Wednesday, November 23, 2011

An overgrown Mini Golf (Pitch & Putt) course at the Erskine Bridge Hotel in Scotland

While in Scotland last weekend I made a flying visit to the Erskine Bridge Hotel ahead of a social event taking place there next year.

While having a wander around my Minigolf-senses and radar were alerted to a patch of land and a sign - which happened to be the former location of a Mini Golf/Pitch & Putt course!


The sign had been covered over as the course is obviously not there/in use any more, but it had been a 9-hole layout.


Link to more information, photos and videos of other course visits on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Paradise Island Adventure Golf at Braehead, Scotland

On Saturday 19th November 2011 I headed to Glasgow, Scotland.

While there I visited the Braehead Shopping Centre and Xscape, which is home to Paradise Island Adventure Golf.

Paradise Island Adventure Golf at Braehead, Scotland

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to replay the course (having previously visited and played the two 18-hole Adventure Golf courses in May 2009).

Paradise Island Adventure Golf at Braehead, Scotland

Paradise Island Adventure Golf at Braehead, Scotland

Paradise Island Adventure Golf at Braehead, Scotland

Link to more information, photos and videos of other course visits on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Richard Gottfried runner-up in the 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt

13th November 2011
News Release
For Immediate Use

Richard Gottfried runner-up in the 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt

Australia’s Allan Cox victorious in battle to win Putter King Title, Pat Sheridan of the USA third

Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried has finished as the runner-up in the Putter King’s international Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt. The two-month long competition ended in a draw on the 1st of November with Richard, 31, tied for first place with Australia’s Allan Cox, 50. The overall winner was decided on the 13th November as the votes cast for the best Minigolf Trick Shot submitted to the contest were counted, with Allan Cox winning with 212 votes to Richard’s 89.

The 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt took place on Miniature Golf courses worldwide and people were invited to track down and record items and achievements related to all forms of Minigolf.

Photo: Richard Gottfried & Putty, the Putter King Mascot

17 tasks were set, with some activities also carrying bonus points. Altogether Richard managed to complete 15 of the 17 tasks scoring a total of 820 points. The activities in the 2011 Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt had the players designing new holes, playing new courses, showing off their minigolf ball collections, (re)learning Maths & Physics (in a fun way) through the Putter King Education Programme, doing arts & crafts, autograph hunting, scoring holes-in-one, creating minigolf trick shots and a whole lot more!

In total, there were 1,370 available points. Allan Cox (AUS) won the competition with 960 total points. Richard Gottfried (UK) finished in second place with 900 total points and Patrick Sheridan (USA) finished in 3rd place with 585 total points.

Richard filmed his minigolf trick shot, which involved him scoring a hole-in-one while wearing a Blindfold at Tea Green Golf Club, Wandon End, near Luton.

Richard said “Congratulations to Allan Cox for winning the Putter King Miniature Scavenger Hunt with his great minigolf trick shot and many thanks to the Putter King team for organising such a brilliant contest, I dread to think what lengths they’ll have us going to in next year’s contest!”

Contest winner Allan Cox is a Putt Putt Minigolf Pro and plays for the Ermington Putters Club in Sydney, Australia. (View his winning minigolf trick shot)

USA Minigolf rival Pat Sheridan, of The Putting Penguin Minigolf Team was the bronze medallist in the Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt with a very impressive haul of 585 points.

Richard Gottfried is a British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Tour Pro, Great Britain International Minigolfer & a member of the 2008 BMGA British Club Champions – the Midlands Minigolf Club. He has also won the Blackpool Pleasure Beach Open, Weymouth Open, and is a two-time Manchester Mini Major Champion. He and his wife/Coach/Opponent and sometimes team-mate Emily have played over 400 Crazy Golf and Minigolf courses on their Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. They are currently writing a book about their travels.

Ends

Links:
- Minigolf Trick Shot Video - Blindfolded Hole-in-One - Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt
- Full Results of the 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt 
- Putter King Results News Release
- Photo of Richard Gottfried with the Putter King Mascot
- My Entry for the Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt 2011
- Tea Green Golf Club

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Please vote for my Putter King Minigolf Trick Shot Video

To decide the winner of the 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt competition the Putter King has set one final task - "Get the most votes for your trick shot video."

The Putter King has posted a Facebook Question asking for fans worldwide to vote on their favourite trick shot (mine or my rival Allan Cox's) and the contestant with the most votes as of Sunday, November 13th at 11:59 P.M. JST will be deemed the winner of the 1st Annual Putter King Scavenger Hunt.

Please vote for my video of a Blindfolded Minigolf Hole-in-One at the following link:


Previous Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt Blog Posts:
- Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt - The Results Are In - Your Help Is Needed!
- My Entry for the Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt 2011
- The 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt

Putter King Related Blog Posts:
- The Jewel in the Crown - Minigolf Hole Design at the Putter King - Your Votes Needed
- Photos of the The Putter King Team at the BMGA English Open at Wroxham Barns, Norfolk
- Part III of the Putter King Interview Series - An Interview with UK Minigolfer Richard Gottfried

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Play Putter Fingers Micro Golf and Win a Putt Returner!

There's an online competition running via the Putter Fingers website and their Facebook page where you can win one of five Putt Returners by playing the Putter Fingers Mini Golf Game.

My highest score so far is 2,758, with the top score at 2,900!

The competition is running throughout November 2011 and you can play the game as many times as you like!

Monday, November 07, 2011

Votes needed to help Brit win Japanese Miniature Golf Competition

7th November 2011
News Release
For Immediate Use

Votes needed to help Brit win Japanese Miniature Golf Competition

Luton’s Richard Gottfried tied with Australia’s Allan Cox in battle to win Putter King Title

Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried is looking for help in order to win an international Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt organised by the Putter King Minigolf franchise in Japan. The two-month long competition ended in a draw on the 1st of November with Richard, 31, tied for first place with Australia’s Allan Cox, 50. But a clear overall winner still needs to be decided, and your vote could count!

The 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt has been taking place on Miniature Golf courses worldwide and people were invited to track down and record items and achievements related to all forms of Minigolf.

In total 17 tasks were set, with some activities also carrying bonus points. Altogether Richard managed to complete 15 of the 17 tasks scoring a total of 820 points. The activities in the 2011 Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt have had the players designing new holes, playing new courses, showing off their minigolf ball collections, (re)learning Maths & Physics (in a fun way) through the Putter King Education Programme, doing arts & crafts, autograph hunting, scoring holes-in-one, creating minigolf trick shots and a whole lot more!

Photo: On the 24th and 25th October Richard built "PK Island" to complete Task 3 on the Putter King List - a full-size minigolf hole with a plateau and ramp obstacle. Photos - 1, 2, 3, 4. Videos - 1, 2

To decide the ultimate winner of the competition the Putter King has set one final task – ‘Get the most votes for your trick shot video.’

The Putter King has posted a Facebook Question asking for fans worldwide to vote on their favourite trick shot (Richard’s or Allan's) and the contestant with the most votes as of Sunday, November 13th at 11:59 P.M. Japan Standard Time (JST) will be deemed the winner of the 1st Annual Putter King Scavenger Hunt.

Richard filmed his minigolf trick shot, which involved him scoring a hole-in-one while wearing a Blindfold at Tea Green Golf Club, Wandon End, near Luton. You can find the two minigolf trick shots on the Putter King Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/putterking where you can also vote for the one you’d like to win.


Video: Richard scoring the Blindfolded Hole-in-One Minigolf Trick Shot at Tea Green Golf Club!

Richard said “The Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt has been a great event and it’s unbelievable that the final is so close. The Hunt has been a truly international competition and I never thought it’d come down to a battle between a Brit against an Aussie to win a Japanese Minigolf contest with an American in third place! We’re definitely Crazy Golfers with the lengths we’ve gone to win.”

USA Minigolf rival Pat Sheridan, of The Putting Penguin Minigolf Team was the bronze medallist in the Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt with a very impressive haul of 585 points. Rival finalist Allan Cox is a Putt Putt Minigolf Pro and plays for the Ermington Putters Club in Sydney, Australia.

Photo: Great Britain's Richard Gottfried with Putty, the Putter King Mascot!

Richard is a British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Tour Pro, Great Britain International Minigolfer & a member of the 2008 BMGA British Club Champions – the Midlands Minigolf Club. He has also won the Blackpool Pleasure Beach Open, Weymouth Open, and is a two-time Manchester Mini Major Champion. He and his wife/Coach/Opponent and sometimes team-mate Emily have visited over 400 Crazy Golf and Minigolf courses on their Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. They are currently writing a book about their travels.

Ends

Grand Final of the Namco Luton Business Bowling Championships 2011

Results of the 2011 Namco Luton Business Bowling Championships Grand Final

On Thursday 3rd November 2011 the EcoStyle Tenpin Bowling Team competed in the Grand Final of the Luton Business Bowling Tournament at Namco in Luton.

The winners of the tournament were Vauxhall, with G Casino runners-up. The EcoStyle Tenpin Bowling Team finished in third place.

Photo: The EcoStyle Tenpin Bowling Team from l-r Simon Hall (Captain), Emily Gottfried, Richard Gottfried

In May the EcoStyle-CEuk Team entered the second qualifying heat to attempt to qualify for the Ultimate Championship Final in November. In that event the team finished 4th. The EcoStyle Team were also runners-up to G Casino in the July qualifier.

Photo: Emily Gottfried with the certificate for being the "Worst Bowler Ever"! Her scores of 80 and 96 weren't that bad!

EcoStyle promotes awareness and understanding of renewable energy technologies. They design and manufacture demonstration models to teach renewable energy in schools and colleges, or for use as marketing tools within industry.

Previous Blog Posts:
- EcoStyle Tenpin Bowling Team Runners-up in Namco Luton Business Bowling Tournament
- EcoStyle-CEuk Tenpin Bowling Team 4th in Namco Luton Business Bowling Tournament

Sunday, November 06, 2011

2011 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships in Hastings

Results of the Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships 2011

In addition to the Worlds £2 Tat Challenge taking place at The Buttons on Saturday 29th October 2011, the venue also saw the Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships take place amongst a group of twelve Crazy Golfers, with a new champion guaranteed to be crowned following a no-show by 2010 Champ Kevin 'AWOL' Moseley!

In a thrilling final Wales' Peter 'The Puckmaster' Jones defeated England's Phil Exall 7-3 to take the title he's waited a whole year to get his hands on.

Photo: The 2011 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Champion - Peter 'The Puckmaster' Jones

Full Results of the 2011 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships

In round one results:
- Seth Thomas defeated Jam Trubridge 2-1
- Keith Kellard beat Chris Harding 4-3
- Pasi Aho (FIN) lost to Phil Exall 6-7
- Richard Gottfried and Alex Exall drew 4-4 - the match was decided by a best-of-three game of Rock Paper Scissors which Alex won 2-1
- Marc Chapman beat Scott Lancley 6-1
- Peter Jones, Denis Exall and Paul 'Johnson Paul Johnson' Johnson all received 'byes'

In round two results:
- Seth Thomas lost to Peter Jones 4-7 (with one minute to go)
- Keith Kellard bested Denis Exall 7-3
- Phil Exall beat Paul 'Johnson Paul Johnson' Johnson 7-5
- Alex Exall defeated Marc Chapman 6-3

In the first semi-final:
- Keith Kellard lost to Peter Jones 3-4

In the second semi-final:
- Alex Exall lost to Phil Exall 6-7

The final saw last year's defeated finalist Peter Jones facing-off against Phil Exall to decide the ultimate champion at the event, with Peter Jones coming out the winner with a 7-3 victory, with a minute still remaining on the clock!

Photo: Phil Exall versus Peter Jones in the final

You can watch the closing stages of the match here:



Photos from the event:

Photo: Father versus son as Phil Exall battles Alex Exall as the crowd looks on

Photo: Alex Exall versus Richard Gottfried in a rematch from 2010. Alex would once again get the better of Richard

Photo: Phil Exall squares off against International campaigner Pasi Aho of Finland, by way of Germany

Photo: Marc Chapman takes on rival and Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Champion Scott Lancley

Photo: Seth Thomas plays Peter Jones

Photo: Seth Thomas continues to play Peter Jones

Photo: Paul 'Johnson Paul Johnson' Johnson and Phil Exall have a meeting of the paddles at the half-way line

Photo: Denis Exall faces-off against Keith 'Puck Boy' Kellard

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

Saturday, November 05, 2011

2011 Worlds £2 Tat Challenge at the Old Town Amusements in Hastings

Results of the 2011 'Worlds £2 Tat Challenge' at the Old Town Amusements in Hastings

Following the completion of the first day's play in the 2011 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships a group of Seaside Amusements fans made the now traditional and ceremonial walk to The Old Town Amusement Arcade to compete in the second-annual '£2 Tat Challenge'.

Photo: Vice-Chairman of the PTA Scott Lancley runs through the rules of the £2 Tat Challenge 

This Amusements Challenge Tournament saw a total of 26 participants compete for the title on Saturday 29th October 2011. The field was double that of the 2010 event when ‘Johnson’ Paul Johnson took the win with a haul of nine pieces of tat. This year the title was not to be Paul Johnson’s again, as the man now known as Paul ‘Johnson Paul Johnson’ Johnson only managed to win one bit of tat with his stake money.

Photo: Defending champion Paul 'Johnson Paul Johnson' Johnson crashes out of the 2011 £2 Tat Challenge with just one piece of tat. Note Jam Trubridge continuing to play-on in his debut Tat Challenge 

The brains behind the £2 Tat Challenge are Scott ‘Donkey Gringo’ Lancley (the International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Champion) and Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried. The rules of the £2 Tat Challenge are simple – the aim is to win the most amount of 2p falls prizes with a stake of £2. The overall winner then gets to bag up all of the tat as their prize!

The 2011 Honours went to newcomer and junior Polly who managed to bag a grand total of eleven pieces of tat with her £2!

Photo: New Worlds £2 Tat Challenge Champion Polly receives her prize of all the tat. Last year's Champion Paul 'Johnson Paul Johnson' Johnson manages to get in on the photo 

In total 127 pieces of tat were won this year with the players spending £52 in total to compete. In the 2010 event the thirteen players won 36 pieces of tat between them.

Photo: The motley crew of Tatters, Ratters and Sharks assemble for the obligatory Group Photo at the 2011 Worlds £2 Tat Challenge Competition

The Full Rankings for the 2011 £2 Tat Challenge can be seen below:

Rank Player Country Tat Won
1 Polly ENG 11
2 Richard Gottfried ENG 10
2 Stu Bowker ENG 10
4 Chris Harding ENG 9
4 James Rutherford ENG 9
6 Pasi Aho FIN 8
7 Alex Exall ENG 7
7 Chris Jones ENG 7
9 Phil Exall ENG 5
9 Terry Exall ENG 5
9 Emily Gottfried ENG 5
12 Anna Green ENG 4
12 Jam Trubridge ENG 4
12 Jes ENG 4
12 Keith Kellard ENG 4
12 Seth Thomas ENG 4
12 Trevor Exall ENG 4
18 Brad Shepherd ENG 3
18 Leo Kukielka ENG 3
18 Marc Chapman ENG 3
18 Peter Jones WAL 3
22 Denis Exall ENG 2
23 Adam Kelly ENG 1
23 Paul Johnson ENG 1
23 Scott Lancley ENG 1
26 Albert ENG 0

Photos from the event:

Photo: Two Crazy Golf World Champions and an Exall line-up at the 2p pusher for a crack at Worlds Tat Challenge Glory. From l-r Keith Kellard, Terry Exall and Chris Harding

Photo: From l-r Jam Trubridge and Seth 'Wandsworth' Thomas tackle The Buttons

Photo: Peter 'Toy Jeep' Jones having a rare old time at the amusements


Photo: From l-r Tat Challenge Rookie Trevor Exall and last year's loser Marc Chapman wait for the prize to drop. Chapman managed to win three pieces of tat this year, beating his total haul of zero last year

Photo: Denis 'I'll bring the bell' Exall pumps the 2p pusher full of money. His tactic and motto was simple - "It's quality of the prizes, not quantity that counts." Not in this game it's not Den ;-)

Photo: From l-r Anna Green, Adam 'ASBO' Kelly and Scott Lancley tackle The Pushers

Photo: Brad Shepherd, Terry Exall, Alex Exall and Phil Exall take a gander at Chris Harding's last push for the win

Photo: The mighty haul of 127 pieces of Tat won by the 26 players!!!

Photo: From l-r Chris Harding and James Rutherford collect a prize each for finishing in tied third place. Peter Jones finished in tied 18th place and just happens to be in the photo

Photo: From l-r Richard 'The Town Crier' Gottfried and Stu 'Stewy' Bowker take their prize each for finishing as tied runners-up. Stu chose the quality prize that Denis Exall had won

Photo: Squire the Town Crier invites one and all to join in the fun at the 2011 Worlds £2 Tat Challenge

The '£2 Tat Challenge' was an open invitation competition and featured in the Unofficial Booklet of the 2011 World Crazy Golf Championships.

Anticipation for the 2012 event is growing already!

Following the inaugural £2 Tat Challenge in Hastings last October there were also two tat Challenges in May 2011 which saw Richard Gottfried and Alan Norman crowned as interim champions. Controversially Alan subsequently exchanged 37 pieces of Tat from the overall winner’s swag-bag that he won for one Pingu Teddy Bear that he promptly called 'Penny'!?

£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

Links:
- £2 Tat Challenges at 'The Buttons' in Hastings - May 2011
- 'The £2 Tat Challenge' at 'The Buttons' in Hastings - October 2010

Friday, November 04, 2011

Zombie Apocalypse in Hastings!

Attempting to survive a Zombie outbreak in East Sussex!

Last Friday night we took part in the Zombie Apocalypse outdoor Laser Tag game at Battle Zone in Hastings!


The Zombie Apocalypse scenario saw our two teams being led through the Zombie-infested Battle Zone arena by a group of Special Ops soldiers.


Most of us were down in Hastings getting ready for the Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships, but Christopher was super-excited about the event and had travelled to Hastings with his mate Anthony from Southsea.


I wore my Zombie Slayers Association (ZSA) t-shirt to the event.




Emily looks a little nervous, Anthony looks petrified. And this was before we started!

Jam Trubridge bearing arms in the fightback against the zombies!


Christopher Gottfried gearing up for action


Emily is all tooled up


John 'Big Top Zombie Ted' McIver, chief organiser for our excursion, and zombie-a-like, tries to get to grips with his weapon

In our group me and Jam were the last players to 'die' and so were the top two survivors, although Jam had spent much of our pitiful five-minute fightback against the zombie hordes hiding in a hedge.

Our group of survivors after the Zombie Apocalypse.


Christopher and two of his zombie 'friends'. So inspired was Christopher by the night out that he put together a great Zombie outfit himself for Halloween. George Romero would be proud.


Me, looking far too happy stood next to a Zombie! It also appears that I am holding my gun the wrong way round!?


We were told that our group were the worst to ever play and so in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse we can all now rest easy in the knowledge that we would make better Zombies than survivors.

Two of the best moments for me were when everyone fired at Ted as they thought he was a Zombie, the other was the fact that despite being told that only headshots against the Zombies would count (and having watched countless Zombie films) we all still just fired wildly at the ensuing Zombies!?

The Battle Zone Zombie Apocalypse was a really great event, slightly spoiled by the fact that Christopher and his friend were almost denied entry as his surname had been written down incorrectly by a staff member when he made his booking. Thankfully common sense prevailed and he and Anthony were eventually allowed to join in.

Where Battle Zone is now used to be a great 18-hole Minigolf course that we played many times in BMGA Tour competitions. It was the 43rd course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

When the area was still a minigolf course it was also the setting for "The Minigolf Welly Boot Swamp Ball Incident in Hastings"!

Links:
- Battle Zone website
- Photos of the Zombies at the Battle Zone Facebook Page

Thursday, November 03, 2011

Great Gluten Free Tea Rooms

Details of the excellent Tea Rooms we've found that can cater for Coeliacs by providing Gluten Free options.

On our travels around the country to visit seasides and play minigolf we're always keen to find new places to eat out at. This can often be a problem as I am a Coeliac so must only eat Gluten Free food. However, we have found some excellent restaurants, cafes, takeaways and tea rooms on our journeys.

The latest great Tea Room we visited was the Post Office Tea Rooms in St Leonards, East Sussex. The food, service and prices are great. We were visiting the area for three days and we ate at the Tea Room on each of them as there was so much variety on offer.

On my first lunchtime visit I opted for a dish from the Breakfast menu (served all day), this was the Scotch woodcock. I'd never heard of it before, but it was delicious. It consists of scrambled eggs on toast topped with anchovies and capers. It's a must try meal. I finished off with a dessert of the Lemon Sponge Cake.

On our second visit I tried one of the special, the Lamb Hot Pot with Vegetables. My wife chose the Bubble & Squeak as we had seen a fellow diner order this the day before. The Hot Pot was a big portion full of lamb and potatoes and was very filling and very tasty.

On our third visit I opted for the Bubble & Squeak, which comes topped with two fried eggs. Again it's a big portion of very tasty food, well prepared and at a great price. My wife chose the Cream Tea which looked very good. I also found out that GF Cheese Scones are always stocked so I'll be trying those next time too.

The team at the Post Office Tea Rooms offer so many great dishes and events and are very keen that customers are well catered for. The Post Office Tea Rooms is not only a great example of a Tea Room from a bygone era, but is also a blueprint of how Coeliacs/Gluten Free can be catered for. I can't wait to go back again!

Emily and a Lamb Hotpot
 

Me and my Scotch Woodcock at the Post Office Tea Room!
 

Crabtree & Evelyn, Stratford-upon-Avon - When in Stratford-upon-Avon I always make a visit to the excellent Tea Room at Crabtree & Evelyn. They have some great Gluten Free cakes, which I normally buy two of! They also have savoury dishes on offer that can be Gluten free too.

Oaks Tea Room in Felixstowe, Suffolk - The Oaks Tea Room has a great range of Gluten Free options. On our visit I chose the Chicken Liver Pate, which came served with new potatoes, salad and GF toast. it was a very tasty and filling meal. The staff at the Oaks Tea Room also delivered excellent service and make a variety of specials, many of which are Gluten Free. A must-visit if you're in Felixstowe.

Merrivale in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk - Model Village, Crazy Golf, Gluten Free Food and an Old Arcade Museum! - The menu itself shows lots of items marked 'GF' and when ordering we found out that other dishes could be adapted if necessary. The cakes, pies and pastries etc. were home made, and all of the cooking was done in separate cookers/fryers, meaning I was able to have Fish & Chips (which was also served with a good side-salad and lots of peas), it was a very big portion indeed. As there were so many GF options available I was greedy and also ordered the Mushroom, Potato, Tomato and Onion Pasty, which was very well made and very very tasty. After our food had settled we headed off for a paddle in the sea and a wander around the Pleasure Beach and then went back to Merrivale for a Cake. The choice again was huge and I opted for the Chocolate Cake.

Cooks Collection, Ampthill, Beds - The Tea Room at the Cooks Collection cookware shop serves Gluten Free options. On my flying visit I had a chat with the staff who showed me the Gluten Free Cupcakes, Cookies and Cake. They also have Gluten Free Rolls, and the soup was GF too. The Tea Room is open seven days a week too. I had a Cupcake which was very tasty indeed.
 
Charlies Cafe Bar, Worcester, Worcestershire - While travelling to Wales we stopped off in Worcester and spotted that Charlies Cafe Bar served Gluten Free options. We didn't have a full meal, but instead bought a couple of cakes. I managed to get the last piece of Marble Cake and upon eating it could see why it had sold out.
 
Other tea Rooms that we've spotted that offer Gluten Free options, but haven't had time (or hunger) to eat at include:
- Otto Cafe Regent, Cambridge
- Love Cafe, St Leonards, East Sussex
- Smith's Real Food, St Leonards, East Sussex

You can also get a "Nice Cup of Tea" at 5js Cafe at Lodmoor Country Park in Weymouth, Dorset.

We're also big fans of Fish & Chips and have also found a number of Fish & Chip Shops catering to the Gluten Free market. You can check out a blog post on some of our top finds at - "Gluten Free Fish & Chips that we've found on our travels"

I also regularly contribute reviews of places that we find that are able to cater for Coeliacs at the Travel Gluten Free website.

Link:
- Coeliac UK - The charity working for people with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH).

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt - The Results Are In - Your Help Is Needed!

After over two months of hunting for points on the 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt the points have been totalled and the result is - a tie for first place between me and Australia's Allan Cox!!!

Both of us gained a total of 820 PKSCAVHUNT points in our quest for the title and trophy. Our Minigolf friend and Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt rival Pat Sheridan of the USA was the bronze medallist with a very impressive haul of 585 points.

To decide the ultimate winner of the competition the Putter King has set one final task - "Get the most votes for your trick shot video."

The Putter King has posted a Facebook Question asking for fans worldwide to vote on their favourite trick shot (mine or Allan's) and the contestant with the most votes as of Sunday, November 13th at 11:59 P.M. JST will be deemed the winner of the 1st Annual Putter King Scavenger Hunt.

Please vote for my video of a Blindfolded Hole-in-One, that was filmed at Tea Green Golf Club near Luton, at the following link - Choose your favorite trick shot and help decide the winner of the 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt.

Please check out the Putter King Facebook page too.

Previous Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt Blog Posts:
- My Entry for the Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt 2011
- The 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt

Putter King Related Blog Posts:
- The Jewel in the Crown - Minigolf Hole Design at the Putter King - Your Votes Needed
- Photos of the The Putter King Team at the BMGA English Open at Wroxham Barns, Norfolk
- Part III of the Putter King Interview Series - An Interview with UK Minigolfer Richard Gottfried