The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller

Meeting author, and former Miniature Golfer, Andy Miller in Whitstable.

Back in 2006 I read a book called Tilting at Windmills. It was one man's attempt to stop worrying and love sport. One of those sports the man - Andy Miller, a self-confessed 'sports atheist' - played was Crazy Golf. The book is a great read and recommended reading for Minigolfers everywhere. It's also a good read in general.

Fast forward to now, well May 2014, and Emily and I were in the seaside town of Whitstable, Kent for a stopover before heading to nearby Margate for that weekend's BMGA British Minigolf Championships.

While wandering around the town we spotted a display in the window of Harbour Books for Andy Miller's brand new book - The Year of Reading Dangerously! We hadn't realised he lived in the town but had known that his new book was being published and that he was embarking on a tour and speaking at events such as WhitLit.

The book display in Harbour Books, Whitstable

Minigolfers on the whole are a friendly, and a little odd, bunch and many of us keep in touch through Twitter, so after seeing the book in the window I tweeted Andy to see if he fancied a pint. He did, and we had a great evening chatting about Minigolf and his new book.

Andy Miller presenting me with a copy (hot off the press) of The Year of Reading Dangerously

The Year of Reading Dangerously is all about the true story of the year Andy spent reading fifty of the greatest and most famous books in the world. Fifty books that he had at one time or another lied about having read! The year of reading dangerously was his attempt to become the person he had pretended to be.

Looking through the book I've read a grand total of one of the fifty books listed (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson). I don't know what that says about me! Emily has read a lot more of them.

The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller

I'm just finishing reading the Wool trilogy by Hugh Howey and then I'm looking forward to giving Andy's book a read. As well as re-reading Tilting at Windmills.

Check out Andy's website for further details of his new book, tour dates and info on his previous work. You can also read the first chapter online, as well as find stockists of the book.

Links:
- Andy Miller's website
- Andy Miller on twitter

Gluten - my Kryptonite

My friend (and perhaps enemy!) Paul O'Conner was recently shopping in London's Chinatown and sent me this photo of what he described as "my kryptonite". He's not wrong!

Mmmm, Kimlan Peanut Gluten. Warning: Contains Gluten. Photo by Paul O'Connor (June 2014)

I know what I'll be getting from Paul for my next birthday then.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, oats and barley (and peanuts 'cut' with Fried Wheat Gluten by the look of that bottle in the picture). For people with Coeliac Disease gluten is a very dangerous substance that causes all manner of health problems. Check out the Coeliac UK website for more information on Coeliac Disease.

Paul's interesting (and evil) find reminds me of the time Emily and I spotted some terrible merchandising in a health food shop in Kentish Town. On that occasion we found the 'Gluten Free Vegetable Suet' right next to bags of pure 'Gluten'!

One of my bugbears about shopping as a Coeliac is that I often see shops (including the big supermarkets) stocking bags of gluten free and gluten-containing flour side-by-side on the shelf. Such a waste, as due to the cross-contamination I wouldn't touch it with a barge-pole.

A bag of Vital Wheat Gluten Flour. Deadly to Coeliacs

Related blog posts:
- Hmm, Some Bizarre Gluten & Gluten Free Shelf Stacking!
- Funny things about being a Coeliac
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac

Swingers Crazy Golf in London

Brand new Crazy Golf course by The Institute of Competitive Socialising to open in Shoreditch, London in September 2014.

Update: Check out the blog post from our visit to the course on the 24th September 2014.

Loopy fun - one of the BIG minigolf obstacles on the Swingers Crazy Golf course in Shoreditch. Set to open on the 25th September 2014 you can find out more about booking tickets at the club website 

The concept of Swingers is to have a Crazy Golf course, street food and a pop-up cocktail bar all under one roof and operating under the banner of 'competitive socialising'.

Check out the Swingers Crazy Golf website for more details and an artist's impression of the course and clubhouse. You can also sign-up to the mailing list to hear more about the course as it develops.

Swingers Crazy Golf is the next concept of Josh Ford, founder of the Winterwell Festival - the home of extraordinary events.

We're looking forward to visiting and playing the course when it opens.

Links:
- Swingers Crazy Golf website
- Swingers Crazy Golf on Twitter
- LONDON’S HOTTEST NEW CRAZY GOLF HANGOUT IN THE HEART OF EAST LONDON – autumn 2014

Related blog posts:
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London
- Indoor Minigolf, Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf courses
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- New Mini Golf course played in Las Vegas - The Swingers Club

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

Minigolf and Art in Croydon

Art-based miniature golf course opening in Croydon this summer.

Croydon-based art group TURF Projects is once again creating an art installation in the form of a playable Crazy Golf course.

The Minigolf course will be open every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday from Saturday 19th of July until Saturday 30th of August.

TURF Projects began in October 2013 and last year the nomadic artist-run project team of artists, filmmakers and architects created a temporary Mini Golf course in Croydon.

Sadly we heard about last year's event after it had happened, but we're looking forward to visiting and playing the new course.

The aim of the TURF Projects group is to shine a spotlight on the diverse, rapidly changing cultural landscape of Croydon, and provide opportunities for local residents and visitors to be involved.

The Putt Putt #2 art Mini Golf course will be curated by Alice Cretney and David McLeavy and will feature work by artists including AV Co-op, EXYZT, Natalie Finnemore, Iain Hales, Holly Hendry, Mark Scott-Wood, W A V E Y B O Y Z, WELCHWHITAKER and Liz West.

The Minigolf holes will be built using a variety of materials including marine plywood, pulped cardboard, concrete and glass, and the artists hope to produce a stunning backdrop to the traditional game of crazy golf.

On Saturday 2nd of August the team at Turf Projects are also organising a Minigolf team tournament on the course. For more information about the course and event get in touch with the Turf team on the links below.

Links:
- Turf Projects website
- Turf Projects on Twitter
- Turf Projects on Facebook
- PUTTPUTT#2 event on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London
- Art

Fantasia Adventure Golf in Felixstowe

Results of a minigolf match at Fantasia Adventure Golf in Felixstowe.

On Sunday 8th of June 2014 we headed to Felixstowe for a day out at the seaside and had lovely weather for it.

We met up with our friends Sophia and Karl Moles and their daughter Fiorella (who is a BIG minigolf fan) and visited the 9-hole Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road for an obligatory game!

Fantasia Adventure Golf in Felixstowe

I also needed to get revenge for my loss to 'Karlos The Jackal' in our only other minigolf contest, when we'd had a round on the course in May 2011!

Fiorella Moles shows Richard, Karl and Sophia how to play the 5th hole at Felixstowe Adventure Golf

In that match-up, which also featured Annette Harper and Kallum Harper, Karl had won with a score of 28, to my round of 29. Annette shot a 33 to finish in third place, with Kallum in fourth on 42.

Karl playing his third shot on hole 5 'Rocky Tube'

This time round I was able to gain a measure of revenge and level the series with a score of 23, while Karl hit a 29. Fiorella won the junior championship with a score of 40.

Richard plays a double rebound shot on hole 3 'Twister' and scores a 2

I can't believe our previous match in Felixstowe was so long ago! It certainly doesn't feel like it was more than three years ago.

The date for the next contest between Karl and I in our Best-of-TBD series of matches is also to be decided...

Links:
- Minigolf in Felixstowe - Fantasia Golf - Plus Irregular Mini Golf Tour Result
- Felixstowe-related blog posts
- Fantasia Adventure Golf-related blog posts

The BIGGEST 99p or £ shop in the WORLD!

...is in Ipswich!

While in Ipswich recently we noticed the old JJB Sports shop on Carr Street in the town centre is now a shop called 'Yippee...it's 99p' and claims to be "The BIGGEST 99p or £ shop in the WORLD!"!!!

The biggest 99p or £ shop in the world!

There's also a great sign in the window that states it's "THE ONLY 99p SHOP IN IPSWICH". Interesting as over the road is a '99p Stores' branch!

Moby Adventure Golf in Romford

Playing the new Moby Adventure Golf course at Golf Kingdom in Romford.

Emily playing minigolf at Moby Golf in Romford

On Friday 6th of June 2014 we made a stop-off in Romford while en route to Ipswich via Chelmsford and had a play of the brand new 18-hole Moby Golf adventure golf course at Golf Kingdom in Romford.



Moby Golf became the 337th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since 2006 and the 561st visited overall.

The pirate ship at the Moby Golf course in Romford

The inspiration behind the course is the legend of 'Moby Dick' - a whale that washed up in Dagenham in 1790!

What an obstacle!

Richard playing out a hole at Moby Adventure Golf

The Moby Golf course is located at the Cranfield Golf Centre, aka Golf Kingdom, and depending on who you ask is located in Romford, Chadwell Heath, Hainault, London and Essex! For reference and ease of locating it the postcode for the course is RM6 6SB. Failing that just look out for the GIANT whale and MASSIVE pirate ship by the main road!

Hole 7 - Moby Dick!

The pirate ship at Moby Golf

In our match-up I beat Emily 41 to 46. After our round we asked in the hut what the course record was and were told it currently stood at 37.

Emily putting on the incredibly long final hole

The course costs £9 a round for adults, with a second round half-price on the same day.

The Moby Golf Rules of Play and Prices. Unfortunately I couldn't get away as being a rascal on this occasion. However, the rules do allow for 'laughter' and 'shrieks' whole playing - always a good thing. Two "Yee-ha's!" were heard during my round

The Moby Golf course is proving popular, with a number of friends and family letting me know about it. Fellow Minigolfer Ramone Tutt got in touch with me via Twitter as he and his mate had played the course on Saturday and enjoyed their round, despite an unusual incident with a pencil!

Emily on hole 1

Moby Adventure Golf is worth a play, the course looks great and is well designed. The customer service from the staff on the car park and in the course kiosk was excellent and very welcoming.

Hole 17 is under cover - and a nice cooling spot, especially on a lovely sunny day like the one we had on our visit to Moby Golf

Moby Golf is open seven days a week (Monday to Friday 10am til 9pm, and weekends 10am til 7pm).

Opening times of Moby Golf

Six years ago we played another adventure golf course with a whale on it - the Adventure Golf course in Scarborough.

The three-hole practice putting area next to the main course at Moby Golf

For further information on Moby Adventure Golf - and the seven types of golf that can be played at Golf Kingdon - check out the Golf Kingdom website and the Moby Golf Facebook page.

Moby Adventure Golf in Romford

Related blog posts:
- Moby Golf Adventure Golf opening in London
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf in Essex

Links:
- Moby Golf Facebook page
- Golf Kingdom website

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.
 

Subscribe to our mailing list

Luton Museum Makers Aiming To Break World Record

Luton Museum Makers targeting a Guinness World Record for the "Largest Gathering of People Wearing Boater Hats"!

On Saturday 16th of August 2014 Museum Makers and Wardown Park Museum in Luton will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the "Largest Gathering of People Wearing Boater Hats".

The current world record is 250 people, but the team behind the attempt are aiming to get 2,000 people involved!

Luton has a long tradition of millinery and Wardown Park Musuem houses a collection related to hatmaking, with over 700 hats and materials from the trade.

For more information and to register as a participant visit the Museum Makers website.

The Guinness World Record Attempt will take place at 11.30am on Saturday 16th of August.

If you don't own your own straw boater there will be some available on the day.

The event sounds fun and a little less extreme than some of the other Guinness World Record Attempts I've undertaken, such as Hopping and Brussels Sprouts eating. I've also taken part in record attempts for the most people to ‘High Five’ simultaneously, the UK's longest Conga line and the Largest picnic ever in the UK.

The Museum Makers are a new team, consisting of members of the community, who are dedicated to saving, cherishing, running and recreating Wardown Park Museum in Luton.

Links:
- Museum Makers website
- Museum Makers on Twitter
- Museum Makers on Facebook
- Guinness World Record related blog posts

Pirate Adventure Golf at thecentre:MK in Milton Keynes

Playing the new Pirate Mini Golf course at thecentre:MK shopping centre in Milton Keynes.

Spot Richard on the Pirate Mini Golf course at thecentre:MK...?

Having heard that a Minigolf course would once again be returning to thecentre:MK Emily and I were excited to give it a play.

Pirate Adventure Golf at thecentre:MK

Last summer we played the Jurassic Mini Golf at the thecentre:mk. This year the team behind that course have returned with a Pirate Mini Golf layout.

Playing hole 3 of the Pirate Mini Golf course

On Sunday 1st of June we headed over to make the 560th course visit on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 12-hole Pirate Mini Golf course became the 336th played since 2006.



The layout looks impressive in its location in Queen's Court at thecentre:MK.

thecentre:MK's Pirate Adventure Golf course in Queen's Court

The centre-piece of the vividly coloured, well laid out and fun looking course is a 20ft moving Octopus!

The GIANT minigolf Octopus at thecentre:MK's Pirate Adventure Golf course

The course itself is of the 'Eternit' type of Miniature Golf - with the addition of felt to the playing surface and a few non-standard hole types and obstacles.

Emily on hole 6

The pirate theming around the site is really well done and the striking blue of the felt on the course makes a nice contrast with the green felt flooring.

Putting in the wake of the Kraken!

It makes for a pleasing playing environment - even if the course is very tricky, with some tough second (and third) putts.

Emily lining up a second shot

In our match-up Emily, the Eternit Miniaturegolf specialist (and British Women's Record Holder on the surface), beat me by one-shot with a result of 33 to 34.

Emily playing hole 10

Both scores were good enough to get us on the course Leader Board too.

Emily in tied fourth place on the Pirate Adventure Golf Leader Board with her 33 

Squire in sixth spot

The course costs £4.50 a round for adults and the second round on the same day is half price. I took advantage of this and had another round after we'd had a bit of a shop around thecentre:MK.

In the stocks

The Pirate Mini Golf course will be in thecentre:MK until the 29th of August 2014 and is open seven days a week. It's an interesting layout, has friendly staff and is worth a play.

Playing the 12th hole

Further details can be found on the Pirate Adventure Golf course website.

The course was another to 'feature' a toilet on it! Though this was was not in use on the course

Women were seen as unlucky on Pirate Ships!

Emily wasn't happy about that.

In recent years thecentre:MK has been home to three courses, the other being a Crazy Golf course at 'The Beach' in July 2011.

This year the team behind the Pirate Adventure Golf course also have a Jurassic themed Mini Golf course at the Oracle shopping centre in Reading.

Links:
- Pirate Adventure Golf
- thecentre:MK

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Playing Jurassic Mini Golf at the thecentre:mk
- Crazy Golf at 'the beach' at The Centre: MK in Milton Keynes - Minigolf course played #263
- Milton Keynes

New gluten free rice noodles from Kabuto Noodles

The team at Kabuto Noodles recently got in touch with me on Twitter to let me know about their new gluten free noodles and see whether I'd like to give them a try.

Of course I was delighted to give them a sample and received a box of six pots of the noodles - three Miso and three Chicken flavour.

The Miso and Chicken gluten free rice noodles from Kabuto Noodles

The pots look colourful and the instructions are clear (and fun). It's been ages since I've had noodles from a pot - they used to be a favourite snack of mine in my pre-coeliac disease days - so it was great to see Kabuto launching them.

After boiling the kettle it was a mere four minutes (plus a bit of cooling off time) before I was tucking into the chicken rice noodles, and very good they were too. For a tasty and filling lunch, or quick and easy dinner, I'd recommend them.

The packaging is really well designed and fun, with plenty of fun nods to Ninjas, Samurai and Japan. I really like what they've done to the barcode on the pot too.

There are seven flavours of Kabuto Noodles - with two of them being gluten free. Check out the Kabuto Noodles website for more information.

I've tried both the chicken and miso flavours and my favourite is the chicken.

You can find Kabuto Noodles on sale at Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Whole Foods Market, as well as Amazon and Ocado. To find your nearest stockist, or to recommend a shop that could be selling the noodles get in touch with the Kabuto team.

Links:
- Kabuto Noodles
- Kabuto Noodles on Twitter
- Kabuto Noodles on Facebook
- Gluten Free blog posts

Splash Point Open 2014 minigolf tournament

Splash Point Open minigolf competition to tee-off at Denton Gardens on Saturday 26th July 2014.

Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing has announced the date of the first-ever Splash Point Open minigolf tournament.

The club open competition will take place over three rounds on Saturday 26th of July 2014 at the 18-hole course in Worthing's Denton Gardens.

Richard Gottfried playing hole 4 during the Hole-in-One Charity Challenge at the 2014 BMGA British Masters tournament at Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing

Tee-off time will be 5pm and further details of the event can be found on the BMGA website here and The UnOfficial British Minigolf Forum here.

Follow Splash Point Mini Golf on Twitter and check out the British Minigolf Association's website too.

Earlier this season Splash Point was the venue for the BMGA British Masters - the third time the course has hosted the event. Back in 2010 the course also hosted the BMGA British Matchplay Championships.

Check out the links below to see videos from two BMGA British Masters competitions filmed by the team at 2 Dog Imaging:
- Video of the 2013 BMGA British Masters in Worthing
- Video of the 2012 BMGA British Masters in Worthing

Splash Point Mini Golf was the 181st course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Links:
- Splash Point Mini Golf
- British Minigolf Association
- British Minigolf Association Tournament Calendar for 2014 blog post
- Worthing related blog posts
- Splash Point Mini Golf related blog posts

New Gluten Free Pork Crackling from The Real Pork Crackling Co.

More pork crackling launched that is gluten free.

The Cracking Pork Crackling from The Real Pork Crackling Co.

I'm a BIG fan of Pork Crackling, but as a Coeliac it's not a foodstuff that is always easily available. That's why I was very pleased to see that The Real Pork Crackling Co. are now selling gluten free pork crackling in Asda!

Emily and I both spotted the gluten free Pork Crackling while perusing the beverages in Asda

As soon as I got home I dived into the big bag of the 'Cracking Pork Crackling' (weighing in at 75g) and scoffed the lot - they are very good indeed. And they were only a quid.

A nice snack to have with a new Hornsby's Cider (also flagged up as 'Gluten Free' on its packaging) that we spotted on our shop*.

The Real Pork Crackling Company also sell Golden Pork Crunch, which I've previously tried.

On a gluten free meat product related note, we also noticed that the Asda Extra Special sausages are gluten free and have the Coeliac UK Crossed Grain symbol! Great news, and brilliant to see such a variety of flavours available.

Links:

- The Real Pork Crackling Co.

- Pork Crackling related blog posts

* I normally hate grocery shopping, but on this occasion we noticed so many great new products that were gluten free it made such a difference.

New Adventure Golf course opening in Brighton

Photos of the new seafront minigolf course being built in Brighton.

The new Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf course in Brighton is beginning to take shape (photo by Paul O'Connor, May 2014)

My friend, and fan of bizarre photos, Paul 'Flip Flops' O'Connor was recently in Brighton and sent me through some snaps of the new Adventure Golf course being built on the seafront.

Another view of the Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf course under construction (photo by Paul O'Connor, May 2014)

The new minigolf course is from the team behind the Bristol and Liverpool 'Jungle Rumble' Adventure Golf courses.

A tiki type of totem behind the base of a new minigolf hole at the Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf course in Brighton (photo by Paul O'Connor, May 2014)

The new course will replace the Peter Pan's Adventure Golf course on Madeira Drive.

Over the year's we've been to Brighton a few times and played, or at least visited, the Miniature Golf courses in the town when we've been there.

Peter Pan's Adventure Golf course was the 13th course visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in March 2007. That same year I returned to the course for the Brighton Open minigolf tournament where I finished in 18th place. It was also the venue of my brother Christopher's one and only appearance (to date) on the BMGA Tour - in the 2008 Brighton Open.

We've also visited and played the other two Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf courses, with both the Bristol and Liverpool courses hosting British Minigolf Association tournaments in recent years.

We're looking forward to giving the new Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf layout in Brighton a play in the future.

Links:

- Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf website

- Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf on Twitter

- Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf on Facebook

Related blog posts:

- Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf Bristol

- Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf Liverpool

- Peter Pan's Adventure Golf in Brighton

- Brighton blog posts

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Mundesley Adventure Golf in Norfolk

Over the Bank Holiday weekend my brother Christopher had a bit of a tour of the Norfolk coast and sent me through some snaps of the Crazy Golf courses he spotted.

One of the Minigolf courses was in the seaside town of Mundesley and it was a course neither Emily or I have played. Yet.

The Exit of Adventure Island Golf in Mundesley, Norfolk. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, May 2014.

Check out MiniatureGolfer.com where you can see more photos of the Adventure Island Golf course on Beach road in Mundesley taken by our fellow Minigolfing adventurers Paul and Owen Johnson on their visit in 2011.

The course looks good and similar to the Lost World Adventure Golf in nearby Hemsby - itself one of my favourite courses and one that has some excellent theming (when you're over by the Aztec Temple, snake pit and row of skulls on poles at the back of the course you'd never know you were in a busy seaside resort in Norfolk!).

Christopher is a charter member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, playing at the first-ever course on the Tour and joining us for a fair few rounds along the way since 2006.

Finding Minigolf courses to be closed on your visit seems to run in the family! Check out the links below for blog posts about other courses visited by Christopher.

Links:
- Mundesley Adventure Island Golf
- MiniatureGolfer.com

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Christopher Gottfried - Minigolf Player Profile
- Minigolf at Letoonia Golf Resort, Belek, Turkey
- Another unplayed Minigolf course, but not visited by me - Newquay
- Some photos of the Little Oasis Crazy Golf course in Margate, Kent
- Visits to the Mini Golf course in Herne Bay
- Minigolf News - A Gottfried visits a closed Crazy Golf course!