Charity Crazy Golf course at Woburn Sands Emporium

A look back at our visit to the Charity Crazy Golf course at Woburn Sands Emporium in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

Charity Crazy Golf at Woburn Sands Emporium

Last year we heard that the Woburn Sands Emporium garden centre was home to a Charity Crazy Golf course, so we had to head along for a game when next in the area.

A view of the course from hole 1

The hut

The scarecrow proprietor

It's always fun playing a minigolf course we didn't previously know about. And excellent when it's a unique layout.

Emily tees-off

The Crazy Golf course at Woburn Sands Emporium certainly was different, and it was fun to play the 7-hole course!

Emily on hole 5

Emily playing the windmill hole 3

The Charity Crazy Golf at Woburn Sands Emporium was the 1,037th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A combined 1,037 miniature golf courses visited

A view of the course from hole 7 (the flag is from when the course had 9 holes)

In our minigolf match I took the win with a score of 17 to Emily's 18. It had been close for the first six holes, with Emily ahead by one shot. But the final hole was a round wrecker and game killer. Emily played first and shot a 6, while I was able to hit a 4 and take the win.

Playing hole 6

Photos of the 7-hole Crazy Golf course at Woburn Sands Emporium (October 2023)

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 7

Visit the Woburn Sands Emporium website for more information about the course and the garden centre's charity partners. It's an excellent garden centre with plenty to see and do there.

39 years of Blockbuster Video

Not completely gone, and not completely forgotten.

This was the sign at the Blockbuster Video store in Nuneaton, Warwickshire when it was uncovered for a short period of time in 2021

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-plus of those were in the UK.

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

There has been a boom in nostalgia for the brand - which back in the day was seen as something of a 'category killer' that saw off many smaller operators.

Blockbuster in the UK

The remains of the Blockbuster Video Express store in Billingham, Teesside in 2020

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 last stores closed on the 16th December.

There are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks. And we've been to most of them on our travels!

Blockbuster Video stores we've visited

Check out the 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

A ghost sign at the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight in 2021

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.

Video Store Day 2024

Today is Video Store Day.

Do you still have a video store near you?

International Independent Video Store Day is observed on the third Saturday of October each year.

This year is the 14th Annual International Independent Video Store Day.

By my reckoning there are three video shops still in operation in the UK. They are:

• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol
• Snips Movies in Bebington, Wirral

Unfortunately B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton closed in July this year. We visited that particular video shop on Video Shop Day in 2020!

It's nice to see there are still some businesses active in the sector though!

Northgate Video & DVD Video Rental and Sales shop in Bury St Edmunds, August 2024

There are still traces of former video shops to be found on the streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK. Most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores. But there are remnants of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky. Some of those I've snapped over the years include:

• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films in Ashton-under-Lyne
• B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol
• Video Express in Swansea
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds

Blockbuster Video stores we've visited to date include:

• 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

Find out more about the event on the International Independent Video Store Day website.

New Crazy Golf course in Dover

Nexgen Crazy Golf Dover is opening on Saturday 19th October.

The Nexgen Crazy Golf Dover venue in Dover, Kent is home to an indoor Crazy Golf course, axe throwing and arcade games.

Check out the Nexgen Crazy Golf Dover Facebook page for more information.

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

Globetrotters Christmas Mini Golf & Games at Camping World Horsham

Globetrotters Mini Golf will have a pop-up course at Camping World Horsham this festive season.

The Globetrotters Christmas Mini Golf event tees-off in Horsham, Surrey from Friday 22nd November.

Check out the Globetrotters Mini Golf and Camping World Horsham websites for more information.

New Adventure Golf course planned for Kirkby Valley Golf Club

Kirkby Valley Golf Club in Kirkby, Liverpool has plans to create a new Adventure Golf course.

The 18-hole Adventure Golf course would be another new venue for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Visit the Kirkby Valley Golf Club website for more information.

100% Gluten Free Places for People with Coeliac Disease

When you have Coeliac Disease dining out can be very difficult at the very best of times. Luckily there are some 100% gluten free places that are suitable for Coeliacs.

The 100% gluten free places that are able to cater to the specific needs of people with Coeliac Disease that we have visited are:

• The Oxford Place restaurant in Leeds
• Off the Wheaten Track deli in Altrincham
• Wildcraft Bakery in Leeds
• Gluten Free Kitchen Stockport

Other 100% gluten free places we've heard about include:

• Fishermans Catch gluten free fish & chip shop in South Shields
• Niche Gluten-free dining in London
• The Bees Knees - Gluten Free café in Plymouth

Do you know of any other 100% gluten free restaurants, takeaways, delis, bakeries etc.? If you do, please share them in the comments.

What is Coeliac Disease?

Coeliac Disease ('Celiac' in the USA and Canada) is a lifelong autoimmune condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. In Coeliac Disease the immune system mistakes substances found inside gluten as a threat to the body and attacks them. This can trigger a number of painful, horrible, stressful and uncomfortable symptoms.

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

Visit the Coeliac UK website for more information.

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.

It's important you form your own approach to the 100% gluten free diet as everyone is different. There are some things other Coeliacs would eat or drink that I wouldn't go anywhere near.

Pumpkin Patch Mini Golf at Frosts Willington Garden Centre in Bedford

Frosts Garden Centre in Willington, Bedford has a pop-up mini golf course as part of its Pumpkin Patch attraction.

The Pumpkin Patch is open weekends from the 5th October until the 31st October, and is open 7 days a week from the 26th October.

Visit the Frosts Garden Centres website for more information.

Winning the Weymouth Mini Golf Open

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

The inaugural Weymouth Open minigolf tournament was held on the 18-hole Pirate Adventure Mini Golf course at the Weymouth Sea Life Centre at Lodmoor Country Park in Weymouth, Dorset on Sunday 12th October 2008.

Snaps of the Weymouth Pirate Adventure Golf course between 2008 and 2011

I had an excellent career 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 Pirate Adventure Mini Golf course was the 77th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now been to 1,065 courses since September 2006.

A winner in Weymouth

Putt Putt Social opening in Coventry

The new Putt Putt Social minigolf venue is opening in Coventry on Monday 14th October 2024.

The venue will be home to two indoor crazy golf courses - 'Zen Garden' and 'Tokyo Drift'.

The Putt Putt Social minigolf course in Norwich. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, September 2023

You can find other Putt Putt Social indoor minigolf centres in Norwich, Gloucester, Telford, Poole and Bedford.

Check out the Putt Putt Noodle website for more information.

The Blockbuster Video Store in Fallowfield, Manchester - Five Years On

A look back at the old Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester.

This is what was left of Blockbuster Video on Fallowfield Retail Park back in October 2019

I found the preserved remains of a 'dead brand' - Blockbuster Video - while in Manchester five years ago today!

It became the first of many former Blockbuster Video stores Emily and I travelled to once we found that there were still some other visible remains of the brand to be seen on high streets and at shopping centres around the UK.

Oh, what happened to this sign?

Dark clouds gathered over the brand 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.

On the visit to the old Fallowfield shop in October 2019 the Blockbuster Video store sign was prominently displayed on both sides of the main sign at Fallowfield Retail Park and the windows of the shop still retained Blockbuster signage.

A sign in the shop window

Most of the shelves inside had been removed, but the walls and desks clearly retained the brand colours of Blockbuster.

The window graphics still looked fresh

Clearly still recognisable as a Blockbuster on the inside

The shelves were bare

There is currently one independently owned franchise still operating as a Blockbuster Video in the USA and you can find it in Bend, Oregon.

Quik Drop box to nowhere

We made several more visits to the abandoned Blockbuster Video shop at Fallowfield Retail Park, including one last look as it was being demolished in January 2024.

Other Blockbuster Video stores

Here's a list and links to the other Blockbuster Video stores we've visited to date:

• 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

Independent video stores

There are still traces of former video shops to be found on the streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK. While most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores, there are remnants of (and in some cases still operating) independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky. Some of those we've snapped over the years include:

• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films in Ashton-under-Lyne
• B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Video Express in Swansea
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds

Do you still have a video store near you?

By my reckoning there are three video shops still in operation in the UK. They are:

• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol
• Snips Movies in Bebington, Wirral

I've been to two of the above, with Snips Movies on my to visit list in the future. Hopefully I'll be able to get a membership card for the shop too.

Do you have a favourite defunct brand? Are the remains of an old brand still visible near where you live or work? Do let me know.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour keeps on rolling...

A look at our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour to date.

With a sign for The Original Crazy Golf course in Skegness

Since 2006 Emily and I have visited 1,065 miniature golf courses around the UK and overseas on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. As well as playing minigolf in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Jersey and the Isle of Man we’ve travelled to minigolf courses in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (Lanzarote and Majorca), Sweden and the USA.

At the top of the Great Orme in Llandudno

1,007 of the courses we've been to were in the British Isles, with 58 in 12 overseas countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (Lanzarote and Majorca), Sweden and the USA.

Playing Manx TT themed Crazy Golf in Ramsay on the Isle of Man

We've been able to play a total of 576 of the courses we've been to. Many of these have been played multiple times. Other courses we didn't manage to play include those we found to be abandoned, closed, out-of-season, or derelict, while others were flying visits as we didn't have time to play. Luckily we've returned to some of the courses that were closed or unable to be played on our initial visit.

At a very very Crazy Crazy Golf course in Cofton Hackett

When added to the courses my brother Christopher (a founding member of the tour) and his family have visited around the British Isles and Türkiye, Spain (Majorca), Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Indonesia, Croatia and the USA, the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour stands at a combined 1,112 courses visited!

A treacherous hole in Aberavon, Port Talbot

Check out the full list of courses we've been to on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Putting at Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing

We avoided the LIVE ALLIGATORS at Gator Adventure Golf in Chorley

A scary indoor hole at Putters Adventure Golf in Warrington

Playing the Crazy Putting Challenge course at Hamptworth Golf Club

Playing a shot at Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Manchester

Miniature Golf Grass Putting in Douglas, Isle of Man

Trying my luck on the last hole at Hastings Adventure Golf

Minigolfing in Lyme Regis

Playing Mini Championship Golf at Pirate Pete's in Ayr

Having a whale of a time at Moby Adventure Golf in Romford

Teeing-off at Adventure Island Golf in Mundesley

Playing out a hole at Lost World Adventure Golf in Hemsby

Putting between the sights at Landmark Adventure Golf in New Brighton

Playing at Pirate Adventure Golf in Belfast

'Putting' with a 'cue' of sorts on the Crazy Crazy Golf course at Joe Joe Jim's Arcade in Cofton Hackett