Happy Birthday Pac-Man

Today is Pac-Man's 38th birthday!

Pac-Man was originally launched in Japan on the 22nd May 1980. His first appearance in the USA was on the 10th October.

The last place I saw Pac-Man was at Level in Preston while visiting the new Crazy Golf course there

I'm a big fan of Pac-Man and have seen him (and some of his clones) a fair bit on my travels.

'Pac-Man' on a shop sign in Preston

Check out all the other Pac-Man related blog posts on the Ham & Egger Files. I think Credit Cruncher in Bristol is my favourite bootleg Pac-Man shop sign.

Crazy Golf at Hall Lane in Upminster

A look back at the Crazy Golf course at Hall Lane in Upminster.

My mate and minigolf rival Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd recently sent me over these pics of the Crazy Golf at Hall Lane in Upminster, Essex from his archive. They were taken a couple of years ago and before the 2017 refurbishment of the course.

Check out what the Hall Lane Crazy Golf course looks like now on the Upminster & Cranham Residents' Association website. Very smart and clean.

The course was never open on my previous visits back in 2010 and 2012 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Miniature Railway in Ipswich

Taking a look at the track layout at Ipswich Model Engineering Society.

We recently found out there's a Miniature Railway in Ipswich. Emily grew up in the town and we visit often, but never knew about it!

Last Sunday we popped along for a look. It was marvellous.

The station, bridge and signage at Ipswich Miniature Railway - wonderful

Hopefully we'll be able to coincide a future visit to the town with one of the Ipswich Model Engineering Society open days.

We had a nice chat with one of the club members who told us about the history of the club and track layouts. Ipswich Model Engineering  

Check out the Ipswich Model Engineering Society website and Facebook group for more info.

You can find the Miniature Railway tucked away down this path off Foxhall Road

Related blog posts:
- Miniature Railways
- Ipswich

Munch Mart in Ipswich

We spotted what looked like Pac-Man on a shop sign while driving along Nacton Road in Ipswich last weekend! We had to stop to get a snap of it.

That's not Pac-Man!

Mini Golf at Sandown Park Golf Centre in Surrey

A look at the new Adventure Golf course at Sandown Park Golf Centre in Surrey.

Many thanks to my mate, minigolf rival and blogger Oliver 'The Machine' Florence for these snaps of the horse-themed Adventure Golf course at Sandown Park Golf Centre, taken during a round against Richard 'Michael Skaggs' Skeggs.

I've never seen a tee-off area like this before!

I'm looking forward to playing a round there on my Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

What a huge minigolf loop-di-loop

The minigolf course at Sandown Park Golf Centre looks like it'd be a nice spot to play the biannual Surrey Invitational Tournament on.

Happy National Miniature Golf Day!

Today is a prime time to play a game of minigolf as it's National Miniature Golf Day.

Have a great day!

We hope you have a superb time wherever you get to play the game.

Coeliac UK Awareness Week

Coeliac UK’s Awareness Week starts on Monday 14th May.

Coeliac Disease is a lifelong autoimmune condition, where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. In Coeliac Disease, the immune system mistakes substances found inside gluten as a threat to the body and attacks them. This can trigger a number of painful, stressful and uncomfortable symptoms.

Next month is my tenth year gluten free. Any suggestions for how I can celebrate my Coeliacversary?

My life as a Coeliac in LEGO form

Having suffered from a range of symptoms for around ten years I finally received a positive diagnosis of Coeliac Disease following some 'interesting' tests and procedures in 2008. It came as a relief to finally have a name for the mysterious cause of my illnesses and ailments, but at the time I was only given a brief summary and told that I'd have to "cut down on bread and beer". It was only later when I met with my Gastroenterologist and a dietitian that I found out that the only treatment for people with Coeliac Disease is a strict, life-long gluten free diet.

There's no sign of gluten in me

For more information about Coeliac Disease and Coeliac UK's Awareness Week visit the Coeliac UK website.

May is Celiac Awareness Month in the USA.

Minigolf in the Mosel Valley, Germany

A selection of minigolf photos from a cycling trip in the Mosel Valley, Germany.

Charter Member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Christopher Gottfried has just returned from a cycling trip in the Mosel Valley, Germany. While travelling along the route he managed to spot quite a few miniature golf courses.

He began his journey in Luxembourg where he found this Eternit Miniature Golf course on the Esplanade de la Moselle in Remich.

Minigolf in Remich

He followed that visit over the border in Germany when he went looking for the Minigolf course in Nittel.

A sign for the Minigolf course in Nittel

Next up was a stop in Zeltingen-Rachtig where he found this Beton / Concrete style of Minigolf course.

The Minigolf course in Zeltingen-Rachtig

The Hammer Cage lane - you have to pitch the ball from a tee, across the grass and onto a large concrete circular 'green. We've played this tricky hole in Finland and Sweden

In Traben-Trarbach he found this Eternit Miniature Golf layout.

The approach to the minigolf course in Traben-Trarbach

The Eternit miniature golf course in Traben-Trarbach

The minigolf course in Traben-Trarbach

While in Kobern-Gondorf he spotted an indoor Abenteuergolf course, as well as an Eternit Miniature Golf.

Christopher Gottfried outside an indoor Adventure Golf course in Kobern-Gondorf

The Eternit Miniature Golf course in Kobern-Gondorf

The last course he found on his mini-tour was in Bernkastel-Kues.

The minigolf course in Bernkastel-Kues

Check out the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list for details of the 815 courses Emily and I have visited, along with the 20 Christopher has been too as well.

Knowing my interest in petanque and trains Christopher also sent over these snaps from the trip.

A Boule-Platz in Traben-Trarbach

A freight train in Bernkastel-Kues

Bermuda Fun Golf

A look at Bermuda Fun Golf.

Many thanks to Adam Lueb for sending over these great photos from his visit to Bermuda. He was recently on holiday in the British Island territory and swung by one of the few miniature golf courses in the area, located as it is in the North Atlantic Ocean.

It's always brilliant to see snaps of different courses around the world. Hopefully one day we'll get to play the course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, but in the meantime we can check out the course and views in the pics.

These big green feet start by the main street off the dock and lead to the snorkel beach fun area

You can find Bermuda Fun Golf at the Royal Naval Dockyard, Sandys Parish, Bermuda. Check out the Bermuda Fun Golf website for more pics and info.

Many thanks again to Adam for the pics. Do give him a follow on Instagram.

Last year Adam was in New Hampshire and sent me a photo of the indoor miniature golf course at Funspot New Hampshire - the 'The Largest Arcade in the World'!

This Saturday is National Miniature Golf Day

National Miniature Golf Day is always on the second Saturday in May, this year it falls on Saturday 12th May.

We hope you have a brilliant time wherever you get to play the game.

For some inspiration, why not check out the list of 815 courses we've visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Now up to 815 minigolf course visits

We've just got back from a brilliant long weekend of minigolf fun in the sun.

Having ticked off another five minigolf courses in East Anglia we're now up to 815 visits on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. 777 of them have been in the UK.

It was nice to have a round on the Putting course at Southwold. I managed to shoot the low round of the week and qualify for the course's end of season tournament too! What a nice bonus

During the Bank Holiday weekend we played at Southwold Putting & Cafe on the Green and Jiggers Miniature Golf at Thorpeness Golf Club & Hotel.

Emily playing the new Jiggers Miniature Golf course in Thorpeness. It's a great 9-hole City Golf layout

We also visited the Crazy Golf course at Southwold Boating Lake, a Putting Green at Thorpeness Golf Club & Hotel and the new Pirate Adventure Golf course at Stonham Barns. The latter of which is still under construction and is replacing the Crazy Golf course we've played before.

More blog posts from our trip to follow soon...

In the meantime, check out the full list of courses we've visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Minigolf in Nittel, Germany

A look for the Minigolf course in Nittel, Germany.

Cheers go to my brother, and Charter Member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, Christopher Gottfried for sending along this photo of a sign for the Minigolf course in Nittel, Germany.

What a lot of signs

In typical Crazy World of Minigolf Tour fashion he went searching for the Minigolf and the Bürgerhaus, but couldn't find either.

Minigolf on the Esplanade de la Moselle in Remich, Luxembourg

A look at the Minigolf course on the Esplanade de la Moselle in Remich, Luxembourg.

Many thanks to my brother, and Charter Member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, Christopher Gottfried for sending along these great snaps of the Miniature Golf course on the Esplanade de la Moselle in Remich, Luxembourg!

Minigolf in Remich

The Miniature Golf course is of the 'Eternit' variety

What a view and what a venue - there's minigolf, boules and a miniature railway at Remich Minigolf!

What a brilliant sign

The net - one of the trickiest obstacles in minigolf

I wonder how many more minigolf courses Christopher will see on his bike ride through Europe?

Check out the Minigolf Remich course website for more info.

Adventure Golf at Topgolf Surrey

There's a new Adventure Golf course opening at Topgolf Surrey.

Topgolf Surrey in Addlestone is home to a brand new Adventure Golf course. The 14-hole minigolf course is opening on 11th May.

You can see a overview of the course in this video from Topgolf.



Prices are £6 for adults and £5 for under 16s. More information about the course is on the Topgolf Surrey website.

When we lived in Luton one of our closest minigolf courses was the Adventure Golf course at Topgolf Watford. That one was the 8th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We're now up to 810 courses!