The Dull Men's Club Calendar 2025

The Dull Men's Club Calendar 2025: Events Celebrating the Ordinary Worldwide.

The new Dull Men's Club Calendar for 2025 is now available.

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

Both 'National Miniature Golf Day' and 'Miniature Golf Day' feature in the calendar.

Mini-Golf at Winter Funland in Manchester

There's a mini-golf course at the Winter Funland festive event in Manchester.

Winter Funland runs at the BEC Arena from Saturday 14th December to Thursday 26th December 2024.

Visit the Winter Finland website for more information.

A seldom seen minigolf obstacle

A look (down) a bottomless pit infinity well hole!

One of the most memorable features on a minigolf course we've been to on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was this infinity well bottomless pit obstacle on a hole at Paradise Island Adventure Golf's Cheshire Oaks location back in 2017.

The Coral Cove minigolf course at Paradise Island Adventure Golf, Cheshire Oaks was the 745th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

It's one of only two infinity wells we've encountered on our travels, and the only one that was 'operational' (the other had its lights switched off/not working, so kind of defeated the purpose!).

What's the most memorable minigolf feature you've seen?

Video rental shops in the UK (December 2024)

A look at movie rental shops in the UK.

By my reckoning there are four 'video shops' still in operation offering physical media movie rentals in the UK. They are:

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

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 brilliant to see there are still businesses active in the sector though!

Signs and traces of video shops

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 still signs of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky (and actually visit and rent from if you're really 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 (closed in 2024)
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol (still operating, but closed on the day of our visit)
• Video Express in Swansea
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds (still operating, but closed on the day of our visit)
• TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill (still operating)

Blockbuster Video shops

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

Do you still have a video rental store near you? Please let me know in the comments if you do!

Crazy Golf at Strikes Bar in Rugby Central shopping centre

Strikes Bar at The Adventure Zone in Rugby Central shopping centre is home to a Crazy Golf course.

A sign for Strikes Bar in Rugby Central shopping centre

Check out The Adventure Zone website for more information and opening times.

Happy Shopper shops - Ashwellthorpe

There are still a few Happy Shopper shops around England and Wales.

Here's a look at the Happy Shopper in Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk.

Check out this blog post looking back at our visits to Happy Shopper shops since 2020.

View my YouTube Playlist of Happy Shopper shop videos.

Crazy Golf at Yum Yum World in Rugby

The Yum Yum Crazy Golf course at Bounce World in Rugby, Warwickshire is no longer open.

You used to be able to get a hole-in-one at Bounce World in Rugby

We visited the course location on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour last year.

There was no sign of the course this time

The building it was in used to be home to a Woolworths. You can see still see the Woolies ghost sign there.

Adventure Golf at Go Wild Axe & Golf (Wild Blades) in Haverhill

There's an outdoor Adventure Golf course at the Go Wild centre in Haverhill, Suffolk.

The location is home to both Axe Throwing and Adventure Golf activities.

There are four Go Wild locations in Windermere, Haverhill, Bury St Edmunds and Hartlepool. Adventure Golf is available at the Haverhill and Hartlepool locations where you'll find the 12-hole lumberjack themed courses.

Check out the Go Wild website for more information.

Toys R Us inside WH Smith in Salisbury

There's a Toys R Us at WH Smith in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Toys R Us at WH Smith in Salisbury

Emily spotted this new Toys R Us store at WH Smith in Salisbury on a recent trip to the city.

Toys R Us inside WH Smith in Salisbury

It was a nice to see these framed pictures showing the evolution of the brand's mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe over the years inside the shop.

While the last of the original Toys R Us stores in the UK closed on the 24th April 2018 the brand returned to the UK in 2022 with an online presence, and further expanded in 2023 with the opening of nine concessions inside WH Smith.

There are currently 76 Toys R Us concessions in WH Smith shops (up from 39 in September this year), with more planned to open. Visit the Toys R Us website for more information.

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 store. I worked on the video game and electronics section.

Toys R Us concessions in the USA

Emily saw a Toys R Us at a Macy's department store in Fort Worth, Texas and a sign for one at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on a trip to the USA earlier this year.

The old Toys R Us

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 been to 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
• Trafford Centre in Manchester
• Western Esplanade in Southampton
• Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

Lost Toys R Us Stores

My book about Lost Toys R Us Stores is available to buy from Amazon.

There were once 105 Toys R Us stores in the UK. The business ceased trading in 2018 and all of those shops closed. It is still possible to find traces of the brand on some retail parks and shopping centres around the UK. The book takes a look at some of those old stores between 2019 and 2021.

Buy Lost Toys R Us Stores on Amazon.

A DVD rental shop in 2024: T.V.L. Allstar Video in Haverhill

Finding a DVD movie rental shop in Haverhill, Suffolk.

It was amazing to find out about TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill and brilliant to hear that in 2024 they've been celebrating their 40th year in business.

While they no longer rent out VHS tapes they hold a library of around 8,000 titles on DVD and Blu-ray, with new releases added to the collection on a weekly basis.

We've spent the last few years documenting the last traces of Blockbuster Video stores here in the UK, and we've found some other video shop signage on our travels. It's even better when we find a video shop that is still open for business!

Signs for the movie rental membership, and some of the other services provided at the shop

If you don't know what to rent, the team at TVL Allstar Video will be able to guide you to some of the top picks. Chatting with the owner and his colleague at the shop they told me how they've maintained a regular customer base over the years. This was evident in my short visit as there were several people through the door, it was excellent to see

There aren't many things better than holding an actual video shop rental membership card in your hands in 2024 - it's a link to another time!

A view of a small section of the rentals available at the shop

New releases are regularly added to the collection at TVL Allstar Video

I would've rented Beetlejuice Beetlejuice if I lived close enough to borrow and return it in time

Lovely to see rental stickers in the wild

A familiar sight back in the day

As well as film rentals, the shop has diversified over the years and now offers scratched disc repairs, a print shop, stationery, and UPS Parcels services.

Check out the TVL Allstar Video website for more information.

TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill is one of only a handful of video rental shops still operating in the UK. Long may it continue!

Swedish Felt Mini Golf in Maryport, Cumbria

Playing minigolf at the Lake District Coast Aquarium Crazy Golf course in Maryport.

The course was originally the 469th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in April 2012. We returned in June 2023 and were able to have a round on the Swedish Felt B-Run type of minigolf course on that occasion.

Take a look at this blog post to see more of the course.

Crazy Golf at Eat N Bowl in St Neots

Eat N Bowl in St Neots, Cambridgeshire is opening a Crazy Golf course.

The indoor Crazy Golf course will be called Pins N Putt.

Visit the Eat N Bowl website for more information on the venue.

It'll be another new course for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

New Adventure Golf planned for South Shields

A new dinosaur-themed Adventure Golf course is planned to be created in South Shields, Tyneside.

The new outdoor course will be a 12-hole layout.

It'll be a new course for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

South Shields was the location of the 100th course I played on our travels way back in June 2009.

It'll be nice to return to the seaside town.

Minigolf in Maryport, Cumbria

Playing minigolf at the Lake District Coast Aquarium Crazy Golf course in Maryport.

The course was originally the 469th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in April 2012. We returned in June 2023 and were able to have a round on the Swedish Felt B-Run type of minigolf course on that occasion.

Take a look at this blog post to see more of the course.

Happy Shopper shops - Lowestoft

There are still a few Happy Shopper shops around England and Wales.

Here's a look at the Happy Shopper in Lowestoft, Suffolk.

Check out this blog post looking back at our visits to Happy Shopper shops since 2020.

View my YouTube Playlist of Happy Shopper shop videos.

The Woolworths ghost sign in Stafford

There's a Woolworths ghost sign on the former store location in Stafford.

The exterior of the former Woolworths shop in Stafford

I first saw the ghost sign on the old Woolies in May 2023.

The Woolworths ghost sign in Stafford

We've found a few ghost signs and remains of the Woolworths brand on our travels over the years.

Playing Christmas Crazy Golf in Northwich

We recently played the Christmas-themed minigolf course from Lancashire Crazy Golf at the 2024 Northwich Christmas Extravaganza in Northwich, Cheshire.

The Christmas-themed pop-up Crazy Golf course in Northwich was the 1,068th course we've visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and the 580th layout we've played on our travels.

Check out the Visit Northwich website for more about the town and its various events throughout the year. We visit Northwich a few times each year, and although Crazy Golf features at several of the events until today we'd not had a chance to have a go on the course.

You can find out more about hiring the pop-up course on the Lancashire Crazy Golf website.

Adventure Golf at The Railway Inn in Westerfield, near Ipswich (August 2024)

Playing the Adventure Golf course at The Railway Inn in Westerfield, near Ipswich, Suffolk.

We played the 9-hole outdoor Adventure Golf course in the pub beer garden of The Railway Inn in Westerfield, near Ipswich, Suffolk on a visit to the town to see family.

The Adventure Golf course at The Railway was the 1,064th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, the 1,007th we've been to in the British Isles, and the 575th course we've played on our travels since 2006.

More inflatable advertising in Stockport

Spotting a piece of inflatable advertising in Cheadle Village, Stockport.

Döner chef inflatable at Cappadocia Ocakbasi Turkish Restaurant in Cheadle Village, Stockport

I spotted this piece of inflatable advertising at Cappadocia Ocakbasi Turkish Restaurant while in Cheadle Village.

Döner chef inflatable at Cappadocia Ocakbasi Turkish Restaurant in Cheadle Village, Stockport

It's fun spotting airdancers (aka a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man) and other types of inflatable advertising such as this kebab chef at Cappadocia Turkish restaurant in Cheadle Village.

Crazy Golf in Maryport, Cumbria

Playing minigolf at the Lake District Coast Aquarium Crazy Golf course in Maryport.

The course was originally the 469th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in April 2012. We returned in June 2023 and were able to have a round on the Swedish Felt B-Run type of minigolf course on that occasion.

Take a look at this blog post to see more of the course.