fancy computers. We had sticks and stones, and we was happy! But my grandson, he’s always on about this ZX Spectrum. Says it’s old, like me, but it’s a classic. Whatever that means.
So, this ZX thing, it’s got games, I hear. Lots and lots of ’em. My grandson showed me some, they look all blocky and jumpy. Not like the fancy stuff they got nowadays. He says there’s one called Manic Miner, and another one called Jet Set Willy. Sounds silly to me. We used to play hopscotch and tag. Much more fun than staring at a screen, I reckon. But the young’uns like it, so I guess it ain’t all bad.
They say this ZX Spectrum, it was a big thing back in the day. Everyone had one, or wanted one. Like those hula hoops, remember those? Everyone went crazy for ’em. Then they was gone, just like that. Maybe this ZX thing is like that, a fad. But they say it was a whole range of computers with a Z80 microchip, from Sinclair Research Ltd., whatever it means. It’s all beyond me, I just use my phone to call the kids.
- Manic Miner
- Jet Set Willy
- Chuckie Egg
- Elite
- Sabre Wulf
- Knight Lore
- The Hobbit
Heard there’s a whole bunch of these ZX Spectrum games. More than twenty-four thousand, my grandson says, over its lifespan! Can you believe that? Twenty-four thousand! We had like five games when I was a girl, and we played ’em till we was bored silly. Kids today, they got too much choice, I tell ya.
Now, they got this new thing, a ZX Spectrum+. Sounds like they just slapped a plus on the end and called it new. They say all the old games work on this new one. My grandson, he’s always going on about compatibility. I don’t know what that means, but it sounds important. Makes me think of my old friend Bessie. We was always compatible, always got along like a house on fire.
This here thing, it comes with a book, I think. A manual, they call it. My grandson, he reads these things cover to cover. I just use ’em to prop up the table leg. This one, it’s all about BASIC. Sounds like it’s teaching you the basics, but I bet it’s more complicated than that. Kids and their fancy words.
There’s another thing, ZX Diag Cart. Sounds like a cart, but it’s not a cart you can put groceries in. This one’s got a manual too. Says it describes the features of the interface. Interface… sounds like something you’d find on a cow’s behind. All these words, I don’t know. I just like to keep things simple.
Then there’s some car, Citron ZX, also got specs. MPG, MPH, running costs, dimensions, whatever they are. It got nothing to do with computer, but it’s also called ZX. It just makes me confused. In my day, things are simple and easy to understand.
This ZX Spectrum, it’s a mystery to me. But my grandson, he loves it. He’s even thinking about collecting them. Collecting! We used to collect stamps, or buttons. Now they collect these old computer things. Times are changing, I guess. But some things stay the same. Like family. And that’s all that really matters, ain’t it?
This whole ZX Spectrum collection thing is a bit much for an old gal like me. But if it makes the young’uns happy, then I guess it’s alright. Just don’t ask me to play any of those games. I’d rather have a nice cup of tea and a sit-down. Now that’s what I call a good time!
I still don’t really get what a ZX Spectrum is, but I know it’s important to some folks. My grandson, he says it’s a piece of history. I guess he’s right. Everything gets old eventually, even me. But like a good quilt, these old things, they got stories to tell. Even if I don’t understand half of ’em.
