Showing posts with label Ham and Egg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ham and Egg. Show all posts

Thursday, December 01, 2016

Scarface's shooting gallery in Blackpool

While visiting Blackpool in October we spotted Scarface's shooting shack was still in the amusement arcade on the South Pier and had to give it a play. Just like in 2008.

Scarface's shooting gallery in Blackpool

We also spotted a new sign on the shooting gallery wall!

Scarface's shooting gallery in Blackpool
Glorified Ham n Eggs!

Related blog posts:
- Shooting Shack
- Amusement Arcades
- Blackpool

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Saturday, May 21, 2016

Ham and Egging in a Bridlington Amusement Arcade

What a prize!

As a big fan of the 2p falls machines in seaside amusement arcades AND a ham and egger what better things to find in a Bridlington penny falls than these pieces of tat!

Ham & Egger Key Rings - now there's an idea for merchandise...

Related blog posts:
- The Ham & Egger Files – An Introduction
- Amusement Arcades
- Tat Challenge

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems.

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Sunday, January 10, 2016

A postcard from Ham and Egg Parade in New Brighton

While on a recent day out in London we popped into one of the antique and collectibles shops on Cecil Court to shelter from the rain. Luckily there were a few old postcards to have a look through and the first one we found is a perfect addition to our collection.

The very prominent New Brighton Tower isn't there any more. After neglect during the First World War dismantling of the tower began in 1919.

The card was posted from a 'Harry' to a 'Nurse Drower' at the Woolwich Infirmary on July 19th 1906.

The message is still clear with Harry telling the Nurse that the area is "One of the most notorious places in the kingdom."

Consulting the excellent Postcardese book by Guy Atkins the stamp has been affixed with a secret message - the angle suggest the message is 'Forget me not'. The trend of secret messages via stamps reached its height in the Edwardian era

New Brighton's Ham and Egg Parade was 'famed' for serving Ham and Eggs to customers in its Tea Rooms. However, the area gained a very bad reputation for immoral 'goings-on' in these "Tea Rooms", and the situation got so bad that in 1907 the area was demolished and replaced by Victoria Gardens!

A ham and egger on Ham and Egg Parade

We visited New Brighton in March 2011. There weren't any immoral goings-on that we could see. There was an abandoned Crazy Golf course there though.

The old Crazy Golf course on King's Parade. Much like Ham and Egg Parade it no longer exists, having been replaced by a more salubrious new minigolf layout

We're looking forward to a return trip to New Brighton later this year. There's a pair of new Miniature Golf courses there that we're yet to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

It's brilliant how much social history and amusement you can get from an old postcard. You can find out more about Postcard Collecting in Picture Postcard Monthly magazine and the Picture Postcard Annual. Two publications which I contribute to and write for.

Related blog posts:
- Ham & Egg Parade in New Brighton!
- New Brighton
- Postcards
- The Ham & Egger Files – An Introduction

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow Richard and Emily on Twitter. You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Ham & Egg Parade in New Brighton!

On the 19th March 2011 we headed to New Brighton, Wirral, to check out the seaside resort and search out some of the town's Crazy & Mini Golf courses. We also found the remnants of the Pier, and perhaps most interestingly, ended up on "Ham and Egg Parade"!



My first-ever Blog post here at The Ham and Egger Files gave an introduction to what a Ham & Egger is! New Brighton's Ham and Egg parade was 'famed' for serving Ham and Eggs to customers in its Tea Rooms, however the area gained a bad reputation for immoral goings-on in these "Tea Rooms", and the situation got so bad that in 1907 the area was demolished and replaced by Victoria Gardens.



Thursday, December 21, 2006

The Ham & Egger Files – An Introduction

Adventures in obscure and minority sports!

This blog will follow my participation in many obscure and minority sports with the aim of having as much fun as possible with the modicum of sporting ability I have!

Ham and Eggs - A days work for a chicken. A body of work for the pig. Sign spotted at Sam's Diner No. 3 in Denver in 2009

What is a Ham & Egger?

The term "ham and egger" has connotations ranging from that of "ordinary person" to that of "loser". The origin of the term stems from prize fighters whose modest skills wouldn’t let them win large purses. Therefore, the fighter or their manager (who received a percentage of purses won) were never able to afford to eat better than ham & eggs (no steaks!).

Visiting one of the many many many closed courses on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. This was on South Parade in Skegness in 2011
Losing

In boxing, it is synonymous to "palookas" - those boxers who would never be contenders; they were just around to serve as opponents and sparring partners for contenders on their way up. They didn't get big prizes like the winners, just enough to pay for their meals - their "ham and eggs". In Professional Wrestling the terms most often used are "Jobber" and "Jabroni" and are applied to those professional wrestlers who frequently and deliberately loses matches (Jobbers are also known as 'preliminary wrestlers', 'local competitors', 'curtain jerkers', or 'enhancement talent' due to their usage to enhance the stature of their opponent).

Some people proudly call themselves a "ham and egger," using it to mean an "ordinary person" or "nobody special." Other people use it as an insult: "He'll never amount to anything. He's just a ham and egger."

Another term for Ham & Eggers is 'Journeyman'. A journeyman is an athlete or professional sports player who is technically competent, but unable to excel, and whom is thus not well-regarded by commentators.

A true journeyman is someone who has heard all the nay-sayers, then headed toward their goal and, through determination, proved their worth and taken their prize.

The journeyman can be quite valuable in the team sports context. While it is almost always economically non-viable for even the richest teams in sports without salary caps to have a roster made up fully of superstar players, and would likely not happen even with economic viability because of the lack of attention some players would end up getting, journeymen often make up a large part of a team. This is especially true in the context of baseball, where journeymen often make up large parts of a team's pitching staff and contribute crucially to a team's success. Many Journeymen can be highly experienced, and often play a "utility" role to cover for injuries or tactical changes as required.

Whatever the name may be, 'Ham & Eggers' are passionate about their sport and will always give their all to be the best they can be.

Richard Gottfried - winner of the Crazy Golf with Bompas & Parr Championship in 2012
Winning

Related blog posts:
- Sports and Games played to date
- Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Courses Visited List
- Behold...