Weird and wonderful Britain
From roller disco nightclubs to a pint of beer with your own face on the top, our reporters seek out the weird and wonderful attractions or our cities.
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00:00 [Music]
00:06 Great Britain, a country whose culture is a vibrant tapestry of tradition and eccentricity.
00:12 From the quintessential afternoon tea and love for cricket, to the peculiar sport of cheese rolling,
00:19 Brits embrace a unique blend of refinement and quirkiness. The monarchy, with its pomp and
00:26 ceremony, coexists with a passion for music festivals like Glastonbury and the last night
00:31 of the proms, and a fondness for dry humour seen in iconic tv shows. The diverse landscapes and
00:38 historical landmarks contribute to a rich cultural heritage that is both steeped in tradition and
00:44 open to innovation. And it's innovation we're here for, as we take a whistle-stop tour of the country
00:51 with our reporters, whose only mission is to delve into the odd and slightly peculiar that we love so
00:57 much. Coming up, we'll be stepping up to the occy in a darts themed bar. We'll be trying a pint with
01:04 our own face on it, and disappearing down a rabbit hole of flashing lights, images and optical illusions.
01:11 But first, our intrepid reporter Richard Gullick is about to try his hand at roller disco in Birmingham.
01:17 I bet he falls over. So here at Roller Jam, we're a nightclub on roller skates. Our unique selling
01:23 point is we have something to offer for everybody, whether you're a beginner or an experienced skater.
01:28 Roller Jam is situated in Digbeth, considered to be the creative corner, and is home to many
01:35 eclectic venues. A popular spot for many rolling revellers across Birmingham, Roller Jam is a
01:42 relative newcomer to the scene. So Roller Jam was only 18 months old. It's quite a new thing,
01:49 but it was something that the directors came up with and thought would be a unique selling point.
01:53 And it's something that they kind of like were interested in. We seem to be wanted. We seem to
01:58 be doing well. So I think because we're another nightclub, but we're a nightclub with a difference,
02:02 that seems to make us fit in quite well along here. I decided to get my skates on and have a go
02:09 myself under the tutelage of Zach, who exercised great patience in getting me on my feet.
02:15 Yeah, and what we're going to do, we're going to lean our body forward just a little bit.
02:19 Pull it, or zip first? Yeah, I mean, that'd be a good start, right? You might want the breeze.
02:23 And after a graceful start, I decided to get on the roller rink. And despite a fair bit of wobbling
02:32 and one or two falls to begin with, I managed to find some sense of equilibrium and try out a few
02:37 things. Definitely outside of my comfort zone, but with friendly people around me who didn't
02:43 put me under pressure, I think I did myself proud. So can you tell me how I did? I think you did very
02:52 well. How do you think you did? I think I did all right. Are you proud of yourself? I'm proud of
02:56 myself. I'm exhausted, but fun and exercise. I think I'll be coming back. You'll be coming back?
03:01 I will. I look forward to seeing you then. We'll get you doing pirouettes soon. Appreciate it.
03:04 Thank you. You're returning really well. Roller jam continues to grow in popularity,
03:11 and considering the response of those who attend, you can clearly see why.
03:15 Everybody seems to love it. They either find it like, oh my god, we haven't done this as well as
03:23 like 10 and around 40. Or you get them from, well, they've watched Stranger Things and they're always
03:28 just doing that, so they want to give it a try to our experienced skaters. We just see everyone seems
03:33 to come along and have a good time and enjoy the experience of the night when they're here.
03:37 I like Roller Jam because it brings together a really good wide world, what I say, to the
03:45 Midlands, the skate community. I absolutely love this place. So we started coming here last summer,
03:52 and the vibe is just like, it's incredible. Like you have people dancing, you have first-time
03:57 skaters, and no one judges anybody, and everyone helps each other. I'm absolutely terrible at
04:02 skating, and I never feel out of place or judged. It's just so much fun. See, I told you'd fall over.
04:08 Now then, if you've ever complained about a pint of Guinness not looking right, try this one. It's
04:13 got a head on it, quite literally. Scruffy Murphy's is offering something a little different in their
04:20 pint of the black stuff. Thanks to a fancy bit of kit, customers can have an image printed onto their
04:26 foam topped beverage. We actually got it delivered the day Klopp announced he was leaving. So it was
04:36 really popular that day. If you've ever fancied yourself so much that you think your face should
04:42 be on everything, take for example your pint. Well, all you have to do is scan this QR code.
04:53 Let's start and create your own. Now you don't actually have to use your own picture,
04:59 your own selfie. You can add something from your camera roll, maybe your dog, maybe your car,
05:05 maybe your mom, whoever'd like it. And that gets added in here. So I've just selected
05:12 a screenshot of me because, well, data protection. So now that I've done that, all I have to do is
05:21 show my number, which is very easy to remember right now, number one, to a member of staff after
05:28 your pint has been poured and you'll see the results. The selfie in foam is made with a
05:37 natural malt extract that's added to the top. The visage is drinkable and undetectable to the palette.
05:45 The gimmick's made possible by Ripple's technology, which uses 3D printer mechanics with inkjet
05:50 printing. It was something we wanted to do anyway and thought, well, you know, it's nice to give to
05:57 the customer if they want it free of charge. So, yeah, and it's really took off a lot on social
06:02 media as well. And people have seen it on social media and come in, buy a Guinness and they don't
06:08 even drink it, just put a picture on it. We asked if they've had any unusual requests since offering
06:15 the service. Basically bodily parts. We had one of our first customers, he was with his wife and he
06:25 said, can I send a picture? Yeah, of course. But he'd filtered it, give her a big nose, a big chin,
06:32 everything. And we would have said it because it was hilarious. She found it funny as well.
06:37 You don't have to drink alcohol to enjoy this, but if you do, please drink responsibly.
06:43 Now, all that's left for me to do is enjoy a pint of my own face. Cheers.
06:48 There goes Emily there, proving beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
06:55 Let's stay in the bar then for the next one and head to Manchester, where you still can't beat
07:00 a bit of Bully. Well done. I'm glad I got that on camera.
07:03 Manchester is home to many activity and gaming bars, which can be an excellent addition to a
07:10 night out, providing hours of friendly competition. Flight Club on King Street in the city centre is
07:16 the home of social darts and is a hub for friends, family, co-workers and more to gather for fun and
07:22 light competition. Manchester's large venue can hold up to 400 people who can take on their
07:27 opponents in up to six different darts games. We went down to check out this weird and wonderful
07:32 venue and have a go at some of the games ourselves. I've been here long enough and I still
07:38 can't get enough darts. So that's the main point to give our customers the best experience.
07:46 So from zero experience up to the professionals.
07:53 Okay, so this is try and hit one.
07:57 Oh no. Okay, great. Yeah.
08:05 That's fine. I got one though. Our mission is to bring groups of people together anywhere,
08:11 basically, and provide them the best time that they can have. All of them's got a how to play
08:20 video. Right. And we normally start with the basic if people never been to Flight Club or
08:24 they never really played darts because it's a really easy and classic one. So if you hit on
08:28 the how to play, it will give you like roughly like 30 seconds just go through what you need to
08:34 do on the actual game. So people they looking for more when they plan their night out. They
08:42 considered they more considered what to spend when it comes to their night out. And technically,
08:48 the classic game of darts, it was really imagined for 21st century, we give a pop vibe, but it's
08:57 still dated to a high end and high energy and fun place in a as you can as you can see a very unique
09:05 setting. And we are passionate about giving customers the best time possible.
09:10 Look what you could have won. Now finally, some escapism as we prepare to enter a portal
09:20 into another world out of the world in Bristol. Oh, hello. I think I've just arrived at the
09:31 Altaverse and Wake the Tiger. So I guess let's go and explore. One thing Bristol has plenty of
09:38 is weird and wonderful things to visit. And today I am here Wake the Tiger as they have recently
09:45 reopened their expanded immersive amazement park. The new West out of this world immersive addition
09:52 to the world's first amazement park has 15 new spaces and 1000 square feet added to another
09:59 floor. Wake the Tiger has been open for just over 18 months now. And it was a brand new visitor
10:06 experience in the world's first amazement park that came to Bristol in July 2022. And we had
10:12 an amazing first year and a half we had over 300,000 people come through the door. And we've
10:18 now just doubled in size and opened the second part of the experience called the Altaverse. And
10:24 that's been open for just three weeks now, but it's been pretty much sold out. It's been great.
10:29 One of the most exciting things about the new expansion is there's so many hidden gems to find.
10:35 So there's a button here. I don't actually know what it's going to do. I'm going to give a press
10:39 and see. Altaverse is a soul searching, mind bending, limit pushing voyage into the absurd
10:50 dimensions beyond imagination. And where your adventure is not just a destination, it's a state
10:56 of mind. I think one of the most exciting things about this new expansion is that it's entirely
11:02 designed by local artists in the city. So there was a massive team of them who came in and painted
11:10 from all the way to the ceiling to down at the floor. And if you look everywhere,
11:14 there's something to look at. So we were building it for just over a year,
11:19 including the sort of design and development process. It starts with a small group of us.
11:24 We call it our creative council, come up with the concept and sort of develop through briefs
11:29 and ideas and the customer journey. Uh oh. Uh oh, I'm scared. I'm scared. Oh no.
11:38 That was quick. Only time will tell how the people of Bristol get on with their weird
11:46 and wonderful tourist attraction.
11:49 [Music]