On the negative aspect of nostalgia.

Nostalgia is a powerful thing for brands. What could sell someone more than a treasured memory?

But power also comes with danger. When the current reality doesn't match that memory, it increases the vitriol that might be felt.

I spent a large chunk of Monday at the Metro Centre, Gateshead - for the last of our daytrips from being unable to go to BLFC.

And while our trip to Llandudno a few weeks ago gave us nostalgia for a place we had never been, the Metro Centre as it exists cannot compete with the one of memory.

The last time we visited the Metro Centre, the MetroLand theme park was still around. Intellectually, we knew that had gone a long time ago. [1] We'd mentally prepared for that.

What we had not prepared for was the loss of almost all other character.

The Metro Centre of our memory was filled with quirkiness and charm; cobblestone(-effect?) side paths, some with a feeling of visiting different locations around the world, like a miniature version of EPCOT [2]. A focus on independent, unique retailers that the shops of our local area just couldn't match.

The Metro Centre of today has almost none of that.

There are hints of it, in places. There is one little corner that still has some of that personality.

Part of 'The Village' area of the Metro Centre, with building facades indoors.
A shot of 'The Village'

There's a couple of columns and other pieces of architecture that don't fit the surrounding storefronts.
The storefronts that now hold the exact same shops you can find everywhere else - at least, the ones that aren't empty and that haven't yet been covered up by a mural.

The most interesting thing was finding that the Namco FunZone had a selection of officially licensed Gachapon ®️ machines. None of them quite managed to convince us to convert cash into tokens for a punt.

As they say, you can't go back. And that's probably the last time we'll go.

(Day wasn't completely wasted, we had some good food from chains we don't usually visit - and the trip also included a few hours in Newcastle, a city we would like to spend some more time exploring at some point)

footnotes

  1. Further viewing - Expedition Theme Park - The History of MetroLand ↩︎

  2. We assume, anyway, EPCOT is on the list of places we'd really like to visit sometime. ↩︎