Vozars Gluten Free Cafe Deli Restaurant in Brixton Village Market

A great gluten free meal at Vozars restaurant in Brixton.

Coeliacs are a funny breed. We're easily spotted by our wide-eyed wonder when we find somewhere safe to eat, our scrambling for a camera to photograph the food we are about to eat, and a notepad (or scrap of paper) so we remember what we ate to enable us to blog, tweet, review and let other poor unfortunate Coeliac Disease sufferers know where they can also eat stress and worry-free.

One of the best places I have found in my six-ish years as a Coeliac on a strict gluten and wheat free diet is Vozars in Brixton Village Market where EVERYTHING is gluten and wheat free!

For a Coeliac it really is a great place to dine at, or grab something to take-away, as all of the food is prepared and cooked by very knowledgeable staff, so its safe for Coeliacs (as well as being tasty for 'normal' diners and those on a gluten free diet).

Vozars has a great range of cakes and pies to eat-in, or take-away. The WAGfree Black Forest Gateaux (bottom left) is a favourite of mine

The lunch menu has a good range of dishes and there were some specials including a Venison Burger on offer. But I remembered how much I liked the chicken strips on my last visit, so opted for the Chicken strips, rocket and chilli mayo sandwich. I also had the Hand cut chunky chips with Vozars mayo, and of course this was washed down with an obligatory Celia gluten free lager.

My big lunch of a Chicken strips, rocket and chilli mayo sandwich; the Hand cut chunky chips with Vozars mayo; and a Celia gluten free lager

The meal was nice and filling, so I didn't have a chance to have a dessert, however tempting the pear and chocolate tart looked.

Since my last visit in October 2013 Vozars restaurant has had a refurbishment and it looks great. There's now a lot more seating space inside and out and is also licensed to sell alcohol - very handy when the restaurant is inspired by Celia Lager.

Vozars has had a refurbishment since my last visit in October 2013 and looks great. The food is still as excellent as ever

Check out the Vozars website and Twitter feed and keep up-to-date with Vozars and Celia Lager via Facebook and Twitter for news, events and competitions.

Links:

- Vozars Cafe Deli Restaurant

- Celia Lager

- Celia Lager-related blog posts on The Ham & Egger Files

- Gluten Free-related blog posts on The Ham & Egger Files

Latest British Minigolf Association Ranking Updates

Ranking updates from the British Minigolf Association following the BMGA British Masters tournament in Worthing.

The British Minigolf Association has updated the ranking lists following the 2014 BMGA British Masters held at the excellent Splash Point Mini Golf course in Denton Gardens, Worthing on Sunday 13th April.

In the latest update of the official BMGA Order of Merit for 2013/14 I have moved up from 11th place of 79 places (135 players) to be ranked as the new British number 7. A total of 137 players are ranked in the list in 84 places.

Richard Gottfried playing hole 13 of the Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing during the BMGA British Masters

Following a very strong showing at the BMGA British Masters Emily has also moved up in the BMGA Order of Merit rankings from 34th place to 26th. The move inside the top 32 players in the UK also means she is now a Category 2 player for the first time in her Minigolf career. 

Emily putting on hole 4 of the Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing during the BMGA British Masters Hole-in-One Challenge

You can see the ranking lists, including the BMGA Season Only list, on the British Minigolf Association website.

- Updated BMGA Strokeplay Order Of Merit published following the British Masters

- April sees Smith retain his UK number 1 ranking and a new name at the top of Season Only Rankings

- Updated Season Only Rankings published following the British Masters

Bar Billiards in Newcastle, Littlehampton and Worthing

Update from our increasingly erratic Barmy Bar Billiards Trail.

Last summer we had a grand day out in London visiting a number of pubs to play some Bar Billiards, but since then we've not found so many tables to play on our travels. However that's changed in the last month, with visits to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Littlehampton, and a re-visit to Worthing.

A Bar Billiards table in Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Unfortunately when our friend and fellow minigolfer John 'The Legionnaire' Moore took us to the Hustler Pool & Snooker Club in Newcastle-upon-Tyne we found the table to be out of order. John has previously played the table and hoepfully it'll be back in working order soon.

No Bar Billiards played in Newcastle

The Hustler Pool & Snooker Club was a nice spot for an evening of cue-sports, with plenty of pool and snooker tables on offer at reasonable rates, as well as a number of dartboards. It's well worth a visit.

Quite unexpectedly we fared better on our mini-break to Littlehampton, as on our arrival at the Seaview Hotel (in East Preston) we found there was a Bar Billiards table in the pub!

Playing the very well maintained Bar Billiards table in the pub of the Seaview Hotel in East Preston, near Littlehampton

In our games I won 950 to Emily's 610, followed by a 580 to 300 win.

While in Littlehampton we also spotted that The White Hart pub in the town centre has a table.

The White Hart pub in Littlehampton, West Sussex has plenty on offer to customers, including Bar Billiards

On the eve of the 2014 BMGA British Masters minigolf tournament at Worthing's Splash Point Mini Golf course we'd booked into the Marine View Hotel on the seafront. This was on the back of us visiting the hotel's bar last year for an evening of Bar Billiards on the very tricky table.

John 'Big Al' Moore scores while Richard shoots

Alongside John 'Johnny Waffles' Moore, Emily and I had a number of games, with the results as follows:

- John beat Emily 960 to 50

- Richard beat John 1,570 to 670

- Richard beat Emily and John 1,090 to 780 to 360

John has also developed a very handy Bar Billiards Scorecard Mobile App which added another dimension to our games!

On our recent trip to Nottingham we ran out of time to find and play the Bar Billiards tables that our friend and Minigolf rival Jam Trubridge had told us about, but we're sure to be back at some point for a game or two.

Links:
- Bar Billiards-related blog posts on The Ham & Egger Files
- The All England Bar Billiards Association (AEBBA)
- AEBBA map of Bar Billiards tables in the UK
- Bar Billiards Forum

Sharksville Adventure Golf at Harbour Park Littlehampton

Playing the Sharksville Fantasy Golf course in Littlehampton's Harbour Park.

A view of the Sharksville Adventure Golf at Littlehampton's Harbour Park

On Friday 11th of April 2014 Emily and I visited Harbour Park in Littlehampton, West Sussex to play the 9-hole Sharksville Adventure Golf course.

At Sharkville Adventure Golf in Littlehampton

I visited Littlehampton in April 2012 and I managed to NOT play any of the courses in the town as it was out of season and the evening! Luckily on this occasion our visit co-incided with the Easter break which meant the courses along the seafront were open.

Last time I'd managed to get as close as the bottom of the steps to the course and managed to see the sign with the big shark's head (which is wearing a bowtie!) so I was pleased to actually land on the course on this occasion.

Sharksville Adventure Golf is open

The course became the 334th course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since 2006. As I'd previously visited the course, the number we've been to remains at 554.

Emily holes out on hole one

Playing hole one of the Sharksville Adventure Golf

Emily on hole two

The tricky uphill hole three

Emily on hole four

Emily on hole five

Putting on hole six

Emily on hole seven

Emily on the ninth hole at Sharksville Adventure Golf

The final hole at Sharksville Adventure Golf in Littlehampton

The course is a tricky adventure golf layout and has some nice theming - my favourite bit was the BIG caught shark near to hole 7 that you have to pass on your way out.

The one that didn't get away

In our Minigolf Match Emily beat me by four-shots with a 25 to 29 scoreline.

The course costs 5 tokens to play (with each token 50p on our visit). A reasonable price to pay for a 9-hole course. Check out the Harbour Park website for details of prices, tickets and tokens.

The course was the first miniature golf called 'Fantasy Golf' on our travels - another name to add to our blog post on Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

The 129th course we played on our tour was at Pendine Sands in Wales, that course had a big shark's head as an obstacle!

Links:

- Harbour Park, Littlehampton

- A Stack of Minigolf Courses Visited in Littlehampton, but None Played!

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Skate Hockey Air Hockey at Harbour Park in Littlehampton

While in Littlehampton last week we visited Harbour Park, home to the Sharksville Adventure Golf course, and while having a look around the other amusements we spotted a very interesting Air Hockey table - Skate Hockey!

The 'half-pipe' Skate Hockey air hockey table at Littlehampton's Harbour Park

Sadly we didn't have time for a game on this occasion.

I'm sure our fellow minigolfers could get very competitive with the game!

Air Hockey-related blog posts on The Ham & Egger Files.

Gluten Free fish and chips at The Fish Factory

Finding gluten free fish and chips on the menu at The Fish Factory in Littlehampton and Worthing.

As I mentioned in my recent interview with Glutenlibre one of the things I really miss being able to easily find as a Coeliac is Fish & Chips.

However, on our recent trip to Littlehampton and Worthing Emily and I were lucky enough to find both towns have a branch of The Fish Factory - two restaurants with an extensive gluten free menu.

The food and service at The Fish Factory restaurants in Littlehampton and Worthing get a big thumbs-up from me. Here I am about to tuck into a giant bit of haddock!

My standard question when dining out at new places is what measures they have in place to guard against cross-contamination and it was great to hear that they cook all of the food in separate fryers etc. and that they have a number of regular Coeliac customers.

On our first visit to The Fish Factory in Littlehampton I opted for a starter of The Fish Factory Pâté - it was delicous and the two homemade gluten free rolls were a nice touch. This was followed by the Cod and Chips. The chips were very good indeed.

We dined at the Worthing branch twice on our visit to the town - once for lunch and once for dinner.

The menu is the same throughout the day and the restaurants are open 11am to 11pm.

On our lunchtime visit I had the Skate, with Mash and a Caper Butter sauce. And on our evening visit I opted for the Haddock and Chips, along with a bowl of mushy peas. The meals are also served with gluten free tartare sauce.

Emily had the Dakshin River Catfish and the Plaice Fillet - both of which are also on the gluten free menu.

The Fish Factory also serves Estrella Damm Daura gluten free beer which is great.

We'll definitely be back for more great food next time we're in the area.

Check out my blog post on all of the fish and chips shops and restaurants we've found on our travels, along with Travel Gluten Free and Gluugle for reviews of gluten free places we've been to.

Links:

- The Fish Factory

- Gluten free blog posts

- Gluten Free Fish & Chips that we've found on our travels

- Gluten Free Ales, Beers and Lagers

Minigolf Report – 2014 BMGA British Masters in Worthing

14th April 2014

Press Information

For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – BMGA British Masters in Worthing

Richard Gottfried 5th and Emily Gottfried 11th in national Miniature Golf tournament. 

Luton Minigolfers Richard and Emily Gottfried competed in the BMGA British Masters tournament that took place at the 18-hole Splash Point Mini Golf course at Denton Gardens in Worthing, West Sussex on Sunday 13th April. In the four-round, 72-hole tournament Richard finished in 5th place overall in the 30-player field. Emily finished in 11th place overall, and was the winner in the Category 3 event contested by six players.

Richard and Emily Gottfried receive their medals from the Mayor of Worthing, Bob Smytherman

Richard scored a three-round total of 149(+5) after rounds of 37, 36, 39 and 37. With twelve holes-in-one across the four rounds he won the Category 1 player Aces title.

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

Emily scored a total 168(+24) with rounds of 44, 41, 41 and 42. For the second year in a row Emily had to face a play-off to win Category 3. In the sudden-death play-off Emily defeated Kent’s Adrian Amey at the first extra-hole to take the title.

Emily Gottfried in her sudden-death play-off on hole 10 at the BMGA British Masters competition at Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing 

Richard said "Splash Point Mini Golf is a course that seems to get tougher each and every year, but I relish the chance to visit Worthing and tackle it. I dropped a few more shots this year but was very happy to finish fifth overall, as well as pick up the medal as the Aces Champion. I’m really pleased for Emily too as she improved by one place overall from last year and did really well to retain the Category 3 title.”

Emily said “I’m really happy to finish 11th overall! Splash Point is a really tough course with couple of horror holes for me, so I’m really delighted with this result. I’m also pleased to come first in my Category, despite making it harder for myself by making a few silly mistakes which meant I had to play-off for the title, but it was great victory for me. I’m looking forward to the next event in Margate now, even though that’s another tricky course.” 

The winner of the 2014 BMGA British Masters was Oxford’s Michael Smith with a score of 135(-9) who became a two-time champion. Newcastle’s John Moore, a former champion, was runner-up on 141(-3), with Portugal’s Nuno Cunha third on 144(par) and defending champion, Cambridgeshire’s Adam Kelly, fourth on 146(+2).

Ends

UrbanCrazy at the Manchester Golf Show 2014

The team at UrbanCrazy will be at the Manchester Golf Show this month and visitors will have the chance to play on the company's brand new Serpentine Minigolf Course.

The Manchester Golf Show will be taking place at EventCity from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th April, with doors opening at 10am on the Friday. 

For more details about the show and UrbanCrazy check out the links below:

- UrbanCrazy at the Manchester Golf Show 2014

- The Serpentine Course

- Manchester Golf Show

Check out other UrbanCrazy-related blog posts on The Ham & Egger Files.

Lyle & Scott's Hole-in-One Challenge

Playing the special Minigolf Hole-in-One Challenge at Lyle & Scott's Carnaby Street shop in London.

All this week the clothing brand Lyle & Scott has had a special Hole-in-One Minigolf Challenge set up at the flagship store on Carnaby Street. The layout has been supplied by Urban Crazy.

On my lunch-break yesterday I popped along with fellow Minigolfer Gareth 'Osmosis' Holmes and my old Dodgeball rival 'Rowdy' Russell Fenner as we tried our luck on the tricky challenge that had been set-up as a promotion for The Masters golf tournament.

Adam from Urban Crazy was on-hand at the hole to instruct players about the challenge and we saw him knock in a couple of good holes-in-one.

Urban Crazy's Adam on the Lyle & Scott Hole-in-One Challenge hole on Carnaby Street

Each player was given three attempts to register a hole-in-one and win a prize. Both winners and losers could make use of a discount on the day too for purchases in-store.

Tee-ing up my shot

Gareth Holmes failing to get an Ace as Adam and Russell look on

Small swing and a big miss for 'Rowdy' Russell on the Lyle and Scott challenge

Unfortunately none of us managed to score an Ace - and we won't be sporting a Lyle & Scott polo shirt this weekend. We did see a couple of other players manage the feat though, to a ripple of applause from the crowds in the bustling street.

You can still play the special Hole-in-One Challenge hole this week. Follow Lyle & Scott and the Lyle & Scott Golf Team for more info.

Back in October 2012 Lyle and Scott and The Campaign for Wool created a special Woolly Golf course in Covent Garden for that years Wool Week. That course became the 511th visited and 307th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since 2006.

Links:

- Lyle & Scott

- Lyle & Scott Golf

- Urban Crazy

Related blog posts:

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

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Q&A with the Glutenlibre Celiac Awareness website

Check out my recent Q&Q with the Glutenlibre team at "Glutenlibre Q&A with Richard Gottfried."

The Glutenlibre website and brand promotes awareness for celiac* disease and the gluten-free lifestyle.

In my interview I discuss my diagnosis as a coeliac* in 2008, life as a Pro Minigolfer, how I've managed the transition to a gluten free lifestyle, the impact on my life and the wide-range of sports, games and activities I get up to on my travels.

Playing in the final of the World Crazy Golf Championships the year after my diagnosis

Since 2012 Glutenlibre has been using "Gfree performance" to show people they can still have a full, healthy lifestyle despite having to live on a strict and life-long gluten free diet.

Links:

- Glutenlibre

- Glutenlibre Gfree Athletes

- Glutenlibre on Twitter

- Glutenlibre on Facebook

* Celiac in the USA and Coeliac in the UK, but either way it's pronounced "See-lee-ack".

Crazy Golf at the Zumo Cafe in Forton (from the archives)

A felted 'Concrete' type of Minigolf course in Forton, Lancashire.

My friend, Minigolf rival and co-owner of the excellent Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing, Anthony Pope recently spotted a 'felted-Beton' type of Minigolf course in De Panne and Koksijde, Netherlands and posted the pics on Twitter.

At first I didn't think we'd found a type of this course - known in continental Europe and by the World Minigolf Sport Federation as 'Concrete' - on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. But then I remembered we'd played a felted-concrete layout on a road-trip in 2012.

The 18th at the Zumo Cafe in Forton

Emily playing Crazy Golf at the Zumo Cafe in Forton

The course in question was the first we played on our 49 course tour of the north west of England, some of Scotland and the north east coast. Located at the Zumo Cafe course in Forton, near Garstang in Lancashire, the course was the 285th course we played.

Each of the holes on the course is named after a local place or landmark.

Hole 1 - Cockerham Sands

Hole 2 - Fleetwood

Hole 3 - Parlick Pike

Hole 4 - Lancaster Canal

Hole 5 - Blackpool Pleasure Beach

Hole 6 - Glasson Dock

Hole 7 - Beacon Fell

Hole 8 - Windy Harbour

Hole 9 - White Scar Caves

Hole 9 - White Scar Caves

Hole 10 - Zumo Cafe/Bar Special

Hole 10 - Zumo Cafe/Bar Special - an intriguing hole!

Hole 10 - Zumo Cafe/Bar Special - the green

  

Hole 11 - Isle of Man

Hole 12 - Nicky Nook

Hole 13 - Brock Bottoms

Hole 14 - Garstang

Hole 15 - Morecambe Promenade

Hole 16 - Forest of Bowland

Hole 17 - Trough of Bowland

Hole 17 - Trough of Bowland - the hole!

Hole 18 - Lancashire Windmills

While not a totally official type of 'Concrete' course (see our blog post for photos from the championship course in Stockholm, Sweden for pics of a traditional looking one) the course in Forton looked very similar to Beton (albeit with shorter holes), with obstacles and lane types we've seen and played before.

On our visit, the owners of the Zumo Cafe told us they had been inspired to build the course having played a lot of Minigolf on courses like it in Spain.

The Miniaturegolf standard of course (aka Eternit) is another smooth concrete type of Minigolf, and we've found a few examples - official and un-official - on our travels. Notably in Warrington, Clacton-on-Sea (where a couple of the holes were a bit Beton-y too), Colchester, Woking, Beckenham and Milton Keynes.

More recently we visited Valley Gardens in Harrogate where I played on the solid concrete course that was very similar to the Eternit type of Miniaturegolf.

Link:

- Golf Westhoek BVBA in Koksijde

Related blog posts:

- Visiting a further 49 Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in England and Scotland

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

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