101 Things #47 - New Balls, Please

As I build my wide-ranging collection of things I intend never to do, known to some as 101 Things I Refuse To Do Before I Die, I often need to spend some time thinking through what it is about the suggestion under review that is deplorable and thus why I will not entertain the prospect of doing it. Today is an exception, it is a no-brainer that even an amoeba would find easy to deal with and still have time for a little asexual reproduction. I found it on the frankly rather eclectic website of Aussie on the Road and it is to

Watch a ping pong show in Thailand.

We call it table tennis in beautiful Ruislip. I played it a little myself when younger. 'Ping Pong' is the rather derisive name it was given before some of the great stars that feature in, for example, the Olympics, showed what a hard and skilful sport it can be. Now why would I want to see a match (they are called matches, not shows) in Thailand, of all places? It's a long way to go, requiring wasteful and polluting air travel, and all to watch a few people doing what one could easily see almost anywhere - perhaps at a local youth club.

I suppose they don't get much table tennis in Australia - maybe the harsh climate causes the balls to crack - and of course it is much easier to reach the Far East from there, so no doubt that is why this notion gained traction.

I have no hesitation in utterly rejecting the notion that there is anything remarkable in seeing a table tennis match half way across the world and that is all I have to say on the matter. There, we've finished a little earlier today than usual. You may go now and I hope you will make good use of this unexpected free time.