Unhappy Shopper

I'm actually quite happy about this purchase.

Emily recently spotted a range of retro and parody t-shirts by Manchester Tom on Instagram and I knew I had to buy this Unhappy Shopper one!

Even though 2020 has been undeniably shite and I've barely been to any shops I wanted to go to, I have managed to find a few Happy Shopper shops with the nice old branding still in place.

One of the stores in Sheffield even had the 1971 logo on its social distancing signage!

Check out the Manchester Tom website for more information.

A retro Iceland shopfront in Port Talbot, Wales

Knowing my interest in retro retail signage my friend and minigolf rival Martyn Williams sent me over this snap of the retro signage at the Iceland supermarket in Port Talbot.

I don't know how I missed seeing it when I was in Port Talbot for the Welsh Doubles Championship last year!?

Port Talbot and the seaside bit of it at Aberavon are well worth a visit. I had a brilliant stay on the seafront in May 2019.

I'm really looking forward to returning to Wales when it's safe to do so. 2020 is the first year in ages that I haven't had at least a day trip to the country.

I spotted an Iceland with pre-year 2000 branding while on holiday in Wales in 2018. That store is in Holywell, North Wales.

Shed minigolf

Chatting with Andrew Wilcox of Readers Sheds and the Shed of the Year Awards I was reminded of this excellent shed-based crazy golf hole we played back in 2010.

Not only do you putt into a shed, but it's a musical obstacle too. Marvellous.

The garden crazy golf course in East Finchley was the 250th we visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now been to 956 courses since 2006.

I thought I was obsessive about something, but this fella Richard is crazy golf nutter putter - also probably the first shed I have seen used as a crazy golf hole and not the place where they give the clubs out from! #shedlove https://t.co/M323OjOUbX

— Andrew Wilcox I❤️Sheds (@unclewilco) November 4, 2020

Visit the UrbanCrazy website for more information on the courses they create.

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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...?

Budgens of Woodford

A look at the Budgens supermarket in Woodford, Stockport.

You don't often see Budgens supermarkets these days. Although I did spot this one in a nice historic building in Sheffield recently.

This is the only Budgens in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport.

Budgens was founded by John Budgen in 1872.

The company is now a subsidiary of Booker Group, part of Tesco plc.

Market Store in Burnage, Manchester

We popped to Burnage to do some shopping last month and spotted this Market Store. There's something rather familiar about the signage.

Related blog posts:

- The Carpet Factory in Middleton

A video rental shop in 2020

Finding a video shop on Video Shop Day 2020.

Last month we were fortunate enough to stumble upon a video rental shop in Little Lever, Bolton. Yes, video as in VHS!

The day we called in was Video Shop Day! What are the odds?

The old-school video rental shop was fully stocked with VHS tapes. I haven't seen anything like it for years.

They did also have DVDs.

What a marvellous time capsule of another era.

You can find B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton.

The Big Mini Golf Bucket List 2020

With lockdowns continuing during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic let's take another look at The Big Mini Golf Bucket List we created back in March.

Just because your local miniature golf course may once again be closed over the coming months doesn't mean you can't keep up with your putting practice and have some crazy golf fun at home.

Back in March we put together a minigolf bucket list with ideas and suggestions of things to do in the world of miniature golf.

The Big Mini Golf Bucket List

1. Create a minigolf hole at home.

2. Go even further and build an entire crazy golf layout in your home or garden.

3. Play a minigolf videogame.

4. Send a minigolf postcard to someone you know (we love sending and receiving postcards!).

5. Write a guest blog post for the Ham & Egger Files.

6. Post about minigolf on social media and use the hashtags #minigolf #minigolfmonday #puttathome and #minigolfbucketlist.

7. Recommend a course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

8. Play an online minigolf game.

9. Visit Minigolfnews.com.

10. Read a book about minigolf.

11. Watch and share a minigolf video online.

12. Download a minigolf app ready for when you can hit a course again.

If you have any other ideas of your own to add to the bucket list please do let us know.

Check out my blog posts about Minigolf in the time of Coronavirus and competitive isolation.

Good luck to all the minigolf courses out there over the autumn and winter months. We're looking forward to playing again.

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Picture Postcard Magic - What have you been watching during lockdown?

Check out my latest guest post for the Reflections of a Bygone Age blog.

Picture Postcard Magic 31st October 2020 with Richard Gottfried What have you been watching during lockdown? With 2020...

Posted by Reflections of a Bygone Age on Saturday, 31 October 2020

Budgens in Sheffield

A look at a Budgens supermarket in Sheffield.

The supermarket on London Road was a Sainsbury's Local until February this year.

It reopened as a Budgens shortly after.

You don't see Budgens as much as you used to.

The building really stands out and is one of the oldest in the area. A lovely sight to spot.

It opened as The Lansdowne Picture Palace in 1914 and became a Mecca dance hall called The Locarno in the 1950s. It underwent a number of name changes during its time as a nightclub.

Interestingly the building was a Marks & Spencer for a short time in the late 1940s.

Social distancing signage and the welcome mat at the entrance

Budgens was founded by John Budgen in 1872.

The company is now a subsidiary of Booker Group, part of Tesco plc.

Steals in Blackpool

There's no place like this place, anywhere near this place, so this must be the place.

We had a walk round Chorley town centre back in August and spotted a Steals shop for the first time. The brand has some nice signage.

Looking online I found that Steals is a bargain clothes shop with branches in Blackpool, Preston, Accrington, Poulton-le-Fylde and Chorley.

We were in Blackpool in September and saw the Steals there.

Visit the Steals Facebook Page for more information.

The Floodgate turns one

Happy birthday to The Floodgate in Digbeth.

The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham opened it's doors a year ago today.

Pit-Pat table golf at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

It was brilliant to be the first player on the Pit-Pat table golf layout as I'm a big fan of the minigolf and pool crossover game.

You can also play on indoor baseball batting cages and a curling rink at the competitive socialising venue.

Visit The Floodgate website for more information, opening times and prices.

Check out the blog post from my visit to The Floodgate.

Not a Londis anymore

Spotting a modern day ghost sign in Salford.

While having a walk over the border in Salford City in the summer we spotted a modern day ghost sign for a Londis shop.

The former Londis shop is now the Pure Convenience store and can be found on Viaduct Street in Salford.

It's always intriguing seeing ghost signs and they are more often old and partially faded painted signs on the sides and fronts of buildings.

Londis was created in 1959 and there are over 2,000 Londis shops in the UK. The brand name of Londis came from the words 'London District Stores'.

The chain of convenience shop franchises is now owned by Booker Group, part of Tesco plc.

Visit the Londis website for more information.

Related blog posts:

- Londi's not Londis

- Ghost signs

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Check out my blog post about Halloween minigolf events.

Mr Mulligans Space Golf in Birmingham

A visit to Mr Mulligans Space Golf in Birmingham.

I played the three indoor adventure golf courses at Mr Mulligans Space Golf centre at Broadway Plaza in Birmingham a year ago today.

The Supernova, Asteroid and Mars Base courses at Mr Mulligans Space Golf were the 929th, 930th and 931st visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We've now been to 956 courses on our travels since September 2006.

Check out the Mr Mulligan website for more information, opening times and prices.

Opening The Floodgate

The Floodgate in Digbeth turns one this weekend.

The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham officially opened it's doors a year ago this Sunday.

Pit-Pat table golf at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

It was nice to be the first player on the Pit-Pat table golf layout on the pre-opening night a year ago today as I'm a big fan of the minigolf and pool crossover game.

You can also play on indoor baseball batting cages and a curling rink at the social sports venue.

Visit The Floodgate website for more information, opening times and prices.

Check out the blog post from my visit to The Floodgate.

Halloween in the City - Manchester 2020

The Halloween in the City Monster Trail is up and running until Sunday 1st November.

There are seven giant inflatable monsters to track down around the city centre.

The Halloween in the City Dragon at The Printworks last year

Check out the Visit Manchester website for more information and to download the location map.

Take a look at my blog posts from last year's Halloween in the City:

• Manchester's Halloween in the City
• Halloween in the City 2019
• Manchester Monster Invasion: Return of the Monsters
• Halloween in the City monster at Screamfields in Manchester

90 years since the first National Tom Thumb Golf Championship took place

The first National Tom Thumb Championship was contested in Chattanooga, Tennessee 90 years ago today.

Garnet Carter created the first artificial miniature golf course in the USA in 1926. The first of the 'Tom Thumb Golf' brand of miniature golf course was an 18-hole layout located near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

By 1930 there were some 25,000 miniature golf courses in the USA, 3,000 of which were the now patented Tom Thumb course franchises.

The course and fantasy theming caught the imagination of visitors and on the 23rd October 1930 the final of the first-ever National Tom Thumb Championship took place.

Qualifying events had taken place in all of the then 48 states of the USA, with 200 players representing 30 states in the grand final. The event had a total prize fund of $10,000, with the champion winning $2,000!

We haven't played a Tom Thumb Golf course on our travels, but we do have some nice old postcards of Tom Thumb courses in our collection. This one is of a course at Westende Bains in Belgium

Check out the Crazy Golf Museum website for more details of minigolf history.

New Crazy Golf course heading to Nottingham

Nottingham will soon be home to a new Crazy Golf venue.

A new themed, adults-only Crazy Golf course called Glory Holes is opening in Nottingham.

The 18-hole course, bar and diner will be located in the Hockley area and is scheduled to open in November.

Glory Holes is part of the Curious Venues group of bars and pubs.

Find out more on the Gloryholes indoor crazy golf course website.

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Happy Back to the Future Day

Today is Back to the Future Day.

Back on the 13th March I got to see a DeLorean time machine at MediaCity in Salford. How different times were then!

Last Saturday we found a video rental shop stocked with loads of VHS tapes. It was like stepping back in time! You can find B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever

I got to see my first DeLorean at the Didsbury & South Manchester Car Show in Didsbury Park back in July 2019

35 years of Blockbuster Video

The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on this day in 1985.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500+ of which were in the UK.

There is now just one Blockbuster Video store left open. It's in Bend, Oregon.

Blockbuster Video in the UK

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

I remember going to the Ritz Video shop on the Peachcroft Estate in my home town of Abingdon, Oxfordshire back in the late 80's and early 90's. That store became a Blockbuster and I rented some classics from there back in the day.

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 are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks almost seven years later.

This is the old Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester, UK.

We've also been to the Blockbuster Video Express in Colne, Lancashire and found the remains of quite a few other old stores.

Finding a video shop on Video Shop Day 2020

Last Saturday happened to be National Video Shop Day and we were fortunate enough to stumble upon a video rental shop in Little Lever, Bolton! What are the odds?

It was like stepping back in time

The old-school video rental shop was fully stocked with VHS tapes. I haven't seen anything like it for years.

What a time capsule.

You can find B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever.

Family Shopper - not a Happy Shopper

My recent hunts for Happy Shopper shops led me to find out about the Family Shopper brand. The stores are part of the same retail group.

This was the first Family Shopper I saw. It's in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, Greater Manchester.

I'm still on the lookout for retro Happy Shopper stores and have been lucky to find one in Preston and a couple in Sheffield.

The Weird World of Crazy Golf

Check out The Weird World of Crazy Golf from Britclip - a look at the World Crazy Golf Championship in Hastings.

It's fun seeing the excellent Hastings Adventure Golf course being played by a colourful cast of crazy golfing characters.

In action in my tilt for the title

Time has flown since that championship tournament in 2012!

From Blockbuster Video to Taco Bell

I've been taking a look into the world of Blockbuster Video during lockdown. We live near to an old store that still has visible signage and branding and it's always fun to pass by and see a glimpse of the past.

I've also found that back when we were freely able to travel around the country we had unknowingly 'visited' some former stores, most notably in Felixstowe, Suffolk. There, the old sign with its distinctive torn ticket outline had been used for a new business.

Tracking down old Blockbuster Video stores I've noted that there were two in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. The one in Wombwell is now a charity shop and the old QuikDrop box is still in place. The other on Peel Street in the town centre is now a Taco Bell. We passed by it back in January 2019.

Not a Blockbuster

I always keep an eye out for Taco Bells on my travels. I think it's got something to do with the year 2032.

Sadly the old torn ticket sign from its days as a Blockbuster is long gone.

The Barnsley store closed along with the other last stores in December 2013. There had been 528 Blockbuster Video stores in the UK at the beginning of that year.

In addition to the Blockbuster Video locations in Fallowfield and Felixstowe we've visited the Blockbuster Video Express in Colne, Lancashire. Other former stores we've been to include the former stores in Prescot, Chester, Cheadle Hulme and Marple.

New indoor Crazy Golf course in Peterborough

There are plans for a new glow-in-the-dark indoor crazy golf course in Peterborough.

Peterborough could soon be home to a new glow-in-the-dark indoor crazy golf course.

It'll be a new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when we're visiting friends in the area.

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Plonk Golf opening at Peckham Levels in London

A new Plonk Golf course is opening at Peckham Levels in London.

Hole 4 of the Plonk Golf course in Shoreditch

Plonk Golf are opening a new 9-hole indoor Crazy Golf course at Peckham Levels in London later this month.

Visit the Plonk Golf and Peckham Levels websites for more information.

Rascal Bay Adventure Golf opening in Chelmsford, Essex

New Adventure Golf course heading to Chelmsford.

West Park Golf Centre in Chelmsford, Essex will soon be home to a new adventure golf course.

The centre will be creating an 18-hole adventure golf course planned to open in January next year.

The course will be called Rascal Bay Adventure Golf and it'll be the third in the brand following the Brentwood, Essex and Manston, Kent locations.

Check out the West Park Golf Centre Facebook Page for more information.

Visiting West Park Golf Centre

We visited West Park Golf Centre on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour way back in December 2009. The old Crazy Golf course there was the 157th course played on our travels. We've now been to 956 courses since 2006.

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12 years ago...

I won the Weymouth Open minigolf tournament on this day in 2008.

What a day that was!

The inaugural Weymouth Open minigolf competition was held on the 18-hole Pirate Adventure Mini Golf course at the Weymouth Sea Life Centre at Lodmoor Country Park.

I had a very good record in Weymouth Open events. As well as winning the individual title in 2008 my team-mate Chris Harding and I were the Weymouth Open doubles champions in 2011.

I was also runner-up in the 2009 and 2011 events and seventh in 2010. In the 2009 tournament Kevin Moseley and I were tied after two rounds and it took 4-holes of a sudden-death play-off to separate us.

The course was the 77th played on our travels. We've now been to 956 courses since September 2006.

I've heard that the Pirate Adventure Mini Golf course at the Weymouth Sea Life Centre has undergone some changed in recent few years. It'll be interesting to revisit the layout on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Happy 40th birthday Pac-Man

Pac-Man was first released in North American on this day in 1980.

The 22nd May is considered to be Pac-Man's 'official' birthday as the game was first released in Japan on that date.

I like to celebrate the brilliant video game character as often as possible!

Putt18 World Pro League 2020

Final results of the first ever Putt18 World Pro League.

The inaugural Putt18 World Pro League season has concluded with Matt Ansley of New Zealand taking the title.

Matt was the wire-to-wire winner of the league with a tremendous display on the Putt18 Golf Putting Game Mat.

Putt18

The Putt18 game mat consists of six tee-off boxes and three target score zones. Players must hit their balls from each of the tee boxes in turn aiming at the Par-4, Par-5 and Par-3 targets while avoiding fairways, bunkers and water hazards that carry penalty points. After the 18 shots have been played you tot up your score to see what you've shot for your round.

Putt18 World Pro League

Players from Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and the USA competed in the seven event series.

Each player had a 20-minute time limit to play four 18-hole rounds for a 72-hole total score in each of the seven events. There were additional points on offer for low scores and the round total.

Results of the 2020 Putt18 World Pro League

20 players competed in the league. Matt Ansley took first place with a score of 866 points. Dave Gomm (GB) was runner-up with 693 points, with John Ansley (NZ) in third place with 655 points.

Also in the prize money were Cameron Couper (NZ) with 578 points and Josh Mars (AUS) with 455 points.

The leading US player was Pat Sheridan in 8th place on 352 points.

During the tournament Matt shot an average score of 63 per round.

As well as being runner-up Dave Gomm shot a world record low round score of 57.

In the team event New Zealand won, with Australia runners-up and Great Britain in third place.

I finished the league in 18th of 20 players with 107 points.

In the strokeplay rankings I finished in 17th place of 20 players with 2,189 shots and an average of 78.18 per round of 18 holes.

2020 Putt18 World Pro League - Points Table

2020 Putt18 World Pro League - Strokeplay Table

Find out more about Putt18

Check out the Putt18 World Pro League Facebook Group and Putt18 website for more information.

Competitive isolation and Putting at Home

The Putt18 World Pro League has been a fun and interesting way to keep on putting and compete during the pandemic. It's also been a first in terms of getting players from around the world to compete on the same putting surface in a league format.

Read more in my blog post about Keeping social and competitive in the new world of physical distancing.

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