It's Minigolf Monday - Putt at home!

Happy Minigolf Monday.

Putt at home!

Keeping minigolf rolling

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic the minigolf and wider competitive socialising sectors were booming. Something we're very keen to continue once the world gets back to a semblance of normality.

Playing Mini Golf at Lane7 in Newcastle

In the meantime if you have any minigolf course news, ideas, suggestions or information, or if you would like to guest blog on the Ham & Egger Files please do get in touch.

Emily playing Jungle Safari Adventure Golf at Ravenmeadow Golf Centre in Worcester

We have created a Big Mini Golf Bucket List with fun ideas and things to do over the coming days, weeks and months.

We also run the Crazy Golf Museum and are keen to continue gathering items and stories from the world of miniature golf.

We've been playing minigolf seriously for 14 years and grew up playing the game on holidays and day trips around the UK.

On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour travels we've been to a total of 948 courses since September 2006.

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With twenty years of marketing and sales experience each we offer consultancy services to people and businesses looking to set-up courses, review their operations, hole designs, contests, tournaments and more. Do get in touch for a chat to see how we can help and work together.

Putting in Prestatyn

Happy Birthday Hastings Crazy Golf

The 18-hole Crazy Golf course at Hastings Adventure Golf in East Sussex is 45 years old today, having opened on Saturday 21st March 1975.

It's one of the very best examples of an Arnold Palmer Putting Course.

Hole 7 of the course on our last visit in 2015

We're looking forward to playing there again in the future.

Check out the Hastings Adventure Golf website for more information.

The course was the 39th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in October 2007.

A postally unused Hastings Mini Golf postcard C6911 by Judges Limited Hastings. The player is on hole 12 

My brother Christopher found this Free Game Pass for the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Hastings while looking through our old family photo albums. One of us must have won it on a holiday there in the 80's or 90's!

Related blog posts:
- Hastings
- Crazy Golf in Hastings
- A postcard of Hastings Mini Golf
- Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the UK

The Big Mini Golf Bucket List

Ideas to while away the hours, days, weeks and months of lockdown.

In these unprecedented times there is a huge amount of change taking place in our daily lives. With the playing and watching of sports and games taking a big hit.

Just because your local minigolf course may be closed over the coming few months doesn't mean you can't keep up with your putting practice and have some crazy golf fun.

Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Emily and I were closing in on visiting the final 40 courses of the original 600 we set out to play in 2006. We're also very close to hitting 1,000 course visits overall.

This time last year we were putting the finishing touches to the Summer Minigolf Checklist.

As we're practicing safe social distancing we won't be heading out to a minigolf course until given the all clear to do so, but in the meantime we've put together a minigolf bucket list with ideas and suggestions of things to do in the world of miniature golf.

The Big Mini Golf Bucket List

1. Create a minigolf hole at home
2. Go even further and build an entire crazy golf layout in your home or garden
3. Play a minigolf videogame
4. Send a minigolf postcard to someone you know
5. Write a guest blog post for the Ham & Egger Files
6. Post about minigolf on social media and use the hashtags #minigolf #minigolfmonday #puttathome and #minigolfbucketlist
7. Recommend a course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
8. Play an online minigolf game
9. Visit Minigolfnews.com
10. Read a book about minigolf
11. Watch and share a minigolf video online
12. Download a minigolf app ready for when you can hit a course again

If you have any ideas of your own to add to the bucket list please do let us know.

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Once the world is back open for business we're looking forward to getting out and replaying some of our favourite courses, playing at the last of the courses on our original 'to visit' list and visiting new courses.

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We've been playing minigolf seriously for 14 years and grew up playing the game on holidays and trips to the seaside around the UK.

With twenty years of marketing and sales experience each we also offer consultancy services to people and businesses looking to set-up courses, review their operations, hole designs, tournaments and more. Do get in touch for a chat to see how we can help and work together.

Crazy Golf Museum - the virtual collection

If you own, operate or manage a minigolf course we'd love to share information about your venue.

With an ever-growing collection of minigolf items, ephemera and memories the Crazy Golf Museum reaches a worldwide audience through its website, blogs and social media.

The collection will eventually be housed in a bricks and mortar museum and exhibition space. Since July 2010 the online museum has been the premier space for sharing the history of the game.

We're also keen to share information about online contests and courses in the here and now, as well as future tournaments and events. What is current today soon ebbs into history.

Dodgeball with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club in Stockport

In my last Tuesday night session with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club I played 5, won 4 and lost 1 in games.

We also played a lot of fast-paced METEOR BALL games. That was superb FUN as you're constantly moving, dodging, ducking, dipping, diving and dodging. If you're hit or get caught out you run to the back wall and then re-enter the game.

I'm looking forward to returning to dodgeball action once the coronavirus pandemic is over.

What retro wrestling t-shirt shall I wear for my next dodgeball outing?

My 2020 record stands at 18 games played, 9 wins, 9 losses.

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My all-time Dodgeball Win-Loss Record stands at:

• 2005-2020: Played 987, Won 451, Lost 492, Tied 44.

By year:

• 2005-2013: Played 959, Won 437, Lost 478, Tied 44.
• 2014-2018: Inactive.
• 2019: Played 10, Won 5, Lost 5, Tied 0.
• 2020: Played 18, Won 9, Lost 9, Tied 0.

Related blog posts:

• Dodgeball
• Dodgeball - getting back in the game

Links:

• Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club
• British Dodgeball

Famous retro vehicles from the 80s

I've seen a few different vehicles from the 80s on my travels including an Ecto-1 and Ecto-1a from Ghostbusters, a DMC DeLorean, a Star Wars Speeder Bike from Return of the Jedi, and most recently a Back to the Future DeLorean.

Ecto-1a and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in Urmston, Greater Manchester last Halloween

With a Back to the Future DeLorean in Salford, Greater Manchester

Next on my bucket list is KITT from Knight Rider and a legit A-Team van. I've seen quite a few bootlegs already.

The best A-Team van I've seen to date

The North Bay Crazy Golf course in Scarborough

A look at the North Bay Mini Golf course in Scarborough.

Last June we visited our 900th minigolf course when we played at the North Bay Crazy Golf in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

The 12-hole course was the 861st course we'd been to in the British Isles and the 520th course played at that point.

It was a brilliant and fun layout and well worth playing when you next get the chance.

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Minigolf in the North Bay since 1925

Interestingly The Scarborough News has published a number of photos showing forgotten views of Scarborough. One of those (number 20) shows a miniature golf course at North Bay in 1925.

The course is in the exact same spot as the current Crazy Golf course.

While the buildings opposite the course have changed, the steps and pathway remain the same as in 1925

It's wonderful to think that minigolf has been played on the same location for almost 100 years.

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While we were in Scarborough I also played the Holbeck Putting Green. That course has also been open since 1925.

The two miniature golf putting courses were among the first to open in the UK. England's first artificial Crazy Golf course opened in Skegness, Lincolnshire in 1926.

Check out my blog post about the miniature golf courses in Scarborough. There are quite a few in the seaside town.

The Lost Valley Adventure Golf course in Bolton

A visit to The Lost Valley Adventure Golf course in Bolton's Market Place shopping centre.

We swung by The Lost Valley Adventure Golf course at Amazonia in Bolton's Market Place shopping centre on Saturday afternoon.

I played the 18-hole indoor course back in December 2016. Time flies!

The course was built by the team at HM Adventure Golf.

It's a nice layout and I really liked the attention to detail with the themed pathway on the course.

Visit the Amazonia website for more information, opening times and prices.

Take a look at my blog posts about miniature golf courses in Greater Manchester and the growth of shopping centre minigolf.

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cleethorpes

A look at the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire.

The 18-hole Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cleethorpes

I've played a lot of minigolf courses on my travels and my favourite type is the classic Arnold Palmer Putting Course.

There aren't too many examples left in the UK, but the majority of those still out there are in very playable condition. They are superb fun and a real test of putting skill.

I highly recommend giving them a play the next chance you get to have a game of miniature golf.

One of my all-time favourite courses is the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. I played it a lot on our trip to the seaside resort in 2018.

Holes 1-9

Holes 10-18

You can read more about Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in my blog post about them at 'Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the UK'.

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With over twenty years of marketing and sales experience each we offer consultancy services to people and businesses looking to set-up miniature golf courses, review their operations, hole designs, contests, tournaments and more. Do get in touch for a chat to see how we can help and work together.

A Back to the Future DeLorean in Salford

Seeing a Back to the Future DeLorean in Salford.

Last summer I ticked 'See a real life DeLorean' off of my bucket list.

On Friday I managed to see another one at MediaCityUK in Salford and that one was a Back to the Future version!

I still need to drive one...

What time would you go to?

Check out the Back to the Future car's website for more information.

Fried Round Gluten - my kryptonite!

Spotting a new glutenous product to avoid.

As someone with the autoimmune condition Coeliac Disease I MUST avoid gluten at all costs.

While at Bolton Market on Saturday Emily spotted a bag of my kryptonite!

I wonder what Fried Round Gluten tastes like? I'll never know

I've also seen Fried Gluten in a can and Roasted Gluten before.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats. For people with Coeliac Disease gluten is a very dangerous substance that causes all manner of health problems. Check out the Coeliac UK website for more information.

Playing Junkyard Golf in Manchester

A visit to Junkyard Golf at First Street in Manchester.

On Monday I revisited Junkyard Golf on First Street in Manchester city centre for a game with James and Mark from UrbanCrazy.

We played the 'Pablo' crazy golf course.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 9

The other two 9-hole indoor minigolf courses are 'Gary' and 'Bozo'.

Visit the Junkyard Golf website for more information, opening times and prices.

As well as the Manchester site you can find Junkyard Golf courses in London, Leeds, Oxford and Liverpool. There is also a new course opening Newcastle upon Tyne later this year.

The three Junkyard Golf courses in Manchester were the 765th, 766th and 767th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back when the First Street venue opened in 2017.

We've now been to 948 courses since September 2006.

New Crazy Golf course in Dundee

A new Crazy Golf course is planned to open in Dundee.

A new indoor Crazy Golf course is hoped to open as part of a new adventure play centre. The venue will also have tenpin bowling lanes.

The site is a former Toys 'R' Us superstore on Kingsway West Retail Park in Dundee.

The family entertainment centre would be built by House of Play.

The proposal is another example of the popularity of using former retail spaces for retailtainment options giving a people to visit, revisit and stay in a shopping area.

It's also another example of a venue combining crazy golf and tenpin bowling in its offer.

Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness

Spotting an old Kwik Save shop in Barrow.

On our travels it's always interesting to spot ghost signs and dead brands. We've seen quite a few different remnants of retail from years gone by, including Tandy in Hitchen, RadioShack in Lytham Saint Annes, Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent and Blockbuster Video in Manchester.

While on a trip to Barrow-in-Furness last year we saw the remains of the old Kwik Save there.

The former Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness

The company went into administration in 2007. The brand does live on, albeit in a much smaller form, and is now owned by Costcutter.

Definitely not 'Now Open'

The changing face of the high street and retail marketing has seen a number of former shop premises turned into family entertainment centres and competitive socialising venues including crazy golf, tenpin bowling, axe throwing, retro arcade gaming, darts, ping pong and more.

Adventure Golf at Center Parcs Elveden Forest in Norfolk

A look at the Adventure Golf course at Center Parcs Elveden Forest in Thetford, Norfolk.

My brother Christopher, a founder member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and his family were recently on holiday at Center Parcs Elveden Forest in Norfolk and sent over these photos of the Adventure Golf course there.

The approach to the course on Treasure Island looks really good.

More photos of the course below.

A pirate lavvy?

Visit the Center Parcs Elveden Forest website for more information.

The last minigolf course Christopher visited was also in Norfolk.

The very first course we visited on our travels was the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course in Southsea.

The combined total of Crazy World of Minigolf Tour course visits is now at 973.

Related blog posts:
- Center Parcs
- Norfolk

Lunch at The Remedy Kitchen in Manchester

Guess who had lunch* out yesterday?

Marvellous steak and eggs at The Remedy Kitchen in Manchester

It was delicious.

* technically I should call it 'dinner' since I now live in the North West!

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Finding 100% gluten free food.

As someone with Coeliac Disease the challenge to find food that is not only safe, but healthy and tasty when out of the house is massive.

The Remedy Kitchen in Manchester city centre is superb as it's one of the very few 100% gluten free places that are safe for people with Coeliac Disease in the whole of the UK.

I highly recommend a visit.

Check out The Remedy Kitchen website for more information.

The Remedy Kitchen was previously called 3 Squared Cafe and rebranded last year. The name is different, but the approach to serving high quality food is the same.

We first heard about the restaurant last September.

The menu is 100% gluten and wheat free, as well as being diary free and refined sugar free.