International Coeliac Day

Today is International Coeliac Day.

About Coeliac Disease

Coeliac Disease (Celiac in the US and Canada) is a lifelong autoimmune disease caused by intolerance to gluten and the only treatment is to adhere to a strict lifelong gluten free diet.

In the UK it's estimated that 1 in 100 people have the condition.

Living a gluten free life

Having suffered from a range of symptoms for around ten years I finally received a positive diagnosis of Coeliac Disease following some 'interesting' and in-depth tests and procedures in 2008. It came as a relief to finally have a name for the mysterious cause of my illnesses and ailments, but at the time I was only given a brief summary and told that I'd have to "cut down on bread and beer". It was only later when I met with a Gastroenterologist and a dietitian that I found out that the only treatment for people with Coeliac Disease is a strict, life-long gluten free diet.

Coeliac Awareness

The month of May is Celiac Awareness Month and this week has been Coeliac UK Awareness Week.

Crazy Golf at Run About in Farnborough

There's a new Crazy Golf course at the Run About soft play centre in Farnborough, Hampshire.

The new crazy golf course opens at Run About in Farnborough on Monday 17th May.

Visit the Run About website for more information.

Toys R Us in Stockton-on-Tees

A visit to the old Toys R Us store at Teesside Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees.

We recently took a look at the former Toys R Us in Stockton-on-Tees.

It's a very nice example of a closed store, with lots of the original signage still visible.

I worked in the Gipsy Lane Toys R Us store in Luton, Bedfordshire back in the year 2000.

Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018. It's fun to see that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK. 

Check out my blog posts below about other former Toys R Us stores:

• Enfield Retail Park in Enfield
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Gemini Retail Park in Warrington
• Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
• Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
• Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby
• Riverside Retail Park in Nottingham

Crazy Golf on Southsea Beach

There are plans for a new Crazy Golf course on Southsea Beach.

A new Crazy Golf course is planned to open at Southsea Beach in Hampshire.

The minigolf layout has been proposed by South Parade Pier and would be located on the shingle beach to the west of the pier.

Visit the South Parade Pier website for more information.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour began in Southsea back in 2006 and we've played a number of miniature golf courses there over the years. One of those courses was a 12-hole Swedish Felt layout on South Parade Pier in 2010. That course can now be played on Southend Pier!

It'll be nice to get back down to visit again in the future.

Crazy Golf at Brimstage Maize Maze

There's a Crazy Golf course at Brimstage Maize Maze in Brimstage, Wirral.

It's another course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

Visit the Brimstage Maize Maze website and Facebook Page for more information.

Mini-Golf at Between the Bridges in London

London's South Bank will be home to a mini-golf course this summer.

A mini-golf course will be part of the new Between the Bridges food, drink, music and entertainment pop-up on the South Bank in London this summer.

The mini-golf activity will be provided by Plonk Golf.

Visit the Between the Bridges website for more information.

Gator Adventure Golf at the Escape Entertainment centre in Chorley

A visit to the Gator Adventure Golf course at Escape Entertainment in Chorley.

The last new course we played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was Gator Adventure Golf at the Escape Entertainment centre in Chorley, Lancashire last August!

The 18-hole indoor layout was the 955th course we've been to since September 2006.

Visit the Gator Adventure Golf website for more information, opening times and prices.

Toys R Us store in Enfield, London

A look at the old Toys R Us store in Enfield, London.

A big thank you to my cousin Elaine for sending me some photos of the former Toys R Us store in Enfield.

Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018. Luckily you can still find signs 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.

Check out the posts below to see other former Toys R Us stores in the UK:

• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby
• Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
• Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Riverside Retail Park in Nottingham
• Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
• Gemini Retail Park in Warrington

New Lane7 venue opening in Glasgow

A new Lane7 venue is planned to open at the St Enoch Centre in Glasgow.

The new location at the St Enoch Shopping Centre will include mini golf, ping pong, ten-pin bowling and more.

Visit the Lane7 website for more information.

We've played minigolf at Lane7 in Newcastle upon Tyne on a couple of occasions.

The old Blockbuster Video store in Nuneaton

A look at the old Blockbuster Video store in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

The old sign at the former Blockbuster Video store on Regent Street in Nuneaton was uncovered when the last tenant of the building moved out.

Blockbuster visits

With our interest piqued by our discovery of the abandoned Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield in 2019 we've now visited a number of former Blockbuster locations, including:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Colne, Lancashire
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Mini Golf at Sunderland Bowl

A new miniature golf course is opening at Sunderland Bowl.

The Sunderland Bowl tenpin bowling centre is opening a new indoor minigolf course.

As well as tenpin bowling and minigolf there will also be darts and shuffleboard at the venue.

Visit the Sunderland Bowl website for more information.

The layout will be another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Tenpin bowling and miniature golf

With the boom in the popularity of minigolf and the growth in new courses, a number of tenpin bowling centres have added minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf courses.

Traditionally the two leisure activities have been quite separate and distinct, with people choosing to do either one or other and most operators running either a minigolf course or tenpin bowling centre.

We're fans of both games and we've been to quite a few places on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour that have both entertainment options.

New Globalls crazy golf venue opening in Brighton

Globalls at Brighton Marina is planning a move with a new and larger venue opening nearby later this year.

The existing Globalls indoor minigolf location will remain open until the new unit is ready.

The new Globalls UV glow-in-the-dark location will be home to two indoor crazy golf courses as well as other games and a UV cocktail bar.

Visit the Globalls website for more information.

It's been quite a few years since we've been to Brighton so we haven't managed to play at Globalls yet.

Our friend Stephen Skinner did swing by Globalls in 2019 and sent over some snaps of the colourful courses.

The Minigolf Nations Cup 2008

We made our Great Britain team debuts at the 2008 Nations Cup of Minigolf in Tampere, Finland thirteen years ago today!

Our Great Britain Minigolf team, sponsored by UrbanCrazy, finished the tournament in 13th place. In the individual rankings I finished in 51st place and Emily was 53rd.

In action at the Minigolf Nations Cup in Tampere, Finland

The 2008 Great Britain squad - Jouni Valkjarvi (coach), John 'Big Top Ted' McIver, Marion 'Mation' Homer, Sean 'Freebird' Homer, Tim 'Ace Man' Davies, Steve 'F1' Gow, Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried, Andy 'Sarge' Booth, 'Squire' Richard Gottfried

We've also played for the Great Britain national team in World Minigolf Sport Federation and European Minigolf Sport Federation tournaments in Stockholm, Sweden and Hastings, England.

The Beton Concrete Mini Golf course at the Manse RG Club in Tampere was the 50th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The Eternit Miniature Golf course was the 51st and the Swedish Felt Minigolf course there was the 52nd played. We've now been to 958 courses since 2006.

Hollywood Adventure Golf in Great Yarmouth

Spotting an advert for the Windmill Theatre Crazy Golf course in Great Yarmouth.

My brother and charter member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Christopher Gottfried recently spotted this advert for the Windmill Theatre Crazy Golf in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

We've both played the indoor minigolf course, but haven't yet had a game against each other there.

When our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour began in 2006 the course at the Windmill Theatre was one of only two indoor miniature golf courses in the UK. There are now more than 100 indoor courses!

Visit the Hollywood Adventure Golf course website for more information.

Happy National Miniature Golf Day!

Today is National Miniature Golf Day.

National Miniature Golf Day is always marked on the second Saturday in May.

Miniature Golf Day

Each year there are two 'minigolf days', the second of which is Miniature Golf Day. It is always on the 21st September. This year that will be a Tuesday.

National Miniature Golf Day Eve

Tomorrow is the BIG day!

There are two annual minigolf 'days' dedicated to celebrating the game each year. First up is National Miniature Golf Day. It is always marked on the second Saturday in May. This year the date is Saturday 8th May.

The world's first miniature golf course

The first miniature golf course in the world opened in St Andrews, Scotland in 1867. The Himalayas Putting Course is still open and is a marvellous place to have a round.   

New miniature golf course in Chorley

There are plans for a new 12-hole miniature golf course to open at Duxbury Park in Chorley, Lancashire.

Visit the Glendale Golf website for more information on the Duxbury Park golf centre.

Chorley is fairly close to us so it'll be interesting to swing by for a game on the new layout when it opens.

Jungle Adventure Golf at Parkdean's Vauxhall Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth

A look at the Jungle Adventure Golf course at the Parkdean Vauxhall Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth.

Our friends Sophia and Karl Moles recently had a short break at the Parkdean Vauxhall Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth and sent us these photos of the Adventure Golf course at the park.

I do like seeing crashed plane theming on a course

A crocodile - or alligator - lurking near the course

Visit the Parkdean website for more information.

What's that croc had for dinner?

The Moles family have found and played a fair few minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf courses on their travels. Including one on a cruise ship!

It's always brilliant seeing new courses and those we haven't been to on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

New adventure golf course opening in Maidstone

A new adventure golf course is opening in Maidstone, Kent.

There are plans for a new indoor adventure golf course to be created at the Prison Island escape room venue in Maidstone, Kent.

Visit the Prison Island website for more information.

It's another new course for us to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. It'll be interesting to see if the theme continues along the prison line. That'll be a relatively new theme for us to play.

Jurassic Bay Adventure Golf on Shanklin Seafront

A look at the Jurassic Bay Adventure Golf course on Shanklin Seafront on the Isle of Wight.

Our fellow minigolfing explorer Matt Dodd sent me these snaps from the new Jurassic Bay Adventure Golf on Shanklin Seafront following his visit last summer.

Check out the Shanklin Seafront website for more information.

Matt and his family have visited hundreds of courses on their crazy golf adventures and it's always brilliant to meet up with them for a game. Matt has managed to track down and play quite a lot of courses that we're yet to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour! 

We have played minigolf on the spot that the Jurassic Bay Adventure Golf course now sits - in fact we played it in its two previous forms.