Sleddog racing.  Not necessarily the first winter sport that comes to mind, but the Stewart family, and the Cairngorm Sleddog Centre are a major attraction, and frankly, are putting Sleddog racing on the map, not only in the UK.

Alan Stewart started sleddog racing nearly 20 years ago, and having raced throughout North and South America, as well as Europe decided to end his 28 year career as a Saturation Diver in the North Sea to set up Cairngorm Sleddog Centre, what was to be the first and only daily working sleddog centre in the UK.  He sold his home and moved to a derelict highland cottage, built a dog yard, and cut the trials himself.

Now an award winning destination, Alan put’s the centre’s success down to “hard work, dedication from family, and awesome dogs.”

Such is Alan’s passion for dog sledding, he was prepared to go out on a limb to train the first and only Jamaican sleddog team, and help their first official sleddog competitor, Newton Marshal, to reach finish 13th in the 1200 mile Yukon Quest race.  The team have been the subjects of a feature length film, have worldwide press attention, and are backed by US singer Jimmy Buffett.

The passion for sled racing runs through the Stewart family, and Alan’s son John is soon to be competing in the Iditarod – one of the most grueling long distance races in the world.  Having run sleddogs since the age of 6, John Stewart has been all over the world racing and training, with world class training from former Iditarod trainers.  You can follow John’s progress and find out more on his website.

So, for something that is energetic, adventurous, and pretty unique, we’d point you in the direction of the Stewarts, and their now rather famous Sleddog Centre.  Don’t be fooled, though, as Alan assures, “What we don’t do here is a circus act…its a real adventure every time we hook the team up.”

Find out more and book here.

Knitting has got cool, really cool. So it’s no surprise that the sound of countless pairs of busy knitting needles can be heard emanating from a great new venue in London. The Papered Parlour has opened in Clapham, south west London, and describes itself as ‘an independent craft venue’. I think it’s underselling itself. It’s a quirky and unique venue offering a wide range of really interesting craft courses. Even their website looks cool. I’m definitely signing up.

I talked to Claire Heafford, one of the founders of The Papered Parlour, to find out more about the ethos behind the place. ‘We’re passionate about all forms of contemporary art and design, whilst deliberately making a nod to the ‘make do and mend’ approach of the 1940s. The venue offers modern facilities but with an old-fashioned, retro décor. Tea is drunk out of 1950s cups and saucers, and we’ve furnished the Paper Parlour with handprinted wallpaper and vintage furniture.’

Courses range from knitting, felting (make a pair of slippers), quilting, screen printing (t-shirts and bag projects galore) and even making sock monkeys (see the photo below of one of the sock monkey masterpieces). Gather round the tables, listen to instruction from highly experienced teachers, chat, drink tea and switch off from the outside world while you focus on your craft project in hand, literally. The Papered Parlour will also happily organise themed children’s parties and fun activities courses – think Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory does drawing. 

As we said, crafts just got cool.

For more information about The Papered Parlour and the courses you can take part in, visit their website.

And thanks to Alexia for putting us on to this place.

When I set out to find a golf coach to write about for Ooh, I thought I’d end up with a crusty duffer in tweed plus-fours, propping up a clubhouse bar. Instead, I found a borderline crazy college student from Boston, with insatiable enthusiasm for all things Golf. There’s something about Boston…

Granger Beaton first became interested in golf when Tiger Woods won 3 US Amateur tournaments in a row immediately after winning 3 US Junior Amateurs in a row. “I thought golf was the coolest thing ever. Tiger made it cool.”

I learn that Granger is quite an all-rounder with sports: “My soccer team won the New England Championships and my hockey team played in the World PeeWee tournament in Quebec Canada. Ultimately I chose golf because I was obsessed.”

I asked Granger about my golf stereotype, and he was keen to put it right: “Golf is played in all walks of life, regardless of income. That’s becoming less and less true however, in this troubling economy. I think there should be a greater effort to make golf more affordable. It’s a very cathartic and enjoyable experience for everyone who plays it.”

With little experience of the game itself, I want to know how tricky it is to learn. “Golf is easy to learn, but hard to master. It’s especially easy to learn if you have a good teacher. It’s one thing to learn how to swing like Tiger Woods based on what you read in a book, but it’s another thing to know what you should be doing based on what your body can physically do.

“Golf teaching is leaning towards fitting a swing to a body type rather than trying to make your body swing in a way it won’t let you.”

Now, I said that Granger is crazy and it seems unfair not to justify that. He’s not actually mad, he just comes across like totally he’s high on life: “I got hit by a jeep when I was 17, probably should have died. Ever since I’ve been trying to live like I’m dying -no need to take life for granted.”

Granger isn’t just mad about golf, he’s an instructor too and he’s thinking about starting to teach in his local park. No golf course, no driving range, just back-to-basics teaching. “I do a lot of my teaching in my dorm room at college,” he tells me. I’m wondering what size this room must be, thinking of the pokey halls room I occupied for a year.

The golf lessons in the park idea isn’t half-baked though: “I plan on using a lot of stability toys such as foam rollers, balance disks, sliding resistance platforms, bosu balls, yoga mats, you name it. I’m going to have to get really creative here as I know there will be a ton of interest.”

The interest is likely to be aroused not least becuase of Granger’s remarkable string of experiences qualifying him perhaps better than most to sharpen up your swing.

“I’ve had the privilege of working for some of the best golf coaches in the world (Leadbetter, Haney, Harmon). I’m mentored by two of the best psychologists in the world, Dr. Bob Winters and Dr. Gio Valiante. I’ve helped teach at Leadbetter’s Junior Academy and worked for Dr. Bob Winters at his Nike Golf School at Williams College. I interned for Tim Suzor of Kinetic Golf, where we taught stability and mobility drills. Suzor teaches Tim Petrovic, Brian Gay, Sean O’Hair, all pros on the PGA Tour. I recently got certified as a Golf Fitness Instructor by the Titleist Performance Institute.”

So when Granger said there’d be a ton of interest, I’m pretty sure he knew what he was talking about. Want to try a Golf lesson in the park? Drop Granger an email here.