TTT30 Spring 2023

Our second daughter, Jennifer Katherine was born at Reigate Hospital (the
same hospital as Julie) on 19 th August. Lots of celebrations for the birth of
our second, beautiful little girl!
Two young sisters!
Karenza and I continued to coach table tennis at various schools and clubs
in the London and South East for many years. When I took retirement (after
30 years!) from my work in London in 1978, we bought a hotel in Brighton.
We ran that until 2003 when we sold and bought the hotel we have now,
The Grange at Oborne. The hotel is an old country house hotel and is in the
pretty village of Oborne which is just outside Sherborne in Dorset.
Our first daughter Julie is married and lives with her husband Brian and their
two children at Fermoy in Ireland. Jenny is also married; she and her
husband Jon have two children. Jenny and Jon are the joint General
Managers of the hotel.
Jenny, Karenza and Julie
Julie and Jenny
Since coming to Oborne, Karenza
and I have staged charity table tennis events at the village annual
summer fete. We have roped in Mary and Brian Wright, Di Pearce,
Connie Warren, Barry Hill and various other players to help! Alas,
Connie is now no longer with us.
Karenza with Jenny on the left and Julie, in the village hall. Our two
beautiful daughters are a little older now!
We have recently bought a top-class table tennis table! We have it
hidden away in the hotel and will pull it out from time to time to
practise. Well, you never know when we might be needed again!
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Table Tennis England Governance
In December 2022 TTE set up an Athletes Panel for those on the England Talent and Performance
Pathway. Senior internationals Tin-Tin Ho and Sam Walker were appointed along with juniors Mari
Baldwin, Anna Green and Megan Jones for a term of two years.
There is to be a change in the staff structure from February 2023 with Area Managers being reintroduced,
there will be seven posts spread throughout the country.
A new Chairman is to be appointed to Table Tennis England as Sandra Deaton completed nine years
in February and her term of office has been extended to 31 st August 2023 making nine and a half years
in all. It is the Board, not the membership, who make the appointment and the closing date for
applications was 17 th March 2023. The criteria required were extensive but it only refers to having a
“deep understanding of table tennis” as a desirable criteria not an essential one.
Interviews are to take place at the end of April.
TTT: Issue 30: Spring 2023
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