Ephemera from The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds

A look at some items from The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

We recently played The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf course at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds and added these items to our collection.

A badge for scoring a hole-in-one at The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf in Leeds

A Guidebook for the venue

The scorecard inside the Guidebook

The scorecard

The rules side of the scorecard

Leaflets from The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf in Leeds

A card from The Wand & Tankard - the pub at The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf in Leeds

A card from The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf in Leeds

A pressed penny from the penny coin press

Penny Coin Press at The Hole in Wand Wizard Golf minigolf course in Leeds

Find out more.

You can find The Hole In Wand miniature golf courses in Blackpool, Chester, Leeds, Seaham and York.

Check out The Hole In Wand website for more information on the Leeds course, and the other venues.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds was the 595th course played and 1,092nd visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Link:

• The Hole In Wand

Related blog posts:

• Playing The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds
• The Hole In Wand
• The Hole In Wand Magical Mini Golf in York
• The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf in Chester
• Hole in Wand minigolf in Blackpool
• The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds
• Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
• Leeds

Videos

• The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf course at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds
• Hole 2 of The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf course at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds
• Hole 6 of The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf course at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds
• Hole 8 of The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf course at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds
• Hole 9 of The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf course at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds

The end of Blockbuster Video in the UK

Blockbuster Video closed in the UK on the 16th December 2013.

The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK on this day 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.

Even now in 2025 there are still some clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks.

The first Blockbuster Video.

The first Blockbuster Video store had opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on the 19th October 1985.

The last Blockbuster Video on Earth.

The very last Blockbuster Video store in operation is in Bend, Oregon, USA.

Our 'local' store.

Until January 2024 there was an abandoned Blockbuster Video store near us here in Manchester. It was always an eerie, interesting and nostalgic thing to drive past the old shop at Fallowfield Retail Park.

From 9,000 to 1.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

Nowadays it you want to rent a film from Blockbuster you'll have to travel to the last Blockbuster Video on the planet - Bend Blockbuster in Oregon.

Visiting the last bits of Blockbuster Video in the UK.

Check out these 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

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.

Crazy Pool at StrikeYard Bowling in Glengormley, Northern Ireland

StrikeYard Bowling in Glengormley, Northern Ireland will soon be home to a Crazy Pool course.

Crazy Pool is heading to StrikeYard Bowling in Glengormley, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland.

It'll be interesting to see what the Crazy Pool at StrikeYard Bowling looks like.

Find out more.

Check out the StrikeYard Bowling website for more information.

Crazy Golf at StrikeYard.

StrikeYard Bowling is also home to a 21-hole indoor crazy golf course called ScrapYard Golf.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

ScrapYard Golf and the Crazy Pool are two new courses for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Mulligans Crazy Golf in Romford, Essex

Mulligans Crazy Golf is now open in Romford, Essex.

The former Bunkers! venue at The Brewery Shopping Centre in Romford, Essex has been taken over by its sister-brand Mulligans and is now open as Mulligans Crazy Golf.

Mulligans Romford is home to two indoor crazy golf courses.

The venue is also home to a range of other games and activities, including Sixes Party Cricket.

Mulligans venues.

There are 15 Mulligans minigolf venues in the UK. As well as Romford you can find Mulligans in Basildon, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cheltenham, Guildford, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Norwich, Sidcup, Stevenage, Tonbridge and Worcester.

Find out more.

Visit the Mulligans website for more information.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We didn't get the chance to visit the venue when it was Bunkers! and so it'll still be a new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We've visited several of the Mulligans venues on our travels over the last two decades, most recently in Hemel Hempstead.

Related blog posts:

• Mulligans
• Romford
• Essex

Link:

• Mulligans Crazy Golf

Crazy Golf at Skirlington Coast holiday park

There are plans for a new crazy golf course at Skirlington Coast holiday park in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Find out more.

Visit the Unity Holidays website for more information on Skirlington Coast holiday park.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

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

Playing The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds

A Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit to The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds

We recently had a day out in Leeds and after a superb meal at The Oxford Place in the city centre we had a wander to find an activity - and remembered that when we last visited Leeds in the summer that a new minigolf course is under construction at St Johns Shopping Centre, and that it was now open.

The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf is a 9-hole indoor crazy golf course with a magical theme - and it certainly is immersive!

A map of the Wizard Golf course at The Hole In Wand

The layout contains nine unique holes - and there's a variety of gameplay apart from the putting itself.

Playing hole 6

Emily playing on hole 5

Teeing-off on hole 7 of the course was quite different to normal!

Find out more.

You can find The Hole In Wand miniature golf courses in Blackpool, Chester, Leeds, Seaham and York.

Hole 8

Check out The Hole In Wand website for more information on the Leeds course, and the other venues.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds was the 595th course played and 1,092nd visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

You have to play hole 2 UPSIDE DOWN!!!

Link:

• The Hole In Wand

Related blog posts:

• The Hole In Wand
• The Hole In Wand Magical Mini Golf in York
• The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf in Chester
• Hole in Wand minigolf in Blackpool
• The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf at St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds
• Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
• Leeds

Merry Skipsmas!

Always brilliant to see the Skip Christmas Tree go up at Cheadle Skip Hire Ltd. in Adswood, Stockport.

Adventure Lane in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute

Rothesay on Bute in Scotland will be home to a new indoor mini-golf venue.

Adventure Lane is planned to open in 2027 and will see a former church become an indoor entertainment venue with mini-golf, tenpin bowling and more.

Find out more.

You can find out more about Adventure Lane at Trinity Church on the Visit Bute website.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The mini-golf course will be a new one for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

New Adventure Golf in Gobowen, near Oswestry, Shropshire

There are plans for a new adventure golf course in Gobowen, Shropshire.

The 18-hole outdoor adventure golf is planned to be created at the Lion Quays in Gobowen near Oswestry in Shropshire.

The course is proposed to have a range of themed elements, including a Victorian street scene.

Find out more.

Visit the Lion Quays Resort & Spa website for more information.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

It'd be a new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A Stranger Things Christmas Tree

Spotting a Stranger Things Christmas tree in Manchester.

We went to Manchester on Thursday and upon arriving at Manchester Piccadilly station we sere surprised to see this Stranger Things Christmas tree!

The 'Upside Down' side of the tree

A BMX 'bauble' on the Upside Down side of the Stranger Things Christmas tree

Videos:

• A Stranger Things Christmas Tree at Manchester Piccadilly railway station 1
• A Stranger Things Christmas Tree at Manchester Piccadilly railway station 2
• A Stranger Things Christmas Tree at Manchester Piccadilly railway station 3

The Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf course in Rhyl, Wales

A look at the Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf course in Rhyl, North Wales on Tuesday 2nd December 2025.

We first visited the Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf course in Rhyl on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the summer of 2009 and have revisited it several times on return trips to the seaside town 

Find out more.

Visit the course's Instagram page to find out more about the 12-hole outdoor adventure golf course.

Related blog posts:

• Rhyl
• Adventure Golf
• Minigolf Course Visit No. 146 - Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf, Rhyl
• Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf in Rhyl
• Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf in Rhyl
• Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Videos:

• Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf course in Rhyl, Wales 1
• Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf course in Rhyl, Wales 2

Junk Yard Golf Club indoor crazy golf in Leeds

There are three indoor 9-hole crazy golf courses at the Junk Yard Golf Club venue at The Light in Leeds.

You can also find Junkyard Golf courses in Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Oxford.

Find out more.

Visit the Junk Yard Golf website for more information.

Toys R Us at TGJones in Leeds

There's a Toys R Us at TGJones in Leeds city centre.

A Toys R Us concession has opened at the TGJones shop in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

The end of WHSmith, and the start of TGJones.

The start of July 2025 marked the end of WHSmith on the British high street after 233 years. Following the sale of the business to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital earlier this year WHSmith shops have been undergoing a rebrand to the new name of TGJones.

WHSmith on the high street, and travel stores.

There were around 500 high street WHSmith shops, and another 580 travel stores in the UK. The WHSmith shops at railway stations, service stations and airports etc. are not affected by the rebrand as they were not part of the sale.

Toys R Us at TGJones and WHSmith.

As well being inside the rebranded TGJones shops, the relaunched Toys R Us brand can be found in sections of some travel hub WHSmith stores.

Toys R Us at Hobbycraft.

You can also find Toys R Us concessions at Hobbycraft stores.

Toys R Us in 2025.

Toys R Us returned to the UK shopping scene with an online presence in 2022 and with concessions opening inside some WH Smith shops in 2023. There are currently 127 Toys R Us stores open nationwide.

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 Toys R Us store. I worked on the video game and electronics section.

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.

Find out more.

Visit the Toys R Us and TGJones websites for more information.

Links:

• Toys R Us
• TGJones

Related blog posts:

• Toys R Us
• TGJones
• Leeds
• Retail
• A look at two new TGJones shops in Leeds

Mini Golf Lanes tech-minigolf at Lane7 in Manchester

Lane7 at the Great Northern warehouse venue on Deansgate in Manchester has introduced 'Mini Golf Lanes' to the venue.

Rather than playing a round across a course consisting of several different holes/lanes, the high-tech mini golf at Lane7 sees players book a lane for a session of games and challenges.

Find out more.

Visit the Lane7 website for more information.

Links:

• Lane7
• Mini Golf Lanes at Lane7

Related blog posts:

• Lane7
• Minigolf
• Manchester

A Mobile Phone Christmas Tree at Vodafone

A Christmas window display celebrating the world's first text message.

The world's first text message was sent over the Vodafone network on the 3rd December 1992.

This year Vodafone is celebrating this fact in its Christmas marketing activity, including window displays in retail stores, such as this one on Market Street in Manchester.

Find out more.

Check out the Vodafone website, and this article from 2017 that celebrated 25 years since the first text message, to find out more.

Link:

• Vodafone

Related blog posts:

• Christmas Trees
• Retail
• Marketing
• Nostalgia
• Retro

Mini Golf at the Urban Playground in the Arndale Centre, Manchester

Putters Crazy Golf can be found at the Urban Playground in Manchester.

The Urban Playground at the Manchester Arndale Centre is home to three 9-hole indoor tech-infused Crazy Golf courses.

Find out more.

Check out the Urban Playground website for more information.

Related blog posts:

• Putters Crazy Golf at the Urban Playground in Manchester
• Arndale Centre
• Manchester
• Urban Playground