My local video shop is staffed by a middle-aged old school heavy metal fan (so you're pretty much guaranteed to hear Iron Maiden every time you go in there), and a guy who is so embarrassed by the state of the place that if you ask him for a particular film, her will look at his computer and pretend to type something into a non-existent data base before telling you "er, no, we don't have it". I dimly remember a time at the tale-end of the 80s when Apollo video was a contender, a worthy rival to Blockbuster, at least in the north of England. How the mighty have fallen.Or have changing times simply heralded a shift in focus? Apollo Home Entertainment now offers internet access and cartridge refill services, as promoted by these giant yellow and purple banners. Do they also rent dvds? Well sort of, so long as you're not after anything released post-1998. I assume Apollo is a franchise (I can't image even the head office of The Little Chef allowing this kind of thing), and that the local branches are presided over by an East End entrepreneur, a little like Alan Sugar (nowadays Lord of Clapton, following the granting of his peerage last year), who, in his wisdom, has shaken-up the business model to incorporate new technologies, and remain relevant to today's switched-on consumer. Well, sorry Alan, your business model is fucked, your dvds are shit, and the only good thing about your shop is the two weirdos who run it, long may they remain to rock-out.
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