Master of ceremonies Lottie Jamieson, Oliver Florence and Richard Gottfried with a badger.

Competition chiefs were forced in to presenting the British number 16 with a model badger as a temporary trophy to mark his one shot win at New Malden as West London’s Guy Martin had left the famous ceramic green minigolf ball some 30 miles away near Farnham.

The apathetic act from Scottish minigolfer Martin came despite two years of near constant claims that he wanted to get rid of the prize ever since he won it at the inaugural event 24 months ago.

It has now been recovered from the window sill of his bedroom at his family home in the Surrey countryside and will be handed over to Gottfried at the next available opportunity.

Guy Martin on his way to a seven at the fourth.

Prolific blogger Gottfried, whose round of 36 was one stroke ahead of second placed Richard Skeggs, failed to let Martin’s mishap take the gloss off his victory.

Getting his ‘hams’ in a pickle, he said: “Knowing the fabled trophy was somewhere near Feltham was neither here nor there. At least it didn’t go back to Putney with former champ Guy Martin.

“With Tiger Woods recently victorious in a limited field non-tour event after a ‘win drought’ since 2009, I felt it was high time I did something similar in minigolf.”

He added: “I wish I had taken a photo of the badger-on-a-plinth stand-in trophy as I could have of framed it and put in on my trophy shelf.”

A magnanimous Martin, whose round of 48 shows how far he has come in the game since his winning score of 40 in 2009, added: “The good thing about losing was that I could get rid of the ceramic green ball – although the fact that I forgot it on Saturday meant that I was not even able to do that.

Oliver Florence, Emily Gottfried and the great cake (centre).

Elsewhere in the field, Florence struck a disappointing 46 to finish behind Wales’s Paul Jones – the top amateur with 41 – and Emily Gottfried (44), who made a special cake for the occasion modelled on the Maier Classic 3 minigolf ball.

Kent Open champion Seth Thomas and Birmingham academic Larry Cooley, who it has emerged once appeared on TV show Shipwrecked, carded 47.

It was left to Leamington Spa-based character Robert Clark to bring up the rear, coming home in 51 – still eight shots better than the 2009 wooden spoon winner, Melanie Hall.

Skeggs took the pro-am title, despite not having a partner, with a combined round score of 82.25.

A fire lights up the dining room.

At the reception, attended by Dorking Advertiser chief Sam Blackledge, Cornwall’s Lottie Jamieson led the celebrations with a quiz and an eccentric game of pass the parcel, with prizes including a pine cone, a bell and a tea bag and a range of feathers.

With Trinity Mirror fire marshal Paul McManus keeping a close eye on proceedings, there was also a spectacular display of indoor fireworks, featuring several Rising Cobras.

The finale however led to a charred table – with McManus powerless to prevent such an incident occurring at a Florence function for the second time in three years.

Calling a halt: Montserrat Oliver has pulled out of filming. (Picture: imdb.com)

MEXICAN model and TV presenter Montserrat Oliver has delivered an extraordinary snub to the south of England worm charming champions by pulling out of a planned filming session.

The 45-year-old actress, cultural ambassador and self-styled fashion icon was due to film with Oliver Florence, Richard Skeggs and Robert Clark last weekend but had a last minute change of heart.

The trio had been invited to demonstrate their worm charming skills for a programme on unusual English sports and pastimes to be shown in the Spanish-speaking country during the London Olympics next year.

But Monserrat, whose previous exploits include riding an ostrich, meeting a panda and kissing a bear, reportedly decided the activity was not ‘wacky’ enough and Florence has now been tasked with coming up with an alternative spectacle.

“We were very excited after the initial approach from the television company,” explained Florence. “A date for worm charming had been set and we were looking around for a suitable field.

Media coverage included an article in the Surrey Advertiser - Elmbridge edition.

“Apparently, she wanted to do something ‘wackier’ and had done something similar on a previous trip to Africa.

“I really don’t know what to suggest.”

The charming trio were greeted by a whirlwind of media interest after their victory in October.

They were interviewed and photographed straight after the win by a man who wrote their names down on an old bus timetable, promising an appearance in the nationals, and also spoke to the official magazine of the Earthworm Society of Britain.

Details of their feat later appeared in the Aldershot News & Mail and Surrey Advertiser, with Florence describing the feeling of victory as ‘literally quite extraordinary’.

The team converged on the venue at Kings International College, Camberley with high hopes of lifting their first worm charming trophy, following a promising debut outing at the world championships in June.

Gone was the fox outfit however as Leamington Spa-based Clark reprised his role of expert gillie and Skeggs, who had flown in from Glasgow, shared the twanging of the fork with Florence.

The competition came down to a straight fight between the three and a team of locals with a nerve wracking wait to see who had won.

“There were lots of rumours flying around the field about who had come out on top so we could not be quite sure until the result was finally announced but in the end 193 worms represented a bit of a landslide victory,” Florence said.

The fox and Florence (and possibly Clark) can clearly be seen on the left of the screen during an episode of ITV1's Ade in Britain.

“To know that our team were the champions of the whole of the south of England was really quite special and it will be an honour to represent the region when we return to Cheshire next year for the worlds to take on the best worm charmers on the planet.

“We are already thinking about how we can improve and have one or two tactical ideas up our sleeves.”

Despite the snub from the Mexicans, this week did see the south of England champions make an appearance on the box.

Skeggs in his fox outfit can be spotted in the background during a feature on this year’s world championships filmed by comedian Adrian Edmondson for his ITV1 show Ade in Britain.

The Minches with Master Carver Bijay (left) and some turkey

THE Toby Carvery in Worcester Park was the setting for a celebratory roast dinner after Oliver Florence took the final Minches of the season.

Master Carver Bijay was delighted to see the famous trophy visit the restaurant and congratulated Florence on his victory before serving him a plate of turkey and beef with a Yorkshire pudding.

Florence then helped himself to the array of delicious freshly-cooked vegetables, all for just £5.75 (Monday to Friday, seated before 7pm).

Earlier in the evening, the new Minches holder proved hotter than horseradish sauce as he comprehensively outplayed Skeggs to take two rounds at New Malden and clinch the final match of the season 3-1.

It is the second year running that he has won the last contest before the winter break – avoiding a season-long whitewash at the hands of his adversary.

An out-of-sorts Skeggs narrowly lost the first round following two aces in the cave from Florence.

Florence with the Minches outside the Toby Carvery

“It’s bitterly disappointing to lose the most important Minches of the year,” said Skeggs. “Luck was definitely not on my side, but even if it had been Ollie would still have won.

“He had two very solid rounds and, having aced the volcano, deserved the glory. I will be firing on all cylinders come April to win the trophy back though.”

Champion Florence added: “Finally winning the Minches again is a huge weight off my mind.

“Wins this year have been less common than my blogs so I’m ecstatically happy to have seized the trophy for the winter and had a little celebration in my head. Now hopefully I can start concentrating on writing again.”

Skeggs on his way to defeat by Pragnell

And there was double embarrassment for Gentle Touch when, having confidently predicted that beating Alex Pragnell was ‘a given’, he lost out to the outspoken Bexhill-based man by one shot.

Pragnell may however be forced in to a rethink of his minigolf philosophy, with Skeggs scoring twos on 40 holes compared with a haul of just 34 for Perfect Par.

Team Wilson staring defeat in the face...

AMATEUR cameraman James Rutherford was left ‘distraught’ after a technical error caused him to miss the greatest moment of Oliver Florence’s minigolf career.

Florence sunk a superb ace on the last hole in the final of the British Doubles Championship in Dorridge to take Team Wilson in to a play-off with reigning champions May The Force Be With Who.

Under immense pressure, Florence had found the perfect line and rebounded the ball off the back wall.

...Florence steps up needing an ace...

Rutherford, who had filmed the entire action up to that point on the iPhone of Florence’s playing partner Richard Skeggs, was all set to capture the moment the ball dropped.

But – with the ball just centimetres away from the hole and seconds before one of the biggest roars ever heard on the minigolf course – disaster struck and the filming cut out.

Afterwards, Rutherford admitted that he had blown his big chance.

...not a bad line...

“It was hard to keep my composure throughout the tense final as I knew eventually the whole world (of minigolf) would be watching,” he said.

“Team Wilson were one down with one to play with an ace required to tie the match.

“I positioned myself carefully and steadied my hand, ready to capture.

“As Ollie hit his tee shot, I followed the ball with ease and watched with delight as it sailed towards the hole for a stunning ace.

...but disaster strikes as the filming cuts out.

“Moving on to the first hole of sudden death, I looked down to the iPhone to check for light levels and visuals and was distraught to realise that somehow it was no longer recording.

“After the event naturally The Machine wanted to view his fantastic ace on the final hole and I was still confident that I had captured the moment impeccably with commentary befitting the World Cup final in 1966.

“Alas this was not to be, as to my dismay there had been a technical fault and recording had ended with the ball just one foot away from going in.

“I have let down a huge number of people and most importantly myself.”

In the play-off for the title, Florence and Skeggs eventually lost to Marc Chapman and Chris Harding on the second extra hole with, luckily for Rutherford, the whole contest expertly filmed and posted to YouTube by Adam Kelly.

Despite the defeat, Team Wilson – named in honour of Wilson of the Hello! Minigolf Club in China – were delighted with their somewhat unexpected success.

Florence said: “We never believed we would reach the final, especially after we were drawn in a very tough group.

Team Wilson with their winnings

“Marc and Chris were just a bit too good for us in the end and were worthy champions, but we are already looking forward to Wilson competing again next year.

“As for Ruthers, he’s got a whole 12 months to perfect his filming technique and I’m sure he’ll come good in the end.”

Earlier, Team Wilson had beaten the Green Giants pairing of British Champion Rutherford and Nick Sandqvist, before losing to Team Sqonkey’s Richard Gottfried and Scott Lancley.

A draw with the Cheap Shots of Adam and Tony Kelly took Wilson through to a play-off with the Green Giants for a quarter final place.

In a precursor to his later spell of bad luck, Rutherford missed the second shot on the first hole to hand victory to his opponents.

Florence and Skeggs then beat Seth Thomas and Chris Smith of the Green Warriors and the Casual Force team of Sean and Marion Homer to tee up their place in the final.

McManus prepares to mess things up

Florence was all ready to use his new NIFO Ryner in the British Matchplay Championships at Bluewater but was forced to switch back to his FunSports after discovering the rubber had come away from the club head.

He had entrusted the job of gluing the rubber to the putter to work colleague Paul McManus after the Irishman had insisted he had wide experience of fixing rubber to metal with a variety of epoxy resins.

But a failure to use enough of the substance – bought specially from the Guildford branch of B&Q – cast doubt on McManus’s claims and threw Florence in to disarray just hours before one of the most eagerly anticipated contests on the minigolf circuit.

“I had practised with my new implement two days before the tournament and felt really good,” Florence explained. “But as I was packing my equipment early on Sunday for the long trip round the M25, I was horrified to discover that the rubber had come clean off.

“It really hit me hard and was far from ideal preparation ahead of my opening fixture.

“I’m not using it as an excuse for my shaky start but going back to my old club didn’t help and I never really recovered from defeat in my first match.”

Alex Pragnell helps with the second round draw

He stretched the raft building exercise out for days and even felt the need to use his holiday time to complete the painfully-slow project.

“Some people wondered what he was doing out there all that time,” Florence said. “Well he certainly wasn’t doing a good job on the putter that’s for sure.”

McManus declined to answer specific questions about his failure but did issue a statement.

The statement had been lost as the Mini Golfer went to press.

On the course, following an opening defeat to David Donnelly by one hole, Florence was able to bring out his new weapon after gluing it properly in the car.

The final score in the final match

He then beat Donnelly by one hole in the competition for those eliminated from the groups but lost by two holes to Kevin Moseley – the Bath-based man fuelled by an 11.30am curry, the earliest he had ever eaten.

The final match saw Florence clinch 19th spot with a triumph over Alex Pragnell – who famously came last by 33 shots using a rubberless putter at the World Adventure Golf Masters in Hastings earlier in the season.

Despite a two hole reverse and never being ahead in the match, Pragnell later claimed he was ‘unlucky’ not to win.

Next up for Florence is the Midlands Open at Dorridge on Saturday, before teaming up with Richard Skeggs as team Wilson in the British Doubles Championship at the same course on Sunday.

Robert Clark and Richard Skeggs dressed as a fox

The trio managed to coax 38 worms from the ground in just half an hour at the showpiece event in Willaston, Cheshire.

Worn by Skeggs, the vulpine outfit delighted the majority of the crowd, with youngsters queueing to both high five the animal and have their photos taken with him.

There was a moment of controversy however when one young boy became scared at the sight of the big fox.

He had to be comforted by his father after expressing his disapproval at the choice of Skeggs’s outfit.

On the plot, the fox played largely a cosmetic role as Florence charmed the creatures out by twanging a garden fork for Clark to then pick them up and deposit them in a pot.

Before the contest the group has indicated they would be happy with just one worm, so were pleased with their haul of 38 – just over 200 fewer than the winners.

A boy is comforted by his father after seeing Skeggs

“I couldn’t believe the worms actually flocked to the surface when we put the fork in,” Skeggs said. “Florence had a natural touch on the fork and produced some stunning results with his vibrating technique.

“And 38 worms is a most respectable score considering our somewhat lacklustre preparations.”

Leamington-based Clark added: “Richard Skeggs was quite possibly the best dressed attendee at the championships, and definitely the best dressed competitor. You couldn’t hope for a better mascot”

“After a slow start we really came on strong towards the end and we stayed true to our morals.

“We could have scored 41 but chose to leave three worms which surfaced seconds after the klaxon sounded.”

“This year was a warm up for next year’s full championship attack. I can’t wait.”

St Mary's Village Carnival chairman Gordon Gray with a worm

There was disappointment however as, with the help of fellow minigolfer Richard Gottfried dressed as a chicken and his 11-year-old nephew Kallum, not a single worm was charmed to the surface and the team lost by two.

Florence said: “I had high hopes going in to the Edlesborough fixture, especially when I found out that we were the only side with specialist equipment of forks and a chicken costume.

“To lose to a group of girls beating the ground with some sticks is really quite galling.”

Richard Gottfried (left) relaxes between rounds

For the first time in their careers, Oliver Florence was drawn to play alongside fellow blogger ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried during the tournament at Wroxham Barns in Norfolk.

Florence, who has become somewhat of a reluctant scribe in recent months, was moved to remark that the unique occasion could possibly be worthy of a posting.

The Stoke-on-Trent born, Walton-on-Thames based player said: “I was quietly pleased to be paired up with Richard.

“He was one of my minigolf heroes when I was starting out in the game so it was an honour to be playing in the same group as him.

“It’s almost worth a blog.”

Gottfried, founder and author of the popular online tome The Ham and Egger Files, was equally complimentary about his playing partner, as both inspired each other to promising opening rounds.

Florence struck a 34, with Gottfried carding a highly impressive 31 – the duo sinking 11 holes-in-one between then.

“It was great to be drawn to play the first two rounds with fellow blogger Ollie,” said Luton’s Gottfried, who has written 104 blog posts since the start of last month compared with Florence’s two.

“The Machine is a great minigolfer and he and I put on somewhat of an ‘Aces Masterclass’ in round one.

“It was just a shame no-one else was watching.”

Despite their successes it was not all plain sailing for Florence and Gottfried.

Oliver Florence sails a boat on the Norfolk Broads

“There was plenty of time to discuss possible blog topics as our two-ball group was drawn behind the slowest group in minigolf history,” Squire added.

Florence eventually went on to win £20 by securing third place in the category 2 competition, behind Richard Skeggs and Marion Homer, while a disappointing final round from Gottfried pushed him down to 7th.

Overall, Florence was pleased with his 14th place finish on one of the toughest courses on the circuit and celebrated by hiring a boat on the Norfolk Broads with Skeggs.

“Compared with last year’s British Championships my round average improved by five shots so I’m making progress,” The Machine said. “I might write a blog about it.”

David Hartley of Hastings Adventure Golf presents the trophy

Gentle Touch was targeted by the town’s seagulls twice in a day in the run up to the contest but recovered to take the trophy 3-0.

The first soiling took place in the morning as Skeggs walked to the seaside course after enjoying breakfast at Wetherspoons.

He said: “When it hit, I thought either some urchin had thrown something at me or a bird had pooed on me from a great height. It turned out to be the latter.”

Skeggs forced Oliver Florence to wipe clean his hair at a nearby public toilet, but less than a few hours later he was struck again, causing him to return to his hotel room for a more thorough cleansing.

On the course however Skeggs kept a clear head to take the two rounds needed to retain the title he won in Worthing in March.

Cleaning off the bird poo

In a tournament won by Martin Stöckle of Germany, Skeggs finished in 21st while Florence came in 28th – ahead of veteran Austrian Peter Schallek and Alex Pragnell, who played throughout with no rubber on his putter.

The pair are now preparing for the eagerly anticipated trip to Norfolk for the English Open at Wroxham Barns.

Meanwhile, there are reports that Florence is considering quitting blogging to concentrate on his game and the quest to break in to the top 20 of the BMGA order of merit.

Florence was unavailable for comment.

Up goes the name of Richard Skeggs

The holder of the famous trophy carded a round of 34 to take second place on the newly installed board at the course near the A3.

A poor score of 41 gave Oliver Florence the chance to join his rival on the list of top players but The Machine turned down the opportunity due to embarrassment with his round.

The request to be listed brought about much faffing, with the woman in the shop, who Skeggs later described as a little “surly”, using a special spray to remove the name of the 10th placed adult player from the board.

Skeggs then stepped in to help as his tile took its place below that of PGA professional Adam Hall.

The television in the Margate hotel

Earlier this month Florence came 24th in the British Masters in Margate after his preparations were severely hampered by arriving in the town for practice after the course had closed for the day.

He also had problems in his hotel room with the television reception.

Skeggs and Splash Point co-owner Anthony Pope

AMID fading light on the south coast, Richard Skeggs seized back the Minches in a dramatic finale to the season opener.

Oliver Florence was forced to relinquish his winter-long grip on the famous trophy after his rival battled back from five shots behind with six holes left to win the deciding round at Splash Point in Worthing.

A two from Skeggs on the final hole – under the watchful eye of Worthing minigolf magnate Anthony Pope – heaped the pressure on The Machine to match him and secure a play-off.

But with the weather closing in and a chicken tikka masala beckoning, he missed his tricky second shot and the Minches returned to Skeggs after an absence of nearly eight months.

Skeggs said: “I’m delighted to achieve a memorable comeback to win back the Minches.

“Even at five shots down I thought I could still win.

“It puts a smile on my face seeing the Minches on the mantelpiece every day.”

Earlier in Littlehampton - the traditional opening venue for the Minches - Florence won the first round at the Norfolk Gardens adventure golf with Skeggs damaging his putter.

Gentle Touch made it 1-1 at the now derelict Western Crazy Golf, before Florence took the lead once again at Harbour Park.

The newly engraved Minches

Moving on to Worthing, Skeggs levelled the April Minches with a 13 shot win before his extraordinary comeback sealed a 3-2 victory overall.

Florence said: “I gave in to pressure from Skeggs to play for the first Minches of the season a month early.

“He was very keen to take them back and he really deserved his triumph.

“He never gave up.

“Anyway, it makes sense for him to have them every so often so he can go along to the man in Horley and get them engraved.”