The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf in Leeds

A look at the Hole In Wand Wizard Golf at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

We played the indoor 9-hole Wizard Golf course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour last December.

Visit the Hole in Wand website for more information.

Happy National 7-Eleven Day

It's National 7-Eleven Day.

Today is National 7-Eleven Day!

7-Eleven convenience stores celebrate National 7-Eleven Day on the 11th July.

The first 7-Eleven Day was held in 2002.

Related blog posts:

• 7-Eleven
• The 8-Twelve in Nottingham

The former Woolworths in Selby

Spotting a Woolworth ghost sign in Selby, North Yorkshire.

We noticed the remains of a Woolworth sign on the former store on Gowthorpe in Selby while having a wander through the town.

The H of the original WOOLWORTH sign above one of the doors

Before its closure in 2009 the shop had been a Woolworths Local store.

Woolworth became Woolworths in 1984

It's now a Yorkshire Trading Company shop.

Related blog posts:

• Woolworths
• Ghost signs
• Lost shops
• Retail
• Urbex
• Selby

Mini Golf Kapital in Puerto Colón, Tenerife

A look at the courses at Mini Golf Kapital in Puerto Colón, Tenerife, Spain.

The two courses at Mini Golf Kapital in Puerto Colón on Tenerife in the Canary Islands became the 1,124th and 1,125th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since 2006.

Link:

• Mini Golf Kapital

Related blog posts

• Tenerife
• Canary Islands
• Spain
• Minigolf in Tenerife
• Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
• Mini Golf in Puerto Colón, Tenerife
• Mini Golf and Billiard Golf in Puerto Colón, Tenerife

How to play minigolf

Here's a minigolf sign about 'How to play minigolf' - in three languages (English, German and French).

We found the sign at the minigolf course in Stoke Park, Guildford, Surrey on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2008. We revisited and replayed the course at Stoke Park on National Miniature Golf Day in 2016.

Pie Chart

We spotted this funny 'Pie Chart' at Moss Bakery in Hunstanton, Norfolk.

Putting Green and Crazy Golf course in Hunstanton

A look at the Putting Green and Crazy Golf course in Hunstanton, Norfolk.

We spent a couple of hours in the seaside town of Hunstanton on our recent trip to Norwich and Norfolk to visit family and friends. While there we swung by North Promenade for a look at the miniature golf courses.

Photos of the Putting Green and Crazy Golf course in Hunstanton.

The 9-hole Crazy Golf course at the Victorian Pavilion on the seafront in Hunstanton became the 1,116th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since 2006.

The last time we visited Hunstanton was in 2011. Back then there was a different crazy golf course on the other side of the path. This new crazy golf course also takes up the lower part of what was a two-tier grass putting green.

Videos of the miniature golf courses.

Related blog posts:

• Crazy Golf in Hunstanton, Norfolk
• Crazy Golf on North Promenade in Hunstanton, Norfolk
• Putting and Crazy Golf at the Victorian Pavilion, North Promenade in Hunstanton
• Hunstanton

Videos:

• Crazy Golf and Putting at the Victorian Pavilion in Hunstanton, Norfolk
• Crazy Golf at the Victorian Pavilion in Hunstanton, Norfolk, England - course walk round 1 of 2
• Crazy Golf at the Victorian Pavilion in Hunstanton, Norfolk, England - course walk round 2 of 2
• A view of the Grass Putting course and Crazy Golf at the Victorian Pavilion in Hunstanton
• A view of the Crazy Golf course at the Victorian Pavilion on North Promenade in Hunstanton, Norfolk
• Crazy Golf at the Victorian Pavilion in Hunstanton, Norfolk, England

Toys R Us at TGJones in Norwich

There's a Toys R Us at TGJones in Norwich city centre.

You can find a Toys R Us concession at TGJones in Norwich, Norfolk. It differs to many of the other new Toys R Us shops I've seen since the return of the brand by having a shopfront of its own next door to the TGJones (formerly WHSmith) that it is housed within.

The end of WHSmith, and the start of TGJones.

The start of July 2025 marked the end of WHSmith on the British high street after 233 years. Following the sale of the business to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital WHSmith shops underwent a rebrand to the new name of TGJones.

WHSmith on the high street, and travel stores.

There were around 500 high street WHSmith shops, and another 580 travel stores in the UK. The WHSmith shops at railway stations, service stations and airports etc. are not affected by the rebrand as they were not part of the sale.

Toys R Us at TGJones and WHSmith.

As well being inside the rebranded TGJones shops, the relaunched Toys R Us brand can be found in sections of some travel hub WHSmith stores.

Toys R Us at Hobbycraft.

You can also find Toys R Us concessions at Hobbycraft stores.

Toys R Us in 2026.

Toys R Us returned to the UK shopping scene with an online presence in 2022 and with concessions opening inside some WH Smith shops in 2023. There are currently 146 Toys R Us stores open nationwide.

Working at Toys R Us.

My first job while at university in the year 2000 was as one of Geoffrey's helpers at the Luton Toys R Us store. I worked on the video game and electronics section.

The old Toys R Us.

At its peak there were 105 Toys R Us stores in the UK. It's been very interesting to find that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK and we've visited several of these closed, abandoned, derelict and demolished Toys R Us locations on our travels.

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
• Gateway retail park in Reading
• 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

Find out more.

Visit the Toys R Us and TGJones websites for more information.

Links:

• Toys R Us
• TGJones

Related blog posts:

• Toys R Us
• TGJones
• Retail
• The end of Toys R Us in the UK

Treetop Adventure Golf at the Printworks in Manchester

Treetop Adventure Golf at the Printworks in Manchester is home to two indoor 18-hole courses.

Check out the Treetop Adventure Golf website for more information.

The Treetop Adventure Golf courses in Manchester were the 799th and 800th courses visited in the UK on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

You can also find Treetop Adventure Golf courses in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leicester, and Newcastle.

Signs of the coronavirus pandemic times

On this day in 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic.

Six years ago already. Blimey.

Later that month - on the 23rd March 2020 - the UK effectively ceased 'normal operations' as the country was put into lockdown.

Once we were allowed out photographed as much Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic and Social Distancing signage and notices as we could to document the times.

A Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council coronavirus sign in Cheadle Hulme, England in April 2020. The first covid sign I photographed and posted on social media

There was certainly a real variety of warnings, instructions and directional signage to do with social distancing.

Covid-19 signs at The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield, England in October 2020

I documented a number of aspects of the coronavirus pandemic on my blog and social media while it was taking place.

A 'Social Distancing World Champion' floor decal in Chesterfield, England in August 2020

As a marketing and communications professional, one of my areas of interest was the huge variety of official & unofficial warnings, instructions and directional signage there was around covid and social distancing.

Escalator Social Distancing stickers at an M&S in Chesterfield, England in August 2020

You can view over 1,800 of the signs at the links below:

• Covid-19 signs 1
• Covid-19 signs 2
• Covid-19 signs 3
• Covid-19 signs 4
• Covid-19 signs 5
• Covid-19 signs 6
• Covid-19 signs 7
• Covid-19 signs 8
• Covid-19 signs 9
• Covid-19 signs 10
• Covid-19 signs 11
• Covid-19 signs 12
• Covid-19 signs 13
• Covid-19 signs 14
• Covid-19 signs 15
• Covid-19 signs 16
• Covid-19 signs 17
• Covid-19 signs 18

It's still possible to see Covid-19 Coronavirus signage as 'ghost signs' today and I reckon the remnants of the pandemic will be visible for many years to come.

Social distancing at an abandoned Blockbuster Video store (itself a remnant of another era) in Manchester, England in June 2020

Related blog posts:

• Signs of the coronavirus pandemic times
• Minigolf in the time of Coronavirus

Mini Golf in Puerto Colón, Tenerife

A look at a Mini Golf course in Puerto Colón, Tenerife.

A big thanks to our friend and minigolf rival Gareth Holmes for sending over these snaps of a minigolf course at the shopping centre in Costa Adeje, Puerto Colón, Tenerife.

Mini Golf Kapital is home to two courses - one is 18-holes and the other is a 12-hole layout.

The venue looks to have changed up the courses in the last few years. Back in January 2020 another friend of ours sent photos of what was then a minigolf and a billiard golf.

It appears that the Swedish Felt lanes have been moved to where the billiard golf was, with the former Swedish Felt area now home to a new set of holes.

Link:

• Mini Golf Kapital

Related blog posts:

• Tenerife
• Canary Islands
• Spain
• Guest blog posts

The end of Blockbuster Video in the UK

Blockbuster Video closed in the UK on the 16th December 2013.

The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK on this day in 2013.

Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.

In 2013 there were over 500 Blockbuster locations in the UK. Throughout that year the number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. On the 16th December 2013 all stores ceased operations.

Even now in 2025 there are still some clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks.

The first Blockbuster Video.

The first Blockbuster Video store had opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on the 19th October 1985.

The last Blockbuster Video on Earth.

The very last Blockbuster Video store in operation is in Bend, Oregon, USA.

Our 'local' store.

Until January 2024 there was an abandoned Blockbuster Video store near us here in Manchester. It was always an eerie, interesting and nostalgic thing to drive past the old shop at Fallowfield Retail Park.

From 9,000 to 1.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

Nowadays it you want to rent a film from Blockbuster you'll have to travel to the last Blockbuster Video on the planet - Bend Blockbuster in Oregon.

Visiting the last bits of Blockbuster Video in the UK.

Check out these posts about other former Blockbuster Video stores we've been to in:

• 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
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Lost brands.

Emily and I have spent the last few years reminiscing about 'the good old days'. One of our areas of interest is in old retail brands - we're both marketers by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us, while Emily's first job was at a Happy Shopper shop. It's been fascinating to find remnants of these brands - and a number of other lost, dead and defunct brands - on the high street and at retail parks around the UK.