National Puzzle Day on 29 January 2015

The National Day for Jigsaw Puzzles is on Thursday 29 January 2015!

Emily is a big fan of Wasgij puzzles, while I'm always on the lookout for Mini Golf jigsaw puzzles and we've found quite a few on our travels.

Last year a long quest was ended when we managed to find an elusive Jan Van Haasteren Mini-Golf jigsaw puzzle while on a day out in Derby!

Finding a Crazy Golf jigsaw puzzle at Poyntons in Derby Market

Some of the recent jigsaw puzzles we've bought are below.
  

A Gerold Como Collection 'Golf' jigsaw puzzle that contains a lot of crazy elements

A crazy golf jigsaw puzzle by Page One Design

A Ravensburger jigsaw puzzle that includes a crazy golf windmill on the golf course

The Golf edition of the 'World's Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle'

'The Golf Course' jigsaw puzzle by Jumbo and Jan Van Haasteren

Back in March 2012 we visited Abbots Langley, Herts to attend Jigfest 2012 and we were quite tempted to enter the doubles competition at last year's British Jigsaw Puzzle Championship.

Emily at Jigfest 2012

The team at Putterfingers put(t) together a great puzzle related blog post in 2013, you can read it at "5 Reasons a Crazy Golf Puzzle is Great Fun!"

While not exactly to do with jigsaws, but puzzle-related, our friend and fellow minigolfer Paul Godding runs the 7puzzle company that develops maths-related boardgames, card games and puzzles.

The latest addition to our collection of wacky golf puzzles. A 1500 piece Jan Van Haasteren / Jumbo

The completed Jan Van Haasteren Golf jigsaw puzzle 

Check out the links below for more jigsaw puzzle-related blog posts and websites.

Related blog posts:
- Jigsaw Puzzles
- Finding the Jan Van Haasteren Crazy Golf Jumbo Jigsaw Puzzle in Derby
- The British Jigsaw Puzzle Championship 2014
- Jigfest 2012!

Links:
- The Official UK Puzzle Club
- Jumbo Jigsaw Puzzles (makers of Wasgij, Jan Van Haasteren's and more)
- Ravensburger Puzzles
- The Yorkshire Jigsaw Store
- British Jigsaw Championship
- #NationalPuzzleDay

A lot of gluten free surprises at Lidl

Stocking up on some new gluten free products from Kelkin at Lidl.

A happy Coeliac shopping for gluten free food in Lidl

A recent tweet by the Gluten Free Guerrillas alerted me to some upcoming special offers at Lidl and I was hoping that my local Lidl supermarket in Leagrave, Luton would have them in stock.

I needn't have worried - there were a LOT of great products on offer!

A great range of Kelkin gluten free products in the Leagrave branch of Lidl

As someone with Coeliac Disease it's brilliant to find new and different food to add to my strict gluten free diet, so thank you to the team at Lidl and Kelkin for stocking so many interesting products. Apart from the Porridge Oats and Muesli (as I'm a Coeliac that cannot tolerate oats for medical reasons) and Rice Cakes (I'm someone who can't tolerate them for taste reasons) we bought at least one of each of the products on offer.

What a haul of gluten free food

I've been really looking forward to trying the Kelkin Chocolate Teacakes, I hadn't bought them in other supermarkets as the price has been too prohibitive, but £1.99 is a much more reasonable price. They were worth waiting for.

The whole range of gluten free products on sale in Lidl were reasonably priced and more akin to what people without special dietary requirements pay for their food and treats. Hopefully Lidl will continue to stock gluten free products and/or arrange future #LidlSurprises for Coeliacs.

Our shopping bags contained the following Kelkin Free From products:
- Lightly sea salted Organic Corn Cakes
- Hazelnut & Chocolate flavoured Rice Cake Bars
- Jaffa cakes - a product I've seen before and scoffed many many times
- Belgian milk chocolate fingers
- Chocolate chip cookies
- Penne pasta, lasagne, spaghetti and a tomato & basil pasta sauce
- Corn flakes
- Chocolate flavoured Teacakes

We also picked up the Organic Buckwheat flakes but on reading the label again at home we noticed that it has Oat Flakes in, so I won't be eating that. It just goes to show how very very careful you have to be when buying food - I always double check, but as the Buckwheat flakes were on the end of the aisle away from the main range of products we grabbed it as we headed to the till.

A Lidl update 25 February 2015:
Fellow gluten free blogger Gluten-free Issi recently tweeted that the gluten free specials in her local Lidl had been reduced and were now even greater value. So yesterday evening we headed to our local branch in Leagrave, Luton to see what we could get.

The pasta and lasagna were also reduced, but we've got plenty of those in the cupboard. Unfortunately the tomato & basil pasta sauce was out of stock. We've got a couple left and have found the sauce is great as a pizza topping too 

Check out the websites and social media links below for more information about gluten free, Coeliac Disease, Lidl and Kelkin.

Related blog posts:
- Coeliac
- Gluten Free

Links:
- Lidl
- Kelkin
- Lidl on Twitter
- Lidl on Facebook
- #LidlSurprises
- #Lidlers
- Kelkin on Twitter
- Kelkin on Facebook
- Gluten Free Guerrillas
- Coeliac Disease at Coeliac UK

Christmas is definitely over then

The sad sight of abandoned Christmas trees in the New Year.

The sad post-festive season sight of a selection of Christmas Trees ready for recycling/chipping

This year there were two Christmas Tree Mazes in London - one in Vauxhall and one on the Southbank. Unfortunately the Southbank one was closed on our visit.

Roll on Christmas 2015!

Or perhaps there will be some 'festive fun' over the summer...

Back in June 2012 I competed in a Christmas Tree Throwing Competition at a fete in West Berkshire! Great fun, but hard work.

Launching a Nordman Fir at the Yattendon & Frilsham Village Fete. It was quite an agonising experience!

The Christmas period also seems to start earlier each year. For instance I bought and ate my first Mince Pies in September this year!

By the look of these trees I've seen that are well past their use by date, the 'season of goodwill' has continued long into the summer as well.

A browned off Christmas Tree in Luton. In April

Dumped in Hastings and looking very un-Christmassy in May

Check out the Recycle Now website for more information on recycling your Christmas Tree.

Related blog posts:
- Christmas
- Christmas Tree Maze at the Southbank Centre's Winter Festival
- Christmas Tree Maze at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens
- Fun and Games at the Yattendon & Frilsham Village Fete (including Christmas Tree Throwing. In the summer!)

Mini Golf Days in 2015

Important dates for your minigolf diary.

Playing Crazy Golf in Hastings

2015 will see three 'Mini Golf Days' taking place around the world.

- National Miniature Golf Day (a quasi-official US holiday) takes place on the second Saturday in May and this year will be on Saturday 9th of May.

- Miniature Golf Day is always on the 21st of September, which this year falls on a Monday.

- In Austria 'Minigolf Tag' (Minigolf Day) has taken place for the last five years. This year's event will be on Sonntag 3 Mai. Visit the Minigolf Tag website and Facebook page for details of the 2015 edition.

There are tens of thousands of miniature golf courses of all shapes and sizes around the world and millions of people play a round each year.

Emily playing at the Splash Point Mini Golf course at Denton Gardens in Worthing

On the serious competition side of things there are over 38,000 Minigolf players in 46 nations that are members of the World Minigolf Sport Federation. They play on the 1,000 courses approved for over 1,500 Minigolf tournaments each year.

On Twitter each Monday is #MinigolfMonday, so hashtag your Crazy, Mini and Adventure Golf posts.

Of course, with so many courses to play (indoors and out), any and every day can be MINIGOLF DAY if you like.

Check out the links below for details of miniature golf courses around the world. Emily and I have visited almost 600 courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour to date.

Related blog posts:
- Mini Golf days in 2014
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Indoor Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses
- National Golf Day 2015
- UK Mini Golf Competitions in 2015

Links:

- National Miniature Golf Day on Wikipedia (within ‘Miniature Golf’ article - the first edition was in 2007)

- Miniature Golf Day on the Holiday Insights website
- Minigolf Tag website

- Mini golf, crazy golf, miniature golf and adventure golf courses worldwide on MiniatureGolfer.com

- The Putting Penguin - Minigolf reviews from around the world

- A Couple of Putts - Minigolf blog from the USA

Mini Golf courses visited in 2014

A look at the miniature golf courses visited and played this year.

At the Pirate Island Adventure Golf course at Hoebridge Golf Centre in Old Woking, Surrey - the 352nd course played on our tour

Since September 2006 we've visited 588 courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. During 2014 we visited 46 courses that added to our tally.

Playing Moby Adventure Golf in Romford, Essex in June. The course was the 337th played

The first new course of the 28 we played in 2014 was the Indoor Pirate Adventure Golf course at the Pleasure Island Amusement Arcade in Whitby, Yorkshire.

At the indoor Pirate Adventure Golf course in Whitby in March. The layout was the 544th visited and 327th played

During the summer we visited and played fourteen courses in Scotland.

One of the most picturesque views in Minigolf. Playing the Crazy Golf course in Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae in July

The final new course of the year played was the Jungle Island Adventure Golf at Horton Park Golf Club in Epsom, Surrey, while the last new Crazy Golf layout putted on was the UrbanCrazy minigolf hole at a wedding aboard the HMS President on the River Thames!

Emily playing minigolf at Swingers Crazy Golf in Shoreditch, London on the launch night in September

Courses played 20th March 2014 - 27th November 2014
327 Whitby (Pleasure Island Amusement Arcade) - Indoor Pirate Adventure Golf course
328 Harrogate (Valley Gardens) - Crazy Golf

329 Blaby (Blaby Golf Centre) - Congo River Adventure Golf

330 Nottingham (The Cornerhouse) - The Lost City Adventure Golf - The Temple Trail

331 Nottingham (The Cornerhouse) - The Lost City Adventure Golf - Sacred Skull Pass

332 Long Eaton (Trent Lock Golf Centre) - 6-hole Putting Green

333 Long Eaton (Trent Lock Golf Centre) - Pirate's Landing Adventure Golf

334 Littlehampton (Harbour Park) - Sharksville Adventure Golf

335 Gillingham (Strand Leisure Park) - Wild Frontier Crazy Golf

336 Milton Keynes (thecentre:MK) - Pirate Adventure Golf

337 Romford / Chadwell Heath (Golf Kingdom) - Moby Golf adventure golf

338 Windsor (Alexandra Gardens) - Adventure Golf - a replacement for the old concrete miniature golf course (visited in May 2009)

339 Millport, Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland - Crazy Golf

340 Largs - Mackerston Putting Green

341 Ayr (Pirate Pete's) - Mini Championship Golf

342 Ayr (Seafront) - Crazy Golf

343 Ayr (Seafront) - Putting Green

344 Portaputt - Llanwrtyd Wells

345 Croydon (Platform Ruskin Square) - Putt Putt #2 Crazy Golf Art Installation by TURF Projects

346 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA - KISS by Monster Mini Golf

347 Shoreditch, London (Swingers Crazy Golf by the Institute of Competitive Socialising) - indoor Crazy Golf

348 Prestatyn (Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Village) - Crazy Golf

349 Rhyl (East Parade Bowling Club at the Wales National Crown Green Bowling Centre) - Mini Golf Grass Putting

350 Billington, near Leighton Buzzard (Mead Open Farm) - Swedish Felt B-run Crazy Golf

351 Camber Sands (Pontins Camber Sands Holiday Park) - Crazy Golf

352 Old Woking (Hoebridge Golf Centre) - Pirate Island Adventure Golf

353 Epsom (Horton Park Golf Club) - Jungle Island Adventure Golf

354 London - an UrbanCrazy minigolf hole at a wedding aboard the HMS President on the River Thames

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour wouldn't be the same if we hadn't been to a number of closed or derelict courses. This year we arrived at 18 courses to find them in an unplayable condition.

At the derelict Eternit Miniature Golf course on Ayr seafront in July. It was the 230th unplayable course on our tour and 572nd visited overall

The first was the Arnold Palmer Putting Course on North Terrace in Whitby, with the last unplayable course being Ohana Mini Golf in Las Vegas which was closed when Emily passed by at 6am.

At the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Whitby in March. The course was the 545th visited and 218th unplayable one on our tour

Courses visited but not played 20th March 2014 - 14th September 2014

- Whitby (North Terrace) - Arnold Palmer Putting Course
- Whitby (North Terrace) - Pitch & Putt Mini Golf
- Harrogate (Valley Gardens) - Pitch & Putt Mini Golf
- Derby (Mundy Play Centre at Markeaton Park) - Crazy Golf
- Gillingham (Strand Leisure Park)
- Barton's Point Coastal Park, Sheerness (Isle of Sheppey)
- Margate (Temporary mobile theme park)
- London (Clerkenwell Design Week 2014)
- Ardrossan (Seafront) - Crazy Golf - derelict course.
- Largs (Putting on the Ritz) - 18-hole Putting course
- Largs (Putting on the Ritz) - 18-hole Putting course #2
- Largs (Mackerston Putting Green) - 18-hole Putting course
- Largs (Aubrey Park) - Crazy Golf
- Ayr (Seafront) - Derelict Minigolf
- Troon (Seafront) - Crazy Golf
- Prestwick (Seafront) - Putting course
- Falkirk (Callendar Park) - Crazy Golf
- Las Vegas, Nevada, USA - Ohana Mini Golf

We've revisited a number of courses this year, notably in Prestatyn, West Horndon, Abingdon-on-Thames, and quite a few during the 2014 tournament season.

Emily putting her way to victory in the Holiday on the Buses Pro Minigolf Championship at the Central Beach Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn in September

Check out the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list for links to all of the courses we've visited and played to date.

Gluten free Christmas sandwiches

The hunt for an almost elusive festive sandwich.

As a recipient of the British Sandwich Association's enewsletter I recently completed an online survey about sandwiches, in doing so I was entered into a prize draw in which I won a £5 luncheon voucher.

The very first Luncheon Voucher I've ever seen. A gift from the British Sandwich Association

With this new found wealth I began to think what I could buy with it. As someone with Coeliac Disease my choices of safe lunches to eat while out and about are very limited. Some supermarkets and coffee shop chains have gluten and wheat free options, albeit not with the most exciting of ingredients (think basic ham, cheese, egg, chicken with very little added to them, apart from a bit of salad).

As the festive season was upon us it got me thinking about whether any brand had produced a 'Christmas sandwich'.

I put out a tweet to the big players that I knew normally have gluten free sandwiches / free from sections to see if they were tapping into the Coeliac Pound this year.

I tweeted Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose, M&S, the Co-Op, Pret, Starbucks and Costa and I'm happy to report that most replied. Unfortunately all but one of those that came back to me were not selling a gluten free Christmas sandwich. But they did make a point to say that my suggestion had been noted.

A Turkey, Bacon & Cranberry Gluten Free Wrap in Costa

The one place I could sate my hunger for a Christmas sanger was at Costa, as they were stocking a festive gluten free Turkey, Bacon and Cranberry wrap.

A combo of Christmas treats from Costa

After work on Christmas Eve Emily and I popped into the two branches of Costa in The Mall Luton to see if we could find a gluten free wrap. Unfortunately they didn't have any in the St George's Square branch, but we were in luck at the other shop.

The gluten free Turkey, Bacon and Cranberry Wrap from Costa was good. As was the Christmas Cake slice. Both were well priced and in-line with other products for people on 'normal' diets. That's a nice touch

Unfortunately Costa doesn't accept Luncheon Vouchers (but I've heard that some supermarkets and restaurants do) so we had to spend real cash money for my gluten free wrap and cake. I wonder if the British Sandwich Association will notice that 'spike' in sales from my Coeliac pound being spent - it's a rare occasion for me to be able to buy gluten free food from a takeaway or restaurant in Luton. It's worth noting that because I could eat, Emily decided to purchase a sandwich and cake too - I wonder how many manufacturers and retailers consider the impact selling gluten free products (or not) has on their bottom line?

Thanks go to my fellow gluten free blogger Kevin Gollop of Gluten Free By The Sea who also let me know that Costa and Starbucks were doing the Turkey wraps.

Fingers crossed there will be more interesting gluten and wheat free sandwich options for Coeliacs in 2015.

Related blog posts:
- Coeliac
- Gluten Free

Links:
- British Sandwich Association
- Costa
- Gluten Free By The Sea

Gluten free Lebkuchen Christmas Biscuits

Baking some treats from the Gluten-free Baking at Christmas book by Samantha Stein.

One of the Christmas food items I've missed most since being diagnosed with Coeliac Disease is Lebkuchen. They are a tasty glazed - and sometimes chocolate-coated - gingerbread biscuit from Germany.

With my German-heritage I remember receiving hampers from relations in Germany and my favourite item was always Lebkuchen.

As there are no commercially available gluten free Lebkuchen in the shops I haven't eaten any since Christmas 2007.

I heard via twitter that fellow coeliac Samantha Stein (aka The Happy Coeliac) had included a recipe for gluten free Lebkuchen in her 'Gluten-free Baking at Christmas' book! As an early Christmas present I bought the book and it was delivered in time to get baking before the big day.

The Gluten-free Baking at Christmas book by 'The Happy Coeliac' Samantha Stein. The book contains 20 festive recipes

Emily is a great cook and budding baker and looked forward to cooking the Lebkuchen. As recommended in the recipe the dough mix was prepared 24-hours in advance an left overnight in the fridge so that the flavour could intensify.

We had to hunt for some Christmas-shaped cake cutters, but managed to track down a set in M&S so we could make the Lebkuchen festive.

The end result was a batch of very nice Lebkuchen and a very happy coeliac. As well as the glaze we topped some of them with melted dark chocolate. They really tasted of Christmas.

Gluten free Lebkuchen biscuits

You can buy the 'Gluten-free Baking at Christmas' book by Samantha Stein on The Happy Coeliac website. Check out the gluten free Lebkuchen recipe on the site too.

If you sign-up for free updates from The Happy Coeliac you will also receive a free 40-page eBook 'Gluten Free For Beginners'.

Related blog posts:
- Coeliac
- Gluten Free

Links:
- The Happy Coeliac website
- The Happy Coeliac on Twitter
- The Happy Coeliac on Facebook
- The Happy Coeliac on YouTube

New Glutafin gluten free pizza bases

Trying out some of the new gluten free pizza bases from Glutafin.

I recently received a 'Sorry you were out' card in my letterbox and so headed down to my local sorting office to collect my large item. When the postman brought out the parcel it was a surprise!

The bright 'takeaway' pizza box I collected from the Royal Mail sorting office surprised me and I got some funny looks from the other people waiting to collect their packages. It's not often you go to a Post Office for pizza!

Glutafin was one of the first gluten free brands I heard of when I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in 2008 when I first saw my Consultant and Dietitian at the L&D Hospital. I was given details of the products, information on how to order on prescription and some coupons for free sample products. I've been buying their products ever since and I've also received Glutafin products on prescription over the years.

The new pizza bases from Glutafin are very good. They are nice and thin, with a slightly raised edge so you can fill it up with tasty toppings. The pizzas we made were so good that we scoffed them before we had a chance to take any photos.

The Glutafin pizza bases came with a movie themed pizza ideas leaflet and details of a contest

Find out more about the Glutafin range on the website, follow them on Twitter and Facebook and sign-up for the newsletter. If you're a newly diagnosed Coeliac you can sign-up to receive a free hamper of Glutafin goodies on the website too.

A slice of very nice gluten free pizza cooked by Emily. The Glutafin Pizza Bases are great. They hold up well, are nice and thin, with a good crust. This pizza was topped with some of the tasty Kelkin Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce (that we bought in our haul from Lidl recently), some excellent Chorizo from The Bath Pig and Mozzarella

Related blog posts:
- Coeliac
- Gluten Free
- Glutafin
- Gluten free surprise at Lidl

Links:
- Glutafin website
- Glutafin on Twitter
- Glutafin on Facebook
- Kelkin
- The Bath Pig

Free From Coeliacs

Some interesting labeling on a crisp packet.

+Emily recently got some Convivial Yorkshire Crisps and I was pleased to see they were 'Free From' Gluten.

I did laugh when I saw they were also 'Free From' Coeliacs!

Good to know these crisps do not contain any Coeliacs. I draw the line at eating fellow gluten free people!

Being on a lifelong medically approved diet to treat my Coeliac Disease I am forever poring over labels on food and drink before I'll dare consume it.

The Yorkshire Crisps website also details the allergy information and states the lightly sea salted flavour crisps are suitable for Coeliacs and Vegetarians. They are Free From nuts, soya, milk, egg, gluten, MSG and GM.

The 'Convivial' crisps

I'm looking forward to eating them.

Take a look at my blog series on Funny things about being a Coeliac for more menu and label fails.

Links:
- Yorkshire Crisps
- Coeliac UK

Related blog posts:
- Coeliac-related blog posts
- Gluten Free-related blog posts
- Funny things about being a Coeliac

Star Command Laser Tag in London

New London laser tag battleground is open.

While recently walking from Oxford Circus to Tottenham Court Road my eye was taken by an interesting sight - a new Laser Tag arena!

I popped in and the two staff members gave me a run through on the laser guns, game modes and a walk round the battle zone. It looks great.

We played Star Command Laser Tag when it was based at the Trocadero. It's great to know the centre has reopened elsewhere.

Me and Emily at Star Command Laser Tag in 2011

The new venue opened on the 15 December and is located in the Old Foyles Bookshop on Charing Cross Road, between Leicester Square and Tottenham Court Road.

For more information on opening times, game options and prices visit the Star Command Laser Tag website, Facebook page and Twitter.

It might be time to get a group together for a match-up and dust off the Laser Tag Rankings.

Related blog posts:
- Laser Tag
- Laser Tag in Birmingham and London

Links:
- Star Command Laser Tag
- Laser Tag and Paintball in London

Blogging for eight years today

As of today I've been blogging for eight years!

Richard Gottfried, veteran blogger

I've written 1,931 blog posts.

The blog has received almost 700,000 page views.

With readers from over 100 countries.

In that time Emily and I have travelled to 193 seasides.

We've played more than 30 different sports and games.

And visited 588 minigolf, crazy golf, putting and adventure golf courses.

Plus, I've found, tried and reviewed lots of gluten free food & drink.

Thank you all for reading, liking, commenting, tweeting, RT'ing, sharing and +1'ing :-)

Related blog posts:
- My first blog post "The Ham & Egger Files – An Introduction"
- My most viewed blog post "Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London"
- Behold...

World of Bun Throwing: Abingdon County Hall Museum

World of Bun Throwing: Abingdon County Hall Museum: A visit to Abingdon-on-Thames.

On a recent visit to my old home town of Abingdon-on-Thames I was very pleased to see that the roof of the County Hall Museum is now open to visitors...

Crazy Golf in Abingdon's Abbey Meadows

A revisit to the first miniature golf course I ever played.

The Crazy Golf course at the Abbey Meadows in Abingdon-on-Thames

At the weekend I visited my home town of Abingdon-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. While there I had to go and have a look at the Crazy Golf course that was the first-ever minigolf course I played.

At the first minigolf course I ever played

On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour the Abbey Meadows Crazy Golf course became the 31st played in August 2007.

When we first walked up to the out-of season minigolf course we thought it had been felted, but no, it was a build-up of moss on holes one and two!

I last played the course in June 2012 in match-up against my brother Jon. That visit saw a rematch following our game in April 2012.

One of the tricky minigolf holes at the Abbey Meadows Crazy Golf course in Abingdon-on-Thames

Related Blog Posts:
- A Gottfried vs. Gottfried Crazy Golf Match in Abingdon-on-Thames
- A day out of Bun Throwing, Crazy Golf and Bar Billiards in Abingdon-on-Thames
- Abingdon Abbey Meadows Crazy Golf Course Replay on a Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Revisit
- Crazy Golf in Abingdon, Oxfordshire
- Abingdon
- Abingdon-on-Thames
- World of Bun Throwing blog
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Link:
- Abbey Meadows, Abingdon on the Vale of White Horse District Council website