The 'Mini Masters' in Manchester

A look back at the 'Mini Masters' minigolf tournament in Manchester.

I won the 'Mini Masters' minigolf competition in Manchester back on the 11th April 2009. Time certainly flies!

Mini Master

The 'Mini Masters' was the first of two tournaments I won on the 9-hole Championship Miniature Golf course at what was then Playgolf Manchester. The second event being the 'Miniature Open' in July 2009.

Putting in the Mini Open

I won the Mini Masters with a three round total of 81 (-24) after scoring 26, 27, and 28.

In second place with a score of 86 (-19) was the then current BMGA British Number One Chris Harding. Paul Johnson was third with 87 (-18).

One of the very long minigolf holes on the course

The course was the 84th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Back then the course wasn't one of our local layouts as we still lived in Luton and travelled up for the events.

A large water hazard on the course!

The Championship Miniature Golf course is no longer at the centre, but you can find an expanded Championship Miniature Golf layout with two 18-hole courses in New Brighton. The centre is no longer a Playgolf venue either. It's now known as the Trafford Golf Centre and is also home to two 18-hole dinosaur adventure golf courses. I won the Dino Falls Masters Adventure Golf competition there in 2018 too!

Link:

• Richard Gottfried's minigolf player profile

Boom: Battle Bar at The Printworks in Manchester

The Printworks at Withy Grove in Manchester will be the location of a new Boom: Battle Bar.

Boom: Battle Bars are home to a range of competitive socialising games including crazy golf (crazier golf), shuffleboard, axe throwing, darts and more.

There are Boom: Battle Bars in Norwich and Cardiff and plans for others in Liverpool, Glasgow, Oxford, Coventry, West Thurrock, Eastbourne, Aberdeen, Aldgate and Wandsworth.

Visit the Boom: Battle Bar website and Boom: Battle Bar Manchester Printworks Facebook page for more info.

My last pre-pandemic meal out

I had my last pre-coronavirus pandemic lockdown meal out a year ago today. In fact it was the last time I dined out full stop as eating 100% gluten free is tough enough at the best of times, let alone during a pandemic.

What a fine last meal out this was

The steak and eggs I had at Remedy Kitchen in Manchester were superb and I can't wait until it's safe to get back out and eat there again.

Winning at the Digital City Expo

I attended my last 'real world' physical event at the Marketing Show North at the Digital City Expo at Manchester Central a year ago today.

What a difference a year has made.

One of the exhibitors, Acquia, had a darts game set up to attract visitors and I had a few throws and ended up winning the top prize with a 'Bullseye-esque' score of 101 with three darts!

The last three darts I threw in the outside world. I've been playing a lot of soft-tip darts at home during the lockdowns

It'll be interesting to see when the next events will be able to take place and what they'll look like. I have a few pencilled in my diary for 2022 already.

My last pre-pandemic game of minigolf

I played my last pre-coronavirus pandemic lockdown game of minigolf at Junkyard Crazy Golf in Manchester a year ago today.

Check out my blog post taking a look back at our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2020.

Park Square Putting Green in Cheadle Heath

A look at the snowy Park Square Putting Green in Cheadle Heath.

Unplayable

The Putting Green at the Park Square offices in Cheadle Heath was the first miniature golf course we visited this year.

Chrizy Golf - Christmas Crazy Golf

A look back at the Chrizy Golf Masters crazy golf competition in Manchester.

I won the Chrizy Golf Masters miniature golf tournament in Manchester eight years ago today.

Time flies!

Back on the 30th November 2012 the first - and to date only - Chrizy Golf Masters minigolf tournament was held on a festive-themed pop-up crazy golf course at Piccadilly Place in Manchester.

The Chrizy Golf course was the 313th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Chrizy Golf course was gone once the 2012 festive season was over and the building remained empty, or used for other pop-ups, until the team at Junkyard Golf made it their home for another minigolf course. That one was there for a couple of years. They have since moved on and can be found at a permanent venue at First Street in the city.

Related blog posts:

- Christmas Crazy Golf

- Christmas

Kansas Fried Chicken in Mauldeth Road

A look at the Kansas Fried Chicken shop in Mauldeth Road, Manchester.

Another of the 'KFCs' we've seen on our travels.

There's a lovely bit of brickwork outside the shop in Mauldeth Road

Related blog posts:

- Kansas Fried Chicken in Didsbury Village

- Kansas Fried Chicken in Handforth

- Chicken Shops

Make it a Blockbuster night

At my local (long closed) video store.

What are you watching tonight? Stranger Things for us.

Grainger Games. A lost video game shop brand

This is the Stretford Mall location.

The company was founded in 1996 and ceased operations on the 28th March 2018.

You won't find a PS5 there, but there's still a rack of UFC3 games for the XBOX ONE and PS4 in there.

As a brand with shops in the North of England and Scotland I only became a regular shopper there when I moved to Stockport in 2016.

Pac-Man street art by Gorse Hill Studios in Stretford

Found underneath Stretford in Manchester.

Link:

- Gorse Hill Studios

Unhappy Shopper

I'm actually quite happy about this purchase.

Emily recently spotted a range of retro and parody t-shirts by Manchester Tom on Instagram and I knew I had to buy this Unhappy Shopper one!

Even though 2020 has been undeniably shite and I've barely been to any shops I wanted to go to, I have managed to find a few Happy Shopper shops with the nice old branding still in place.

One of the stores in Sheffield even had the 1971 logo on its social distancing signage!

Check out the Manchester Tom website for more information.

Keep YOUR Distance - Protect yourself

Check out this social distancing floor sign outside the old Blockbuster Video store at Fallowfield Retail Park in Manchester.

Signs of the old and the new. Together. In Manchester

We're currently in Tier 3 Restrictions in Greater Manchester. 

Here in Stockport we've been under tight restrictions of one form or another since the first national lockdown in March.  

Tomorrow the whole of England will move into a national lockdown for the second time this year.

I wonder what other interesting signs I will see on my daily outdoor exercise this winter...?

Market Store in Burnage, Manchester

We popped to Burnage to do some shopping last month and spotted this Market Store. There's something rather familiar about the signage.

Related blog posts:

- The Carpet Factory in Middleton

Halloween in the City - Manchester 2020

The Halloween in the City Monster Trail is up and running until Sunday 1st November.

There are seven giant inflatable monsters to track down around the city centre.

The Halloween in the City Dragon at The Printworks last year

Check out the Visit Manchester website for more information and to download the location map.

Take a look at my blog posts from last year's Halloween in the City:

• Manchester's Halloween in the City
• Halloween in the City 2019
• Manchester Monster Invasion: Return of the Monsters
• Halloween in the City monster at Screamfields in Manchester

A-Team Cleaning Services in Manchester

Spotting an 'A-Team van' in Stockport.

I always keep an eye out for fun and interesting stuff and managed to get a snap of this 'A-Team van' out on a mission somewhere in the Greater Manchester underground earlier today!

Check out the A-Team Cleaning Services Facebook Page for more information.

It's not the first A-Team van I've seen on my travels. Check out the Multi Kitchens Ltd van, The Waste Team and The Natural Tile Company in Belfast.

Junkyard Golf minigolf advertising in Manchester

A look at some Junkyard Golf advertising in Manchester.

I saw some more advertising for Junkyard Golf's First Street venue in Manchester while having a walk round the city centre yesterday.

On Whitworth Street West

At Oxford Road

At Oxford Road

Junkyard Golf's First Street venue in Manchester was the last course I played before the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown back on the 9th March 2020.

Hole 6 of the Pablo course at Junkyard Golf in Manchester

Visit the Junkyard Golf website for more information.

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Carhartt x Obut petanque boules

A look at the new Carhartt WIP Petanque Boule Set.

Carhartt WIP has teamed up with Obut to create a set of branded boules. They look superb.

I saw these Carhartt X Obut boules at the Carhartt WIP store in Manchester

I'm a BIG fan of both Petanque and Carhartt and have my eye on a set. I'm not sure if I could bring myself to actually use them on a petanque piste though!

I wonder if there'll ever be a Carhartt and Minigolf collaboration...?

Crazy Pool at Roxy Ball Room in Manchester

The new Roxy Ball Room at Withy Grove in Manchester will be home to a Crazy Pool layout.

Work is underway to create a new Roxy Ball Room venue at next to the Arndale Centre at Withy Grove in Manchester. One of the new games to play there will be Crazy Pool.

Crazy Pool is also available at the Roxy Ball Room on Hanover Street in Liverpool. As a fan of minigolf and billiard hybrid games I was intrigued to see what it would like as I've played a few on my Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

You can see a preview of the Crazy Pool at Roxy Ball Room in Liverpool on Roxy Ball Room's Facebook Page.

Taking a peak in the windows at the new Withy Grove location we saw a number of the Crazy Pool tables taking shape. They looked really good.

It'll be interesting to see what the cues and balls are like and what other obstacles will appear on the tables.

Visit the Roxy Ball Room website for details of their eleven venues and the games on offer.

Check out my blog post "Crazy Snooker Pool Billiards Golf and Pit-Pat" for a look at some of the stranger miniature golf and cue-sports crossover games we've played on our travels.

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Krunchy Fried Chicken in Fallowfield, Manchester

Finding a 'KFC' in Fallowfield.

Krunched in sign!

We've seen a number of 'KFCs' on our travels, including this Krunchy Fried Chicken in Fallowfield, Manchester.

There are Krunchy Fried Chicken shops in Liverpool and Stalybridge too.