Mobike in Cheadle Hulme

The new Mobike cycle hire scheme recently launched in Manchester and this morning I spotted one of the fancy bikes parked up/abandoned/awaiting collection in Cheadle Hulme.

I'm pretty sure this constitutes bad parking etiquette in the Mobike rulebook. Not that anyone really uses phone boxes anymore. But still

Check out the Mobike website for further details of the scheme and how you can hire one of the bikes.

The Mobikes look pretty cool. I wouldn't mind having a go on one, even if I'm more of a BMX man myself

There have been reports in the news and by police that bikes have been abandoned. However, unlike the London 'Boris Bikes' the Mobikes don't have docking stations, they are simply left in the open ready for collection by the next user.

Handy to know that I can collect one in the outer reaches of Greater Manchester here in the leafy Cheshire/Stockport borderlands.

RadioShack in Lytham Saint Annes

Last April I blogged about Tandy after my memory was jogged seeing an old sign for the brand at the back of an electronics shop in Hitchin.

Well, at the weekend I found another remnant of the once prominent high street brand - a RadioShack shop in Lytham Saint Annes!

RadioShack on the Fylde coast high street - still weathering the stormy retail sector 

My first job was at a Tandy franchise shop in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, where I remember selling a number of electronic products bearing the 'RadioShack', 'Genexxa' and 'Realistic' brand names.

Great to see the Tandy logo still on display

Stepping into the RadioShack in Lytham Saint Annes was like a time warp. It was brilliant having a chat to the man behind the counter about Tandy and RadioShack too.

They stock a lot of formats of tape at RadioShack

Looking online there are only three RadioShack shops left in the UK. The others are in Chester and Wrexham. As a fan of 'tickable list' challenges I fancy visiting the other two stores to complete the list.

They've got a lot of VHS tapes in stock at RadioShack

Visiting the shop was a bit like the classic shopping trip Alan Partridge makes to the Tandy in Norwich in Knowing Me Knowing Yule.

I treated myself to a new blank VHS tape

In 2001 Tandy said goodbye to the UK high street as the last of the shops were converted after their acquisition by Carphone Warehouse.

I thought the Tandy brand name was still defunct, but no - a search found that Tandy lives on as an online retailer of electronic components and kits!

Interestingly the name Tandy comes from one of the founders of a leather goods company called Tandy Leather - a business that later became RadioShack.

You can find the RadioShack at 47 St Anne's Road West, Lytham Saint Annes, FY8 1SB.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing

As a keen marketer, writer and minigolfer I've written an ebook to help promote the great game.

You can now buy The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing on Amazon and Ganxy. There's a preview of the book below.



If you'd like to know more about my marketing work and how I can help please do get in touch via my website.

The Geoff Capes Driving School in Stockport

I reckon you'd have a strong chance of passing your test if you learn to drive with Geoff Capes!

What a scrap metal van!

I spotted this Scrap Metal van in Cheadle Hulme earlier and had to get a snap of it. There's so much going on on it!

Let Stevie Scrap move your cr*p!

Inflatable advertising man at United Carpets and Beds

While driving out of the Borough for a weekend away in Hastings we spotted a great piece of inflatable advertising at United Carpets and Beds on Buxton Road in Hazel Grove, Stockport.

While the United Carpets and Beds inflatable is not of the wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube variety he is still attention grabbing

It's the second inflatable spotted since we moved to Stockport. Last Christmas I saw a Santa Claus wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man advertising the sale on at Terry's Fabrics in Cheadle Heath.

On our recent roadtrip we saw a couple of other interesting ways to advertise beds. Vic Smith Beds in Enfield is currently using a tank on his roadside advertising on the M25, while Sussex Beds in Bexhill is using a dinosaur outside their store to entice people in.

We've spotted a lot of inflatable advertising and wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men on our travels over the years. Unfortunately I haven't had a need to hire or buy a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man for my own marketing business. Not yet anyway...

Swingers Crazy Golf London Open

Swingers London hosting a new Crazy Golf Open tournament.

This summer London Crazy Golf course Swingers is hosting its first Crazy Golf Open championship - The Swingers Open.

The team at the Institute of Competitive Socialising is inviting corporate teams to compete in The Swingers Open, with the champions winning a luxury trip to Paris.

The Swingers Open will take place over 14 qualifying events starting on the 24th April, leading to the semi-final on the 4th September and culminating in the grand final a week later on Monday 11th September.

Businesses are asked to enter two teams of four players who will compete in a competition against other businesses from the same industry. The first event will see teams from the Tech industry tee-off.

Look at the size of that loop-di-loop!

Each of the winning teams from the qualifying rounds will receive a luxury Tanqueray No. TEN hamper.

The overall champions will win a trip to Paris including first class Eurostar travel, a night at Le Grand Pigalle, dinner and a Tanqueray experience. The championship winning team members will also get the chance to wear The Swingers Open green jackets, made exclusively by tailor Gresham Blake, and will receive The Swingers Open trophy!

Entry to the tournament costs £160 per team. Full details and entry forms are available on the Swingers London Crazy Golf website.

We haven't played the two new Swingers Crazy Golf courses yet, but in September 2014 we played a round on the Swingers Crazy Golf pop-up course in Shoreditch, East London. The course became the 581st miniature golf course visited and 347th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Playing at the original Swingers Crazy Golf course in 2014

Check out the Swingers Crazy Golf website for more information, opening times, prices and tournament entry details.

It's great to hear about a London miniature golf tournament taking place. Back in 2009 I competed in a tournament double-header at the London Open and Weymouth Open - I finished as runner-up in both events! I was also the runner-up in the 2011 London Invitational Tournament. I have some history of winning in London as well and hold the Crazy Golf with Bompas & Parr Championship June Playoff title, as well as the overall Selfridges course championship which I won in 2012.

Winning

Link:
- Swingers Crazy Golf

Related blog posts:
- Crazy Golf in London
- Playing Swingers Crazy Golf in Shoreditch

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

Putting Edge portable minigolf

Playing the Putting Edge portable minigolf course at Prolific North Live 2017.

The team Putting Edge minigolf were exhibiting at Prolific North Live 2017 at EventCity in Manchester so I got to play minigolf while wearing both my @putting_gott and @marketing_gott hats!

The Putting Edge minigolf course gets the thumbs-up from me - even if David from Putting Edge had made the second hole very very tough indeed!

The tricky little 2-hole Putting Edge minigolf layout was the 722 visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 423rd played since September 2006.

I really liked the ramp and jump on the first hole - I shot a few aces on it

Admittedly I had a fair few goes on the course (probably enough to constitute a full round of 18-hole), but by the time I left I'd equaled the day's low score of 4, with an ace and a three. The long dog-leg second hole was nigh on impossible to get a hole-in-one on.

On the leaderboard

Check out the Putting Edge website for more details and do get in touch with David to find out how he can help make a difference to your event, function or exhibition space.

David and the team at Putting Edge can tailor the obstacles and branding on the course to suit your needs 

Check out the video of me scoring a hole-in-one on the first below.

The king is dead. Long live the King of #minigolf @putting_gott #PNLive pic.twitter.com/BGu4dmcIwa

— Putting Edge (@puttingedgeltd) February 15, 2017

Links:
- Putting Edge
- Prolific North

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Portable Minigolf

Video:
- Hole-in-One on the first

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

Laser Disk shopping!

I've found the perfect shop to take over to expand my business empire!

Laser Disks!?

I'm sure there's still money to be had in the VHS tape and Laserdisc markets...

Minigolf at The Great Ideas Summit 2016, presented by ERA

A pop-up indoor minigolf course in Orlando, Florida.

Emily's friends and colleagues were recently at the Electronic Retailing Association's Great Ideas Summit in Orlando, Florida and found there was a miniature golf course set up for a Tee Up Tuesday Evening Reception!

The minigolf layout looked very interesting. It certainly did look like a great idea!

Indoor pop-up glow-in-the-dark minigolf at the ERA's GIS in Orlando. Photo by Liezl van Zyl

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems.

You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Portaputt Crazy Golf in Cwmbran, Wales

New portable Miniature Golf course business launched in Cwmbran, Wales.

My friends, fellow British Minigolf Association Tour rivals and teammates in the Midlands Minigolf Club – the Kukielka family – have launched a brand new Minigolf business called Portaputt Crazy Golf supplying a 9-hole Crazy Golf course layout available to hire for events.

The Portaputt Crazy Golf course at the World Alternative Games 2014

I’m looking forward to giving the course a play and checking out the obstacles they’ve created for it.
Portaputt Crazy Golf has a great logo – check it out here – featuring a 9-hole Minigolf course in the lettering of “Portaputt”. Brilliant.

Portaputt Crazy Golf offers the course and staffing for hire at fetes and festivals, community events, children’s parties, weddings, fundraisers, school events, pubs & hotels and corporate events. For more information, testimonials and to get in touch with them please visit Portaputt.co.uk

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list of courses visited and played
- Wales
- Minigolf etc. - English to Welsh translations
- Portaputt