Table-tennis

[Baggs]

Saturday mornings are my favourite. A large sports hall, ten tables and lots of people. I had a knock with grey David then little Richie then doubles then back to Ritchie. Some time ago Tony the Coach had corrected my grip. It should be limp-wristed which brings the handle parallel to the wrist so the bat is an extension of your arm. This grip does not come naturally to me and although I start the rally with it I quickly default to my normal grip. But for the last half an hour with Ritchie I forced myself to be limp-wristed and by golly, what a difference!!! It added a whole new dimension to my game, I suddenly became outstanding!!! Every limp-wristed attacking shot was a winner, I was devastating. I must must must make this grip natural, my new default.

Then as we were packing up and chatting, Richie asked me if I cleaned my bat.... I could have kissed him because I had recently watched a Utube video on that very subject AND, for the first time ever, I had my dampened cleaning cloth with me. I demonstrated the way to check the grippiness of Richie's bat. Place a ball on a flat surface and press the bat onto it then lift the bat and see if the ball sticks....it didn't. Then I cleaned the rubber on his bat and did the same demonstration and the bat lifted the ball for a foot before it dropped off. Ritchie was amazed at the before and after difference and also impressed by my extensive (and very recently aquired) knowledge of all things table-tennis. Sometimes the stars align and angels dance on my tongue .....today was such a day.

[Baggs]

There's a new Tuesday girl on the block, Miss X. She's single, Miss XX? And she's a nurse....Miss XXX?? Having a nurse on call seems a jolly good idea. Not as good as a doctor but I may be able to work my way up and she may have access to some interesting substances. She's also good at table-tennis. A table-tennis playing nurse, thank you my guardian angel.

Saturday morning I first had a knock with earring Dave. We are well-matched in both ability and attitude, we both try to keep the rally going rather than score cheap points but if the ball sits up too invitingly we each wack it. I knew I was on good form and I then played grey David. Two years ago David would win every game but not yesterday morning. We played seven games and I won five......ha!!! Take that grey David!!!

Then I played doubles with the two Davids and little Graham. My backhand is becoming a consistently devastating weapon and as we were finishing and packing away, Graham asked me if I had a fast bat. Nope, little buddy. It ain't my bat that's fast, it's me. I'm pretty rapid for an old guy.

Then at home there was almost a culinary disaster..... my microwave gave up the ghost!!!!! Nooooooo!!!!! I am strictly a microwave man. There is an oven in the kitchen but I haven't used it this century. I jumped into the car and drove the six miles to Curry's, where they had a splendid display of microwaves, some as cheap as £50. I settled for a modern version of my old one as it has a digital display which allows me to time my soupy stew, my staple diet, to the second. The new microwave is gleamingly bright and clean, unsullied so far by exploding eggs. It is also one hundred watts beefier than my old one so making my fast soupy stew/broth even faster.

It is now four weeks on 25mg Citalopram and two weeks on 40mg with no effect, neither benefit or detriment.

[Baggs]

Saturday morning and Asian Sue was back....yayyyyyy. She had been back east visiting family for seven weeks and I made a huge fuss of her. We had a good knock and even after nearly two months of not playing, she was on good form.

I bought a new bat. The new bat was twice the price of the old one so should be twice as good......yeah right. Will I never learn??? In the last two years I have used ten different bats and not only have they made no difference but I didn't even notice any difference. And in what way could one bat be twice as good as another? I can swing and miss with any bat.

I seem to have developed a new addiction.....Lucozade. A while ago I was playing table-tennis and I ran out of steam. So how to stop it happening again? Everyone knows that Lucozade gives you energy so I started picking some up on the way to the game. Then I started buying it in bulk and keeping it at home.....fatal. I now forgo breakfast and start the day with a coffee and a couple of jars of Lucozade. I've just played for two hours so it seems to work and the shakes should subside soon.

[Baggs]

For those who have been following my writings you may remember that, after the finish of the winter league, I declared that I would never ever ever ever play in the league again. It was a disaster. I lost most of my matches because I played like a moron and I hated every minute. The relief when the winter league ended on April 1st was palpable.....never again would I have to endure such torture.

I am 4th division and one of the top players at my club is Olga who is a 1st division player. By definition 1st division players are good and Olga is very very good. She has always been friendly to me and greeted me by name, which is very pleasing....a superb player like her having time for a lowly player like me. Last night I was leaving my club and Olga called out to me to wait. This surprised me and as I turned back to her I wondered what she wanted. She looked at me and with those big blue eyes said.....I hear you're not playing in the league this year. I looked at her closely and deeply and I melted. I became malleable and soluble....just add water and I'll dissolve. I'd been set up and ambushed and I saw Tony the Coach laughing at my discomfort. It was a conspiracy with Olga as the figurehead. The gorgeous, talented, doe-eyed Olga. I was lost. I was beaten and I knew it. So I now face another winter of table-tennis discontent.....thanks a bunch Olga.

[Baggs]

When I got into table-tennis two years ago I searched online to find local games and I found plenty but going into a new venue and meeting new people was nervy and unsettling. Meeting, say, twenty people with uncertain characters and indistinct features was necessary but not relaxing and doing similar at different venues over the next couple of weeks was draining. But now these blurry people are in sharp focus and I love them. I know their quirks and foibles and could happily hug and kiss them all, except I'm a guy and don't do that sort of thing.

Yesterday my normal Thursday practice-partner didn't show and I thought I wouldn't get a knock but a chap stepped up to help me out. He hadn't played for years and accidentally picked the worst bat from the help-yourself bag. I only realised what a rotten bat it was when he struggled to hit the ball over the net. I rummaged in the bag and found a much better bat and this improved his game enormously. After a while he asked me if he was holding the bat properly.....he wasn't so I introduced him to the "shake-hands" grip. This improved his game yet again and we had a most enjoyable knock.
So from almost not getting a knock to a most enjoyable session with some coaching included and possibly gaining a new fan, I walked home with a happy smile. Table-tennis is people and I love them all

[Baggs]

It's Friday evening and I'm just home from playing in the league. The same league that I was never ever ever ever ever ever going to play in again. I lost but two of my matches were very close, going to 2 - 2 before I lost the deciding game. So, although there is massive room for improvement, I am quite pleased with tonight's performance.....I played so much better than this time last year. I'm a happy Baggy.

[Baggs]

I won a match!!!!! Tuesday evening was a league match. I was first up and I won. It was close, going to 5 games, but I held my nerve. What made it sweeter was the guy I won against beat me last year, so I can see my improvement. There's now a couple of weeks till my next match, time for a whole load of practice.

[Baggs]

I have a couple of action pictures of me playing in the league and would like to share them here but I don't know how.....any advice would be appreciated.

[Sparkle1984]

If you click on "Go advanced" then you will see an icon to upload images. The icon looks like a picture of a tree.

[Baggs]

I'm the red guy. Unbelievably these pictures are a year apart.....same venue, same opponent but one is 2024 and I lost and one is 2025 and I won. Tony the Coach took both pics and he couldn't have planned it better.