National Bowling Day 2020

It's National Bowling Day!

Today is National Bowling Day.

The annual day to celebrate the game of tenpin bowling takes place on the second Saturday in August.

A tenpin bowling-themed hole at Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City, London

Tenpin bowling is an area of the indoor entertainment industry that has been hit by lockdown rules during the coronavirus pandemic with re-openings being pushed back in England.

We enjoy playing tenpin bowling, bowlingo and skittles and it'll be nice when we're able to safely play again in the future.

Glow-in-the-dark Bowlingo at Mr B's amusement arcade in Rhyl last year

Tenpin bowling and minigolf

With the boom in the popularity of minigolf and the growth in new courses, a number of tenpin bowling centres have added minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf courses.

Traditionally the two leisure activities have been quite separate and distinct, with people choosing to do either one or other and most operators running either a minigolf course or tenpin bowling alley.

We're fans of both games and we've been to quite a few places on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour that have both entertainment options.

Our 900th minigolf course visit in the British Isles was the Pirate Cove Adventure Golf course at the New York Thunderbowl tenpin bowling centre in Kettering, Northamptonshire.

Pirate Cove Adventure Golf at New York Thunderbowl in Kettering, December 2019

Playing Mini Golf next to the tenpin bowling alleys at Lane7 in Newcastle upon Tyne

You can see more in my blog post about Minigolf and tenpin bowling.

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Glow-in-the-dark Bowlingo at Mr B's amusement arcade in Rhyl

Playing Glow-in-the-dark Bowlingo at Mr B's amusement arcade in Rhyl.

Last month I had a fun day out in Rhyl and Prestatyn with my friend and minigolf rival Peter Jones. As it was out of season we didn't get to have a go on the miniature railway or play any of the Crazy Golf courses there. Luckily the amusement arcades were open so we were able to have a game of UV glow-in-the-dark black light Bowlingo at Mr B's amusement arcade!

The glow-in-the-dark artwork looked cool 

A day out in Rhyl and Prestatyn

Revisiting Rhyl and Prestatyn.

The seafront at Rhyl

Earlier this week I had a brilliant day out at the seaside with my friend and minigolf rival/team-mate Peter 'The Crazy Aced Assassin' Jones.

We had to revisit the Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn

The weather was wonderful for the time of year and we had a good time exploring the two seaside towns.

The Drift Park Crazy Golf course in Rhyl

The Drift Park Crazy Golf course in Rhyl

On the seafront in Prestatyn

The Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn

I've been to both Rhyl and Prestatyn a number of times since 2009 and we stay at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday camp for the On the Buses fan-club events. However, until my latest visit I hadn't been to Marine Lake - the location of Britain's oldest miniature railway!

Steam trains have been running at Marine Lake since 1911 

The station

The entrance to Marine Lake is also a crossing for the railway

The lake itself was being drained while we were there 

As it was out of season we didn't get to have a go on the miniature railway or play any of the Crazy Golf courses. Luckily the amusement arcades were open so we were able to have a game of Bowlingo.

Bowlingo at Mr B's Amusement Arcade in Rhyl

I'm already looking forward to my next day out at the Welsh seaside.

Related blog posts:
- Rhyl
- Prestatyn
- Crazy Golf
- Miniature Railways

Closed Minigolf courses in Great Yarmouth

Back in the early days of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, February 2007 to be precise, we visited Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth in the hope to play some of the many Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses there. Unfortunately, they were all closed!

On our return in June 2007 they were open!

We've since visited the courses in Great Yarmouth a number of times. Sometimes we've been lucky enough to play, other times we've had to play Bowlingo instead.

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Third Place Finish for The Ham & Eggers Tenpin Bowling Team at the Macmillan Annual Bowling Challenge

Third Place Finish for The Ham & Eggers Tenpin Bowling Team at the Macmillan Annual Bowling Challenge

The Ham & Eggers Tenpin Bowling Team finished with the bronze medal after attempting to defend their Macmillan Cancer Support Annual Bowling Challenge Title at Luton's Namco Station last night (17th November 2010).

The 2010 event saw a change in the format, with the teams now made up of six players, as opposed to four aside as in previous years. Ten teams competed for the prestigious Macmillan Tenpin Bowling Trophy and player medals.

The Ham & Eggers finished the tournament with a two round team score of 1303. The team consisted of Richard, Simon, Mike, Jim, Rob and Alan (Mark/Geoff).

Macmillan Annual Bowling Challenge Honours Board:
2010 - Andy's Team
2009 - The Ham & Eggers
2008 - The Flecney Four
2007 - Plumbs DIY
2006 - Plumbs DIY

Previous Ham & Eggers Team Rankings:
2010 - 3rd
2009 - 1st
2008 - 3rd
2007 - 6th
2006 - DNP




Report from the Ham & Eggers win in the 2009 Macmillan Bowling Challenge.

Blog posts about Ten Pin Bowling.

Blog posts about Bowlingo.

The Ham & Eggers Tenpin Bowling Team Defend Their Title Tonight!

The Ham & Eggers Tenpin Bowling Team will be defending their Macmillan Cancer Support Annual Bowling Challenge Title at Luton's Namco Station tonight.

The 2009 title was won by a team of four with a two game team score of 870.

The 2010 event had been scheduled to take place in April. The new date also sees a change in the format, with the teams now made up of six players.

Macmillan Annual Bowling Challenge Honours Board:
2009 - The Ham & Eggers
2008 - The Flecney Four
2007 - Plumbs DIY
2006 - Plumbs DIY

Previous Ham & Eggers Team Rankings:
2009 - 1st
2008 - 3rd
2007 - 6th
2006 - DNP

Report from the Ham & Eggers win in the 2009 Macmillan Bowling Challenge.

Blog posts about Ten Pin Bowling.

Blog posts about Bowlingo.

The Pirate Flyer - Laser game monorail at Coral Island in Blackpool

While competing in minigolf tournaments around the country, and visiting Mini and Crazy Golf courses on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, I do enjoy passing the time in Amusement Arcades playing games such as Hillbilly Shooting Shacks, Bowlingo, Arms Champs, the penny falls, and Crazy Air Squash.


However, of all these games the best 'Amusement Arcade Sport' I have found to date is The Pirate Flyer - a Laser game monorail ride at Coral Island in Blackpool!

It's great fun!

Link:
- Coral Island Amusement Arcade in Blackpool

Bowlingo in Towyn

It can never be resisted. A spot of Bowlingo is always a good challenge!

Bowlingo at Mumbles Pier

Following the 2009 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg we headed to Mumbles Pier for a game of our second favourite seaside resort sport - Bowlingo.





The pier and facilities are very good, although the wooden slats on the pier have some of the widest gaps of any pier I've visited!




Some parts of the pier were also under repair when we visited.

Ham & Eggers play in the F.U.N. Charity Tenpin Bowling Competition

On Wednesday 20th May the Ham & Eggers Tenpin Bowling Team played in the Families United Network F.U.N. Charity Tenpin Bowling Competition at Go Bowling in Dunstable.

Competing against 31 other teams, the Ham & Eggers were drawn against Carey's Team in the Matchplay rounds.

Over two games the team of Richard 'Bowlingo' Gottfried, Emily 'MVP' Gottfried, James 'The Great Sparedini' Cunliffe and Laura Woods scored 751, to beat Carey's Team by 33 points.

The overall tournament winners were the team from The Old Palace Lodge in Dunstable.

Pictured from l-r, Oxana 'Roxana' Nikandrova, Richard 'Bowlingo' Gottfried (Captain), Emily 'MVP' Gottfried, James 'The Great Sparedini' Cunliffe and Laura Woods.

For more information about Families United Network please visit - http://www.familiesunitednetwork.co.uk/home.html

Bowlingo at Sea Palling

Touring the Norfolk coastline we found the tiny seaside resort of Sea Palling. The Beach Road amusement arcade was home to a great Bowlingo alley.

Tenpin Bowling - the '$1million' Challenge

On Tuesday 7th April three members of the Ham & Eggers Bowling Team competed for the '$1million' Bowling Challenge prize at Namco Luton.

Playing six games (and a play-off) it was Mike 'Five Star' Wright who walked away with the '$1million' winnings after defeating Richard 'Bowlingo' Gottfried in the 7th game decider after both players had won three games apiece.

In the 7th game 'Five Star' scored a 111 while 'Bowlingo' was one-pin away on 110.



Earlier in the evening Richard had scored a new personal best on UK-soil, with a solid 158.

Emily 'EBA/MVP' Gottfried meanwhile had a bad night picking up no wins and a best score of 101 in the first game.

Next up for the Ham & Eggers Bowling Team is the Macmillan Annual Bowling Challenge 2009 later this month.

Bowlingo in Broadstairs

A hard fought contest which was won by Emily 103-97.