Dr Pac-Man's Covid-19 Testing Centre in Lanzarote

We've been documenting the signs of the covid times since the pandemic began in 2020 and have seen a number of different, interesting and fun ways to promote social distancing, testing and getting a jab.

Doctors Covid-19 Testing in Lanzarote

This escalator advertising for a Covid-19 Testing Centre that Emily spotted in Lanzarote last month is one of the best!

Surely Pac-Man should be avoiding the covvy though!

Doctors Covid-19 Testing in Lanzarote

Social Distancing signs at SEA LIFE Blackpool

A look at the social distancing signs at the SEA LIFE centre in Blackpool.

I spotted these nice social distancing signs outside the SEA LIFE centre on the promenade in Blackpool on my trip to the seaside town last month.

I've been documenting all of the Covid-19 signs I've seen during the pandemic on my Instagram account and here on the blog.

A sign of panic buying

Spotted at a pub in Northwich, Cheshire today.

A sign of the times

Gluten free at The Oxford Place in Leeds

Having my first meal out since March 2020.

We went out for dinner on Saturday. The location was our favourite restaurant - The Oxford Place in Leeds.

It was the first time I've had a meal out since March last year and the first meal Emily and I have had together since our last visit to The Oxford Place in December 2019!

We're very pleased to report that the food and service was superb, it always is.

I had 3.5 courses as I felt that I needed to treat myself. The .5 was a pre-starter starter of a portion of French Fries.

I then had the marvellous Posh Prawn Cocktail, followed by the Sea Bream, with the trio of Ice Creams (Cherry, Rum & Raisin and Honeycomb) for dessert.

We're really looking forward to our next meal there already.

The Oxford Place is a must visit restaurant for anyone with Coeliac Disease or gluten intolerance.

Check out The Oxford Place's website for more information.

When you have Coeliac Disease dining out can be hard work at the very best of times, let alone during a pandemic!

Luckily we have found a handful of 100% gluten free places that are able to cater to the specific needs of people with Coeliac Disease. As well as The Oxford Place in Leeds there is Off the Wheaten Track in Altrincham, Remedy Kitchen in Manchester, the Wildcraft Bakery in Leeds and Gloof in Soham.

Covid-19 signage at Puttstars Mini Golf in Rochdale

I've been blogging about minigolf during the time of coronavirus and posting examples of Covid-19 and social distancing signage that I've seen or had shared with me during the pandemic.

During the pandemic we've played four minigolf courses, two of which were indoors. Last August we played our first game following lockdown at Gator Adventure Golf in Chorley. In September we played at Cae Glas Park in Oswestry. Last month we played at the newly refurbished Princess Parade Crazy Golf in Blackpool and earlier this month we played two of the three indoor courses at Puttstars in Rochdale.

A social distancing sign at the entrance to Rochdale Riverside

We didn't take the lift

The approach to Puttstars

A welcome sign

Hole one of the Slingshot course

A sign at the end of the round

Away from minigolf I've been documenting all of the Covid-19 signs I've seen on my Instagram account.

Covid-19 signage at Lofty's Crazy Golf course in Seaton Carew

I've been writing about minigolf during the time of coronavirus and blogging examples of Covid-19 and social distancing signage and measures that I've seen or had shared with me during the pandemic.

It was lovely to be back at the seaside

During the pandemic we've visited ten new minigolf courses to us (as well as a few revisits). Our first new course visit of 2021 was in April when we swung by Lofty's Crazy Golf course in Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, Teesside.

Covid-19 guidelines

Course rules

Social distancing markings at the entrance

Hole 1

It'll be nice to have a round on the 10-hole seafront course in the future.

In addition to the minigolf signs I've been documenting all of the Covid-19 signs I've seen on my Instagram account.

Covid-19 signage at Fairhaven Adventure Golf in Lytham St Annes

I've been writing about minigolf during the time of coronavirus and sharing examples of Covid-19 and social distancing signage and measures I've seen during the pandemic.

Last month we swung by the new Fairhaven Lake Adventure Golf course in Lytham St Annes while on a trip to the Fylde coast.

In addition to minigolf signs I've see I've been documenting all of the Covid-19 signs I've seen on my Instagram account.

Tommy Chip Cone says "Stay safe."

I spotted this pandemic-themed sign on a chip cone mascot at Tommy's fish & chip shop in Middleton, Rochdale earlier this week.

Pac-Man at Southampton Inside/Out

We spotted Pac-Man and a blue ghost while walking around Southampton last month!

They were created as part of the social distancing floor markings as part of the Southampton Inside Out dining campaign to create more places to dine out during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dull Men's Club Self-Isolators of the Year Award

We won it.

We have been declared the Self-Isolators of the Year by the Dull Men's Club for the way we have continued to explore, promote and enjoy our minigolf hobby during the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

In recent years the Dull Men's Club has presented an 'Anorak of the Year' award. For 2018 it was presented to Kevin Beresford from Redditch, founder of the Roundabout Appreciation Society. For 2019 to Archie Workman, a drainspotter in Cumbria.

Leland Carlson, Assistant Vice President of the Dull Men's Club said "Normally the Dull Men's Club would have awarded the Dull Man of the Year Award in person, but coronavirus has put a stop to our ability to meet up and discuss the merits of our member's interests and present the award. At the last event in Manchester in November 2019 we awarded Archie Workman the Dull Man of the Year Award for his services to the world of Drain Spotting."

Leland continued "2020 was certainly a different year to most and it's unfortunate that the wide-range of people who make up our club haven't been able to get together in person. We've had a lot of conversations and meetings online and found that members of the club have adapted remarkably well to life indoors. Many of the hobbies and pastimes we practise are perfect for whiling away the hours, days, weeks and months of a lockdown."

"Richard and Emily are long-standing members of the club and always supportive of our events and the interests of fellow Dull people. While on the surface minigolf is not the dullest of activities and many would argue it is far more flashy than its 'big' brother Golf, there are plenty of rabbit holes to head down to research, explore and archive in the mini game. Dullness is a spectrum and everyone's hobby or interest has a place on it."

We appear in the 2021 edition of the Dull Men's Club Calendar along with a number of other characters each with their own 'dull' pursuit.

It was fun to be included in the Dull Men's Club Calendar again this year after debuting in the 2017 edition. To have been presented with the Self-Isolators of the Year Award is a fine accomplishment.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and obsession with the game does cause mixed opinions - some people find our fascination with all things related to miniature golf over-the-top to the point of dullness.

We're looking forward to getting back out on our minigolf travels again soon

I have given presentations on the history of minigolf at a number of Dull Men's Club events and always get good feedback. Perhaps it's a nice palate cleanser on the agenda in-between talks about such things as roundabouts, telegraph poles, postcards, cacti, drains, lawnmowers, giant vegetables and valve radios. I'm certainly looking forward to the time when we're able to meet up in person again to hear about other people's hobbies and interests and also what they've been up to during lockdown.

Minigolfing activities we have been involved in during the last year have included:

• Creating crazy golf holes and obstacles at home.
• Promoting a minigolf bucket list of things to do.
• Judging a crazy golf course design competition with the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club community group in Knowle West, Bristol.
• Helping two charities re-open a crazy golf course on Princess Parade in Blackpool.
• Archiving contents in the online Crazy Golf Museum.
• Competing in tournaments on the Putt18 home putting game where we play against people in Australia, New Zealand, the USA and other parts of the UK.

When the first lockdown started we did wonder when we'd be able to play minigolf again, but as we're always keen to be active in minigolf projects we've managed to find lots to do.

I've been playing a lot of indoor golf in the last year

We have now visited 957 minigolf courses around the world since 2006, with 918 of them in the British Isles. In recent years before the pandemic we had visited around 60-80 new courses per year. We got off to a tremendous start to 2020 and visited 20 courses in the first 20 days of the year. But by the end of the year we had only been able to get to a total of 46.

Lofty's Crazy Golf course in Seaton Carew was the first course we've visited this year

Find out more on the Dull Men's Club website.

The Dull Men's Club 2021 Calendar is available from Amazon.

Signs of the coronavirus pandemic times

A look at signs of the Coronavirus pandemic, social distancing and lockdown.

I've been documenting the coronavirus pandemic in a number of ways, one of which is by photographing the different signs and posters I see on my walks and limited travels.

We're one year into lockdown in the UK and in that time I've collated some 922 of these (and counting) on my Instagram account.

One of the very first signs I snapped was this one during a local walk that passed by Cheadle Angling Club on Demmings Road in Cheadle.

We first saw social distancing measures in place at a miniature golf course in person on a walk to Bruntwood Park in Cheadle in May last year.

There is certainly a real variety of warnings, instructions and directional signage to do with social distancing, and I was amused by this photo Emily took of the social distancing measures in place on an escalator in M&S!

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 adhere to the rule and wait for the person ahead of them to reach the first marker?

Have you seen any interesting, quirky or amusing signs during these pandemic times? Do let me know.

From 20 to 1 in 2021

This time last year we'd already visited 20 minigolf courses!

What a difference a year makes. By this time last year we'd visited 20 minigolf courses as our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour got off to a flying start.

As it stands today we've been to one course in 2021. And that was just passing by it during a walk on New Year's Day.

Our travels in the first days of 2020 took us to miniature golf venues in Oxford, Birmingham, Manchester, Northwich, Doncaster and Castleford.

The last new course we played together before the pandemic was the Crazy Golf course at Sunnybank Gardens in Hatfield, Doncaster on the 19th January 2020

Minigolf in the time of coronavirus

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic we were closing in on visiting the final 40 courses of the original 600 we set out to play in 2006. We were also very close to hitting 1,000 course visits overall.

We were still able to visit a total of 46 courses in 2020, including revisits. 15 of them were new layouts to us. We visited eight courses during the pandemic (March to December), playing two of them.

The last new course we played was the Gator Adventure Golf at Escape Entertainment in Chorley in August

New minigolf courses in the UK

We've continued to research, monitor and promote the game and know about at least another 90 new courses now open, being built, in development or planned to open in the UK. It'll be nice to swing by them when it's safe to get back out on the road again.

The last pop-up Crazy Golf course I visited was at Coal Drops Yard in King's Cross, London last February

Related blog posts

• The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2020
• 20 minigolf course visits in 20 days in 2020

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A Mask Vending Machine

We saw our first Mask Vending Machine at the Spinning Gate shopping centre in Leigh, Greater Manchester on Saturday.

A #maskbox PPE vending machine

What a time we're living through!

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

Related blog posts:

- Vending

- Leigh

- Shopping

COVID-19 Buster in Leigh

We spotted this interesting shop while in Leigh, Greater Manchester on Saturday.

It's the best shop name I've seen during the pandemic.

COVID-19 Buster sells PPE to businesses and individuals.

2020 is Out of Order

If 2020 was a sanitising station in a shop.

Travel in 2020

I've barely travelled outside of Greater Manchester this year so it was nice to 'get away from it all' with a trip to Miami, California and Italy this afternoon.

Miami Sun Centre, California Wines Express and Little Italy on Wigan Road in Deane, Bolton

These shops are all on the Wigan Road in Deane, Bolton.

Related blog posts:

- Holidays at home - Stockport, 2020

- A postcard from Stockport

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.

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