Zarxx Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Found this, so scanned it. Enjoy! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_QR-w8HbGbMsVIUhxbZJgqH0u8V88xJE/view?usp=sharing 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Innit Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Oh, boy! I used to go in that shop on every visit to London. Tottenham Court Road had loads of shops selling tech with Silica Shop being the one I bought most stuff from. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+x=usr(1536) Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I seem to remember buying a US Doubler for my 1050 from them, and possibly an RTC cartridge for my ST later on. Always had an ad in either Atari User or Page 6, from what I recall. Never got to visit their shop any time I was in the UK, though. Would love to see some photos of it if anyone has them floating around, though I imagine it mostly looks like a late-1980s computer store on the inside 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mulletino Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I used to love going into the SIlica Shop inside Keddies at Southend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Sorry folks, the best Silica Shop was its original shop in Sidcup Kent, for an Atarian it was a piece of heaven.. And for trivia, Silica has more ties to Atari, Noel Daniel who was one of the programmers of Sidewinder and the sole programmer of Thunderfox worked in the Tottenham Court road branch, really nice guy and a good friend back then. Also in the same shop was Eroll Elliston who co-wrote Foundations Waste on the ST. But on the dubious side was a guy nicknamed Splatt (I could be mixing the name up with another BBS guy) who ran a pirate BBS selling access to Amiga software. Yep, all true... Sadly Silica in Tottenham Court Road went bust and pulled the firm down because some staff later on were selling stock out the back door to order when it was already struggling with the huge number of other computer sellers in the same road. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefffulton Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 Have you thought of donating the PDF to AtariMania.com? This is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndary Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 i loved that catalog, still have it.. i used to mail order games from it back in the 90es 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarxx Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 Found some more. Silica Shop.pdf Silica Shop - Atari XL-XE Computer Newsletter 01-01-1986.pdf Silica Shop - Atari Computers - 01-01-1986.pdf Silica Shop - XL-XE & 400-800 Home Computer Price List - 01-01-1986.pdf Silica Shop - Atari Software Catalogue - 01-01-1986.pdf Silica Shop - Special Offers on Books & Software.pdf 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
256 colors Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 Silica shop in Sidcup is where i got my 1050 drive from then a month later some bastard broke into our house and stole my Atari gear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 Not the way I'd want to remember the shop but sorry to hear... Many of us have our sad memories of losing our Atari gear, mine went when stored in my mothers house when she died, others have suffered break in's like Matt on here when people stole his stuff from storage.. Some heartless gits out there that care nothing about other people, be it stealing, trashing the place or just destroying memories for fun or gain.... At least we can get back the material stuff.... Paul.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oracle_jedi Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 Did anyone here ever take that "100 Free Programs with any Atari 400 or Atari 800" promotion that Silica Shop used to promote every month back in 82/83? Often wondered what those 100 free programs were. Probably type-in listings on a cassette tape. Here is what I am talking about: https://www.flickr.com/photos/andysretrocomputers/3311860691 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 (edited) Yes and yes.... User club stuff, nothing 'amazing' but it was free, aimed at the brand new users to give them something to play with after that big splurge of cash....The hardware was already top dollar let alone getting a few games More of a "Shut up (insert name), we got you something to play with as well didn't we!" Edited July 28, 2018 by Mclaneinc 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanowins Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Wow. I was training on the job at SDL Silica Distribution Ltd which was just down the road from the Sidcup retail shop. I remember taking helpdesk calls for Atari support calls. We were also known as the Amiga Helpline. ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SectorWars Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 (edited) I managed to visit the Silica Shop in Sidcup once in my mid-teens and it was simply the best Atari place I had been too. There weren't many places that were true Atari supporters in the UK but they were and for many years I recall. I originally had an Atari 400 16K and I posted it to them for a 48K upgrade. I remember as they got bigger they started having branches in department stores like Debenhams, and although from the ones I saw they were good, none of them seem to match that Aladdin's cave in Sidcup . Edited April 25, 2020 by SectorWars 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 On 3/12/2018 at 6:58 PM, Zarxx said: Found this, so scanned it. Enjoy! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_QR-w8HbGbMsVIUhxbZJgqH0u8V88xJE/view?usp=sharing Can someone post a copy of this one? The link is no longer alive. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam1977 Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 I've just tried the link on the wayback website and it's not archived ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarxx Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 Here you go. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UIRXcfVS_Rf9zaYNfY9BD415zqquKpzX/view?usp=sharing 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 46 minutes ago, Zarxx said: Here you go. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UIRXcfVS_Rf9zaYNfY9BD415zqquKpzX/view?usp=sharing Thanks! Those are some nice catalogues. I appreciate the scans. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 (edited) That PDF is like opening a treasure chest of great memories, its from a shop I spent a LOT of time in, has a genuinely lovely time period in my life and just the look and feel of the booklet just screams joy to me... I look at it and wish I could go back and get all those titles again as new, sadly my Delorean does not hit 88mph any more and Doc Brown just isn't around... Edited April 26, 2020 by Mclaneinc spelling...as always 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGB1718 Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 (edited) The moment I saw this, I remembered seeing it before, I'm pretty sure thats where I bought my 520STM ? Brings back fond memories (I still have the ST, working too) Edited April 26, 2020 by TGB1718 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snicklin Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 I remember being sent these inside my New Atari User. I always wanted to go, but I was a kid and my Dad wouldn't drive that far without a really good reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetboot Jack Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 SDL (Silica's distribution company) was one of my main suppliers when I ran Computer Cavern in Reading. The store started out as ORDEM and were Atari only for the first couple of years (up until 87)... sTeVE 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGB1718 Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 13 hours ago, snicklin said: I was a kid and my Dad wouldn't drive that far without a really good reason. But what better reason than to drive to "Aladins Cave" :)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 (edited) Wow, that brings back memories, 1st floor they had an excellent Atari 2600 kiosk. Later I was miffed when I saw Amigas displayed in their store. Edited April 27, 2020 by high voltage 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nysavant Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 I worked for Silica when they opened a store in Debenhams Glasgow. Excellent company to work for and getting to see all that lovely hardware and software up close... well I might well have paid them to work there! Great memories 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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