Blogiversary of the Ham and Egger Files

I've been blogging for 16 years today.

People often ask me how it is that a blog about minigolf has the name the 'Ham and Egger Files'? The answer is that it didn't initially start out life as a minigolf blog.

The first post

I published my first post about how I planned to participate in as many obscure and minority sports as I could and see what would happen with the sporting ability I have!

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 comes 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 and eggs.

Lots of blogs

Since that first post 16 years ago I have published more than 5,190 posts and received more than 2.3 million pageviews!

Admittedly a large number of the blog posts have been about minigolf.

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Our interest in minigolf and what would soon become our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour had actually begun on the 30th September 2006, but I didn't publish a post about the sport until the 29th January 2007 when I announced that I had joined the British Minigolf Association - a competition circuit I made my actual debut on in Southend-on-Sea on the 28th April 2007.

Since then we've visited 1,010 miniature golf courses. 965 of those have been in the British Isles, while 45 have been in overseas countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the USA.

Other sports & games are available

If you're wondering what happened to the quest to play lots of different sports, that has continued and I've participated in some very interesting events over the years!

A massive thank you goes out to everyone who has ever read one of my posts, commented, shared, or guest blogged on the site, it really is very much appreciated.

Fantasia Adventure Golf in Felixstowe

A revisit to Fantasia Adventure Golf in Felixstowe, Suffolk.

We revisited the 9-hole Fantasia Adventure Golf in Felixstowe, Suffolk on our recent return to East Anglia to visit family and friends.

It's one of our most visited courses and was originally the 7th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

There are plans to turn the site into residential properties - meaning that the course would be no more. A shame as it's always been fun to play.

The course opened in 1997/98 and was one of the first adventure golf layouts to open in the UK.

Hopefully this wasn't the last time we visited the course

The end of Blockbuster Video in the UK

The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK on this day in 2013.

Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.

In 2013 there were over 500 Blockbuster locations in the UK. Throughout that year the number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. On the 16th December 2013 all stores ceased operations.

It's amazing that there are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks nine years later.

If you're lucky, and know where to look, you might find a QuikDrop box hiding in plain sight

The first Blockbuster Video store had opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on the 19th October 1985.

The very last Blockbuster Video store in operation is in Bend, Oregon, USA.

We live near an abandoned Blockbuster Video store here in Manchester. It's always an eerie, interesting and nostalgic thing to drive past the old shop at Fallowfield Retail Park.

Blockbuster Video in Fallowfield, Manchester - soon to become a Lidl

The sign about the closure is still on the window there.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

Blockbuster certainly wasn't the first video rental shop brand, but it was at one time the market leader.

Our travels have taken us to a number of former Blockbuster stores:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

We've found a few other video shops along the way too:

• Video Express in Swansea
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films video in Ashton-under-Lyne

Other video shops we've been to include B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton and 20th Century Flicks in Bristol - and both were still trading!

Adventure Golf at High Lodge in Brandon, Suffolk

A visit to the Adventure Golf course at High Lodge in Brandon, Suffolk.

We recently visited the Adventure Golf course at High Lodge in Brandon, Thetford Forest, Suffolk.

The 18-hole woodland-themed outdoor adventure golf course at the forest centre was the 1,010th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Visit the Forestry England website for more information on the High Lodge site.

The course is from the team behind Dinton Adventure Golf in Wokingham, Wardown Adventure Golf in Luton, Lightwater Country Park in Surrey and Victoria Park Adventure Golf in Newbury.

Fantasia Adventure Golf in Felixstowe, Suffolk

A look at the Fantasia Adventure Golf course in Felixstowe, Suffolk.

Video Express in Swansea

Emily spotted the old Video Express video shop in Swansea on her recent trip to the city.

What a blockbuster find!

It's always interesting finding lost video shops and old retail signs on our travels.

There are still traces of other former video shops to be found on the streets of the UK. Most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores. But there are remnants of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky.

• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films video in Ashton-under-Lyne
  

Blockbuster Video stores we've visited to date:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Other video shops we've been to include B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton and 20th Century Flicks in Bristol - and both were still trading!

Who You Gonna Call?

This Ghostbuster?

Emily spotted this 'Ghostbusters' van on her recent trip to Swansea!

We've seen a few Ghostbusters vehicles on our travels, including Ecto-1a in Urmston, a Ghostbusters car in Scarborough, and Ecto-1 at The Light cinema in Stockport and at the Totally Stockport Comic Con.

Little Chef at Tot Hill

A look at the former Little Chef restaurant at Haughley Park Services in Stowmarket, Suffolk.

We drove past the old Little Chef on what was once the A14 while on a trip to Suffolk last week.

We used to pass by the roadside restaurant a fair bit on our visits to Ipswich back in the noughties, that was until the A14 at Haughley Park Services was bypassed in 2008.

This Little Chef restaurant soldiered on until it was closed in September 2012.

It's an interesting piece of roadside history.

We felt very nostalgic during the pandemic and spent time seeing what old brands from our childhood we could still find while out and about on our rather limited travels. We've been to quite a lot of Blockbuster Video stores, Happy Shopper shops, Toys R Us locations, Grainger Games shops, and Woolworths locations over the last couple of years!

Related blog posts:

• Little Chef

New Putt Putt Noodle Crazy Golf in Poole, Dorset

There are plans for a new indoor crazy golf venue to open at the Dolphin shopping centre in Poole, Dorset.

The plans come from the team at Putt Putt Noodle who have a three-course venue in Norwich.

Drift Park Crazy Golf in Rhyl, Wales

A revisit to the Drift Park Crazy Golf course in Rhyl, North Wales.

We took a look at the Crazy Golf course at Drift Park in Rhyl yesterday.

The course was the 145th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2009.

We last visited Rhyl in December last year.

Mini Golf at Clubhouse Meadowhall

A new indoor entertainment venue is opening at Meadowhall in Sheffield.

Clubhouse Meadowhall will be home to mini golf, tenpin bowling and more when it opens at the shopping centre.

Visit the Clubhouse website for more information.

It'll be another new place for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Mini Golf at the Palace Fun Centre in Rhyl, Wales

A revisit to the Palace Fun Centre Mini Golf course in Rhyl, North Wales.

We swung by the indoor Mini Golf course at the Palace Fun Centre in Rhyl on our day trip to the seaside resort yesterday.

We last visited the town in December last year.

I played the course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in June 2019.

Lost Shops - Grainger Games in Warrington

Spotting an old Grainger Games shop in Warrington.

We saw this former Grainger Games shop at the Golden Square shopping centre in Warrington, Cheshire today.

We've also seen former Grainger Games stores in Stretford, Salford, Hyde, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Bradford.

Interestingly some of them still had a few bits of stock inside!

The shop unit in Warrington will soon be home to Funky Figures. It's nice to see they've kept all of the former Grainger Games shelving inside to give it a nostalgic hit.

The company was founded in 1996 and ceased operations on the 28th March 2018.

As a brand with shops in the North of England and Scotland I only became a regular shopper at Grainger Games when I moved to Stockport in 2016. I picked up some nice old games for my SEGA Master System there.

New indoor Adventure Golf in Stourbridge

A new indoor Adventure Golf course could be opening in Stourbridge.

There are plans for a new indoor Adventure Golf course to be created at the industrial estate at Mill Race Lane in Stourbridge in the West Midlands.

It'll be a new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Adventure Golf at Shibden Park in Halifax

There are plans for a new Adventure Golf course at Shibden Park in Halifax.

A 12-hole woodland-themed Adventure Golf is planned to be created at Shibden Park in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

It'll be another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, but not a new location.

We've visited the Pitch & Putt course at Shibden Park, along with the incredibly unique 4-hole abandoned Crazy Golf course there!

Scrap Yard Golf at Worcester Bowl

A look at the indoor crazy golf course at Worcester Bowl.

A new course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Find out more about the Scrap Yard Golf course on the Worcester Bowl website.

Mulligans Crazy Golf in Worcester

A look at the new Mulligans Crazy Golf course in Worcester.

The location is home to two indoor crazy golf courses.

We've played a number of Mr Mulligans courses on our travels and the new Worcester course was swung by on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour recently.

Check out the Mr Mulligans website for more information.

Boom Battle Bar opening at Stevenage Leisure Park

A new Boom Battle Bar is opening at Stevenage Leisure Park in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

The venue will be home to crazy golf, axe throwing, shuffleboard and more. It's due to open in December.

Visit the Boom Battle Bar website for more information.

Golf Fang crazy golf opening in Cardiff

A new Golf Fang indoor crazy golf venue is opening in Cardiff, Wales in 2023.

Visit the Golf Fang website for more information.

Blockbuster on Netflix

There's a new Blockbuster Video comedy out on Netflix! Will you be watching it?

The new show is about the last (operating) Blockbuster Video store in the world. This is a sign we snapped at our old local (abandoned) Blockbuster Video store in Manchester

Check out my blog posts about Blockbuster.