The Cathedral of VHS

 

One of my favourite corners of the Lumiere in Romford is this glorious little shrine to the lost age of video rental stores. Every visit turns into the same ritual: me explaining to the kids that there was once a time when an entire weekend's happiness depended on getting to Blockbuster before everyone else.

Friday nights carried the sort of tension now reserved for penalty shootouts and Ticketmaster queues. You'd march in with purpose, only to discover the film you wanted had already gone, leaving behind that haunting empty cardboard display box like a tiny gravestone for your evening plans.

And yet, there was beauty in the chaos. Half the time you picked a film based entirely on the cover art. If the box featured explosions, glowing eyes, chrome lettering, or a man holding a shotgun while standing near lightning, that was considered more than enough research.

Naturally, at least 60% of these films were absolute rubbish. But they were our rubbish.