I read a most lovely article about the last Blockbuster video shop standing.  Bend, Oregon is home to the store – it’s been there since 1992.  Today, its manager, Sandi Harding, keeps it stocked with Blu-rays, DVDs and video games.  Her store has achieved something of a cult status, with people visiting it to dwell on the nostalgia of bygone days when life seemed a little simpler and Friday night was family video night.

I remember going to my local Blockbuster when my children were young – it truly was a family outing, and we rarely left the store without a bag of sweets or popcorn, or bar of chocolate for our home cinema experience.

Our video player is long gone, and in any case expired before its time when my son decided it would be a good place to post coins into (by the third occasion we gave up on the idea of getting it mended).  Fast forward 20 years, and we’re now happy subscribers to a streaming service that gives us films and box-sets – we can even still share them with our children.

The Friday night visit to the Blockbuster store has long since gone, but I did enjoy taking a moment to step back in time to those halcyon days of our weekly video treat . . . that and the chocolate.