IT was back to table tennis at the Oxley hall last Monday night, when 12 enthusiastic goers arrived bats in hand to ‘gather round’ the tables and throw themselves into the many singles and doubles matches contested.

‘Man about town’ Manni Poulos was all revved up when he and Don ‘is good’ Heath paired up against the ‘intrepid caravanning nomads’ Cheryl and Gary Coad in a swashbuckler that went on and on for what seemed an eternity.

Final scores came as no surprise – one pair won the tie-breaker.

A master-class contest was delivered when ‘Doc’ Martin Butcher and ‘bat whisperer’ Graham Stephens threw out the challenge to ‘tearabout’ Janet Heath and ‘first man on the scene’ Adam Bosley.

With every shot in the book – and then some – being displayed in both attack and defence, it was on for young and old from the first ping of the ball.

But with Janet draping herself over the table for the short balls and Adam taking care of the long drives, they took the game right up to, and away from, Martin and Graham to come home with a 21-19 victory.

When the ‘teacher who tortoise’ Alison Stephens paired up with new girl on the block Phoebe Morgan to take on Phoebe’s dad, Richard, and ‘older but not wiser’ June Uebergang, it was a battle of the brave.

While speed and accuracy were in short supply, perseverance and endeavour were top of the class, resulting in many points requiring many strokes to determine the winner.

And although Richard and June appeared to have victory in their hands, Alison and Phoebe stuck to the task to pinch a very narrow win.

Following the night’s social competition, everyone gathered around for a cuppa and supper, and the promise, “we’ll get you next week.”

Adults and secondary school students of all ages and abilities are most welcome to join the group which meets every Monday night, beginning at 7pm, at the Oxley hall - BYO bat, $2 entry, and a small plate to share.