World Ping Pong Championships

No match this weekend, so I'd recommend watching the World Ping Pong Championships on the telly (live on SKY) or at Ally Pally. Played with sandpaper bats, it made fantastic viewing last year.

Natasha, have you ever thought about giving this sport a whirl? It may help to rid of your bingo wings!

Great atmosphere at the Ally Pally yesterday and nice to see the only female doing well again.

Chen Jie reached the semi-final last year losing eventually to the previous world champion, Wang Shibo.

Another of last year's semi-finalists, Chris Doran, is coached by six-times England table tennis champion, Denis Neale. About 50 years ago I remember Denis playing for Silcoms in the Bolton & District TT league.

Apparently Denis is best known for the song 'Its Dennis Neale' made at 4.00 a.m.in McDonalds.
Don't ask me how it goes but supporters of last year's champion, Andy Baggaley, have taken to singing his name Aaron Wilbraham style.

Looking forward to today's finals.

Is ping pong the same as table tennis or are they now 2 separate sports?

@Norpig wrote:Is ping pong the same as table tennis or are they now 2 separate sports?

Basically the same. Main difference is that players can't choose their own bats and have to play with standard issue bats with sandpaper covers.
Sadly Chen Jie's got knocked out today. Next up is Gavin Rumgay a red-headed Scot who looks like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo.

Chester Barnes was the only table tennis player I was really ever aware of.

In passing, Chester Barnes became assistant to Martin Pipe, the racehorse trainer. Bit of a rebel in the table tennis world by all accounts.

A gay icon to many young boys.

@Sluffy wrote:Chester Barnes was the only table tennis player I was really ever aware of.

Not that I was much good but, back in the day, I played agains Chester Barnes and Denis Neale.
It was just practice against Chester but in a match against Denis when he played for Silcoms. No idea how, Middlesborough lad, Denis wound up playing for a Farnworth engineering company.

Came across this when delving back.
https://tabletennisengland.co.uk/etta_website/magazine-archive/1964-65/tt_issue187.pdf

Fantastic atmosphere and some brilliant matches coming up on SKY from 5.00 onwards.

@Sluffy wrote:Chester Barnes was the only table tennis player I was really ever aware of.

Do you mean to say, Sluffy, that you are too young to have heard of Victor Barna, Johnny Leach, the Rowe twins or Ann Haydon who later, as Ann Jones, won Wimbledon and the French Open twice? Tha must be nobbut a lad.

P.S. It's George 'Chester' Barnes birthday today. He's 73. The Chester comes from his Dad listening to Charlie Chester on the radio and deciding that he'd use Chester as a nickname and it stuck.

Ping Pong isn't a sport. It's a parlour game. 

@boltonbonce wrote:Ping Pong isn't a sport. It's a parlour game. 

How big's your parlour, Bonce? You'd need a big un to play ping pong like these lads and lassies. They all seemed to enjoy it and so did the spectators.

Spending Saturdays watching fourth rate football players lose every week to third rate footballers aint all its cracked up to be either.

Pleased to see that Chester Barnes seems to be enjoying life to the full even if his beloved 'ammers got 'ammered on Saturday - well maybe not 'ammered but they'll not be going down Wembley Way this season.

I rather like those exhibition table tennis games. Some of the shots are unbelievable.

@boltonbonce wrote:I rather like those exhibition table tennis games. Some of the shots are unbelievable.

Chester was a master of the exhibition stuff. Yesterday there was a  picture on his Twitter page, @ChesterPingPong, of him doing a through-the-legs shot with a frying pan.

Table tennis with frying pans! Now that's something I'd pay to see.

Snooker with walking sticks I wouldn't mind either.

I'd rather like to see an exhibition football match, where a typical ball from the 1950's is used, with the players also wearing boots and kit from the period.

@boltonbonce wrote:Table tennis with frying pans! Now that's something I'd pay to see.

Snooker with walking sticks I wouldn't mind either.

I'd rather like to see an exhibition football match, where a typical ball from the 1950's is used, with the players also wearing boots and kit from the period.

You'll find the shot here:
https://twitter.com/ChesterPingPong
Just a photo mind you. Can't seem to find any videos.
Interesting collection of photos on Chesters Twitter page.

Chester's thrown out a challenge to 'name this footballer' on his twitter page today.

https://twitter.com/ChesterPingPong.


Any offers. I'm fairly sure I've figured out who it is.

@Ten Bobsworth wrote:Chester's thrown out a challenge to 'name this footballer' on his twitter page today.

https://twitter.com/ChesterPingPong.


Any offers. I'm fairly sure I've figured out who it is.

I would reason that his initials are LS.

I think you have probably come to the same conclusion too.

@Sluffy wrote:

@Ten Bobsworth wrote:Chester's thrown out a challenge to 'name this footballer' on his twitter page today.

https://twitter.com/ChesterPingPong.


Any offers. I'm fairly sure I've figured out who it is.

I would reason that his initials are LS.

I think you have probably come to the same conclusion too.

No not LS but I can see where you are coming from.
Chester gave out a clue:
Name this footballer but don't get bowled over

@Ten Bobsworth wrote:

@Sluffy wrote:

@Ten Bobsworth wrote:Chester's thrown out a challenge to 'name this footballer' on his twitter page today.

https://twitter.com/ChesterPingPong.


Any offers. I'm fairly sure I've figured out who it is.

I would reason that his initials are LS.

I think you have probably come to the same conclusion too.

No not LS but I can see where you are coming from.
Chester gave out a clue:
Name this footballer but don't get bowled over

Just looked up his wiki entry - LS played cricket as well as football - so the clue fits.

@Sluffy wrote:

@Ten Bobsworth wrote:

@Sluffy wrote:

@Ten Bobsworth wrote:Chester's thrown out a challenge to 'name this footballer' on his twitter page today.

https://twitter.com/ChesterPingPong.


Any offers. I'm fairly sure I've figured out who it is.

I would reason that his initials are LS.

I think you have probably come to the same conclusion too.

No not LS but I can see where you are coming from.
Chester gave out a clue:
Name this footballer but don't get bowled over

Just looked up his wiki entry - LS played cricket as well as football - so the clue fits.

I still don't think its LS. I think its someone more famous as a cricketer than a footballer. Here's a fuller image. Anyone recognise the ground?

@Ten Bobsworth wrote:

@Sluffy wrote:

@Ten Bobsworth wrote:

@Sluffy wrote:

@Ten Bobsworth wrote:Chester's thrown out a challenge to 'name this footballer' on his twitter page today.

https://twitter.com/ChesterPingPong.


Any offers. I'm fairly sure I've figured out who it is.

I would reason that his initials are LS.

I think you have probably come to the same conclusion too.

No not LS but I can see where you are coming from.
Chester gave out a clue:
Name this footballer but don't get bowled over

Just looked up his wiki entry - LS played cricket as well as football - so the clue fits.

I still don't think its LS. I think its someone more famous as a cricketer than a footballer. Here's a fuller image. Anyone recognise the ground?

FT it is then!

@Sluffy wrote:

@Ten Bobsworth wrote:

@Sluffy wrote:

@Ten Bobsworth wrote:

@Sluffy wrote:

@Ten Bobsworth wrote:Chester's thrown out a challenge to 'name this footballer' on his twitter page today.

https://twitter.com/ChesterPingPong.


Any offers. I'm fairly sure I've figured out who it is.

I would reason that his initials are LS.

I think you have probably come to the same conclusion too.

No not LS but I can see where you are coming from.
Chester gave out a clue:
Name this footballer but don't get bowled over

Just looked up his wiki entry - LS played cricket as well as football - so the clue fits.

I still don't think its LS. I think its someone more famous as a cricketer than a footballer. Here's a fuller image. Anyone recognise the ground?

FT it is then!

Yep

Chester's next challenge. Who are these four? Three are easy, the fourth's a bit more challenging.

Law, Greaves, Blanchflower, and the other looks like Cliff Jones of Spurs.

@boltonbonce wrote:Law, Greaves, Blanchflower, and the other looks like Cliff Jones of Spurs.

Exactly what I figured.
As your reward here's a picture of Chester strutting his stuff with a frying pan.

And here's another of his two cats. How did he get Sammy to balance a ping pong ball on the end of Sammy's tail?

Strangely enough, when I was sorting my desk out I came across a bunch of non BWFC autographed pictures, including Gregg, Trautmann, a few Celtic legends, and, top of the pile, Cliff Jones.

Well done. Lets see if you can get this one (from Chester's blog yesterday). Bonus points for players in the background.