Hollywood Bowl and Puttstars Minigolf in Colchester

A new Hollywood Bowl and Puttstars minigolf venue is heading to Colchester, Essex.

Puttstars Minigolf

Hollywood Bowl is opening a Puttstars indoor minigolf course and a tenpin bowling centre at the Northern Gateway leisure area in the town.

The location was first announced in January 2020.

There are now Puttstars minigolf centres in Leeds, Harrow, York, Rochdale and Peterborough.

Check out the Puttstars website for more information.

The retailtainment and minigolf boom

Minigolf is a big part of the retailtainment boom, with courses opening as standalone entertainment activities, or as part of large shoppingtainment leisure offerings in shopping centres, malls, high streets and retail parks.

Playing Puttstars

We played Puttstars Minigolf in Rochdale on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in June 2021. It was the first course we played in ten months following coronavirus pandemic lockdowns!

Puttstars Minigolf in Rochdale

Höfner Stübl Minigolf in Sasbachwalden

A look at the Miniature Golf Höfner Stübl course in The Black Forest (Schwarzwald).

Many thanks to my brother Christopher for sending over these photos of Höfner Stübl Minigolf in Sasbachwalden, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany.

The course was the 1,072nd visited on our combined Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

New Crazy Golf plans for Aberdeen

A former nightclub in Aberdeen could become a new Crazy Golf venue.

There are plans for a new Crazy Golf venue to open in Aberdeen city centre.

Glitch Golf would be home to four 9-hole indoor Crazy Golf courses.

New Crazy Golf planned for Carlisle

There are plans for a new Crazy Golf course at Botchergate in Carlisle.

The new indoor Crazy Golf course would be located in a former bingo venue in the city.

The location would also be home to other activities such as darts and tenpin bowling.

Bonkers Illumination Golf in Matlock Bath

A new minigolf course is opening in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire.

Bonkers Illumination Golf is planned to open in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire in October.

The minigolf course will be a 9-hole layout.

It'll be another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

You can find out more on the Bonkers Illumination Golf Facebook Page.

Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf, Nottingham

A look at the new Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf venue in Nottingham.

Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf, Nottingham

Our friend and minigolf rival Jam Trubridge recently played the new Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf course in Nottingham.

Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf, Nottingham

Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf, Nottingham

Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf, Nottingham

Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf, Nottingham

Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf, Nottingham

Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf, Nottingham

Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf, Nottingham

Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf, Nottingham

Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf, Nottingham

Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf in Nottingham opened in July this year and can be found at Stockhill Lane.

There are so many courses in Nottinghamshire these days it's crazy! It'd take a month to get round them all!

We're looking forward to a future Nottinghamshire leg of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and a game or two with Jam.

Mini Golf in Playa Fañabe, Tenerife

Here's a look at the minigolf course at Playa Fañabe in Costa Adeje, Tenerife, Spain.

Thank you to our friend and minigolf rival Jam Trubridge for these photos of the Minigolf course at Playa Fañabe in Tenerife from his visit earlier this summer.

It's always ace to see different minigolf courses around the world.

Lost City Adventure Golf on Paignton Pier

There's an Adventure Golf course on Paignton Pier in Devon.

Lost City Adventure Golf on Paignton Pier

A big thank you to our friend and minigolf rival Jam Trubridge for sending us these photos of the Lost City Adventure Golf course on Paignton Pier from his recent visit.

Lost City Adventure Golf on Paignton Pier

Lost City Adventure Golf on Paignton Pier

Lost City Adventure Golf on Paignton Pier

Lost City Adventure Golf on Paignton Pier

Lost City Adventure Golf on Paignton Pier

Lost City Adventure Golf on Paignton Pier

Lost City Adventure Golf on Paignton Pier

Someone ignored the rules on the sign at Lost City Adventure Golf on Paignton Pier!

Jam is a big fan of Paignton and on an trip to the seaside resort earlier this year he saw the course under construction.

Adventure Golf on Paignton Pier under construction, April 2023

Adventure Golf on Paignton Pier under construction, April 2023

Adventure Golf on Paignton Pier under construction, April 2023

It's another new course for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

My brother spotted a 9-hole Crazy Golf course on Paignton Pier back in October 2012.

We visited Paignton in 2015, but there wasn't a course there then.

Boom Battle Bar in Southend

A new Boom Battle Bar venue is opening in Southend, Essex this year.

Boom Battle Bar will soon have a location at the Victoria Shopping Centre in Southend on Sea, Essex.

The venue will be home to a crazy golf course, as well as games such as shuffleboard and beer pong.

Boom Battle Bar Southend is due to open in October 2023.

Visit the Boom Battle Bar website for more information.

Mini Golf now open at Play2Day in Wisbech

There's a new Adventure Mini Golf course at Play2Day in Guyhirn, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.

We heard about the plans for the new course back in 2021 and have seen photos of the new outdoor minigolf course on the Play2Day Facebook Page - and it's railway-themed!

It looks ace.

With an address of "The Old Station Yard" was the course going to be anything other than train-themed!

We often pass through Wisbech en route to see family and friends in East Anglia, and have driven past Play2Day before. We're looking forward to swinging by on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

You can find out more about the Adventure Golf / Mini Golf course on the Play2Day website and Facebook Page.

Checking out the info on the Play2Day centre they've also got a Lazer Tag! Another of my favourite sports.

Crazy Golf plans for King's Lynn

There are plans for a Crazy Golf course to open in King's Lynn, Norfolk.

The indoor Crazy Golf course is planned to open on the Hardwick Industrial Estate in King's Lynn.

It'd be a new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've got family in Norfolk and often stay in King's Lynn when visiting.

The business behind the Crazy Golf plans is Oceanus Leisure, owners of Little Sharks Soft Play Centre in the town.

Mini Golf at Ballerz Clubhouse in Farnham

There's a new indoor Mini Golf course in Farnham, Surrey.

The 9-hole indoor Mini Golf course at Ballerz Clubhouse in Farnham is an adults-only venue.

Check out the Ballerz Clubhouse website for more information.

It's another new venue for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Urban Street Golf at Gravity MAX Liverpool at Liverpool ONE

There's a new indoor minigolf course at the Gravity MAX Liverpool entertainment centre at Liverpool ONE.

It's another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Gravity MAX Liverpool at Liverpool ONE is home to Urban Street Golf, Bowling, Darts, E-Karting, Shuffleboard, Batting Cages, Esports and more.

Check out the Gravity MAX Liverpool website for more information.

We've played minigolf at Liverpool ONE before - back when there was a Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf venue at the shopping and entertainment centre.

Earlier this year we visited Gravity Social at Sol Central in Northampton where we won the pub quiz at the minigolf course! That was a first for us!

Janken: The International Rock Paper Scissors Championships 2012

A look back at the 2012 International Rock Paper Scissors Championships in London.

We competed in the International Rock Paper Scissors Championships in London eleven years ago this week. Time certainly flies!

We teamed up with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author Dave Barry and his daughter Sophie from the USA to take part in the huge event.

The San Marino Rock Paper Scissors team

More than 150 athletes from 16 teams competed in the Wacky Nation organised tournament held at the Knight’s Templar Pub on Chancery Lane in London.

As we couldn’t play as a combined "UK-USA" team we decided to represent the plucky nation of San Marino instead.

Prior to the start of the competition I challenged football hard man Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock to a 'friendly' RPS contest to warm-up. Needless to say I won the shootout! It was an ill-tempered clash with plenty of foul language and gamesmanship. The heated battle almost resulted in a knock-out punch too!

Clash of the titans

International Rock Paper Scissors

Matches in the Round Robin stage of the main-event were played in a ‘first to four points’ format with each player in the team taking it in turns to win a point by competing in a ‘best of three’ Rock Paper Scissors game. Our team managed to rack up a win loss record of won four, lost one.

Before any teams could advance from our pool a play-off was required as Austria and Lapland A had also finished with four wins and one loss!

Thankfully our team was able to win both matches to advance alongside Lapland A, with the Austrians sent home.

The first semi-final saw San Marino take on the Vatican City team in a ‘first to six points’ match.

Unfortunately we lost and were therefore unable to go for gold.

Sadly we just missed out on the podium, suffering defeat to Great Britain in the repechage to ultimately finish in fourth place.

The final was a battle between the might of Lapland A and the Vatican City, with the Laplanders finishing on top and grabbing the gold medal.

Getting to the semi-finals of the International Rock Paper Scissors Championships was the furthest I ever reached in an RPS tournament, having been knocked out in the preliminary rounds of national competitions held in 2010 and 2011.

Crazy Golf in Ardrossan, North Ayrshire

The seafront Crazy Golf course in Ardrossan, Scotland is being refurbished.

The Ardrossan Community Development Trust is undertaking work to develop the promenade in the seaside town. Part of the redevelopment will see the 18-hole Crazy Golf being refurbished.

We visited the Crazy Golf in Ardrossan on our trip to Scotland for the Glasgow 2014 Comonwealth Games. The course was right outside our hotel.

Crazy Golf in Ardrossan, July 2014

Visit the Ardrossan Community Development Trust website and Facebook Page to find out more about the project.

We really enjoyed our holiday along the Scottish coast and really need to book a return visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golf at Searles Leisure Resort in Hunstanton, Norfolk

A look at the Crazy Golf course at Searles Leisure Resort in Hunstanton, Norfolk.

Many thanks to our friend Sophia for sending over snaps of the Crazy Golf course at Searles Leisure Resort in Hunstanton.

It's always brilliant finding our about, and seeing courses, we didn't know about already!

Visit the Searles Leisure Resort website for more information.

Blockbuster Video Express in Colne

A look at the Blockbuster Video Express store in Colne, Lancashire.

We visited the former Blockbuster Video Express shop in Colne on this day in 2020.

Blockbuster Video Express in Colne, Lancashire

Exploring during the coronavirus pandemic

As our out-of-home minigolfing adventures were curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic I needed to scratch my exploring itch somehow. During the first nationwide lockdown Emily and I spent our daily outside exercise time walking around the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport where we managed to visit and photograph every one of the 265 pubs, bars and clubs in the area!

On our limited travels we also photographed as many pieces of Covid-19-related signage as we could.

The next mini 'tickable list' urban exploration challenge tapped into my interest in ghost signs, shops, retail marketing and old brands. Ever since I found the remnants of the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester in October 2019 I've been amazed to see the brand still has a lingering presence in other places too.

Here's the former Blockbuster Video Express store in Colne and how it looked in August 2020.

Some of the exterior signage

Blockbuster Video Express

A notice of Administration taped on the inside of the shop window. Note the tape used is Blockbuster branded

The old QuikDrop box

The sign on the front of the shop was long gone

A look inside the former Blockbuster Video Express store. Still recognisable as a video shop

Blockbuster Video Express in Colne

Blockbuster Video in the UK

Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.

I remember going to the Ritz Video shop on the Peachcroft Estate in my home town of Abingdon, Oxfordshire in the late 80's and early 90's. That store became a Blockbuster and I rented some classics from there back in the day. Check out this post from the excellent Abingdon Blog to see a photo of the shuttered shop in 2014.

Most Blockbuster Video Express stores were somewhat smaller than regular Blockbuster shops. Although all of the stores expanded to include video game rentals. Old signage for the games area has been clearly visible on both the Fallowfield and Colne stores I've been to.

In 2013 there were over 500 Blockbuster locations in the UK. Throughout that year the number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. On the 16th December 2013 all stores ceased operations.

Blockbuster Video store locations we've visited

Our travels have taken us to several former Blockbuster stores:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester