Movie Theatre Day

Today (23rd April) is Movie Theatre Day.

Movie Theatre Day is celebrated on the 23rd April each year.

Gremlins causing a scene Totally Stockport Comic Con in 2022

When was the last time you visited the cinema?

Luckily for us, here in Stockport town centre we've got The Plaza Art Deco super cinema and theatre, as well as The Light. There's also The Savoy in Heaton Moor and the Regent Cinema in Marple.

There are also several former and abandoned cinemas across the town.

Video rental shops in the UK (April 2025)

A look at movie rental shops in the UK.

By my reckoning there are five 'video shops' still in operation offering physical media movie rentals in the UK. They are:

• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
• Snips Movies in Bebington, Wirral
• TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk
• VideOdyssey in Toxteth, Liverpool

It's very nice to see there are still businesses active in the 'video rental' sector!

There is also Straight To Video - 80s Video Shop in Alfreton, Derbyshire. While they don't actually rent physical media, the shop is a treasure trove of nostalgia. They do however have items for sale.

Signs and traces of video shops

There are still traces of former video shops to be found on the streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK. Most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores. But there are still signs of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky (and actually visit and rent from if you're really lucky!). Some of those we've snapped over the years include:

• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films in Ashton-under-Lyne
• B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton (closed down in 2024)
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol (still operating, but closed on the day of our visit)
• Video Express in Swansea
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds (still operating, but closed on the day of our visit)
• TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill (still operating)

Blockbuster Video shops

Former Blockbuster Video store locations we've visited to date include:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Do you still have a video rental store near you? Please let us know in the comments if you do!

Movieland Video in Edgeley, Stockport

Finding an old DVD case from Movieland Video in Edgeley, Stockport.

Browsing the DVDs at one of our local charity shops this case leaped out to me as it's from a video rental shop!

Movieland Video in Edgeley is long gone, but this case is a nice piece of video shop history.

The reverse of the case

Were you a member of Movieland Video? Do you remember what the first and/or last films you rented there were?

Signs and traces of video shops

There are still traces of former video shops to be found on the streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK. Most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores. But there are still signs of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky (and actually visit and rent from if you're really lucky!).

New mini golf course in Huddersfield

A film-themed mini golf course is opening at The Light in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

Action Shots Mini Golf is a 10-hole indoor movie-themed course

The Light cinema and entertainment complex is opening in Huddersfield on Friday 11th April.

The new venue will include a film-themed mini golf course, as well as an arcade, tenpin bowling, high ropes challenge, interactive darts, skittles, street curling, batting cages, laser tag, shuffleboard, axe throwing and more!

Check out The Light Huddersfield's website for more information.

It's another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Video rental shops in the UK (January 2025)

A look at movie rental shops in the UK.

By my reckoning there are five 'video shops' still in operation offering physical media movie rentals in the UK. They are:

• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol
• TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk
• Snips Movies in Bebington, Wirral
• VideOdyssey in Toxteth, Liverpool
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Unfortunately B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton closed in July 2024. We visited that particular video shop on Video Shop Day back in 2020!

It's brilliant to see there are still businesses active in the movie rental sector though!

Signs and traces of video shops

There are still traces of former video shops to be found on the streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK. Most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores. But there are still signs of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky (and actually visit and rent from if you're really lucky!). Some of those we've snapped over the years include:

• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films in Ashton-under-Lyne
• B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton (closed down in 2024)
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol (still operating, but closed on the day of our visit)
• Video Express in Swansea
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds (still operating, but closed on the day of our visit)
• TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill (still operating)

Blockbuster Video shops

Former Blockbuster Video store locations we've visited to date include:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Do you still have a video rental store near you? Please let us know in the comments if you do!

Mini Golf at The Light in Banbury

There's a mini golf course at The Light cinema in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Visit The Light Banbury's website for more information.

Video rental shops in the UK (December 2024)

A look at movie rental shops in the UK.

By my reckoning there are four 'video shops' still in operation offering physical media movie rentals in the UK. They are:

• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol
• TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk
• Snips Movies in Bebington, Wirral
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Unfortunately B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton closed in July this year. We visited that particular video shop on Video Shop Day in 2020!

It's brilliant to see there are still businesses active in the sector though!

Signs and traces of video shops

There are still traces of former video shops to be found on the streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK. Most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores. But there are still signs of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky (and actually visit and rent from if you're really lucky!). Some of those I've snapped over the years include:

• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films in Ashton-under-Lyne
• B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton (closed in 2024)
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol (still operating, but closed on the day of our visit)
• Video Express in Swansea
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds (still operating, but closed on the day of our visit)
• TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill (still operating)

Blockbuster Video shops

Blockbuster Video stores we've visited to date include:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Do you still have a video rental store near you? Please let me know in the comments if you do!

Crazy Golf Meets the Movies! at Uredale Mill in Askrigg

A pop-up crazy golf course is opening at Uredale Mill in Askrigg for Easter.

The Crazy Golf Meets the Movies! 18-hole indoor minigolf course will be open at Uredale Mill in Askrigg, North Yorkshire from the 23rd March to the 7th April.

Visit the Uredale Mill website and Incredible Artists Facebook Page for more information.

Mini Golf at The Light cinema in Banbury

There's a new mini golf course at The Light cinema in Banbury.

The Light cinema in Banbury, Oxfordshire is now also home to a 10-hole mini golf course.

The course is a film-themed layout.

The indoor glow-in-the-dark crazy golf course will be another new one for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when we're back in my home county.

Visit The Light Banbury's website for more information.