[gjm11]

In Cambridge (UK), on an out-of-the-way side street, for many years there was a shop called "Roll On Blank Tape".

I never understood how they could possibly do enough business to stay _in_ business, and always suspected that if you asked in just the right way they might sell you some ... not-blank tapes.

Boringly, the available evidence suggests that actually it's just that the person who ran the shop was really interested in cassette tape and didn't mind not making any money to speak of.

[fredley]

Just thinking about Cambridge shops made me sad about the terrible loss of Brian Jordan's music shop http://www.brianjordanmusic.co.uk/closure.asp

[fyfy18]

I imagine the premises for a lot of these types of businesses must be inherited. You can probably make enough to live pretty ok from a small business like this, especially if you aren't the sole bread-winner for your family.

[ben_w]

From what I’ve seen and heard, that place closed some time between 1999 and 2008, although the shopfront remains unchanged even now. I last went past it in March, dog walking with a friend — and he used to buy tapes there.

[pbhjpbhj]

Like, just audio cassette or all types of blank magnetic tape, or blank tape in general? Like masking-, sello-, elephant-tapes?

[danohuiginn]

Just audio cassettes, though they weren't too pure to also sell blank minidiscs and the like.

[simonbyrne]

I used to live around the corner: I always wondered about that.

I do miss Norfolk Street Bakery though (which I hope is still going).

[simonbyrne]

Also, reminded me of the old CB1 cafe, which labelled itself "UK's oldest internet cafe", which amusingly hadn't updated their website since 2005: http://www.cb1.com/