'The £2 Tat Challenge' at 'The Buttons' in Hastings

On Saturday 30th October 2010 a group of Amusements loving Crazy Golfers headed to 'The Buttons' following the end of the first day's play in the 2010 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships to take part in the first-ever '£2 Tat Challenge'.


This amusements challenge contest saw members of various Minigolf Clubs competing to win the most amount of 2p falls prizes with a stake of £2. The brains behind the event were Scott ‘Donkey Gringo’ Lancley (the International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Champion) and Emily ‘Coach’ Gottfried.

13 players took part and the final 'Order of Merit' is below, with 'Johnson' Paul Johnson taking the victory (and the prize of 'All the Tat') with a haul of nine pieces of tat won with only £2 worth of 2p's!!!

1. Paul Johnson = 9 pieces of tat
2. Keith Kellard = 5
3. Phil Exall = 4
3. Steve Gow = 4
3. Pasi Aho = 4
3. Brad Shepherd = 4
7. Richard Gottfried = 2
8. Peter Jones = 1
8. Scott Lancley = 1
8. Kevin Moseley = 1
8. Owen Johnson = 1
12. Alex Exall = 0 pieces of tat at all
12. Marc Chapman = 0

Photos from the event (in no particular order).

The prizes are handed over next to the hallowed Air Hockey table.

Emily Gottfried shows off the 'Bag of Tat'.

Richard 'Scrap Iron' Gottfried showing off his winnings.

Phil 'Blakey' Exall looking pleased with his haul.

Pasi 'Bruiser' Aho with his four prizes - a trip to Hastings made worthwhile.

Steve 'Grand Prix' Gow and his prizes.

Kevin 'Lost in Hastings' Moseley looking mildly unimpressed.

Brad 'The Scourge of the Clergy' Shepherd and his handful of prizes.

Marc 'Oliver' Chapman and his 'begging bowl'.

Creator of the Challenge Scott 'Donkey Gringo' Lancley with his sole prize.

Owen 'Don't call me Irwin' Johnson won less than the Jackpot.

'Johnson' Paul Johnson with all nine of his tat-prizes.

Peter 'The M*****P*****' Jones and his toy car.

Keith 'Spare us ten pence Guv' Kellard looking pleased with his silver medal haul of tat.

The '£2 Tat Challenge' was an open invitation event and featured in the Unofficial Booklet of the 2010 World Crazy Golf Championships.

After the success of the first edition, the £2 Tat Challenge looks set to become a regular feature!!!

Comedy Show Review - Greg Davies - 'Throwing Cheeseballs At A Dog'

Last Wednesday we attended the Greg Davies comedy show 'Throwing Cheeseballs At A Dog' at the Library Theatre in Luton, Beds. You can read my review of the event at Musiquebox - The leading lifestyle and culture guide.

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Some pics from the 2008 and 2009 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships

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My first Air Hockey win since the Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships

On Sunday 24th October I managed to win my first Air Hockey match since the debacle that was my performance in the Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships in Hastings on the 18th September 2010.

In the match at Namco Station in Luton, I defeated Suffolk's Luke Tubby 7 goals to 5.



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Ten Pin Bowling and a Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man

In November the Ham & Eggers tenpin bowling team are looking to once again win the prestigious Macmillan Cancer Support Annual Bowling Challenge. Ahead of the tournament we went for a few games of Tenpin Bowling at Namco Station in Luton at the weekend, where I was captured doing an (unintentional) impression of a Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man!


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Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Rankings - 2003-2009

Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Rankings

I am currently ranked 31st of 255 players in the 2003-2009 Rankings List, Emily sits at number 50.

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Final 3 shots of the 2009 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings

Videos showing the final three players taking the final three shots in the final round of the 2009 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships.





Results of the 2009 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships.

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Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships 2010 Preview

Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships 2010 Preview - a great MiniatureGolfer.com look ahead to the 2010 Edition of the World Crazy Golf Championships.

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Comedy Show Review - Tour De Francis - Stewart Francis Live at the Alban Arena

Last Thursday we attended the Stewart Francis comedy show 'Tour De Francis' at the Alban Arena in St Albans, Herts. You can read my review of the event at Musiquebox - The leading lifestyle and culture guide.

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Let's get Minigolf 'trending' - Twitter, Minigolf and #MinigolfMonday

Let's get Minigolf trending!

If you're on Twitter and are also into your Minigolf, Crazy Golf, Adventure Golf etc. then check out the Minigolf Twitter List - A list of Twitterers and Tweets from the Minigolfing World. I created the list to keep track of all the conversations taking place on the micro-blogging site by minigolfers/minigolf businesses etc.

With Twitter you are able to search within real-time conversations for mentions of key words - so for example you can search for mentions of the word 'minigolf' by typing the word in the search function. You can also enable the word to be clicked on in a tweet itself by 'hash-tagging' it, that is to put a # as a prefix, so minigolf becomes #minigolf.

Twitterers have also created 'themed' days, some of which include #FollowFriday, #MuppetThursday and #TravelTuesday. Over the course of a few tweets Pat, from The Putting Penguin Miniature Golf website suggested we start up a #MiniGolfMonday tweet day/trend on the site.

So here goes...

Happy #MiniGolfMonday

Gluten Free at Blue Chicago Grill, Dundonald, Northern Ireland

Following the completion of the 2010 Northern Ireland Belfast Bangor Antrim & Larne Invitational Minigolf Tournament back on the 1st August 2010 we headed to the Blue Chicago Grill in Dundonald as it offered Gluten Free options.

I gave them a 5-star rating on their Facebook Review section.

Blue Chicago Grill
7 EastPoint Entertainment Village
Dundonald, United Kingdom, BT16 1XT

It's just over the road from the Pirates Adventure Golf course in Dundonald, Belfast, Northern Ireland - there are two 18-hole courses, which were the 188th and 189th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

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MiniatureGolfer.com goes live on Facebook

The world's number one Miniature Golf website - MiniatureGolf.com - (now in its tenth year) has entered the world of Facebook.

As well as continued updates on the Miniature Golf, Crazy Golf, Adventure Golf and Minigolf world at MiniatureGolf.com there will be regular updates, posts and links shared on the Miniature Golfer Facebook page.

MiniatureGolfer.com is run by Tim 'Ace Man' Davies, a legend in our sport and a five-time World Crazy Golf Champion!

Check out the Facebook page here.

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Gluten Free Finds in London (and beyond) - October 2010

On our recent trip to London we found a few new Gluten Free places to eat at/buy GF products from, these included:

Starbucks - Now do Gluten and Wheat Free sandwiches, salads and cakes :-) The service from the very knowledgeable staff at the O2 was very pleasing. When ordering the cakes ask for them to be wrapped if you have Special Dietary Requirements, as they will bring you a sealed one that is not cross-contaminated. I had a Cheese and Coleslaw Sandwich and a Chocolate Brownie. Very tasty indeed. The Sangers are made with Genius Bread.

Las Iguanas - We've previously eaten at the London Eye and Manchester Trafford Centre branches and had no problems (Las Igauanas does some great food), but we had very poor service and a nightmare experience at the restaurant at the O2. Despite me stating I was a Coeliac and what I must avoid, my starter (Gambas) was served with bread and my main (Ensopado De Carne - the first time I've eaten Goat!) was served with flour-coated deep fried Plantain!?

Marks & Spencer - M&S now have a good range of Gluten and Wheat Free products, including Bread and Cakes. I picked up a Lemon Sponge Cake and some of the Brownies and Pecan and Chocolate Cakes. Looking at their website there is also a range of GF products to order online.

The Chicago Rib Shack - They have Gluten Free options (spelled 'Gluton') on the menu. Our server was very knowledgeable about Special Dietary requirements. I had a huge T-Bone Steak, along with some enoyable Cocktails, including a Mohito and an Old Fashioned (if anyone knows the recipe do let me know?).

Whole Foods Market - Had a selection of Gluten Free products. They were not that easy to find as they don't have a dedicated GF Section, instead products are mixed in with 'normal' food. I did however pick up some bottles of a different 'Coeliac-friendly' Beer - from St Peter's Brewery - which was nice :-)

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Comedy Show Review - The Laughter Lounge at Indigo2

Last Friday we attended the Laughter Lounge Comedy Show at the Indigo2 venue at the O2. You can read my review of the event at Musiquebox - The leading lifestyle and culture guide.

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Minigolf Report – Gottfried 4th in London Invitational Tournament 2010

18th October 2010
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – London Invitational Tournament 2010

Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried recorded his fifth top five finish on the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Tour this season as he tied for fourth place with London’s Alan Norman at the 2010 London Invitational Tournament (LIT) in East Finchley, Barnet on Sunday 17th October.


The tournament was played on an UrbanCrazy designed 6-hole course over six rounds. The first three rounds were played using the course’s ‘easy’ settings, and the second round using the ‘hard’ hole settings. In the field of 12 players Richard went into the second round in third place having scored a total of 40(+4), he followed this up with a 43(+7) for a total of 83(+11). London’s Jon Angel won the tournament with a score of 77(+5). Defending champion Brad Shepherd was runner-up on 79(+7), and Chris Jones third with 82(+10).



After the tournament Richard said “Thank you to the London Minigolf Club for the invitation to play in the LIT, it was a great event played on a very good course. Well played to Jon Angel for the win, a nice wire-to-wire victory. I’ll be ruing the five shots I took on hole three in the second round, if it wasn’t for that I’d have been looking good for a podium finish.”


With four events left in the 2010 BMGA Season Richard is currently ranked 9th of 91 players in the BMGA Order of Merit Rankings, 8th of 129 in the BMGA Season Only Rankings, and 31st of 255 in the Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Rankings.














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UrbanGolf in Kensington

While in London on Saturday 16th October 2010 we made a visit to the UrbanGolf centre in Kensington.

UrbanGolf offer Golf Course Simulators, where you can hire a bay and take in a round of 'Big' Golf at a number of famous courses.

The centres also have Putting practice areas!





UrbanGolf centres are located at High Street Kensington, Soho and Smithfield.

Fellow minigolfer Jon Angel and I may well have to visit to continue our 'Big' Golf Challenge Series!

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Courses Visited List with Links.

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Crazy Golf in Abingdon, Oxfordshire

A tweet from The Putting Penguin about the local history of minigolf in Illinois linked to a story on the Register-Mail website in Galesburg, USA, which mentioned that in Abingdon, Illinois there was a 27-hole Miniature Golf course known as the “Upsandowns”.

This prompted me to write a little bit about Crazy Golf in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Prior to moving to Luton a decade ago I grew up and lived in Abingdon and the Crazy Golf course at the Abbey Meadows was the first course I ever played many years ago.


The course was also revisited as part of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on the 18th August 2007 and became the 31st course played on the tour.






A review of the Crazy Golf course at the Abbey Meadows can be found on MiniatureGolfer.com

In addition to the Crazy Golf course in Abingdon, there is also a Mini Golf (Pitch & Putt) and a Putting Green, all of which have been played a number of times over the years.


The town of Abingdon, England also has a unique tradition of Bun Throwing!

Interestingly, despite being born in Oxford, I never played the City's courses until August 2009!

Latest Island Visited on our UK Tour

After the 2010 Weymouth Open minigolf competition we headed along the coast a short distance to visit the Isle of Portland.

The Island is the latest we've visited on our Tour of the UK.


Other nations and islands visited.

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Gluten Free in Weymouth, Dorset

On our recent minigolfing trip to Weymouth we had found that there a number of places in the area that offer Gluten Free options and can cater for Coeliacs :-)

Here's a rundown on where and what we ate.

Stanley's Coffee Shop - great Gluten Free cakes from Honeybuns.

The Wellington Arms - a few Gluten Free options, with knowledgeable staff and a nice friendly pub. I had the Chilli.

The Old Harbour Fish & Chip Shop - we visited in 2009 and this time I had Cod Roe and Chips (for the first time since being a Coeliac!)

The Lugger Inn, at Chickerell - quite a few options for Coeliacs. Knowledgeable staff. A nice pub. I had the Chilli (again)!

There was also an Italian Restaurant in Weymouth that has Gluten Free options, but it was fully booked on the Saturday night. we'll try it out next time we visit.

Thank you also goes to fellow BMGA Tour Minigolfer Peter Jones for a Gluten Free Fish & Chips tip-off, as he'd spotted the 'Gluten Free Options' sign in the Old Harbour Fish & Chip Shop window. If only more places advertised the fact they offer menu choices for Coeliacs - they'd certainly do more business!

Looking through some of the local tourist information and pamphlets I also noticed that in Bournemouth there is a Mexican restaurant with a Gluten Free menu. It's called 'Coriander' and the website is http://www.coriander-restaurant.co.uk/ - we'll check it out next time.

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Random Maidenhead Minigolf Course Re-visit on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - 10/10/10 at 9pm

While driving back from the 2010 Weymouth Open minigolf competition on the 10th October we had to take a number of detours in order to miss out the horrendous traffic problems on the Motorways. The solution was to travel back on the A and B Roads, one of which led us through Maidenhead.

Taking a turn onto the Riverside it dawned on us we had visited Maidenhead before, and we were in fact very close to the 18-hole Eternit Miniature Golf / Crazy Golf course at Riverside Gardens!

Never one to miss an opportunity to (re)visit a minigolf course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, we parked up and went for a wander!





We had originally visited and played the course on the 30th May 2009, when the course became the 97th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The course at Riverside Gardens was also the setting for the classic Mr Bean episode 'Tee Off Mr Bean'.

Greenhill Putting at Greenhill Gardens in Weymouth, Dorset - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course played 204

On Saturday 9th October 2010 we managed to play the 18-hole Putting Course at Greenhill Gardens in Weymouth, and very good it was too.

On our visit to Weymouth last year the course had just closed, so we didn't get a chance to play it.

This time however, it became the 204th Minigolf course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.




It's well worth a visit to play the course and it is quite tricky indeed.


In our Irregular Mini Golf Tour match-up Emily managed to get a hole-in-one on the 5th hole, and after the 18-hole round we were tied on 49(+13). The sudden-death play-off lasted four holes, when Emily managed a two, which I had no reply to. Emily received a postcard/certificate for the win from the course owner!




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Derelict Crazy Golf at the Derelict Riviera Hotel, Bowleaze Cove, Weymouth

Prior to the 2010 Weymouth Open minigolf tournament we headed to Bowleaze Cove to check out the Crazy Golf course at the Riviera Hotel.

However, the course AND the hotel look to be disused!








Bowleaze Cove is also home to a Flintstones-themed Crazy Golf course, at the Fantasy Island Fun Park. I first visited the course in 2008 when it became the 77th course played on Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and last year we played for the Johnson's Scrap Iron Cup there.


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Minigolf Report – Gottfried Seventh in 2010 Weymouth Open

11th October 2010
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – Weymouth Open 2010

Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried was in action at the third-annual Weymouth Open competition at the 18-hole Pirate Adventure Golf course at the Sea Life Centre at Lodmoor Country Park on Sunday 10th October. Competing in an 18 player field Richard finished in seventh place with a total of 88(+16) after two rounds of 44.

In 2008 Richard won the Weymouth Open, and last year he lost a play-off for the title to Bath’s Kevin Moseley at the fourth extra-hole. This year saw a new champion crowned, with Oxford’s Michael Smith the winner with a total of 75(+3), after rounds of 38 and 37, which also beat Richard’s course record of 41(+5) that he set, along with Weymouth’s Ed Evans, in 2009. Kent’s Sean Homer was second on 85(+13), with four players tied for third place on 87(+15).

Richard said “Despite Weymouth being one of the toughest courses on the BMGA Tour circuit I did enjoy my weekend here. It’s unfortunate I wasn’t able to win again, but Michael was untouchable the way he was playing. I was one shot off tied third place, but sadly that means I finished seventh. On the upside, I was one of only three players to score a hole in one on the day, which just goes to show how hard the course can be.”

Photos from the 2010 Weymouth Open

With my playing partners, Michael Smith, middle, (2010 Champion), and Chris Smith, right.

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