Great Yarmouth was the location for the 2026 Joint EACC/YSC Social and the day dawned bright and dry with even a hint of sunshine, which is the best you can hope for in mid-January. The plan for the afternoon was indoor crazy golf so the group convened on Marine Parade outside The Windmill Theatre, one of the many interesting buildings in Yarmouth that are sadly overlooked in the frantic pursuit of fleeting sensory pleasure.

Opened in July 1908, it was initially intended for the exhibition of wild animals, but following an outcry from local residents and boarding house owners about the inevitable 'stink', it became the “Palace of Light” with 1,000 light bulbs on the exterior for the showman and West End promoter C. B. Cochran. It became Norfolk's first cinema when it was converted to The Gem in 1910, but the town's authorities insisted that men and women sit on separate sides of the auditorium, presumably to protect public morals. It became the Windmill Theatre in 1946 and was soon providing the twice daily variety bills and summer shows which made Yarmouth the popular resort it became in the 1950s and 60s. Whilst it was subsequently converted to a children's playpark and then to the Odditorium, an exhibition of weird and wonderful things similar to 'Ripley's Believe it or Not', before its latest reincarnation it retains its original external facade and is Grade 2* listed. Did we pause for a moment outside to marvel at one of Britain's earliest surviving Cine Variety buildings? We did not because, like the thousands who rush past it every day, every week, every month, we were seeking other pleasures.

The advertising posters promised 'Britains (sic) craziest indoor golf' with 'amazing themed holes', so in we went, mentally preparing ourselves for amazement (whilst I tried to forget about the missing possessive apostrophe). Now, I've never been to a crazy golf course before so can't comment on the veracity of this claim or the course's likely position in the national hierarchy of such amusements, but I can say that it really was quite good. There are 13 holes and each is themed around a film, a place or a theatrical activity. We met the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, some Wild West heroes and villains, Tutankhanum and the stars of Gerry Cottle's circus. We even met Elvis, appropriately enough in a Las Vegas casino by a roulette wheel. It was all very Yarmouth and while it would probably look rather shabby with the lights up, in the gloom it was actually lots of fun.

We played in four teams. The leaderboard was dominated by Team 1 (EACC's Moon Daisy, Evergreen and Mischief crew); Teams 2 (YSC's Morning Calm and EACC's Pilot) and 4 (YSC's Vixen, EACC's Come Along and friends) were fairly well matched, but Team 3 (EACC's Kingfisher and Sun Glory 2) was impossibly disadvantaged by my complete ineptitude and - to mix my sporting metaphors - was on a sticky wicket from the kick-off.

Afterwards some of us went to the newly refurbished Marina Centre for a warm up with a cup of tea while others, clearly needing something stronger, headed straight to the pub. The Marina Centre cafe was a great place from which to watch the sea mist roll in and progressively engulf first the tide line, then the beach and finally the esplanade as the dusk fell simultaneously, so it was all very atmospheric as we headed off to The Blackfriars PH.

The Blackfriars PH. What more is there to say? East Anglia CAMRA Regional Pub of the Year 2024 & 2025 and National Cider and Perry Pub of the Year 2025 means that the drinks are good and the commitment to honest, homemade food in sailor-sized portions means you won't go hungry. We didn't go hungry. Not even those who like a big portion.

Go to Great Yarmouth. Go to The Windmill Theatre and play crazy golf. Any score below 59 (excluding the Roulette Wheel) means you're not at the bottom of the leaderboard. Go to The Blackfriars PH and drink the beer brewed out back and eat pies from their 'Desperate Dan' pie machine. But whatever you do - don't walk past the The Windmill Theatre without more than a glance. It's a national treasure. In 1909, when CB Cochran owned it, he would stand outside shouting into a megaphone to entice people in. This was called 'barking' and the town's authorities banned it. It's still banned by a byelaw today, so leave your megaphone at home.

Cally