Greetings from Pontin's Holiday Village, Camber Sands

We found this nice old Pontin's postcard at a collector's fair in Stockport yesterday.

Greetings from Pontin's Holiday Village, Camber Sands. Photo Precision Limited. Posted on 14 July 1975

The July 2019 issue of Picture Postcard Monthly magazine contains an article I wrote about Pontins postcards.

The Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Camber Sands is where the playground and grass is in the top left image of the postcard above

My family stayed at Pontin's Camber Sands in the 1990's and we swung by the holiday camp to play the Adventure Golf there in 2014.

The course was the 585th visited and 351st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Pontins postcards in Picture Postcard Monthly

Check out the feature on Pontins postcards in the new issue of Picture Postcard Monthly.

The July 2019 issue of Picture Postcard Monthly magazine contains an article I wrote about Pontins postcards.

The new issue of Picture Postcard Monthly is out now

Over the years I've collected quite a few postcards showing Pontins holiday camps dating back to the 1960s.

Greetings from Pontin's at Pakefield, Suffolk, Photo Precision Limited. PLC13118. Postally used on 28 Aug 1969

The majority of the cards I have are from the 1970s and 1980s and a lot of them show miniature golf courses.

One of my prized minigolf possessions and something of a crazy golf postcard holy grail as the sender wrote about the course depicted on the card

You can buy Picture Postcard Monthly magazine via the PPM website, or at postcard fairs around the country.

I'm a big fan of the seaside, holiday camps and crazy golf and have collected a large number of postcards showing various locations. In recent years we've also been on holiday to Pontins Prestatyn Sands for On the Buses fan club events.

Pontin's Holiday Centre Prestatyn, Bamforth & Co. Ltd. WT948. Postally used, date unknown

Growing up, my family went on holidays to camps at Barry Island, Minehead, Bognor Regis and Camber Sands. The November 2016 issue of Picture Postcard Monthly includes a feature I wrote about Butlin's cards.

Links:
- Picture Postcard Monthly magazine
- Pontins

Related blog posts:
- Postcards
- Pontins

Mini Golf in Picture Postcard Monthly

Check out the February 2018 edition of Picture Postcard Monthly to read a feature I wrote about minigolf and crazy golf in Aberystwyth.

Links:

- Picture Postcard Monthly

- Blog post from our visit to the two miniature golf courses in Aberystwyth

Butlin's postcards in November's Picture Postcard Monthly magazine

Check out the November issue of Picture Postcard Monthly magazine to read my article celebrating the 80th birthday of Butlin's.

I love the British seaside with all its quirks, eccentricity and traditional entertainment. My family often went on holiday to Butlin's holiday camps in Minehead, Bognor Regis and Ayr - and I spent many summers in the 80's and 90's at the Barry Island Holiday Camp, which was formerly a Butlin's camp.

The Chalets, Butlins Holiday Camp, Skegness - Valentine's G.7241. A postally unused and undated card from my collection

As an avid collector of miniature golf postcards I've picked up a fair few Butlin's cards along the way - the courses at the camps featured some very big golf balls and tees and make for quite a striking image.

Holiday camps, miniature golf and monorails - three of my favourite subjects

As you can see, cards featuring monorails are a popular theme. In fact it was Butlin’s that introduced the UK’s first commercial monorail system, opening the loop at the Skegness holiday camp in 1965. The second monorail opened at Minehead in 1967 and that's the one I have great memories of.

Check out the Hi-di-Hi! feature in Picture Postcard Monthly magazine, available via the PPM website.

Links:
- Picture Postcard Monthly magazine
- Butlin's

Related blog posts:
- Postcards
- Butlin's
- Happy Birthday Butlin's

Mini Golf in the 2016 Picture Postcard Annual

The 2016 Picture Postcard Annual has a feature on minigolf postcards.

I wrote the piece about the top minigolf, crazy golf, adventure golf and putting postcards we've found on our travels this year.

A postally unused Harvey Barton Viewcard of the Mini Golf course in Newquay, Cornwall (A1E). We visited the course on our summer roadtrip

Other articles in the 2016 Picture Postcard Annual include early Donald McGill cards, Alpine mountains, artist drawn London cards and more. There are also dates for fairs and auctions taking place next year and useful reference info.

Visit the Reflections of a Bygone Age website to order the 2016 edition of the Picture Postcard Annual and for more information about the postcard collecting hobby. Do check out the website of Picture Postcard Monthly magazine too.

We've been collecting postcards for a few years now and have found some great old and new cards showing the ever changing landscape of miniature golf in the UK and overseas. Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour has so far taken us to 671 courses and we've amassed almost that amount of postcards!

I've written other features for Picture Postcard Monthly, starting with an article on Crazy Golf in the December 2011 edition.

Links:
- Picture Postcard Annual
- Reflections of a Bygone Age
- Picture Postcard Monthly magazine

Related blog posts:
- Postcard
- Postcards
- Picture Postcard Monthly

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter. You can also sign-up to receive our newsletter.

Postcards from Abingdon in Picture Postcard Monthly

Article about postcards from my home town in the top magazine for postcard collectors.

Check out the latest issue of Picture Postcard Monthly (April 2015) to read an article, written by yours truly, entitled 'A postcard from Abingdon-on-Thames'.

I grew up in the town before leaving in 2000. Since then I've returned for several Bun Throwing events and kept an eye on news from the town. I've also built up a collection of postcards of the town dating from the early 1900's to the present day and these make up the feature in the magazine.

Outside the former County Hall in Abingdon-on-Thames. The building is now home to the town's museum, while the basement is a new cafe. The market place itself has not changed a great deal over the decades, illustrated by the postcards featured in my article

You can buy hard copy and PDF editions of Picture Postcard Monthly online. Check out the links below for more information.

Related blog posts:
- Postcard
- Postcards
- Picture Postcard Monthly
- A visit to Abingdon County Hall Museum

Links:
- Reflections of a Bygone Age (publishers of Picture Postcard Monthly up to issue no. 432 April 2015)
- Chimes Publishing & Postcards (publishers of Picture Postcard Monthly from issue no. 433 May 2015)
- World of Bun Throwing

Great gluten free fish and chips at the Quayside in Whitby

While on a recent road-trip we visited the North Yorkshire seaside resort of Whitby.

Emily and I love visiting new seasides and exploring new places and the trip was made even better when we found that a number of places offered gluten free food!

We decided to have a sit down fish and chip lunch at the Quayside Restaurant as we were impressed by the range of gluten free options on the menu, plus the sign in the window that said "Gluten Free is an option, not an afterthought. We are proud to serve 'Gluten Free Fish & Chips'. Not necessary to pre-book, we will cook to order."

Peace of mind was further given by a note on the menu that explained that gluten free options are cooked separately to 'normal' food.

The Quayside has won multiple awards in the fish & chips and food industry

When I ordered my lunch I stated that I needed gluten free as I am a Coeliac and the waiter also mentioned the separate pans and utensils used for gluten free food.

The Quayside Fish & Chip Shop and Restaurant has lots of gluten free options. The menu is clear and the prices are no different for gluten free options. They also have gluten free vinegar available and the tartare sauce is gluten free too.

They've really gone all out to ensure people who are on a (strict) gluten free diet are well catered for.

I had fish & chips, a gluten free bread roll, tartare sauce and home-made mushy peas. And I'll certainly be back for more. If I hadn't have been driving I would've also had a bottle or two of the Green's Gluten Free lager that's on the menu.

A great (gluten free) meal at the Quayside in Whitby

As a bonus, when the bill arrived it came with a specially designed Postcard! I'd heard about this through Brian Lund at Picture Postcard Monthly and it was great to actually receive one of the limited edition postcards.

You can find the Quayside Fish & Chip restaurant and takeaway at 7 Pier Road, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO21 3PU.

Links:

- Quayside Fish & Chips

- Gluten Free Fish & Chips that we've found on our travels

- Gluten Free Ales, Beers and Lagers

Crazy Golf article in December 2011 Issue of Picture Postcard Monthly.

An article about Crazy Golf Postcards written by me and fellow Crazy Golf Museum Curator Tim 'Ace Man' Davies has been published in the December 2011 issue of Picture Postcard Monthly.

Picture Postcard Monthly is the top magazine for collectors of old and modern postcards worldwide and has been informing and entertaining the postcard world since 1980.

The Crazy Golf Postcards article looks at the history of Miniature Golf and Crazy Golf around the world since 1867, as well as featuring 14 postcard images showing a wide-range of Minigolf courses.

Issue 392, December 2011 costs £2.60 (+85p P&P) and also features articles on such topics as the Women’s Land Army, to Comic postcards from New Zealand, and Are postcards better mint or used? As it’s the Christmas issue there are also a number of seasonal articles, including one on Seasonal greetings from outer space!

You can order the latest issue of Picture Postcard Monthly online, details of the December 2011 issue can be found here.