Make it a Blockbuster night

At my local (long closed) video store.

What are you watching tonight? Stranger Things for us.

The Dull Men's Club 2021 Calendar

A look ahead to the Dull Men's Club Calendar for 2021.

The new Dull Men's Club Calendar will be available shortly.

We featured in the club's 2017 calendar for our relentless mission to visit and document every miniature golf course in the UK.

You'll be able to find us somewhere in the 2021 edition too.

The Dull Men's Club celebrates the ordinary and the life-changing magic of simple, everyday, run-of-the-mill things.

Check out the Dull Men's Club website for more information.

Crazier Golf at Boom: Battle Bar in Cardiff

A look at the 'Crazier Golf' course at Boom: Battle Bar in Cardiff, Wales.

Many thanks to my friend and minigolf rival Simon Brown who sent me some photos from his visit to play the 'Crazier Golf' course at the new Boom: Battle Bar in Cardiff, Wales.

The course differs from 'normal' crazy or minigolf (whatever that may be) and some of the holes include time limits, while others don't require the use of a putter at all!

You have to use hand pumps on the final hole!

For more information on the 9-hole Crazier Golf course visit the Boom: Battle Bar website.

Boom: Battle Bar in Cardiff's Brewery Quarter is the second indoor competitive socialising venue from the brand. As well as the crazy golf course you can play darts, axe throwing, ping pong, shuffleboard, VR games, arcade games and more there. The first Boom: Battle Bar opened in Norwich.

Wonder Golf opening in Hastings

A new pop-up crazy golf course is opening in Hastings.

The seaside town of Hastings will be home to a new pop-up indoor crazy golf course next month.

Wonder Golf is planning to open in the old Hastings Observer newspaper offices in the town centre and will operate for a month between the 4th December 2020 and 3rd January 2021.

Each of the holes on the crazy golf course will pay tribute to the heritage and cultural events of the Hastings & St Leonards area.

Visit the Wonder Golf website and Facebook Page for more information.

Christmas Jumper 2020

I now declare that the festive season may begin.

Lidl's Christmas jumper for 2020

Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

A look at a relic from a lost time.

The front of the store

It was marvellous to find the old Toys R Us store at Wyvern Retail Park in Derby.

A corner of the store

Sadly Toys R Us ceased trading in the UK in April 2018.

All of the big signs are still in place

The rear and side of the store

Luckily there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK.

I worked in the Gipsy Lane store in Luton, Bedfordshire back in the year 2000. I got the job shortly after arriving in the town to study at the university.

A magical place

Thanks to Blast From The Past on Instagram for the heads-up about the Derby store still being there.

If you know of any other old Toys R Us shops do let me know.

More photos from our trip to Toys R Us at Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

The container loading bay. When I worked at Toys R Us I spent parts of my evening shifts unloading the containers at the Luton store

A lovely old sign

Look at the markings in the car park bay on the left

One part of the trolley bays is still there

Other former Toys R Us stores

This year we've also been to the old Toys R Us stores at Gemini Retail Park in Warrington, the Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and at the Deepdale shopping centre in Preston.

We took at look at the old Toys R Us store at the Central Retail Park in Ancoats, Manchester just prior to its demolition in March 2019.

Other lost brands

Our travels have seen us spot the remnants of a number of old and defunct brands, including Woolworths in Stoke-on-Trent, Tandy in Hitchin, RadioShack in Lytham Saint Annes, Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness and Blockbuster Video stores in Fallowfield, Manchester, Colne, Lancashire, Prescot, Merseyside and Chester, Cheshire.

Grainger Games. A lost video game shop brand

This is the Stretford Mall location.

The company was founded in 1996 and ceased operations on the 28th March 2018.

You won't find a PS5 there, but there's still a rack of UFC3 games for the XBOX ONE and PS4 in there.

As a brand with shops in the North of England and Scotland I only became a regular shopper there when I moved to Stockport in 2016.

Pac-Man street art by Gorse Hill Studios in Stretford

Found underneath Stretford in Manchester.

Link:

- Gorse Hill Studios

New crazy golf course for Gourock

Gourock Park Bowling Club is planning to create a new crazy golf course.

We look forward to playing the 9-hole crazy golf course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future. We haven't been to Gourock on our previous travels in Scotland. It'll be nice to get back up there.

Gourock Park is home to a Putting Green and this will be redeveloped as part of the plans to transform the park.

Links:

- Gourock Park Bowling Club website

- Gourock Park Bowling Club on Facebook

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.

An old video store inside a Happy Shopper shop

Striking old gold. Twice in one go.

I've spent a fair bit of 2020 reminiscing about 'the good old days' before the coronavirus pandemic. One of my areas of interest is in old retail brands - I am a marketer after all - and I have found remnants of a number of lost, dead and defunct brands. It's wonderful that these traces can still be found on the high street and at retail parks. If you know where to look.

I've found old Tandy and Toys R Us stores and signage - they are two brands I worked for in the 90s and the year 2000. I've also found old Woolworths, Big W, BHS, Kwik Save, Orange Mobile and RadioShack shops.

As I've been researching Blockbuster Video I've also noticed a number of old video shops. And last month we found a video shop still open and renting out VHS tapes!

One of the retro brands I remember clearly from growing up in the 80s and 90s was Happy Shopper. The colourful sign with the happy chappy face is a lovely throwback. Happy Shopper received a rebrand in 2000, but if you are lucky you can still find the original branding and signage on some shops.

The Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston

While en route to an abandoned Toys R Us store in Preston I almost didn't believe my eyes as we drove past a closed Happy Shopper shop with the old signage still in place.

We actually found two Happy Shopper shops in Sheffield, one of which was still open. That store also had the original 1971 branding on the Covid-19 social distancing signage on the door! What a sight that was.

At the last Happy Shopper shop we found in Ilkeston, Derbyshire there was an extra bonus - it used to be a video shop too!

You could hire videos from the Happy Shopper in the 1980's!

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. The following year ChoicesUK created a Business to Consumer operation with their own branded network of Choices Video stores.

While never as big as Blockbuster Video, Choices UK was a challenger to the market leader and the second largest chain of rental shops in the UK with 180 stores in the country. However, by 2007 the market for the rental of physical media was beginning to decline and other factors played a part in the brand going into administration. 59 ChoicesUK shops were taken over and rebranded as Blockbuster stores.

I wonder if there are any other remnants of Choices Video out there...?

Happy Shopper does still exist, as both convenience stores and own brand food & drink products. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops. It has been part of the Booker Group since 1996. Booker itself is now owned by Tesco.

Guinness World Records Day 2020

Today is Guinness World Records Day!

Have you ever attempted, set or broken a Guinness World Record?

I've been a part of a few mass participation Guinness World Record attempts and tried some individual challenges too.

In 2009 I attempted the Guinness World Record for the 'Most Brussels Sprouts Eaten in a Minute'. That was my favourite so far.

Emily and I actually helped set a Guinness World Record in May of 2009. That was for 'The Largest Picnic across multiple venues'. Over 8,300 people took park in that effort.

We also helped break the Guinness World Record of 'Largest Gathering of People Wearing Boater Hats' while we lived in Luton back in 2014.

Mad Hatters!

Guinness World Record Attempts to date:

• 2014 - 'Largest Gathering of People Wearing Boater Hats' - Achieved
• 2012 - 'Fastest 400m Relay Hop' - Unsuccessful
• 2012 - 'Largest Group Hop' - Unsuccessful
• 2011 - 'The most people to ‘High Five’ simultaneously' - Unsuccessful
• 2010 - 'The UK's longest Conga line' - Unsuccessful
• 2009 - 'Most Brussels Sprouts Eaten in a Minute' - Unsuccessful
• 2009 - 'The Largest Picnic across multiple venues' - Achieved

It's been a few years since our last Guinness World Record attempt. What shall we try for next?

Links:

• Guinness World Records
• Guinness World Records Day

Relation Blog Posts:

• Guinness World Records

Strangest Things in Blackpool

We've just started watching Stranger Things on Netflix and it reminded me that we saw the remains of the Strangest Things attraction in Blackpool earlier this year.

The online reviews for the experience are quite something!

Christmas Crazy Golf

Not long to go until Christmas!

It's highly doubtful we'll be playing any Christmas minigolf this festive season - our first Christmas in Lockdown.

Thankfully we've played a bit of yuletide crazy golf on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the past.

A selection box of festive miniature golf from top left - the Home Alone hole at Teezers Retro Golf in Coventry (played on an Easter Sunday), the pop-up Chrizy Golf course in Manchester and the Santa hole on the pop-up Christmas course at Devonshire Square in London

Check out the latest blog post about Christmas Crazy Golf from the team at Putterfingers.

NEW BLOG: Portable crazy golf hire adds a bit of festive cheer to small gatherings. Great for all ages, delivery to...

Posted by Crazy Golf on Thursday, 12 November 2020

Back on the 30th November 2012 I won the first - and to date only - Chrizy Golf Masters minigolf tournament in Manchester!

Chrizy Golf Champion

Tales from a Gluten Free Christmas

With Christmas fast approaching I'm pleased to share my experience as part of Coeliac UK’s ‘Tales from a Gluten Free Christmas’ campaign. Visit the Coeliac UK website and check out the #gfchristmas hashtag on social media to find out more.

This year we've been missing meeting friends for a meal at our favourite restaurant, The Oxford Place in Leeds.

With a bit of luck we'll be able to get over there for a meal this year after the current national lockdown in England.

Dining out gluten free

Since we first heard about The Oxford Place in 2016 we've eaten there a lot. Not only is the entire restaurant and kitchen 100% gluten free and safe for Coeliacs, it serves superb meals that my non-Coeliac friends have loved eating too. They pass the "you can't tell its gluten free" test every time.

Last year I had my first Christmas Dinner at a restaurant since I don't know when!

Last Christmas at The Oxford Place

It wasn’t any old Christmas Dinner either. The Oxford Place always put so much effort into the dishes they serve up and they are a treat for the taste buds and the eyes.

Normally by this point of the year we'd have been to Leeds for celebration meals, for fun, to attend events and see friends. In 2020 we've been there a grand total of zero times.

We've had so many wonderful meals at The Oxford Place. From light lunches to three-course meals, to birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas Dinners with all the trimmings I've been able to feel somewhat normal again by having the choice of anything and everything on the menu without worry of cross-contamination, or the annoyance of having something removed or replaced to 'make it gluten free'.

We can't wait until we're able to get back to the city and The Oxford Place. I know I'll be making up for lost time and ordering a lot of food on my next visit.

If you haven't been to The Oxford Place I suggest you make a booking and try it as soon as you are able to.

A gluten free Christmas at home

Being a Coeliac doesn't mean you have to miss out on treats. I've certainly snacked on and scoffed my fair share of Christmas food since being diagnosed in 2008.

Last year you could get Lebkuchen by Schar at Asda. They were something I'd really missed so I bought a lot of them. I haven't seen them in store yet this year, but fingers crossed they'll be doing them again.

It'll be fun making some too. There's an excellent recipe for gluten free Lebkuchen in the Gluten-free Baking at Christmas book by 'The Happy Coeliac' Samantha Stein.

Home-made gluten free Lebkuchen biscuits

We'll be enjoying Christmas at home again this year, cooking up a superb festive meal with all the trimmings, including Yorkshire Puddings.

The range of gluten free food available in supermarket's Christmas ranges has also improved over the last ten years and we've ordered a few extra treats from M&S already.

What is your favourite thing about being gluten free at Christmas?

Check out Coeliac UK's Christmas website for more information, ideas and inspiration for gluten free food and drink.

Links:

• Coeliac UK
• The Oxford Place

Related blog posts:

• Coeliac
• Gluten Free
• Christmas

Lost shops

Relics from a lost time.

Kwik Save in Barrow in Furness, Woolworths in Longton, Toys R Us in Preston, Tandy in Hitchin, RadioShack in St Annes on the Sea and Blockbuster in Manchester

Which lost brands do I need to track down next?

Pop Golf opening at Boxpark Wembley

A new crazy golf venue is opening in London.

A new pop music-themed minigolf course is opening at Boxpark Wembley in early 2021.

Pop Golf is being created by the team behind the Mighty Adventures brand of minigolf.

It'll be another new minigolf course for us to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

Visit the Pop Golf website for more information.

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

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.