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On Tuesday I won another league match.......I'm flying!!!! The chap I beat later congratulated me on being "a different player" to a year ago. And I've had a few compliments lately about my improvement, which is so very very good to hear. I hope the time will come when I win TWO matches and, by golly, when that happens I'll shout it from the rooftops.
Last edited by Baggs; 03-11-25 at 05:39.
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Last night I played another league match. It was a handicap match, separate from the main competition, and I was up against first division guys. Tony the Coach took a picture and it shows my total humiliation as I'm stretching out, flapping about as the ball passes my bat at 70mph.....first division guys hit the ball jolly hard. I call it my dying swan impression. When I first saw the picture my reaction was to lock it away in the deepest darkest dungeon where it should never see the light of day but then a friend said that maybe people would like to see it and celebrate my humiliation and revel in my emotional and athletic destruction. So if enough people request to see the picture I shall post it here.
I've had my dying swan picture printed on a T shirt and my son said it was brilliant! and a table-tennis buddy said....I want one!!
Friday evening was cold so I put a jumper on and my dying swan T shirt over it hoping that Tony the Coach, who took the original picture, would be sitting at the sign-in desk. As I walked along the corridor I could see both Tony and Olga at the desk.....perfect!!! As I drew closer I could see Olga peering in my direction and then the picture became clear and she burst out laughing. Then I turned to Tony and he burst out laughing too and said it was above and beyond the call. I could tell he was pleased that I'd displayed his picture in such a prominent way.
I was having a knock with quiet Mike.....our ability is similar but our volume is not......when 1st division Pauli came up complaining bitterly that I'd cropped him out of my T shirt pic.....damn right, this is about ME, get your own T shirt pic.
Saturday morning, same venue, and I wore my dying swan T shirt and had a knock with my favourite lady, Asian Sue. As we were packing up she touched my shoulder and said.....you've made my day. Dear Sue, I love you.
Last edited by Baggs; 23-11-25 at 21:39.
Advanced Member
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
For he who plays table-tennis with me on Christmas Eve Eve shall be my brother, be he ne'er so base.
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Saturday morning is my favourite venue and Asian Sue is my favourite practice partner and both came together yesterday. We arrived at the same time and started knocking and immediately it was good. We don't play scoring games we just practice our shots and I try to keep the rallies going for as long as possible without attacking too much. Sue is a lovely lady but she ain't no chicken and she normally runs out of steam after 30 minutes, but not yesterday....we knocked for an hour and a half and had some splendid rallies. I was absolutely knackered and Sue looked ready to collapse. She told me that was the longest knock she'd ever had and I like to think it's maybe because I'm her favourite practice partner too.
Thursday is a different kettle of fish. I arrive with my son and we have a knock before too many people arrive. This knock is fast and furious and flat-out. We get into a rhythm of forehand smashes and I normally hit about 3 before I miss. Last Thursday I hit 10 consecutive smashes, a new record, only possible because my son managed to return them.
On Tuesday I have a league match....I hope all this practice starts to pay off.
The other morning there was a new gal on the block, an import from Oz. Hello, she said, I'm Ashley with an "I" Inwardly I burst out laughing, as if anyone gives a monkeys how you spell your name. I'm here for table-tennis-ing not Ashley spellering. Dear Ashli, will you marri mi? Not realli, onli joki.
Last edited by Baggs; 13-02-26 at 14:54.
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I now attend a new table-tennis venue in addition to my regular ones. It's at a sports centre that changed locations from 10 miles away to 5 miles away and this relative nearness makes a lot of difference on a dark and wet night when I have to force myself off my comfy settee and out of my warm house. The first time there I immediately knew some of the guys and was made very welcome. The standard of play is very high and I just about held my own and the standard of banter is right up my street and I was definitely a top banterer and this is because a year ago a lady came back into my life and gave me my chat back.
Eighteen years ago I was a regular in the chatroom here and met a lovely lady online and also in real life. We lost touch but a year ago Jayney Poppins floated back into my online life and we have been chatting every day since and she is the reason I am now chatty in real life and she is the reason that I write about table-tennis here. One of the guys I knock with at the new venue, Donald, is a very good player, much better than me and we have some splendid knocks but he doesn't join in the chat because he doesn't have a Jayney Poppins in his life to inspire him, flatter him and encourage him to share his story.
When I was physically close to her eighteen years ago I didn't realise that Jayney Poppins was practically perfect in every way and I let her get away because I was almost an ass in every aspect.
Many years ago I knew a little old Polish shoe-salesman and one day he said, "I wish I'd known then what I know now" That didn't mean much to me because I was young and I knew everything but now I'm older and I don't know so much, but I do know what he meant.
Anyone wanna know the secret of life, here it is for free......do the right thing at the right time.
Last edited by Baggs; 14-02-26 at 08:24.
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Ashley with an i is now a regular at the Wednesday morning session which is good, the more the merrier, but she hasn't quite grasped one of the fundamentals of doubles play; after you serve get out of the damn way. We were playing as partners and she served and stood there and the ball came back in her direction and as I swung I realised that her bum was between my bat and the ball. I briefly considered continuing my swing, she had a fair bit of padding, but managed to resist the urge and stopped my bat an inch from her contours. She remained unaware of the goose I almost delivered and eventually we won the game.
Some people are casual about table-tennis and some are obsessed. I now play ten times a week and practice on my garage table every day....I think maybe I'm obsessed.
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