The 10th Swindon Festival of
Literature took place over a period of two weeks in May, and is
coming to be widely regarded as one of the premier events of its
kind in the country. You may wonder what any of this has to do
with table tennis! One of the unnusual features of this festival
is the wide range of events included in the programme, and this
year one of the evenings had a table tenis theme - perhaps this
owed a little to one of the other interests of Festival Director
Matt Holland! A small but enthusiastic audience enjoyed a question
and answer session with the two speakers, followed by some
friendly games between the guests and some of our local
youngsters. Advertisements for the event took the form below :
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JEROME CHARYN,
author and player, and special guest appearance by England No 1
MATTHEW SYED! Main Hall,
GWR Sports and Social Club,
Shrivenham Road. Tickets on the door or tel 01793 771080 •
7.30pm • 14 May
• £5 (£4) |
Table tennis goes back a long way, called jeu de paume when played
in French monasteries in the eleventh century. More recently, it
has been described as chess on legs. Some call it ping-pong, for
historical, onomatopoeic, and maybe even ironic reasons. As a
one-to-one competitive sport, it is played worldwide, seriously by
the elite few, and as a matter of life and death by the moderate
many. It shares key characteristics not only with chess but also
with fencing, squash, boxing, and poker. Part of the game takes
place on the table and the rest in the player’s head. It is as
much a game of cool and cunning as it is a test of quick
reactions, timing, and athletic prowess. A sense of respect and
rivalry are key to both success and enjoyment of what has been
called the game that writers and thinkers play.
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Novelist, New York memoir writer,
Professor of Cinema Studies in Paris, Jerome Charyn loves,
plays, and writes about table tennis. In his original and
quirky book, Sizzling Chops & Devilish Spins, subtitled
ping-pong and the art of staying alive, reckoned to be The Sun
Also Rises of table tennis, he introduces the reader to the
art and history of the game, and turns it into a metaphor for
life. |
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| UK number one player since
1995, four times National and three times Commonwealth champion,
Oxford graduate, and brilliant retriever of the ball, Matthew Syed
plays a spectacular long-range defensive game. Multi-faceted
Matthew is also a feature writer for The Times, a commentator for
television, and a prospective parliamentary candidate. That’s
table tennis for you! |
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