National Miniature Golf Day - Saturday 9th May

Saturday 9th May is National Miniature Golf Day 2026.

Where on Earth will you be playing?

Putting on the Moon at Mr Mulligan's Space Golf course in Newcastle upon Tyne, England in 2018

There are two 'miniature golf days' each year.

• National Miniature Golf Day is always on the second Saturday in May. In 2026 that will be Saturday 9th May.

• The other minigolf day, Miniature Golf Day, is always on the 21st September. In 2026 the 21st falls on a Monday.

This Saturday is National Miniature Golf Day

Saturday 9th May is National Miniature Golf Day 2026.

Playing the Championship Adventure Golf course in New Brighton, Wallasey, Wirral, Merseyside on National Miniature Golf Day 2017

Will you be playing a game to celebrate?

There are two 'miniature golf days' each year.

• National Miniature Golf Day is always on the second Saturday in May. In 2026 that will be Saturday 9th May.
• The other minigolf day, Miniature Golf Day, is always on the 21st September. In 2026 the 21st falls on a Monday.

Star Wars Mini Golf

Today is Star Wars Day - May the 4th be with you.

That's no moon, that's a Star Wars themed hole at Mulligans Crazy Golf at Jarman Park in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire

Related blog posts:

• Star Wars

Happy Star Wars Day

May the Fourth be with you.

Jabba The Putt at Trailer Trash Jim's Crazy Golf at Level Preston

Next Saturday is National Miniature Golf Day

Saturday 9th May is National Miniature Golf Day 2026.

There are two 'miniature golf days' each year.

National Miniature Golf Day is always on the second Saturday in May. In 2026 that will be Saturday 9th May.

The other minigolf day, Miniature Golf Day, is always on the 21st September. In 2026 the 21st falls on a Monday.

Today is National Crazy Pool Awareness Day

Today (Tuesday 28th April) is National Crazy Pool Awareness Day!

Tuesday 28th April marks 'National Crazy Pool Awareness Day'.

Today is the second-annual National Crazy Pool Awareness Day.

What is Crazy Pool?

The indoor game found at Roxy Ball Room locations is a cross between crazy golf and pool. Played with a pool cue and a golf ball you need to tackle a variety of obstacles on the felt covered tables.

National Crazy Pool Awareness Day was created by the team at Roxy Leisure.

You can find Crazy Pool tables and courses at 13 of Roxy's 19 venues. They are:

1. Birmingham (Victoria Square)
2. Bristol (Union Street)
3. Edinburgh (Rose Street)
4. Leeds (Boar Lane)
5. Leeds (Merrion Street) - the original Crazy Pool course at this venue has recently been updated.
6. Leicester (Humberstone Gate)
7. Liverpool (Hanover Street)
8. London (St Mary Axe)
9. Manchester (Arndale)
10. Manchester (Deansgate)
11. Nottingham (The Cornerhouse)
12. Sheffield (Charter Square)
13. York (The Stonebow)

Playing Crazy Pool.

We've played several of the Crazy Pool courses at Roxy venues on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Pool at King Pins too.

Roxy Ball Room's sister brand King Pins is also home to a Crazy Pool course at the White Rose Centre venue in Leeds.

Check out the Roxy Leisure website for more information about the brand's venues and games.

Link:

• Roxy Leisure

Related blog posts:

• Crazy Pool
• Roxy Leisure
• Roxy Ball Room
• King Pins

National Crazy Pool Awareness Day - 28th April

The 28th April is National Crazy Pool Awareness Day.

Tuesday 28th April marks 'National Crazy Pool Awareness Day'.

This will be the second-annual National Crazy Pool Awareness Day.

What is Crazy Pool?

The indoor game found at Roxy Ball Room locations is a cross between crazy golf and pool. Played with a pool cue and a golf ball you need to tackle a variety of obstacles on the felt covered tables.

National Crazy Pool Awareness Day was created by the team at Roxy Leisure.

You can find Crazy Pool tables and courses at 13 of Roxy's 19 venues. They are:

1. Birmingham (Victoria Square)
2. Bristol (Union Street)
3. Edinburgh (Rose Street)
4. Leeds (Boar Lane)
5. Leeds (Merrion Street) - the original Crazy Pool course at this venue has recently been updated.
6. Leicester (Humberstone Gate)
7. Liverpool (Hanover Street)
8. London (St Mary Axe)
9. Manchester (Arndale)
10. Manchester (Deansgate)
11. Nottingham (The Cornerhouse)
12. Sheffield (Charter Square)
13. York (The Stonebow)

Playing Crazy Pool.

We've played several of the Crazy Pool courses at Roxy venues on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Pool at King Pins too.

Roxy Ball Room's sister brand King Pins is also home to a Crazy Pool course at the White Rose Centre venue in Leeds.

Check out the Roxy Leisure website for more information about the brand's venues and games.

Link:

• Roxy Leisure

Related blog posts:

• Crazy Pool
• Roxy Leisure
• Roxy Ball Room
• King Pins

One month until National Miniature Golf Day

There is one month to go until National Miniature Golf Day 2026.

There are two 'miniature golf days' each year.

National Miniature Golf Day is always on the second Saturday in May. In 2026 that will be Saturday 9th May.

The other minigolf day, Miniature Golf Day, is always on the 21st September. In 2026 the 21st falls on a Monday.

Happy Friday the 13th!

How are you celebrating the day?

Here's me with Jason Voorhees (from Distant Screams Events) at the Stockport Alternative Market in October 2024

Happy Friday the 13th!

How are you celebrating the day?

Here's me with Jason Voorhees (from Distant Screams Events) at the Stockport Alternative Market in October 2024

Happy Groundhog Day 2026

There will be six more weeks of winter.

Punxsutawney Phil has predicted there will be six more weeks of Winter after seeing his shadow at the Groundhog Day ceremony at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA.

Link:

• Punxsutawney Groundhog Club

Miniature Golf 'Days' in 2026

There are two 'miniature golf days' each year.

National Miniature Golf Day is always on the second Saturday in May. In 2026 that will be Saturday 9th May.

The other minigolf day, Miniature Golf Day, is always on the 21st September. In 2026 the 21st falls on a Monday.

Minigolf courses we've played on Miniature Golf Days in previous years

Happy Winter Solstice

Today marks midwinter and is the 'shortest day' and 'longest night' of the year.

Stonehenge The Big Mini Golf course in Hemsby, Norfolk (August 2021)

Did you know there's a Stonehenge-themed minigolf course in Hemsby, Norfolk?

Stonehenge The Big Mini Golf was the 174th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in June 2010 when it was a 15-hole layout. We first visited it in May 2009 when it was a 12-hole course. It's now an 18-hole course.

Here are two videos of us playing the course in June 2010.

Here are some videos of the course on our most recent visit in May 2022.

Guinness World Records Day

Happy Guinness World Records Day!

Today is a big day to celebrate and set world records.

Guinness World Records Day was first held in 2004 to mark the Guinness World Records becoming the best-selling copyrighted book of all time.

Find out more.

Check out the Guinness World Records website for more information about Guinness World Records Day.

Attempting, setting or breaking a Guinness World Record.

Have you ever attempted, set or broken a Guinness World Record?

Minigolf in the Guinness World Records.

Did you know there are Guinness World Records for minigolf?

You can find a range of minigolf, crazy golf, adventure golf, and putting world records in the Guinness World Records.

The GWR website has details of them, and you can see a whole page on minigolf in the 2024 edition of the book. It also has a superb crazy golf element on the brilliant cover art challenge.

There's a minigolf record listed in the 2026 edition too.

My Guinness World Record.

I'm a Guinness World Record Holder for "Most miniature golf courses visited" (902 at the time the 2024 edition of the book went to press).

Richard & Emily Gottfried at the North Bay Crazy Golf in Scarborough

You can see the full list of courses Emily and I have visited since the 30th September 2006 on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour page.

Richard & Emily Gottfried at the Southend Pier Crazy Golf course in Southend-on-Sea

We're currently at a combined total of 1,111 courses visited over the last 19 years.

At Moby Golf Adventure Golf in Romford, Essex

Guinness World Record Attempts

I've been a part of a few mass participation Guinness World Record attempts and tried some individual challenges over the years too.

In December 2009 I attempted the Guinness World Record for the 'Most Brussels Sprouts Eaten in a Minute'!

Emily and I helped set a Guinness World Record in May 2009. That was for 'The Largest Picnic across multiple venues'. Over 8,300 people took park in that effort.

We also helped break the Guinness World Record of 'Largest Gathering of People Wearing Boater Hats' while we lived in Luton back in August 2014.

Guinness World Records Attempted:

• 2014 - 'Largest Gathering of People Wearing Boater Hats' - Achieved.
• 2012 - 'Fastest 400m Relay Hop' - Unsuccessful.
• 2012 - 'Largest Group Hop' - Unsuccessful.
• 2011 - 'The most people to ‘High Five’ simultaneously' - Unsuccessful.
• 2010 - 'The UK's longest Conga line' - Unsuccessful.
• 2009 - 'Most Brussels Sprouts Eaten in a Minute' - Unsuccessful.
• 2009 - 'The Largest Picnic across multiple venues' - Achieved.

Links:

• Guinness World Records
• Guinness World Records Day

Related blog posts

• Guinness World Records

Video Store Day 2025

Today is Video Store Day.

Northgate Video & DVD Video Rental and Sales shop in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

This year is the 15th Annual International Independent Video Store Day.

International Independent Video Store Day is observed on the third Saturday of October each year.

Do you still have a video store near you?

Video shop memories.

Growing up in the 80s and 90s I've got fond memories of visiting video shops with my family and picking out a film or two (generally one of the Police Academy films, action flicks, or horror movies as I got older!).

I found the preserved remains of a Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester in 2019. And during the coronavirus pandemic my interest in lost brands and retail history was piqued. Since then I've been to several former Blockbuster Video stores around the UK, as well as finding some other old, and some still open, video shops on our travels!

How many video shops are there in the UK in 2025?

Our most recent estimate in the summer showed there were seven 'video shops' still in operation offering physical media movie rentals in the UK. Since then we've also found another niche video shop in Leeds that specialises in skateboard VHS tapes and DVDs!

They are:

• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol.
• Fast Forward in Ayr, Scotland.
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
• Snips Movies in Bebington, Wirral.
• Stones Video Library & Sweet Shop & Vaporiser Shop in Lowestoft, Suffolk.
• TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk.
• VideOdyssey in Toxteth, Liverpool.
• Video Years in Leeds.

We've been to 20th Century Flicks, Northgate Video & DVD, TVL Allstar Video and Video Years, and are looking forward to going to Fast Forward, Snips Movies, Stones Video Library and VideoOdyssey in the future.

Northgate Video & DVD shop in Bury St Edmunds (May 2025)

While there are nowhere near as many video shops as there once were, it's still very nice to see there are businesses active in the 'video rental' sector in 2025.

Do you know of any other video shops in operation? Please do let us know.

Signs and traces of old video shops.

There are still traces of former video shops to be found on the streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK!

VHS tapes and DVDs to rent at B.V.C. Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever (October 2020)

While most of these relics and ghost signs are of old Blockbuster Video stores, there are still signs of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky (and actually visit and rent from if you're really lucky!).

An old video rental sign inside a Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston (November 2020)

The list below has links to those we've snapped over the years:

• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films in Ashton-under-Lyne

Jubilee Films video shop in Ashton-under-Lyne (August 2020)

• B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton (closed down in 2024)
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol (still operating, but closed on the day of our visit)
• Video Express in Swansea
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds (still operating, but closed on the day of our visit)
• TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill (still operating)
• Video Years in Leeds (still operating)

TVL Allstar Video DVD rental shop in Haverhill, Suffolk last Christmas

We're looking forward to checking out the other still operating stores on our travels in the future.

Blockbuster Video shops.

I've enjoyed researching the lost brand and seeking out remnants of old Blockbuster stores over the last few years.

An ex-rental Blockbuster VHS tape with stickers

Here's a list, with links to blog posts about the former Blockbuster Video store locations we've visited to date:

• 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

A sign for the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Colne, Lancashire (August 2020)

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster Video stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

An Xtra-vision ex-rental VHS tape from Ballymena, Northern Ireland

The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK in December 2013.

'Free Blockbuster'.

The first Free Blockbuster was created in 2019 and since then more have been created in the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK.

Emily visited the Free Blockbuster Las Vegas at Sohn vintage shop in Las Vegas last year and swapped some of our DVDs for some wrestling VHS tapes!

The Free Blockbuster Las Vegas at Sohn vintage shop in Las Vegas (September 2024)

You can find Free Blockbusters in several locations throughout North America, one in Australia, and there is one in the UK - at Midsomer Magpie in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, England.

Check out the Free Blockbuster website for more information.

Non-rental video shops.

There is also Straight To Video - 80s Video Shop in Alfreton, Derbyshire. While they don't actually rent physical media, the shop is a treasure trove of nostalgia. And they do have items for sale.

We're looking forward to a trip there too.

Video shop speakeasies, bars, and venues.

The nostalgia for video shops and the culture they provided back in the day has been translated to a few speakeasies, bars and other venues incorporating a video shop theme.

You can't rent any of these films on VHS at RBT Video

These include:

• Pixel Busters in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire - an arcade and social gaming venue hidden behind a video store.
• Rewind NQ in Manchester's Northern Quarter - check out my blog post 'Drinking in a 'video shop'')
• RBT Video in Wakefield - take a look at the blog post from our visit
• Vice & Co in Lincoln - here's a blog post from our visit
• Bunga 90 - in Covent Garden, London. The venue sees you step through a video shop frontage to enter a venue full of retro games, karaoke and more.

Blockbuster Crazy Golf.

There are also 'Blockbuster Video' themed minigolf holes in the UK!

Blockbuster crazy golf in Nottingham

They're part of Golf Fang indoor crazy golf courses.

Video rental shop watch.

Do you still have a video rental store near you? Please get in touch or let us know in the comments if you do!

An ex-rental cover for what would've been our local video shop here in Edgeley, Stockport