Daily Mail - 30.07.2019

Daily Mail, Tuesday, July 30, 2019 Page 

FAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

Or is golf course inside

cathedral just CRAZY?

IN an age of dwindling congrega-

tions, one ancient place of

worship has revealed a drive to

increase numbers at a stroke.

Rochester Cathedral has installed a

crazy golf course in its nave, although

it has met a rough reception.

Billed as educational, the course has

nine holes that each feature a model

bridge – though sadly, for devotees of the

sport, there are no windmills.

The cathedral, which is beside the

Medway in Kent and dates back to 1080,

unveiled the attraction at the weekend.

It will open to the public for free daytime

sessions until September 1.

Described as ‘adventure golf ’, the course

was designed and paid for by The Roches-

ter Bridge Trust to coincide with improve-

ments to the town’s river crossings. The

Rev Rachel Phillips, canon for mission and

growth at the cathedral, said: ‘It forms the

centrepiece of a Building Bridges theme

running through the summer.

‘As well as the physical bridge which has

stood over the Medway since Roman

times, the invisible but equally historic

links between the cathedral and the

surrounding community are also bridges

of a kind. We hope that, while playing

adventure golf, visitors will reflect on the

bridges that need to be built in their own

lives and in our world today.’ However,

reaction on social media shows the idea

has a fair way to go to win over the public.

One comment said: ‘This reeks of des-

peration.’ Another fumed: ‘What on Earth

are you doing? This is God’s house, not

an adventure theme park!’ Father David

Palmer, an Anglican vicar before becom-

ing a Catholic priest, tweeted: ‘I was

ordained as an Anglican in this Cathe-

dral. What an embarrassing shambles.’

One crazy golf fan complained: ‘There’s

not even a model windmill to putt

through! Total embarrassment!’

The cathedral said: ‘Worship continues

unaffected with at least three services per

day and the adventure golf is only taking

place in the nave, with other spaces avail-

able for prayer and quiet as usual.’

It is not the only quirky church scheme

this summer. There will be a 50ft helter

skelter inside Norwich Cathedral from

August 8 to 18 and a prosecco and gin

festival in the cloisters of Peterborough

Cathedral on August 9 and 10.

By David Wilkes

The egg that can make your laundry eco-friendly

Lining up a putt: Lewis and Chloe Zwozdiak

Rochester Cathedral: 11th century

Holy-in-one:

Visitors using

the crazy

golf course

in the nave

yesterday

LIFE just got a bit easier for

those looking to make their laun-

dry routine more eco-friendly.

A 40 per cent rise in demand

means supermarkets are now

selling products that will keep

your clothes clean without pol-

luting the environment.

Waitrose has responded by

stocking the £0 Guppyfriend

Washing Bag – which traps micro-

fibres from synthetic clothes – as

well as the £9.99 Ecoegg, whose

mineral pellets wash clothes

without the need for detergent

and will last for 70 washes.

British researchers calculate

that a single wash involving

some synthetic clothes typically

sheds up to 700,000 tiny plastic

threads or fibres – which pass

through sewage systems and lit-

ter our rivers and seas.

One study found that a single

polyester fleece jacket releases

one million fibres per wash. And

harsh chemicals, such as bleach,

which are used in laundry pow-

ders and liquids, damage clothes

and reduce their useful life.

Andrea Watson, of Waitrose,

said: ‘Our customers are pas-

sionate about shopping in a

more sustainable way. These

new and innovative products

offer more choice to help shop-

pers be cleaner and greener.’

By Sean Poulter

Consumer Affairs Editor

Blue and green:

The Ecoegg

Pictures: JIM BENNETT