Ping Pong

Deep in the bowels of our tower block, there is a table tennis room. I'd never seen it before, but if you ask reception, they'll give you a key and point you down a darkened corridor in B3, and there it is.
Patrick and I used to play quite regularly as teenagers. In fact we used to be in a team with another boy from my class (Nick Trend, now the Daily Telegraph's travel editor). I think we were called Chichester Youth Club but were based in Hunston village hall. My mum would take the three of us to matches in the Chichester area. I don't think we were that good, but it was a proper league and everything.
It's tempting to think that China invented table tennis, but actually, like a lot of sports, it originated in England in the 1880s. Still, the Chinese are masters of the game. You can often see tables set up in parks, like this one in Urumuqi.
So anyway, Naomi and I had a game. She's got a long way to go - our longest rally was six - but it was fun teaching her.