Details of the 9-hole Mini Golf course at Scar Top in Barnard Castle, County Durham.
Last July we visited Barnard Castle in County Durham to launch the new Minigolf course in the redeveloped park at Scar Top.
The 2013 edition of Scar Top's Mini Golf course in Barnard Castle
The new Mini Golf course, designed and built by UrbanCrazy with 'A Journey Through Teesdale' theme, replaced an old Crazy Golf layout that had become tired.
Old and intriguing 'ghost signs' advertising long-gone shops, businesses, products and services.
My friend and fellow Minigolfer Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd (retired) has been telling me to have a look at the Ghost Signs U.K. Facebook page and the intriguing and interesting collection of advertising signs from long-gone shops.
As the Ghost Signs U.K. Twitter page says the aim of the project is "nothing to do with the paranormal but everything to do with social history."
After attending the Celia Time event back in February 2013 we spotted a great ghost sign of a very old and long out-of-business Dispensing Chemist shop on Cloudesley Road in north London.
Toilet Requisites! Photo by Emily of me and Brad next to the old Ghost Sign advertising on a wall on Cloudesley Road in London
John Mittler, a friend of mine and fellow Minigolfer in Finland, kindly let me know about a gluten free beer he found in a supermarket with a 70% discount! What a bargain.
The bottle of Riedenburger Gluten Frei beer - and the early stages of the BBQ. Photo by John Mittler
It's not a gluten free beer I'd heard of before!
He gave the 'Riedenburger Gluten Frei' beer a try, and while it wasn't too his taste he did enjoy the first sip! He commented that he was very glad he doesn't have to consume only gluten free beer.
I'm looking forward to giving the Riedenburger Gluten Frei beer a try.
The latest project from Bompas & Parr - The British Menu Archive.
Crazy Food Architects, Culinary Maestros and Jelly Mongers Extraordinaire Bompas & Parr have launched their latest project and it's going to be massive!
The team are calling on people around the UK to contribute to help them build a National Treasure in the form of the British Menu Archive.
No menu is too old, too new, too small, or two large to be included and Bompas & Parr want to see any menus that people have spotted to help paint a picture of the changing landscape of British food and drink over the decades. Contributions can be physical or in the form of photos.
The archive will be launches at Andaz Liverpool Street on the 28th of May 2014 and one of the features will be a feast consisting of a selection of courses from the submitted menus!
There is a great prize up for grabs, with the very best menu submitted winning a table for six at the launch event! Everyone else will be rewarded with eternal glory and immortality with all menus held in the archive for the nation.
The prizes - in addition to the MASSIVE minigolf trophy - I received for my June play-off win included two Bompas & Parr recipe books. One for Cocktails and one for Jelly! The cocktail book has a very good recipe for making your own pork crackling snacks.
As someone diagnosed with Coeliac Disease I find the labels you get on your gluten free prescriptions quite funny. Not only do they have instructions that you should eat the gluten free food "as directed by your doctor", but also that you should "Keep all medicines out of children's reach."
The Savoury Shorts from a prescription with the big guidelines sticker from the pharmacy
On a more serious note you can check out the guidelines for Coeliacs to receive gluten free food on prescription on the Coeliac UK website. The only treatment coeliacs currently have is to adhere to a STRICT gluten free diet - this can be very restrictive indeed - so it's great that some staple products are available on prescription. However, in the dozens of prescription orders I've ever done, I've only had one be correctly prescribed!?
Luckily I followed the doctors orders and didn't overdose by eating too much long-life bread, or too many crackers and pizza bases.
The World Minigolf Sport Federation has published a new promotional video from the WMF World Minigolf Championships. The video shows the passion, concentration, intensity and skill on display in an elite Minigolf sport event.
The World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) is the umbrella organisation of Minigolf sports association's worldwide and continental associations in Asia, Europe and America. Please visit the WMF website for more information about the sport of Minigolf.
The competition is being run by Worthing Borough Council for its #useitorloseit campaign to make Worthing even more attractive for local residents and visitors to the town.
Playing the game of Pit-Pat at Western Putting Miniature Golf in Littlehampton.
Back in March 2010 I visited the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria and while there I saw an intriguing game that was a hybrid of Miniature Golf and Billiards! That game was Pit-Pat.
The Hindernis Billard layout at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria (March 2010)
In April 2012 I managed to visit the UK's only known table*, at the Western Putting Minigolf in Littlehampton, West Sussex. Unfortunately my visit was a little late in the day, and out-of-season, so I didn't manage to play.
Western Putting (and Pit-Pat) in Littlehampton (April 2012)
That wasn't the case on our recent visit to the south coast as on Thursday 10th of April Emily and I made it to Western Putting on Banjo Road just before 4pm and were able to have a game of Pit-Pat, aka Crazy Snooker.
Cue and carry-case in hand and ready to play Pit-Pat
A view of the Pit-Pat course in Littlehampton
The game is a version of the 'Eternit' style of Miniature Golf, most often found in continental Europe, but played on tables and with cues rather than putters.
The obstacles are very similar to those found on Mini and Crazy Golf courses and the balls used are like specialist Minigolf-sport balls, rather than standard Golf, or low-bounce, balls.
Emily sets up the skittles on table 1!
And I knock them all down in one go
Emily lines-up a shot on hole 2
Hole / Table 2
Emily plays up a ramp obstacle
Western Putting on Banjo Road in Littlehampton is also home to a Swedish Felt type of Minigolf course and a grass Putting Green
Emily shoots the green ball over a little ramp and onto a bigger one
...and no different on Pit-Pat as it was my worst hole!
It's a real novelty to be able to play on a course/set-of tables like the Pit-Pat in Littlehampton. You are provided with a little carry case containing four different coloured Pit-Pat balls, with the table legs painted to correspond with the ball you should use for that particular table/hole/lane.
The specialist Pit-Pat balls in their little red carry-case
This is very handy to know as each of the balls has different properties, meaning that some are more bouncy, while others are harder and deader.
With our experience of playing tournament Minigolf in the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) and World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) since 2007 we were already thinking about how different shots could be played on different lanes by mixing the balls up a bit.
In our match-up on the crazy tables Emily and I drew on a score of 55 each. We can't wait for the rematch!
Videos from our visit:
Many of the Miniature Golf courses in Littlehampton are operated by Inspire Leisure. They also operate facilities in nearby Bognor Regis and all of those we've visited have been in great condition and had very friendly and helpful staff on duty.
.JPG "The 2013 edition of Scar Top's Mini Golf course in Barnard Castle")
.jpg "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 1 by John Moore")
.JPG "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 1")
.jpg "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 2 by John Moore")
.JPG "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 2")
.jpg "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 3 by John Moore")
.JPG "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 3")
.jpg "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 4 by John Moore")
.JPG "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 4")
.jpg "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 5 by John Moore")
.JPG "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 5")
.jpg "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 6 by John Moore")
.JPG "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 6")
.JPG "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 6")
.jpg "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 7 by John Moore")
.JPG "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 7")
.jpg "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 8 by John Moore")
.JPG "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 8")
.JPG "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 8")
.jpg "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 9 by John Moore")
.jpg "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 9 - The Green by John Moore")
.JPG "Barnard Castle Mini Golf Hole 9")
.jpg "Gluton Free menu at the Chicago Rib Shack in London (October 2010)")
.jpg "Gluton Free sausages at the Arcade Butchers in Hastings (October 2010)")
.JPG "With my winnings of a BIG minigolf trophy and two of the Bompas & Parr books for victory in the June Crazy Golf play-off at Selfridges London in 2012")
+-+Copy.JPG "Mini Crackers for a crackers minigolfer - The pharmacy guidelines and doctor's orders stuck on my prescribed packet of medicine (Glutafin Mini Crackers)")
+-+Copy.JPG "The Savoury Shorts on prescription with the big guidelines sticker from the pharmacy")
.JPG "The Hindernis Billard layout at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria (March 2010)")
.JPG "Western Putting (and Pit-Pat) in Littlehampton (April 2012)")
+Minigolf.JPG "Crazy Snooker cue and carry-case in hand and ready to play Pit-Pat")
+Minigolf.JPG "A view of the Pit-Pat course in Littlehampton")
+Minigolf.JPG "Emily sets up the skittles on table 1!")
+Minigolf.JPG "Emily lines-up a shot on hole 2")
+Minigolf.JPG "Hole / Table 2")
+Minigolf.JPG "Emily plays up a ramp obstacle")
+Minigolf.JPG "Western Putting on Banjo Road in Littlehampton is also home to a Swedish Felt type of Minigolf course and a grass Putting Green")
+Minigolf.JPG "Emily shoots the green ball over a little ramp and onto a bigger one")
+Minigolf.JPG "The Pipe hole - often my nemesis on Eternit Miniature Golf...")
+Minigolf.JPG "...and no different on Pit-Pat as it was my worst hole!")
+Minigolf.JPG "The specialist Pit-Pat balls in their little red carry-case")
+Minigolf.JPG "The green Pit-Pat ball is a bit of a dead ball")
+Minigolf.JPG "The bouncy yellow Pit-Pat ball")
+Minigolf.JPG "The slightly squidgy purple Pit-Pat ball")
+Minigolf.JPG "The Red one")