VHS

David Lynch at his Hollywood studio in 2002, image © Chris Weeks

When I lived in Luxembourg (New Gold Dream 89-90-91-92) my Dad used to send me VHS tapes at irregular intervals. These he filled with random episodes of Minder, Barry Norman’s film review show and STV’s Scotsport. This was pre wall-to-wall televised football, although receiving highlights of Dundee v Clydebank three weeks after the event wasn’t quite so appealing when I had the high stakes drama of the Esch derby - Fola Esch v Jeunesse Esch - on my doorstep. But it was a nice touch from a man who had little interest in the game.

At the company where I worked, a shady offshore finance house, head office in Douglas, Isle of Man, you get the picture, we subscribed to a monthly VHS tape from BBC Worldwide, the contents of which were more random than my Dad’s compilations. A news update (at least a month out of date), French and Saunders, greyhound racing, an episode from whatever BBC costume drama was on. I won’t deny I kind of looked forward to when it was my turn to borrow the tape, but in retrospect learning German might have been a better use of my time.

Late in 1990 my friend Claire wrote to me, yes wrote to me, an actual letter asking if I had seen a TV show called Twin Peaks, “everyone’s watching it”. I hadn’t of course, too busy watching old greyhound races and episodes of Minder, it might have been on German TV by then although I know now it had been dubbed, should have learned German. By the time I was made aware of the show “everyone” was watching, the first season was drawing to a close in the UK and I can’t recall now when I got around to seeing that. But I persuaded my father that a better use of those VHS tapes might be to fill them with episodes of season 2 of Twin Peaks which was starting in January 1991. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present.

In memory of David Lynch, 1946 - 2025