Videos from Abingdon Bun Throwing for the Coronation of King Charles III

Videos from King Charles III's royal bun throwing event in Abingdon.

King Charles III's royal bun throwing event in Abingdon

To mark the royal occasion of the Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort my home town of Abingdon-on-Thames held a bun throwing event in the Market Place on Sunday 7th May.

Abingdon holds bun throwing events to mark, mostly, special royal occasions.

The events see local dignitaries ascend the steps of the old County Hall where they launch currant buns to the hoi polloi below.

The event began as a bread dole and evolved into a rooftop throwing event and its current incarnation. On this occasion a total of 5,000 buns were thrown to the crowd in the market place.

You can read more and see photos of this bun throw here.

37 years of Blockbuster Video

Not entirely gone, and not entirely forgotten.

This was the sign at the Blockbuster Video store in Nuneaton, Warwickshire when it was uncovered for a short period of time in 2021

The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on this day in 1985.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500-plus of those were in the UK.

There is now just one Blockbuster Video store left open. It's in Bend, Oregon, USA.

There has been a boom in nostalgia for the brand - which back in the day was seen as something of a category killer that saw off many smaller operators.

Blockbuster in the UK

The remains of the Blockbuster Video Express store in Billingham, Teesside in 2020

Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December.

There are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks. And we've been to most of them on our travels!

Blockbuster Video stores we've visited

Check out the posts about other former Blockbuster Video stores we've been to in:

• 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
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

A ghost sign at the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight in 2021

Lost brands

Emily and I have spent a lot of the last few years reminiscing about 'the good old days' before the coronavirus pandemic hit the planet. One of our areas of interest is in old retail brands - we're both marketers by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us, while Emily's first job was at a Happy Shopper shop. It's been fascinating to find remnants of these brands - and a number of other lost, dead and defunct brands - on the high street and at retail parks around the UK.

Video Store Day 2022

Today is Video Store Day.

Do you still have a video store near you?

International Independent Video Store Day is observed on the third Saturday of October each year.

It's always interesting finding lost shops and old signs on my travels and I recently drove past this former video rental shop at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham!

Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham

There are still traces of other former video shops to be found on the streets of the UK. Most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores. But there are remnants of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky.

• 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 video in Ashton-under-Lyne
  

Blockbuster Video stores we've visited to date:

• 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
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Other video shops we've been to include B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton and 20th Century Flicks in Bristol - and both were still trading!

On Video Store Day in 2020 we were fortunate enough to stumble upon a video rental shop in Little Lever, Bolton

Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham

Spotting an old video shop in Rotherham.

It's always interesting finding lost shops and old signs on my travels and I recently drove past this former video rental shop at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham!

There are still traces of other former video shops to be found on the streets of the UK. Most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores. But there are remnants of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky.

• 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 video in Ashton-under-Lyne
  

Blockbuster Video stores we've visited to date:

• 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
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Other video shops we've been to include B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton and 20th Century Flicks in Bristol - and both were still trading!

Blockbusters NQ in Manchester

A new video shop-themed bar is opening in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

A new sight to see on Oldham Street

We were excited to hear that a new video store-themed bar is opening up in the Northern Quarter in Manchester city centre.

So we had to go along for a look.

Blockbusters NQ can be found on Oldham Street and according to the signs on the windows it is COMING SOON.

BLOCKBUSTERS NQ - COMING SOON

We're looking forward to checking it out when it opens.

The walls and counter of the bar look brilliant already - we can't wait to see what it'll look like when the installation is completed

Blockbuster Video

We're big fans of video, videos stores, retail history and retro stuff and have been visiting and documenting the last remaining traces of the Blockbuster brand in the UK over the last few years. We've seen a number of the brand's shopfronts, signs and QuikDrop boxes. As well as some other video shops.

The first of the old Blockbuster locations we found was also in Manchester, just up the road from us at Fallowfield Retail Park.

Speakeasies

Blockbusters NQ looks like a cool and nostalgic speakeasy and while we were taking a look at the store the signs were getting some interest from passers-by.

It'll be a fun new speakeasy for us to visit when it opens.

It'll be great to see what the full signage will look like

Find out more

Give the Blockbusters NQ Instagram account a follow for more information on the bar.

36 years of Blockbuster Video

Gone, but not forgotten.

The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on this day in 1985.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500+ of which were in the UK.

There is now just one Blockbuster Video store left open. It's in Bend, Oregon, USA.

Blockbuster in the UK

Blockbuster Video Express in Billingham, Teesside

Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December.

The most recent former Blockbuster store we visited was in Clacton-on-Sea. It was nice to see it had a ghost sign

There are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks. And we've been to most of them!

Blockbuster Video stores we've visited

Check out the posts about other former Blockbuster Video stores we've been to in:

• 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
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

A ghost sign at the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight

Lost brands

I've spent a lot of the last two years reminiscing about 'the good old days' before the coronavirus pandemic hit the planet. One of my areas of interest is in old retail brands - I'm a marketer by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us. It's been fascinating to find remnants of a number of lost, dead and defunct brands on the high street and at retail parks.

National VCR Day

Today is National VCR Day.

Do you still own or use a Video Cassette Recorder? I do.

There are still some great and rare films and programmes that can only be seen on video tapes these days, so I'm glad we've still got our TV/Video combination set.

Over the last year or so we've been documenting the remains of Blockbuster Video stores in the UK - visiting 19 of the former video shop locations so far.

The QuikDrop box on the old Blockbuster Video store in Southampton

We were also lucky to find a video shop still operating and renting out tapes last year! It's in Little Lever, Bolton.

A video rental shop in 2020

Finding a video shop on Video Shop Day 2020.

Last month we were fortunate enough to stumble upon a video rental shop in Little Lever, Bolton. Yes, video as in VHS!

The day we called in was Video Shop Day! What are the odds?

The old-school video rental shop was fully stocked with VHS tapes. I haven't seen anything like it for years.

They did also have DVDs.

What a marvellous time capsule of another era.

You can find B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton.