No sitting

A look at a shopping centre bench in the time of social distancing.

A bench in the Spinning Gate shopping centre in Leigh

We've seen a few other benches with social distancing signs and rules about sitting down during the pandemic, including a pair of socially distanced benches in Spinningfields, Manchester and these two in Colne, Lancashire.

I've been documenting the Covid-19 and social distancing signs I've seen during the pandemic here on the blog as well as on my Instagram account.

2020 is Out of Order

If 2020 was a sanitising station in a shop.

Social distancing signs in Abingdon's Market Place

I've been documenting the Covid-19 social distancing signs I've seen during the coronavirus pandemic here and on my Instagram.

The ones in my home town's Market Place are nice and clear. They also include the Abingdon-on-Thames town crest which I think is a nice touch.

The Market Place is famous as the location for Bun Throwing and the starting point for the Michaelmas Fair. Both events normally see thousands of people pack in or pass through to be a part of the occasions.

The Arden Arms in Bredbury, Stockport

Erratum - we missed a pub on our lockdown pub crawl of Stockport Borough.

We visited 265 pubs, bars and clubs during the national lockdown between April and July of this year. Some of those places were long established, others were new venues, a few were getting ready to open for the first time in 2020, while a number of others were lost pubs.

One of the pubs we missed during the first lockdown was the Arden Arms at Bredbury!

The Arden Arms in Bredbury

We knew there was an Arden Arms in the town centre (pub #51), but as the Bredbury location is right on the border with Denton in Tameside it completely slipped off our radar.

The sign of pub #266 on our travels 

We rectified the matter on Saturday though as we took our day's outdoor exercise at Hulmes Wood and walked back across the border into Stockport to snap the Arden Arms.

Approaching Stockport from Tameside

Right on the border

Looking back towards Tameside

Related blog posts:

- Pubs of Stockport

- Pubs

- Stockport

- Lockdown

- Stopfordian Pubs

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...?

Pubs of Stockport

Check out the interview in The Viaduct magazine about our mission to visit every pub, club and bar in Stockport during lockdown this year.

The first pub we visited - The Kings Tap in Cheadle Hulme

Pub number 73 - The Crown Inn in Stockport town centre with the viaduct behind it

Pub number 265 - The Nursery Inn in Heaton Norris

Minigolf rules at Hastings Adventure Golf

The team at Hastings Adventure Golf have added details of Covid Secure Miniature Golf to each of the scorecards at the seaside centre.

Covid-19 social distancing signage with 1970s branding

One of the best finds during my 'retail archaeology' expeditions this year is the social distancing signage using the original Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's, 80's and 90's at The Happy Shopper convenience store in Sheffield.

A slightly unexpected sight on a sign of the times in 2020

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and buying their own-branded products a lot when I was a kid growing up in Oxfordshire back in the 80's and 90's.

The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield

The Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's was changed in the year 2000 and became a lot simpler design. I thing it certainly lost a lot of its character.

The original Happy Shopper branding has the smiling blond haired face appearing before the word 'Happy' rather than in place of the 'o' in the word 'Shopper' as seen in the second, and probably more widespread, incarnation of the logo.

The two other Happy Shopper shops I've seen this year have both been closed. The first was in Preston and the second was also in Sheffield.

Check out my Instagram account for more social distancing signs I've spotted on my urban walks during the coronavirus pandemic.

Social distancing on an escalator

I've been documenting a number of aspects of the coronavirus pandemic here and on my social media. One of my areas of interest is the variety of warnings, instructions and directional signage there is around social distancing, so I loved seeing this photo Emily took of the social distancing measures in place on an escalator in M&S!

Kind of like chevrons on the motorway

Surely the 2 metre apart distance stickers should be on the moving walkway as well, rather than the static sides of the escalator? I wonder how many people are adhering to the rule and waiting for the person ahead of them to reach the first marker?

Check out my Instagram account and the various highlights for snaps of the social distancing, coronavirus and Covid-19 signs I've seen on my (limited) travels this year.

Social Distancing World Champion! I don't think anyone is winning this year

Social distancing floor signs at the Burlington pub in Chesterfield

Mini-golf in the time of Covid-19

InterGame Video Insights - Mini-golf in the time of Covid-19.

Check out episode 1 of InterGame's Video Insights with a discussion of the opportunities and challenges of operating a mini-golf venue amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mini-golf in the time of Covid-19

InterGame Video Insights, Episode 01: Mini-golf in the time of Covid-19.

My specialist knowledge and experience in the worlds of minigolf and marketing were recently demonstrated in InterGame's discussion of the opportunities and challenges of operating a mini-golf venue amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was nice to speak about what's happening in the industry, talk about marketing strategies and tactics and chat with Simon Tompkins, general manager of Hastings Adventure Golf and Andy Johnson, head of golfing operations for Puttstars about the outlook for the game.

InterGame is the only monthly magazine covering the international coin-op amusements and gaming industry. InterGame also organise the annual InterFun Expo, with the next edition scheduled for next April.

I'll be speaking about the world of minigolf and competitive socialising at InterFun Expo 2021.

For more information check out the InterGame and InterFun websites.

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With over twenty years of marketing experience I offer consultancy services to people and businesses looking to set-up miniature golf courses, review their operations, marketing strategies and campaigns, social media marketing, blogging, hole designs, contests, tournaments and more. Do get in touch for a chat to see how I can help.

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Socially distanced benches in Spinningfields

A pair of socially distanced benches in Spinningfields, Manchester.

One person only at this time

This doesn't look like the most comfortable bit of seating even at the best of times

We saw two other benches in the time of Coronavirus in Colne.

Hastings Adventure Golf - social distancing in numbers

A look at the work of Hastings Adventure Golf in the time of Coronavirus.

The three miniature golf courses at Hastings Adventure Golf reopened with social distancing measures in place in June.

The team at the south coast seaside venue have put together an informative film showing the stats from the work they've been doing.

Check out the Hastings Adventure Golf website for more information.

Hole 4 of the Crazy Golf course at Hastings Adventure Golf, one of my favourite courses

Competitive socialising

A look at the world of competitive socialising.

Before the coronavirus pandemic the phrase 'competitive socialising' had become a popular way to describe going out and having fun, with a number of new businesses catering to the demand of a public who wanted to compete at something while eating and drinking in a nice setting.

Whether it was table tennis, darts, shuffleboard, bingo, tenpin bowling, arcade games, or my personal favourite crazy golf, people were finding new ways to quench their thirst, have fun and compete without signing-up to a full sports league or taking things too seriously.

But we all know you have to take competitive socialising seriously – right?

'Competitive socialising' may, for the time being at least, have been replaced on a lot of people's lips by 'social distancing'. But when we're able to safely and fully emerge from isolation and lockdown there will be an appetite for playing games, having fun and doing new things.

Some of those experiences may not actually be totally new though, as people will want to experience the things they enjoyed, or were good at before lockdown.

Similarly, competitive socialising taps into nostalgia, retro experiences and halcyon days. Things that could feel even more important to people in the next few years as the world gets to grips with the effects of social distancing and the impact of the pandemic.

Competitive socialising wasn't a new thing. Instead it was a new way to describe something humans have done for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. While many of the sports and games we enjoy were codified in the last 150 years or so, people have been competing against one another – for honour, pride, money and bragging rights – for centuries.

Read more about keeping social and competitive in the new world of physical distancing in my blog post Competitive socialising in isolation.

I've also collated a number of blog posts about the pandemic as well as topics including Retailtainment, Artainment and Minigolf in the Time of Coronavirus at The Coronavirus (Ham & Egger) Files.

A postcard from Stockport

Dropping you a line from the Greater Manchester High Risk Coronavirus Protection Area Lockdown Zone.

Benches in the time of Coronavirus

A look at two benches in the time of social distancing.

We saw a few different social distancing signs on our walk round Colne in Lancashire on Sunday afternoon, including these two on benches in the town centre.

The British Transplant Games

A look ahead to the 2021 British Transplant Games in Leeds.

We were due to be heading down to Coventry this week to support our friend (and minigolf rival) John Moore in the British Transplant Games. Unfortunately the 2020 Games in Coventry have been postponed to 2023 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

However, plans are well underway for the 2021 British Transplant Games that will be taking place in Leeds next August. We love visiting Leeds and are really looking forward to the event.

Transplant Sport’s flagship event aims to raise awareness of the life-saving benefits of transplantation.

The Westfield Health British Transplant Games have been running for over 40 years. Each year the games sees teams from hospitals across the UK come together to compete in a number of sports. The four-day event attracts around 1,000 transplant athletes and more than 1,500 supporters.

Find out more on the British Transplant Games and Transplant Sport websites.

We've attended the British Transplant Games in Newcastle Gateshead (2015), Liverpool (2016) and Birmingham (2018).

Last summer we were at the 2019 World Transplant Games in Newcastle Gateshead. They were the 22nd edition and the first held in the UK since the Manchester Games in 1995.

I've run in two races at the transplant games - The Gift of Life Run last year was my second 5k, after the Donor Run at the 2018 British Transplant Games in Birmingham.

The Westfield Health British Transplant Games, organised on behalf of the charity Transplant Sport, will take place in venues across Leeds from the 5th to 8th August 2021.

Visit the NHS website to join the NHS Organ Donor Register.

We gonna rock down to Corona Avenue

What a year it's been so far!

And to think it's not over yet...

Putter Madness face masks

The team at Putter Madness have some very nice branded face masks for staff to wear at their upcoming minigolf events.

We are all prepared for our first event next week, it’s been a while! ⛳️ #Event #CrazyGolf #MiniGolf #MiniPutt #StaySafe pic.twitter.com/iE3oJElXAg

— Putter Madness (@Putter_Madness) July 2, 2020

Ghetto Golf face masks

Ghetto Golf has a range of branded face masks for sale at their venues. More info is up on the Ghetto Golf website.