Ping!

Call it what you will – tennis de salon, Gossima, Parlour Tennis, Pom-pom, Netto, Whiff Waff – ping pong is immensely addictive.

The beach house we stayed at over Christmas came equipped with a ping-pong table in the garage. Despite a white sandy beach just outside the front door, I was manning the table for at least two hours a day, playing with the intensity and vigour of a 98 year old vying for a Masters Game Title.

[the music for champions]

I’ve proven on numerous occasions that I have sub-par reflexes (most recently evident with spectacularly tragic attempts to play Guitar Hero). However I felt like I found my sport when I picked up a table tennis racket.

We didn’t let the ball bouncing off walls or ricocheting off chairs disrupt a rally. No one kept score. Besides no one could hear over the beats of Little Dragon or Daft Punk.

The only rule laid down was no one was allowed to lean on the table. It’s rickety legs groaning with slightest sea breeze. Luckily for our bond our pong skills didn’t progress into proper pong rallies.

Perhaps if we had spent the summer in London our skills would stepped it up a notch

“Ping! Is an innovative 3 year project that will provide new opportunities for the public to participate in social and competitive Table Tennis free of charge.”

These crafty creatures devised the following events:

- Sing n Ping

- Singles for Singles (dating pong style)

- The Ping Pong Parlour (a pop up lounge with DJ’s, a bar and of course ping pong)

- Late Night Natural History Museum Ping Quiz

- Public Ping Pong (100 ping pong tables were set up in public spaces around London for 4 weeks over the summer including the Tate Modern, train stations, shopping centers and Heathrow Airport)

...which is probably more suited for an Australian Summer

Beats and Babooshka dolls

Christmas often leads to the early onset of diabetes and frazzled tempers. Here are a selection of music tips to keep the family on an even keel over the upcoming weekend:

We Say Bamboulee - tasty folk synth

He Will Have His way - Finn Brothers covers from the likes of Boy and Bear to The Living End

The Hives - highbrow punk madness

Hot Chip - smooth beats for post meal digestion

The Beatles - Because I want to hold your hand

Lykke Li - Sweet, sweet Swedish pop

Mumford and Sons - to win over Nan and Grandpa

If you still find yourself locking your cousin in a half nelson or giving your Aunt Madge a filthy glare before sulking off in a huff of misery and despair, then fear not - you can always paint a new family out of Babooshka dolls.

Craftastic!

I'm a reluctant shopper.

Easily dsitracted by book shops and cafes, I lack the stamina of seasoned shoppers. So I'm without the basic skills to negogiate wayward shopping trolleys, packs of tweens on the prowl and pensioners armed with walking sticks.

Paired with a rather limited budget, means that this year's christmas presents are rather uninspired.

How about getting crafty? This would mean avoiding the shops and saving cash. However I think that Alicia Paulson's (of Posie Gets Cozy) puupy dog could create something a million times nicer than i ever could. The last time I gifted someone a scarf that I had spent 3 months knitting, they used it as a lap rug for their cat.

So the safest bet is Book Depository and after a flurrly of book buying I'm almost ready for christmas!

Given that I highly doubt that my siblings are telling the truth about reading this blog, here is some things I bought:

It's only a small coincidence that I've been wanting to read these books too...