Report and Results from the off-course Shenanigan Competitions in Hastings

Gottfried wins World £2 Tat Challenge & Aho wins Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championship.

Following the first day’s play of the 2012 ‘Castle Golf’ World Crazy Golf Championship in Hastings a group of the players headed to the Old Town Amusement Arcade in Hastings, East Sussex to take part in the now traditional World £2 Tat Challenge and Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championship.

Both events were publicised in the unofficial booklet of the World Crazy Golf Championship and saw an international group of participants compete.

World £2 Tat Challenge

First-up was the World £2 Tat Challenge and 30 players took part. Earlier in the month James ‘Ruthers’ Rutherford had set the Tatting world on fire with his big win in the Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open in Hastings which saw him win a grand total of 40 pieces of Tat!!! This saw him rocket to the top of the £2 Tat Challenge Order of Merit ranking list.

With the players from England, Germany, Finland and the USA having changed up their £2 stake money into 2ps they were given a quick rules briefing before the order was given and the players set loose on the buttons and their crack at becoming World Tat Challenge Champion.



The Tatters, Ratters and Sharks at the 2012 £2 Tat Challenge in Hastings



Fourteen players in the field of 30 were veterans of the 2011 contest in which a total of 127 pieces of tat were won and were awarded to the winner, Polly, who had scored eleven 2p pusher prizes with her £2.

The 2010 World £2 Tat Challenge champion, the man they call “Johnson Paul Johnson” Paul ‘Johnson Paul Johnson’ Johnson, was making his third consecutive appearance and was hoping to find the form that won him the inaugural title.

The hot blooded contest saw many of the novice players making classic rookie errors such as feeding coins too slowly, or too fast, with a few playing at a medium pace. Costly mistakes indeed. Other errors from the players saw them going after big piece of tat thinking it’s all about the quality, not the quantity. This play is known in some quarters as “the Denis Exall gambit” and has never worked.



Action



An early club house lead was taking by Will ‘Robbed’ Donnelly with an impressive eleven pieces of tat. He must of been dreaming of heading home with the grand prize, as the same quantity in the previous year’s event would of seen him crowned world champion. However 2012 was not to be the year of the young pretender.

With players pots of two penny pence pieces running dry the tournament saw players new and old resorting to the age old seaside amusement arcade practice of ‘ratting’. Brad ‘Roland Rat’ Shepherd and newcomer Craig ‘David’ Patterson were two such players who were out, then in, then out, then back in the game a number of times.

Irwin ‘Don’t call me Owen’ Johnson was another player that seemed to be endlessly back in the game after running out of cash. In fact event half an hour after the final whistle was blown and the semi-final in the Worlds Crazy Air Hockey was underway the Dudley youngster was still finding two pees to play. However with a grand total of just four bits o’ tat he’d be playing til 2013 before he neared a winning total.



More action



The strongest overseas challenge for the title came from Finland and Pasi ‘Bruiser’ Aho. He eventually finished in the Bronze medal spot with a total of 17 pieces of tat, ahead of debuting player Mrs Kelly who had a good haul of 14 pieces. A fine effort, but not enough for the win this time.

In tied 15th place Top Chris (Overseas Category) Christian ‘Anthony Pope’ Fuchs from Germany managed to win three pieces, including a rubber duck for ‘The Fox’ to take back home with him. The USA’s ‘Hacksaw’ Jon Drexler managed to avoid drawing a blank on his debut, but was languishing in tied 25th place with a solitary piece of tat.



Tat Challenger Marc 'The Force' Chapman and his (in)action figure



Former £2 Tat Challenge Champion Alan ‘Not so Stormin’ Norman (ranked 3rd in the £2 Tat Challenge Order of Merit ) and 2010 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Champion Kevin ‘Lost in the pub’ Moseley finished in tied 29th place after both players failed to win anything at all!? Quite how this happened is anyone’s guess. Perhaps they wisely decided to save their two quid stake money for something else and just said they didn’t win.

With Richard ‘Jaws’ Gottfried and James ‘Sharkey’ Rutherford almost all square with around 20 pieces of tat going into the home straight the other players joined the crowd to watch two of the masters of the game in action. The battle was back and forth until Gottfried ran out of money and with no 2ps seen dropping to rat he had to hold his breath and wait for the final outcome sitting on a club house lead of 23 bits of tat.



The Clubhouse Lead

Hot on the heels of his win earlier in the month Rutherford seemed to be powering to success and had a never-ending pot of money. Unfortunately it and his luck ran dry as his pockets sat at the 21 pieces mark, meaning that Richard Gottfried took the win and the 166 pieces of tat haul that was won by the competitors!

Richard Gottfried and his big bag of winnings



2012 World Tat Challenge Results

Rank Player Country Tat Won
1 Richard Gottfried ENG 23
2 James Rutherford ENG 21
3 Pasi Aho FIN 17
4 Mrs Kelly ENG 14
5 Will Donnelly ENG 11
6 Scott Lancley ENG 10
7 Anna Green ENG 8
8 Steve Gow ENG 7
9 Trevor Exall ENG 6
10 Adam Kelly ENG 5
11 Keith Kellard ENG 4
11 Oliver Florence ENG 4
11 Gareth Holmes ENG 4
11 Owen Johnson ENG 4
15 Chris Jones ENG 3
15 Denis Exall ENG 3
15 Christian Fuchs GER 3
15 Craig Patterson ENG 3
19 Brad Shepherd ENG 2
19 Emily Gottfried  ENG 2
19 Marc Chapman ENG 2
19 Paul Johnson ENG 2
19 John Moore ENG 2
19 Tony Kelly ENG 2
25 Sharon ENG 1
25 David Donnelly ENG 1
25 Jon Drexler USA 1
25 Steve Sturdy ENG 1
29 Kevin Moseley ENG 0
29 Alan Norman ENG 0

Following the 2012 Worlds there is no change at the very top of the tat challenge tree as James 'Ratters' Rutherford maintains his lead with a total of 81 pieces of tat won from his five outings (an impressive 16.2 pieces per event). In second place is Richard 'Shark King' Gottfried with a total of 63 bit.

Pasi 'Pastie Jarno' Aho leaps up from 7th to 3rd with a total of 29 pieces of tat from three events. Alan 'Stormin' Norman drops from tied 3rd to 5th, with Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried moving down one from tied 3rd to 4th. The highest new entry is Mrs Kelly with an impressive debut haul of 14 bits of tat to take a share of 7th place alongside Seth 'AWOL' Thomas who was MIA. Brad 'Ratman' Shepherd and Keith 'PP' Kellard round out the top ten places with the pair tied in 9th spot.

The £2 Tat Challenge Order of Merit Rankings List

£2 Tat Challenge Hall of Fame:
#1 - Paul Johnson - 9 pieces of Tat (World Title)
#2 - Richard Gottfried - 10 pieces of Tat
#3 - Alan Norman - 6 pieces of Tat +1
#4 - Polly - 11 pieces of Tat (World Title)
#5 - James Rutherford - 40 pieces of Tat
#6 - Richard Gottfried - 23 pieces of Tat (World Title)

Note: Will Donnelly failed to submit his eleven bits of tat to the prize fund and has been issued with a public warning for disorderly conduct by the Buttons Committee.

Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championship

With no real let up between competitions the bracket for the Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championship was drawn up by Buttons Committee Executive Members Scott Lancley and Emily Gottfried.

The straight knockout event saw 16 players go head-to-head in first to seven, or until the time-limit expired matches. With three Air Hockey tables available the action came thick and fast.

In round one results:
- Johnny Waffles lost to Denis Exall 4-5
- Will ‘Robbed’ Donnelly was robbed in his match to Scott ‘Donkey Gringo’ Lancley 1-4

- Sharon beat Adam ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly in extra-time after a 2-2 draw
- Jon ‘Drex’ Drexler beat Owen ‘Do You Know’ Johnson – score unknown

- Johnson Paul Johnson bested Steve Sturdy 7-1

- Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd punched his way to victory with a 7-3 win over 2010 Champeen Kevin ‘Max’ Moseley
- Christian Fuchs was outfoxed by Craig ‘David’ Patterson in the battle of the newcomers, losing 4-6
- Marc Chapman wasn’t forceful enough in his losing effort to Pasty Arno 1-5

A random draw was held before the quarter finals commenced. The matches saw:
- Johnson Paul Johnson lose to The Fist 5-7

- Denis 'Simly the Best' Exall beat Sharon 6-0 in a Squire-bashing level of action

- Drex lost to Pasty 2-7 in an international incident

- Scott beat Craig 5-4

There was little pause in the action before the semi-final matches got underway. Margate’s Scott Lancley was drawn against the dangerous Finn Pasi Aho. The contest ended in a 4-4 draw. Eschewing the usual sudden-death extra-time golden-goal play-off, or a game of Rock Paper Scissors the pair settled the result with a coin toss. Pasi won.

In the second semi-final Denis ‘Last Exall Standing’ Exall beat Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd 7-5 to set-up an England-Finland grand final for the title of Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Champion of 2012!

The crowds gather to watch the spectacle that is the grand final of the Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championship in Hastings

With the international player champing at the bit since his arrival in Hastings he took the lead and Denis assumed the same position that faced his brother Phil in the legendary final of 2011. Denis put up a valiant effort, but it wasn’t to be for him on this occasion as Pasi Aho scored a seventh and final goal to win the match, the title and the £1 prize money with a 7-3 scoreline.



The end of the final



Pasi Aho adopting the now customary Peter Jones Champions pose

Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships Hall of Fame:
2012 Pasi Aho (FIN)
2011 Peter Jones (WAL)
2010 Kevin Moseley (ENG) 



Pasi Aho receives his winnings from Lemony

Related Blog Posts:

Tat Challenges

- Report from the 2012 Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open in Hastings
- 2011 Worlds £2 Tat Challenge at the Old Town Amusements in Hastings
- £2 Tat Challenges at 'The Buttons' in Hastings - May 2011
- 'The £2 Tat Challenge' at 'The Buttons' in Hastings - October 2010
Air Hockey

- Arcade Games at Star City – Air Hockey, Pool & Ping Pong

- 2011 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships in Hastings

- Crazy Minigolfers Play Air Hockey Tournament in Hastings
- The Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships

A Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man in Flimwell

While travelling to Hastings, East Sussex last Thursday ahead of the 2012 'Castle Golf' World Crazy Golf Championship we travelled through Flimwell and at the cross roads on Hawkhurst Road I spotted a Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man!!!

A Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man outside the Country Furniture Barn in Flimwell

I had to turn the car round to have a photo taken with them to add to my 'collection'. What was great that there wasn't just one of them outside the Country Furniture Barns, but two of them! And even better than that, they were double-sided!

The second Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man outside the Country Furniture Barn in Flimwell. This one was by the car park.

The point of Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-men (or Airdancers to give them their technical name) are there to help advertise businesses (as well as a few other things if you believe Family Guy's Al Harrington).

A Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man and a Blue Airdancer.

It certainly worked as we popped into the Country Furniture Bar shop for a browse and would recommend it for a visit as there were some nice home, kitchen & garden furnishings and decorations.

Links:

- Other Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-men Related Blog Posts on The Ham & Egger Files

- Country Furniture Barns in Flimwell, East Sussex

- Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tubeman on Family Guy Wiki

Winning the Mayor of Luton’s Charity Tenpin Bowling Challenge

Report from the new Mayor of Luton’s Charity Tenpin Bowling Competition at Namco.

The Mayor of Luton Tenpin Bowling Championship Trophy!

On Thursday 27th September 2012 the Ham & Eggers Tenpin Bowling Team turned out for the second of this year's Charity Tenpin Bowling Challenge tournaments for the Mayor of Luton's charities. The competition took place at Luton's Namco Funscape in the Galaxy Centre and the team beat seven others to be crowned the champions.

The Ham & Eggers Tenpin Bowling Team - Back Row from l-r: Christopher Gottfried, Emily Gottfried, James Cunliffe. Front Row: Richard Gottfried, Simon Hall. Not pictured Laura Wood.

In March the Ham & Eggers Tenpin Bowling Team had competed in the last Mayor's competition in March 2012 and finished in third-place. Over the years the team has competed in a number of Tenpin Bowling tournaments in Luton and Dunstable and were the 2009 Macmillan Cancer Support Annual Bowling Challenge Champions.

 

Ham & Eggers Team – Player Results:
1. James Cunliffe - 145 + 115 = 260 - Top player overall on the night
2. Laura Wood - 144 + 100 = 244
3. Simon Hall - 118 + 117 = 235
4. Richard Gottfried - 115 + 111 = 226
5. Christopher Gottfried - 123 + 100 = 223
6. Emily Gottfried - 109 + 85 = 194

 

The team scored a total of 1,382 points over the two rounds.

 

Two of the Ham & Eggers Tenpin Bowling Team were able to attend the trophy presentation by the Mayoress on the 30th October and also played a one-on-one challenge game which saw Simon 'Practice' Hall beat Richard 'Classics' Gottfried 108 to 96 having scored a Turkey in the tenth frame!
 

On the night the team also had a couple of wins in the Raffle! The evening of bowling and the raffle raised a total of £448 for the Mayor of Luton’s charities.

One of the Raffle Prizes fails at Tenpin Bowling

The Ham & Eggers are looking forward to the next charity tenpin bowling event whenever that may be.

 

Ham & Eggers Tenpin Bowling Team Honours Board:
2012 - Mayor of Luton’s Charity Tenpin Bowling Challenge (2) - 1st
2012 - Mayor of Luton’s Charity Tenpin Bowling Challenge - 3rd
2010 - Macmillan Cancer Support Annual Bowling Challenge - 3rd
2009 - Macmillan Cancer Support Annual Bowling Challenge - 1st
2008 - Macmillan Cancer Support Annual Bowling Challenge - 3rd
2007 - Macmillan Cancer Support Annual Bowling Challenge - 6th

 

Other Tenpin Bowling Honours:
2011 - Namco Business Bowling Grand Final - 3rd (as EcoStyle)
2011 - Namco Business Bowling Heat Three - 2nd (as EcoStyle)
2011 - Namco Business Bowling Heat Two - 4th (as EcoStyle-CEuk)

 

Other Results:
2009 - Ham & Eggers play in the F.U.N. Charity Tenpin Bowling Competition
2009 - Tenpin Bowling - the '$1million' Challenge

Minigolf Report – Richard Gottfried a finalist in the ‘Castle Golf’ World Crazy Golf Championship

Richard Gottfried 17th in the 2012 ‘Castle Golf’ World Crazy Golf Championship in Hastings, East Sussex, England.

 

Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried represented England for the sixth time at the tenth-annual ‘Castle Golf’ World Crazy Golf Championship played at the Adventure Golf Complex on Hastings seafront on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th October.

Richard Gottfried teeing-off in the final of the 2012 'Castle Golf' World Crazy Golf Championship in Hastings

In the 53-player Richard reached the final and finished in 17th place overall. In the two-day seven-round tournament played on the 18-hole Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course Richard made the cut to qualify for the final having scored a hole-in-one on the last hole of the qualifying rounds to avoid the need for a play-off to make the final round.

Richard Gottfried playing hole 3 in the final of the 2012 'Castle Golf' World Crazy Golf Championship in Hastings

Richard scored rounds of 37, 40, 40, 38, 43, 36 and 38 for a total of 272(+20) total

Richard Gottfried - 2012 'Castle Golf' World Crazy Golf Championship Finalist - Photo: BMGA

Following the tournament Richard said “After missing the cut last year I was very pleased to be a World Crazy Golf Championship finalist again. A number of changes were made for this year’s event with new balls introduced, the cups were made smaller and new felt had been laid on some of the holes. This all combined to make the tournament very different to last year and a very tough contest for all the players. It was a great weekend of top quality Crazy Golf and I’m looking forward to the 2013 World Championships already.”

Richard Gottfried playing hole 4 in the final of the 2012 'Castle Golf' World Crazy Golf Championship in Hastings

Richard has been a finalist in the World Crazy Golf Championships four times in his six appearances and on each occasion he has finished in 17th place.

Richard Gottfried playing hole 16 in the final of the 2012 'Castle Golf' World Crazy Golf Championship in Hastings

The overall winner of the ‘Castle Golf’ World Crazy Golf Championships was Oxford’s Michael Smith who became a two-time champion after retaining the title he won last year.

 

The World Crazy Golf Championship was the last individual BMGA Tour event for Richard in the 2012 season as he is unable to compete in the Kent Open at Sidcup in November.

 

The latest British Minigolf Association Ranking Lists will be updated later this week. Heading into the World Crazy Golf Championship Richard was ranked 17th of 88 players in the 2012 BMGA Official Strokeplay Order of Merit rankings. Following her runner-up finish in the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open earlier in the month Emily Gottfried had moved up from 41st place to be ranked 37th. In the BMGA Season Only Rankings Richard was ranked 5th of 86 players, with Emily at 31st position.

 

Ends

Watch the Nutters with Putter Pro Crazy Golf Team on Eggheads!

The Nutters with Putters team take on TV Quiz Giants the Eggheads on BBC Two and the iPlayer!

The 'legendary' episode of the great TV Quiz show Eggheads was shown on BBC Two this evening!

At the time of its repeat airing I happened to be buying a Calzone for my tea. What are the chances eh.

From today and for the next seven days you can watch the episode of Eggheads that featured the Nutters with Putters team of Crazy Golfers from the British Minigolf Association! Check out the show on the BBC iPlayer here.

I led the team through the application and audition process and got us onto the show that was filmed in late 2008 and first aired in July 2009! We were on Series 10, Episode 49.

Enjoy.

Front Row: The Nutters with Putters from l-r Kevin Botto, Richard Gottfried (Captain), Tim Davies, Andy Booth, Sean Homer and Chris Harding.
Back Row: The Eggheads from l-r CJ, Daphne, Barry, Kevin and Chris.

Link:
- Eggheads, BBC Two - iPlayer
- BMGA Players take on the Eggheads, again!

Related Blog Posts:
- Nutters with Putters on Eggheads
- Eggheads-related Blog Posts

Videos from the Final of the 2012 'Castle Golf' World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings

Action from the final of the 2012 ‘Castle Golf’ World Crazy Golf Championship that was played on the 18-hole Crazy Golf course in Hastings, East Sussex on Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th October 2012.

Michael Smith managed to retain his title to become a two-time ‘Castle Golf’ World Crazy Golf Champion in the 53-player field.

Check out the links below to view action from the final of the 2012 'Castle Golf' World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings:

 

Final Round - Hole 17 - James Rutherford plays

 

Final Round - Hole 17 - Michael Smith & Adam Kelly playing

 

Final Hole of the Final Round - View 1 - Michael Smith, Adam Kelly & James Rutherford playing their final shots of the tournament

 

 

Final Hole of the Final Round - View 2 - Michael Smith, Adam Kelly & James Rutherford playing their final shots of the tournament

Links:
- Full results of the tournament can be found here and here
- More information on the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) and the calendar of Minigolf, Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf competitions the organisation runs
- You can join the British Minigolf Association for FREE with the standard online membership available. For more details please visit the BMGA Membership page
- For more information on the Hastings Adventure Golf courses please click here

Report from the 2012 Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open in Hastings

James Rutherford rockets to victory in the first £2 Tat Challenge of the year!

James 'The Man' Rutherford with the magnificent haul of treasures from the contest

On Friday 12th of October a group of Crazy Minigolfers headed to the Old Town Amusement Arcade for a £2 Tat Challenge Contest.

The players were in town to practice ahead of that weekend’s 12th annual Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open tournament, but due to the adverse weather conditions an executive decision was made to head to The Buttons for a Tat Challenge.

'Action' from the Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open

Arriving just in Hastings just in time James ‘Mr James’ Rutherford joined the gang to play in the first Tat Challenge of the 2012 season. The competition would act as a warm-up for the 2012 World £2 Tat Challenge that is now a part an unofficial part of the Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships weekend.

John 'Thighs' Moore with his winnings

Heading into the Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open James ‘Mr Rutherford’ Rutherford declared that he would win the contest. His opponents scoffed at this remark, little knowing that he had spent the previous weekend in Hastings ‘mapping the buttons’!

Owen Johnson didn't quite hit the jackpot with his two bits o' tat

Michael ‘The Champ’ Smith and John Moore ‘John’ made their debuts in a £2 Tat Challenge and after a quick briefing on the rules were let loose with their pots of two penny pence pieces.

'The Man They Call Johnson' Paul Johnson with his three bits of tat

The contest was an all-England clash with the field also including the inaugural Worlds £2 Tat Challenge Champion Mr Paul ‘Johnson Paul Johnson’ Johnson, Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried, Owen ‘Don’t call me Irwin’ Johnson and the Tat Challenge Order of Merit Number One ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried.

'Squire' Richard Gottfried seems pleased with his 13 pieces of tat, including the Chappers Action Figure

With a new array of prizes on offer in the 2p pushers the avid tatters were in their element trying to win as big a haul as possible and take the prize of ‘all the tat’. However a clear lead was built up early on by ‘The Rocket’ James Rutherford who managed to somehow keep his pot of 2ps constantly full and his pockets filling up with Thumb Wrestling characters as his prize.

Michael 'Zero' Smith leaves the £2 Tat Challenge empty handed

Prior to the Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open the largest winning score had been 11 pieces of tat by Polly at the 2012 Worlds £2 Tat Challenge, with other victories totalling 10, 9 and 7 pieces of tat won. In fact in the first three Tat Challenges the total tat won by all competitors was 36, 31 and 39 pieces. These figures were blown out of the water as James ‘Ruth’ Rutherford won 40 pieces all by himself!!!

The nearest challenger and still a way off Ruthers’ lead was Richard ‘Second Best’ Gottfried with 13 pieces. John ‘YI’ Moore and Emily ‘Lemons’ Gottfried tied for third-place with five pieces apiece and had no money left for a play-off. Paul ‘The Johnson’ Johnson managed to win 3 bits, while Owen ‘Irwin’ Johnson didn’t hit the jackpot with only a couple of pieces. In last spot was Michael ‘No Tat’ Smith with zero pieces of tat. Rather reminiscent of his minigolf team-mate, rival and fellow tatter Marc ‘Chappers’ Chapman’s debut at the 2010 Worlds when he also came away with nothing for his £2 stake. On a related Marc ‘The Force’ Note, one of the prizes won appeared to be a life-like action figure of the renowned Minigolfer and Tat Challenger!



The Marc 'The Force' Chapman Action Figure alongside what appears to be the San Marino Goalkeeper



2012 Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open - 12/10/12

Rank Player Country Tat Won
1 James Rutherford ENG 40
2 Richard Gottfried ENG 13
3 John Moore ENG 5
3 Emily Gottfried  ENG 5
5 Paul Johnson ENG 3
6 Owen Johnson ENG 2
7 Michael Smith ENG 0

With his massive haul of tat the pressure will surely be on all of the other competitors to up their game at the next £2 Tat Challenge! 40 pieces with £2 of 2ps is an extraordinary amount to win, whether this record will be beaten remains to be seen.

James '40' Rutherford with his bag o' tat

Following the Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open James ‘Ruthers’ Rutherford has moved up to the top spot, with ‘Squire’ dropping down to number two. Emily moves up from 8th place to join Alan ‘Stormin’ Norman in tied third place.

The £2 Tat Challenge Order of Merit as at 12/10/12

£2 Tat Challenge Hall of Fame:

#1 - Paul Johnson - 9 pieces of Tat

#2 - Richard Gottfried - 10 pieces of Tat

#3 - Alan Norman - 6 pieces of Tat +1

#4 - Polly - 11 pieces of Tat

#5 - James Rutherford - 40 pieces of Tat

Related Blog Posts:
- 2011 Worlds £2 Tat Challenge at the Old Town Amusements in Hastings
- £2 Tat Challenges at 'The Buttons' in Hastings - May 2011
- 'The £2 Tat Challenge' at 'The Buttons' in Hastings - October 2010

Lyle & Scott’s “Woolly Golf” Mini-Golf course in London’s Covent Garden

Playing the Lyle & Scott Woolly Mini-Golf course as part of Wool Week.

On Thursday 18th October I headed along to Covent Garden in London to play an intriguing Mini-Golf course that had been set-up by the golf and knitwear brand Lyle & Scott as part of Wool Week.

Me and a Lyle & Scott branded sheep on hole one of the Woolly Golf course in Covent Garden

I’d heard that the course was going to be in Covent Garden via a Tweet from the team at UrbanCrazy. The link led to the Covent Garden website with details of the Lyle & Scott Mini-Golf event running from the 18th to the 21st October 2012 for Wool Week. The 3-hole Mini-Golf course was located near to the Lyle & Scott store on King Street in Covent Garden and in a fenced-off ‘sheep pen’ area. The putting surface of the course was made from 100% wool and was one of the smoothest artificial Putting surfaces I’ve ever played on. It really worked well as a base for a Minigolf course and looked great! 

Hole one of the Lyle & Scott Woolly Golf course in Covent Garden

The events team on the course were really nice and friendly and chatted about The Campaign for Wool and some of the other events going on during Wool Week (which include a giant knitting needle outside Harvey Nichols and a Knitting challenge - ‘The Clickety Click on the Clickety Clack’ - onboard a train travelling from London to Edinburgh!). To gain access to the course, that was free to play, you had to head into the Lyle & Scott store to pick up a scorecard, pencil and Lyle & Scott branded Golf Ball. You could then head to the course to pick up a Putter and then hit the course to play a round. 

Hole two of the Lyle & Scott Woolly Golf course in Covent Garden

The Woolly Golf was proving popular and had a nice flow of players giving it a go, with a few people playing and re-playing the holes determined to score some holes-in-one. I managed a score of 5 with a two on the first, an ace on the second (the toughest hole on the course so I'm told) and a two on the third.

Hole three of the Lyle & Scott Woolly Golf course in Covent Garden

Once I had played the course I handed in my scorecard for a chance to win £500 of Lyle & Scott goodies and I also received a 15% discount card for use in the store and online. Fingers crossed I win the contest as I've got my eye on a jumper and a pair of gloves in the shop! Another very nice touch from the promotion is that you get to keep the Lyle & Scott branded golf ball after playing!

The Lyle & Scott Woolly Golf window display for Wool Week

Having played the course I then headed off to the 19th hole (The Cider Tap on Euston Road) for my birthday 'do'. It was a nice coincidence that I was in London on the day the Lyle & Scott Woolly Mini-Golf launched.

The course became the 307th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 305th I’ve played since the tour began on the 30th of September 2006. It was the 511th Miniature Golf course visited overall in that time.

The 3-hole Lyle & Scott Woolly Golf course was also the 22nd Minigolf course played in, or around London, on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since July 2008.

The course is well worth a visit and as it’s only there until Sunday I suggest you get along to give it a go. If you can’t make it to play the physical course you can enter the competition online by playing the 5-hole virtual course (the online game is designed by Damp Gnat - the team behind Wonderputt & Advertputt and is a great Minigolf/Crazy Golf game).

Links:

- Lyle & Scott

- The Campaign for Wool

- Covent Garden

- Covent Garden "Lyle & Scott ‘putts’ on a great show for Wool Week"

- Lyle & Scott Blog "Wool School Sweater and a chance to win £500 of Lyle and Scott"

- Lyle & Scott Blog "Woolly Golf at Covent Garden"

- Wool Week Calendar

Related Blog Posts:

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date

- Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Minigolf Report – Emily Gottfried Runner-up in the 2012 Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open

Emily Gottfried second to BMGA British Number One Michael Smith in 18-player tournament in Hastings, East Sussex.

 

On Sunday 14th October Luton Minigolfers Emily and Richard Gottfried competed in the twelfth-annual Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open. Emily finished the tournament as runner-up in the 18-player field. The three-round tournament was played out over 54-holes on the three seafront miniature golf courses in Hastings, East Sussex.

 

Emily’s 2nd place total of 107(-1) included rounds of 44(+8) on the Adventure Golf, a new personal best of 31(-5) on the Pirate Golf and another personal best of 32(-4) on the Crazy Golf course. 



Emily Gottfried playing her final shot of the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open tournament to seal second-place



Following the tournament Emily said “I’m thrilled to have come second in the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Open Championships. It’s the most fun and individual tournament on the British Minigolf Association Tour calendar with all three rounds played on three different courses, so there's something new to contend with on each round. I played really well and enjoyed myself too. I can't wait for next year!”

 

The tournament was won for a second year-in-a-row by Oxford’s Michael Smith with a score of 101(-7) following rounds of 36, 31 and 34. Emily’s Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club team-mate James Rutherford was in third-place on a total of 108(par). 



The top three players at the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open competition. From l-r Emily Gottfried, Michael Smith, James Rutherford

Richard finished in 6th place with a score of 114(+6) after rounds of 42(+6) on the Adventure Golf, 33(-3) on the Pirate Golf and 39(+3) on the Crazy Golf course. 



Richard Gottfried plays the 16th hole on the Crazy Golf course at the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open

Richard said “Well done to Emily on her runner-up finish in the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open with some very solid play on three tough courses.”

 

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A Gluten Free Scotch Egg

Ahead of our trip to Hastings for the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open competition I had a hankering for a Scotch Egg. Requiring a Gluten Free one and knowing that they are not readily available to Coeliacs I had a look online and posted some comments on Facebook and Twitter to see if anyone in my Gluten Free 'Networks' knew where I could get one. One of the replies came from our favourite Tea Room – the Post Office Tea Rooms in St Leonards - who said they'd be able to make us one!

 

When we arrive in Hastings one of the first things we do is head to the Post Office Tea Rooms for some food and "wonderful banter"* with the owners (not just Philip, as David has a good line in banter and anecdotes too).

 

On our recent Minigolfing trip I was able to eat there four days running and on one of the days I got to eat my first Scotch Egg in over four years! Served with a great ploughman’s lunch platter you would never have been able to tell the Scotch Egg was Gluten Free, it tasted great.



A Gluten Free Scotch Egg at the Post Office Tea Rooms in St Leonards



 

* As stated in Coast Magazine, November 2012

 

Related Blog Post:

- Great Gluten Free Tea Rooms

 

Links:

- Coeliac UK

- The Post Office Tea Rooms

The British Bread Golf Open 2012

This November sees the British Bread Golf Open take place on the River Thames in London!

It's not Gluten Free but as a fan of 'crazy' Golf events I'll be heading along to give it a go!

Last year my fellow BMGA Tour rivals Oliver 'The Machine' Florence and Richard 'Gentle Touch' Skeggs participated, with Skeggs doing rather well in it.

Check out the British Bread Golf Open poster here.

Organised by Seething Wells the event will be raising money for Creative Youth.

A Quarter of a Million visits to The Ham & Egger Files!

Today The Ham & Egger Files received its 250,000th visitor!

 

From my first blog post in December 2006 until the end of December 2011 the site received 100,000 hits and in the last nine and bit months it's received a further 150,000 visits!  People that like "Ham" and/or "Eggs" must be sorely disappointed to find a blog predominantly about Minigolf upon their visit.

 

Thank you to everyone who has visited, read, commented and linked to content on the site. It’s very much appreciated.

 

Some of the most searched for terms from visitors to The Ham & Egger Files are 'minigolf', 'crazy golf', 'crazy golf London, 'laser quest' and 'mini golf London'. From 1,527 blog posts the most visited with 21,053 hits is the 'Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London' blog post.

 

In addition to details of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, The Ham & Egger Files also contains posts about a number of different things including Air Hockey, Amusement Arcades, Arm Champs II Arcade Games Arm Wrestling, Brussels Sprout Competitive Eating, Bun Throwing, Christmas Tree Throwing, Conga Dancing, Crazy Air Squash, Crazy Golf, Crystal Maze Games, Darts, Dodgeball, Egg Throwing, Fake Alligators/Crocodiles, Gluten Free Food & Places to Eat, Guinness World Records, Lazer (Laser) Tag, Picnicking, Piers, (Ping) Pong, Pirate Flyer Laser Monorails, Rock Paper Scissors, Shooting Shacks, 'Tat' Challenges, Tea Rooms, Thumb Wrestling, Town Criers and Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tube Men!

 

The most views of the site have come from the UK, some 171,530 hits. In second place with 38,705 is the USA, while there have been 3,935 visits from Germany and 3,649 from Russia. Visitors from Canada, France, Ireland, Australia, Netherlands and South Korea make up the rest of the all-time top ten page views by country.

 

The blog has now received hits from over a quarter of a million people from 112 countries! Quite what the person from Réunion, a French Island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, was looking for I don’t exactly now. Here’s a list of the 112 countries that The Ham & Egger Files has been visited from:
 

1. Afghanistan
2. Algeria
3. Andorra
4. Argentina
5. Armenia
6. Australia
7. Austria
8. Bahrain
9. Bangladesh
10. Belarus
11. Belgium
12. Bermuda
13. Bosnia and Herzegovina
14. Brazil
15. Brunei
16. Bulgaria
17. Burundi
18. Canada
19. Chile
20. China
21. Colombia
22. Costa Rica
23. Croatia
24. Cyprus
25. Czech Republic
26. Denmark
27. Dominican Republic
28. Ecuador
29. Egypt
30. Estonia
31. Ethiopia
32. Finland
33. France
34. Gabon
35. Georgia
36. Germany
37. Ghana
38. Greece
39. Guatemala
40. Guernsey
41. Hong Kong
42. Hungary
43. Iceland
44. India
45. Indonesia
46. Iraq
47. Ireland
48. Isle of Man
49. Israel
50. Italy
51. Jamaica
52. Japan
53. Jersey
54. Jordan
55. Kuwait
56. Laos
57. Latvia
58. Libya
59. Lithuania
60. Macau
61. Macedonia [FYROM]
62. Malaysia
63. Malta
64. Martinique
65. Mauritius
66. Mexico
67. Moldova
68. Mongolia
69. Montenegro
70. Morocco
71. Myanmar (Burma)
72. Namibia
73. Nepal
74. Netherlands
75. New Zealand
76. Nigeria
77. Norway
78. Pakistan
79. Panama
80. Peru
81. Philippines
82. Poland
83. Portugal
84. Puerto Rico
85. Qatar
86. Réunion
87. Romania
88. Russia
89. Samoa
90. Saudi Arabia
91. Serbia
92. Singapore
93. Slovakia
94. Slovenia
95. South Africa
96. South Korea
97. Spain
98. Sri Lanka
99. Sweden
100. Switzerland
101. Taiwan
102. Tanzania
103. Thailand
104. Tunisia
105. Turkey
106. Ukraine
107. United Arab Emirates
108. Uruguay
109. USA
110. Uzbekistan
111. Venezuela
112. Vietnam

 

Here's to the next quarter of a million hits to the blog.

 

Related Blog Posts:
- The Ham & Egger Files – An Introduction
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Behold...

Seeing in the start of the 'festive season' with a gluten free Mince Pie

May I be the first to wish you a very Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings and all the best for 2013.

 

Why am I doing this on the 5th of October? Well, I had my first Mince Pie of the 'festive season' after buying a pack of four Genius Gluten Free Mince Pies in Asda this lunchtime!

 

My first Mince Pie of the 2012 'festive season'

 

Very tasty they are too.

 

Other Christmas-related Blog Posts at The Ham & Egger Files:

- Christmas Tree Throwing at the Yattendon & Frilsham Village Fete (in June!)

- Merry Christmas from Luton (in April!)

- Crazy Golfers Christmas 'Do' in London - Darts Tournament at Rileys Victoria!

- The Minigolfers Christmas 'Do' 2010

- Guinness World Record Attempt - Most Brussels Sprouts Eaten in a Minute!

- 2009 Christmas Crazy Golf Challenge at Devonshire Square

 

Related Blog Posts at The Ham & Egger Files:

- Gluten Free blog posts

- Coeliac blog posts

 

Links:

- Genius Gluten Free

- Genius Gluten Free Mince Pies

- Coeliac UK

Visiting the Crazy Golf course in Mill Hill Park, London

Visiting the 510th Miniature Golf course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

While in Mill Hill I took the opportunity to check out the Crazy Golf course in Mill Hill Park.

The course visit was number 510 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

My fellow Minigolfer Jon 'The Stance' Angel had tipped me off about the course at the park and I'd put it on our 'to visit' list. The course was the 34th in, or around, London that I've been to.

Following a spot of rain there was a little standing water on the course

The 9-hole Minigolf course can be found at Mill Hill Park, Daws Lane and is a short walk from Mill Hill Broadway. If I'm back in the area in the summer I'd give it a go, but in the Autumn weather conditions it wasn't particularly playable.

Hopefully I'll be back to give the course a try in better weather conditions

The Crazy Golf course at Mill Hill Park is of the same design as the Crazy Golf course in Wardown Park in Luton, with some similar obstacles to those at the course on Southsea Common.

Related Blog Posts:

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date

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