A London Pub & Jumble Sale Crawl

Post-Hopathon shenanigans in London

Following the Guinness World Record attempts at the Ripping Yarns Hopathon on Hampstead Heath we headed to the first stop on what would become a bit of a Pub & Jumble Sale Crawl!

The first stop after a ramble through Hampstead Heath was The Freemasons Arms pub on Downshire Hill. This pub is the home of the Hampstead Lawn Billiard and Skittle Club.

The Freemasons Arms pub in Hampstead

The club meets every Tuesday and Saturday evening, but we were too early to watch the Pros in action. Unfortunately we found out that bookings to play are only taken in advance – you can’t just turn up to play. The alley is available for hire on weekday evenings and weekends when the pub is open.

This way to the Skittle Alley

The Skittle Alley at The Freemasons Arms

The club is known as the Hampstead Lawn Billiard and Skittle Club and The Freemasons Arms was home to the only known pitch for the extinct game of Lawn Billiards! However, the pub extended its beer garden in the 1970’s and the Lawn Billiards court was covered. You can view the game in action in a film from 1933 at British Pathé.

The Beer Garden that was once home to the game of Lawn Billiards

While wandering through Hampstead on our way to Kentish Town we spotted a stall on the street with a huge banner advertising the NomNom Gluten & Egg Free Bakery! I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get some Gluten Free cakes.

Walking through Gospel Oak Brad ‘Frugal’ Shepherd spotted a line of people outside the school there – it was a queue for a jumble sale. Not one to pass up a chance to look for a bargain we decided to head to the nearest pub to wait the 15 minutes until the 2pm opening time. 45 minutes later we left the Old Oak pub refreshed and ready for the next stage of the crawl.

The only notable purchase was of a pre-decimal 'A-Z Atlas of London' by Alan ‘Stormin’ Norman, who also bought a chocolate fairy cake.

The A-Z Atlas of London (circa 1900)

After arriving in Kentish Town we spent some time in a couple of pubs including the Assembly House and the George IV before heading towards Camden to show Alan and Chris ‘Stretch’ Jones the random Crazy Golf course in Clarence Way.

Alan 'Stormin' Norman refuels with the meal of champions

En route Brad pointed out his favourite off-license – Drinkers Paradise on Prince of Wales Road. He had lied and said that they stocked Gluten Free Beer and was laughing about it until we actually spotted a bottle of Glebe Farm Gluten Free Ale in the window!

Drinkers Paradise - just call for details...

Brad, me and a bottle of Gluten Free beer at Drinkers Paradise

Alan also made his second wise purchase of the day and picked up a bottle of Monty Python themed Holy Grail ale!

Alan and the Holy Grail

The day out of shenanigans that began with me riding a fake camel before the Ripping Yarns Hopathon ended at the Clarence Way Crazy Golf Course in Camden. Talks of the 2012 London Invitational Minigolf Tournament taking place there are underway...

The Clarence Way Crazy Golf course by night

The Minigolfers at the Crazy Golf course in Camden

The First Ever Ripping Yarns Hopathon

Taking part in two Guinness World Record "Hopping" Events!

The Hoppers with Michael Palin and Terry Jones

As we are always keen to try out new sports, games and activities we jumped at the chance to take part in the first ever and possibly only, Ripping Yarns Hopathon!

Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd had heard word of the event through the Network DVD eNewsletter and so we set about putting a team together for the Guinness World Record attempt for the ‘Fastest 400m Relay Hop’. We would also be competing in the ‘Largest Group Hop’ Guinness World Record attempt.

The Hoppers before the off! From l-r Emily, me, Brad, David

We'd regiestered in advance so on Saturday 3rd of March 2012 we headed to Hampstead Heath Athletics Track in London to sign-in for our chance to enter the record books. The event was organised to promote the release of the “Ripping Yarns: The Complete Series” DVD on Monday 5th of March. In the Ripping Yarns episode ‘Tomkinson’s School Days’ two schools compete in a 30-mile Hop, and it was this great sporting feat we were sort of recreating on the Hampstead Heath Athletics Track!

The Ripping Yarns Hopathon Poster

Video: A trailer for the Ripping Yarns episode 'Tomkinson's School Days'

Prior to competing, all of the registered ‘athletes’ were required to put on their ‘school colours’ to represent either Graybridge or St Anthony’s.

Bedecked in the colours of Tomkinson’s school Graybridge we had a chance to speak with comedy legends Michael Palin and Terry Jones who were on hand to welcome the participants and pass on advice and wisdom in the sport of Hopping!

Best foot forward - from l-r me, Brad, David, Emily

Before the first of the two Hopping contest could begin we were taken through a thorough warm-up by a member of the Highgate Harriers Athletics Club. This was a great start to the event.

Alan 'Stormin' Norman (leather jacket) takes us through his own unofficial warm-up regimen, David, far right, almost suffered an injury during this!

The advert for the Largest Group Hop stated that you ‘only’ had to hop on the same leg for 400m! Many of the competitors found that after 100m it was going to be a really gruelling struggle! We were allowed to stop and rest as often as we liked, but had to continue on the same leg.

Michael Palin and Terry Jones check the competitors on the start line before sounding the Klaxon

In the race David Moore finished first out of our group, with me coming in second place*, Emily in third and Brad way back in fourth place. After completing the race ourselves we were all able to wait on the finishing line to welcome home the late finishers who were pushing themselves through the pain barrier to get to the end, all the while being encouraged by Michael Palin and Terry Jones!

*Emily would of easily beaten me, but we decided to ‘cross the finishing line together’ after chatting on the home straight. However by one-hop’s length and the fact that I put my chest forward across the line I took the ‘tape’ first to win by a hair’s breadth.

Our team on and off the podium. In the individual race David was the first member of our team across the line, I had pipped Emily to the post to take second and Brad lagged behind to take fourth

Here are some photos of Brad bravely pushing on to finish the race!

Brad getting closer to the end

Brad nearing home

Brad edging forward

Brad just before crossing the finishing line!

With one Guinness World Record attempt completed we had a rest, took on some water and watched the prize ceremony for the first race before starting the 4 x 100m relay. The overall winner of the Largest Group Hop 400m race was Ben Langley from Bedford who received the coveted and prestigious School Leopard Trophy, along with £500 for his nominated charity – The Stroke Association.

Brad makes a fashion statement after getting changed

Prior to the second Guinness World Record attempt two things happened. Firstly the fairly nice weather changed to bleak and rainy conditions and secondly we had a briefing from an official who went through the rules of the Relay Race.

We were informed that the race would be using official England Athletics rules. We had to remember to stay within our own lanes and were also told that if the baton was dropped during an exchange we could still continue, but would have to pick up the baton without impeding other competitors.

With the rules briefing over each of the hoppers were taken to their starting positions around the track. David was our opening runner, with Emily taking the second leg, Brad the third section, and I was to finish the race. Our friend Alan ‘Stormin’ Norman who had been coaching and advising us through the morning also took part in the relay race and made up the numbers in Team 5.

The Klaxon sounded and David was off, setting a good pace, but was overtaken by the man dressed as a banana on the first 100m. Following a clean baton exchange Emily took on the next 100m and on passing to Brad our team was looking good for a bronze medal finish. Sadly on the third leg Brad was clearly struggling following the toll the first hopping race had taken on him and was easily overtaken by a man that was hopping almost as fast as any of us could run!

With Brad running in to the encouragement of my shouting “Hurry up you git, you’ve lost us the race” I set off for the finishing line, pausing after around 70m to make sure I wasn’t likely to be overtaken and then continuing to finish our team’s race with a cracking time of 3 minutes 11 seconds and fourth place overall.

All that was left to do following the race was take on more water, try to recover and watch the prize ceremony for the Relay Race. We also got to get our team photos with Michael Palin and Terry Jones who were both really friendly and chatty and had encouraged every competitor to give it their all on the day.

Ahead of the event the organisers, Network DVD, teamed up with London and Partners (Visit London), who are looking to set 20 records in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games. This meant that if either or both records were broken then the Hopathon records would have been added to their records.

Despite over 100 people taking part in the Largest Group Hop and five teams competing in the Relay Race neither of the events broke the existing Guinness World Records. The event was still great fun, utterly ridiculous and enjoyed by all, even with all of the pain and agony!

At least the race wasn’t a full 30-miles!

More photos from the Ripping Yarns Hopathon

In a league of his own - David well out in front!

Me hopping along

Brad gets overtaken by the man in the Banana outfit

Emily in her Team St Anthony's school colours passes a bunch of rivals from Graybridge

Emily and I take a breather

Links:

- Network DVD

- Ripping Yarns: The Complete Series on DVD

- Hampstead Heath Athletics Track

- Highgate Harriers Athletics Team

- The Guinness World Records

Media Links:

- Network DVD on YouTube: Ripping Yarns Hopathon

- Press Association video on MSN Video: Ripping Yarns hopathon

- ZoneOneRadio: Hopping Mad - Victoria Ferran talks to Michael Palin and Terry Jones

Guinness World Record-related Blog Posts:
- Taking part in a Guinness World Record attempt for "The most people to ‘High Five’ simultaneously"
- Huntingdon Races - a UK Conga Line Guinness World Record Attempt & Crazy Golf course played #195
- Guinness World Record Attempt - Most Brussels Sprouts Eaten in a Minute!
- New Guinness World Record set - Largest Picnic Ever
- Guinness World Record attempt - Largest Picnic Ever

It's not every day...

...you get to ride a Camel in Kentish Town!

The 'Camel' outside The Orientalist carpet shop on Highgate Road, London

Appearing on ITV's The Chase!

‘Today’ I faced one of the finest quiz brains in the UK as I appeared on hit ITV quiz show ‘The Chase’!

The programme sees four strangers teaming up to take on a Chaser in a general knowledge quiz, firstly as individuals and then, if they qualify, in the Final Chase.

On the show, filmed last year, I was up against quiz supremo Mark Labbett and in the Cash-Builder round only managed to answer one question correctly out of nine in one minute of quick fire questions. I was like a deer caught in the headlights!

In the head-to-head chase itself I was offered either a measly £4 to take a step closer to safety, or £20,000 to take a riskier step forward. After a chat with my team mates I opted to play for the £1,000 and managed to answer three questions out of seven before being caught two steps from home. It must have been the pressure of appearing in front of a ‘studio audience’.

The four questions (out of 16) that I answered correctly were:

- What food-related nickname is given to the Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London

o Answer: Beefeaters

- In punctuation, which character is also known as an ‘interrogation point’?

o Answer: C) Question Mark

- What name is given to the narrow, cobbled street in York’s city centre?

o Answer: C) The Shambles

- Which actress played the leader of the Pink Ladies in the film ‘Grease 2’?

o Answer: C) Michelle Pfeiffer

The Chaser and I both got the question “What is a bluebonnet?” wrong. It’s a Plant, not a Fungus.

Another team mate, Alison, was also eliminated from the game which left two players, Anne and Glyn, to play for £10,000. They took on the Chaser with an 18 step head start after correctly answering 16 questions, plus their ‘bonus’ two step head start.

The Chase is hosted by comic and actor Bradley Walsh and is now in its fifth series. Thousands of people apply to appear on the show each year. I was on number 39 of a series that will be over 100 shows long.

For the next month you can still catch the show on the ITV Player online.

In 2009 I also appeared on BBC2’s quiz show Eggheads, when I led a team of Minigolfers known as the ‘Nutters with Putters’. Our team played for £18,000 but unfortunately lost in the final head-to-head game.

Of the two shows I found The Chase to be much tougher as you’re really put on the spot with the quick fire questions.

Who knows what show I’ll go on next – Climbing for Dollars perhaps... and with TV quiz shows getting repeated over the years maybe I'll win in a re-run!

Links:

- ITV

- ITV – The Chase

- The Chase on Wikipedia

- Eggheads Blog Posts

The Chase

Set your videos, TiVo, Sky+, Betamax, V2000 etc. and tune in to ITV today (Friday 2nd March) at 5pm as I'm going to be on the quiz show 'The Chase'!!!

Howard the Celeriac

A cartoon website about Coeliac Disease.

Over on twitter I was recently followed by Howard the Celeriac. I thought the user had an odd name and avatar, but I clicked through and saw that their tweets were Gluten-related. This led me to have a look on the Celeriacs website and I was very pleased that I did.

Howard the Celeriac's cartoons about life as a 'Celeriac' are brilliant and as someone with Coeliac Disease I have experienced many of the situations too! I've not been called a Celeriac that often, but I have been asked about what it's like to be a Solero!?

Also, I often get told that it's 'funny' that I live in Luton, but can't eat Gluten.

Do check out the cartoons over at Howard the Celeriac's website and give him a follow on twitter.

And so it begins... the 2nd Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt is underway!!!

The Putter King launches the second worldwide minigolf quest!

The 2nd Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt has begun with the release of the task lists for the four round, 20 task competition.

The annual Scavenger Hunt competition is free to enter and is open to minigolf enthusiasts around the world. Participants are invited to complete various miniature golf-related tasks and submit pictures or videos to record their achievements online.

Me and Emily in our Putter King Kits at the 2011 BMGA English Open minigolf tournament at Wroxham Barns, Norfolk

You can check out all the details of this year's contest at the 'Current Hunt' page of the Putter King website.

In the inaugural contest I finished as runner-up to Australia's Allan Cox after a closely fought battle!

My runner-up certificate from the 2011 Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt

My runner-up prize from the 2011 Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt

Links:

- The Putter King website

- The Reigning Putter King - Allan Cox

- The 2nd Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt

- Contest Partners

- The 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt Results

- My Entry for the Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt 2011

- PKSH2 on twitter

Miniature Golf Books for World Book Day

Celebrate World Book Day today by picking up one of these books about Minigolf (and some other interesting sports and games).

With the 1st of March being World Book Day I thought I'd post some links and information on a selection of books about Minigolf/Crazy Golf and other Strange & Wacky Games that I highly recommend.

Nutters With Putters - Book, eBook & DVD - Crazy golf instructional DVD and Book from BMGA Tour Legends Tim 'Ace Man' Davies & John 'Big Top Ted' McIver. Covers a lot more besides Crazy Golf training too!?

10 Courses for 10 Years - Book - The Putting Penguin Minigolf Team have put together a great minigolf book "10 Courses for 10 Years" with reviews of ten Miniature Golf courses from their first ten years. It's available from Lulu.com.

Beginner's Guide to Miniature Golf - Book - written by Lionel Bender, Peter Parr and Jon Angel this 16-page booklet was produced as an introduction to minigolf and to give hints and tips on improving your game.

Montegue Blister's Strange Games - Book and eBook - covers Mini and Crazy Golf, and a whole lot more in the world of Strange Games (includes another Ham & Egger Files favourite - Finger Jousting).

Wacky Nation - Book - Covers the World Crazy Golf Championships and 49 other Crazy Contests in the UK. The Wacky Nation team of Sally and James are also the organisers of the UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships.

The Underdog -  Book - Written by the Arm-Wrestling, Backwards Running, Sumo Wrestler Joshua Davis. The website also has links to loads of other 'Underdog' Sports and Games where you can find out more before you 'Enter The Fray'! Miniature Golf gets a listing there too.

The Crazy Golf Museum has a listing of books that cover Miniature Golf, you can view them over at "Miniature golf in books". Of the books listed Andy Miller's 2002 book Tilting at Windmills: How I Tried to Stop Worrying and Love Sport is well worth a read. I picked up a copy before I joined the British Minigolf Association back in 2006 and have re-read it a few times since then.

The 2004 book In Search Of The Tiger: A Golfing Odyssey by Ian Stafford is another great read and has an excellent chapter on the time the author represented Great Britain at the European Minigolf Championships in Prague, Czech Republic. You can read Tim 'Ace Man' Davies' report from the tournament here. The event has gone down in history as the British Team managed to defeat a Finnish Player, one Tervaskangas Anssi, due to the fact that he got stang off of a wasp and was forced to retire after only three of the eight rounds of play had been completed.

If you'd like to recommend any other sports books that you think are worth a read, or have spotted Miniature Golf mentioned in a book, let me know in the comments below...

About World Book Day

World Book Day is the biggest celebration of its kind, anywhere. Millions and millions of book vouchers given out, great free books for kids, excitement everywhere (on blogs, in newspapers, on TV and in schools, libraries and, of course, bookshops), people coming together (including lots and lots of young readers) in a big, loud, happy celebration of reading. For more information about World Book Day check out the website, twitter profile and facebook page.

I'm friends with Birdies Pop Up Golf, are you?

Me and the Ham & Egger Files have been added to the newest section of the Birdies Pop Up Golf website - the 'Friends of Birdies'.

Based in Manchester, Birdies Pop Up Golf is the UK’s newest and most exciting minigolf concept and has a portable minigolf course that you can hire for events.

In December 2011 Emily and I headed up to Manchester to attend the Birdies Pop Up launch event.

Me playing Hole 3 of the Birdies Pop Up Minigolf Course Layout at the Launch Event

Related Blog Post:
- Birdies Pop Up Golf - Launch Event for a New Minigolf Business in Manchester

Link:
- Birdies Pop Up Golf

Bar Billiards and a little bit of Mini-Golf in London

A hunt for three Bar Billiards tables and a revisit to Camden’s Crazy Golf course

While in London on Monday 27th February I thought I’d take the opportunity to check out some of the Bar Billiards tables in pubs in the city.

Prior to my trip I had a look on the excellent Bar Billiards table map, put together by AEBBA.

I saw there were well over twenty tables within easy reach and I planned to get to at least three of the tables on my Barmy Bar Billiards Trail.

My first stop was at the Electricity Showrooms pub in Hoxton.

The Electricity Showrooms pub in Hoxton

Upon arriving I asked the barman if they still had a table, he said they did, but it was “just for decoration”. I had a look at the table and one of the other barmen said he thought it still worked and to put a quid in to give it a go. I asked if they had any cues, they didn’t!? The table was also peg-less! However, the table did appear to be in good condition and the felt/baize was all intact.

The Bar Billiards table at the Electricity Showrooms pub in Hoxton

While chatting to the second barman he also mentioned they have a dartboard too. One for the Capital Arrows London Dart Board List perhaps.

The Dart Board in the Electricity Showrooms pub in Hoxton

My next stop was to Kings Cross and the King Charles I pub. Unfortunately on a Monday it’s not open until 5pm. I decided to head back later in the evening after a visit to Camden.

After refuelling with a new Gluten Free Chicken Salad Sandwich from the Kentish Town Sainsbury's and spotting a sign for an Eternit supplier (sadly un-minigolf related) and prior to visiting the next pub Emily and I had a wander to Camden Market. On our way there had a look to see if the Clarence Way Crazy Golf course was still there. We've previosuly visited in October 2009, May 2011 and August 2011. It is still there and remains unplayed by us on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The sign at the course has had some graffiti added to it since our last visit!

The Clarence Way Crazy Golf sign

The Clarence Way Crazy Golf course in Camden

We then set off to find the Fiddler’s Elbow pub for the first game of Bar Billiards. We found the pub, but finding the entrance was trickier. Eventually we spotted a door that let us in and had a hunt for the table. The pub no longer has one. We decided to have a drink anyway, the pub had some great 80’s tunes playing, including Ghost Town by The Specials – the pub was something of a ghost town as there was just us two and a couple of other punters in there!

The Fiddler's Elbow pub in Camden

Although there wasn’t a Bar Billiards table there I did notice a poster for a band that our friend Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd and his band, Monkish, knows. You can check out the website of the naughtily named band here. Brad told me he has played at the Fiddler's Elbow music venue three times before and never seen a Bar Billiards table.

A poster for an upcoming performance from a band at the Fiddler's Elbow pub

Me, LIVE at the FIDDLERS!

With a thirst for Bar Billiards unsatisfied we headed back down the Northern Line to go to the King Charles I. Prior to that though we made a stop off at the Hurricane Room on Grays Inn Road as a quick web search while in the Fiddler’s had shown that they had a Bar Billiards table.

When we enquired within we found they didn’t.

The Hurricane Room - no Bar Billiards there, but lots of Pool and Snooker tables

On a wall outside we did however spot a poster for an upcoming Chess Boxing tournament!

Chess Boxing in London!

We eventually reached the King Charles I and through the window I spotted some illuminated green baize! The pub did indeed have a Bar Billiards table and no one was playing on it when we arrived!

The King Charles I pub - not yet open on my first visit

The pub is fairly small but the table is very playable (one of the great things about Bar Billiards is the minimal amount of space required). The table was of the 3-pin/peg variety and was in good condition, albeit with a slight tear on the felt just to the right of the black peg.

The Bar Billiards table at the King Charles I - with lots of balls in play!

The King Charles I even had its own ‘House Rules’ for the Bar Billiards table, with some interesting rules on fouls! More on that later...

The 'House Rules' at the King Charles I

The pub was nice and warm, with a real fire on the go, and there was a nice atmosphere in the wood panelled pub. There were certainly some interesting decorations in the bar , with lots of mounted animal heads on the walls. One large Deer head stared at you while you played on the Bar Billiards table!

Emily and I decided to play a best-of-three game match.

In game one I managed to reach a score of 450 points before wiping-out with a black-peg knock down, with Emily winning 370 points to nil.

Emily plays a shot on the Bar Billiards table at the King Charles I

In game two I won with a score of 440 points to nil. Emily had racked up a nice break of 420 points, however this was lost by knocking down a white peg. Emily had made a claim that I perpetrated a foul on her during play. If there was an independent Umpire for the match I may of been declared as a ‘perpetrator of a foul’ due to 'Goosing', but as we had no referee, the loss of points stood.

In between games we noticed that the pub also has a selection of board games for customers to play. I spotted there was a Shove Ha’penny board behind the bar and we saw some of the other board games atop the jukebox. They included Scrabble, Travel Scrabble and a 1000-piece Jigsaw Puzzle. Emily was tempted to break out the Jigsaw puzzle, but being as we were part way through a match and with a visit to ‘Jigfest’ coming up soon we continued with the Bar Billiards.

The Shove Ha'penny Board behind the bar

The third and final deciding game in our match saw me come out the winner with a score of 200 to Emily’s 170. The closely fought match was slightly notable as I managed to clear the last two balls from the table without the game being decided by a sudden-death last-peg shoot-out as has been the norm in our matches to date. I scored a 20 and a 50 to close-out the game.

Me playing Bar Billiards at the King Charles I

The ‘Committee Board’, above the scoreboard next to the table, shows the ‘Table Record’ held by a Julian Coles, which was made on the 13th of October 2009 and stands at 3,040 points. Including a break of 2,860.

After the main-event we threw another pound in the table and had a bit of ‘training’ before a five minute game. In this quick match I won with a grand total of 20 points.

Commenting on the evening out Emily summed things up by saying “We had a drink in ‘that’ pub, you had a sandwich, we did quite well.”

Links:
- All England Bar Billiards' Association
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Previous Bar Billiards Blog Posts
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London