A blog about our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. With a sprinkling of nostalgia and urban exploration for good measure.
Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts
Sunday, October 16, 2022
A look at an old Happy Shopper shop in Burton-on-Trent
Labels:
Burton,
Burton on Trent,
Burton upon Trent,
Ghost Signs,
Happy Shopper,
nostalgia,
retail,
retro,
shop,
shopfront,
shopfronts,
Shops,
signage,
storefront,
urban exploration
Location:
Burton upon Trent, Burton-on-Trent, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Saturday, October 15, 2022
Video Store Day 2022
Today is Video Store Day.
Do you still have a video store near you?
International Independent Video Store Day is observed on the third Saturday of October each year.
It's always interesting finding lost shops and old signs on my travels and I recently drove past this former video rental shop at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham!
Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham |
There are still traces of other former video shops to be found on the streets of the UK. Most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores. But there are remnants of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky.
Blockbuster Video stores 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
- Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
- Wythenshawe, Manchester
Other video shops we've been to include B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton and 20th Century Flicks in Bristol - and both were still trading!
On Video Store Day in 2020 we were fortunate enough to stumble upon a video rental shop in Little Lever, Bolton |
Labels:
2022,
Day,
nostalgia,
retro,
VCR,
VHS,
Video,
video shop,
Video Store Day,
videos
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Thursday, September 29, 2022
Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
Spotting an old video shop in Rotherham.
It's always interesting finding lost shops and old signs on my travels and I recently drove past this former video rental shop at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham!
There are still traces of other former video shops to be found on the streets of the UK. Most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores. But there are remnants of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky.
Blockbuster Video stores 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
- Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
- Wythenshawe, Manchester
Other video shops we've been to include B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton and 20th Century Flicks in Bristol - and both were still trading!
Labels:
nostalgia,
retail,
Rotherham,
shop,
shopfront,
shopfronts,
Shops,
storefront,
Thorpe Hesley,
Video,
video shop,
Video Store,
videos
Location:
Thorpe Hesley, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Thursday, September 08, 2022
A Happy Shopper shop in Burton upon Trent
A look at an old Happy Shopper shop in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
We drove via Burton upon Trent on our journey home from the south coast last week to take a look at a Happy Shopper shop in the town. We're lucky we did as the shop was in the process of being gutted as it's now closed. The business has moved to a new unit over the road, where some of the old branded shelving is now in use.
I've since found out there's ANOTHER Happy Shopper shop in Burton upon Trent! We'll have to swing by S & A Singh on Sydney Street next time we're passing...
Happy Shopper nostalgia
We've felt very nostalgic during the pandemic and one of the old brands from our childhood we thought about was 'Happy Shopper' - the name alone conjures up images of the 1980's.
We didn't think there would be many - or any - of the original orange and yellow branded shops still around, but we were proven wrong when we saw one in Preston in September 2020.
Since then we've been lucky enough to spot and snap a few more. Take a look at my posts about other Happy Shopper shops in:
Labels:
Burton,
Burton on Trent,
Burton upon Trent,
Ghost Signs,
Happy Shopper,
nostalgia,
retail,
retro,
shop,
shopfront,
shopfronts,
Shops,
signage,
storefront,
urban exploration
Location:
Burton upon Trent, Burton-on-Trent, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Saturday, July 23, 2022
Woolworths shopping trolleys in Bolton
Seeing some shopping relics on a trip to Bolton.
We're always interested in spotting remains of retailers of yesteryear and while in Bolton we remembered that we'd heard there had been some former Woolworths shopping trolleys in Bolton Indoor Market.
Woolworths shopping trolleys at Bolton Indoor Market |
Luckily they were still there. An odd place for them to end up after the closure of Woolies back in 2009. But good to see they're still knocking around. Even if they have been locked up and put out of use!?
Woolworths shopping trolleys at Bolton Indoor Market |
Woolworths shopping trolleys at Bolton Indoor Market |
Other former Woolworths shops
It's fun seeing old & lost brands, ghost signs and retail relics. I took a look at the ghost signs on a former Woolworths store on Blackpool promenade last September.
We saw a Woolworths ghost sign in Nuneaton in May last year too. That was a nice surprise!
Like the Blackpool store, the Nuneaton shop site had also most recently been a Poundland and a TJ Hughes.
The last Woolworths shop in the UK closed in January 2009. Every so often remnants of the brand become visible again.
We visited the Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent in September 2020. That store still had the signage in place and we'd originally spotted it while driving through the town the previous November.
We took a look at an old Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh in August 2011. That was a Big W Woolworths store at The Jewel retail park. It's long gone now.
Location:
Bolton, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Saturday, June 11, 2022
Making it a Blockbusters NQ night
Drinking in a video store.
We finally made it to Blockbusters NQ in Manchester last Thursday.
Not a video store |
It was nice to have a drink in a 'video shop' speakeasy.
It was nice to be on the INSIDE of a new bar for a change! |
We first heard about the nostalgia-inducing video rental shop bar last November and have been looking forward to stepping inside since we first saw it.
BE KIND REWIND |
The theming is really well done and the bar had a chilled atmosphere. It's worth a visit.
An eclectic selection |
You can never have enough copies of True Lies. I prefer the Laserdisc edition myself |
Most of the videos are retail ones rather than ex-rental tapes, but there are some big box treats to find lurking on the shelves.
A look at the cocktail menu and one of the big box ex-rental Blockbuster Video tapes I found on the shelves |
The Chase is the best bit of Midnight Express |
This big box ex-rental tape is from a Video Box Office store.Video Box Office was the Business to Business part of ChoicesUK and launched in the UK in 1985 when the brand offered video rental services via third-party convenience stores. As the popularity of physical media rentals declined in the late noughties 59 ChoicesUK shops were taken over and rebranded as Blockbuster stores! We found an old Video Box Office presence inside a Happy Shopper in Ilkeston, Derby in 2020 |
PLEASE REWIND |
Check out the Blockbusters NQ website for more information and opening times.
Blockbuster Video
We're big fans of video, videos stores, retail history and retro stuff and have been visiting and documenting the last remaining traces of the Blockbuster brand in the UK over the last few years. We've seen a number of the brand's shopfronts, signs and QuikDrop boxes. As well as some other video shops.
Blockbuster Video at Fallowfield Retail Park in Manchester, June 2020 |
Blockbuster Video Stores
The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, USA in 1985.
At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500+ of which were in the UK.
Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December.
There is now just one Blockbuster Video store left open. It's in Bend, Oregon, USA.
However, the UK's high streets, shopping precincts, malls and retail parks still hold traces of the brand. And we've been to most of them!
We've now visited 28 former Blockbuster Video stores since we found the remains of the Fallowfield shop.
- 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
- Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
- Wythenshawe, Manchester
Labels:
Bar,
Blockbuster Video,
Blockbusters NQ,
BlockbustersNQ,
Manchester,
nostalgia,
Pub,
retro,
Speakeasy
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Friday, June 03, 2022
Blockbusters NQ is open in Manchester
Although we were there too early in the afternoon to get a drink.
Check out the Blockbusters NQ website for more information and opening times.
We're hoping to head inside for a look and a drink in the next few weeks...
Blockbuster Video
We're big fans of video, videos stores, retail history and retro stuff and have been visiting and documenting the last remaining traces of the Blockbuster brand in the UK over the last few years. We've seen a number of the brand's shopfronts, signs and QuikDrop boxes. As well as some other video shops.
Blockbuster Video Stores
The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, USA in 1985.
At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500+ of which were in the UK.
Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December.
There is now just one Blockbuster Video store left open. It's in Bend, Oregon, USA.
However, the UK's high streets, shopping precincts, malls and retail parks still hold traces of the brand. And we've been to most of them!
The QuikDrop box at the former Blockbuster Video Express store in Failsworth, Manchester |
We've now visited 28 former Blockbuster Video stores since we found the remains of the Fallowfield shop.
- 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
- Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
- Wythenshawe, Manchester
Labels:
Bar,
Blockbuster Video,
Blockbusters NQ,
BlockbustersNQ,
Manchester,
nostalgia,
retro,
Speakeasy
Location:
Manchester, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Saturday, May 21, 2022
The Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby is no more
The former Toys R Us store at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby is now a completely lost shop.
Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby. November 2020 |
The unit is now home to a Go Outdoors.
It's good that the site is being used again, but kind of sad to see the relic from the past slip away.
Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby. November 2020 |
Former Toys R Us locations we've visited on our travels:
- Brighton Hill Retail Park in Basingstoke
- Central Retail Park in Manchester
- Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich
- Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
- Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
- Gemini Retail Park in Warrington
- Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
- St James Retail Park in Northampton
- Teesside Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees
- The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes
- Western Esplanade in Southampton
- Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury
- Wyvern Retail Park in Derby
Labels:
2022,
Abandoned,
Derby,
Derbyshire,
Derelict,
Lost,
Lost Shop,
nostalgia,
retail,
retro,
shopfront,
shopfronts,
storefront,
Toys R Us,
urbex
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
A minigolf postcard from Pontin's Holiday Village in Hemsby, Norfolk
A look at a minigolf postcard from our collection.
Here's a long-lost Crazy Golf course depicted on a Pontin's multi-view postcard of the Hemsby Holiday Village in Hemsby, Norfolk.
PONTIN'S HOLIDAY VILLAGE, HEMSBY, NORFOLK R5713 by Photo Precision Limited, St Ives. Unposted, undated |
The layout is of the Eternit Miniature Golf style - a rarity on these shores.
We'll be heading back to Hemsby this summer for the Big Mini Golf Tour taking place across miniature golf courses in Great Yarmouth, Hemsby and Gorleston-on-Sea.
You can play minigolf at the Lost World Adventure Golf and Stonehenge Adventure Golf in the seaside town of Hemsby.
Labels:
Big Mini Golf Tour,
Crazy Golf,
Eternit,
Hemsby,
history,
Holiday Camp,
Miniature Golf,
Norfolk,
nostalgia,
old postcard,
old postcards,
Pontin's,
Pontins,
Postcard,
Postcards,
The Big Mini Golf Tour
Location:
Hemsby, Great Yarmouth NR29, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Monday, March 21, 2022
A Happy Shopper in Sittingbourne, Kent
Finding a Happy Shopper shop in Sittingbourne, Kent.
The Happy Shopper shop on Chaucer Road in Sittingbourne |
The latest Happy Shopper shop we visited was in Sittingbourne, Kent.
A sign for the Happy Shopper opposite the shop |
It was marvellous to see the shopfront with the happy faced mascot on it shining out on the parade of shops on Chaucer Road.
The Happy Shopper shop sign |
It was nice having a chat to the shopkeeper who seemed just as happy as us to talk about the Happy Shopper brand! He also pointed out the celebration clock they still have working in the shop.
Visiting a fully branded Happy Shopper shop is like stepping back in time |
Happy Shopper nostalgia
We've felt very nostalgic during the pandemic and one of the old brands from our childhood we thought about was 'Happy Shopper' - the name alone conjures up images of the 1980's.
We didn't think there would be many - or any - of the original orange and yellow branded shops still around, but we were proven wrong when we saw one in Preston in September 2020.
Since then we've been lucky enough to spot and snap a few more on our somewhat limited travels. Take a look at my posts about other Happy Shopper shops in:
Labels:
Ghost Signs,
Happy Shopper,
Kent,
nostalgia,
retail,
retro,
shop,
shopfront,
shopfronts,
Shops,
signage,
Sittingbourne,
storefront,
urban exploration
Location:
Sittingbourne, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Monday, February 21, 2022
A Happy Shopper in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
A visit to a Happy Shopper shop in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
We made a stopover in Wisbech while en route to Norwich last November and while there found a Happy Shopper shop!
The Pleasant News Happy Shopper in Wisbech |
Pleasant News on Edinburgh drive certainly lived up to its name.
The shop had one of the 'newer' Happy Shopper signs outside (the one without the Happy Shopper mascot on it), but inside was a different story.
It was like stepping back in time.
The Open/Closed sign was a classic Happy Shopper branded one.
We were happy the shop was open |
And the shelf fronts had branded strips on them.
Chatting to the shopkeeper was nice and he told us about the shop's history and plans for the future, with his family opening a new shop on the same parade. Luckily the Happy Shopper branding at Pleasant News will be staying for the time being.
I remember when those crisps were 10p a bag |
Happy Shopper nostalgia
We've felt very nostalgic during the pandemic and one of the old brands from our childhood we thought about was 'Happy Shopper' - the name alone conjures up images of the 1980's.
We didn't think there would be many - or any - of the original orange and yellow branded shops still around, but we were proven wrong when we saw one in Preston in September 2020.
Since then we've been lucky enough to spot and snap a few more on our somewhat limited travels. Take a look at my posts about other Happy Shopper shops in:
Labels:
Cambridgeshire,
Ghost Signs,
Happy Shopper,
nostalgia,
retail,
retro,
shop,
shopfront,
shopfronts,
Shops,
signage,
storefront,
urban exploration,
Wisbech
Location:
13-15 Edinburgh Dr, Wisbech PE13 3LJ, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Gamestation in Norwich
Spotting at old Gamestation shop sign in Norwich.
Gamestation in Norwich, November 2021 |
I used to buy a lot of retro games at Gamestation but the brand left the high street in 2012.
Gamestation in Norwich |
So I was a little surprised to see the shop sign still up at the former Castle Quarter shopping centre location in Norwich last month.
This URL now re-directs to Game.co.uk |
Gamestation was founded in 1993 and was purchased by Game in 2007. The remaining stores were rebranded as Game in 2012.
Note the Covid-19 signs on the pillar |
Other lost shops
It's interesting to see traces, remnants and signage of lost shop brands on our travels. We've also seen a number of former Blockbuster Video stores, a lot of Toys R Us shops, a handful of Woolworths, a British Home Stores or two, a Kwik Save, some Tandy and RadioShack shops, a few old Grainger Games stores, quite a lot of Debenhams, as well as some former Carphone Warehouse and JJB Sports stores.
Labels:
Gamestation,
Norfolk,
Norwich,
nostalgia,
retail,
retro,
shop,
shopfronts,
signs,
Video Game
Location:
100 Castle Mdw, Norwich NR1 3DD, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Monday, November 22, 2021
Ecto-1 at The Light cinema in Stockport
It was nice to see Ecto-1 at The Light cinema in Stockport on Saturday evening as part of the promotion for the new Ghostbusters film.
Labels:
car,
Cinema,
Ecto-1,
Film,
Fun,
Ghostbusters,
nostalgia,
Retailtainment,
retro,
Stockport,
The Light,
vehicle
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
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