It is not immediately clear if Ümit Mesut is in when the door to his shop swings open. The dimly lit space, which is sandwiched between a former Victorian public baths and a burger shop in Clapton, east London, is a cinematic Aladdin’s cave, its floor reduced to a narrow path between stacks and shelves of film paraphernalia.
“Hello?!” A voice rises from behind the counter, soon followed by a shock of grey hair and a bushy moustache. Mesut, who is 62 and originally from Cyprus, had been attending to some low shelves between customers. He has been running the shop for more than 35 years.
