Showing posts with label Cwmbran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cwmbran. Show all posts

Monday, February 27, 2017

Petanque at the Parkway Hotel & Spa in Cwmbran, Wales

Blog about the Boules piste at the Parkway Hotel in Cwmbran.


Looking through our photo archive for my recent blog post about the old Petanque piste at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester I spotted a couple of snaps from one of our stays at the Parkway Hotel & Spa in Cwmbran, Wales and the 'Boules Pitch' they have there.

Petanque at the Parkway Hotel & Spa in Cwmbran, Wales
They play petanque differently in Wales!

Petanque at the Parkway Hotel & Spa in Cwmbran, Wales
The Boules Pitch at the Parkway Hotel in Cwmbran

Back in 2009 we competed in a Boules Invitational Tournament at The Mumbles in Swansea. The competition against our friends and minigolf rivals the Kukielka family took place prior to the first-ever Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) and during our BIG minigolf roadtrip around the Welsh coast.

Petanque at The Mumbles in Wale
Boules Invitational Tournament champion Seve 'Steve' Kukielka on his way to victory at The Mumbles

We've found quite a few petanque terrains and boules pistes on our travels and since we moved up to the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport last summer we've been members of the Woodstock Petanque Club in Edgeley.

Related blog posts:
- Petanque
- Boules
- Cwmbran
- Wales

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Archery in Cwmbran

Playing in a mini 'backyard' Archery contest in Cwmbran.

It has become a great tradition on visits to our friends, the Kukielka family, in Cwmbran, Wales that we compete against each other in a sporting contest of some sort.

Over the years we've played Crazy-, Mini- & Adventure Golf, as well as Petanque/BoulesFinger JoustingDarts and Table Tennis.

For 2014 it was to be Archery!

With a board set-up and a BBQ on the go I took the opportunity to get in some praccy as the last time (and one of the first times) I'd picked up a bow was while playing Archery Tag in Guildford in April last year.

Richard arching in Cwmbran
Richard arching in Cwmbran

A random draw was made to decide the playing order for the six archers. I was drawn to be first, followed by Seve, Cindy, Emily, Jas and Leo.

Having a quick search online to find the official rules of Archery and the points scoring system we opted for the 5 Zone ('GNAS') method where you score by colour - White equaling 1 point, Black 3, Blue 5, Red 7 and Gold 9.

Archery rules
In both the 5 Zone and 10 Zone ('World Archery') scoring methods an arrow that is touching a line separating zones (known as a 'line cutter'), scores the value of the higher scoring zone

It was originally planned for each player to have ten arrows, but with two arrows getting lost over the fence during practice and the light fading it was decided to have eight each rather than breaking up play by retrieving already fired arrows from the target.

The very model of an Archer - Jas Kukielka
The very model of an Archer - Jas Kukielka

I managed to score a 7 with my first arrow before missing the target with my next two shots, but then hit two 5's in a row and a 1 and a 7 to finish for a total score of 25.

A high score, but not a lot of grouping going on!
A highish score, but not a lot of grouping going on!

Next up was Seve - victor in the 2009 Boules tournament and 2011 Table Tennis contest - who scored a 1, 3 and 3 for a total of 7.

Seve was not the 'Best in the World' at Archery
Seve was not the 'Best in the World' at Archery

Cindy was next up and scored an impressive 11 points and landed every arrow at least somewhere on the board, even if they didn't all score.

Not an arrow on the ground when Cindy's around
Not an arrow on the ground when Cindy's around

Emily was fourth to fire and the less said about her go the better as she scored 0.

No caption required
No caption required

Jas was the penultimate player to step up to the mark, but apart from a purple patch in the middle of his go, scored a lot of misses to finish on 15 points. Still good enough for second-place.

Silver medalist Jas
Silver medalist Jas

The last great hope to topple me and surpas the clubhouse lead was Leo - 2010 Darts Champion - but it was not to be, as he managed to score 1 point. Much to the chagrin of Emily who was hoping for some sort of repechage play-off for last-place.

Receiving the coveted Gold medal from Jas
Receiving the coveted Gold medal from Jas

To win by such a big margin I must of been channeling the spirit of San Marino's top Archer - Emanuele Guidi - who I met at the London 2012 Olympic Games!

A great fun evening with a BBQ and some great gluten free Fish & Chips from the Fairwater Fish Bar in Coed Eva too. If we had a garden I'd certainly think about getting some Archery gear.

Who knows what the next Kukielka-Gottfried sporting contest will be...

Related blog posts:
- Playing Archery Tag in Guildford
- Cwmbran

Link:
- Website of Archery GB - the governing body for the sport of archery in Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Saturday, February 09, 2013

Play Portaputt Crazy Golf at Cwmbran Shopping Centre

Portable Crazy Golf course to be set-up at Cwmbran Shopping Centre on Saturday 30th March.

Edited 25th March 2013

The team at Portaputt Crazy Golf will have their Crazy Golf course available to play for free at Cwmbran Shopping Centre on Saturday 30th March 2013.

The Miniature Golf layout will be at Gwent Square from 11am to 4pm.

The event had been due to take place on Saturday 30th March, however the unseasonably snowy weather put paid to that! Fingers crossed the weather is better this weekend!

The Portaputt Crazy Golf course is ideal for a range of events and activities and can be hired for use at corporate events, fund raisers, by schools, for wedding receptions, parties (for the young and old) and by pubs & hotels to name a few!

Portaputt Miniature Golf course, Cwmbran
The Portaputt Crazy Golf course at the World Alternative Games 2014

There will also be a special discount given for people making bookings for Minigolf parties after playing the course on the day!

Links: 

Related Blog Posts: 

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Crazy Golf sessions at Fairwater Leisure Centre with the Cwmbran Minigolf Club

"Crazy Family Fridays at Fairwater Leisure Centre in January!"

The team at Portaputt Crazy Golf are beginning the New Year with fun Crazy Golf sessions on Friday evenings starting from the 4th of January 2013.

Portaputt Mini Golf course, Cwmbran
The Portaputt Crazy Golf layout at the World Alternative Games 2014

The Portaputt Crazy Golf course will be set-up at Fairwater Leisure Centre from 7pm and players can play multiple rounds between 7 and 8pm. From 8pm there will be a weekly Crazy Golf Challenge competition in adult and junior categories, with prizes up for grabs! 

Portaputt has also started-up the Cwmbran Minigolf Club and players can become members of the latest Miniature Golf Club in the UK, and the first in Wales, when they attend the Crazy Golf fun nights. 

Check out the Portaputt Crazy Golf website for more information.

Links:

Related Blog Posts:

Monday, November 19, 2012

Portaputt Crazy Golf in Cwmbran, Wales

New portable Miniature Golf course business launched in Cwmbran, Wales.

My friends, fellow British Minigolf Association Tour rivals and teammates in the Midlands Minigolf Club – the Kukielka family – have launched a brand new Minigolf business called Portaputt Crazy Golf supplying a 9-hole Crazy Golf course layout available to hire for events.

Portaputt Crazy Golf course, Cwmbran
The Portaputt Crazy Golf course at the World Alternative Games 2014

I’m looking forward to giving the course a play and checking out the obstacles they’ve created for it.
Portaputt Crazy Golf has a great logo – check it out here – featuring a 9-hole Minigolf course in the lettering of “Portaputt”. Brilliant.

Portaputt Crazy Golf offers the course and staffing for hire at fetes and festivals, community events, children’s parties, weddings, fundraisers, school events, pubs & hotels and corporate events. For more information, testimonials and to get in touch with them please visit Portaputt.co.uk

Related blog posts:
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list of courses visited and played
Wales
Minigolf etc. - English to Welsh translations
- Portaputt

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Becoming a World Champion in Egg Throwing!

Jas Kukielka and I won the World Egg Throwing Championships at the World Alternative Games 2012!


On Friday 24th August I competed in the World Alternative Games 2012. The festival of sport is taking place in Britain’s Smallest Town – Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales – and there are over 50 different weird and wacky, odd and obscure sports taking place during the two weeks between the 17th August and the 2nd September. I was in town to run the first-ever Finger Jousting Championship on UK soil and ended up winning the World Egg Throwing Championships alongside my teammate Jas Kukielka!

Throwing an egg to Jas Kukielka

On the Friday morning we were at the Ysgol Dolafon in the town watching the action from the World Alternative Games Egg Throwing Championships and decided to give it a go. The best ‘throw and catch’ of an egg had been measured at 20 metres and that had been by the first pair! None of the other groups had got close to the mark.

Egg Throwing can be a messy sport!

The sport involves one player as the Egg Thrower and one as the Egg Catcher. Each pair chose two raw eggs and throw/toss/lob the egg to their partner. The Thrower always remains at one end, with the Catcher moving further back after each successful catch.

The World Alternative Games Egg Throwing tournament was a truly international affair with 19 teams taking part with players from Wales, England, France, the Republic of Ireland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands competing!

First of all Jas teamed with his son Seve Kukielka for their attempts. The pair were certainly strong contenders and until the first egg smashed onto Seve’s head after he took a tumble over a traffic cone that marked out the perimeter of the playing area. The next egg throws took the team to the 20 metre mark, but they were unable to break the record and just ended with a broken egg to see them tie for the lead.

The World Championship winning egg!

Next up Jas and I teamed up, this time Jas was the Catcher, with me as the Thrower. Fuelled by a great Gluten Free breakfast from the Bryncelyn Guesthouse and the Nakd bars provided by one of the World Alternative Games sponsors I stepped up to make my first throw. It was successful and Jas and I were underway! Drawing on my years of Dodgeball throwing experience, along with my ‘skills’ in Bun Throwing & Christmas Tree Throwing (!) we managed to reach the 15 metre mark with no trouble before our first breakage. With the crowd egging us on, we too reached the 20 metre mark before our second egg cracked.

Seve Kukielka takes a tumble and ends up with egg on his head

We had to wait until the other teams in the competition had finished their throws to see if there would be a play-off, and as no other pair managed to break the 20 metre barrier there would indeed be a three-way one-egg-a-pair chuck-off! To decide who played first the referee administered a coin toss, which Jas and Seve’s team won. Me and Jas’ team were second so the other pair of players were ‘put in to bat first’.

"Spot the Egg" - throwing to Jas in the play-off for the Gold Medal!

They stepped-up and ended up with egg on their face as the egg they had picked broke on impact with the catcher. Jas and I were successful in our attempt, as was the Jas and Seve team, so we were sure of a Gold or Silver medal (with Jas guaranteed one of each!). The team of Jas and Seve were unlucky in their next attempt as the egg broke, which meant that all Jas needed to do was catch the egg I threw and we were the Gold Medallists and World Champions. We were successful and the crowd went wild!!!

Seve attempts a catch from Jas

After we’d been presented our medals (Jas being laden with his Gold, Silver and two Corinthian Medals!) we were congratulated by the other players and got straight to texting our friends and families about the news. We received loads of congratulations messages and some cracking eggy puns in the replies. Our Midlands Minigolf Club teammate Jam Trubridge asked if Royal Mail would be painting a Postbox Gold in honour of our World Championship victory? 

The Gold Medal winning team and the Silver Medallists - from l-r Jas 'Jasain Bolt' Kukielka, Richard Gottfried (with Egg), Seve Kukielka

Back in 2006 when I started blogging about different sports and games I never realised that six years later I’d be a World Champ! With the title of my blog ‘The Ham & Egger Files’ the suggestion was made that a ‘Ham Throwing’ World Championship needs to be created too! Would it be packet, or sliced ham that would be used though? Or on the bone!

Llanwrtyd Wells is renowned for its long history of crazy and alternative games!

The Egg Throwing and our two days in Llanwrtyd were great fun. The town really is the world’s capital city for alternative sports and games. I’m really looking forward to the 2014 World Alternative Games and the defence of our World Egg Throwing Title!

Llanwrtyd Wells was a great place to visit, with some great pubs, including the Stonecroft Inn, and a very nice restaurant at the Lasswade Country House. We also spent some time in the bar at the Neuadd Arms Hotel and found out it was the headquarters of the Monster Raving Loony Party!

Photos from the visit to the World Alternative Games 2012.

The World Alternative Games shop!

Llanwrtyd is pronounced "Lanurted" - I still struggled to say it

Me and Jas at the Neuadd Arms Hotel - Headquarters of the Monster Raving Loony Party!

The World Alternative Games has a Sosban of spring water running through the town and the fountain on the square will flow with water for the duration of the two weeks whilst the Games are being held


The sign above the bar at the Neuadd Arms Hotel

The World Alternative Games will take place during from 17th August to 2nd September 2012. At a time when the world’s eyes are on Britain and the sporting world, the World Alternative Games will capture the public’s imagination and the media spotlight to promote unrecognized sports and their participants. These unsung ambassadors of sport will have a world stage on which to showcase their talents and an opportunity to prove their dedication to these truly alternative sports. This World Alternative Games will promote a ‘Corinthian Spirit’ where taking part is more important than winning and where self achievement is recognised and applauded. For further information about the World Alternative Games 2012 please visit the event website.

Links:

Related Blog Posts:

Friday, July 22, 2011

Cwmbran Table Tennis Classic 2011

The traditional curtain-raiser ahead of the Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) is a side-tournament in A.N. Other Sport or Game. Last year we played a Darts tournament, and in 2009 we played Boules.

However, this year the side-event took place after the main-event at the 2011 Cwmbran Table Tennis Classic.

Cwmbran Table Tennis Classic

In the final match Seve Kukielka defeated (destroyed) me, 21-3 in a not close at all Final. In doing so Seve became a two-time Side-Tournament Champion, having won the 2009 Boules Tournament in Swansea (Abertawe), where he also beat me in the final.

Cwmbran Table Tennis Classic

Jas beat Cindy in the third/fourth place play-off match.

Cwmbran Table Tennis Classic

The tournament saw each of the six players drawn into two groups, with each player playing each other once, with the winner from Group A taking on Group B's runner-up and vice versa.

The group matches were played to 11 points, with the semi-finals and final played to 21.

Cwmbran Table Tennis Classic

In Group A:
Richard lost to Cindy 11-8
Cindy beat Emily 11-6
Emily lost to Richard 11-5

Group A Winner - Cindy
Group A Runner-up - Richard

In Group B:
Seve lost to Jas 11-4
Jas beat Leo 13-11
Leo lost to Seve 11-6

Group B Winner - Jas
Group B Runner-up - Seve

Cwmbran Table Tennis Classic

Semi-Finals
Cindy lost to Seve 21-14
Jas lost to Richard 21-18

3rd/4th Play-Off
Jas beat Cindy 11-6

Final
Seve beat Richard 21-3

Photo: A shell-shocked Richard attempts to score a point against the merciless Seve
A shell-shocked Richard attempts to score a point against the merciless Seve

Photo: Seve receives the Cwmbran Table Tennis Classic Tournament Trophy from Emily
Seve receives the Cwmbran Table Tennis Classic Tournament Trophy from Emily

The 2012 Side-Tournament Sport or Game is undecided, suggestions welcome?

Cwmbran Darts Classic 2010

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Gluten Free Fish & Chips at the Fairwater Fish & Chip Bar, Fairwater (Coed Eva), Cwmbran, Wales

On Saturday 21st August 2010 we visited the Fairwater Fish & Chip Bar in Fairwater (Coed Eva), Cwmbran, Wales as we'd heard they sold Gluten Free Fish & Chips.

And they did!

Gluten free fish and chips at the Fairwater Fish & Chip Bar in Cwmbran
They also sell a wide-range of Gluten Free Fish & Chip shop classics that are safe for Coeliacs to eat - including Battered Sausages, an absolute rarity!

Highly recommended, very knowledgeable staff and very tasty Gluten Free food!

Contact details for the Fairwater Fish & Chip Bar:
15 Fairwater Square
Fairwater, Cwmbran, Gwent NP44 4TA
01633 485 262