This week is MuseumWeek

Happy MuseumWeek 2021.

MuseumWeek was created in 2014 and is the worldwide festival for cultural institutions on social media. It has grown to include over 60,000 participants from 100+ countries.

Each day of MuseumWeek has a themed hashtag, kicking off with #OnceUponAtimeMW

MuseumWeek 2021's themed days are:

• Monday, June 7: #OnceUponAtimeMW
• Tuesday, June 8: #BehindTheScenesMW
• Wednesday, June 9: #ChildrensEyesMW
• Thursday, June 10: #EurekaMW
• Friday, June 11: #CaptionThisMW
• Saturday, June 12: #ArtIsEverywhereMW
• Sunday, June 13: #WordsForTheFutureMW

Check out the MuseumWeek website for more information.

As the Curator of the Crazy Golf Museum I'm always keen to spread the word about the game of minigolf.

Once upon a time the pastime and sport didn't exist. That changed in 1867 when the world's first miniature golf course was created at St Andrews in Scotland.

Emily playing the world's first miniature golf course

The Himalayas Putting course at St Andrews was created in 1867 specifically for female players to use. Emily and I visited and played the layout on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2012. It's a wonderful course in a marvellous setting, and a must-play course for fans of minigolf.

Some of the other key dates in world minigolf are:

• 1916 - The first minigolf course in the USA. James Barber opened the 'Thistle Dhu' layout in Pinehurst, NC.
• 1926 - The very first Crazy Golf course in the UK opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England.
• 1926 - The first artificial miniature golf course in the USA. Garnet Carter created the 'Tom Thumb' miniature golf course near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN.
• National Miniature Golf Day always falls on the second Saturday in May.
• Miniature Golf Day is always on the 21st of September.

The Crazy Golf Museum

The Crazy Golf Museum is celebrating it's eleventh year in 2021. The worldwide archive of miniature golf memories, histories and ephemera opened its online doors to the world on the 15th July 2010.

Visit the Crazy Golf Museum website, Facebook Page & Group, Twitter and Instagram to see more.

National VCR Day

Today is National VCR Day.

Do you still own or use a Video Cassette Recorder? I do.

There are still some great and rare films and programmes that can only be seen on video tapes these days, so I'm glad we've still got our TV/Video combination set.

Over the last year or so we've been documenting the remains of Blockbuster Video stores in the UK - visiting 19 of the former video shop locations so far.

The QuikDrop box on the old Blockbuster Video store in Southampton

We were also lucky to find a video shop still operating and renting out tapes last year! It's in Little Lever, Bolton.

Fairhaven Adventure Golf in Lytham St Annes

A look at the Fairhaven Adventure Golf course in Lytham St Annes.

We swung by the Fairhaven Lake Adventure Golf course in Lytham St Annes while staying in nearby Bispham.

The 18-hole course opened in September last year and we also took a look at it as it neared completion.

We had a nice evening stroll around Fairhaven Lake. It's a very pleasant spot on the Fylde coast.

Visit the Fairhaven Lake website for more information about the course, opening times and prices.

Golf Putting Green at Style Carpets in Cleveleys

We spotted this golf putting set-up at Style Carpets in Cleveleys on our recent trip to the seaside town.

Happy National Cheese Day 2021

Today is National Cheese Day!

Did you know there's a minigolf obstacle called Käse? It can be found on Eternit Miniature Golf courses.

The Käse obstacle on the Kelsey Park Mini Golf course in Beckenham

The official name of the obstacle / lane is "Schrager kreis mit hindernis" (Oblique circle with obstacle). Sometimes the obstacle is "schrager kreis mit niere" (oblique circle with kidney).

Miniaturegolf / Miniaturgolf courses (also known as Eternit / Eternite) are a type of course made using a thin concrete material. Courses consist of 18 holes made from a selection of 28 standardised designs.

Checking in the Overview for Beginners to Miniaturgolf booklet, the Käse obstacle is "erstaunlicherweise eher im norden verbreitet" (surprisingly more common in the north of Germany).

We don't have too many Eternit Miniature Golf courses here in the UK and some of those that do exist have been modified over the years.

Miniature Golf course at Cae Glas Park in Oswestry

We have played two Schrager kreis mit hindernis holes where the obstacle was Käse. One was at Cae Glas Park in Oswestry, Shropshire, the other was in Kelsey Park in Beckenham, Greater London.

Miniature Golf course at Kelsey Park in Beckenham

Covid-19 signage at Fairhaven Adventure Golf in Lytham St Annes

I've been writing about minigolf during the time of coronavirus and sharing examples of Covid-19 and social distancing signage and measures I've seen during the pandemic.

Last month we swung by the new Fairhaven Lake Adventure Golf course in Lytham St Annes while on a trip to the Fylde coast.

In addition to minigolf signs I've see I've been documenting all of the Covid-19 signs I've seen on my Instagram account.

Crazy Golf at Marine Gardens in Fleetwood

A look at the Crazy Golf course at Marine Gardens in Fleetwood.

We had a walk round the 18-hole Crazy Golf course at Marine Gardens in Fleetwood on our recent return trip to the seaside town.

We first visited the layout on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2012.

The location is also home to a Pitch & Putt course.

Pitch & Putt at Marine Gardens in Fleetwood

And the remains of a Miniature Railway!

The line used to run around the Pitch & Putt course

Where the line ends

You can still see a miniature railway tunnel on the perimeter of the Pitch & Putt course

There was once a Crazy Golf course a stone's throw away at Marine Hall Gardens. We played that course in 2009. Sadly it was removed in 2012.

Tommy Chip Cone says "Stay safe."

I spotted this pandemic-themed sign on a chip cone mascot at Tommy's fish & chip shop in Middleton, Rochdale earlier this week.

Mini Golf at Puttstars in Rochdale

Playing Puttstars Mini Golf at Rochdale Riverside.

We played our first games of indoor minigolf since last August when we swung by Puttstars Mini Golf at Rochdale Riverside yesterday evening.

We played two of the three 9-hole courses at the venue, with Pinball becoming the 545th course we've played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the Zig Zag layout number 546 since 2006.

The scoring system differs to other minigolf courses and your strokes add up to points - with bonus points given depending on whether you play a 'joker' during your round. I won on one course and Emily got the win on the other. There are no paper scorecards, print outs or results sent to you after your round so you better be quick and take a photo of the screen at the end of your game!

Visit the Puttstars website for more information, opening times and prices.

We've now been to a total of 958 miniature golf courses on our travels. When our adventures began in 2006 there were around 600 courses in the UK, with just two of those indoors. There are now more than 1,000 courses in total and more than 100 of those are indoor locations, with more new courses opening all the time.

Springfield Park Model Railway in Rochdale

A visit to the Springfield Park Model Railway in Rochdale.

We're big fans of miniature railways but until very recently never knew there was one at Springfield Park in Rochdale!

Visit the Rochdale Society of Model & Experimental Engineers (RSMEE) website for more information and running times of the railway.