Getting into the groove: the fall and rise of vinyl records

Getting into the groove: the fall and rise of vinyl records

Vinyl is cool again. Long-playing records, or LPs, have become a measure of the British economy’s health. In March 2024 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced that vinyl would again become one of the 700+ items used in its calculation of inflation. Vinyl...
The fall and rise of cinema

The fall and rise of cinema

As Warner Bros, one of the world’s leading film and entertainment companies, celebrates its 100th anniversary, it’s interesting to trace the story of cinema attendance in the UK over the same period. The number of ways in which one can watch a film has increased many...
The lasting popularity of the National Lottery

The lasting popularity of the National Lottery

Kantar recently published TGI figures reporting that 65% of GB adults have played either Lotto, Euromillions or scratchcards in the last 12 months – up from 55% in 2019. Perhaps the pandemic contributed to this, with a dabble on the lottery a welcome distraction from...
From ‘The Lonesome Vegetarian’ to mass-market consumer

From ‘The Lonesome Vegetarian’ to mass-market consumer

Vegetarianism has come a long way since the 1990s, as this exploration of the Archive of Market and Social Research shows. Nowadays, famous chefs offer recipes for delicious vegetarian Christmas dishes (e.g. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s ‘Fab feast for vegan and...
The hayfever phenomenon

The hayfever phenomenon

Hayfever is far more prevalent than it used to be. Data held within AMSR shows that it afflicts three times as many of us nowadays than in the 1970s. Just 8% of GB adults reported suffering from pollen or hayfever allergy in 1972; by 2019 this had climbed to 25%. The...