About the group

Overview

Bristol RISC OS Users - often shortened to BRU - is a small user group based in the City of Bristol, UK, for people who have an interest in an operating system called RISC OS and the computers on which it can be run.

The group meets on the second Thursday of odd months (January, March, May, July, and September) for a drink and a chat in a local pub, the Open Arms, near the bottom of St Michael's Hill in Bristol. (Until January 2024, this was the second Wednesday and has been changed to avoid clashes).

History

There was a group for users of the operating system in this area set up in the 1980s, which held regular meetings until 2006 - the Bristol Area RISC OS User Group (BARUG). Over time, however, the number of members attending meetings declined and, eventually, the low numbers resulted in the group being closed down.

At the time, believing there might still be a number of users in the area, Vince Hudd set up a mailing list they could join so that even if they weren't meeting, they could still keep in touch. Sadly, nobody joined that list, and it too was eventually closed down.

In 2010, another local user, Trevor Johnson, contacted Vince because he'd found out about and tried to join that mailing list. As a result of the discussion that followed, Vince to set up a new mailing list, and between them they organised a new, more informal user group with a new identity - Bristol RISC OS Users.

Joining

The group is entirely open; there is no formal process for joining - it's simply a case of turning up to meetings and enjoying the company of a few like-minded people, and/or signing up to the mailing list and joining in that way.

If you do wish to attend a meeting, however, please keep an eye out for changes to the normal schedule, or to where we meet!