SWINDON LITERARY FESTIVAL REVIEW: THE mysteries of table tennis came under the spotlight.
England number one seed Matthew Syed and American author and table tennis fanatic Jerome Charyn were in conversation with festival organiser Matt Holland in the relaxed surroundings of the GWR sports and social club before an audience of about 30.
Being largely ignorant of the game, I was drawn into its subtleties, listening to these highly regarded experts.
Techniques of the expert player range from stamping your feet to disguising the sound of bat on ball, blocking the view of the serve with your free arm, or even temporarily looking away to distract your opponent before your serve.
In Jerome Charyn's book on the game, Sizzling Chops and Devilish Spins, he claims that at the highest levels, the game is one of psychology, where attitude of mind becomes the most important element of play.
The talk was more than just a look at the game, however. Mr Syed, who is standing as a prospective parliamentary candidate, spoke of the game as a political force.
The evening was rounded off by some spectacular examples of table tennis in action.
By Ben Fitzgerald
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