Proof of address, a signature, and a card for the wallet.
Joining a video shop was a small administrative event involving a utility bill.
Everyone in the family had a card and everyone used the one with the fewest outstanding fines.
The card is now a genuinely poignant object. There are people who kept theirs.
Cost back then
Free to join
Goes for now
Membership cards sell for £5–£25
Keep going
Smoking in enclosed public places was banned in England in July 2007, and the British pub changed overnight.
The stubby pen used to write catalogue numbers on a paper slip, deliberately too small to steal and stolen constantly.
807 stores, 27,000 staff, and the moment the British high street visibly changed.
PC magazines with a CD or two taped to the front, full of game demos, utilities and one very large free ISP installer.