Renting DVDs

I moved to Glasgow a year ago, and it’s amazing how long it takes to sort out all the little details. The National Trust, for example, appear to have no concept of people changing address – I suppose ancestral homes didn’t tend to move around much. Those of you who’ve been paying attention will also have realised that I spent six months of this year living back in Leeds, which didn’t help much in the ‘sorting stuff out’ stakes, particularly when it came to British Gas believing that I am, in fact, resident in Glasgow. No wonder they’ve lost a million customers this year, – it took me all year to persuade them that I really should be settling the bill, thanks. I’ll be moving to something sensible[1] just as soon as I can stomach the inevitable farce.

Anyway, since I didn’t have any utility bills until very recently, one of the things I’ve not yet got around to is signing up at the local video store. It appears to be a universal truth, of course, that whereas one’s passport will secure entry to pretty much any country on the planet, the local video shop requires a signed affidavit from the head of state, in addition to the current month’s bills from at least four different utility companies, references from your bank manager and current employer, and the rights to your first-born as collateral in the event of your failing to return, say, a VHS of Crocodile Dundee II.

I now may not bother signing up at all, since Amazon UK have started doing postal DVD hire, with no fixed rental period, for similar sorts of prices. It’s not quite video-on-demand-streaming-download, but given the relatively small latency of first class post it’s not that much different in practice.

[1] So far as I can tell, this is power generated by shoveling avocets into massive furnaces. I’m surprised that this is particularly eco-friendly, but apparently the European Avocet Mountain is vast, and avocets are low in heavy metals and sulphur emissions.

1 thought on “Renting DVDs”

  1. It amazes me that we don’t use it as a means of vetting at work – “Please bring your passport, driving licence and birth certificate, OR Blockbuster rental card to Security…”
    Madness, it does make you wonder exactly what you’re signing up for if it’s THAT hard!?

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