The 59th Annual National Town Criers Championships in Hastings

On Saturday 15th October 2011 we were in Hastings practicing for the following days Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open tournament and decided to take a break to spectate at the 59th Annual National Town Criers Championships that was taking place in the town's Queens Square.

The event saw Town Criers from all over the UK competing to be crowned the National Champion and entrants were judged on 'volume, diction, clarity and inflection'.

The event was MC'd by Hastings' Town Crier Jon Bartholomew and as well as keeping the event rolling, he also let the audience know about the Hastings Beer and Battle Cider available from Hastings Brewery - which I have since found out is planning to launch a Gluten Free Beer soon!

Photo: Richard enjoys a Battle Cider while listening to the Town Criers Championships in Hastings

During the event the MC also asked the crowd to shout out 'Yay' if they were from Hastings, and 'Nay' if they were from elsewhere. With my stentorian voice I gave an almighty "Nay" to which one of the Town Criers stood nearby commented "You should be a Town Crier with that voice"!

Link - The Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers

Mini Golf on a Roof Terrace at The Portobello Gold Hotel & Crazy Golf at Alexandra Palace

Ahead of our trip to London last Saturday for the UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships I had a quick look online to see if London is home to any new Minigolf courses since my last visit and online search. I found out it is!

In fact I spotted two new Miniature Golf courses in London.

According to the eventful website the Portobello Gold Hotel has a Mini Golf course on its roof and calls it an 'eccentric touch'.

We headed along to the Portobello Gold pub and hotel and asked about the Mini Golf at the bar, only to be told that the course is on one of the hotel room balconies, so unfortunately we couldn't have a play of it. We did however get warmed-up with a few lunchtime drinks ahead of the evening's big sporting event at the RPS Championships!

The other course I found on my web search is at Alexandra Palace and is an 18-hole Crazy Golf course. We didn't have time to get along to have a game there, but have added it to our 'to visit' list.

Alexandra Palace is also home to what I have heard is a very good Pitch & Putt course, and a Putting Green. both of which are run by Golfwise, a company which runs a number of Pitch & Putt courses around the country. We've visited their site in Chelmsford, in 2009, and we had time to play a few of the holes on the course, which was in great condition and very testing. Back in 2010 we also visited the site in Upminster which is still currently closed. On our roadtrip to Lincolnshire earlier this year we ran out of time and didn't manage to play their other Pitch & Putt course on South Parade in Skegness.

Rleated blog posts:
- Miniature Golf & Crazy Golf Courses in London
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Emily bakes a BIG Golf Ball cake for Tea Green Golf Club - and wins the 'silver medal' in Cake Tasting Contest!

Emily recently baked a BIG Golf Ball (gluten free) cake for Tea Green Golf Club's MacMillan Cancer Support Coffee Morning.

Part of the event included a cake-tasting and in the contest Emily's cake was runner-up!

Photo: The Tea Green 'Range Ball' Golf cake

Photo: Emily shows off the silver medal winning Tea Green 'Range Ball' Golf cake

Links:
- Tea Green Golf Club
- MacMillan Cancer Support

Report from the Sportingbet UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships 2011

Sportingbet UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships 2011

On Saturday 22nd October the 2011 Sportingbet UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships took place at The Knights Templar Pub on Chancery Lane, London. Over 200 people took part in the Individual and Team Competitions at the event organised by the team at Wacky Nation, with 128 players battling to become the 2011 UK RPS Champion. For the third year running the winner came from Woking! With the 2011 honours going to Max Deeley.

Photo: From l-r Oliver 'The Machine' Florence, Paul 'The Terminator' Jones, 'Squire' Richard Gottfried, Marc 'The Roller' Bazeley - note Richard & Marc throwing the illegal RPS move of 'Sausage'

Our group of six players had a mixed bag of results in the individual competition, with Oliver 'The Machine' Florence doing the best of the bunch and reaching the Semi-Finals, having had to face-off against, and defeat, team-mate Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried in the third round. The third round loss for Emily was the same stage she exited the 2010 UK RPS Championships. Of note was the fact that both Ollie and Emily received 'Byes' in the first round of the contest as their opponents were in no condition to perform!

Photo: 2011 UK RPS Contender Oliver 'The Machine' Florence shows off his t-shirt prize for reaching the Semi-Finals

The 2011 tournament used a knockout format rather than the round-robin system employed last year, this meant that players were only guaranteed one match and Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd was the first of our group to fall, losing in the first round. I followed soon after with a straight 2-nil defeat. Brad and I were in good company in our losing efforts, as the 2010 UK RPS Champion - Paul Lewis - also fell at the first hurdle.

Photo: Richard shows that three hands are not better than two

Photo: Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd (bottom right) cuts a lonely figure having crashed out in the first round

Marc 'The Roller' Bazeley was the only member of our troupe to be drawn on the rowdier Table One, but despite nerves on his debut won through round one. However, in round two he was drawn to face a giant of a man who almost dislocated 'The Roller's' shoulder in the opening handshake! This obviously impaired Bazeley who unfortunately lost the match and decided to make the long journey back to Wellingborough, but not before he gave a post-match interview.

In the Team contest 16 teams of four players lined-up to be crowned Champions. Our team - The Guild of Rock Paper Scissors - finished in tied 5th/6th place, alongside longtime Dodgeball rivals the WDW, following a win in the first round, but a loss in the Quarter Finals. The team consisted of myself, Emily, Ollie and Paul 'The Terminator' Jones, who didn't enter the individual event but instead spent his time sharking people in Challenge RPS matches.

Photo: The Guild of Rock Paper Scissors (GoRPS) in their lair before the team tournament. From l-r 'Squire' Richard Gottfried, Paul 'The Terminator' Jones, Oliver 'The Machine' Florence, Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried - once again note the players throwing the illegal RPS manouvre of 'Sausage'!

Ahead of the tournament the competition sponsor Sportingbet had a betting special running with a number of different markets priced up. Emily and I managed to recoup some of our spending with a win on the winning hand combination.

Photo: The Guild of Rock Paper Scissors (GoRPS) team. From l-r Paul 'The Terminator' Jones, 'Squire' Richard Gottfried, Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried, Oliver 'The Machine' Florence

You can view a number of videos from the 2011 (and 2010) UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships on my YouTube Channel.

You can also register your interest to compete in the 2012 UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships on the UK RPS website.

Links:
- Wacky Nation Website
- UK RPS Official Website
- The Rules of Rock Paper Scissors
- GoRPS Rock Paper Scissors Championships in Birmingham
- Rock Paper Scissors Tournament at The Crown in Bristol
- The Weymouth Preliminaries Rock Paper Scissors Contest
- RPS-101
- Sportingbet
- UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships 2010 - Report, Photos and Videos from the Event!

Minigolf Report - Emily Gottfried ties for 6th at Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open. Richard Gottfried tied in 10th.

23rd October 2011
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report - Emily Gottfried ties for 6th at Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open. Richard Gottfried tied in 10th

On Sunday 16th October Luton Minigolfers Richard and Emily Gottfried competed in the eleventh-annual Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open. The three-round tournament was played out over 54-holes on the three seafront miniature golf courses in Hastings, East Sussex.

23 players competed in the event, with Emily finishing in tied sixth place with fellow Great Britain International, Scotland’s Freddie Blackburn-Shaw, after both players scored 112. Richard finished four shots back in tied 10th place alongside 2008 PHCGC Open Champion Trevor Exall and Richard Stevenson. The tournament was won by Oxford’s Michael Smith with a score of 98.

Photo: Emily plays the 16th hole of the Crazy Golf course in Hastings

Following the tournament Emily said “This was a great tournament. Playing on three courses in one go is a challenge, as all three are so different, but that does even out the field, because no-one player is the best on all three courses. So I was really pleased with how well I played and very happy with 6th place. It was also really good fun as the courses and the people of Hastings are always a pleasure.”

Photo: Richard plays the 4th hole of the Crazy Golf course in Hastings

Richard said “I had a nightmare round on the Adventure Golf course and couldn’t buy a hole-in-one on the Pirate course. My round of 34 on the Crazy Golf course wasn’t too bad and was good preparation for the upcoming World Crazy Golf Championships, let’s hope the weather then is as good as it was for the Planet Hastings Open.”

Ends

Minigolf News - A Gottfried visits a closed Crazy Golf course!

In a theme that Emily and I have come to be very familiar with on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, my brother and minigolf rival Christopher Gottfried recently made a spontaneous visit to Brighton one evening, only to find the Sea Front Crazy Golf course to be closed.

Other Brighton Blog Posts:
- From the Archives - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Course Visit #12 - Brighton - East of Palace Pier
- Crazy Golf, Mini Golf and Adventure Golf course visits in Brighton

Greenhill Gardens in Weymouth

Last October the Putting Course at Greenhill Gardens in Weymouth became the 204th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. It's a brilliant course, with excellent views. While we didn't have time to replay the course on our visit to Weymouth this year we did spend some time looking around the very well maintained gardens.

According to the signs around Greenhill Gardens, the Putting Green is open every day from 10am (weather permitting).

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

Countdown to the Sportingbet UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships 2011

The countdown to the Sportingbet UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships 2011 is well and truly on, with the deadline for registration for the tournament closing at 10pm tonight (21st October).

Even if you aren't able to enter the event itself, you can still enjoy a flutter on the Sportingbet website as a number of different markets for the competition have been priced up - UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships Betting Special.

According to the chat on twitter I'm at odds of 4/1.

The "Buttons Committee" Mini-Golf-Gold-Fish Classic at Weymouth

Video - The Buttons Committee at Weymouth Pirate Adventure Mini Golf - Feeding the Fishes



The 'Buttons Committee' had their First (Impromptu) Meeting at Reading Services on the M4 back in February 2011!

A Nice Cup of Tea in Weymouth

While in Weymouth for the Weymouth Open Minigolf Tournament we popped over to 5js Cafe which is also at Lodmoor Country Park.

I'm not normally a tea drinker, but the advertising offer of a 'Nice cup of Tea' drew me in.

I must say it was a very nice cup of tea indeed.

I may start drinking Tea more often, as it may have played a part in fuelling the victory Chris Harding and I had in the Weymouth Open Team Tournament that afternoon!

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Taking part in a Guinness World Record attempt for "The most people to ‘High Five’ simultaneously"

Attempting a Guinness World Record in Luton.

On Monday 10th of October 2011 I headed to St Georges Square, Luton to take part in the Guinness World Record attempt for the most people to ‘High Five’ simultaneously. The event was held to mark World Mental Health Day and was organised by the Make A Difference (MAD) group.

The previous/current record stands at 1,790 people simultaneously High Fiving, but the MAD attempt counted over 2,100 people taking part.

A story was written in last week’s Herald & Post newspaper (page 21)  and unfortunately for me, just as the photo used was being taken I was in a ‘preparation’ stage of giving a High Five (we had a few dummy runs), so it looks as though I’m doing a Fonz impression!?

Previous Blog Post - Upcoming event in Luton - Guinness World Record Attempt for "The most people to successfully High 5 across multiple locations"

Previous Guinness World Record Blog Posts:
- New Guinness World Record set - Largest Picnic Ever
- 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!
-- Plus a video from The Luton News
- Guinness World Records

Revisit to Poole Park in Dorset - Crazy Golf & Minigolf

On Saturday Poole Park 8th of October 2011 we made a stop off at Poole Park in Dorset to revisit the Crazy Golf and Putting courses there and also to finally meet minigolf friend and twitterer/facebooker extraordinaire Mick Gisbourne.

We first visited Poole Park in October 2009 when the course was a 9-hole one, on our visit last year a new 12-hole course had been built in its place.

Photos of the Putting Course:

The Crazy Golf course has also had some new obstacles added to it, in the form of some weighty concrete tunnels.

Photos of the Crazy Golf:

Photos of us with Mick 'The Man' Gisbourne at Poole Park.:

In our Irregular Mini Golf Tour Match-up on the Poole Park Crazy Golf course Emily defeated me 38-43.

At the time of writing this post, my most viewed YouTube video is the one of me playing the old Pinball hole on the Poole Park Crazy Golf course. It's attracted over 20,000 views and a number of comments.



Previous Blog Posts:
- Minigolf Course Visit No. 153 - Poole Park Crazy Golf
- Minigolf Course Visit No. 154 - Poole Park, Putting Green
- Poole Park, New 12-hole Crazy Golf Course - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course played 203
- Minigolf Course Visit No. 106 - Sandbanks
- Minigolf Course Visit No. 108 - Boscombe Chine Gardens

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Grudge Match - Crazy Golf Rivalry to be shown on Channel 4 this week!

One of THE reasons I became a Professional Minigolfer is once again on telly this week - the excellent Grudge Match!

The show features great sporting rivalries and the Crazy Golf episode features the epic rivalry (that exists to this day) between Tim 'Ace Man' Davies and John 'Big Top Ted' McIver.

It'll be on Channel 4 on Wednesday 19th October at 5.25am, or an hour later on Channel 4+1

If you've seen it, watch it again. If you've never seen it, watch it. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Tape it. Watch it again! Enjoy it :-)

The Jewel in the Crown - Minigolf Hole Design at the Putter King - Your Votes Needed

I have entered the Putter King Minigolf Hole Design Contest with my hole 'The Jewel in the Crown' which incorporates the Putter King's 'regal' theming into a very tricky uphill hole with a raised green, where the hole is enclosed by a Crown!

You can check out the Design at The Jewel in the Crown - Submission. Please click on the thumbs-up symbol at the bottom of the page to vote for my hole design too.

If you too want to enter the Putter King Minigolf Hole Design Contest then check out the submission details on the Putter King website.

The Putter King is also running it's 1st Annual Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt with minigolf fans all over the world competing to win the competition! You can check out the #PKSCAVHUNT Leaderboard at 2011 #PKSCAVHUNT Leaderboard

The Weymouth Preliminaries Rock Paper Scissors Contest

Ahead of the upcoming 2011 UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships a bunch of Minigolfers, some of whom will be competing in the tournament, faced-off in The Weymouth Preliminaries Rock Paper Scissors Contest at the Weymouth Annual Octoberfest Beer Festival.

The tournament saw five competitors square-off in 'best-of-3' matches. The results and order of play were a little hazy, possibly due to the effects of the environment that the contest took place in!

Firstly, a 'random' draw was held to see who would face who in Round One, and then battle commenced...

Results:
- Oliver 'The Machine' Florence lost to Richard 'The Rock' Gottfried 1-2
- Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried beat Paul 'The Terminator' Jones 2-1
- Kevin 'Alex Kidd' Moseley - bye to Round Two
- Oliver 'The Machine' Florence lost to Paul 'The Terminator' Jones 1-2 in a 'Best Loser Match'
- Paul 'The Terminator' Jones lost to Kevin 'Alex Kidd' Moseley* 1-2
(* Kevin 'Alex Kidd' Moseley was given a 'Public Warning' for playing an illegal throw of 'Sausage' in the first game)
- Richard 'The Rock' Gottfried beat Kevin 'Alex Kidd' Moseley 2-1 in the 'Final' - see below for footage

Video: RPS - Weymouth Preliminaries at Octoberfest - The 'not' Grand Final



However, it had been forgotten that Emily had in fact won her first round match against 'The Terminator' and was through to the next round too!!!

So, in the 'Actual' Grand Final (which was not filmed) Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried defeated Richard 'The Rock' Gottfried 2-1.

Weymouth Preliminaries Ultimate Grand Champion of RPS 2011 - Emily Gottfried

Second Runner-up Kevin 'Alex Kidd' Moseley summed up the contest perfectly when he said "Can't even organise a tournament at a p*ss-up!"

Next time I think a Round Robin Tournament Format will be used!

2011 UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships - Event Details at Wacky Nation. The 2011 Championships are being sponsored by Sportingbet.

Other Blog Posts about the great game of Rock Paper Scissors:
- UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships 2010 - Report, Photos and Videos from the Event!
- GoRPS Rock Paper Scissors Championships in Birmingham
- Rock Paper Scissors Tournament at The Crown in Bristol

Janken

Unplayed Crazy Golf course at Hoburne Holiday Park, Christchurch, Dorset

There is a Crazy Golf course at Hoburne Holiday Park in Christchurch, Dorset. We didn't get to play it as we weren't staying there.

Another course unplayed on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Putting Course in Felpham, near Bognor Regis - Minigolf course played #276

The 276th and final Miniature Golf course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour roadtrip from Southsea to Felpham was at the Blakes Road Putting Course.

The 18-hole layout was tricky indeed, with Emily scoring a 52 to my round of 50. A very close battle on the Irregular Mini Golf Tour.

A wayward shot left Emily with a tricky next Putt!

Felpham is walkable from Bognor Regis and the course is worth a visit if you're in the area.

It's also another Miniature Golf course that has a Brown Tourist Sign to lead you to it.

As an aside, if you do visit Felpham then the Beachcroft Hotel is very close to the course and the restaurant there does some very good food. We dined there with both the 'Gluten Free' and 'normal' options after our round of Minigolf and before the long journey back home. Very tasty it was too.

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour courses visited and played list

Arnold Palmer Mini-Golf course at Waterloo Gardens in Bognor Regis - course played #275

The 275th Miniature Golf course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was the 18-hole Arnold Palmer Mini-Golf course at Waterloo Gardens, on the esplanade in Bognor Regis, West Sussex.

We visited and played the course on Sunday 2nd October 2011.

The course is in excellent condition and in a great location. With the very warm weather on the day the course was also very busy every time we walked past it, but we managed to find a time when we wouldn't have any large groups in front of us and jumped on for a round as part of our Irregular Mini Golf Tour competitions.

In our match-up Emily beat me 39-42 with a start of two Aces in a row. However this was followed by two 3's, but she still scored an 'out' of 18. Some excellent play on an excellent Crazy Golf course.

Unfortunately neither of us managed to win a FREE GAME on the Lucky Last Hole.

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour