Benches in Scarborough

A look at some benches in Scarborough.

A bench at the Victoria Park Crazy Golf course in Scarborough

On our travels we see a lot of different things. Since being members of the Dull Men's Club and finding out about the Park Bench Appreciation Society from our friend Leland we can't help but see interesting benches everywhere we go!

A bench next to the tramway overlooking the South Bay in Scarborough

Here are a few of our recent finds from a trip to Scarborough.

A sculpture by Ray Lonsdale - Freddie Gilroy & the Belsen Stragglers in Scarborough

The story behind the sculpture 

The view from the big bench

A very long bench at Scarborough railway station

We were lucky enough to see a Saturday Special Service departing from Scarborough and heading to Ipswich

A closer look from the end of the bench

   

Benches under cover at Holbeck Putting at South Cliff Gardens in Scarborough

Benches looking out at the Holbeck Putting at South Cliff Gardens in Scarborough

Check out the related blog posts below and the Park Bench Appreciation Society for more interesting benches.

Related blog posts:
- Bench
- Park Bench Appreciation Society

Links:
- Park Bench Appreciation Society
- Dull Men's Club

Looking back at the Dull Men's Club's Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening in Preston

A look back at the Dull Men's Club's Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening in Preston.

A year ago yesterday I was a speaker at the Dull Men's Club's 'Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening' at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston.

Talking (minigolf) balls

Where has the last year gone*.

Showing off my Putter to the audience

The keynote speaker at the event was Dr Sandi Mann, aka ‘Dr Boredom’, author of The Science of Boredom: The Upside of Downtime, who spoke to the attendees about the benefits of boredom and her research on the Thirty Habits of Boring People.

The Dull Men's Club is where dull men — and women who appreciate dull men — share experiences of enjoying everyday, mundane things, far from glitz and glam — "Celebrating the Ordinary".

Some highlights of my presentation covered my travels on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and how I, along with Emily, had - up to that point - visited 815 miniature golf courses since 2006.

The desk space in the lecture theatre was a lovely shade of grey

Some of the intricacies of the sport were also discussed, with the show & tell element on minigolf balls being a particular highlight.

Later that evening I visited the 816th course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when I swung by the indoor Crazy Golf course at Level Preston. We've now visited 887 courses.

One of the holes at Trailer Trash Jim's indoor Crazy Golf course at Level Preston

Following the event we've since met up with fellow dull man and writer Elliot Windmill who profiled us on his excellent website.

Playing Crazy Golf with Elliot at Manor Park in Glossop

One of the other guests we met at the event was Martin, head of the Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society. Interestingly (for some) Telegraph Pole Appreciation Day and Miniature Golf Day both fall on the 21st September each year. Martin also wrote a nice blog post following the event.

A telegraph pole I spotted on our visit to the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway heritage steam railway in the Lake District last year

What a wonderfully dull world we inhabit.

Related blog posts:
- A Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening in Preston
- Meeting the Dull Men of Great Britain – The Crazy Golfers
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Dull Men's Club
- Preston

Links:
- Dull Men's Club
- Lossul
- Sandi Mann's website

* I would have put an exclamation mark at the end of that sentence, but they are frowned upon by the Dull Men's Club.

Meeting the Dull Men of Great Britain – The Crazy Golfers

Check out the new Lossul feature 'Meeting the Dull Men of Great Britain – The Crazy Golfers'.

Lots of specialist minigolf balls - there's a lot more to the game than Clown's Mouths and Windmills

We met travel and adventure writer Elliot Windmill at the Dull Men's Club's Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening held in Preston last May and in July we met again for an afternoon of Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop, Derbyshire.

Elliot lining up a shot on the Manor Park Crazy Golf course

You can read Elliot's article Meeting the Dull Men of Great Britain – The Crazy Golfers on the Lossul website.

Elliot presented me with a copy of The Miniature Book of Miniature Golf by Mike Vago. It's now in The Crazy Golf Museum

Links:
- Lossul
- Meeting The Dull Men of Great Britain – A True Story
- Meeting The Dull Men of Great Britain – The Event (Part One)
- Meeting The Dull Men of Great Britain – The Event (Part Two)
- Meeting the Dull Men of Great Britain – The Crazy Golfers

Related blog posts:
- Lossul
- Dull Men's Club

Happy Underdog Day 2018

Happy Underdog Day.

Happy Underdog Day to ham and eggers, journeymen, jobbers, local competitors, enhancement talent, jabronis, wildcards, second placers, also rans, palookas, runners-up, Mr Nobodies, silver medalists, and Average Joes everywhere.

The third Friday in December is the day to celebrate and honour unsung heroes, the second best among us and life’s runners-up. Not to forget those people that have made a name for themselves against the odds.

Check out the Dull Men's Club website for more details of Underdog Day.

Related blog posts:
- Underdog Day
- Dull Men's Club
- Day

Exploring the Dull Men's Club

Check out Lossul's recent three-part series about the Dull Men's Club.

The pieces follow Elliot Windmill's exploration of the club, beginning at the Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening held in Preston back in May.

The Dull Men's Club is where dull men — and women who appreciate dull men — share experiences of enjoying everyday, mundane things, far from glitz and glam — "Celebrating the Ordinary".

I made a presentation about Crazy Golf at the Dull Summit in Preston

Somewhat controversially the 'Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening' was anything but. With a range of characters talking about their hobbies, pursuits and interests the group could've spent a long time sharing stories and ideas.

Check out Elliot's posts on the links below.

Links:
- Lossul
- Meeting The Dull Men of Great Britain – A True Story
- Meeting The Dull Men of Great Britain – The Event (Part One)
- Meeting The Dull Men of Great Britain – The Event (Part Two)

Related blog posts:
- Dull Men's Club

The Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society

At the recent Dull Men's Club gathering in Preston I had the chance to meet Martin from the Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society. Who knew there was such a thing. But obviously and quite rightly there is.

Check out Martin's website and recent blog post about a telegraph pole I spotted on our visit to the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway heritage steam railway.

Interestingly (for some) Telegraph Pole Appreciation Day and Miniature Golf Day both fall on the 21st September each year.

Swingers Crazy Golf in London's West End

A look at Swingers Crazy Golf in the West End of London.

Many thanks to Leland Carlson from the Dull Men's Club for sending me a snap of the A-board outside Swingers Crazy Golf that he spotted while having a wander round London's West End.

Street Food and Crazy Golf - an increasingly popular combination

Check out the Swingers Crazy Golf course website for more info, opening times and prices.

On my last trip to London last year I played at the 'original' permanent Swingers course near The Gherkin. It's a superb venue.

Emily walked past the new Swingers course while it was under construction last November.

Back in September 2014 Emily and I played the Swingers pop-up course in Shoreditch.

A Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening in Preston

Last month I was invited to be a speaker at the Dull Men's Club's 'Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening' at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston.

I had a thoroughly enjoyable time as a guest speaker at the Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening at UCLan

The Dull Men's Club is where dull men — and women who appreciate dull men — share experiences of enjoying everyday, mundane things, far from glitz and glam — "Celebrating the Ordinary".

The Dull Men's Club - where dull men, and women who appreciate dull men, share thoughts and experiences about ordinary things

The keynote speaker at the event was Dr Sandi Mann, aka ‘Dr Boredom’, author of The Science of Boredom: The Upside of Downtime, who spoke to the attendees about the benefits of boredom and her research on the Thirty Habits of Boring People.

One of the highlights of the evening at UCLan

The pink post-it notes directing delegates to the lecture theatre were a bit bright for a dull event

We were on the 1st floor

Not far from here

The desk space in the lecture theatre was a lovely shade of grey

Some highlights of my presentation covered my travels on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and how I, along with Emily, had - up to that point - visited 815 miniature golf courses since 2006.

One of the scorecards displayed in my presentation

Some of the intricacies of the sport were also discussed, with the show & tell element on minigolf balls being a particular highlight.

Course #683 - Southend Pier Crazy Golf

Somewhat controversially the 'Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening' was anything but. With a range of characters talking about their hobbies, pursuits and interests the group could've spent a long time sharing stories and ideas. Perhaps next time there'll be a longer Dull Men's Club symposium to spend more time talking about dull and boring matters.

Showing off my Putter

The "Anorak of the Year 2017.4" was also announced one the night (".4" as we were 40% into 2018), with Roundabout enthusiast Kevin Beresford taking the title.

Following the event I visited the 816th course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when I swung by the indoor Crazy Golf course at Level Preston.

At Trailer Trash Jim's Crazy Golf course at Level in Preston

Links:
- The Dull Men's Club
- Dr Sandi Mann

Other dull blog posts can be found within the archives of the Ham & Egger Files...

A delightfully dull, brilliantly boring evening from the Dull Men's Club

The Dull Men's Club is organising a Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening in Preston on the 15th May.

At the event you'll be able to meet men and women who enjoy ordinary, everyday things — things that are often thought of as mundane, dull, boring — but actually can be quite interesting. Meet people who have been in DMC calendars and the book Dull Men of Great Britain: Celebrating the Ordinary. We do more than watch paint dry.

Dr Sandi Mann, aka ‘Dr Boredom’, author of The Science of Boredom: The Upside of Downtime, will tell the attendees about the benefits of boredom and her research on the Thirty Habits of Boring People.

The "Anorak of the Year 2017.4" will also be announced at the event (".4" as we are now 40% into 2018).

The evening event will be held at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), Fylde Road, Preston PR1 2HE.

More details and tickets are available on Eventbrite.

You can also join 15,750 other people at the Dull Men's Club Facebook Group - a place in cyberspace where dull men — and women who appreciate dull men — share experiences of enjoying everyday, mundane things, far from glitz and glam — "Celebrating the Ordinary".

Dull, Boring Summit

“Dull, Boring Summit” to take place in Preston, Lancashire in November.

The first “Dull, Boring Summit” will take place at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) in Preston, Lancashire on Tuesday 14th November.

The Dull Men's Club - where dull men, and women who appreciate dull men, share thoughts and experiences about ordinary things

At the event keynote speaker Dr Sandi Mann, UCLAN Senior Psychology Lecturer, author of The Science of Boredom: The Upside (and Downside) of Downtime will explore the science of boredom, dull hobbies, and more.

The Dull, Boring Summit will open with an introduction from Leland Carlson, assistant vice president (the highest office) of the Dull Men’s Club, author of Dull Men of Great Britain: Celebrating the Ordinary. The event will also host the first Golden Yawny Awards, with prizes awarded to winnners of categories including:
- Person with the Most Bizarre Activity/Collection/Hobby
- Hobbyist with the longest-suffering spouse
- Public Service Award to hobbyist who does most public good
- Most expensive hobby
- Cheapest hobby

For more information about the Dull, Boring Summit visit the Dull Men's Club website.

Bench with a view at the Chasewater Country Park Steam Railway

Bench with a view at the Chasewater Country Park Steam Railway in Walsall.

What a view

Related blog posts:
- Bench
- Railway

Videos:

- Steam Engine at Brownhills West station at Chasewater Country Park

- Steam Engine at Brownhills West station on the Chasewater Railway

- Departure from Brownhills West station on the Chasewater Railway

- Steam Engine at Chasewater Country Park

Link:

- Chasewater Railway

Happy September

Happy September. Don't forget it's Miniature Golf Day on the 21st!

Each year there are two quasi-official annual 'days' to celebrate the game.

Playing at Championship Adventure Golf in New Brighton on National Miniature Golf Day (Saturday 13th May 2017)

The second of these awareness days is Miniature Golf Day and it is ALWAYS on the 21st of September.

Miniature Golf Day appears as an important date in the Dull Men's Club Calendar for 2017

After Miniature Golf Day the next is National Miniature Golf Day which is on Saturday 12th May 2018.

Fellow Stockport resident Dave Shaw is the Dull Men's Club pin-up for September. His interest is in vintage radios

August already

Eight days into August and it's time to finally turn the page on our Dull Men's Club calendar.

The 1st of August marked the end of our time as the feature 'pin-ups' on the Dull Men's Club 2017 Calendar. It was fun while it lasted.

This is August

This month Jacky Smith - a barb wire enthusiast - is the focus in the calendar of 'ordinary' and 'pedestrian' interests and pursuits.

People from around the UK feature in the 2017 calendar

Related blog posts:
- Dull Men's Club

Link:
- Dull Men's Club

Happy July

Have you turned over your Dull Men's Club 2017 Calendar to July yet?

Emily and I are proud to be the 'pin-ups' for the month of July in the Dull Men's Club Calendar. We're featured for our travels to more than 700 miniature golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Dull Men's Club Calendar for 2017

Having a nice sit down on a bench at Canoe Lake in Southsea

People from around the UK feature in the 2017 calendar

The cast of characters in the Dull Men's Club Calendar

Related blog posts:
- Dull Men's Club
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Link:
- Dull Men's Club

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

Well, that was June

The month has flown by.

So, we're almost in July - an exciting month for us as we're the July 'pin-ups' in the Dull Men's Club 2017 Calendar. I'd like to use an exclamation mark with that sentence but that's against Dull Men's Club rules.

Have you got your copy of the Dull Men's Club 2017 Calendar yet? If not, why not?

The month of June saw Stuart and Dawn Searle feature on the calendar for their collection of railway memorabilia and the life-size railway station they've built in their back garden.

Two of the other characters in the calendar

It's been a busy month on the blogging and travelling front too. We've now reached 743 course visits on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, with further miniature golf courses visited in Warrington, Valencia, Lytham Saint Annes and Glossop.

We've also found out about even more new minigolf courses planned to open in the coming months, including layouts in Oxford, Leeds, Warrington and Leicester.

Don't forget that July is also National Hot Dog Month.

A pleasant scene on Southend seafront last June

Win a Dull Men's Club 2017 Calendar

With five months of the year gone how would you like to win a Dull Men's Club Calendar?

To celebrate the start of June we've got 12 of the Dull Men's Club 2017 Calendars to giveaway.

Win one of these

To win one, all you need to do is Like, Share and Comment on this Facebook post and Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Facebook Page. The competition closes at 6pm (UK time) on Friday 16th June, so there'll be plenty of time to put the calendar up in your office/kitchen/shed ready for the month of July where Emily and I are the 'pin-ups'.

Winners names will be drawn out of a hat and details will be posted on Facebook.

Where will you be sticking yours?

The Dull Men's Club is where dull men, and women who appreciate dull men, share thoughts and experiences about ordinary things.

The cast of characters in the 2017 calendar. Eagle eyes will spot there are 13 dull subjects on the calendar. That's because there's an extra one for January 2018

As well as our Crazy Golf adventures the Dull Men's Club 2017 Calendar also features a pencil enthusiast, cutlery sculptor, tombstone traveller, prefabricated buildings fan, lost glove spotter, a bubbleologist, giant pumpkin growers, a barbed wire enthusiast, a brown sign follower, village pump spotter, a vintage radio collector, and a couple who built a life-size railway station in their back garden.

Throughout the calendar you'll find obscure, odd and some might say 'slightly interesting' events and awareness days listed for your attention.

There was a lot going on on Saturday 13th May. Don't worry if you didn't celebrate 'National Miniature Golf Day' then though, as Saturday 21st September is 'Miniature Golf Day'

Related blog posts:
- Dull Men's Club

Link:
- Dull Men's Club